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FRI-SAT-SUN April 14-16, 2000 vol. 11, no. 80 SECTION THREESee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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As Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo is ready to aid in the negotiations between Attorney General Janet Reno, the Federal Court, and the aunts and uncles caring for little Elian Gonzalez who has become an international symbol of freedom and could be a global embarassment to someone if they do not act wisely. Therefore
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The Vatican has announced that the papal
nuncio in the United States, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, is ready to work
with authorities in Washington to secure the peaceful return of Elian
Gonzales to his Cuban father.
The Holy See revealed on April 13 that US President Bill Clinton had asked
for help in the battle for custody of the 6-year-old Cuban boy, who has been
staying with relatives in Miami. "At the request of the American
administration," the Vatican press office announced, the papal nunciature
has also been made available as a possible site for negotiations. Since the
nunciature is neutral territory, some observers have indicated that it might
be a favorable site for discussions between the father of Elian Gonzales and
the relatives in Miami who have refused to return the boy to Cuba.
Ecclesia Dei - the commission established by Pope John Paul II in 1988 to accommodate the broad and generous provision of permission for priests to celebrate Mass in the Old Tridentine Rite - has been turned over to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos. The Colombian prelate, who is also Prefect for the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy replaces Cardinal Angelo Felici who reached his 80th birthday last July. continued inside.
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II has named Cardinal Dario
Castrillon Hoyos, the prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, to head the
Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.
The Ecclesia Dei commission was established under the terms of the Pope's
motu proprio Ecclesia Dei, issued in July 1988, which called for a "broad and
generous" provision of permission for priests to celebrate Mass according to
the Tridentine-rite liturgy. For the hundreds of thousands of Catholics who
prefer the traditional liturgy-- most of them living in France, Germany, the
United States, and Australia-- the commission has supervised the use of the
"indult" which allows the celebration of the traditional Mass. The commission
has frequently been caught up in disputes between traditionalist Catholics
and diocesan bishops who are reluctant to allow the indult Mass.
With the April 13 appointment, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos replaces Cardinal
Angelo Felici, who has presided over the Ecclesia Dei commission since 1995.
Cardinal Felici, who is 81, is retiring.
Politics are, in essence, a pot boiling machine in which everything good and holy winds up looking like muck! This is the scene as Wisconsin Democrat Jerry Kleczka, a Catholic, is complaining vehemently about the Mass celebrated by new House Chaplain Father Dennis Coughlin. It's interesting to ask if the Marquette priest had received the nod earlier as Catholic Chaplain if he would have objected as much. We doubt it. Besides, all members of Congress were openly invited or informed of the event which was held to acquaint all with the new priest from Chicago. For Kleczka to object to the celebration of a Mass seems strange for anyone who says he's Catholic for its purpose was to unify both parties.
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WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - A Wisconsin Democrat said he
was offended as a Catholic by the apparent Republican
sponsorship of a Mass celebrated by the new House of
Representatives' chaplain.
Rep. Jerry Kleczka said in a floor speech on Wednesday that
it was inappropriate for a political group to host a Mass.
"For them to use the Catholic Church in a continuing
attempt to attract Catholic voters is, I think,
disgusting," Kleczka said in an interview. "To liken it to
a political debate, to a fund-raising dinner, to a
political dinner trivializes the Mass."
Republican National Committee spokesman Mike Collins said
the Mass and a reception at a church near Capitol Hill was
an opportunity Father Daniel P. Coughlin, who was appointed
last month as the first Catholic House chaplain, to meet his
new flock. "I think his constituents will find it very
interesting that Congressman Kleczka will find a Mass
disgusting," Collins said. "He should be ashamed of
himself."
While only Republican Catholic members of Congress received
written invitations, all lawmakers received notification of
the event. Republicans have accused Democrats of using the
controversial selection of new chaplain to their own
political advantage by accusing the GOP of anti-Catholic
bias, even as the Democratic Party continues to espouse
official views contrary to the Catholic Church's teaching.
The GOP has recently made the case that Democratic
presidential candidate Al Gore and New York senatorial
candidate Hillary Clinton have both been endorsed by groups
seeking to revoke the Vatican's status at the United Nations.
On Thursday His Holiness welcomed to a fifteen minute private audience Morocco's King Mohammed VI. The Holy Father acknowledged that the present king is a direct descendant of the prophet Mohammed. The courtesy call by the Moroccan king was conducted in French and continued the budding rapport the Vicar of Christ is establishing with followers of Islam in endeavoring to bring the two great monotheistic religions closer to understanding and tolerance.continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, APR 13 (ZENIT.org).- A descendant of Mohammed visited the
Vatican this morning. The Holy Father highlighted this when he received
young King Mohammed VI of Morocco in audience. The King was accompanied
by an entourage of 16 persons, among whom were two women. The sovereign
said he felt very honored to be named after Allah's Prophet.
The King of Morocco arrived at the Vatican around 11 a.m. and had a
15-minute meeting with the Pope in the library. An official photograph
was taken and gifts exchanged. King Mohammed VI gave the Pope a curved
dagger with an ivory handle, and the Holy Father gave the sovereign a
statue of the Virgin.
Sidi Mohammed, as the King is called, was born in 1963. From his
earliest years he was trained to succeed his father, Hassan II, on the
Moroccan throne. On May 23, 1980, Hassan II held a referendum on the
coming of age of the princely heir, which was lowered from 18 years to
16, and the Regency Council was also modified. The majority approval
placed Sidi Mohammed in a position of high political responsibility; he
assumed the Moroccan representation in the majority of official events.
When Hassan II died on July 23, 1999, after reigning 38 years, his son
became the 18th representative of the Alaui dynasty, taking the name
Mohammed VI.
Since 1997, Morocco has been undergoing a process of democratization.
Out of a total of 27 million inhabitants, 98% are Muslim and only 1.1%
Christian. The judicial system of this North African country is based on
French and Islamic law. The death penalty is enforced.
John Paul II made a historic visit to Morocco 15 years ago, on August
19, 1985. His meeting in the Casablanca Stadium with 80,000 Muslim
youths will pass into the history of the country and this pontificate.
In the address he delivered on that occasion, the Pontiff emphasized the
common faith of Christians and Muslims in the one, just and merciful
God, foundation of common human and religious values.
The Pope called for the overcoming of all types of discrimination, and
requested that the dialogue between Christians and Muslims be urgently
promoted. At the same time, he insisted on the need that each one
witness to his own faith, in an increasingly secularized and, at times,
atheist world. In the midst of applause from Moroccan youth, John Paul
II affirmed the need for Christians and Muslims to respect one another
mutually, in spite of their differences. "There is a mystery here that,
I am sure, God will illuminate for us one day," the Bishop of Rome said.
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While the Pope was extending the olive branch to the Islamic leader of Morocco, in Jakarta, Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim population, government officials are taking a firm stance against Muslim rebels who are preparing to stage a jihad or holy war against Christians. Accusations of collusion between certain government officials and extremist Muslims abound and it remains to be seen just how effectively the present government can stop this threat. continued inside.
JAKARTA (CWNews.com) - The Indonesian government said on
Thursday it would move against a training camp for Muslims
preparing to wage a jihad, or holy war, against Christians
in the mainly Muslim nation.
National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo said police will
close the camps, confiscate weapons, and prevent the
extremists from entering the Malukus region where 14 months
of fighting between Christian and Muslim gangs has left
thousands dead. More than 2,000 militants set up the camp
just south of Jakarta this week after massive protests
demanding the government allow them to slaughter the
Christians.
The Muslim extremists' leaders have previously said they
will wage their war on the main island of Java if they are
prevented from entering the Malukus. The Indonesian navy
has had a blockade in place around the Malukus for several
months to prevents weapons and potential fighters from
entering the area.
Prominent political analyst Mochtar Pabottingi said certain
disgruntled factions within the powerful, independent
military -- which has not yet acted against the groups --
may be organizing and sponsoring the extremists in an
effort to destabilize President Abdurrahman Wahid's
government. Wahid has pushed for a lesser role for the
military in the nation's politics.
Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world,
with about 85 percent of its 210 million people belonging
to the religion. Christians had been a majority in the
Malukus following centuries of Dutch colonial rule.
Meanwhile in Rwanda, Bishop Augustine Misago of Gikongoro has languished in an overcrowded prison, accused of genocide based not on facts, but on the beliefs of those individuals who have imprisoned him for a year along with thousands of others. He accepts it as his ministry to minister to his fellow prisoners but even that is being curtailed. Relations between the Rwandan government and the Church remain strained. The Church has paid a high price in this nation, sacrificing the lives of three bishops, 123 priests and over 300 sisters who have been martyred for the Faith. Yet, even among this sadness, Bishop Misago's lawyers are hopeful of an evental acquital. continued inside.
KIGALI, APR 13 (ZENIT.org).- A year has gone by since Bishop Augustine
Misago of Gikongoro was arrested and incarcerated in a prison built for
1,500 where some 7,000 Rwandans accused of genocide lie wasting. The
proofs rest on what the people think rather than objective evidence.
Rwanda lives in an atmosphere of suspicion, vengeance, and ethnic
rivalries. Tutsis and Hutus have succeeded one another in power,
sometimes by the use of force. At present, the Tutsis are in control;
many Hutus run the risk of being accused of genocide simply by
extension. Others killed their Tutsi neighbors, driven by Hutu leaders'
threats to their life and family; these leaders then fled the country,
leaving these Hutus to "take the rap."
Bishop Misago serenely awaits the verdict in the last phase of his trial
by a special court; it will be heard on April 17. "He is at peace
because he is certain of his innocence and because he doesn't feel
abandoned," reliable sources in Kigali reported. The prison authorities
"have a profound respect for Bishop Misago's person." They have given
him a small, separate cell where he celebrates Mass every day and spends
his time in prayer and reading. He wears the uniform of those accused of
genocide, including a pink shirt, but he never removes his pectoral
cross or episcopal ring. The Rwandan prison system does not feed
prisoners; they must receive food from outside.
There is not much news to report on the trial. According to the defense,
"there are no direct proofs of the accusations and none of the 24
witnesses of the accusation have implicated the Bishop materially in the
genocide." The lawyers are optimistic; however, there are only three
possible outcomes: death, a life sentence or acquittal.
The whole affair has placed relations between the government and the
Church at the forefront. The Church is accused of being responsible and
of not allowing several Catholic churches to become cemeteries and
monuments of the genocide. Lately, however, there has been some
relaxation, and prison authorities have not prevented the media from
entering Kilgali's central prison. It must not be forgotten, however,
that the Church has paid a high price as a result of the genocide in
Rwanda. It has cost the life of 3 bishops, 123 priests (of whom 109 were
diocesan) and over 300 Sisters.
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More spiritual woes are befalling Britain this Jubilee Year. The country's plans for a massive millennium Mass celebration at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham on May 29 is drawing little interest from the England's bishops, priests and laity. The organizer of the event told the Catholic Times that one of the main reasons was lack of publicity. With only six weeks to go, we can only hope prayers and hard work will assuredly allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten the British Isles and elsewhere of this special event. After all they weren't expecting that many in Paris a few years ago for World Youth Day when the Pope attended and the turnout overwhelmed everyone. It can happen again. continued inside.
LONDON (CWNews.com) - Britain's Catholic showcase
millennium celebration is under threat due to lack of
interest. With only six weeks to go, thousands of places
are still available for the event planned to place at the
National Exhibition Center, Birmingham, on May 29.
The focal point of the event, the largest Mass since Pope
John Paul's visit to Britain in 1982, has cost 90,000
British pounds to stage and is to be attended by 30
bishops. But organizers say that, despite an extensive
publicity campaign, the event has attracted minimal support
from Catholics in England & Wales.
"We're disappointed to find that a number of parish priests
and lay people still don't know about the event," organizer
John Barrie told today's Catholic Times. "I feel it is time
for the Catholics of the country to stand up and be counted,
to give thanks for 2,000 years of Christ. We've provided an
opportunity for a mass demonstration of faith. Now priests
and lay people need to feel a sense of obligation."
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