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The Southern Cross, Page 2
Retired Medugorje
bishop DIES
Retired Bishop Pavao Zanic of
Mostar-Duvno, Bosnia and Her
zegovina, died January 11 in
Split, Croatia. He was 81.
Bishop Zanic was known for
statements questioning the re
ported apparitions of Mary at
Medjugorje, a town which was
part of the Diocese of Mostar-
Duvno.
Pope urges officials to
DEFEND MARRIAGE OVER
OTHER PARTNERSHIPS
A ft
/jLre
Vatican City (CNS)
fter a decision by Italy’s Latium
region, which incorporates
Rome, to grant cohabiting couples
some of the same rights as married
couples, Pope John Paul II asked civil
authorities to vigorously defend the
institution of marriage. During an
annual meeting with regional and city
officials January 13, the pope urged
them to “dedicate diligent care to the
family,” which, he noted, is enshrined
in the Italian Constitution as “a natural
society founded on matrimony.” “I
ask authorities to avoid any initiative
which could favor or guarantee legal
equality between the family and other
forms of living together,” he said.
Minnesota effort to
END STATE FUNDING OF
ABORTION GAINING STEAM
Saint Paul, MN (CNS)
A local pro-life group’s petition
effort to end tax funding of
abortions in Minnesota is picking up
steam. Neighbors for Life, a Saint
Paul-based, nonpartisan, citizen
action group, has accumulated nearly
.y 20,000 signatures on a petition ask-
c ing state legislators to ban the use of
£ state tax money for abortion. The
% group planned to present the signa-
tures to House Speaker Steve
-q Sviggum at the Capitol during a press
-§ conference at the end of January, said
■q. Bob Hindel, a Cathedral of Saint
z Paul parishioner and Neighbors for
Life member.
Duluth bishop named
COADJUTOR TO
Anchorage archbishop
Washington (CNS)
B ishop Roger L. Schwietz of
Duluth, Minnesota, has been
named by Pope John Paul II to be
coadjutor to Archbishop Francis T.
Hurley of Anchorage, Alaska. Arch
bishop Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic
nuncio to the United States, announ
ced the appointment in Washington
January 18. A coadjutor has automatic
right of succession, meaning Arch
bishop Schwietz would immediately
become head of the Anchorage Arch
diocese upon the death or retirement
of Archbishop Hurley. Archbishop
Hurley, who turned 73 on January 12,
has headed the Anchorage Arch
diocese since 1976.
Polish theology
SCHOOL DEFENDS AWARD
to Kohl
Warsaw (CNS)
T he head of a Polish Catholic theol
ogy school defended its awarding
of an honorary doctorate to
Germany’s former chancellor, Helmut
Kohl, who faces corruption charges.
Father Ignacy Dec, rector of the Papal
Theology Faculty in the western city
of Wroclaw, said he believed the fiscal
allegations were outweighed by
Kohl’s “positive activities,” including
his service to Christian values and
European unity. “We wish to honor
people who’ve been influenced by
church teaching and taken the side of
the Holy See,” said Father Dec. “We
felt his great contributions over 16
years as chancellor to the overthrow
of communism and improved Polish-
German ties shouldn’t be overshad
owed by some private internal party
affair,” he said.
Baseball team from
Catholic university
HEADED TO CUBA
Saint Paul, MN (CNS)
T he baseball team from the
University of Saint Thomas in
Saint Paul is heading to Havana. The
team, which ranked Number 2 last
year in the NCAA’s Division HI,
apparently will be the first college or
university team to play in Cuba since
Johns Hopkins University in 1986.
The January 22-29 trip is scheduled to
include cultural and educational out
ings, such as visits to museums, and
perhaps time spent with Cuban college
students and their families. Ball games
are planned for January 26 or 27.
Lawmaker says
Catholics block
MENTAL HEALTH FUNDS
Boston (CNS)
A Massachusetts lawmaker has
stirred up controversy by saying
state programs for the mentally ill are
underfunded because Irish Catholic
legislators do not see mental illness
as a disease. State Rep. Ellen Story, a
Democrat from Amherst who heads a
mental health policy group, first
made the comment in December dur
ing a meeting with legislators and
state officials about health issues. She
repeated her remarks to a Boston
Globe reporter January 11, saying
that the mentally ill face “an addi
tional barrier in Massachusetts
because of the predominance of Irish
Catholics who are in authority-mak
ing positions.” Approximately 75
percent of the legislature is Catholic.
Thursday, January 20, 2000
Pope, world’s Christian
LEADERS TO HOLD PRAYER
SERVICE
Vatican City (CNS)
C alling ecumenism a central
jubilee theme, Vatican officials
pointed to a mid-January prayer ser
vice with Pope John Paul II and the
world’s Christian leaders as one of
the most significant encounters of its
kind. The number of Christian de
nominations that accepted the pope’s
invitation was the largest ever,
greater even than at the Second Vati
can Council, said Cardinal Roger
Etchegeray, president of the Vatican’s
jubilee committee. The prayer service
was scheduled for January 18 at
Rome’s Basilica of Saint Paul
Outside the Walls.
High court will hear
CASE OVER PARTIAL-BIRTH
ABORTION BAN
Washington (CNS)
T he Supreme Court will review a
Nebraska law that makes it ille
gal for doctors to perform partial-
birth abortions. The court announced
January 14 that it would review a
September ruling by the 8th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals that said the
law prohibiting partial-birth abortions
was unconstitutional. The 8th Circuit
ruling also struck down similar laws
in Arkansas and Iowa. The case like
ly will be heard in April, with a rul
ing expected before summer.
Vatican and Bahrain
ESTABLISH RELATIONS
Vatican City (CNS)
T he Holy See and Bahrain estab
lished full diplomatic ties, the
Vatican announced. In a January 12
statement, the Vatican said the two
states had agreed to relations at the
ambassadorial level. The statement
said the decision reflected both sides’
desire to “develop mutual ties of
friendship and respect.” Bahrain’s
foreign ministry announced the deci
sion earlier in the day in the capital,
Manama.
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