A Mass for Life --- the first in a planned series of such events --- will be celebrated July 5, 5 p.m. at St. Cornelius Church, Long Beach. Father Mike Gleeson, pastor, will preside at the celebration.

Plans are to celebrate a Mass for Life on the first Sunday of each month, said Sylvia Aimerito, parish Respect Life chairman, who issued an invitation at the June quarterly Respect Life meeting of the San Pedro Region, to "pay with us to end abortion, for the women in need of healing from having had an abortion, and for the men of lost fatherhood."

St. Cornelius is located at 5500 E. Wardlow Rd., Long Beach. For information, call (562) 421-8966.

Mass in honor of Blessed Kateri set July 11 in San Juan Capistrano
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO --- The Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation, will gather July 11 at the Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano on for a 10 a.m. Mass to honor Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. The celebration will be followed by a potluck meal. All are invited. Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano is located at 31520 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. For information, call (323) 583-1766.

Cardinal, Washington official criticize move to fund D.C. abortions
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- The chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities and a representative of the Archdiocese of Washington expressed opposition in late June to a provision in President Barack Obama's 2010 budget that would permit taxpayer funding of abortions in the District of Columbia. "No lawmaker or administration can support such a policy change and still claim to support 'reducing abortions,'" said Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia in a June 30 letter to members of the House Appropriations Committee, which was to take up consideration of the fiscal year 2010 budget after the July 4 recess. Christa Lopiccolo, director of life issues for the Archdiocese of Washington, said women in the district "don't need more abortions. They need access to services that nurture and support the life of their children." In action June 25 on the budget, the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government voted to rescind an amendment that had prohibited public funding of elective abortions for 18 of the last 20 budget years. The subcommittee vote narrowed the ban to include only federal funds and not "local" funds.

Maryland executions may resume if lethal injection protocols approved
BALTIMORE (CNS) --- As the state prepares a public review of newly drafted protocols for administering the death penalty, the leader of the Maryland Catholic Conference has vowed to speak out about how capital punishment is applied. Mary Ellen Russell, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, said the conference, which represents Maryland's bishops on public policy matters, opposes the death penalty in all forms, but has particular concerns about lethal injection. "I think a full understanding on the part of the public of the graphic detail of the procedure alone will make people think twice about state executions and how they are problematic for our society," she said. Announced by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services June 24, the protocols introduce new regulations for the administration of lethal injections. The state has had a virtual moratorium on executions since 2006 when the Maryland Court of Appeals said the existing protocols were not properly promulgated. The newly proposed protocols must be reviewed by the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review.

Honduran Catholic aid official worried about human rights after coup
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNS) --- A Catholic aid official expressed concern about human rights in the country in the wake of a military coup, which he called the expected outcome of a political crisis. "While we cannot agree with the violent ouster of a government, the threats of the government foretold a violent outcome," said Pedro Landa, director of Caritas Tegucigalpa, the church's charitable agency. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya reportedly had been preparing to suspend the Congress and call a constituent assembly. "If this is true, then the coup was inevitable," Landa said June 30, two days after the coup sent Zelaya into exile in Costa Rica. Tensions grew in Honduras when Zelaya called a popular referendum, scheduled for June 28, to consider whether the Honduran Constitution should be amended to allow presidents to run for two consecutive terms. Church authorities had expressed concerns about such a referendum and its real motives. When the head of the armed forces refused to cooperate in the distribution of the referendum ballots, the president fired him. However, the military arrested Zelaya at his home June 28.

Bishops must be loving shepherds, pope tells archbishops
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Bishops are called to watch over their faithful not like "a prison guard," but with the same love and concern that God watches over the world, Pope Benedict XVI said June 29 during his homily on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. During the Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, 34 archbishops from 20 countries knelt before Pope Benedict and received a pallium, a woolen band worn around their shoulders as a sign of their authority and their responsibility as shepherds. North American prelates receiving their palliums included: Archbishops Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit; George J. Lucas of Omaha, Neb.; Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis; Timothy M. Dolan of New York; Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans; J. Michael Miller of Vancouver, British Columbia; Pierre-Andre Fournier of Rimouski, Quebec; and Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England. Orthodox representatives of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople participated in the Mass. The patriarch sends a delegation to the Vatican each year on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Vatican's patrons, and the pope sends a delegation to Turkey each year for the feast of St. Andrew, patron of the patriarchate.

Internet causing marital problems, says Irish Catholic support group
DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) --- The world of cyberspace is causing real-world problems for a growing number of married couples, according to research conducted by ACCORD, the Irish bishops' agency providing care and support for marriage. For the past three years, ACCORD studied how often high levels of Internet usage were cited among the sources of marital conflict. John Farrelly, the agency's director of counseling services, said the issue is now "statistically significant," with 7 percent of clients in the first half of 2009 reporting it as their primary problem. "The key areas which are causing conflict are Internet gambling, infidelity and one partner spending too much time online rather than with their spouse and family," Farrelly said in a statement. ACCORD's half-year statistics showed a growing number of Irish couples seeking marriage counseling because of financial pressures. The percentage of clients identifying finances as a marital problem increased from 20 percent in 2007 to 31 percent in the first half of 2009.

Sociologist, panelists discuss how to unite varied church generations
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- A scholar on the sociology of religion and Catholics of four different generations held a lively discussion June 26 about how to bring together those who see the church as an institution and those who see it as a collection of people who choose to join. Both groups "value Catholic identity, affirm core Catholic beliefs and stress the importance of the sacraments," said James D. Davidson, professor emeritus of sociology at Purdue University, during the Msgr. Philip J. Murnion Lecture sponsored by the Catholic Common Ground Initiative.