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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 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 I Phone ( ). ■ Parish I 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 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. POSTMASTER: Send Change of Address to circulation office: Chalker Publishing Southern Cross Subscription Department P. 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. 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