News Briefs

Embryos cannot be destroyed even for important research, says pope
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- In rejecting research using embryonic stem cells, the Catholic Church is not trying to impede science or delay treatment that can save lives, Pope Benedict XVI said. The church's opposition to the use and destruction of embryos flows from the conviction that all human life is sacred and that destroying the most defenseless will never lead to a true benefit for humanity, the pope said Nov. 12 to participants in a Vatican-sponsored conference on research using adult stem cells. "When the end in view is so eminently desirable as the discovery of a cure for degenerative illnesses, it is tempting for scientists and policy-makers to brush aside ethical objections and to press ahead with whatever research seems to offer the prospect of a breakthrough," the pope said. However, "the destruction of even one human life can never be justified in terms of the benefit that it might conceivably bring to another," he said. The Pontifical Council for Culture partnered with NeoStem Inc., a U.S. company researching and marketing adult stem-cell therapies, to sponsor the conference, "Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture." The 30 speakers, along with patients who had been treated with stem cells, looked not only at the scientific progress being made with adult stem cells, but also at the cultural, ethical and political issues surrounding the research, its use and its availability. Pope Benedict told conference participants that "in drawing attention to the needs of the defenseless, the church thinks not only of the unborn, but also of those without easy access to expensive medical treatment."

Penn State scandal shows scope of sex abuse scourge, archbishop says
BALTIMORE (CNS) --- The scandal rocking Penn State University shows both the scope of the sex abuse problem and the value of safe environment training, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said at a Nov. 14 news conference. Responding to a question following the first session of the USCCB fall general assembly in Baltimore, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York said the news that has led to the indictment of several Penn State officials and the firing of the university's president and its longtime football coach, Joe Paterno, "has reopened a wound in the church as well. It shows that the scourge (of sex abuse) is not limited to any one faith and certainly not limited to priests," he said. "It's in organizations, in universities, all over the place, in families and, yes, in priests." Archbishop Dolan said the church's own sex abuse scandal "makes us a little timid about wanting to give advice --- glass houses and all that." But he said the church's experience with providing safe environment training to help children and their parents, as well as clergy and church volunteers, become more aware of the warning signs of child sex abuse has been "phenomenally advantageous" over the past decade. "We've got a long way to go, but we have made major strides," he said.

British court: Church can be held liable for crimes of clergy
MANCHESTER, England (CNS) --- A British court has ruled that the Catholic Church can be held legally liable for the crimes of abusive clergy, but an English bishop said his diocese does not believe the woman on whose testimony the case is based. The Nov. 8 ruling by the High Court in London for the first time defined in British law the relationship of a priest to his bishop as that of an employee to an employer, instead of seeing the priest as effectively self-employed. This means that a bishop and a diocese can be punished for the crimes of a priest. Survivors' groups hope that it will also mean that many people who claim to have been abused by clergy will be able to claim compensation more easily. The case involves a 47-year-old mother of three, referred to only by the initials JGE, who claims she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Father Wilfred Baldwin as a 7-year-old girl in The Firs children's home in Waterlooville, in southern England, in the early 1970s. She claims that she also was attacked in the dressing room of a church on the day she made her first Communion. Besides the Diocese of Portsmouth, she is also seeking damages from the English province of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, which ran the home, because she said the nuns witnessed the abuse but did not intervene. The court was not asked to judge the truth of the allegations but was specifically asked, as a preliminary hearing on the case, to rule on the question of whether the "relationship between a Catholic priest and his bishop is akin to an employment relationship."

Illinois Catholic Charities foster care programs end 
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CNS) --- Catholic bishops in Illinois announced Nov. 14 that they were dropping their lawsuit against the state for requiring Catholic Charities agencies to provide their services to same-sex couples. The agencies also will end their adoption and foster care programs, which have been in place for 50 years. In a joint statement Nov. 14, the bishops of Joliet, Springfield and Belleville dioceses said the decision was reached "with great reluctance." The bishops said the decision not to pursue further appeals was a necessary one since the state law made it "financially impossible for our agencies to continue to provide these services" and the courts also refused to grant a stay allowing the adoptions and foster care programs to continue while appeals were pending." Catholic Charities in the Joliet, Peoria and Springfield dioceses, as well as Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois in Belleville, have been involved in legal proceedings with the state since Illinois recognized civil unions June 1. The Peoria Diocese had withdrawn from the litigation in October. At issue was the agencies' long-standing practice of referring prospective adoptive and foster parents who are cohabiting --- regardless of sexual orientation --- to other agencies or the Department of Children and Family Services. The state interpreted the policy as discriminatory to same-sex couples under the new Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, and a Sangamon County Circuit Court judge ruled Sept. 26 the state could begin canceling its foster care and adoption contracts with Catholic Charities.

New apostolic nuncio introduced to U.S. bishops gathered in Baltimore
BALTIMORE (CNS) --- New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, introduced the new apostolic nuncio to the United States to the U.S. bishops Nov. 14 at the beginning of their annual three-day meeting in Baltimore. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano said he was pleased to be with the bishops for the first time and also expressed personal greetings from Pope Benedict XVI. He told the bishops the pope puts great hope in this country for the future of the universal church. The nuncio also praised the United States for being filled with vitality and always looking for a better tomorrow. The nuncio, who is Italian, served most recently as secretary-general of the commission governing Vatican City. He arrived in the United States just two days before the bishops meeting. On Oct. 19, he was named to fill the position left vacant with the July 27 death of Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who had been the apostolic nuncio to the United States since 2006. Archbishop Vigano said the funeral in Italy of Archbishop Sambi, his great friend of 40 years, was the beginning of his spiritual journey to the U.S. post and noted that he had spent some time with Archbishop Sambi just a few weeks before his death from complications after surgery. The nuncio also assured the bishops that Archbishop Sambi's presence was in their midst. In a previous interview with Catholic News Service, Archbishop Vigano described his upcoming role as an "important, vast and delicate" task; he said he was grateful to Pope Benedict for entrusting him with the mission and he felt called to renew his "trust in the Lord, who asks me to set out again" to a new country.

Catholic women gathered in Chicago urged to work to end death penalty
CHICAGO (CNS) --- Work to end the death penalty. That's what Sister Helen Prejean asked of more than 650 women Nov. 9 at the National Council of Catholic Women's annual conference held over three days in downtown Chicago. NCCW consists of more than 4,000 women's organizations in U.S. parishes and dioceses. Sister Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille, delivered the event's keynote address and shared details of how she started working to end the death penalty. In the early 1980s, the Louisiana Prison Coalition asked the nun to correspond with Patrick Sonnier, a convicted murderer on death row. Sonnier admitted to killing two teenagers with his brother. Sister Prejean eventually became Sonnier's spiritual adviser and was present at his death by electrocution. She chronicled her journey in her book "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States," which later became a movie starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Through her experience with Sonnier and working with the poor, Sister Prejean said, God changed her heart and prompted her, through grace, to look deep into the issues surrounding capital punishment and the legal system. "Many, many times we don't know from square one if we got the right person. It's so broken," Sister Prejean said of the legal process and the death penalty.

Pope asks for prayers for Benin trip
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI asked for prayers for his trip to Benin and for those suffering from violence on the African continent. The pope, addressing pilgrims at his noon blessing Nov. 13, said he was traveling to Benin "in order to strengthen the faith and hope of Christians in Africa. I entrust this trip and the inhabitants of this beloved continent to your prayers, especially those who experience insecurity and violence," he said. He prayed that Mary give support to all those working for reconciliation in Africa. During the Nov. 18-20 visit, the pope planned to unveil a document he wrote as a follow-up to the 2009 Synod of Bishops on Africa. The text synthesizes the synod's conclusions and presents pastoral priorities for the church in Africa. The pope said the whole point of the synod was to help make Christians "the salt of the earth and the light of the world." The pope's schedule in Benin included meetings with political authorities and interreligious representatives, an encounter with children, liturgies with Catholics and a Mass to present the post-synodal document.

Deacon 'Easy Ed' Macauley, Basketball Hall of Famer, dead at 83
ST. LOUIS (CNS) --- Basketball Hall of Famer, former sportscaster and pro-life advocate Deacon Ed Macauley, known as "Easy Ed," died Nov. 8 in St. Louis at age 83. He had Alzheimer's disease. Deacon Macauley was best known as an All-American with St. Louis University and a pro player with the St. Louis Bombers, Boston Celtics and St. Louis Hawks. The St. Louis University High School grad also coached the Hawks for two seasons. He was ordained a permanent deacon of the St. Louis Archdiocese in 1989. He told the St. Louis Review, archdiocesan newspaper, in 1996 that he was grateful for the blessings he enjoyed and wanted to do something for others. He wanted especially to let people know how it makes sense and "how much fun it is" to follow the Christian life. An important element in the diaconate was the support of this wife, Jackie, he said. The deacon kept a full schedule of ministry and speaking engagements until his retirement from active ministry in 2002. He helped start the St. Nicholas Food Pantry in north St. Louis and gave homilies. He also gave homily workshops around the country and co-wrote "Homilies Alive." He later expanded the book to a website with tips, techniques and ideas for preachers. God "can be tough at times, but basically he's a nice guy," Deacon Macauley told Catholic News Service in 1990 after his book was published. "That's one of the reasons I was interested in writing a book. ... How do you take the teachings of Jesus Christ and apply them on Wednesday morning?"

Retired Archbishop Donoghue of Atlanta dies at 83; emphasized Eucharist
ATLANTA (CNS) --- Retired Archbishop John F. Donoghue of Atlanta died Nov. 11 at the age of 83. The archbishop, who had been in failing health for the past year, headed the Atlanta Archdiocese from 1993 until his retirement in 2004. Before that, he was bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C., from 1984 to 1993. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington in 1955 and later served there as an archdiocesan official. When he was appointed to Atlanta, Archbishop Donoghue made the Eucharist the center of his pastoral work among Catholics to renew their understanding of and devotion to the Eucharist as the real presence of Christ, which is central to the Catholic faith. Archbishop Donoghue's body was to lie in repose at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Atlanta Nov. 16. His funeral Mass was to be celebrated Nov. 17 at the Cathedral of Christ the King, also in Atlanta, followed by burial at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs. Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory described Archdiocese Donoghue as "a much beloved figure, a dear friend, a brother bishop."