ZENIT, Daily dispatch
The World Seen From Rome
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VATICAN DOSSIER
* Solidarity a Global Challenge, Says Pope
* Pontiff Urges Lebanese to Focus on Common Good
* Saudi's Visit to Vatican Seen as Good Start
* Polish Priest Named Family-Council Secretary
* French Bishop Named to Education Congregation
ANALYSIS
* Undermining Parents
WORLD FEATURES
* U.S. Bishops: Iran Issue Needs Diplomacy
NEWS BRIEFS
* Religious Leaders Resolved for Mideast Peace
ANGELUS
* On St. Martin of Tours
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VATICAN DOSSIER
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Solidarity a Global Challenge, Says Pope
Urges Sharing of Resources, Including Technology
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says he is convinced that solidarity is the great challenge of the globalized world.
"[O]nly through a common commitment to sharing [is it] possible to respond to the great challenge of our time: that of building up a world of peace and justice in which every man can live with dignity," the Pope said today before leading the praying of the midday Angelus in St. Peter's Square.
He added, "This can happen if a global model of authentic solidarity prevails, one that is able to assure all the inhabitants of the planet food, water, necessary medicines, and also work and energy resources, as well as cultural goods and scientific and technological knowledge."
The Holy Father meditated on the example left by the saint that the Church celebrates today, Martin of Tours (316-397), a soldier, bishop, and founder of the oldest known monastery in Europe.
The Pope recalled that St. Martin has passed into history above all for an act of fraternal charity, which has inspired numerous artists, such as El Greco.
"While still a young soldier, he met a poor man along the road who was frozen and trembling from the cold," the Pontiff explained. "Martin took his own cloak and cutting it with his sword, gave half of it to the man. That night Jesus appeared to Martin in a dream, smiling and wrapped in the cloak."
Benedict XVI exhorted all Christians "to be, like St. Martin, generous witnesses of the Gospel of charity and tireless builders of solidary sharing."
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Pontiff Urges Lebanese to Focus on Common Good
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says Lebanon and its institutions are at risk, as the country prepared for presidential elections.
In a message delivered after praying the midday Angelus today, the Pope asked Lebanese politicians to leave personal interests aside and to focus together on the common good.
The Holy Father observed that the Lebanese Parliament will soon be called to elect a new head of state. Initially scheduled for Monday, the legislature postponed the election of a new president until Nov. 21. The term of Emile Lahoud, the current president, ends Nov. 24.
This is already the second postponement of presidential elections. According to Lebanon's Constitution, the president must come from the Maronite Catholic minority.
Benedict XVI noted, "As numerous initiatives undertaken in recent days have shown, this is a crucial moment on which depends the very survival of Lebanon and its institutions."
The Holy Father made his own "the concerns recently expressed by the Maronite patriarch, His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, and his desire that the new president recognize all Lebanese."
The Pope invoked Mary to "inspire in all the parties involved the necessary detachment from personal interests and a true passion for the common good."
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Saudi's Visit to Vatican Seen as Good Start
"If We Do Not Begin, We'll Never Arrive," Says Father Lombardi
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Saudi Arabian king's visit to Benedict XVI was a big step toward an improved relationship between that country and the Holy See, says the director of the Vatican press office.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi analyzed during this week's edition of the Vatican television show "Octava Dies" the first-ever visit of a Saudi king to a Pontiff
The Holy Father's Tuesday meeting with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud "caught the attention of a good part of the world's media and was read everywhere as a positive sign," the Holy See's spokesman explained.
According to Father Lombardi, King Abdullah, 84, who is the custodian of the mosques of Mecca and Medina, "asked to be received by the highest authority of the Catholic Church to promote in common accord religious and moral values and peace in a world where irreligion and moral disorientation are causes of degradation, and where violence and war continue to rage."
Father Lombardi added: "The intention is noble; the fact that in the perspective of dialogue and commitment, the Jews were also considered is highly laudable.
"At the same time we know well that unlike other countries of the Arabian peninsula, there is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia for the more than 1 million Christians who reside there for work-related reasons."
"The presence [of these Christians] was discreetly mentioned to the illustrious guest," Father Lombardi affirmed. "For the moment there was no discussion of diplomatic relations. But this did not impede a meeting for understanding and knowing each other better. If we do not begin, we will never arrive."
The spokesman recalled that the king was already received by Pope John Paul II when he was still a hereditary prince. "He knew well that the Holy See is always ready to welcome those who come with intentions of peace. But this time his action as king was much more significant -- it is not for nothing that the stop at the Vatican was the most awaited and watched of his European trip."
Father Lombardi called the meeting "a contribution to overcoming the distances."
"The tensions that followed Regensburg are further and further away," he added. "The Pope is appreciated and understood in his consistency and steadfastness."
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Polish Priest Named Family-Council Secretary
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI named Monsignor Grzegorz Kaszak, currently rector of the Pontifical Polish Ecclesiastical Institute, as secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
Monsignor Kaszak represented Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, president of that Vatican dicastery, at the 4th World Congress of Families, which took place last May in Poland.
Monsignor Kaszak replaces Bishop Karl Josef Romer, who recently turned 75.
Pope John Paul II instituted the Pontifical Council for the Family in 1981, replacing the Committee for the Family established by Pope Paul VI in 1973.
The council oversees the promotion of the pastoral ministry and apostolate of the family, in application of the teachings and guidance of the ecclesiastical magisterium, with the aim of helping Christian families accomplish the educational and apostolic mission to which they are called.
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French Bishop Named to Education Congregation
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI named Dominican Bishop Jean-Louis Bruguès of Angers, France, as secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, elevating him to the dignity of archbishop.
Jean-Louis Bruguès was born in 1943 in France. He joined the Dominicans in 1968 and made solemn vows in 1972.
He was ordained a priest that year. He was a member of the International Theological Commission from 1986 to 2002, and also a member of the National Ethics Consultative Committee of France from 1998 to 2000.
Pope John Paul II named him bishop of Angers in 2000. Bishop Bruguès was president of the doctrinal commission of the French episcopal conference from 2002 to 2006.
He has been a consultant for the Vatican congregations for Catholic Education and Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
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ANALYSIS
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Undermining Parents
Access to Abortion and Contraception by Minors
By Father John Flynn, LC
ROME, NOV. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The authority of parents in caring for their children received a blow recently when the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that underage girls can seek abortions without parental consent. According to a Nov. 3 report by the Associated Press, the ruling upheld a Superior Court decision finding the 1997 Parental Consent Act to be unconstitutional.
In the ruling explaining the 3-2 decision, Chief Justice Dana Fabe stated that while they did agree the Constitution does permit a scheme that provides for parental notification, the law in question violated a minor's right to privacy.
By contrast, Justice Walter Carpeneti, who wrote the dissenting opinion, said that the act did balance the right to privacy with the state's interest in protecting children and the parents' right to guide their children.
Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin, described the judgment as "outrageous," according to the Associated Press. "The State Supreme Court has failed Alaska by separating parents from their children during such a critical decision, moving in the exact opposite direction from the law's intent," she commented.
According to a study by Stateline.org , a Washington, D.C.-based news service, states have passed two types of laws regarding abortion and parental involvement. The first requires one or both parents to approve the procedure, while the second merely requires doctors to notify parents before performing an abortion for a minor.
Overall, as of June 11 when the information was last updated, 22 states enforce parental consent laws requiring at least one parent to sign a statement approving the procedure. Another 12 states enforce parental notification laws. Utah enforces both consent and notification laws.
Legal problems
The laws have, however, run into legal problems in some states. In nine states, courts have rejected parental involvement statutes for violating privacy and equal-protection clauses in their state constitutions.
The usefulness of the parental consent laws on abortion was analyzed in a report published Feb. 5 by the Heritage Foundation. Michael J. New, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alabama, found that laws requiring the involvement of parents reduced the abortion rate of minors by an average of 16%.
Another type of pro-life legislation, restricting the public funding of abortion for underage girls, also notably reduced the abortion rate.
New argued that the importance of such pro-life legislation is often overlooked in explaining the decline of abortion among adolescents. Between 1985 and 1999, the minor abortion rate fell by almost 50%, compared with a 29% decline in the overall abortion rate. "While a number of factors may have contributed to this decline, the impact of pro-life legislation on the incidence of abortion among minors cannot be overlooked," he stated.
Contraceptives at school
Many countries are increasingly making it easy for schoolgirls to receive contraceptives, without informing parents. In England, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Oct. 30 that almost one in six 15-year-old girls were given contraception last year, even though at that age they were too young to legally have sex.
According to the article, 50,000 girls aged 15 attended contraception clinics in 2006-07, along with another 31,000 aged 13 or 14. The data came from the Information Center for Health and Social Care.
Mike Judge, a spokesman for the Christian Institute, commented on the statistics in the Telegraph. He urged giving them moral guidance and support, instead of distributing contraceptives. "Most women who look back on their teenage years regret starting sexual activity so early," he added.
Another report by the Telegraph, published July 9, explained that girls as young as 11 can obtain the morning-after pill at school without telling their parents. The pills are available at sexual health clinics in secondary schools in England, which are being set up as part of a drive to cut teenage pregnancy.
In the United States, meanwhile, school officials in the state of Maine defended their decision to allow children as young as 11 to obtain contraceptives, reported the Associated Press on Oct 18. Portland's King Middle School will become the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available, including birth control pills and patches.
Although students would need parental permission to use the city-run health center in the school, they wouldn't have to tell them they were seeking birth control.
Sex with a non-spousal minor under 14 is considered gross sexual assault in Maine. According to the Associated Press, officials said it was unclear whether nurses at the health center would be required to report such activities.
The clinics at Portland high schools have offered oral contraceptives for years, reported the New York Times on Oct. 21. Douglas Gardner, the city's director of health and human services, explained that health officials decided to extend their availability to middle school after learning that 17 middle school students had become pregnant in the last four years. The article reported that about a quarter of school-based clinics, most of them in high schools, provide some type of contraception.
Creating confusion
Bishop Richard Malone of Portland said he was shocked by the decision, reported the Boston Globe on Oct. 20. The Catholic prelate argued that the move would inevitably lead to more sexual experimentation among younger children.
He also expressed concern over the undermining of parents: "When contradictory messages are given to children from important authority figures such as parents and school officials, it can create more confusion and difficulty for children themselves in making this important life decision."
Apart from undermining parents, the move to spread contraceptive use among schoolchildren comes when many question marks exist over their safety.
An advisory panel of gynecologists, obstetricians and other experts told the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that manufacturers should collect more data on the potential side effects of birth control pills and other hormonal contraceptives after they reach the market, reported Reuters on Jan. 24. Nevertheless, panel members added that drug companies were unlikely to initiate such studies because of high costs and the potential to uncover negative effects.
Health concerns
A consumer body, the Public Citizen Health Research Group, also pressured for more research on safety problems, reported the New York Times on Feb. 13. Earlier this year the group petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban several popular low-dose oral contraceptives containing desogestrel, a synthetic form of the hormone progestin.
According to the article, the group cited more than a dozen studies indicating that these pills were linked to blood clots in women more often than older versions, which used different forms of progestin.
In an article published May 2, Andrea Mrozek, manager of research at the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, wrote about the cancer risks of contraceptives. A meta-analysis conducted by Dr. Chris Kahlenborn, a Pennsylvania-based internist, show that being on the pill at a young age, before having children, increases the chance of developing breast cancer by an average of 44%, Mrozek wrote.
Kahlenborn's work was published late last year in the peer-reviewed journal of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic.
Ironically a Stateline.org report dated March 27 noted the tendency toward laws banning minors from activities such as smoking, drinking, and going to indoor tanning salons, due to health concerns.
This year, Utah and Virginia joined 25 other states in placing limits on teens using tanning beds, due to worries about cancer. Most of the laws, Stateline.org reported, require underage teens to get a parents' permission, but some states completely ban the salons for minors.
The article added that a number of other states are considering similar legislation. A culture that bans tanning, but gives the green light for contraception and abortion for school-age girls has indeed lost sight of what is important.
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WORLD FEATURES
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U.S. Bishops: Iran Issue Needs Diplomacy
No "Immediate Threat" Yet, Prelates Contend
WASHINGTON, D.C., NOV. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Permitting Iran to develop nuclear weapons is unacceptable, according to U.S. bishops, but without an immediate threat, America must be committed to pursuing a diplomatic solution to the present confrontation.
This was the message delivered by letter last week to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Florida, on behalf of the U.S. episcopal conference. The bishops were reacting to escalating rhetoric and news accounts speculating about a potential pre-emptive use of force against Iran to deter further possible nuclear weapons ambitions, the conference reported.
"From a moral perspective," Bishop Wenski wrote, "in the absence of an immediate threat [] military action would constitute an act of preventative war."
The Catholic Church, he noted, teaches that "engaging in a preventative war without clear proof that an attack is imminent cannot fail to raise serious moral and juridical questions."
The bishops make clear their assessment that the Iranian situation does not constitute an immediate threat.
Before military action could be considered, according to the bishops, all nonmilitary alternatives must be exhausted. Options, they suggest, range from diplomatic and economic incentives, to increased international involvement and cooperation, to economic sanctions.
The bishops also called on the nation's leaders to change the United States' current posture to ensure that nuclear weapons are not used against nonnuclear threats. They also appealed for greater, more sustained progress toward disarmament in the spirit of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
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NEWS BRIEFS
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Religious Leaders Resolved for Mideast Peace
WASHINGTON, D.C., NOV. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Religious leaders from the Holy Land are committed to advancing peace and protecting sites considered holy by various faith traditions.
The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land expressed this resolve after a meeting which began last Monday in Washington, the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation reported Friday.
"We, believers from three religions, have been placed in this land -- Jews, Christians and Muslims. It is our responsibility to find the right way to live together in peace rather than to fight and kill one another," the council members said in a communiqué.
Ten members of the council met with American religious and government leaders.
"Each religious community should treat the Holy Sites of other faiths in a manner that respects their integrity and independence and avoids any act of desecration, aggression or harm," the council communiqué said.
The group included Chief Rabbi David Rosen, president of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations; His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; and Sheikh Tayser Rajab al-Tamimi, the supreme judge of Sharia Courts in Palestine.
In a separate action on Monday, senior Palestinian religious leaders agreed to establish a Palestinian branch of the Religions for Peace Interreligious Council.
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ANGELUS
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On St. Martin of Tours
"Generous Witness of the Gospel of Charity"
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today before leading the recitation of the midday Angelus with the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Today, Nov. 11, the Church remembers St. Martin, bishop of Tours, one of the most celebrated and venerated saints in Europe. Born around 316 to pagan parents in Pannonia, present-day Hungary, he was directed by his father to a military career.
When he was still an adolescent, Martin encountered Christianity and, overcoming many difficulties, he registered among the catechumens to prepare himself for baptism. He received the sacrament around the age of 20 but still had to remain for some time in the military, where he gave testimony to his new way of life: Respectful and understanding toward all, he treated his servant as a brother and he avoided vulgar entertainments.
Leaving military service, he went to stay with the holy Bishop Hilary at Poitiers in France. Ordained deacon and priest by Hilary, Martin began a monastery at Liguge with some disciples. Martin's is the oldest known monastic foundation in Europe. About 10 years later, the Christians of Tours, being without a pastor, acclaimed Martin bishop. From that point on, Martin dedicated himself with ardent zeal to the evangelization of the countryside and the formation of the clergy.
Although many miracles are attributed to him, St. Martin is famous above all for an act of fraternal charity. While still a young soldier, he met a poor man along the road who was frozen and trembling from the cold. Martin took his own cloak and cutting it with his sword, gave half of it to the man. That night Jesus appeared to Martin in a dream, smiling and wrapped in the cloak.
Dear brothers and sisters, St. Martin's charitable gesture inscribes itself in the same logic that moved Jesus to multiply the loaves of bread for the famished crowds, but above all to leave himself in food for humanity in the Eucharist, supreme sign of God's love, "sacramentum caritatis." It is in the logic of sharing that the love of neighbor is concretely expressed. May St. Martin help us to understand that it is only through a common commitment to sharing that it is possible to respond to the great challenge of our time: that of building up a world of peace and justice in which every man can live with dignity. This can happen if a global model of authentic solidarity prevails, one that is able to assure all the inhabitants of the planet food, water, necessary medicines, and also work and energy resources, as well as cultural goods and scientific and technological knowledge.
We turn now to the Virgin Mary to implore that she help all Christians to be, like St. Martin, generous witnesses of the Gospel of charity and tireless builders of solidary sharing.
[After praying the Angelus the Holy Father greeted those who were present in various languages. In Italian he said:]
Lebanon's national assembly will soon be called to elect the new head of state. As numerous initiatives undertaken in recent days have shown, this is a crucial moment on which depends the very survival of Lebanon and its institutions. I make my own the concerns recently expressed by the Maronite Patriarch, His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, and his desire that the new president recognize all Lebanese. Together let us implore Our Lady of Lebanon that she inspire in all the parties involved the necessary detachment from personal interests and a true passion for the common good.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[In English he said:]
I extend heartfelt greetings to the English-speaking visitors here today. At this time the Church remembers Saint Martin of Tours, the saintly monk and bishop who was moved with such great compassion for the sufferings of the poor. Recalling the occasion when he cut his cloak in two, and gave one half to a poor man, we resolve to follow his example by sharing what we have with those less fortunate than ourselves. Upon all of you, and upon your families and loved ones at home, I invoke God's abundant blessings.
© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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