USCCB Coverage: Pro-Life Spokesperson Urges Institute of Medicine Committee to Focus on Life-Saving Preventive Health Services for Women, Exclude Contraception, Sterilization

Deirdre McQuade, spokesperson for the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, addressed the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Preventive Services for Women as they convened for the first time on November 16th. She urged them not to recommend contraception or sterilization among mandated “preventive services” to be announced next August by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as the Department implements the new health care act.

“As you study the vital question of preventive services for women under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), I urge you to focus on services that will offer authentic care and save lives,” she said.

Echoing the letter sent by the Office of the General Counsel (www.usccb.org/ogc/preventive.pdf) to HHS on September 17, McQuade said, “The Conference has a particular concern that contraceptives and sterilization not be mandated as ‘preventive’ services. To prevent pregnancy is not to prevent a disease—indeed, contraception and sterilization pose their own unique and serious health risks to women and adolescents. In addition, contraceptives and sterilization are morally problematic for many stakeholders, including religiously-affiliated health care providers and insurers.”

According to McQuade, the preventive services recommended under the Interim Final Rules share a basic medical profile. “They pose little or no medical risk themselves, and they help prevent or ameliorate identifiable conditions that would pose known risks to life and health in the future,” McQuade said, but contraception “presents the opposite profile.”

She continued, “Use of prescription contraception actually increases a woman’s risk of developing some of the very conditions that the ‘preventive services’ listed in the Interim Final Rules are designed to prevent, such as stroke, heart attacks and blood clots (especially for women who also smoke), so a policy mandating contraceptive services as ‘preventive services’ would be in contradiction with itself.”
McQuade added, “At various times women may have serious personal reasons for wanting to avoid or delay a pregnancy. However, these personal reasons do not transform a temporary or permanent condition of infertility into a prerequisite for health, or turn a healthy pregnancy into a disease condition.”

She also highlighted the potential impact on conscience rights. “Currently, such employers and insurance issuers [who object to contraception and sterilization] are completely free under federal law to purchase and offer health coverage that excludes these procedures. They would lose this freedom of conscience under a mandate for all plans to offer contraception and sterilization coverage,” McQuade said. “Thus the Administration’s promise that Americans who like their current coverage will be able to keep it under health care reform would become a hollow pledge.”

She concluded, “The Administration rightly does not include contraceptives or sterilization as preventive services in its Interim Final Rules, and future rulemaking or other guidance should also refrain from doing so. We hope these considerations will be taken into account as the Institute of Medicine prepares to make its recommendations on a final list of required preventive services for women.”

General Audience: Pope calls for release of Christian woman condemned to death in Pakistan

Cartoon of the Day - Hate

Today on Kresta - November 17, 2010

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Nov. 17

Live from the US Conf. of Catholic Bishops Meeting in Baltimore, MD

4:00 – Ave Maria Radio Headed to London for Narnia Premiere
Ave Maria Radio has been given the honor of being one of only two U.S. radio outlets invited to the world premiere and press junket for the latest installment of the Narnia series – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Nick Thomm, Executive Producer of “Kresta in the Afternoon,” will be on the red carpet in London on Nov. 30 and will bring interviews with the cast and production crew of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader back to the airwaves of Ave Maria Radio. 20th Century Fox is paying the way for a select few Christian print journalists and two Christian radio outlets to cover the event. Nick talks about this event.

4:20 – Sports and the Catholic Family
Sport can become a school of "human and Christian values," Benedict XVI said Monday upon receiving in audience a delegation of Italian ski instructors. The Pope reflected in his comments to the delegation that "sport, practiced with passion and ethical sense, in addition to exercising a healthy competitive spirit, becomes a school to learn and deepen human and Christian values." In the US, participation in athletic activities and playing on sports teams has always been viewed as contributing in positive manner to the character development of children. However, a remarkable change has occurred over the past 20 years in regard to the degree of involvement on sports teams by children. Today, many children are under extreme pressures from both coaches and parents to commit themselves to give an unprecedented amount of time and effort to participation in team sports, including those teams which travel regularly on weekends and during the summer. This significant change in regard to children's and families’ relationship with sports has damaged marriages, family life and the ability of a large number of children to enjoy sports as a pleasant, relaxing childhood activity. Psychiatrist Rick Fitzgibbons is here to address a number of issues related to this important area of child development and family life.

5:00 – The Middle East Synod, Violence in Iraq, and the Plight of Christians
Pope Benedict XVI formally closed the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East with a Mass in St. Peter’s basilica on Sunday, October 24. In his homily the Holy Father called for solidarity among the Christians in the Middle East and for continued drive for a lasting peace in the region. “We must never resign ourselves to the absence of peace,” the Pope said. “Peace is possible. Peace is urgent.” But it was only one week later that Islamic militants in Iraq slaughtered 46 Christian worshippers in a Baghdad cathedral. That led to at least one prominent Christian leader to call on Iraqi Christians to leave Iraq. We look at the situation for Christians in the Middle East with Archbishop Allen Vigneron who was a participant at the Middle East Synod.

5:20 – The Face of God: The Rediscovery of the True Face of Jesus
Best-selling journalist, historian and author Paul Badde embarks on an exciting quest to discover the truth behind the Holy Face of Manoppello, a relic recently rediscovered and rumored to be the "veil of Veronica". Badde was intrigued when he heard of a mysterious image in a remote Italian village—an image of a man's face on byssus cloth. He takes on a thrilling journey of discovery as he travels to research this remarkable relic, tracing the turbulent history of the Holy Face from ancient times up to the historic 2006 visit to Manoppello by Pope Benedict XVI.

Two leading American Vatican-watchers offered frank criticism of Vatican public relations and management policies, at a November 15 forum in Washington.

Two leading American Vatican-watchers offered frank criticism of Vatican public relations and management policies, at a November 15 forum in Washington.

"The Vatican communications debacle has to end," said author George Weigel. He went on to say that the question of how to remove incompetent bishops from their diocesan leadership posts is “the single biggest management problem in the Church today.” John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter struck a similar note in his discussion of the sex-abuse crisis, noting the unwillinginess of Church leaders to criticize their peers. He said: "If you want to say Benedict is the reformer, you have to explain the opposition he faced in the Vatican, what he did to overcome other officials and what those others did wrong. They have no way in their culture, no vocabulary, for saying anything critical about each other."

The Monday discussion took place at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where Weigel is a senior fellow.

Read more here.

How does the Vatican prove someone is a saint? Key points of the Canonization process

Cartoon of the Day - Bush book

Today on Kresta - November 16, 2010

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Nov. 16

Live from the US Conf. of Catholic Bishops Meeting in Baltimore, MD

4:00 – USCCB Fall Assembly Report
The annual Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is meeting this week at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. We have had an historic election of new leadership, addresses on reformation of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Iraq, Haiti, the New Media, and much, much more. With us to discuss it all is veteran Catholic journalist Russell Shaw.

4:40 – USCCB and the Culture of Life
Fr. Frank Pavone is here in Baltimore attending the proceedings of the USCCB, meeting with Bishops and advancing the pro-life agenda among our Church’s leaders. He has even made time to get up to Washington DC for some meetings. We talk with Fr. Frank about the USCCB and his meetings with new members of Congress.

5:00 – USCCB Report and Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible New Testament
Today we are delighted to talk with Raymond Arroyo about a new project he has been involved in as co-executive producer of the just released 18-CD, 22-hour series called Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible New Testament. It elegantly blends voices, sound effects and an original music score to create an aural environment that will totally immerse you in the Scriptures. The literal English RSV-CE New Testament is 'performed' for you in radio drama style by more than 70 actors including international stars. Raymond is here to talk about it.

5:40 – Vatican Congress Examines State of Catholic Press
The Catholic press in the United States can be forgiven for feeling beleaguered. Circulation is flat or declining for most publications. Catholic reading habits have changed. New technologies and means of distribution are allowing a proliferation of alternative, usually free, websites, blogs and social media to provide information and opinion to the most dedicated or devout. More than 200 people from 85 countries listened to their peers address such topics as the rise of the Internet and new digital tools for distributing content, declining or changing readership, the abuses and potential of social media, and the ongoing need for both resources and editorial professionalism at the Oct. 4-7 Congress on the Catholic Press sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Communication. Greg Erlandson of Our Sunday Visitor was there and is here to tell us about it.

USCCB Coverage: New Vice-President Elected

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of the Archdiocese of Lousiville Has Been Elected to a Three-Year Term To Serve As Vice-President of the USCCB

USCCB Coverage: New President Elected

Archbishop Timothy Dolan Has Been Elected to a Three-Year Term To Serve As President of the USCCB

This is an historic vote as no sitting vice-president has ever failed to be elected president except in one case when the vice-president was elderly and took his name out of contention. It would not be a stretch to say that this article by Tim Drake in the National Catholic Register had much to do with the history-making decision.

USCCB Coverage: Bishops Affirm Cardinal George's Letter to President, Voice Solidarity with Suffering of Christians in Ira

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) affirmed by acclamation during their annual Fall General Assembly a November 9 letter from Chicago Cardinal Francis George, OMI, USCCB president, to President Obama regarding the recent violence against Christians in Iraq.

“The October 31 attack on the Syrian Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad shocked and horrified the Catholic community and all people of goodwill,” said Cardinal George in remarks to the bishops.

“As you’ve read in the press over the past week, there are continuing attacks against innocent Iraqis, especially Christians. In the recent Synod on the Middle East, the bishops from Iraq spoke of the perilous situation facing Christians and other minorities in that country.”
Cardinal George said the attack touched all of the bishops very closely.

“Our brothers in the priesthood, Father Thaer Saad and Father Boutros Wassim, were slain as one celebrated mass and the other heard confessions,” he said. “Father Thaer prayed and asked a terrorist to spare the lives of his parishioners before he died. Father Raphael moved parishioners to a safer location in the Church and was grievously wounded. Their Patriarch, His Beatitude Ignace Joseph III Younan, who morns their murders and wounding, along with those of scores of innocent worshipers killed and injured, is no stranger. He was formerly a member of our Conference of Bishops before his consecration and enthronement as Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians last year.”

Cardinal George reiterated what he said in his letter, that having invaded Iraq, the U.S. has a moral obligation not to abandon Iraqis. For all these reasons, Cardinal George asked that bishops make his letter their own.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

USCCB Coverage: Bishops Praise Generosity of U.S. Catholics, Detail Breadth of Church’s Response to Tragedy in Haiti

After the terrible earthquake that last January devastated Haiti and buried almost 300,000 people beneath the rubble, U.S. Catholics responded with remarkable generosity, reported Bishop Kevin Farrell, chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections, during his opening remarks on the first day of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Fall General Assembly. The bishops heard a comprehensive report on the “One-Church” response to the Haiti earthquake which highlighted the breadth of the Church’s response and the collaborative effort it demanded.

In the face of great tragedy and at a time of great economic stress at home, Catholics across the country donated, in just one weekend in January, $82.6 million. This special collection for Haiti was intended to be used for emergency relief and to rebuild the Church in Haiti. In March, the Administrative Committee endorsed a proposal from the Committee on the National Collections and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to allocate 60% of the Special Collection to CRS for humanitarian assistance and 40% to the USCCB Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America for ecclesial needs.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, member of the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America and chairman of its Haiti Advisory Group, spoke of the difficult plight of the Church in Haiti. In addition to the terrible loss of life—including Archbishop Miot and many seminarians, religious and lay leaders―70 parishes, including the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Port-au-Prince were totally destroyed, as well as dozens of schools, several convents and the three centers of priestly formation.

“The devastation was massive,” Archbishop Wenski said. “However, we heard from many of you that any rebuilding should be done in way that ensures that this terrible loss of life will never happen again.” For this reason, the Haiti Advisory Group adopted two guiding principles for its work: to disburse funds for the reconstruction of Church properties only after a reliable mechanism was in place to avoid poor construction in the future and to only move ahead with plans agreed to by the Haitians themselves.

“Over the last few months, a mechanism has been put in place that honors these two guiding principles,” Bishop Wenski said. The mechanism was developed by the Haitian Catholic Bishops Conference, many bishops’ conferences and other Catholic groups around the world, as well as representatives from “twinning” parish programs with Haiti. It includes the establishment of an Architectural and Engineering Unit, called PROCHE (which in French means “close by”), within the Haiti Bishops’ Conference that would oversee the planning and execution of Church reconstruction according to accepted standards. It also includes guidelines approved by the Haitian bishops on existing and future partnering relationships between the Church in Haiti and Church units around the world, called “Partners in Mission.”

Though some $1.3 million has already been given to the Church in Haiti through 33 individual projects, including temporary housing for seminarians and funds to continue their formation and Catholic Radio Soleil, the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America intends to channel the bulk of the collection funds destined for Church reconstruction through the PROCHE building unit. Archbishop Wenski asked the bishops to encourage Catholic groups to use this building unit for any reconstruction that the dioceses or parishes may support.

Speaking on emergency aid and reconstruction, Archbishop Dolan of New York, president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) provided an account of the agency’s achievements which include:

food provided to nearly 900,000 people in the early months of the response.
monthly food rations distributed to more than 100,000 children in over 370 schools, orphanages and child-care centers, many of them run by Catholic parishes and congregations.
emergency shelter materials distributed to over 215,000 people and more than 400 transitional shelters constructed with over 100 additional shelters built per week.
974 emergency operations and 64,000 outpatient consultations in eight hospitals; plus increased medical support, resources and training.

For his part, Bishop Hubbard, of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, spoke to the comprehensive U.S. policy and aid goals the committee is pursuing with the Administration, including immediate relief and long-term development assistance; debt relief and trade preferences; Church and civil society participation in both relief and long-term development; and building the capacity of the Haitian government through transparency and accountability.

Finally, Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration and Refugee Services, related to the bishops the findings of a joint mission with the Committee on International Justice and Peace to Haiti and the Caribbean in the summer. Specifically, the delegation called for more protection for vulnerable Haitians both inside and outside Haiti, including single women with children and children who have lost their parents during the earthquake, as well as for the reunification of medical evacuees to the U.S. with their families. The report can be found at http://www.usccb.org/mrs/.

The bishops also acknowledged the efforts by many parishes and colleges who have ties with Haiti going back years and of those who are planning on creating new ties and invited everyone to join efforts in a coordinated response.

“Together we can bring about the genuine change that Haiti and its people need and long for,” Bishop Farrell said, as he asked for continued support and prayer services and memorials as the first anniversary of the terrible earthquake approaches. “We have achieved a great deal in very difficult circumstances but as you know from the news there is an uphill road to climb,” he said.

USCCB Coverage: Bishops Urged to Embrace Social Media in Order to Effectively Evangelize ‘Digital Continent’

The Catholic Church faces an urgent call to evangelize the new “digital continent” of social media, according to a presentation to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at their annual Fall General Assembly. Bishop Ronald Herzog of Alexandria, Louisiana, a member of the USCCB Communications Committee, delivered the presentation November 15.

“Although social media has been around for less than 10 years, it doesn’t have the makings of a fad,” said Bishop Herzog. “We’re being told that it is causing as fundamental a shift in communication patterns and behavior as the printing press did 500 years ago. And I don’t think I have to remind you of what happened when the Catholic Church was slow to adapt to that new technology,” he said, referencing the Protestant Reformation.

Bishop Herzog described the communication habits of young people today, which he noted have moved beyond email to the world of social media.

“If the Church is not on their mobile device, it doesn’t exist,” he said. “The Church does not have to change its teachings to reach young people, but we must deliver it to them in a new way.” He compared this outreach to evangelizing a new digital continent, and said the Church has serious challenges to overcome, noting, “Most of us don’t understand the culture.”

Bishop Herzog said the egalitarian nature of the Internet makes it particularly challenging to the Church.

“Anyone can create a blog,” he noted. “Everyone’s opinion is valid. And if a question or contradiction is posted, the digital natives expect a response and something resembling a conversation. We can choose not to enter into that cultural mindset, but we do so at great peril to the Church’s credibility and approachability in the minds of the natives, those who are growing up in this new culture. This is a new form of pastoral ministry.”

Bishop Herzog cited a survey of diocesan communications personnel conducted by the USCCB that saw great variation in the use of new media, with respondents expressing a desire to learn more about it and requesting training and additional resources. The most frequently requested resources were not additional dollars but staff who are trained in its use.

USCCB Coverage: Cardinal George Opening Address

Dear Brother Bishops:


Three years ago, we were preparing to receive the visit of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to this country and to the United Nations. Well prepared by both church and civil authorities, his visit introduced the people of our country to a quiet and loving man, persuasive in his gentle presence and strong in his words, which echo those of Christ. The Pope’s visit to our country presaged similarly powerful visits to Australia and, this year, to the United Kingdom. While the preliminary stories are always of scandal and dissent and protest, the stories during and after such visits finally yield to the sentiments of the hundreds of thousands of believers who gather around him as successor of Peter and visible head of Christ’s Church on earth. He confirmed us in our faith and in our vocation as bishops of the Catholic Church.

A year later, with the election of the first African American to the Presidency of this country, a cultural shift was marked that, no matter where one is politically, can only be greeted as an event of historic importance, and it was so recognized by us and by the world. Our county, however, continues to struggle with how to address the plight of newcomers who cross our borders seeking a better life for themselves and their families, even as that better life for our own citizens is threatened by the downturn in the economy. Throughout these years, the political and social divisions in our country have challenged us in our vocation to keep the Catholic people united visibly around Christ in his body, the Church. We have re-organized our Conference to respond to the challenges to the Church’s mission more effectively and to be of greater service to our local Churches, particularly in finding means to pass on the faith to the young through regular sacramental practice and to strengthen and defend the institution of marriage. This unity of purpose has been evident in the bishops’ ongoing determination to keep the promise made in 2002 to purify the priesthood of anyone who has ever abused a child, a promise guarded by the National Review Board and guaranteed by the various audits, safe environment programs and victims assistance ministries in our dioceses. This year we have welcomed the modifications to the universal Church law on the sexual abuse of minors by priests and deacons; some of these provisions mirror or reinforce aspects of the essential norms that we asked the Holy See to allow us to use eight years ago in governing the Church here. In these three past years as President of the Conference, I have relied upon and am ever grateful for your good will, your cooperation and your prayers, and I have come to a deep appreciation of your pastoral expertise and fidelity to our common vocation as bishops in the Church. With all my heart, I thank you.

The renewal of the episcopal office in the Church and our greater unity of purpose and effectiveness in teaching and governing have not gone unchallenged by some who would either want to remake the Church according to their own designs or discredit her as a voice in the public discussions that shape our society. During this past year, the USCCB has been partner to the public debate on health care law. Our voice was that of the bishops of our country for the past hundred years: in a good society, everyone should be cared for, especially the poor. The goal of basic health care for all continues to be a moral imperative, not yet completely achieved, but it is not now and has not been up to the bishops to decide the means to realize that goal. We have only very cautiously entered into details of public policy, for this is more properly the work of lay people, as it has been in the health care debate. Universal health care can be delivered

using many means: everything publicly funded, everything privately funded or a mixture of the two. Any of these solutions could be moral, and it is up to lay people to decide which are the best means to see to it that everyone is cared for.

But once political leaders and health care experts decided to use government subsidized insurance as the vehicle, the means, for providing more universal health care, it was our moral obligation as teachers of the faith to judge whether the means pass moral muster, whether or not the proposed legislation uses public funds to kill those living in their mother’s womb.
 
Continue reading here...

"Apostolic visitation" to Ireland starts

Cartoon of the Day - Rangel ethics hearing

Today on Kresta - November 15, 2010

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Nov. 15

Live from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Meeting in Baltimore, MD

4:00 – Miami Archbishop Visits Cuba for Seminary Opening
The first Roman Catholic seminary to be built in Cuba since the 1959 revolution opened officially this week with President Raul Castro in attendance. Also in attendance was Archbishop Thomas Wenski who led a small delegation of Miami-area priests to last Wednesday's ceremony. "It demonstrates that there is a future for a church that serves as a witness of hope, which is what Cuba needs in this moment," Wenski said before his departure. The seminary 10 miles from Havana is proof of a changing relationship between the Castro regime and the church. Pope John Paul II blessed the first stone for the complex when he visited Cuba in 1998, although construction did not begin in earnest until 2006. Archbishop Wenski joins us.

4:20 – Cool It
“Cool It” is a new documentary released this weekend that centers on Danish political scientist, lecturer and author Bjorn Lomborg, called one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st Century by Esquire magazine, and his practical approach to solving global warming. It escapes the typical political banter on this topic and demonstrates that while climate change is a very important world issue, a light bulb won’t solve the problem and our responsibility for stewardship of the earth is really about care for our fellow man. We talk with producer Terry Botwick.

4:40 – Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel
It is 1940, and American Tom McCord, a 23-year-old aspiring doctoral candidate, is in England researching the historical evidence for the legendary King Arthur. There he meets perky and intuitive Laura Hartman, a fellow American staying with her aunt in Oxford, and the two of them team up for an even more ambitious and dangerous quest. Aided by the Inklings-that illustrious circle of scholars and writers made famous by its two most prolific members, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien-Tom and Laura begin to suspect that the fabled Spear of Destiny, the lance that pierced the side of Christ on the cross, is hidden somewhere in England. Thus begins Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel. Author David Downing joins us

5:00 – Cross International Catholic Outreach – The Kobonal Haiti Mission
The US Bishops’ Conference received an update on the situation in Haiti today and the U.S. Catholic Church’s emergency relief efforts so far, as well as plans to aid long-term reconstruction, including rebuilding of Church structures. The situation is tenuous to say the least. Haiti’s cholera toll has risen above 900, including dozens of deaths in the teeming capital, as the epidemic showed no sign of abating just two weeks ahead of presidential elections. Hurricane Thomas last week lashed Haiti with fierce winds and rain, leaving six people dead and closing the main airport. And this is all on top of the massive earthquake that killed 250,000 people in January and left the country in ruins. Jim Cavnar of Cross International Catholic Outreach is here with us in Baltimore to look at his partnership with Ave Maria Radio, the progress that has been made, and the work that remains.

5:20 – USCCB Meeting: An Overview
The annual Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is meeting this week at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. At the assembly today the bishops heard addresses by the president of the USCCB, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, and the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi. On Tuesday, they will elect the next president, vice president, treasurer-elect and general secretary of the USCCB, as well as the chairmen-elect of six committees. Here to discuss these agenda items and more is features correspondent for the National Catholic Register Tim Drake.

5:40 – USCCB Exorcism Conference A Great Success
More than 100 Roman Catholic priests and bishops gathered in Baltimore for a conference on exorcism in advance of the USCCB meeting. The two-day conference was organized by Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill. Paprocki said the main goal of the conference is to help priests and bishops decide when exorcism is appropriate and educate them on the issue. We talk to Bishop Paprocki about temptation, possession, and exorcism.

Ave Maria Radio to Take a Voyage on the Dawn Treader

Hear Nick Thomm explain how Ave Maria Radio is being honored with an all-expenses paid trip to cover the world premiere and press junket for the "Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

Today on Kresta - November 12, 2010

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Nov. 12

4:00 – Prove It: God / Friendship With Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI Speaks to Children on Their First Holy Communion
One of our favorite people, Amy Welborn is here. She has updated Prove It: God, she has written a children’s book entitled Friendship With Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI Speaks to Children on Their First Holy Communion and we revisit her book Come Meet Jesus: An Invitation From Pope Benedict XVI.

4:30 – God and Evolution
What does it mean to say that God “used evolution” to create the world? Is Darwin’s theory of evolution compatible with belief in God? And even if Darwin’s theory could be reconciled with religious belief, do we need to do so? Is the theory well established scientifically? Is it true? In the century and a half since Charles Darwin first proposed his theory of evolution, Christians, Jews, and other religious believers have grappled with how to make sense of it. Most have understood that Darwin’s theory has profound theological implications, but their responses have varied dramatically. Jay Richards is a Catholic, a fellow at the Discovery Institute, a theologian and the author of God and Evolution.

5:00 – The Pope's Maestro
Not all books are worth writing; this one assuredly is, because it tells how peace can happen, one heart at a time. It helps when the hearts beat in people of influence and talent. The hearts in question are, first, that of Sir Gilbert Levine, a conductor, Brooklyn-born Jew, and son-in-law of a Holocaust survivor. The other heart? Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who may be headed to sainthood. Levine and the late pope became acquainted when the musician became the conductor of the Krakow Philharmonic in the heady days of the late 1980s, as the Iron Curtain slowly crumbled in Eastern Europe. Levine and the pope became spiritual friends, collaborating on papal-sponsored concerts of reconciliation intended to ease estrangement and pained history between Catholic Christians and Jews, and, post-September 11, among the three Abrahamic religions. Sir Gilbert Levine is our guest.

5:40 – Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist Sign Purchase Agreement to Buy Building Currently Housing John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.
The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, has signed a purchase and sale agreement to buy the 3900 Harewood Road property in Washington, D.C., to be used as a House of Studies for the continuing education and formation of their Sisters. The ultimate acquisition of that building, currently housing the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, represents an opportunity that is aligned with the visions of their community, Pope John Paul II and the Archdiocese of Detroit according to a statement from the order. We talk to Sr. Maria Gemma Martek, the Sisters’ spokeswoman.

Catholic Journalist warns against election of Bishop Kicanas as USCCB president

Tim Drake, senior writer for the National Catholic Register, is warning that the election of Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) would be a public relations disaster for the Church.

Bishop Kicanas is currently the conference’s vice president, and the vice president is typically elected president. The USCCB will elect a new president at its November 15-18 meeting; among the ten candidates are Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, and Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver.

Drake writes:

When the U.S. Bishops gather in Baltimore next week they’ll be tackling a host of pastoral and social issues, but perhaps the most important thing they’ll do is to choose whom among them will lead them as a body over the next three years. Who will set the tone, and be the public face and voice for the country’s bishops?

The big story next week will be, who shall lead them?

As a hierarchical body, the Catholic Church doesn’t often have elections, but when it does, they’re important.

If the USCCB goes with reigning practice, they’ll choose current vice president Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas. His selection, however, is not a foregone conclusion. There are a host of other names included among those being considered, such as: Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans; Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif.; Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM, Cap., of Denver; Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York; Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky.; Bishop George Murry, SJ, of Youngstown, Oh.; Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore; Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit; and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City.

Whether or not Bishop Kicanas is elected, will be next week’s story. If he isn’t elected, the story will be why the bishops parted with recent practice. If he is elected, the story will be how the bishops treat their own, and the message the bishops are sending to society about their willingness to prevent sexual abuse. If Bishop Kicanas is elected it’s likely to strain the USCCB’s credibility.

The bishops, and their spokesmen, can repeat over and over that this gathering is not about the sexual abuse crisis, but if the media makes it about sexual abuse - and one can be sure that it will - then whether or not it’s on the official agenda, it will be the topic foremost on the minds of American Catholics.

To give some indication of what’s likely to follow Bishop Kicanas’ election, one only has to look at a couple of stories that have already been reported – one from Spero News, and the other from WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio. Bishop Kicanas’ election is a potential powder keg.

In his story, “Sex Abuse Lurks Behind Catholic Election,” Chip Mitchell tells the horrific story of Father Daniel McCormack, who molested at least 23 boys. The story demonstrates that Bishop Kicanas, while rector of Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary, was aware of accusations of sexual misconduct against McCormack, but chose to ordain him anyway.

Asked about it, Bishop Kicanas essentially said that he would do it again.

“It would have been grossly unfair not to have ordained him,” Bishop Kicanas said shortly after being elected as vice president of the USCCB, in a quote that appears in the deposition of Cardinal Francis George. “There was a sense that his activity was part of the developmental process and that he had learned from the experience,” continued Bishop Kicanas. “I was more concerned about his drinking. We sent him to counseling for that.”

The Spero story goes even further. In “Catholic Bishops to Elect Enabler of Child Molester as National Leader,” writer Mary Ann Kreitzer goes so far as to say that Bishop Kicanas’ election is “fitting” for what she describes as that “vile bureaucracy.”

The blog Boston Catholic Insider has actually issued a “Red Alert” asking readers to contact their local ordinaries to respectfully ask them to vote for a candidate other than Bishop Kicanas.

If these are the stories that have been written prior to the election, what can we expect following the election, and for the next three years?

While the bishops may not have a good mechanism for fraternal correction within their ranks, one mechanism that bishops do have a great deal of control over is whom they elect as their leader.

There’s been speculation that there’s an unspoken practice that the election of the body’s president follows an alternating pattern, as if the body were somehow trying to balance two wings of parliament.

The Church, however, is not parliament.

If there is some unspoken rule, it’s one that should be dismissed. The words “liberal” or “conservative”, “progressive” or “orthodox” cannot truly describe the Church or those in it. If such a practice is taking place with the election of the USCCB’s president, it must be rejected, embracing instead presiding USCCB president Cardinal Francis George’s “simply Catholicism.”

When the bishops gather next week, they have an opportunity to show that elections do matter. It would be best if they met behind closed doors and outside the purview of the media, held an honest conversation not about the voting practice of the previous era, but about who is the best person to lead the brotherhood of bishops at this time and place, and then voted accordingly.