Cardinal urges House members to co-sponsor Pregnant Women Support Act
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Whatever their position on abortion, any House members who agree that "no woman should ever have to undergo an abortion because she feels she has no choice" or alternatives should co-sponsor the Pregnant Women Support Act, said Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., "provides an authentic common ground, an approach that people can embrace regardless of their position on other issues," said the cardinal, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in an April 24 letter to House members. "An abortion performed under ... social and economic duress meets no one's standard for 'freedom of choice,'" he added. The bill provides "many kinds of life-affirming support for pregnant women and their unborn children," Cardinal Rigali said, adding that it "reaches out to women with a helping hand when they are most vulnerable, and most engaged in making a decision about life or death for their unborn children."

Bishop Wall ordained bishop of Gallup, youngest to head U.S. diocese
GALLUP, N.M. (CNS) --- James S. Wall became the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Gallup and --- at age 44 --- the youngest head of a U.S. diocese April 23 before a packed Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup. Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted served as a co-consecrator with Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Edward W. Clark while Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe acted as the principal consecrator. Bishop Wall was born on the Navajo Nation, part of the Gallup Diocese, and was ordained in 1998 from St. John's Seminary, Camarillo, for the Diocese of Phoenix. He had been a pastor and vicar for clergy in Phoenix.

Even in a recession, parishes said to benefit from electronic giving
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- A new way of giving to the church is rapidly replacing the long-standing tradition of the weekly collection basket at Mass. Electronic giving has been shown to provide financial stability for a growing number of parishes to continue their outreach during the current recession. "This is not our parents' offertory," said W. Brian Walsh, president and founder of Faith Direct, a leading full-service electronic giving organization based in Alexandria, Va. Electronic offertory programs allow parishioners to transfer funds automatically to their parish's bank account without having to write a check or come up with cash for the collection basket. "All the data we have suggests that even the most active parishioners are only giving about 40 times a year," said Walsh in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service. "Electronic giving has increased even during the recession because of the consistency," he said. "Even in difficult times, families want to stay committed to their churches, both spiritually and financially. They don't see tithing as a luxury, but as a responsibility, and automated giving is helping families make it a priority month after month," Walsh added.

Pope creates five saints, says they hold lessons for economic crisis
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI canonized five new saints and said their dedication to the Eucharist, the poor and the world of work made them models for today's Christians in an era of economic crisis. By orienting their lives to Christ, the five men and women showed that "it is possible to lay the foundations for construction of a society open to justice and solidarity, overcoming that economic and cultural imbalance that continues to exist in a great part of our planet," the pope said. The pope celebrated the canonization Mass in St. Peter's Square April 26, joined by tens of thousands of pilgrims who held up photos or drawings of the saints. Four of the new saints were Italian and one was Portuguese. The 82-year-old pontiff listened as biographies of the five were read aloud, and then pronounced the canonization formula, drawing applause from the crowd. In his homily, the pope said the saints' life stories hold valuable lessons for modern Christians. Each of the newly canonized had a special devotion to the Eucharist, and each transformed that spiritual power into social action, he said.

Panel: Politics at a defining moment for Catholic social teaching
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- The current political environment provides a defining moment for the interplay of Catholic social teachings on issues Congress is facing, according to a panel of Washington-area academics in a symposium organized by the Life Cycle Institute of The Catholic University of America. How the opportunity is used by those with an interest in bringing church teachings to bear on public policy could affect issues as diverse as programs for the poor, health care policy, efforts to mitigate global warming and strategies for nuclear deterrence, said professors in a range of academic disciplines from Catholic University, Georgetown University and the University of Maryland.

Pope visits quake zone to strengthen survivors' faith, hope for future
ONNA, Italy (CNS) --- In a visit aimed at strengthening people's faith and hope for the future, Pope Benedict XVI called for concrete and immediate measures to rebuild towns and villages devastated by a deadly earthquake. With the sun struggling to break through thick rain clouds, the pope told survivors it had been his desire to come see them from the very moment the earthquake struck this mountainous central Italian region April 6. "I would have liked to have gone to every town and every neighborhood, to all the tent cities and to have met everyone if it had been possible," he said under drizzling rain in the makeshift tent encampment a few miles outside L'Aquila. The pope's April 28 visit took him first to Onna --- a tiny village that had once been home to some 300 people. The magnitude 6.3 earthquake reduced buildings in the town to rubble, killing some 40 people and rendering the entire population homeless. Poor weather conditions forced the pope to travel to the affected areas by car instead of by helicopter.

Church announces dates for 2010 exposition of Shroud of Turin
ROME (CNS) --- The Italian Archdiocese of Turin has announced that the Shroud of Turin, which many believe is the burial cloth of Christ, will be on public display April 10-May 23, 2010. The public exposition in Turin's cathedral will offer members of the public their first opportunity to see the shroud since it underwent major cleaning and restoration in 2002. The work involved removing 30 fabric patches and a fabric backing, known as the Holland Cloth, sewn onto the shroud in 1534 after a fire. At the time of the work, Cardinal Severino Poletto of Turin said trapped particles of dirt and scorched fabric had darkened parts of the Shroud of Turin and eventually could have made it difficult to see the shroud's image of a crucified man. The removal of the Holland Cloth also permitted experts to photograph and digitally scan the back of the shroud. The last public exposition of the Shroud of Turin was in 2000.

Book says late pope kept sense of fun in his final years
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) --- Pope John Paul II sang and made jokes even at the end of his life, said a Polish archbishop who was one of the pope's personal secretaries. "The pope loved to laugh and could play innocent pranks," said Coadjutor Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of the Latin-rite Archdiocese of Lviv, Ukraine. "He wasn't exuberant and didn't collect information, and he preferred to listen rather than talk. But he also noticed it when you'd had a hard day or were in bad mood. He would wink at you and smile." The archbishop spoke recently to Poland's TVN 24 about his book, "He Liked Tuesdays Best," about life with Pope John Paul. He said that on Tuesdays during the papacy, Pope John Paul often would make discreet, unreported excursions outside Rome. Archbishop Mokrzycki said the pontiff was addicted to fresh air and insisted on keeping his Vatican apartment windows open, even in cold weather. The late pope rose regularly at 5 a.m. to watch the sunrise and "also liked sunset, during which he often cut himself off and became immersed in prayer," Archbishop Mokrzycki said.