Archbishop ‘pained’ by number of people in Britain’s jails

The Archbishop of York has said that more must be done to educate people on being better citizens rather than resorting to imprisonment and heavy sentences as a deterrent to crime.

In a lecture to the Prisoners Education Trust, Dr John Sentamu said that putting people behind bars and handing out longer sentences did nothing to help society or criminals.

“In modern culture, the rights of the individual are now paramount – but you cannot have these rights without obligations and responsibilities,” he said.

“We need to get back to valuing ourselves and our neighbours – and understanding that there is a cost involved when a crime is committed, a cost to the criminal, a cost to the victim and a cost to the community.”

The Archbishop said he was “pained” by the size of Britain’s prison population, currently just over 90,000. He said that many of the prisoners were people who had “given up on community” and felt that the community had also given up on them.

“What we need is to educate people about how they can be better citizens – not encouraging people to turn their back on society, as some sort of perceived underclass,” he said.

Dr Sentamu argued that the stated aim of all justice and penal systems should be reintegration, as he warned that a culture of blame and condemnation led to feelings of alienation in the perpetrator and the victim.

“We need to show love and compassion while ensuring justice is served and seen to be served,” he said.

He praised the work of churches and church initiatives in tackling violent crime in their communities.

Many churches have focused their efforts on addressing the problem of gangs and anti-social behaviour in recent years and Street Pastors and Words 4 Weapons are among the initiatives to have received the praise of community leaders and the police.

Just last week, the Words 4 Weapons project was awarded the Peace Award for Community Engagement. Project founder Michael Smith received the award from Tim Bissett of Church Urban Fund at a ceremony attended by London Mayor Boris Johnson and the Rev Nims Obunge of the Peace Alliance.

 
The project invites people to hand their knives over in exchange for a bag containing a Bible and information on how to leave gangs and a life of crime.

SIC: CT/UK

Spanish archbishop will lead visitation of Legionaries' lay movement

A Spanish archbishop, who was part of the Vatican-led investigation of the Legionaries of Christ, will be the apostolic visitor of the congregation's lay movement, Regnum Christi.

Archbishop Ricardo Blazquez of Valladolid, Spain, is one of a number of appointees named recently to help the papal delegate, Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, in his task of governing the Legionaries and helping reform the order.

The four advisers who will help Archbishop De Paolis are Bishop Brian Farrell, a member of the Legionaries and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and three canon lawyers: Jesuit Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda, Sacred Heart Father Agostino Montan, and Msgr. Mario Marchesi, according to media reports.

The Vatican confirmed the list of appointees on Sept. 30.

The papal delegate, Italian Archbishop De Paolis, has broad powers of authority over the Legionaries of Christ as part of a major Vatican-led reform of the order.

Archbishop De Paolis will lead a commission in charge of revising the order's constitutions, and all members of the order have been encouraged to take an active part in the reform.

The role the advisers will play is flexible. According to the Vatican decree published in July detailing the papal delegate's role, "the delegate will have four personal advisers to aid him in carrying out his work, according to the circumstances and possibilities. These aides may be assigned specific tasks, particularly visits 'ad referendum.' With their help, the papal delegate will identify, discuss, and clarify the principal topics as they arise during the process he is called to lead."

Archbishop De Paolis, who will coordinate the visitation of the Legionaries' Regnum Christi movement, was in charge of naming the movement's visitor, Archbishop Blazquez.

Archbishop Blazquez, 68, served as president of the Spanish bishops' conference from 2005 to 2008 and headed the bishops' commission for the doctrine of the faith from 1993 to 2003.

The former professor of theology was one of five bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 to conduct a visitation of the Legionaries of Christ. He led the investigation of the congregation's centers and institutions in Europe, excluding Italy.

Among the four advisers to Archbishop DePaolis is Bishop Farrell, 66, who was born in Dublin, and was ordained a priest for the Legionaries in 1969. He served from 1970 to 1976 as director of the Legionaries' U.S. novitiate in Orange, Conn.

Italian Msgr. Marchesi is the vicar-general of the Diocese of Cremona and has taught canon law at the Legionaries' Pontifical Regina Apostolorum University in Rome.

Father Montan, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is episcopal vicar of the Rome Diocese's office for consecrated life and a professor of canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

Father Ghirlanda is a canon lawyer and the former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University.

The papal delegate and his four advisers have had the chance to work together before in their roles as advisers to several important Vatican agencies.

Archbishop De Paolis, Father Ghirlanda and Father Montan are consultors to the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Msgr. Marchesi and Fathers Ghirlanda and Montan serve as consultors to the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Archbishop De Paolis and Father Ghirlanda also are members of the Vatican's Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature and the Pontifical Council Legislative for Texts.

The Vatican-led investigation into the Legionaries and Regnum Christi came in the wake of revelations that the Legionaries' founder, the late Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, had fathered children and sexually abused seminarians.

His "most grave and objectively immoral conduct" called for "a path of profound revision" in the order, the Vatican said. Father Maciel's "true crimes" reflected "a life devoid of scruples and of authentic religious sentiment," it said.

SIC: CNS/INT'L

Bishops of Spain launch official website for upcoming papal visit

The Bishops’ Conference of Spain has launched an official website for the Holy Father’s November visit to the country. 

The website, available in four languages, will provide complete complete coverage of the Pope’s activities in Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona.

The website www.visitadelpapa2010.org is available in Spanish, Italian, English and French and features the official schedule of events, biographical information on Benedict XVI and statistics on the Church in Spain.

The website will stream the Pope’s visit live and includes links to additional information about the sites the Holy Father will be visiting.

SIC: CNA/EU

European bishops to reflect on demographics and the family

The Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe will meet September 30 to October 3 in Zagreb, Croatia to reflect on the theme, “Demography and the Family in Europe.” 

Thirty-six bishops, including many conference presidents, will participate in the meeting.

The council will also study the question of dialogue with the European Union and the Council of Europe, and it will hear reports on the upcoming World Youth Day in Madrid and on the work of the “Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians.”

The second part of the meeting will focus on the service the council provides to the Church in Europe and on the different activities the council’s committees have planned for the next year.

 
On Friday, October 1, the bishops will meet with Croatian President Ivo Josipovic.

SIC: CNA/EU

Protection of life requires 'love without measure,' Portland archbishop teaches

Announcing this year's initiative to protect life in his archdiocese, which will begin October 3 on Respect Life Sunday, Portland Archbishop John Vlazny penned an empathetic plea to all citizens of Oregon. 

His column in last Tuesday's Catholic Sentinel urged the faithful to consider the dignity and value of all human life, making a “love without measure” their motivation for choosing rightly even in the most difficult dilemmas.

“Sometimes the challenges can be formidable when our sisters and brothers are confronted with life issues,” he acknowledged, describing a number of situations in which individuals must make choices of a life-or-death nature.

“It’s very tempting for a college girl to seek an abortion,” he offered as an example, “when she barely knows the father and he offers to help pay for the abortion but in no way cares to be involved with raising a child.”

Likewise, “busy families with an aging grandparent who slips into a 'persistent vegetative state,'” may be “encouraged, even by physicians, to withdraw the food and water that keep him alive.”

The archbishop described a situation perhaps even more painful, involving a similar choice. “A young couple … suddenly finds they are pregnant again and this time with a little girl. But a second trimester ultrasound reveals that the girl has a genetic abnormality that won’t let her live beyond her first or second birthday.”

“There are no easy answers, but there are indeed some good answers that we know are right,” Archbishop Vlazny wrote. “Undoubtedly,” he continued, “sacrifices are going to be required in each instance. But we know that every human being, at every stage and condition is loved by God.”

He went on to describe how individuals facing those tremendous difficulties made the right choices: “A child was born and adopted. An elderly man died of natural causes and the devotion of the family inspired many. The short life of the little girl strengthened family life and helped parents to be truly thankful for the gifts and graces God had given them.”

“How we deal with these situations reflects the depth of our own humanity,” the archbishop pointed out. He explained that the U.S. bishops' Respect Life Program, conducted every October through Respect Life Sunday, “proclaims a consistent ethic of life, one which embraces a number of life issues” and stresses that “every human life is sacred.”

Highlighting examples of this ethical imperative in action, Archbishop Vlazny pointed to the growing pro-life movement among youth. “Once young people are aware of the gravity of abortion,” he observed, “they are eager to join the campaign to build a 'culture of life.'” He also praised the work of Martha and Mary Ministries, a group of nurses, clergy, doctors and others who help and comfort the terminally ill in Oregon.

“This month,” he proposed, “we Catholic people recommit ourselves in the protection of all human life, from conception to natural death.” He especially urged Catholics in Oregon and across the nation to “pray (the) rosary every day, within the family if possible, for the cause of life.”

 
“After all,” he concluded, recalling the theme of this year's national Respect Life Program, 

“The measure of love is to love without measure.”

SIC: CNA/USA

Pope’s October prayer intention focuses on Catholic universities

The Holy Father is asking for prayers in the month of October that universities might provide an environment that bears witness to the Gospel message.

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for October is: "That Catholic Universities may more and more be places where, in the light of the Gospel, it is possible to experience the harmonious unity existing between faith and reason."

His mission intention is: "That the World Mission Day may afford an occasion for understanding that the task of proclaiming Christ is an absolutely necessary service to which the Church is called for the benefit of humanity." 

SIC: CNA/INT'L

Disgraced Anglican bishop failed in his duty church tribunal finds

THE former Anglican bishop of the Murray was found guilty of disgraceful conduct by a church tribunal in Adelaide yesterday.

The body rebuked him and recommended that he be prohibited from acting as a bishop.

The special tribunal found Ross Davies had failed to deal appropriately with sexual misconduct allegations against an archdeacon, displayed a lack of commitment to the Anglican Church and used threatening and aggressive language towards parishioners.

Bishop Davies, who quit his position last week and received a $150,000 payment from the church, was not at the tribunal when it delivered its findings after a two-day hearing.

The bishop had faced nine internal charges brought by Adelaide Archbishop Jeffrey Driver and Bishop of Willochra Garry Weatherill relating to behaviour dating back to 2003.

The tribunal heard Bishop Davies had treated parishioners in a "dictatorial manner" and publicly expressed a desire to join the Catholic Church.

It also heard he had aligned himself with archdeacon Peter Coote, who had been accused of sexual misconduct by three female parishioners.

The tribunal found Bishop Davies had allowed Mr Coote to continue to hold positions of responsibility in the diocese, used his powers to subvert proper professional standards processes and failed to act on recommendations for action against the archdeacon.

"The tribunal regards breaches or interference in professional standards protocols as serious failures of duty," the tribunal said.

Bishop Davies tried to relinquish his holy orders on the weekend but failed because his attempt did not comply with church rules.

He could not be contacted for comment.

He had written to the tribunal denying the allegations.

The tribunal was told the bishop had been diagnosed with depression.

It said it would have recommended he be removed from office had he not already resigned.

Outside the tribunal, church warden Lee Lyons said parishioners felt betrayed by the bishop's behaviour.

"There's a lot of people that feel quite let down," she said.

Dr Driver said he was saddened and relieved by the findings.

"It is always a matter of great sadness when it becomes necessary for the church's disciplinary processes to be used in regard to a clergy member, particularly a bishop," he said.
"I am grateful that the careful processes of the special tribunal have provided an opportunity for the concerns and grief of people to be heard."

SIC: TA/AUS

3 traditional Anglican bishops have 2nd thoughts about union with Rome

The three newest bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion are having second thoughts about union with the Holy See and are instead engaged in merger talks with the Anglican Province of America-- a separate body of disaffected Anglicans-- according to a letter released by Archbishop John Hepworth, primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion.

“The College of Bishops [of the Traditional Anglican Communion] has been committed to seeking unity with the Holy See since the inception of the Traditional Anglican Communion,” said Archbishop Hepworth. 

Recalling that the bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion formally assented to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and that Pope Benedict’s apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus-- which provides for the establishment of Anglican ordinariates-- was a response to that petition, Archbishop Hepworth added:

There is no urgent pressure on individuals to join an Ordinariate. Individual discernment and a response in conscience undergird the corporate reunion that is at the heart of Anglicanorum Coetibus. 

There is no such luxury permitted to bishops, who have the sacred obligation by virtue of their office itself to teach in such a way that clergy and people form a true conscience. 

A bishop who cannot teach what the College has defined (and what is the universal teaching of the East and the West) has only one option, and that is to stand aside until he can teach in accord with the Church.

SIC: CC/AUS

Belgian bishops pledge to prevent further abuse

Belgium’s Catholic bishops say they are learning from their errors after an independent report highlighted hundreds of cases of sexual abuse by clergy. 

The bishops said the church would work with the government to prevent abuse and bring past cases to light. 

They said church officials would honor victims’ demands to be personally involved in new “healing initiatives.”

They pledged to set up a “center for recognition, healing and reconciliation,” staffed by four experts who would work with church and state institutions and draw up plans for financial compensation. 

They also pledged to establish guidelines for all church personnel working with children and young people.

The report recounted sexual abuse in most Catholic dioceses and all church-run boarding schools and religious orders.

SIC: CS/EU

Anglo-Catholicism crumbles as traditionalists prepare to enter the Ordinariate (Contribution)

Anglo-Catholicism within the Church of England is dispersing like a cloud of incense rolling down the nave. 

Those Anglicans who have decided to take advantage of Pope Benedict XVI’s historic offer of special privileges within the Roman Catholic Church are already constructing a network of Ordinariate communities that will bear fruit in new Catholic parishes. 

Crucially, they are led by two “flying” Anglican bishops, the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham of Ebbsfleet and the Rt Rev Keith Newton of Richborough.

Meanwhile, Anglo-Catholics who don’t feel ready to make the move yet, or perhaps at all, have muddied the waters with the creation of a body called the Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda (SSWSH) whose role is unclear, to say the least. 

Depending on who you listen to, it’s either a group of traditionalists who want to stay in the Church of England, playing the role of Japanese jungle fighters who don’t know the war is over, or a holding body for people who will join the Ordinariate eventually but need more time to prepare. 

[Update: I see from the thread below that SSWSH has already been christened "The Society of St Hinge and St Bracket".]

As Anna Arco of the Catholic Herald revealed on Friday, the Ordinariate could exist in embryo by the beginning of next year. In the words of Bishop Burnham: “It is expected that the first groups will be small congregations, energetically committed to mission and evangelism and serving the neighbourhood in which they are set.”

Over on Fr Ed Tomlinson’s blog, Burnham has some sharp observations on the subject of the Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda. He asks why a new body should succeed in preserving the future sacramental integrity of Anglo-Catholics inside the C of E when Forward in Faith has received nothing but rebuffs from the General Synod.

Good question. 

The mission statement of SSWSH describes itself as “a new Society for bishops, clergy, religious and laity [founded] in order to provide a place within the Church of England where catholics can worship and minister with integrity without accepting innovations that further distance the Church of England from the greater churches of the East and West.”

Some Anglo-Catholics are trying to present SSWSH as a “safe haven” for Anglicans who need time to plan the far-reaching adjustments to their lives required by the Ordinariate. But doesn’t Forward in Faith already perform that function? It sounds to me like an organisation for conservative Anglo-Catholics who don’t accept the authority of the Pope. That’s a perfectly respectable position to take, but let’s make two things clear.

First, any Anglo-Catholic parish that decides to stay in the Church of England has effectively de-Romanised itself. It should take down its pictures of Benedict XVI and stop inserting the name of the Pontiff before the prayers for its bishop. You can’t recognise the primacy of the See of Peter and then say “no thanks” when the Pope goes out on a limb – and he has – to welcome you into full communion with him.

Second, Anglo-Catholics are of course entitled to fight to preserve their sacramental order as Anglicans rather than as Roman Catholics. They are the heirs of Pusey and Keble. But the notion that the Church of England will grant them “a place … where they can minister with integrity” without compromising that sacramental order is fantasy. How many more times does the Synod have to tell them that they won’t be allowed to reject the authority of women bishops and priests before the message sinks in?

Ask yourself this question: how can a seminaran who believes that women cannot be priests now put himself forward for ordination in the Church of England in good conscience? The answer is that he can’t do so without performing the most peculiar theological acrobatics. And, indeed, very few seminarians will go down this route – as the C of E is well aware.

Anglo-Catholicism as we used to understand it – that is, as a fully functioning part of the Church of England that rejects the ordination of women – may not be dead, but it is terminally ill. 

Its adherents can stay where they are and resign themselves to extinction. 

They can soften their beliefs, in which case a very warm welcome awaits from “Affirming Catholicism” and its Kim Philbys. 

They can reconstruct their communities as a “continuing Anglican Church”. They can convert to Rome, either individually, like Blessed John Henry Newman, or as part of an Ordinariate whose primary purpose – as Bishop Burnham emphasises – is to evangelise.

But, as the bishop also makes clear, the Ordinariate will recognise the Petrine ministry as it is currently (and will always be) exercised. 

Anglo-Catholics who have a “different understanding” of papal primacy have a number of options open to them, including the mysterious SSWSH – but none of them is the Roman one.

SIC: TC/UK

Cardinal Turkson says church's policies are consistent

Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, the President of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, has said   consistency and coherence in the formulation of policies and their implementation in the Catholic Church were very important.

    

He said policies of the Catholic Church were not targeted to benefit the society now but also for future generations also.

    

Cardinal Turkson said this at a press briefing in Accra at the end of a four-day seminar of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in Accra on Tuesday.

   

He said the seminar was to address social issues affecting African countries and the world at large.

    

Cardinal Turkson said the seminar would also improve the lives of the people since steps had been taken to tackle economic, political and social problems.

    

He said because faith was not only to come from the mouth but also be put into practice, all branches of the Pontifical Council would try as much as possible to implement policies and decisions reached at the seminar in their various countries.

   

Cardinal Turkson gave the assurance that the basic principle of the Catholic Church, that is respect for human dignity and good, was at the forefront of every deliberation at the seminar.

    

The Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace was set up in 1967 to promote justice and peace in the world in accordance with the Gospel and the social teachings of the Catholic Church.

    

It also assembles and evaluates information and the results of research on justice and peace, the development of peoples and violations of human rights as well as heightens awareness on the need to promote peace.

    

The council is duplicated in all dioceses in the world, and serves as departments that monitor events that need immediate intervention.

SIC: GNA/AFRICA

Catholic Church seeks limit on sex abuse payouts in Germany

The Catholic Church called Thursday for Germany to agree to a ceiling on compensation payouts by sports clubs, boarding schools and religious organizations to sex abuse victims.

The Catholic bishops did not disclose how high they thought the ceiling should be. They made the proposal at a government-headed meeting with other institutions and victim groups.

Abuse by pedophile German priests from the 1950s to 1990s came into the open this year, after similar scandals in Ireland and Belgium. Victims have alleged that the church covered up the abuse.

In Germany, the scandal quickly widened with similar disclosures by other churches, non-religious groups and sporting organizations of crimes against children, ranging from violence and exhibitionism to serial rape.

Berlin summoned the victims, who are now adult, and groups that employed the pedophiles to negotiate a broad settlement.

The church, with 26 million members among Germany's 80 million population, said compensation should be proportionate to each victim's present-day need for psychological counseling.

It should not be equal across all the cases, nor should it cover past counseling, said the proposal. The meeting, headed by three cabinet ministers, is discussing cases that are so old that the victims can no longer sue in the courts.

Victim representatives have said a sliding scale between 5,000 and 80,000 euros ($7,000 and $106,000) would be appropriate.

Germany's legal system does not provide for punitive damages such as the millions of dollars paid a decade ago by U.S. Catholic dioceses for sex abuse, or the big sums paid last year by Catholic bodies in Ireland.

Bishop Stephan Ackermann, the Catholic envoy on the issue, said before it met, "I can understand that many victims are getting impatient and that nobody wants this put off forever."

But it would torpedo the talks if amounts were named outside the meeting, he said. Small groups with modest finances, such as sports clubs, would simply walk out if they could not afford to pay, he said.

SIC: KSC/EU

CBCP chief denies saying Aquino should be excommunicated

The head of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has claimed that his statement on having President Benigno Aquino III excommunicated was taken out of context and blown out of proportion.

Bishop Nereo Odchimar of Tandag, Surigao del Sur, said his interview on church-owned Radio Veritas focused on some forms of birth control that could be considered as abortion.

Abortion is a ground for excommunication from the Catholic church, but the move will have to depend on other factors, he added.

He said that he did not specifically call for Aquino to be excommunicated.

"He [Aquino] must consider the position of the Catholic Church because we are approaching these issues from the moral aspect like the unborn. Abortion is a grave crime. Excommunication is attached to it. That is an issue of gravity, that is a violation of God's commandment," the prelate said in the radio interview.

“As a matter of fact, excommunication is attached to those who commit abortion,” he added.

The President is supporting contraceptive use.

He said he has not changed his position to provide couples an informed choice in planning their families despite the excommunication threat.

“We are all guided by our consciences,” Aquino said in a statement. “The state's duty is to educate our families as to their responsibilities and to respect their decisions if they are in conformity to our laws.”

Odchimar, meanwhile, invited the President to hold a dialogue with the Catholic Church.

He said that he has yet to talk to CBCP members regarding the religious body’s official stand on Aquino’s position on family planning.

Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon said Odchimar’s statement was a personal opinion and did not reflect the CBCP’s official stand.

Bastes said excommunication in the church is a long and complicated process.

He added that the sanction is a serious punishment because it means that the excommunicated person is totally separated from the church.

Any excommunication declaration will come from Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, said Bastes

SIC: ABS/INT'L

Revised Protestant Bible unveiled in Hong Kong

The Revised Chinese Union Version (RCUV) of the Bible was published with modern readers in mind and a closer meaning to the original text.

Chris Chow, marketing manager of the Hong Kong Bible Society, told ucanews.com that many words in the old Chinese Union Version were different from today’s terms and the translation work done 91 years ago might not be able to bring out the true meaning of Scripture.

He cited an example in which Jesus is described as “rallying” in Galilee (John 7:1) in the old version. 

“This is now revised as Jesus ‘visits’ Galilee, since the word ‘rally’ nowadays carries the meaning of protest and confrontation.”

The RCUV will also reflect more contemporary understanding of the original text of the Bible, Chow noted.

The old version, published in 1919, was translated by Bible societies in Britain and the US as well as some mission societies and Chinese Christians. Over the years, it has become the authorized, canonical version used by 70 million Chinese Protestants around the world.

However, the call for a revision has existed since the 1950s.

After consulting Chinese Church leaders in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan and in Southeast Asia, the United Bible Societies decided to begin revision in 1983 but later turned it over to the Hong Kong Bible Society in 2000.

“Since revising the Bible requires huge resources, it took 27 years and 40 scholars to complete the project,” Chow added.

Observing that there are more iPhone users, mostly young people, in Hong Kong, the local bible society also hopes to introduce an RCUV app by the end of this year as “we always strive to provide different platforms for Bible readers,” he noted.

The dedication ceremony of the RCUV was conducted by Archbishop Paul Kwong of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (Anglican Church) at the St. John’s Cathedral on Sept. 27.

Chow Lien-hwa, the RCUV project’s chief editor, and Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, along with representatives of the Bible societies conducted a scroll-opening rite in the ceremony.

Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming, vicar general of the Hong Kong Catholic diocese told the media in the ceremony that the Studium Biblicum have also been revising the official Chinese Catholic Bible for 20 years and the revision of the four Gospels have been finished in 2000.

SIC: CTH/IND

Atheists beat Catholics on religious knowledge

A US survey has found that atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups on a new survey of religious knowledge, outperforming Protestants and Catholics.

On average, Americans correctly answer 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions on the survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Atheists and agnostics average 20.9 correct answers, the Center says in a statement.

Jews and Mormons do about as well, averaging 20.5 and 20.3 correct answers, respectively.

Protestants as a whole average 16 correct answers; Catholics as a whole, 14.7. Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons perform better than other groups on the survey even after controlling for differing levels of education.

On questions about Christianity – including a battery of questions about the Bible – Mormons (7.9 out of 12 right on average) and white evangelical Protestants (7.3 correct on average) show the highest levels of knowledge. Jews and atheists/agnostics stand out for their knowledge of other world religions, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism; out of 11 such questions on the survey, Jews answer 7.9 correctly (nearly three better than the national average) and atheists/agnostics answer 7.5 correctly (2.5 better than the national average).

Atheists/agnostics and Jews also do particularly well on questions about the role of religion in public life, including a question about what the U.S. Constitution says about religion.

These are among the key findings of the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey, a nationwide poll conducted from May 19 through June 6, 2010, among 3,412 Americans age 18 and older, on landlines and cell phones, in English and Spanish. Jews, Mormons and atheists/agnostics were oversampled to allow analysis of these relatively small groups.1

The U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey shows that large numbers of Americans are uninformed about the tenets, practices, history and leading figures of major faith traditions – including their own. Many people also think the constitutional restrictions on religion in public schools are stricter than they really are.

More than four-in-ten Catholics in the United States (45%) do not know that their church teaches that the bread and wine used in Communion do not merely symbolize but actually become the body and blood of Christ.

About half of Protestants (53%) cannot correctly identify Martin Luther as the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation, which made their religion a separate branch of Christianity.

SIC: CTH/ASIA

Vatican bank bosses questioned

Italian prosecutors have questioned the Vatican bank's two top officials as part of a money-laundering probe that resulted in the seizure of £19 million from a one of its accounts.

Chairman Ettore Gotti Tedeschi and the director general Paolo Cipriani spent about four hours at the prosecutor's office a week after authorities seized the account as a precaution.

The chairman said as he left the meeting the allegations resulted from a "misunderstanding" that he hoped would be cleared up.

He said the men had asked to be interrogated.

The Vatican has stood by Gotti Tedeschi and Cipriani and insisted that its bank, officially known as the Institute for Religious Works, was actually in the process of trying to come into compliance with international norms to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Vatican bank's finances have long been shrouded in secrecy. Most famously, it was implicated in a scandal over the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano in the 1980s in one of Italy's largest fraud cases.

Roberto Calvi, the head of Banco Ambrosiano, was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1982 in circumstances that remain mysterious.

Banco Ambrosiano collapsed following the disappearance of 1.3 billion dollars in loans the bank had made to several dummy companies in Latin America. The Vatican had provided letters of credit for the loans.

While denying any wrongdoing, the Vatican bank agreed to pay 250 million to Ambrosiano's creditors.

The Ambrosiano scandal and other cases of shady dealings, including alleged bribes passed on to Italian politicians via Vatican bank accounts, were outlined in depth in the 2009 book "Vatican SpA," based on a treasure trove of documents left behind by a former Vatican bank official.

Author Gianluigi Nuzzi said this week that the Vatican had undergone a shift in trying to come clean following the scandals of the past and seemed legitimately intent on reforming.

He said the investigation launched by prosecutors could merely have been a "warning shot" from the Bank of Italy to get its finances in line.

SIC: BT/UK

Maronite Patriarchate warns of “tension rising” to the point of conflict in Lebanon

The Maronite Patriarchate has warned the whole country against "rising tension" that rages between the majority and Hezbollah which could erupt into street clashes.

The Maronite Church warning is contained in the communiqué from the monthly meeting of the Assembly of Maronite Bishops, gathered under the chairmanship of the card. Nasrallah Sfeir.

"The bishops - says the statement - have reviewed the situation in Lebanon. They are seriously alarmed by the growing tension between the different factions of the country, which threatens to turn into a community war”.

The alarm comes as the gap between the majority – led of course by Prime Minister Saad Hariri - and Hezbollah widens. 

Two days ago, on behalf of Hezbollah, Ghaleb Abu Zainab, from the Hezbollah Political Council, said that he opposes Lebanon's financing of the UN tribunal in charge of the investigation into the assassination of Rafik Hariri, with Beirut covering 49% of its costs.

His position directly contradicts that of the Prime Minister, who yesterday said that it is important "not to forget the blood of the martyr Rafik Hariri."

The internal crisis has revolved around the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (TSL) for weeks now. 

Hezbollah accuses the TSL of being "in the pay of Israel" and fear that the TSL will accuse them of being implicated in the murder, an eventuality that was never openly expressed nor confirmed by the court, which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands.

This possibility raises fears of the worst. The Maronite MP Sleiman Frangieh, a personal friend of Syrian President Bashar el-Assad last week warned that an indictment of Hezbollah would mean war between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon.

For his part, Walid Mouallem, Syrian Foreign Minister, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal said: "We believe that a condemnation of Hezbollah by the TSL will be a major factor in the problems in Lebanon."

The tension is rising just as most of the country's Catholic bishops are preparing to travel to Rome to participate in the work of the Synod of the Churches of the Middle East, due to be held at the Vatican October 10 to 24.

In diplomatic circles it is rumoured that the indictment of the tribunal will be released "later this year." 

Will peace in Lebanon resist until then? 

Any conflict would mean that the umbrella policy provided by Syria and Saudi Arabia to Lebanon has been destroyed. Is that possible? Could Hezbollah be bluffing? 

These are the questions that nearly all Lebanese are asking themselves, but so far no answers have been found.

SIC: AN/INT'L

Beirut gets a copy of the Holy Shroud

An exact copy of the Shroud of Turin, the linen cloth that wrapped the body Christ, has arrived in Beirut by the will of His Beatitude Nersès Bedros, the Armenian Catholic patriarch. 

After a pilgrimage to Turin last May, he decided to display permanently a replica at St Elias Cathedral in Beirut’s Debbas Square.

The shroud will stay for two days at the chapel of the Patriarch’s Resident in Geitaoui, then go to the convent of Mzommar, and eventually come back to St Elis Cathedral where it will be on permanent display.

The copy of the Shroud of Turin is 4.53 metres long and 43 centimetres wide. Mgr Giuseppe Ghiberti, president of the Diocesan Commission for the Shroud, was in charge of transportation.  

SIC: AN/MIDEAST

Islamic veil ban in Dutch coalition deal

A ban on wearing the full Islamic veil in the Netherlands will be part of the government's programme under a pact to form a coalition, party leaders say.

The Liberals and Christian Democrats have had to make concessions to anti-Islamist Geert Wilders to gain his support for their minority coalition.

The deal ends months of deadlock but still needs to be ratified by Christian Democrats in a meeting on Saturday.

The pact includes plans for budget cuts of 18bn euros ($24bn; £15bn) by 2015.

It also tightens rules on immigration and boosts the number of police officers.

 

"Important reforms will be carried out in the Netherlands," Liberal party leader Mark Rutte said in presenting the pact, titled Freedom and Responsibility.

"We want to give the country back to the working Dutch citizen."

The Liberal party (VVD) and the Christian Democrats (CDA) have 52 seats between them in the 150-seat parliament and propose to form a minority government. They would rely on the Freedom Party's 24 seats to pass legislation by a tiny margin.

Under the deal, VVD leader Mr Rutte would become prime minister, forming a cabinet with the CDA, led by Maxime Verhagen.

Mr Verhagen described the deal as a "very good governing agreement".

"I am convinced that it is an agreement that every Christian Democrat will be able to identify with," he said.

 

Marathon talks

The deal has angered some CDA MPs who do not want to work with Mr Wilders.

CDA MPs decided after marathon talks on Wednesday to leave the final decision on joining the coalition to a special conference on Saturday.

Mr Wilders is well known for his controversial far-right views.

He has campaigned to stop the "Islamisation of the Netherlands" and is due to stand trial next week on hate speech charges for allegedly insulting Islam.

The Netherlands has been run by a caretaker government since February when a coalition led by the CDA's former leader, Jan Peter Balkenende, collapsed after a row over military involvement in Afghanistan.

June's general election delivered a surge of support for the Freedom Party, which won the third biggest share of the seats.

SIC: BBC/EU

Pope: the human person at the centre communications in the digital age

"Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age", is the theme chosen by Benedict XVI for the 45th World Communications Day.

According to a press release published  by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, it " is to be understood as focusing on the human person who is at the heart of all communicative processes. 

Even in an age that is largely dominated, and at times conditioned, by new technologies, the value of personal witness remains essential.

To approach the truth and to take on the task of sharing it requires the “guarantee” of an authenticity of life from those who work in the media, and especially from Catholic journalists; an authenticity of life that is no less required in a digital age".   

"Technology, on its own, cannot establish or enhance a communicator’s credibility, nor can it serve as a source of the values which guide communication. The truth must remain the firm and unchanging point of reference of new media and the digital world, opening up new horizons of information and knowledge. Ideally, it is the pursuit of truth which constitutes the fundamental objective of all those who work in the media".   

The full text of the message for the 45th World Communications Day will be released on 24 January 2011, the feast of Saint Francis De Sales, patron of journalists. 

 SIC: AN/EU

Corrib area a victim of politicians, says priest

A PARISH priest in north Mayo has told a Bórd Pleanála hearing into the controversial Corrib gas project that his community has been a victim of “tarnished and untrusted holders of political office”.

Speaking during the closing statements on the 20th day of the resumed hearing into the last section of the pipeline, Fr Michael Nallen said “politically this project has been through unsafe hands”.

He cited in particular former taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s involvement after planning appeals board inspector Kevin Moore turned down the then configured project in 2003.

Fr Nallen also said certain “media outlets . . . connected to the oil industry have blocked access to the means of expression for those who have genuine reasons to be concerned about the impact of the project”.

He argued there had been “derogatory dismissals of community concerns and objections by adopted advocates” of the project.

“People have been engaged to find ways of dividing, dismissing and dismantling human and community values [so as] to impose something that brings fear and alienation,” Fr Nallen said.

In his closing remarks, nonagenarian Desmond Brannigan said An Bord Pleanála’s decision not to accept Mr Moore’s report had created the continuing “impasse”.

In 2003, Mr Moore stated “this is the wrong site” from strategic planning, government policy, environmental impact and sustainable development perspectives.

Mr Brannigan, a marine consultant, said yesterday: “We are of the view that the failure of all political parties to support this community is probably the most serious remission of which any political party can be guilty.”

The resumed planning appeals board hearing is under the remit of the Strategic Infrastructure Act and is deliberating on a revised application by Shell, which involves tunnelling a section of the pipeline route under the Sruwaddacon estuary, a special area of conservation.

It has also examined compulsory acquisition orders by Shell for access to lands along this newly modified route, the third proposed by the developer.

In his closing remarks, Niall Harnett of Rossport Solidarity Camp referred to issues about “the strategic importance and security of supply” of Corrib gas. He said that Shell’s senior counsel, Esmonde Keane, “has stressed on a number of occasions that EU law forbids Shell from giving a guarantee to sell the gas to the Irish State only”.

Mr Harnett also asked inspector Martin Nolan: “Is the decision-making ability and integrity of the board compromised by the imposing existence of an already constructed refinery at Bellanaboy and 80km of laid offshore pipeline? Are you under intolerable pressure to allow the ‘last bit’ to be fitted?” 

He continued: “Is this proper planning? Is it not a prime example of ‘project splitting’? Are you in fact being asked to facilitate this ‘planning by stealth’?”

Speaking on behalf of Mayo County Council, Ward McEllin outlined the history, work and make-up of committees established to monitor the project. 

He noted that following recommendations by independent mediator Peter Cassells in 2006, community representation on both the Project Monitoring Committee (PMC) and the Environmental Monitoring Group had been increased.

Mr McEllin said: “The PMC has worked most effectively as a monitoring committee and has carried out regular visits to the site. In carrying out the function of monitoring the matters specified by An Bord Pleanála, the PMC has been instrumental in avoiding any of the major environmental issues sometimes encountered in such a major infrastructure development”.

SIC: IT/IE

Bishops summoned to Rome for abuse crisis talks

IRELAND'S four senior Catholic churchmen have been summoned to Rome next week to prepare for a special Vatican investigation into the state of the scandal-ridden Irish church.

The unprecedented probe was ordered by Pope Benedict last March in response to the shocking Murphy Report into top level cover-ups of paedophile clerics.

Cardinal Sean Brady will be joined by Archbishops Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Dermot Clifford of Cashel and Emly and Michael Neary of Tuam for high-level talks with heads of Vatican congregations.

Last night, Martin Long, the head of the Bishops' Communications Office, confirmed to the Irish Independent that the invitation was issued by the Vatican's Congregation of Bishops.

Church sources said they are not expected to meet Pope Benedict, who regards the Irish church's paedophile scandals as a major challenge to his pontificate.

Since last February's special summit in Rome when Pope Benedict discussed the crisis with Irish church leaders, the Pope's pontificate has been confronted with similar large-scale abuse of children by clergy in countries such as Belgium, Switzerland and his native Germany.

Pope Benedict has rejected claims that he covered up abuse cases both as Archbishop of Munich and later as head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Earlier this month he met victims of abuse during his visit to Britain and reaffirmed his determination to root out paedophile abuse scandals, which have threatened the credibility of the Catholic Church and his own papacy.

While in Rome, the Irish churchmen will come face to face with a team of investigators appointed by Pope Benedict to examine the four Irish archdioceses and "some other as yet unspecified dioceses".

These will include Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the retired Archbishop of Westminster, who will inspect Cardinal Brady's archdiocese of Armagh, and Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston who is to inspect Dublin. 

Toronto's Archbishop Christopher Collins will investigate Cashel, while Ottawa's Archbishop Terence Prendergast will look at the west of Ireland archdiocese of Tuam.

An investigation of the state of Irish seminaries will be conducted by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York.

Visitation

The Rome meeting will plan the terms of reference of the visitation by the cardinals and archbishops who will be accompanied by a number of priests and religious sisters who are also to probe religious orders.

The investigators, known as apostolic visitors, will report their findings directly to Pope Benedict.

A senior Vatican official has defended the visitation on the grounds that the Holy See "wants to ask its own questions, in its own time" about the conclusions already contained in the two Irish state inquiries.

A statement issued last night by the Catholic Communications Office in Maynooth said the purpose of the visitation will be to offer assistance and contribute to the spiritual and moral renewal of the church in Ireland. 

"It will facilitate reflection, evaluation and renewal of church life," it added.

SIC: II/IE

Bishop criticises education board offer to canon in Cork

AN OFFER to allow a Church of Ireland nominee sit on a Vocational Education Committee board as an observer failed to address a fundamental problem regarding protecting community representation, a leading Church of Ireland clergyman said yesterday.

The Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, Rt Rev Paul Colton, said the offer to allow his nominee, Canon George Salter, to sit as an observer on the Cork County VEC Board didn’t address the need for legislative reform to ensure that community places on the board were free from political interference.

The offer came from Cork County VEC chairman, Fine Gael councillor Noel O’Connor, who said observers were allowed to attend VEC board meetings in other counties. 

Mr O’Connor was speaking after Canon Salter lost out in the contest for one of four community representative places on the 25-person board when Fine Gael members of Cork County Council nominated and backed former Fine Gael councillor, Tom Sheahan of Buttevant.

Bishop Colton asked on what basis the offer was being made and in what capacity Canon Salter would serve as an observer on the board. 

“What the chairman is suggesting sounds to me like an ad-hoc response to a very serious situation. I have no idea on what basis this invitation is being extended to Canon Salter – is it extended to him in his personal capacity, as my nominee or as a Church of Ireland nominee?”

Mr O’Connor said he supported Bishop Colton’s call for legislative reform but he rejected a suggestion the offer amounted to tokenism as Canon Salter would not have any vote.

SIC: IT/IE

Bishop calls for VEC rules review

CHURCH of Ireland Bishop of Cork Paul Colton has called for a review of the legislation governing the setting up of VECs after a controversial vote saw a Church of Ireland nominee dumped off the Cork VEC committee.

The nominee, Douglas- based Reverend Canon George Salter was replaced by a former Fine Gael councillor during a County Hall meeting to fill four vacancies on the county VEC.

During a furious row, Fine Gael was accused of indulging in political cronyism by putting up a former county councillor as a candidate against two religious nominees – who would normally be elected unopposed.

Cllr Donal O’Rourke (FF), a former chairman of the VEC, said a "model agreement" had existed for as long as anybody could remember and that two religious nominees were appointed to the 25-person committee. Although their powers are strictly limited, committee members are paid travel and subsistence allowances for attending meetings and conferences.

In a statement, Bishop Colton said it was "wholly inappropriate" that four community placements were being sought out by politicians.

"The legislation constituting the VEC provides for the election of four representatives of the community. Politicians, parents and VEC staff are elected under other headings. Given that the largest number on the VEC are members of the county council, it is, in my view, wholly inappropriate that the four community places allocated to be shared between students, teacher unions, commerce, Irish language interests and voluntary associations, are also coveted by political parties," he said.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Cork and Ross and the Diocese of Cloyne said both dioceses are co-trustees with the VEC in 15 of the 21 post primary schools in the county.

In that context, the spokesman said, it was "not unreasonable" that there were Church representatives on the VEC committee. There is however currently "no statutory provision" for religious interests.

A number of years ago, both of the Cork dioceses had a VEC seat each but now just one nominated seat is shared between the dioceses and that is currently held by Fr Tom Deenihan of Cork and Ross.

SIC: IE/IE