Document on the Church Is Meant for Catholics

SAN FRANCISCO – The recent Vatican document emphasizing that only the Catholic Church possesses the fullness of the means for salvation was created primarily as an instructional tool for Catholics and should not be read as a diminishing of other faith communities, according to the churchman who signed it.

On the contrary, said Cardinal William J. Levada, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which issued the document July 10, the narrative itself points out that “outside the Catholic Church elements of holiness and truth do exist and that the Holy Spirit is working in those other communities and churches as well.”

While visiting San Francisco, Cardinal Levada commented on his congregation’s work, Pope Benedict XVI’s recent instruction on the Tridentine Mass, emerging themes of the papacy and challenges facing the universal Church today. The former archbishop of San Francisco described as “purely coincidental” the fact that his congregation’s document on the nature of the Church was made public only three days after the pope’s announcement of his decision to allow broader use of the Tridentine rite.

Italian Priest Released After Captivity in the Philippines

ROME – Italian missionary Father Giancarlo Bossi, held by kidnappers in the southern Philippines, was released July 19 after 39 days of captivity.

The 57-year-old priest, a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, was unharmed but quite thin.

“I am well,” he told AsiaNews, a Rome-based news agency sponsored by his order.

“I’m happy because I just spoke to my family. Before returning to Italy, I would like to go and greet my parishioners in Payao,” the town where he was seized June 10.

Father Bossi spoke to AsiaNews from Zamboanga City before being taken to a military hospital for a quick checkup.

Father Bossi said his captors claimed they had kidnapped him on behalf of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which is believed to have ties to al-Qaeda.

The priest said he was told that the kidnappers were hoping for a large ransom.

Oregon Catholics Grieve, Pray Over Abuse Crisis

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Archbishop John G. Vlazny and other western Oregon Catholics gathered at churches in the archdiocese to express their continued sorrow over the clergy sex abuse scandal and to reaffirm a commitment that the abuse of children will never happen again.

The archbishop led a 90-minute prayer service with Benediction July 11 at St. Mary Cathedral in Portland that drew close to 300 people representing a cross section of Portland-area Catholics and including two judges who negotiated a settlement to the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case.

There were cathedral staffers, pastoral center workers, priests, deacons, religious, Spanish speakers, African-Americans, Vietnamese, doctors, victims, lawyers, major donors and street people.

Over the past decade, scores of people abused by priests in Oregon have come forward to bring the issue to light and get compensation.

The Archdiocese of Portland and its insurers have paid close to $100 million for abuse claims and went through a bankruptcy that lasted almost three years.
Abuse victims find it hard to trust the Church, and rebuilding that relationship will take a long time, the archbishop said.

Cardinal Seeks Names of Vatican Bishops in China

HONG KONG – The Vatican should consider disclosing the names of Chinese bishops who are in communion with the Holy See, said Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong.

“The names of those Chinese bishops in communion with the pope could not be too open in the past; otherwise, they would be imprisoned,” the cardinal said at a meeting with about 200 Hong Kong Catholics.

“Now, the Vatican should consider disclosing their names.”

The cardinal was meeting with the group to promote Pope Benedict XVI’s June 30 letter to Catholics in mainland China.

The letter established new guidelines to favor cooperation between clandestine Catholic communities and those officially registered with the Chinese government.

In the past, some clandestine Catholics were hesitant to participate in sacraments or Masses with bishops registered with the government, since they did not know if those bishops were in communion with the Holy See.

Cardinal Zen said fewer than 10 Chinese bishops were not in communion with the Holy See.

Bishop Zubik of Green Bay To Head Pittsburgh Diocese

WASHINGTON – Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop David A. Zubik of Green Bay, Wis., to head the Diocese of Pittsburgh, where he once was an auxiliary bishop.

Auxiliary Bishop Paul J. Bradley has been administrator of the Pittsburgh Diocese since June 2006. He was elected to the post after then-Bishop Donald W. Wuerl was installed to head the Washington Archdiocese.

“I was truly honored to serve the wonderful people of Green Bay,” Bishop Zubik said in a statement. “Green Bay became my new home. Now Pittsburgh is my home again.”

Scottish Prelates Want No Embryo Legislation

LONDON (CNS) — Scotland’s two most senior Catholic leaders have asked the newly appointed British prime minister to reconsider proposals to deliberately create children without fathers.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow have written to Gordon Brown, who replaced Tony Blair as prime minister June 27, to criticize the lack of sufficient public consultation over the Draft Human Tissue and Embryology Bill.