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Controversial statements and reinstatements

01 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"World Day for Consecrated Life" celebrated this year on the 8th is intended "to help the entire church to esteem ever more greatly" those in religious life, Pope John Paul II said at its inception in 1997. This week, however, controversy surrounding the reinstatement of an excommunicated religious leader may overshadow the celebration. Jewish groups from around the world and Catholics from a number of quarters said they were shocked by Pope Benedict XVI's decision to overturn the excommunication of British-born Richard Williamson, one of four traditionalist Catholic bishops whose excommunications were lifted last Saturday. Williamson has made statements denying the full extent of the Holocaust of European Jews. The move is a "serious blow for Jewish-Vatican relations and a slap in the face of the late Pope John Paul II who made such remarkable efforts to eradicate and combat anti-Semitism," said Rabbi David Rosen, the international director of interreligious affairs for the New York-based American Jewish Committee. Williamson told Swedish television in an interview broadcast a week ago: "I believe there were no gas chambers" and that no more than 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, rather than 6 million. In attempting to heal the rift, Benedict expressed his "full and unquestionable solidarity" with Jews during his weekly audience on Wednesday. The German-born pope said the attempt to exterminate Jews in the Holocaust should remain a warning to all humanity. Recalling his visit to the Auschwitz death camp in 2006, Benedict condemned the "pitiless killing of millions of Jews, innocent victims of blind racial and religious hatred." Elan Steinberg, vice-president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants, said: "Clearly the damage remains. As welcome as the pope's remarks are they contain a glaring omission, the demand by the Vatican that Williamson renounce his heinous views." Elie Wiesel, the death camp survivor, author, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, said Benedict had given credence to "the most vulgar aspect of anti-Semitism" by rehabilitating Williamson. On Wednesday Israel's chief rabbinate severed ties with the Vatican in protest of the pope's reinstatement of Williamson. The Jewish state's highest religious authority sent a letter to the Holy See expressing "sorrow and pain" at the papal decision. "It will be very difficult for the chief rabbinate of Israel to continue its dialogue with the Vatican as before," the letter said. Chief rabbis of both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews were parties to the letter. Source: Articles by Philip Pullella for Reuters, Ian Deitch for the Associated Press, and Ecumenical News International

society of pope pius x john paul ii benedict xvi richard williamson david rosen american jewish committee holocaust elan steinberg elie wiesel chief rabbinate world day for consecrated life

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Let the healing begin

08 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

We hear in this Sunday's psalm that "the Lord rebuilds Jerusalem." In an effort to rebuild relations with the Jewish community that were damaged last week, the Vatican on Wednesday issued a statement demanding that a prelate who denied the Holocaust recant his positions before being fully admitted as a bishop into the Roman Catholic Church. The statement also said Pope Benedict XVI had not known about Bishop Richard Williamson's views when he agreed to lift his excommunication and that of three other traditionalist bishops. The Vatican's Secretariat of State issued the statement a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an unprecedented move, strongly urged the German-born pope to make a clearer rejection of Holocaust denials, saying there had not been adequate clarification from the Catholic Church. The Holy See on January 24 announced the rehabilitation of four bishops excommunicated in 1988 after being consecrated without papal consent [see the February 1 issue of this Preaching in Light of the News]. The bishops had been consecrated by the late traditionalist Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who in 1969 founded the Society of St. Pius X opposed to the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, including its outreach to Jews. Just days before his excommunication was lifted, Williamson was shown on Swedish state television saying historical evidence "is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed" during World War II. Williamson has since apologized to the pope for having stirred controversy, but he did not repudiate his comments, in which he also said only 200,000 to 300,000 Jews were killed during World War II and none were gassed. Though the Vatican quickly said it did not share Williamson's views when the controversy erupted, Jewish groups voiced outrage at his rehabilitation and demanded stronger action be taken in order to restore relations. "This was the sign the Jewish world has been waiting for," said Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, after Wednesday's Vatican statement. Earlier, Cardinal Walter Kasper, in charge of ecumenical relations for the Holy See, admitted different parts of the Vatican administration had not talked to each other enough and failed to check for potential problems. Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, thanked Merkel for her "righteous comments" and said the process to heal the "deep wound that this crisis caused to the Catholic-Jewish dialogue" could now begin. Source: Articles by BBC News and Nicole Winfield for the Associated Press.

elan steinberg world jewish congress ronald lauder vatican holy see walter kasper jews society of st pius x angela merkel holocaust denial benedict xvi richard williamson holocaust american gathering of holocaust survivors and

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Eight is more than enough

08 Mar 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

God promises Abraham abundant descendants in this Sunday's reading from the Book of Genesis. The recent and widely reported birth of octuplets in California, however, is sparking concerns that fertility clinics nationwide may be ignoring federal guidelines with regard to embryo implants. The tabloid-friendly tale of Nadya Suleman, the so-called California "Octomom," continues to stir debate. Although the doctor who supervised in-vitro fertilization for Suleman, 33, is regarded by many in the field as having violated professional norms, U.S. health records indicate a large majority of fertility clinics disregarded implant guidelines in 2006, the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune reported. Citing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the newspaper said 80 percent of U.S. fertility clinics in 2006--the most recent year for which records are available--did not follow embryo implant guidelines set in 1999 by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "Assisted reproduction is a multibillion-dollar business," Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society in Oakland said. "Like other commercial enterprises, it needs rules." Along those lines, a Georgia state senator introduced legislation this week to limit the number of embryos that can be implanted in a woman's uterus during in-vitro fertilization procedures in that state. Sen. Ralph Hudgens said his legislation was inspired by Suleman, who gave birth to octuplets after reportedly being fertilized with six embryos. Suleman had six children at the time the procedure was performed. State lawmakers in Missouri are considering a similar bill. Source: Articles by United Press International and CNN

georgia missouri center for genetics and society marcy darnovsky us centers for disease control and prevention in-vitro fertilization nadya suleman embryo implants fertility clinics octuplets ralph hudgens

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Pope promises Vatican will log on before speaking out in the future

22 Mar 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians this Sunday speaks of humanity's transgressions before God. Pope Benedict XVI late last week acknowledged "mistakes" in the way the Vatican lifted the excommunication of four bishops from a breakaway Catholic group, including a prelate who had denied that Jews died in Nazi gas chambers. In a letter issued on March 12 to Roman Catholic bishops around the world, the pope described as an "unforeseen mishap" the case of British-born Richard Williamson, one of the four bishops belonging to the ultra-traditionalist Society of St Pius X. "I have been told that consulting the information available on the Internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on," Benedict, 81, said in the letter. "I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news." The pope's spokesman, Federico Lombardi, on February 27 said Williamson must publicly retract his views on the Holocaust before he can be officially reinstated. Until now Williamson's apologies have been "generic and ambiguous," Lombardi said. Source: Articles by Bloomberg.com and Ecumenical News International

internet richard williamson benedict xvi holocaust denial society of st pius x excommunication federico lombardi

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China takes hard line on software

14 Jun 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Christ's sacrificial offering of himself serves to "cleanse our consciences," says the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. The Chinese government, saying it wants to cleanse computers of "unhealthy information," has issued a sweeping directive requiring all personal computers sold in the country to include sophisticated software that allows the government to control an ever-changing list of banned websites. Free-speech advocates say the new software could make it even more difficult for China's 300 million Internet users to access uncensored news and information. The rules, issued last month, heighten Internet restrictions that are already among the most stringent in the world. China regularly blocks websites that discuss the Dalai Lama, the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters, and Falun Gong, a banned spiritual movement. "This is a very bad thing," said Charles Mok, chairman of the Internet Society, an advocacy group in Hong Kong. "It's like downloading spyware onto your computer, but the government is the spy." In recent months China has tightened its Internet restrictions, including an "anti-vulgarity" campaign that has closed down thousands of pornographic sites but also shuttered nonsexual sites, including some of the most popular bulletin boards and blog hosts. China already employs more than 30,000 censors and thousands others who "guide public opinion" by flooding bulletin boards with comments favorable to the Communist Party. Last week, as the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen protests approached, the government blocked a host of Internet services, including Twitter, Microsoft's live.com, and Flickr, a photo-sharing site. Youtube has been inaccessible here since March. The use of blocking software is not the first time foreign companies have been enlisted in Chinese government efforts to police the Internet. Google already blacks out politically sensitive results yielded by its popular search engine, Microsoft allows censors to block content on its blog service, and Yahoo was widely criticized for turning over information that was used to jail a journalist. The U.S. government has been meeting with industry groups to discuss the issue, said Susan Stevenson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. "We would view with concern any attempt to restrict the free flow of information," Stevenson said. "Such steps would be incompatible with China's aspirations to build a modern, information-based economy and society. The U.S. is concerned about actions that seek to restrict access to the Internet as well as restrictions on the internationally recognized right to freedom of expression." Source: Articles by David Pierson for the Los Angeles Times and Andrew Jacobs for the New York Times

china freedom of speech censorship internet society charles mok blocking software

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Don’t forget to fight infections in Alzheimer’s patients

13 Sep 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Questions of identity are central to this Sunday's gospel, as Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" People with Alzheimer's disease suffer a loss of memory that leads to serious identity confusion, and a new study suggests catching a cold or any other infection could aggravate that condition. Scientists have long known that people who contract acute infections can experience a severe temporary memory loss, known as a delirium, and that Alzheimer's patients are particularly susceptible to deliriums after an illness. But the new research looks at the impact beyond this type of temporary memory loss. "What this research shows is that even quite mild infections that aren't bad enough to cause a delirium can cause a longstanding and permanent loss in memory function that over time could help to drive the progression of the disease from its mild stages to its more severe stages," said study author Clive Holmes of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. While further study is needed, the new research, supported by the Alzheimer's Society, suggested it would be prudent to try to reduce the chances of someone with Alzheimer's getting an infection. Source: An article by Andrea Thompson for LiveScience.com

alzheimers disease infection delirium memory loss clive holmes university of southampton alzheimers society

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Poor women face a blank screen on cancer care

20 Dec 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday's reading from the Letter to the Hebrews informs us that God neither desires nor delights in sacrificial offerings. Many poor women, however, are being forced to sacrifice good health care because of budget shortfalls. In at least 20 states they are being turned away or put on long waiting lists for free cancer screenings, according to the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network. In an unofficial survey of programs for July 2008 through April 2009, the organization found that state budget strains were forcing some programs to reject people who would otherwise qualify for free screenings. The Cancer Society said women have a 98 percent survival rate when breast cancer is caught early. That plummets to 27 percent at stage IV, when cancer has reached its most advanced point. "I already know there are women who are dying whose lives we could have saved with mammography and other detections," said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the Society. In a piece of good news for women who already have had breast cancer, moderate consumption of soy foods can help lower the risk of death and cancer recurrence, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "We found that women with a history of breast cancer who consumed moderate amounts of soy food were doing better in terms of prognosis. They had reduced mortality and reduced recurrence," said study author Dr. Xiao Ou Shu, a professor of medicine and a cancer epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Source: Articles by Valeri Bauman for the Associated Press and Serena Gordon for HealthDay Reporter

poor women cancer screening american cancer society cancer action network otis brawley breast cancer soy journal of the american medical association xiao ou shu

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Japanese whalers hunted for way to scuttle protesters

09 Jan 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist speaks approvingly of the majestic voice of the Lord which was “over vast waters.” Japanese whaling officials, whose boats scour the vast oceans every winter hunting whales, expressed a decidedly more negative opinion of an anti-whaling organization in confidential discussions with U.S. diplomats over what “actions” could be taken against the organization, according to the documents released by Wikileaks on Monday. The U.S. representative to the International Whaling Commission, Monica Medina, discussed revoking the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's tax-exempt status during a meeting with senior officials from the Fisheries Agency of Japan in November 2009. The society's yearly protest campaign, during which its boats chase Japan's whaling fleet, trying to disrupt the hunt, has drawn high-profile donors and volunteers and spawned the popular Animal Planet series "Whale Wars." Action against Sea Shepherd would be a "major element" in achieving success at international negotiations on the number of whales killed each year, the cables cite the director general of Japan's fisheries agency, Katsuhiro Machida, as saying. Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, said Japan has previously pressured foreign governments to take action against the group, such as revoking the registration of its ships. He said the organization had last been audited about two years ago, before the exchanges detailed in the cables. "We have had our tax status since 1981, and we have done nothing different since then to cause the IRS to change that," he said. Japan kills hundreds of whales a year under a loophole in the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling that allows "lethal research." Source: Articles by Jay Alabaster for the Associated Press and Agence France Presse

japan whale hunting whaling international whaling commission monica medina sea shepherd conservation society katsuhiro machida fisheries agency paul watson

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Potential da Vinci discovery comes to light in Florence

18 Mar 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s gospel explains that those doing “wicked things” avoid the light so that their “works might not be exposed.” When it comes to bringing to light a lost art treasure, art sleuths using cutting-edge technology would like nothing better than to expose what they believe to be a Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece hidden behind a wall in a lavish Florentine palace. The researchers said they believe they have found traces of paint from da Vinci’s long-lost Battle of Anghiari, collected using tiny probes introduced into a wall covering the original surface in a lavish hall of Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. The research is the result of a decades-long quest by University of California San Diego professor Maurizio Seracini. "The composition of manganese and iron found in the black pigment has been identified exclusively on Leonardo's paintings," said Seracini, whose methods have sometimes stirred controversy in the art world. The investigators pointed to documentary evidence from the period showing that only da Vinci could have been the author of any work on the older wall. The probes found an air gap of around 1.2 inches in some places between the old wall and a new wall built in front of it. Da Vinci (1452-1519) began his painting of the 1440 battle between Milanese and Florentine forces in 1505 but never finished it because the colors began to run. The fresco was nevertheless praised by da Vinci's contemporaries for what art historian and fellow painter Giorgio Vasari called its "graceful beauty." Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens drew a famous copy of it, and Renaissance master Benvenuto Cellini said it was "the school of the world." The research has been partly funded by the National Geographic Society, and the group's vice president Terry Garcia said, “I am convinced that it is there.” Source: An article by Dario Thuburn for Agence France Presse

national geographic society palazzo vecchio paintings leonardo da vinci

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Guatemalan church’s prince of peace dies

10 Jun 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s solemnity is all about sacrifice and commitment of the deepest order, sealed in blood. Guatemalan Roman Catholic Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada, who sacrificed much through his commitment to peacemaking and an end to the nation's long and bloody civil war, died on Monday at age 80.Guatemalan President Otto Perez declared three days of national mourning and ordered flags to fly at half-mast as a mark of respect for Quezada. “He was a great fighter for peace and reconciliation in Guatemala,” said Perez, who this year became the first military man to assume the presidency in Guatemala since the war ended.Quezada lent his negotiating skills to two organizations that tried to reconcile the bitter adversaries in the war, one of the most destructive to ravage Latin America. Starting his work at the head of the Commission for National Reconciliation in 1987, he also later chaired the Assembly of Civil Society, whose efforts helped bring about a peace accord in 1996—36 years after the conflict began.The war pitted leftist guerrillas against the state and led to the death or disappearance of a quarter of a million people. A United Nations-backed "truth commission" found that the vast majority of abuses were committed by the army, which ruled Guatemala for most of the civil war. Quezada's colleague in the peace process, Bishop Juan Gerardi, was murdered in 1998 shortly after the publication of church-backed findings on abuses in the civil war. Source: An article by David Alire Garcia for Reuters

guatemala civil war commission for national reconciliation assembly of civil society juan gerardi otto perez rodolfo quezada

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