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The Southern Cross, Page 2
Pope, in Colosseum,
COMMEMORATES 20TH-
CENTURY MARTYRS
Rome (CNS)
B efore the ruins of Rome’s Colos
seum, a symbol of early Chris
tian martyrdom, Pope John Paul II
paid tribute to Christians who gave
their lives for their faith in the 20th
century. “And there were many,” the
pope said May 7 as he led an ecu
menical prayer service honoring
Christian victims of Nazism, commu
nism, dictatorships, civil wars and
“religious intransigence.” In prepara
tion for the ceremony, the Vatican
collected more than 12,000 names of
“witnesses to the faith” from bishops’
conferences, religious orders and
other Christian churches.
Muslim extremists kill
HOSTAGES, INCLUDING
priest, in Philippines
Manila (CNS)
F ifteen hostages seized by the
Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf
group in the southern Philippines were
freed on the 12th day of a military res
cue operation, but four hostages died,
including a Claretian priest. The
remains of Father Rhoel Gallardo,
pastor of Saint Vincent Ferrer Parish
in Tumahubong, were among four bat
tered bodies recovered May 3 by the
military, Father Martin Jumoad told
UCA News, an Asian church news
agency based in Thailand. Father
Jumoad, chancellor of Isabela prela-
ture comprising Basilan province,
received the bodies of Father
Gallardo, a male and two female
teachers at a funeral home six miles
outside the capital town of Isabela.
Three men killed in
Chiapas ambush during
NEW BISHOP’S VISIT
Mexico City (CNS)
A two-day visit to indigenous com
munities in the Chiapas highlands
brought the area’s new bishop close to
the violence that has rocked the south
ern Mexican state since 1994. As
Heasiio© Hojpseotdn
Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel of
San Cristobal de las Casas awoke May
7 in Acteal—the community where 45
indigenous women, children and men
were killed in 1997—three men were
killed in an ambush on a road nearby.
Bishop Arizmendi, installed as bishop
of San Cristobal May 1, heard the
news of the latest killings during a
visit to the town of Chenalho several
hours after they occurred. He called
immediately for clarification of the
incident by authorities.
Congress honors
Cardinal O’Connor
WITH RESOLUTION
Washington (CNS)
A resolution honoring the life and
work of New York Cardinal John
J. O’Connor was passed May 4 by
unanimous consent in Congress. The
resolution was introduced by Reps.
Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., and Joseph
Crowley, D-N.Y., who praised the car
dinal for his devotion to his faith, his
compassion, and his commitment to
human rights. In an announcement on
the resolution released by the two con
gressmen, Fossella said, “This is a
profoundly sad day for New York and
the nation. Cardinal O'Connor
touched the hearts and lives of mil
lions of people.”
Florida lawmakers pass
PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION
BAN
Tallahassee, Fla. (CNS)
A fter several Florida lawmakers
failed to add a health exception
that critics said would “gut” the legis
lation, Florida’s House of Represen
tatives approved a new ban on partial-
birth abortions. The bill does not out
law all late-term abortions, only the
procedure which it says involves the
“partial” delivery of an intact live
baby for the purpose of killing it out
side the womb. “We sent a message to
the abortion industry that here’s a line
that will not be crossed; it’s a great
victory,” Republican Rep. Randy Ball,
the bill’s House sponsor, told The
Florida Catholic diocesan newspaper
moments after it passed 84-32.
Puerto Rican bishop sees
CONTINUED PEACEFUL
PROTESTS OVER VlEQUES
Caguas, PR (CNS)
C hurch-sponsored civil disobedi
ence on Vieques will continue as
long as the U.S. Navy uses the inhab
ited island as a bombing range, said
Puerto Rican Bishop Alvaro Corrada
del Rio. “We are assessing the situa
tion with the people of Vieques. We
will return to areas where we can do
civil disobedience,” he said in a tele
phone interview several hours after
federal agents removed scores of pro
testers from Vieques. Bishop Corrada
is apostolic administrator of the
Diocese of Caguas, which includes
Vieques. The demonstrators removed
May 4 included 14 priests, five nuns,
five seminarians, a permanent deacon
and 15 lay people sponsored by the
diocese, he added.
Archbishop Pilarczyk
DECRIES COURT RULING ON
Ohio state motto
Cincinnati (CNS)
C incinnati Archbishop Daniel E.
Pilarczyk decried a federal ap
peals court ruling that declared
Ohio’s 41-year-old state motto—“In
God, All Things are Possible”—to be
unconstitutional. The ruling, handed
down April 25, “seems to be yet ano
ther dismaying attempt to evict moral
values from the public square,” he
said. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals ordered the state of Ohio to
abandon its motto after a judge con
cluded it is a government endorse
ment of religion that violates the U.S.
Constitution’s mandate for separation
of church and state.
Understanding Jewish
ROOTS KEY TO READING
Scripture, says priest
Rome (CNS)
W hen reading the New Testament,
Catholics must remember that
Jesus and his Apostles were believing
and practicing Jews, said the secretary
Thursday, May 11, 2000
of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.
Understanding the Jewish roots of the
Christian faith is essential for an accu
rate interpretation of the New
Testament and for a reading of the
Scriptures that leaves no room for
anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic sentiments,
said Jesuit Father Albert Vanhoye.
The Jesuit spoke to Catholic News
Service May 3 during the annual
meeting of the Pontifical Biblical
Commission in Rome.
School community
MOURNS DEATHS OF THREE
ON FIELD TRIP
Ladysmith, Wis. (CNS)
A Catholic school field trip to a
local airport where fourth-graders
took turns riding in a small plane
turned to tragedy when a final flight
for three adults in the group crashed,
killing all three passengers. Students,
teachers and parents gathered for a
Mass May 3 at Our Lady of Sorrows
Church in Ladysmith to mourn their
loss. Fourth-grade teacher Peter
Krajewski, 26; parent Deborah Hause
Bates, 32; and pilot Arthur Bresina,
20, died in the May 2 crash at Cornell
Municipal Airport.
Rector says Fatima
SHRINE BRIEFLY OWNED
Nazi gold
Rome (CNS)
T he Marian shrine in Fatima, Portu
gal, briefly owned some gold bars
bearing the Nazi insignia, but only 30
years after World War II ended, the
rector of the shrine said. Father Luci
ano Guerra, the Fatima rector, said
that in 1970 the shrine purchased gold
as an investment and deposited it in a
local bank. The bank, which has since
failed, borrowed some of the shrine’s
deposit and repaid the loan in 1976
“with some bars which bore the mark
of the Third Reich,” Father Guerra
said. Between 1982 and 1986, he said
in a May 2 statement, the shrine “sold
a considerable quantity” of its gold
deposits to pay for construction pro
jects. All the bars with Nazi markings
were among those sold.
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