Retired Bishop Apologizes For Mistreatment of Indians

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Retired Bishop Francis A. Quinn of Sacramento, during a Mass at the Church of St. Raphael in San Rafael, apologized to the Coast Miwok Indians for the Church’s mistreatment of them two centuries ago.

The Mass was held to commemorate the 190th anniversary of the founding of Mission San Rafael Arcangel.

The Miwok Indians once occupied the lands from the Golden Gate to north of Bodega Bay and helped Spanish priests build and maintain the mission in 1817.

The bishop conceded that the Indians were repaid by Church authorities with the destruction of their own spiritual practices and cruel punishment for any disobedience.

Greg Sarris, head of the Miwok tribal council, officially called the Federal Indians of Graton Rancheria, told The Associated Press that Bishop Quinn’s remarks were historic. “I have not heard this happening anywhere else in this country,” he said.

Used Catholic School Uniforms Get New Life

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A new dress code at Metro Nashville Public Schools has given new life to old uniforms from Christ the King Catholic School in Nashville.

When Christ the King was phasing out its old uniforms, the school’s parents started looking for a way to put them to good use.

“Different parents looked into various possibilities, including Haiti missions and schools affected by Hurricane Katrina, but we weren’t able to come up with a solution,” said Chris Bontrager, co-president of the Home and School Association at Christ the King.

But a case of good timing provided Christ the King with an answer. Metro’s 75,000 students began the 2007-2008 school year with a new policy for “standard school attire,” requiring students to wear solid-color shirts with a collar, as well as navy blue, black or khaki slacks, shorts or skirts.

Leaders at Fall-Hamilton Enhanced Option School in Nashville, where nearly 90% of the students come from families living below the federal poverty line, were looking for a way to help families comply with the new school attire policy.

Italian Cardinal: Moratorium On Abortion Is Logical Move

ROME – Cardinal Camillo Ruini, papal vicar for Rome, said the vast majority of Italians who hailed the U.N. General Assembly’s support for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty should think about extending the moratorium to abortion.

“I think that after the happy result obtained regarding the death penalty, it might be logical to call attention to the theme of abortion,” the cardinal said.

Cardinal Ruini told the Canale 5 news program that the proposal for a moratorium on abortion, launched before Christmas by the Italian newspaper Il Foglio, was an opportunity to “stimulate, reawaken the consciences of all to help them recognize that a baby in its mother’s womb really is a human being” and that abortion is the taking of a human life.

Abortion in Italy is legal, in most cases, until the 24th week of pregnancy; the cardinal said at the very least Italian politicians should consider reducing the time abortion is legal, particularly because medical advances have made it possible for some fetuses delivered at 24 weeks to survive.

Mexican Bishop Files Complaints After Burglary

MEXICO CITY – A Mexican bishop who has received death threats because of his human rights work filed legal complaints after his diocesan human rights center was burglarized.

On Dec. 26, Bishop Raul Vera Lopez of Saltillo filed complaints with the Coahuila state attorney general’s office for injury, aggravated robbery and breaking and entering after the Fray Juan de Larios Center for Human Rights was robbed by two hooded perpetrators.

Documents were removed from the premises and a female employee working in the office was tied up in the Dec. 20 incident.

Bishop Vera, who was traveling at the time of the robbery, noted at a Dec. 24 press conference that the theft took place at the same time efforts were intensified to achieve justice for 13 sex-trade workers sexually assaulted by members of the Mexican military in Castanos in 2006.

Bishop Vera had said that the acquittals of some of the accused soldiers “open the door even wider for members of the Mexican military to continue carrying out all kinds of atrocities.”

Unwanted Christmas Gifts Donated to Dublin See

DUBLIN, Ireland – The Archdiocese of Dublin provided a solution for Catholics with duplicate or unwanted Christmas gifts.

They could donate those unneeded presents until the Jan. 6 feast of the Epiphany to Crosscare, the Dublin archdiocesan social services agency, for distribution to people who may have not received a present for Christmas.

“It may seem ungrateful to be passing on a present that your friend or relative spent time and money purchasing, but most of us will be getting much more than we need or doubles of the same item. I think it is a great opportunity for people to consider those who went without this week, and at the same time putting some of our excess to good use,” said Father Pat O’Donoghue, who devised the initiative.

“So if you are having difficulty finding a home for the third green jumper you received or the same box set of DVDs you unwrapped last year, we have a solution that will see the gift put to good use,” he said in a statement.

Christmas Added as Holiday In Hindu-Majority Nepal

KATMANDU, Nepal – Christmas is among nine religious and ethnic feasts the Nepalese government has added to the country’s list of public holidays after pressure from minority ethnic and religious groups.

The Hindu-majority country’s Home Affairs Ministry announced that Christmas and Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim feast that follows the fasting month of Ramadan, were among the new public holidays.

“That is something to rejoice at,” said Bishop Anthony Sharma of Nepal. “The government has finally recognized Christians’ and the Catholic Church’s contribution to the country.”

He added that he hopes the government will make Good Friday and Easter public holidays, too.