Episcopal Bishops to Meet Over Same-Sex Unions

NAVASOTA, Texas – The bishops of the U.S. Episcopal Church have requested a meeting with the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion to discuss ways of avoiding a rupture with other Anglican churches over the ordination of an openly gay bishop and the blessing of same-sex unions.

The issues have divided the U.S. church, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and alienated the U.S. church leadership from the bishops of many other Anglican churches.

A March 20 resolution by the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops expressed a desire to remain part of the Anglican Communion but said that the bishops cannot accept Anglican calls to end the same-sex blessings or to adopt a policy of not electing openly gay people as bishops.

Israel Delays Session on The Church’s Legal Status

VATICAN CITY – Israel postponed a major negotiating session with Vatican officials on questions regarding the Church’s legal and financial status in the Holy Land.

The Vatican expressed disappointment at yet another delay in the on-again, off-again talks, which began 15 years ago.

Israel told the Vatican the meeting would have to be delayed because it coincided with important developments in the Middle East.

The Vatican said it understood the reasons for Israel’s decision, but expressed its regret at the delay and said the meeting should be rescheduled quickly.

Italian Bishops: Rights for Gay Couples Inconsistent

VATICAN CITY – Supporting legislation that gives legal rights to gay or heterosexual couples who are not married is a position that is not consistent with the Catholic faith, said members of the permanent council of the Italian bishops’ conference.

“The faithful Christian is obliged to form his conscience” in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church, the bishops said as Italian politicians continued to debate legislative proposals recognizing unions formed by unmarried couples, including homosexuals.

The Vatican said Catholic politicians “cannot appeal to the principle of pluralism or to the autonomy of lay involvement in political life to support policies affecting the common good which compromise or undermine fundamental ethical requirements.”

California Coalition Fights Against Assisted Suicide Bill

LOS ANGELES – Buoyed by the resounding defeat of an assisted suicide bill in Vermont , opponents of AB 374 – the California Compassionate Choices Act – are stepping up statewide campaign efforts against the measure proposing the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.

Members of Californians Against Assisted Suicide, a diverse coalition that includes medical professionals, disability rights groups, pro-life advocates and religious leaders, are actively lobbying legislators to reject AB 374.

Coalition representatives have already begun contacting Assembly members “who may be more open to listening to our public policy arguments against AB 374,” said Carol Hogan, communications director for the California Catholic Conference.

Pope to Youth: Penance Is Sacrament of God’s Mercy

VATICAN CITY – The sacrament of penance is the sacrament of God’s mercy and an outpouring of God’s healing love, Pope Benedict XVI told young people from Rome.

“With this sacrament’s penitential cleansing, we are readmitted into full communion with God and with the church,” the pope told the young people attending a penance service.

So many young people requested the free tickets to the liturgy that hundreds of them had to watch on television screens in the Vatican audience hall; they were joined by dozens of priests who ensured they, too, had an opportunity to receive the sacrament.

After the communal prayers, Pope Benedict removed his heavy purple cope and, dressed in an alb with a purple stole, went into a confessional where he spent 35 minutes hearing confessions behind a screen.

Vatican Broadcasts Will Begin High Definition

VATICAN CITY – Keeping in step with the fast pace of communications technology, the Vatican television center is to begin broadcasting in high definition.
The first papal event to be aired using the new format will be a special April 15 Mass celebrating Pope Benedict XVI’s April 16 birthday.

“We’ve realized that if we want to continue to do a good job of broadcasting footage of the pope to other television stations, we have to be ready for the day” when high definition is expected to become the norm in television broadcasting, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman and head of the Vatican television center..

Pope’s Birthday at Vatican Means Day Off and Bonus

VATICAN CITY – Vatican employees will celebrate Pope Benedict XVI’s 80th birthday with a day off from work and a fatter paycheck.

April 16 will be a holiday for all Vatican workers. Employees also will receive about $667 more in that week’s paycheck to mark the celebration.
Pope Benedict will begin his birthday celebrations early by saying a special Mass April 15 in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Vatican also marks as holidays April 19, the day of the pope’s 2005 election, and the “name day” of the pope March 19, the feast day of St. Joseph, because Pope Benedict’s birth name is Joseph Ratzinger.

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, near Dubuque, is known for the lives of prayer the Trappistine Sisters lead there and for the delicious caramels they make.

Now an even wider audience will get a glimpse into their lives.

A four-part television series, “The Monastery,” filmed in Dubuque a year ago, will be shown on the TLC cable channel. It will debut at 2 p.m. EDT on Easter, April 8, and continue for three more Sundays at the same time.

Five women who answered a casting call were chosen to spend 40 days and nights in a women’s monastery. The entire 40 days were filmed.

The finished product is a companion to “The Monastery” series filmed at the men’s Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, N.M., shown last fall.

VATICAN CITY – Sometime soon, Pope Benedict XVI is expected to broaden permission to use the Tridentine Mass, a long-standing request of traditionalists who favor the rite used before the Second Vatican Council.

The move is aimed at ending a liturgical dispute which has simmered for more than 20 years.

In the process, it could clarify how the pope intends to implement what he once described as a “liturgical reconciliation” in the modern Church.

The pope will enunciate the new policy in a document to be released after more than a year of debate and discussion at the Vatican.

The Roman Curia had mixed views on expanding the use of the Tridentine rite, and so did the world’s cardinals and bishops.