News Briefs

Archbishop Niederauer 'making good progress' after heart surgery
SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) — San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer is making good progress after undergoing cardiac double-bypass surgery Aug. 29, according to a report relayed by Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice, the archdiocese said in a statement Aug. 31. The archbishop continues his recovery where he was hospitalized in Long Beach. All signs are positive, according to his doctors, the archdiocese said in its update. "The archbishop has expressed his deep appreciation for the prayers of the priests, deacons, religious and laity of the archdiocese," the statement said. After experiencing some chest discomfort over the weekend, Archbishop Niederauer, 75, was taken to the emergency room at Long Beach Memorial Hospital Aug. 28 by Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and former archbishop of San Francisco, the archdiocese announced Aug. 29. They had been in the final days of their vacation in Southern California. The archbishop was given an angiogram and his doctors recommended he stay overnight at the hospital for observation. On Aug. 30, at the recommendation of his cardiologists, the archbishop underwent successful cardiac double-bypass surgery.


Report finds 'shortcomings, inaction' in Missouri abuse cases
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CNS) — An independent report commissioned by the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph to examine its policies and procedures on assessing child sexual abuse allegations found "shortcomings, inaction and confusing procedures," said Todd P. Graves, the former U.S. attorney who headed the investigation. The key finding of the report, released Sept. 1 by the diocese, was that "diocesan leaders failed to follow their own policies and procedures for responding to reports" relating to abuse claims lodged against two priests. The abuse claims and subsequent news accounts over how they were handled led to the investigation. The 138-page report faulted Msgr. Robert Murphy, the diocesan vicar general, who "waited too long to advise the (diocesan) Independent Review Board, a body of confidential advisers to Bishop (Robert W.) Finn, of the allegations." While still vicar general, Msgr. Murphy has been relieved of duties relating to clergy sexual abuse allegations; those were turned over to Father Jerome Powers, diocesan vicar for priests. One issue was Msgr. Murphy's tardy decision to contact police over the suspected misconduct of Father Shawn Ratigan, who was eventually arrested. "Although his contact came five months too late, it probably protected families and children from additional misconduct by Father Ratigan," the report said.


Catholics, Orthodox face same evangelization challenge, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In many countries, Catholics and Orthodox face the same challenges in strengthening Christian life, and an important part of that effort is working together with love and respect, Pope Benedict XVI said. "For a renewed proclamation of the Gospel in the modern world we need evangelizers animated by the same apostolic zeal St. Paul had," the pope said in a message to Catholic and Orthodox scholars meeting in Salonika, Greece, Aug. 30-Sept. 2. The Inter-Christian Symposium was sponsored by the Orthodox faculty of theology at the city's Aristotle University and the Franciscan Institute of Spirituality at Rome's Pontifical Antonianum University. The theme of the meeting was "The Witness of the Church in Today's World." The pope said that "in the course of the centuries, the church has never stopped proclaiming the saving mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but that proclamation needs renewed energy today. In the modern world we see two contradictory phenomena: On one side there is widespread distraction or even insensitivity to the transcendent; on the other, there are numerous signs that in the hearts of many people there remains a deep yearning for God," the pope wrote. The challenge is the same for Catholics and for Orthodox, Pope Benedict said.


Catholic official among opponents of Pennsylvania 'security' bills
PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — A series of bills introduced in the Pennsylvania Legislature this session as the "National Security Begins at Home Legislative Package" could harm citizens and legal permanent residents as well as undocumented immigrants, a Catholic official told legislators. "Every human possesses inherent dignity, regardless of his or her immigration status," said Mark Shea, administrator of the immigration program of Philadelphia archdiocesan Catholic Social Services, at a hearing of the Committee on State Government of the House of Representatives Aug. 31 in Harrisburg. He was testifying on behalf of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state's Catholic bishops. One proposed bill, H.B. 738, would make it a misdemeanor for a "person who is unlawfully present in the United States to knowingly apply for work, solicit work in a public place or perform work as an employee or independent contractor" in Pennsylvania. "We object to any law that treats the actions of men and women to sustain themselves and their families through employment as criminal," Shea said. "(Under this bill) an undocumented immigrant may be allowed to stay in this country but will still not be able to sell hot dogs in Philadelphia to support his family," he added. The same bill states that "a law enforcement officer, with or without a warrant, may arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the United States. Such reckless, unconstrained local immigration enforcement will harm citizens and lawful permanent residents as well as undocumented immigrants."


Austrian cardinal continues dialogue with priests calling for reforms
ROME (CNS) — Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna is not playing "a game of chicken" with priests calling for reforms in church practice, but is interested in getting the priests to work with him to bring new life to Viennese parishes, his spokesman said. "The situation is not as dramatic as the Austrian media make it seem," said Michael Pruller, archdiocesan spokesman. "There has been no discussion of sanctions, no ultimatum, no talk of punishment," the spokesman told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview Sept. 6. The leaders of the "Initiative of Parish Priests" launched a "Call to Disobedience" in late June, urging priests to join them in saying a public prayer at every Mass for church reform; giving Communion to everyone who approaches the altar in good faith, including divorced Catholics who have remarried without an annulment; allowing women to preach at Mass; and supporting the ordination of women and married men. Cardinal Schonborn met Aug. 10 with the four Vienna archdiocesan priests who are on the presiding council of the initiative, and he plans to meet with them again in a few weeks, but no date has been set, Pruller said. "We don't send spies to all the parishes to make sure all the rules are kept," he said, but he added that, if a priest is violating church law, the situation will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.


Irish government officials to discuss Vatican response to Cloyne Report
DUBLIN (CNS) — Irish government officials planned to meet in early September to discuss the Vatican response to criticisms by Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny over the findings of an Irish judicial report on the handling of clerical sex abuse. Kenny said Sept. 3 he wanted to read the Vatican's response — issued that day — before responding officially. However, in a row that shows little sign of abating, Kenny said he did not regret his July 20 remarks to the Irish parliament in which he accused the Vatican of attempting to "frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago." The Vatican, in its 11,000-word response, described Kenny's claim as unfounded and said the Irish prime minister had "made no attempt to substantiate" it. The Irish government's Cloyne Report was issued July 13 and said then-Bishop John Magee of Cloyne paid "little or no attention" to safeguarding children as recently as 2008. But the report also accused the Vatican of being "entirely unhelpful" to Irish bishops who wanted to implement stronger norms for dealing with accusations and protecting children. Addressing parliament July 20, Kenny said the Cloyne Report "excavates the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day."


Court rejects appeal of rancher convicted in 2005 murder of US-born nun
SAO PAULO (CNS) — A court in the state of Para rejected an appeal by rancher Regivaldo Galvao, convicted of being one of the masterminds behind the February 2005 assassination of U.S.-born Sister Dorothy Stang. With the Sept. 6 court decision an arrest warrant was issued for Galvao, who in April 2010 was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the murder of Sister Dorothy, 73, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and a naturalized Brazilian citizen. The other four men involved in the murder are in jail, serving sentences that range from 17 to 30 years. Sister Dorothy, a native of Dayton, Ohio, lived in the Amazon region for nearly four decades. She worked closely with the Brazilian bishops' Pastoral Land Commission in favor of land rights for the poor and for sustainable development in the region.