English See Stops Adoption Work Over Gay Rights Laws

LONDON – An English Catholic diocese will cut its ties with an adoption agency because the diocese cannot accept the government’s new laws on homosexual rights.

Bishop Malcolm McMahon of Nottingham said he and the trustees of the adoption agency, Catholic Children’s Society, felt they had been forced into the decision by the Sexual Orientation Regulations, a law that bans discrimination against gays in the provision of goods and services.

The law would compel the diocese to place children in the care of same-sex couples.

“We have been coerced into this, I am not happy about it at all,” the bishop said.

“The regulations have coerced the children’s society into going against the Church’s teaching, and we don’t wish to do that.”

A Vatican directive issued in 2003 said it was morally wrong to place children in the care of same-sex couples.

Bishop McMahon said that the agency will try “to salvage what it does best” by merging with the adoption agency of the Anglican Diocese of Southwell and

Nottingham in October.

Roadside Bomb Kills Activist Sri Lankan Priest

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – A Jaffna diocesan priest active in promoting human rights was killed April 20 by a roadside bomb on the way back to his church after celebrating Mass in a parish substation.

Father Mariampillai Xavier Karunaratnam was driving the car and reportedly died instantly of head wounds in the explosion on a road about 50 miles south of Jaffna, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News.

The jungle area, known as the Vanni, is under the control of the rebel group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

An unnamed layperson traveling with Father Karunaratnam was critically injured and was taken to a hospital.

A church official at the bishop’s house in Jaffna said the Tamil priest was killed while returning for lunch at Our Lady of Good Health parish in Vavunikulam, a farming village.

He had celebrated Mass at the church in Mankulam, about seven miles away.

The priest’s body was taken to nearby St. Theresa’s Church in Kilinochchi; thousands flocked to pay their respects.

Both government forces and the Tamil rebels have denied responsibility for the priest’s death.

Paraguayans Elect Retired Bishop Lugo as President

ASUNCION, Paraguay – Retired Bishop Fernando Lugo was elected president of Paraguay April 20, ending the six-decade rule of the Colorado Party.

Bishop Lugo took an early lead in the pre-election polls, despite official disapproval from the Vatican and, initially, from the Paraguayan bishops’ conference.

As support for Bishop Lugo remained high in the largely Catholic country, the conference refrained from further comment.

Bishop Lugo won slightly more than 40% of the vote, edging out Colorado Party candidate Blanca Ovelar, who was jockeying to become the country’s first female president, and retired Gen. Lino Oviedo, former head of the armed forces, who was convicted, then acquitted of a 1996 coup attempt.

In Paraguay, unlike other Latin American countries, there is only one round of balloting, and the candidate with the most votes is the winner.

The bishop will take office Aug. 15 for a five-year term.

Pope Not Planning Changes To Church Laws on Abuse

NEW YORK – Pope Benedict XVI is not planning any new changes to Church law in response to the clerical sexual abuse crisis, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, who commented April 19 after The New York Times ran a front-page story reporting that U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada, head of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation, had said the Vatican was considering further revisions to Church norms.

Father Lombardi said that, after the cardinal read the Times story, “Cardinal Levada told me they had not understood him. The changes already have been made. He did not intend to announce any changes, but he explained the norms that were put into effect recently for cases of sexual abuse,” Father Lombardi said.
“Further changes are not expected.”

The Times’ headline said, “Vatican hints at changes in church law on abuse.”

The story said Cardinal Levada’s remarks “came in response to three reporters as he left a luncheon in New York given by Time magazine.”

Group Tries to Stop Christian Emigration from Holy Land

JERUSALEM – Butros Abu Shanab said he may be like the tragic literary hero Don Quixote as he tries to stop the continuing tide of Christian emigration.

Abu Shanab, a 54-year-old architect who quit his job to spearhead the non-profit Holylanders Association for the Preservation of Christian Heritage, let out a wry laugh: Though he is intent on stopping the younger generation of Christians from emigrating, three of his own four children live abroad.

“I have one daughter studying in Berlin, a son studying in Australia, a married daughter and two grandchildren living in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and only one daughter is still living with us,” said Abu Shanab, a Greek Orthodox.

“This is very typical of Palestinian Christian families.”

Two years ago Abu Shanab left his job and began rallying all his energies and a large part of his finances into an ecumenical effort to curb Christian emigration and strengthen the community’s identity and traditions regardless of denomination.

His association just recently started its work.

N. Dakota Youth Craft Indian Gifts for Pope Benedict

WASHINGTON – A group of young people from a North Dakota parish serving the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation brought traditional American Indian gifts to honor Pope Benedict XVI when they visited the nation’s capital during the pontiff’s visit.
The gifts included a star quilt and a walking stick.

Both were made by members of the group, most of whom are American Indians and live on the Spirit Lake Reservation.

Thirteen-year-old Colby Gannon is hoping the 75-inch walking stick he crafted will be used once in a while when the pontiff takes a walk away from the public eye.

Made in the shape of a star, the quilt symbolizes the creation of the universe by God, said Kelly Gannon, Colby’s mother and a chaperone on the trip.

The words “Happy Birthday Pope Benedict” were embroidered on the quilt.

The gifts were presented to Father James Goodwin, a priest from the Diocese of Fargo, N.D., who is studying canon law at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

Father Goodwin told Catholic News Service April 22 he plans to deliver the gifts to Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., who will likely forward them to the Vatican.

North American College Loses in Clericus Semifinals

ROME – The Pontifical North American College Martyrs lost 4-0 in the semifinals of the Clericus Cup soccer tournament to last year’s champions, the Redemptoris Mater team of the Neocatechumenal Way’s seminary.

The Martyrs will play the UCRO team made up of Ukrainian and Croatian seminarians and priests for third place May 3.

It is the first time the NAC players have had a chance to capture third place. The undefeated Redemptoris Mater team will face the Legionaries of Christ's Mater Ecclesiae for the Clericus Cup championship the same day. While losing to "Red Mat" April 19 was a disappointment for the Martyrs, trainer and co-captain Daniel O'Mullane of Paterson, N.J., said the defeat was made even more bitter by what he called the aggressive play and poor sportsmanship displayed by the opposing team.

"We're still trying to digest the experience," he told Catholic News Service April 21. "We're not overly discouraged by the fact we lost a tough game," he said.