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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. To Subscribe Send this in to your parish, together with your check for $15, made out to the parish. For more information call The Southern Cross (912) 238-2320 Name Address Phone (_ Parish (USPS 505 680) Publisher: Most Rev. J. Kevin Boland, D.D. Director of Communications: + \ Mrs. Barbara D. King , - ^ Editor: ^fss k** r 6v Douglas K. Clark, S.T.L. Editorial and Business Office: Catholic Pastoral Center 601 E. Liberty Street Savannah, GA 31401-5196 (912) 238-2320 FAX: (912) 238-2339 E-mail: DCIark5735@aol.com or Southerncross@ix.netcom.com Internet Home Page: http://www.dioceseofsavannah.org Deadline: All material for publication on Thursday must be received at the latest by noon on the previous Friday. POSTMASTER: Send Change of Address to circulation office: Chalker Publishing Southern Cross Subscription Department R O. Box 948 Waynesboro, GA 30830 Subscription Price: $15 per year Periodicals Postage Paid at Waynesboro, GA 30830 Published weekly except the second and last weeks in June, July and August and the last week in December. At 601 E. 6 th Street Waynesboro, GA 30830