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The Southern Cross, Page 2 Sister Lourdes Sheehan named ASSOCIATE GENERAL SECRETARY Washington (CNS)j M ercy Sister Lourdes Sheehan, the U.S. bishops’ education secretary, has been named associate gen eral secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops- U.S. Catholic Con ference. Her appoint ment was announced October 20 by Monsignor William P Fay NCCB-USCC Sister Lo|Jrdes general secretary- elect. When the Sheehan, RSM appointment takes effect January 15, she will join associate general secretaries Bruce Egnew and Monsignor David J. Malloy on the executive staff. Monsignor Fay said Sister Sheehan “is well known within the conference” and “has the gifts of educa tion, experience and love of the church that will well serve the bishops in that position.” Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston, NCCB- USCC president, praised her “distinguished career in service to Catholic education. The bishops greatly appreciate her leadership in this field and are grateful to her for her willingness to take on the responsibilities of an associate general secre tary,” he said. Sister Lourdes, a Savannah native, was USCC secretary of education from 1990 to 1995 and from 1999 to the present. In 1995-96 she was the first director of the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame, a teacher training program she helped found in 1994. Diocesan liturgy leaders con cerned ABOUT NEW INSTRUCTION Costa Mesa, CA(CNS) D iocesan liturgical officials expressed concern during a national meeting in Costa Mesa about confusion over new liturgical instructions from Rome and asked the U.S. bishops to form a special group to study and resolve issues quickly. The discussion was about the new General In struction of the Roman Missal, which has not yet taken effect. It was released in July by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacra ments. When it takes effect, it will require some changes in the way Mass is celebrated. The U.S. bishops have received a Vatican ruling that 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 Headliui® Hopscotch extraordinary eucharistic ministers may pour con secrated wine into chalices for Communion. They may seek a U.S. exception allowing those minis ters to help purify sacred vessels after Communion when new church liturgy laws take effect. The bi shops’ Secretariat for the Liturgy has urged dioce san worship offices and pastors to be patient and not rush prematurely into pending liturgy changes. “My strong advice to anyone is not to change the present practice until such time” as the new law takes effect and its interpretation is made clear, said Father James R Moroney, executive director of the secretariat. Pope condemns move toward gay MARRIAGES IN NETHERLANDS Vatican City (CNS) H ealthy societies are founded on healthy mar riages and families, relationships which can not be replaced by legally recognized gay unions, Pope John Paul II said. Speaking October 23 to the Netherlands’ new ambassador to the Vatican, the pope condemned efforts in the European country to grant gay couples the same legal status as married couples and to allow them to adopt children. The Catholic Church, he said, insists that marriage between a man and a woman is a fundamental part of human reality and is the basic unit of society. Presidential candidates roast EACH OTHER AT Al SMITH DINNER New York (CNS) D iners who paid $800 a plate to attend the Al Smith Dinner in New York October 19 got their money’s worth as presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush roasted each other and poked fun at themselves and most everything else on the political horizon. “Whoever is writing your material, don’t lose him,” New York Archbishop Edward M. Egan pleaded in a concluding word. Held in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, the event this year drew 1,300 people and, supplemented by larger gifts by some corporations and individuals, raised $1.6 million. RU-486 PATIENT SAFETY BILL DEAD in Congress, sponsor says Washington (CNS) T he chief sponsor of legislation designed to improve safety requirements for use of the abortion pill RU-486 says the bill is dead for this session of Congress. Rep. Tom A. Cobum, R- Okla., told The Tulsa World newspaper October 13 that there would be no vote on his RU-486 Patient Health and Safety Protection Act before Congress adjourns later in October. “I can’t get it to the floor Thursday, October 26, 2000 because we have too many members that don’t want to even talk about this,” he said. “They don’t want another abortion vote.” Cobum, a practicing physician who has delivered thousands of babies and performed two abortions to save the life of the mother, is not running for re-election. Coalition of nuns backs Sister Jeannine Gramick Mankato, Minnesota (CNS) T he National Coalition of American Nuns called for an end to church sanctions against Sister Jeannine Gramick during its annual board meeting October 13-15 in Mankato. In July 1999 the Vatican ordered Sister Gramick to cease all ministry with homosexual people or their parents because of what it called her “doctrinally unacceptable” views. NCAN, a 32-year-old peace and justice coalition representing about 1,800 women religious, said the Vatican sanctions against Sister Gramick should be lifted. It urged that her case “and any future cases of this kind be remanded to the jurisdiction of’ the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Lutheran bishop installed at Baltimore Catholic cathedral Baltimore (CNS) T he doors of ecumenical cooperation were thrown open when the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore became the prayerful setting for the installation of the Rev. Henry Gerard Knoche as the third bishop of the Delaware- Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Elected in June to lead more than 96,000 Lutherans, Bishop Knoche succeeds retiring Bishop George Paul Mocko. Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore invited the Lutherans to hold their October 14 installation service at the cathedral to help accommodate the large number of guests from throughout Maryland, Delaware and other regions of the country. MAYCREST HARDWARE CENTER Shop at Maycrest and Save! Great Selection, Low Prices! 1609 Montgomery Cross Road Savannah, GA (912) 354-2045 Name Address Phone (_ Parish (USPS 505 680) Publisher: Most Rev. J. Kevin Boland, D.D. Director of Communications: Mrs. Barbara D. King cpajf V Editor: ** Rev. 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.diosav.org Deadline: All material for publication on Thursday must be received at the latest by noon on the previous Friday. 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