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The Southern Cross, Page 2
N. Ireland Catholic
LEADER WELCOMES
COALITION GOVERNMENT
Dublin, Ireland (CNS)
A Catholic leader welcomed an
agreement on forming a new
coalition government for Northern
Ireland which he said will help build
trust between Catholics and
Protestants. Archbishop Sean Brady
of Armagh, Northern Ireland, hailed
the November 27 vote by members
of the Ulster Unionist Party in favor
of a peace formula that led to the for
mation of a cabinet in which
Catholics and Protestants will share
power. He called the agreement a
“further step towards building trust
between the two communities.” The
Ulster Unionist Party is the largest
Protestant party.
Pro-life leaders decry
DRAFT GUIDELINES ON
STEM-CELL RESEARCH
Washington (CNS)
D raft guidelines for human stem
cell research from the National
Institutes of Health erode respect for
human life and suggest “a utilitarian
ethic,” said pro-life leaders. Richard
Doerflinger, associate director of the
U.S. Catholic bishops’ Secretariat for
Pro-Life Activities, said December 1
that the proposed guidelines “autho
rize use of taxpayer funds for re
search on stem cells obtained by des
troying live human embryos.” The
American Life League said in a De
cember 2 statement that the guide
lines smack of “a utilitarian ethic that
places the alleged greater good of
society above the intrinsic value of
the tiniest person, the human being at
fertilization.”
Religious retirement
OFFICE GIVES ANOTHER $3
MILLION IN GRANTS
Washington (CNS)
T he National Religious Retirement
Office has approved more than
$3 million in supplemental grants to
17 religious orders, more than twice
the amount awarded in last year’s
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supplemental grants. The money will
help orders buy into Social Security,
pay for home health aides and earth
quake repairs, combine cloistered
monasteries into one facility, estab
lish contemporary accounting and
bookkeeping systems, pursue a
skilled care nursing project to serve
16 religious orders, and provide care
for sisters while their retirement
facilities were being renovated. The
supplemental grants are in addition to
the $27 million awarded in June to
more than 500 religious orders, rep
resenting 42,117 senior members.
Catholic priest turned
down as House
CHAPLAIN
Washington (CNS)
A Catholic priest who was highly
recommended by a bipartisan
committee to be the new chaplain for
the House of Representatives was
ultimately rejected, and many in
Washington say it might be the result
of anti-Catholic bias. Father Timothy
O’Brien, a Milwaukee archdiocesan
priest and professor of political sci
ence at Jesuit-run Marquette
University, was one of three candi
dates, narrowed down from more
than 40, whose name was presented
to House leaders for the role as chap
lain. And although the three finalists
were not ranked, House leaders were
told that the 18-member bipartisan
committee that spent about six
months screening candidates, consid
ered Father O’Brien the best man for
the job.
Court plunges into
QUESTIONS OF TAX MONEY
FOR RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS
Washington (CNS)
W ith a case over Louisiana’s use
of federally funded educational
materials in parochial schools, the
Supreme Court December 1 once
again waded into the murky question
of just where tax money and religious
schools can intersect. In oral argu
ments, the justices prodded attorneys
for both sides in Mitchell vs. Helms
to say where the constitutional line
should be drawn separating accept
able tax-supported benefits in
parochial schools from those that are
unconstitutional. At issue is the way
Louisiana spends its share of federal
Chapter 2 funds, which provide
instructional materials and equipment
for use by children in public, private
or religious schools.
Partial-birth abortion
BANS BLOCKED IN
Illinois, Wisconsin
Washington (CNS)
P ro-lifers expressed disappoint
ment November 30 at an order by
U.S. Supreme Court Justice John
Paul Stevens temporarily blocking
enforcement of partial-birth abortion
bans in Illinois and Wisconsin. “The
real losers in the delay are babies
who can continue to be killed in the
process of being bom right here in
Wisconsin,” said Barbara Lyons,
executive director of Wisconsin
Right to Life. “The delay can only be
measured in terms of loss of human
life.” Stevens, the Supreme Court
justice who has initial jurisdiction
over the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, based in Chicago, issued the
order without comment after the 7th
Circuit reaffirmed its October 26
decision that the laws were constitu
tional.
Despite battle with Air
Force, Catholic
OFFICER MAKES CAPTAIN
Washington (CNS)
D espite his public stand against
serving with women on two-per
son missile alert crews, Air Force Lt.
Ryan C. Berry has been promoted to
captain. The Catholic officer, whose
cause was widely publicized last
summer, said he believed mixed-sex
duty would create “an occasion of
sin.” He feared that his battle with
the Air Force over the issues of reli
gious accommodation and a negative
service record would prevent his pro
motion to captain. Without advance
ment, Berry would have been forced
to leave the Air Force when his com
mitment ended in 2002. According to
Thursday, December 9,1999
a statement from the Washington-
based Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty, the public interest law firm
representing Berry, the officer was
notified of his promotion November
18.
YMCA AGAIN GIVES
NATION NEAR-FAILING
GRADE FOR FAMILY
SUPPORT
Chicago (CNS)
F or the second year in a row,
YMCA of the USA has given the
nation a near-failing grade for sup
porting American families. The over
all grade of D+ — combining poor
marks for child care and education,
health and violence, and an average
grade for the economy — represents
a slight improvement over last year’s
grade of D. The national Christian
organization released the findings in
its second annual report — titled
“The Nation’s Report Card 1999:
Assessing Risks to the American
Family” — at a press conference in
Chicago during Thanksgiving week.
Pope to patriarch:
Catholic Church com
mitted to Christian
unity
Vatican City (CNS)
T he Catholic Church is committed
to promoting Christian unity,
Pope John Paul II told the spiritual
leader of the world’s Orthodox
Christians. “The Catholic Church is
prepared to do everything possible to
remove the obstacles, to support the
dialogue and to collaborate in every
initiative aimed at making progress
toward full communion in faith and
in witness,” the pope wrote to
Patriarch Bartholomew of
Constantinople. The papal message,
released November 30 at the Vatican,
was delivered to the ecumenical
Orthodox patriarch at his headquar
ters in Istanbul, Turkey.
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Publisher:
Most Rev. J. Kevin Boland, D.D.
Director of Communications:
Mrs. Barbara D. King
cpaji
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fi *ess R e v. Douglas K. Clark, S.T.L.
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