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The Southern Cross, Page 2
Thursday, March 22, 2001
Pope writes letter of concern,
praise to German cardinals
Cologne, Germany (CNS)
P ope John Paul II has written to German cardi
nals to express concern about erroneous devel
opments in the church, while praising many aspects
of the cardinals’ work. The letter praised the Ger
man church for its “solid organization” and its
efforts for those in need. The pope singled out four
areas in which he said he considers that the Ger
man church needs to improve: the attitude to mar
riage and the family; ecumenism; the doctrinal
orthodoxy of theological schools; and problems
with the relationship between priests and laity in
community life. Nine copies of the letter, each
signed personally by the pope, were delivered to
the nine German cardinals during the celebrations
surrounding the February 21 consistory.
U.S. Syro-Malabar Catholics get
THEIR FIRST BISHOP
Washington (CNS)
A n estimated 200,000 U.S. Syro-Malabar Ca
tholics got their own bishop and distinct
church jurisdiction March 13. Pope John Paul II
named Father Jacob Angadiath, director of Martho-
ma Shleeha Syro-Malobar Catholic Church in
Bellwood, Illinois, as first bishop of the new
Eparchy (Diocese) of Saint Thomas of Chicago of
the Syro-Malabarians. He also placed the new bish
op in charge of the pastoral care of Syro-Malabar
Catholics in Canada as their permanent apostolic
visitor. The new U.S. diocese is the first for Syro-
Malabar Catholics outside India. The church has
some 3.4 million members in 24 dioceses in India.
There are eight Syro-Malabar mission churches in
the United States and one in Canada.
Russian Duma asks government
to combat Catholic expansion
Moscow (CNS)
I n a highly unusual move, Russia’s parliament
has asked the Foreign Ministry to explore ways
of combating “intolerable Catholic expansion” in
Russia and other predominantly Orthodox Christi
an countries. In early March, the Russian Duma
approved a nonvoting resolution to instruct its
international affairs committee to work with the
Foreign Ministry on a plan to impede the growth of
the Roman Catholic Church in Russia, a country of
145 million people with about 500,000 Catholics.
The measure, sponsored by Duma Vice Speaker
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has little practical weight
but highlights a growing closeness in the interests
of Russia’s executive and legislative branches with
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the dominant, 80-million-member Russian Ortho
dox Church.
Too-low salaries will force
SCHOOL CLOSINGS, WORKSHOP TOLD
Chicago (CNS)
atholic leaders who fear that raising the sala
ries of teachers in Catholic schools might
cause some schools to close must face the fact that
a teacher shortage will force closings if salaries do
not improve, the director of personnel services for
the Archdiocese of Chicago said March 12. Carol
Fowler, who coordinates the work of 14 agencies
which oversee all of the human resources functions
in one of the nation’s largest archdioceses, spoke
on “Justice in the Workplace” at a national gather
ing in Chicago of women in diocesan leadership
positions. The three-day, invitation-only meeting
was convened by the U.S. bishops’ Committee on
Women in Society and in the Church. Pat Signs,
director of Stewardship and Devlopment, repre
sented the Diocese of Savannah at the gathering.
Australian priest under Vatican
investigation quits priesthood
Rome (CNS)
well-known Australian priest has resigned
from his religious order and left the active mi
nistry after a lengthy Vatican examination of his
book on the papacy. Father Paul Collins told the
superiors of his order, the Missionaries of the Sa
cred Heart, that he felt he could no longer remain a
priest in view of the Vatican’s policies. He said the
church leadership was moving in a “sectarian and
fundamentalist direction.” Father Collins notified
the order of his decision in the early part of 2001.
Cardinal speaks on human rights
issues to Jewish leaders
Washington (CNS)
ashington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick
celebrated the “productive dialogue” be
tween Catholics and Jews who have worked
together effectively on social justice issues. The
cardinal delivered a keynote talk at the March 11
opening session of the biennial Consultation on
Conscience, Reform Judaism’s premier public poli
cy conference held in Washington. The session,
which drew hundreds of people, was held at the
Washington Hebrew Congregation. Cardinal
McCarrick, who serves on several top church and
government commissions along with other reli
gious leaders, called for more concern for poor
countries ravaged by wars, poverty and disease.
Holy See decries Italian threat
TO CUT POWER TO VATICAN RADIO
Vatican City (CNS)
he Holy See denounced a threat by Italy’s
environmental minister to cut off electricity to
Vatican Radio over alleged electromagnetic pollu
tion and said ongoing bilateral negotiations were
the proper means to resolve the dispute. In a state
ment March 17, Joaquin Navarro-Vails, Vatican
spokesman, called it “surprising” that an Italian
government official spread misinformation and
suggested “initiatives that are contrary to the spirit
of negotiations.” Wilier Bordon, the environmental
minister, said March 16 he would order the Italian
electricity company to suspend service within 15
days if the radio’s transmission antennae continued
to violate Italy’s very strict radiation standards.
Some church policies alien to
Hispanics, says bishop
Washington (CNS)
any Hispanics are kept away from the sacra
ments by church practices and policies alien
to them, said Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las
Cruces, New Mexico. Church authorities need to
be more flexible about procedures associated with
baptisms, annulments and weddings, he said in a
March 14 phone interview. He added that govern
ment legal procedures for people seeking U.S. resi
dency also present pastoral problems. The Mexi-
can-American bishop was interviewed on issues he
raised in a February 23 speech in Miami.
Change in Pastoral Center telephone numbers
A s of March 8, 2001, the telephone numbers for
the Catholic Pastoral Center have changed.
The new main telephone number for the Pastoral
Center is (912) 201-4100. The new fax number is
(912) 201-4101. Callers who dial the old main
number will still reach the Pastoral Center for the
next 12 months. After that time, the old number
will be discontinued.
The new numbers are being implemented as part
of a general upgrade to the Center’s telephone capa
bilities. The PBX (main telephone switch) is being
converted from a traditional analog system to a
newer, digital one based on ISDN technology.
Speros, Inc. of Savannah is performing this work
under contract to the Diocese. One major benefit of
this change is that callers will now be able to leave
voice mail messages when diocesan staff are not
present or able to answer their phones. The new
phone system will also be able to route calls to spe
cific offices more efficiently than the previous one.
The Southern Cross
(USPS 505 680)
Publisher:
Most Rev. J. Kevin Boland, D.D.
Director of Communications:
Mrs. Barbara D. King
l( C P a )l
y t $ Editor:
'Vfss ^ R ev . Douglas K. Clark, S.T.L.
Editorial and Business Office:
Catholic Pastoral Center
601 E. Liberty Street
Savannah, GA 31401-5196
(912) 201-4100 FAX: (912) 201-4101
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