Wednesday, 17 October 2012 14:09

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A Pew study on the increase in the number of religiously unaffiliated people and a sharp decline in the number of those who consider themselves Protestant may show no drop in numbers of Catholics, but analysts say it’s still a cautionary tale for the church.
The “Nones’ On The Rise” study released Oct. 9 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life needs to be taken by the church as guidance to focus more on the basic teachings of Jesus, said several people who work in shaping leaders in Catholic ministry.
The study found that in four years, the percentage of Americans describing themselves as unaffiliated with any religion grew from just more than 15 percent to just less than 20 percent. It found that a third of adults under 30 have no religious affiliation, compared to 21 percent of the next older age bracket, 30-49, 15 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds and 9 percent of those over age 65.

Wednesday, 17 October 2012 14:08

CRS renews Rice Bowl campaign as part of worldwide effort to end hunger
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic Relief Services’ popular Lenten Rice Bowl campaign is getting a new name and a new look.
Now called CRS Rice Bowl, the program will encourage greater connection between Americans and millions of people around the world struggling to overcome hunger.
CRS President Carolyn Woo also pledged $150 million from the agency during the next three years toward food, nutrition and agriculture programs. The pledge is part of a $1 billion effort by members of InterAction, an alliance of U.S.-based international humanitarian organizations.

Wednesday, 03 October 2012 14:24

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) — The Diocese of Nashville and seven of the Catholic entities operating in middle Tennessee have filed suit in federal court to block implementation of a mandate by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requiring them to cover services they find morally objectionable.
The mandate, which went into effect Aug. 1 as part of the health care reform law, requires all employers to provide coverage in their health care plans for contraceptives, including some that can cause abortions, and sterilizations. The mandate has a limited religious exemption that would protect only Catholic institutions that seek to inculcate Catholic values and primarily employ and serve Catholics.

Wednesday, 03 October 2012 14:24

WASHINGTON (CNS) — As the Catholic Church prepares to celebrate the Year of Faith and bishops from around the world gather in Rome for a synod dedicated to the new evangelization, Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl called on Catholics to deepen their faith and to share it with others.
“All around us are people who should truly be with us at Mass, who should be with us at church, who should be with us in the parish,” Cardinal Wuerl said Sept. 30 in an address at the John Carroll Society’s annual brunch following the Red Mass.
The cardinal addressed the group of Catholic professionals and business men and women on the eve of his departure for Rome, where he will attend and serve as “relator,” or general secretary, for the Oct. 7-28 Synod for the New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.

Thursday, 20 September 2012 09:14

Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Wichita in 1985
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb., and has named Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley of Denver to succeed him.
The changes were announced in Washington Sept. 14 by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, papal nuncio to the U.S.
Bishop Bruskewitz, head of the Lincoln Diocese since 1992, is 77 years old. Bishops are required by canon law to submit their resignation to the pope when they turn 75.
Bishop Conley, 57, was ordained an auxiliary bishop for Denver in 2008.
His installation Mass will be celebrated Nov. 20 in the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln. He will be the ninth bishop of Lincoln.
The Lincoln Diocese welcomes “as our new spiritual shepherd, such a distinguished and accomplished prelate,” Bishop Bruskewitz said in a statement. “Collectively, we thank almighty God for this precious and important gift which he has bestowed on us through the ministry of Christ’s vicar.”
Bishop Conley said he was “honored and humbled” by the appointment.
“There is nothing more important for a bishop than the care of souls,” he told the Denver Catholic Register, the archdiocesan newspaper. “God has called me to be the shepherd of souls in the Diocese of Lincoln. I know I need to rely on his grace for this great responsibility. … I am looking forward to getting to know Lincoln.
“My mission as bishop there will remain the same as it has in Denver: to help all people to encounter Jesus Christ, and to become holy, as God in heaven is holy,” he added.
“Bishop Conley is a man of deep prayer, keen intellect, warm heart and fervent commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila said in a statement. “He has become well-known for his commitment to the unborn, his enthusiasm for young people, and especially for the devotion with which he celebrates the most holy Eucharist.”
James Douglas Conley was born March 19, 1955, in Kansas City, Mo. Bishop Conley is of Wea Indian descent. He is the son of Betty and the late Carl Conley, longtime residents of Overland Park, Kan. He has one younger sister, Susan, who lives in Olathe, Kan., with her husband and their two children.

Thursday, 20 September 2012 08:37

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Hobby Lobby Stores and the evangelical Christian family that owns it has filed suit in federal court against the Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate that it provide certain drugs that can cause abortions to its employees free of charge.
The suit filed Sept. 12 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma asks for an emergency injunction against enforcement of the HHS mandate, saying that it would violate the religious beliefs on which the company was founded and has operated since 1970.
Based in Oklahoma City, Hobby Lobby has more than 500 retail stores in 41 states. Its practices include remaining closed on Sundays and hiring company chaplains to minister to employees.
“We have always operated our company in a manner consistent with biblical principles, including integrity and service to others,” said David Green, an evangelical Christian who is founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. “We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate.”

Wednesday, 05 September 2012 13:59

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In direct response to a lawsuit challenging the HHS mandate brought by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty on behalf of Wheaton College, the federal government has rewritten its one-year “safe harbor” to include Wheaton and other religious institutions, giving them an additional year before being forced to comply with the mandate or face crippling fines.
According to a news release from the Becket Fund, as a result of the government’s concession on Friday, Aug. 24, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed Wheaton College’s lawsuit as premature.
The government has stated that it will create a new “insurer” mandate during that safe harbor period which would purportedly solve the religious liberty problem.

Wednesday, 05 September 2012 13:58

PEORIA, Ill. (CNS) — Saying that he has “an obligation to protect the church’s ability to freely practice our religion,” Peoria Bishop Daniel R. Jenky has added his diocese to the list of those suing the federal government to overturn a requirement that employers provide contraceptives and sterilization to their employees.
“The suit filed today asks the courts to find the HHS mandate in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how government agencies propose and establish regulations,” said Patricia Gibson, attorney and chancellor for the Diocese of Peoria, in an Aug. 9 statement.
The mandate took effect Aug. 1 for nongrandfathered health plans that are not covered by a one-year “temporary enforcement safe harbor” for nonprofit organizations that oppose the mandate for religious reasons.

Thursday, 16 August 2012 13:43

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Nellie Gray, who started the annual March for Life parade to protest the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide, died Aug. 13 at age 86 from natural causes.
She was found dead in her home in Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood by a March for Life staffer.
The March for Life has grown into one of the signature events of the pro-life movement. After the first march in 1974, Gray, a Texas native, established the March for Life Education & Defense Fund to sustain it.
Each year in her remarks, Gray exhorted pro-lifers to promote and adhere to a series of “life principles” that would eliminate abortion and enhance life, to which she said there should be “no exception! No compromise!”
Gene Ruane, an administrative assistant with the March for Life, told Catholic News Service Aug. 14 that leadership of the organization would be assumed by Terrence Scanlon, who has been its vice president “since the beginning.”
Funeral information was not immediately available. Gray was a member of St. Mary, Mother of God Parish in Washington.
Born and raised in Texas, Gray served as a corporal in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s in economics. She worked for the federal government for 28 years at the State Department and the Department of Labor, while attending Georgetown University Law School. Gray later practiced law before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a 2010 profile, Gray said she wasn’t a Catholic as a child, but “I had elements of the Catholic faith in my life.” As a young woman, she encountered a priest who brought to light what the Catholic Church was about, and he tutored her until she joined the church.
Gray also spoke of the march’s origins. “I received a call from the Knights of Columbus,” she recalled. “I didn’t even know who they were, but they explained their stance against abortion and needed a place to meet to discuss plans for a march. That place was my living room. About 30 people gathered there and they asked if I could help get speakers for the event since I knew Capitol Hill well.

Thursday, 16 August 2012 11:41

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Since the courts will not act quickly enough to protect the religious liberty concerns prompted by the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate, Congress must “address this urgent and fundamental issue before it completes its business this year,” Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo told members of the House and Senate.
“Timely and uniform protection of these rights cannot be expected from the current lengthy judicial process,” said the cardinal in an Aug. 3 letter to members of Congress. He is archbishop of Galveston-Houston and chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.