Rochester Bishop Closes 13 Schools, Cuts Tuition 27%

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Bishop Matthew H. Clark of Rochester has accepted the recommendations of a diocesan task force that he close 13 of 24 Catholic schools in Monroe County, the seat of the 12-county diocese, and cut tuition by more than 27%.

He also accepted the recommendation he provide a financial incentive for families to re-enroll displaced children in the county’s remaining diocesan-run schools.

The moves – recommended to Bishop Clark Jan. 3 by the Catholic School Task Force – are intended to stem “a growing financial deficit, rising costs, declining enrollment and a number of schools operating well under capacity,” the bishop’s letter to parents stated.

“I firmly believe that the changes we are implementing are essential,” Bishop Clark told parents.

“By acting now, we can free the system of potentially crippling financial woes and work to ensure our overall Catholic school program will not just survive but thrive in the future.”

Pope Says Media Should Stop Distorting Facts

VATICAN CITY – In a world where the media increasingly distort facts and manipulate minds, the communication industry needs an ethics code, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Just as bioethics guide workers in the field of medicine and science to protect human dignity, “many people now think there is a need, in this sphere (of communication), for info-ethics,” the pope said in his message for World Communications Day, which will be celebrated May 4 in most countries.

The pope called for communicators to be courageous and authentic witnesses to the truth.

Media workers must “remain at the service of the person and of the common good” and “foster man’s ethical formation ... man’s inner growth,” Pope Benedict said.

As the theme for the 2008 celebration the pope chose: “The Media: At the Crossroads Between Self-Promotion and Service. Searching for the Truth in Order to Share It With Others.”

Swiss Bishops Will Revise Rules for Sex Abuse Cases

WARSAW, Poland – The Swiss bishops’ conference will revise its rules for handling cases of clerical sexual abuse of children after an unnamed Swiss Capuchin was accused of offenses in Switzerland and France, said a Church official.

“We’ve done our best since issuing guidelines in 2002 which stressed the need for prevention, transparency and close collaboration with the civil authorities,” said Walter Mueller, the Swiss bishops’ spokesman.

“Yet although these regulations have proved useful, we’ve had several unfortunate cases. These need to be analyzed to see how we can make improvements.”

Mueller said the 2002 guidelines were similar to those adopted by other bishops’ conferences, but would be revised by an independent commission of jurists, psychologists and medical experts.

Body of 19th-Century Bishop Reinterred in His Basilica

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Freezing temperatures and fleeting snow swept through the normally mild-weather Mississippi River town of Natchez Jan. 19 as the first bishop of Mississippi, John Joseph Chanche, was reinterred on the grounds of St. Mary Basilica 155 years after his death.

“I think Bishop Chanche would be very pleased to be back here in Natchez, where he wanted to be,” said Cardinal William H. Keeler, retired archbishop of Baltimore and principal celebrant and homilist for the reinterment Mass.

Bishop Chanche, who was born in Baltimore to refugees from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), was ordained a Sulpician priest in 1819 and served as president of the old St. Mary’s College in Baltimore from 1834 until he was named the first bishop of the Diocese of Natchez by Pope Gregory XVI in 1841. He died in 1852 of cholera in Maryland after attending the First Plenary Council there.

Unable to be returned to his diocese, he was buried in the Cathedral Cemetery and later reinterred in the new Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore.

Bishop Apologizes for Purchase Problems

BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The bishop of Belleville, under pressure from his diocesan finance council over some expenditures, issued an apology and said the costs being questioned would be covered by an anonymous donor.

The statement by Bishop Edward K. Braxton briefly explained his reasoning for using certain funds to buy furniture for the pastoral center and vestments for the cathedral and apologized for anything he did to contribute to “the confusion, mistrust, misunderstanding, loss of confidence and even anger caused by these developments.”

Several priests who are members of the finance council or the priests’ council have been openly critical of how Bishop Braxton handled the purchases and the disagreement has been widely covered by area news media.

At issue were purchases last year of a conference table and chairs for a meeting room at the chancery at a cost of $10,100, and five sets of vestments bought for the Cathedral of St. Peter at a cost of about $8,000.

Protection Urged for Poor in Economic Stimulus Bill

WASHINGTON – As Congress prepared to weigh an economic stimulus bill brokered by House leaders and the Bush administration, the U.S. bishops’ conference urged the treasury secretary to protect the poorest families from financial hardship.

House leaders and President George W. Bush Jan. 24 announced a $150 billion package of cash payments to poor and middle-class workers and easier tax write-offs for some businesses.

“While their voices are not always heard, poor people have compelling needs that should have a priority claim on our consciences and on the choices and investments which you will make,” wrote Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, who heads the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.