BALTIMORE (CNS) --- It's not the full repeal she had lobbied for, but Mary Ellen Russell hailed the House of Delegates for passing significant restrictions on the death penalty in Maryland. "We're really very pleased with the outcome of the vote," said Russell, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, the lobbying arm of the state's Catholic bishops. "This measure is a significant step forward in ensuring that innocent lives will not be taken through the death penalty and in ensuring that capital punishment will be narrowed in scope," she told The Catholic Review, newspaper of the Baltimore Archdiocese. The House of Delegates voted 87-52 to pass the measure March 26; the Senate had previously approved it by a 33-12 vote. Gov. Martin J. O'Malley announced in a March 26 statement that he will sign the restrictions into law in the coming weeks. The newly approved restrictions will allow the death penalty in first-degree murder cases only when defendants are linked to the crime through DNA or biological evidence, videotaped evidence or a videotaped confession. It is considered one of the toughest sets of limitations on capital punishment in the nation.
State bill would temporarily lift limits on suing church over abuse
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (CNS) --- The New York State Catholic Conference has mounted a statewide campaign to educate Catholics about a bill that would temporarily waive the state's civil statute of limitations on suing individuals and private institutions over child sexual abuse. The Child Victims Act of New York --- also known as the Markey bill --- also would lengthen the period in which alleged victims may sue individuals and private organizations for child sexual abuse in the future. Sponsors of the proposed legislation in the state Assembly and Senate claim it will bring justice to victims of child sex abuse, but the Catholic conference, which represents the state's bishops in matters of public policy, said the proposal unfairly targets the Catholic Church and other private institutions. New York's current statute of limitations requires alleged victims of child sex abuse to file civil lawsuits by the time they are 23. But separate statutes for claims against public entities --- such as municipalities, public schools, public hospitals and government-run institutions --- require the alleged victims in cases of any nature to file statements of their intent to sue, called notices of claim, within 90 days of the incident.
Vatican orders apostolic visitation of Legionaries of Christ
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- The Vatican has ordered an apostolic visitation of the institutions of the Legionaries of Christ following disclosures of sexual impropriety by the order's late founder, Father Marcial Maciel Degollado. The announcement of the unusual investigation was posted on the Web site of the Legionaries of Christ March 31, along with the text of a letter informing the Legionaries of the pope's decision. The letter, written by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said the pope wanted to help the Legionaries of Christ deal with its present problems with "truth and transparency." It said the visitation would be carried out by "a team of prelates," who were not identified. Apostolic visitation is a form of internal church investigation ordered by a pope and undertaken by his delegate or delegates. The pope sets the jurisdiction and powers of the visitation, which usually ends with the submission of a report to the Holy See. In February, Legionaries of Christ officials in Rome disclosed that Father Maciel had fathered a child. Sources in Rome said the order was also looking into accusations of financial irregularities by Father Maciel.
Head of Holy Cross order asks Obama to rethink position on abortion
ROME (CNS) --- The head of the Holy Cross religious order that founded the University of Notre Dame has written to U.S. President Barack Obama and asked him to rethink his positions on abortion and other life issues. U.S. Father Hugh W. Cleary, Holy Cross superior general in Rome, said that when Obama receives an honorary degree from the Indiana university and delivers the commencement address in May, he should take to heart the objections of Catholics who have been scandalized by the invitation. Father Cleary asked the president to use the occasion to "give your conscience a fresh opportunity to be formed anew in a holy awe and reverence before human life in every form at every stage --- from conception to natural death." The 13-page letter, dated March 22, was made available to Catholic News Service in Rome. Father Cleary also prepared an abridged version of the text as an "open letter" to the president, which was expected to be published on the Web site of America magazine.
Archbishop Burke apologizes to fellow U.S. bishops for video comments
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- The prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature issued an apology to his fellow U.S. bishops March 26 for how comments he made in a videotaped interview were used. The videotape was released to the press in Washington a day earlier by anti-abortion activist Randall Terry. In the videotaped interview, U.S. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke told Terry that bishops, priests, deacons and extraordinary ministers of holy Communion should refuse Communion to Catholic politicians who insist on supporting legislation to keep abortion legal, and said U.S. President Barack Obama "could be an agent of death." Terry, 49, founder of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, showed the videotaped interview during a press conference, at which time he called for two U.S. bishops to be removed as bishops because he said they had not instructed ordinary and extraordinary ministers to refuse holy Communion to Catholic politicians who support laws that keep abortion legal. In a statement released in Rome, Archbishop Burke said Terry told him the videotaped interview, conducted in Rome March 2, would be used to encourage pro-life workers in their cause and had no idea Terry would be showing it at a press conference. "Sadly, Mr. Terry has used the videotape for another purpose which I find most objectionable," he said. "If I had known what the true purpose of the interview was, I would never have agreed to participate in it." In the videotaped interview, Archbishop Burke calls on Catholics to voice their objection to their bishops when "they are scandalized" by the giving of holy Communion to people who are "publicly and obstinately in sin." |