National Catholic Reporter back issues from January 2006:
Starting the new year with thanks.(EDITOR'S NOTE)
Jan 06, 2006; ... On Page 14 there's an ad that thanks new NCR readers for coming aboard, especially for the number who joined us last month. I mention it because it gives me the opportunity to start the year by adding my thanks. As I was writing this I got a phone call from an occasional reader who belongs ...
Rebuilding in Indonesia.(IN THE BEGINNING)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... A worker paints a new house in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 25, beside the ruins of a damaged house. The Catholic church continues to construct thousands of houses for people in Aceh province, which was hit the hardest by the tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004, that slammed ...
University Bible study ban lifted.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire have lifted a ban on resident assistants leading Bible studies in their dorm rooms, saying the policy was poorly communicated and unequally enforced. News that there was a ban generated lots of protest from ...
Religion no cause to investigate.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... NEWARK, N.J. -- New Jersey authorities cannot use "ethnicity, religious affiliation, or religious practice" as the sole factor in determining whether to investigate someone for possible terrorist activity, according to an order by state Attorney General Peter Harvey. The written ...
Whistle-blower fights firing.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... NEW YORK -- A Catholic priest has sued the Newark, N.J., archdiocese for $5 million, contending he was removed from his position as a school director in 2003 because he publicly criticized bishops for cover-ups related to the clergy sex scandal. The federal lawsuit by Fr. Robert ...
Townspeople weary of spotlight.(U.S. BRIEFS; intelligent design case)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... DOVER, Pa. -- The initial reaction in this York County community to a federal court decision on the intelligent design issue: Glad it's over. Get the media out of town. U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III ruled Dec. 20 that the school district's intelligent design ...
Quotable & notable.(IN THE BEGINNING)
Jan 06, 2006 ... "It didn't work." Brookings Institution senior fellow Thomas Mann on the Republican plan to intimidate Democrats into renewing the Patriot Act and approving oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge "Don't go breaking his heart" --Headline in ...
Who does the blessing when Bowser goes bye-bye?(IN THE BEGINNING)
Jan 06, 2006; ... When chronic bronchitis meant Niki, a cocker spaniel, had to be euthanized, Pam Carpenter and her family needed support: Enter the pet chaplain. Like a handful of others across the country, Rob Gierka of Raleigh, N.C., is a chaplain for pet owners. Based at a veterinary ...
Have a Sek and a smile.(WORLD BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... BOGOTA, Colombia -- Members of the Paez indigenous group in southeastern Colombia have created a coca-based carbonated beverage called Coca-Sek. Although the formula is a secret, the drink is sweet and yellow, and aims to compete with the market's major brands. The drink is the ...
Bishop wants celibacy debate.(WORLD BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... DUBLIN, Ireland -- Now is the time to debate celibacy and the married priesthood, Bishop William Walsh of Killaloe, Ireland, told the Sunday Tribune newspaper. He thinks the church can find room for both celibate and married priests, he said. Many priests find celibacy a ...
U.S. migration bill denounced.(WORLD BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... MEXICO CITY -- Mexican church officials joined the Mexican government in denouncing an immigration bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that approves building a 700-mile fence along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border. The bill is now in the U.S. Senate. "Migration ...
Starting point.(IN THE BEGINNING)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006; ... I am looking forward to early Mass this morning. I will just go and pray. Other people will do the readings; another priest will share reflections. I've grown comfortable being with this small community and have been shaped by the mood and pace of our small gathering. I love ...
Vladimiro Montesinos.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... In Peru last month, Vladimiro Montesinos, former security adviser to ex-president Alberto Fujimori, confessed to taking a bribe from the Chilean pasta giant Lucchetti and was sentenced to ...
Sr. Mary Jo Kahl.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... When Raul, a young man who assaulted Sr. Mary Jo Kahl and stole her car, was convicted, the Franciscan Sister of Mary showed up at his sentencing and asked the judge not to send him to prison for 10 years. Instead, she wanted Raul enrolled in a restorative justice program. He must complete ...
Sr. Ardeth Platte.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... St. Ardeth Platte, a Dominican from Grand Rapids, Mich., and member of Jonah House in Baltimore, was released from federal prison in Danbury, Conn., Dec. 22. Platte had completed a 41-month sentence for ...
Dominican Sr. Catherine Dooley.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... The Georgetown Center for Liturgy honored Dominican Sr. Catherine Dooley Dec. 8 for outstanding contributions to the liturgical life of the U.S ....
Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... The first all-Indian congregation of men religious celebrated its 150th anniversary last month. The Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate was founded ...
Seminary leaders foresee tightening up of moral teaching.(NATION)
Jan 06, 2006; ... While bishops and rectors participating in the current Vatican-sponsored apostolic visitation of American seminaries seem virtually unanimous that it will not result in sweeping changes, some foresee a "tightening up" on the presentation of church teaching, especially in the area of moral ...
Catholic Worker draws FBI attention.(NATION)
Jan 06, 2006; ... Seventy-two years after Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin founded the Catholic Worker movement, the FBI is onto the group. The "CWG [Catholic Worker group] advocates love and peace thru prayer," according to a May 2001 FBI memo released to the American Civil Liberties Union under the ...
Right, left target 'judicial activism'.(NATION)
Jan 06, 2006; ... There's one see loser in the upcoming Senate Judiciary Committee to consider Samuel Alito's elevation to the Supreme Court: "judicial activism." Interested parties work tirelessly to convince the Senate to confirm or reject a nominee they believe will help or hinder their ...
Abuse case puts Jesuit confidentiality on trial.(NATION)
Jan 06, 2006; ... Whether the Jesuit practice of manifestation of conscience, confidential communication Between a Jesuit and his superior, carries the same privilege as the seal of confession could be tested in an Alaska court in the coming weeks. Jesuit Fr. Stephen Sundborg's defense of that ...
California diocese holds schism and heresy trial.(NATION)(Brief Article)
Jan 06, 2006 ... CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE A church tribunal in the San Bernardino, Calif., diocese reviewed evidence in mid-December to determine whether the Rev. Ned Reidy, a former Catholic priest, is guilty of heresy and schism. Fr. Howard Lincoln, diocesan spokesman, said Reidy was ...
Rights abuses overshadow elections: Haiti's government imprisons opposition; voters to go to polls Jan. 8.(WORLD)
Jan 06, 2006; ... Secretary of. State Condoleezza Rice's stopover in Haiti last September was notably brief. The itinerary of her less than 24-hour visit included a cameo appearance at a voter registration site, a tour of the slums of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, from the seat of a helicopter, and a ...
Cunneen's 10 best of 2005: foreign films dominate this year's list.(Movie Review)
Jan 06, 2006; ... My list of the best films of 2005 makes no claims of infallibility. I haven't seen all the candidates for that honor; the studios' regular practice of releasing--if only for brief runs--a number of films at the end of the year that they wish to place in the Oscar nomination race means that ...
Faith in the countryside.(CATHOLICS IN CHINA)(Cover Story)
Jan 06, 2006; ... Yang Yankang was bicycling through a remote village in China's Shaanxi Province at dusk one evening when he heard the sound of people praying in the distance. Intrigued, he followed the voices to a courtyard, where he found a group of men and women kneeling on stone tiles, their eyes ...
Mexican gays and women seek asylum.(COLUMN)
Jan 06, 2006; ... It was an unlikely coalition that gathered at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, N.M., to see the film "Mexican Refugee." Activists involved in immigrant rights, gay rights and domestic violence issues viewed the disturbing documentary, which looks at some of the ...
Plutocrats on campus: college presidents enjoy more perks, privileges and pay than they deserve.(COLUMN)
Jan 06, 2006; ... Want a cushy job that will make you rich? Become a college president. And don't worry if it's not a brandname school. Even at second- and third-tier colleges, presidential enrichment programs thrive. At Lafayette, the total compensation in 2003-2004 for the president was ...
He could have been a contender: the charismatic Hans Kung continues to draw crowds.(OPINION)
Jan 06, 2006; ... If he'd played his poker hand differently, Hans Kung could have been pope. The turning point in his life came when Pope Paul VI called Fr. Kung in after the fourth session of the Second Vatican Council and said, "You know you could really help the church." The pope was hinting that Fr ....
Hunting and Hemingway.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... In "Ten cliches to make a hunter happy" (NCR, Dec. 16), Colman McCarthy has license to voice his polemic concerning hunting and hunters. People who live in the South where hunting is familial and traditional are accustomed to these points of view. What he may not do, however, is attempt to ...
No reprieves from Bush.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... George Bush saved a couple of turkeys from Thanksgiving death a few weeks ago. Saving two turkeys may not be a big deal, but those two turkeys got a reprieve from Bush, which means two more acts of mercy than he was prepared to offer the 152 people who were executed when he was governor of ...
Tookie Williams.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... As an angry and violent young black man in Los Angeles, Stanley "Tookie" Williams worked to institutionalize violence. He cofounded the Crips gang; he may even have committed four murders. As a result, a quarter of a century later, he was put to death Dec. 13 (NCR, Dec. 23). ...
Theology of the body.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... Why do we see almost nothing printed in your paper about Pope John Paul's "theology of the body"? It is such a positive and ...
Elderly folks, beware.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... Robert Royal's column about caring for an elderly society (NCR, Nov. 4) is insightful and challenging. Mr. Royal is either generous or naive in excusing his "own generation, the baby boomers ... [as] too far gone in embourgeoisement." I wrote this letter after listening to the evening news ...
Letter on women priests.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... My original reaction to Bruce Schulzetenberg's letter on women priests was a hearty laugh (NCR, Dec. 9). I guess because I hadn't expected to see its like in NCR. It's the sort of diatribe I get from my fundamentalist Southern Baptist neighbors, the very people who are dumbing down our ...
Patty Crowley, et al.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... * I just read Patty Crowley's eulogy (NCR, Dec. 9). Wasn't she a great lady? I knew Holy Cross Fr. Louis Putz, who is mentioned in the eulogy, since 1955. You might want to do a piece on him sometime--he was one of the giants in birthing the lay movement of the U.S. church. ...
Sinless memories.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... The piece by Fr. Leo Donovan on the Immaculate Conception (NCR, Dec. 9) brings back fond memories of some 50 years ago. There was security, warmth and certainty in those days. We said the litany of the names of Mary and believed each recital: "Tower of Ivory, House of Gold." I ...
Reactions to 'condolences'.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... I am writing to you to express my deep gratitude for the stunning editorial "For what it's worth, our condolences" (NCR, Dec. 9). The editorial rightly expressed sorrow for homosexuals who once again were forced by leaders of the Catholic church to hear their sexuality, "an element ...
Vatican policy.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 06, 2006; ... Who but the Vatican could come up with a policy more intrusive, less tolerant and more perverse than the military's "Don't ask, don't tell"? Seminary officials are under a ...
The latest Bush threat to democracy.(EDITORIALS; George W. Bush)
Jan 06, 2006 ... Enough. Little else is left to say to an administration that: * Led a country into war on false premises; * Continues to link the war against terrorism with the war in Iraq when the two had no relationship at the outset; * Dismisses the Geneva ...
A little flexibility regarding limbo.(EDITORIALS)
Jan 06, 2006 ... It is fitting that we not leave the old year behind without bidding proper adieu to one of the stranger constructions of Catholic theology--limbo. John L. Allen Jr. reported Dec. 2 that the International Theological Commission, which advises the Congregation for the Doctrine of ...
What is being done in our name.(EDITOR'S NOTE; torture investigations)
Jan 13, 2006; ... Last spring, when the news of torture and prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib began to break, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld seemed at first dismissive of the stories. As Seymour Hersh reported in the May 17 New Yorker, when asked at a news conference if he thought the photographs and ...
Youth meditate.(IN THE BEGINNING)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... Br. Alois Leser, head of the ecumenical Taize community, offers a meditation during a meeting with young people in Milan, Italy, Dec. 29. Approximately 50,000 young people from all over Europe came to ...
Parishes to be separate.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... TUCSON, Ariz. -- A bankruptcy court approved the Tucson diocese's plan to reorganize each of its 74 parishes into corporations recognized as separate entities from the diocese under Arizona law. This would help protect a parish's property against legal claims made against the diocese or ...
Pope struck from abuse suit.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... WASHINGTON -- Responding to a request from the U.S. government, a federal judge in Houston has removed Pope Benedict XVI as a defendant in a sexual abuse lawsuit. The pope has immunity as a head of state, U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal said Dec. 22. The lawsuit was filed in ...
Perjury alleged in design trial.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- A federal prosecutor said testimony in the Dover Area School District's intelligent design case is under review to determine if perjury charges should be pursued. "I want to question a couple of people," said U.S. Middle District Attorney Thomas A. Marino. ...
28 U.S. bishops could retire.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... WASHINGTON -- Up to 28 U.S. bishops, including five cardinals, could retire because of age this year. There are 14 still-active U.S. bishops, including three cardinals, who have already turned 75. Fourteen more, including two cardinals, will celebrate their 75th birthdays in 2006. At age ...
Quotable & notable.(IN THE BEGINNING)
Jan 13, 2006 ... "I think everyone born is born with talent. We all come from the creator trailing wisps of glory." --Poet Maya Angelou Abramoff deals, Congress quakes --Headline in The Christian Science Monitor above a story about Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff's ...
Soldier carries consecrated hosts into battle.(IN THE BEGINNING)
Jan 13, 2006 ... While 32-year-old U.S. Army Capt. Joseph Burkhardt conducted sensitive operations in war zones throughout Iraq, the mission closest to his heart was carrying the Eucharist to his fellow soldiers. Burkhardt, an Army Ranger, carried dozens of consecrated hosts to be distributed to ...
Pope: embryo 'full' human life.(WORLD BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... VATICAN CITY -- The embryo is a "full and complete" human being even though it is "shapeless," Pope Benedict XVI said Dec. 28, underscoring the teaching that regards abortion and the destruction of embryos for stem cell research as acts of murder. Psalm 139, Benedict said, ...
China, India team up for oil.(WORLD BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... NEW DELHI, India -- China and India will jointly acquire ownership of oil fields in Syria at a cost of $573 million. This is the first known joint venture between the two energy-starved countries. The Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corp and the China National Petroleum Corp, both ...
Ceasefire ends before elections.(WORLD BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... KATHMANDU, Nepal -- The Maoist rebels ended their unilateral ceasefire against King Gyanendra Jan. 1. A few hours later, bombs went off in three cities in Nepal. The rebels' nearly 10-year armed struggle had been in hiatus since early September, but King Gyanendra, who seized power and ...
Highway to bisect S. America.(WORLD BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... PUERTO MALDONADO, Peru -- Once complete, the 1,281-mile Inter-Oceanic highway will unite Atlantic coast cities with Pacific ports. It has been called a "key strategy" to spur development along the roadway through Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Few doubt that the road will increase the flow of ...
Starting point.(IN THE BEGINNING; cancer)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006; ... He has a twitch to his eyes that suggests something is wrong, something deeper and more significant than the involuntary movement of his eye muscles. He needs some sort of healing far down inside him. It wasn't always so. As a child he laughed easily, played pranks on his older ...
Gerard Jean-Juste.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... Jailed Haitian priest Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste has chronic lymphocytic leukemia and is in need of immediate attention, according to Harvard physician Paul Farmer. The U.S. doctor, who runs hospitals in Haiti and is a friend of ...
Lech Walesa.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... Former Polish president and founder of the Solidarity movement Lech Walesa visited Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J., last month to pick up the honorary doctorate the school conferred on him in 1982. Walesa was unable to attend commencement ceremonies then for fear the Polish ...
Theophilos III.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarch in Jerusalem, boycotted an annual Israeli Christmas party because the invitation failed to recognize him as the church's new leader. A church synod in Istanbul in ...
Laura DeFilippo.(PEOPLE)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... The New York Post reported Jan. 1 that Laura DeFilippo, the secretary to Msgr. Eugene Clark, the former rector of St. Patrick Cathedral in New York City, has continued to draw her $100,000 annual salary even though she has not been to work since allegations of an ...
Bishop shuts us out, say priests; Belleville's Braxton, one of John Paul's last picks, said to be 'imperial'.(NATION; Bishop Edward Braxton)
Jan 13, 2006; ... A third of the active priests in the mostly rural, southern Illinois diocese of Belleville have gone on record publicly objecting to the "monarchical" leadership style of Bishop Edward Braxton. It is destroying the morale of clergy and laity, they say, and disrupting the operations of the ...
Bishops push wage increase.(U.S. BRIEFS; minimum wage)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... BALTIMORE -- Calling it a matter of economic justice, the Catholic bishops of Maryland have released a pastoral statement urging Catholics to contact their state lawmakers in support of an increase in the minimum wage. The Maryland state Senate and the House of Delegates approved ...
Famous cinnamon bun stolen.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Nun Bun, a cinnamon bun that was discovered in 1996 and preserved for its uncanny resemblance to the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was stolen from the Bongo Java coffee ...
'God's lobbyist' dies.(U.S. BRIEFS; Msgr. Edward Ryle)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
Jan 13, 2006 ... PHOENIX -- Msgr. Edward Ryle, the longtime head of the Arizona Catholic Conference known for his devotion to social justice and ecumenism, died Dec. 28 at age 75 after a series of health complications. Ryle, referred to by some as "God's lobbyist," served for 19 years as director of the ...
Marriage referendum challenged.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... BOSTON -- Gay leaders in Massachusetts asked the state's highest court Jan. 3 to bar a proposed ballot question that seeks to outlaw same-sex marriages. In a lawsuit, the Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders in Boston said the attorney general's certification of the proposed referendum, ...
Former NCR staffer dies at 67.(APPRECIATION; National Catholic Register)(Obituary)
Jan 13, 2006; ... Dawn Gibeau, an editorial staff member of NCR for 23 years, including 15 years as managing editor, died Dec. 29 in St. Paul, Minn., after a two-year battle with lung cancer. She was 67. Gibeau joined NCR's editorial staff in 1972, becoming its first female member. She finished a ...
Border posada.(PHOTO ESSAY)
Jan 13, 2006; ... Build gates, not fences. That was the message from San Diego's Episcopal Bishop James Mathes to a crowd gathered on Christmas eve on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border to celebrate the centuries-old ritual recalling Joseph and Mary's search for shelter. "This fence will not ...
Faith and resistance.(NATION - antiwar demonstrators arrested in Washington)(Brief Article)
Jan 13, 2006 ... Atlantic Life Community annual Faith and Resistance conference always includes actions in commemoration of the Holy Innocents. About 50 members of the community engaged in a civil disobedience witness outside the gates of the White House Dec. 29. They called ...