Page 1821 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

PARIS – When Nicolas Sarkozy is inaugurated as the president of France May 16, Catholics in the country will have some reasons to celebrate and some reasons to be wary. Sarkozy, the 52-year-old head of the Union for a Popular Movement political party, defeated Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal in the French elections May 6, winning 51.3 percent of the vote. The son of a Hungarian immigrant and a French mother with roots in Greece, Nicolas Paul Stephane Sarkozy de Nagy-Bocsa attended a private Catholic high school and describes himself as Catholic but an infrequent churchgoer.

Fatima: The secret’s out, despite claims to the contrary

VATICAN CITY – Despite claims there are still secrets connected to the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Benedict XVI and his secretary of state said the entire message has been published and has been interpreted accurately. The Marian apparitions to three children in Fatima, Portugal, began 90 years ago May 13, and Pope John Paul II ordered the so-called “third secret” of Fatima to be published in 2000. As the Fatima anniversary approached, the Vatican bookstore was selling copies of “The Last Fatima Visionary: My Meetings With Sister Lucia.” The 140-page, Italian-language interview with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, opens with a letter of presentation from Pope Benedict.

Vatican official: Nations must disarm to stop spread of nukes

VATICAN CITY – If the world is to help stop the spread of nuclear weapons, nations must take positive steps toward nuclear disarmament, a Vatican official said. Nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation “are interdependent and mutually reinforcing,” said Monsignor Michael W. Banach, the Vatican’s representative to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. “Responsible implementation” of international agreements concerning nuclear weapons represents a crucial step “in the fight against nuclear terrorism” and promoting “a culture of life,” peace and human development, he said in a May 1 address.

Amnesty International backs access to abortion

WASHINGTON – The International Executive Committee of Amnesty International has declared that a woman should have full, legal access to abortion in cases of rape or incest or if her life or health is at grave risk. The new policy calls for eliminating criminal penalties for anyone who provides an abortion or obtains one. Last fall, when Amnesty was considering such a policy, the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops warned that the human rights advocacy group would risk its “well-deserved moral credibility” if it abandoned its neutral stance on abortion. “To abandon this long-held position would be a tragic mistake, dividing human rights advocates and diverting Amnesty International from its central and urgent mission of defending human rights as outlined in the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights,” wrote the USCCB president, Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., in a letter last September to the organization’s secretary-general, Irene Khan.

Senator, archbishop discuss faith and politics at Jewish school

ATLANTA – In a presentation at a Jewish academy in Atlanta, a U.S. senator and an archbishop spoke about the role of faith in public life, how it shapes their outlook on public service and how faith should inform but not dictate a politician’s position. The keynote speakers, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, spoke at a fundraising event at the Katherine and Jacob Greenfield Hebrew Academy of Atlanta, which is headed by Matt Lieberman, the senator’s son. The event, sponsored April 29 by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and Greenfield Academy, raised more than $130,000 for a fund for teacher excellence for the Jewish school founded in 1953.

Archaeologists say they have found King Herod’s tomb

HERODIUM, West Bank – After three and a half decades of scouring this dusty, heat-scorched mountainside, Israeli archaeologists said they have finally found the elusive tomb of King Herod the Great. The location and unique nature of the finds as well as the historical record leave no doubt that the finds are the remains of the king’s burial site, despite there being no inscriptions, said Ehud Netzer, the Hebrew University professor of archaeology who has led the excavations at Herodium since 1972. The dig uncovered the various buildings at the towering cone-shaped site which King Herod, who ruled Judea on behalf of Rome from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C., had constructed. Only one or two other sarcophagi of this monumental size and quality have been discovered, he said.

Sanctuary program for immigrants

WASHINGTON – With immediate plans to shelter families in Los Angeles, New York and San Diego, an interfaith coalition calling itself the New Sanctuary Movement announced plans to try to protect families from deportation in churches and other faith-affiliated places around the country. Following the example of the 1980s church-based network that sheltered Central American immigrants who sought refuge from civil wars at home, the New Sanctuary Movement hopes to enlist religious congregations around the country to publicly shelter people who are at risk of deportation. The organization is particularly focusing on “mixed-status” families, or those that include a combination of people who are in the country illegally and legal residents or U.S. citizens. Among the initial steps announced by the organization May 9:

Sainthood congregation recommends Pope be named venerable

VATICAN CITY – Members of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes met May 8 to consider the cause of Pope Pius XII and apparently voted to recommend that Pope Benedict XVI formally declare him venerable. Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, vice director of the Vatican press office, confirmed the congregation had met, but since the result of the vote still had to be presented to the pope he would not say May 9 what the result was. Italian newspapers, citing unnamed sources, said the congregation’s cardinals and archbishops recommended that Pope Benedict formally recognize that Pope Pius lived the Christian virtues in a heroic manner.

British church leaders acknowledge ups, downs of Blair’s service

LONDON – Church leaders in the United Kingdom acknowledged the ups and downs of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decade in office. While they commended Blair for helping to secure peace in Northern Ireland, church leaders also raised questions over the wisdom of taking Great Britain to war in Iraq. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said in a statement May 10 that he recognized the “serious divisions of opinion on the war in Iraq,” but added that “history will make a better judgment than today.”

Bishops, leaders share thoughts on confirmation at summit

More than 200 religious education directors, catechists and priests filled the meeting room at St. John the Evangelist, Columbia, May 9 for an all day Bishop’s Summit on Confirmation, sponsored by the Division of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. “This is an opportunity to encourage and increase enthusiasm for confirmation,” said Scott Miller, coordinator of adolescent faith formation for the division of youth and young adult ministry. “We want to build up the sacrament of confirmation.” The day began with a prayer service led by Bishop Denis J. Madden, urban vicar, before Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, eastern vicar, gave a lively talk on what confirmation is all about and how it fits into a Catholic’s life.

Italian Archbishop among speakers for college commencements

Catholic colleges in the archdiocese have secured an archbishop, a magazine editor, and a seminary president as commencement speakers for this year’s graduation ceremonies in May. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, will give the commencement address at Mount St. Mary’s University’s 199th commencement exercises May 20 for approximately 580 graduates. Archbishop Sambi is a native of Italy and speaks four languages. He has served The Holy See in Italy, Africa, Cuba, Nicaragua, Belgium, India, Cyprus, Indonesia, and Israel. “As we look ahead to the university’s bicentennial in 2008,” said Mount president Thomas H. Powell, “speakers such as Archbishop Sambi offer us the chance to reflect on our mission and our promise of service to God and our nation.”

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