Sacerdotes deben vivir lo que predican, evitar ‘carrerismo’ dice el papa

Por Cindy Wooden

Catholic News Service

Pope Benedict XVI

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — La clave para los esfuerzos de evangelizar de un sacerdote es vivir lo que predica y resistir la tentación del “carrerisma”, dijo el papa Benedicto XVI.

“¿No es quizás la tentación de una carrera, de poder, una tentación ante la cual no son inmunes aun aquellos que tienen un rol de liderato y gobierno en la iglesia?”, preguntó el papa el 3 de febrero durante su audiencia general semanal.

En la iglesia, igual que en la sociedad, él dijo, el bien de la comunidad es dañado por líderes que trabajan primordialmente para sus propios intereses.

La charla de la audiencia del papa se enfocó en la vida y la misión de Santo Domingo, fundador de la orden dominica.

Youth bowl for a cause

More than 130 youth from 13 parishes throughout the Diocese of Beaumont had a blast Feb. 6 as they knocked down hundreds of pins in an effort to raise money for Birthright of Beaumont, Inc.

The diocesan high school bowling tournament, Bowling for Birthright, was held at Megaplay USA, Port Arthur. Each bowler was required to obtain at least three sponsors who would pledge a minimum of one cent per point scored for their total three-game series score.

Birthright is an organization committed to offering an alternative to abortion. They provide emotional support, free pregnancy tests and fetal development education without passing judgment. They believe every woman has the right to give birth and every baby has the right to be born.

Los obispos les llaman a cargos en contra de un funcionario de la USCCB falsos y ridículos

Por Nancy Frazier O’Brien

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Los obispos que trabajan junto con John Carr, quien supervisa la Campaña Católica para Desarrollo Humano, dicen que cargos en contra de él y de la agencia son falsos y “totalmente ridículos”.

El obispo William F. Murphy de Rockville Centre, Nueva York.; el obispo Roger P. Morin de Biloxi, Mississippi, y el obispo Howard J. Hubbard de Albany, Nueva York, hablaron con el Catholic News Service el 3 y 4 de febrero acerca de unos recientes alegatos de “un sistémico patrón de cooperación con el mal” por parte de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos (USCCB, por sus siglas en español) debido a la pasada injerencia de Carr con el Center for Community Change.

“Estoy preocupado por estos ataques en contra de John Carr, y sé que son falsos y creo que incluso son calumniosos”, dijo el obispo Murphy, quien dirige el Comité de Justicia dentro del País y Desarrollo Humano de la USCCB, por teléfono con CNS. “Interpreto este comentario como algo triste, muy triste sobre la honestidad de algunas personas en estos grupos de presión”.

Abstinence programs get nod from study but still set to lose funding

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A new study about the effectiveness of abstinence education is good news for those who teach the topic, but it also could be too little, too late.

Elizabeth Andrew and Nolan Reynolds lead a presentation on abstinence and the theology of the body during a Catholic youth fest at St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, N.Y., in this 2007 file photo. A new study published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine showed that young teens given an abstinence-only message were significantly more likely to delay having sex than those who received a more comprehensive sex education. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic)

Abstinence educators welcomed the study published Feb. 1 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a monthly journal. The study showed that young teens who were given an abstinence-only message were significantly more likely to delay having sex than those who received a more comprehensive sex education.

The research has been getting attention because it is said to be the first rigorously conducted study demonstrating the effectiveness of an abstinence-only program. It was released just a week after the Guttmacher Institute published a study showing that America’s teen pregnancy rate rose 3 percent in 2006 after a 10-year decline.

How the Guttmacher data is interpreted seems to depend on one’s position. Some blame the uptick in the number of teen pregnancies on the use of abstinence-only programs, but advocates of abstinence education say there are a variety of social and cultural factors in play.

Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, called it a “simplistic charge” to “naively lay wholesale blame on abstinence education as the cause for higher teen birth rates.”

Bishops call charges against USCCB official false, ridiculous

By Nancy Frazier O’Brien Catholic News Service

John Carr, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, is pictured at a press conference in Washington in this 2005 file photo. (CNS photo by Paul Haring)

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Bishops who work closely with John Carr, who oversees the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, say new claims against him and the agency are false and “totally ridiculous.”

Bishops William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y.; Roger P. Morin of Biloxi, Miss.; and Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., spoke with Catholic News Service Feb. 3 and 4 about recent allegations of “a systemic pattern of cooperation with evil” by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops because of Carr’s past involvement with the Center for Community Change.

“I’m concerned about these attacks on John Carr and I know they are false and I think they are even calumnious,” said Bishop Murphy, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, by telephone to CNS. “I am taking this to be a very sad, sad commentary on the honesty of some people in these pressure groups.”

Catholic Schools Week — Students show off their science skills

St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School, Port Arthur, celebrated Catholic Schools Week with its annual science fair. Students entered their projects, and they were judged by members of the community Feb. 4. The winners of the science fair will go on to compete in the diocesan science fair Feb. 19.

Who dat fever among the religious in Southeast Texas

“It was like death to resurrection,” said Josephite Father Henry Davis, pastor of Our Mother of Mercy and Blessed Sacrament, Beaumont, of the New Orleans Saints heading to the Super Bowl.

The New Orleans native and former Saints chaplain said many thought the Saints were going to leave after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but instead have stayed and only gotten stronger.

To help the Saints out this year, the current chaplain, Father Tony Ricard, wrote a prayer especially for the Saints titled The Prayer of the Who Dats. In it he asks the saints of heaven to protect the Saints on Earth. He asks different saints to help the many players but adds toward the end, “Thank you, Lord, that we no longer have to call on the intercession of St. Jude. At last, our team is no longer considered a hopeless case!”

Catholic Schools Week — Our Mother of Mercy explores culture

Students at Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School, Beaumont, explored different cultures as part of their cultural diversity program during Catholic Schools Week. Each class made a bulletin board featuring the country they were assigned and included pictures and facts about that country and its culture.

Catholic Schools Week — St. Anne orders up some pizza

Parents of new students at St. Anne Catholic School, Beaumont, got a chance to visit the school and see what their little ones were up to on a typical day Feb. 4 as part of Catholic Schools Week. After the morning open house the cafeteria turned into a pizza parlor as parents and guardians ate lunch with the students.

Students worship together during Rainbow Mass

Students from the six Catholic Schools in the Southeast Texas gathered for the annual Rainbow Mass at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, Beaumont, Feb. 3 during Catholic Schools Week.

Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames spoke at the beginning of Mass, proclaiming it Catholic Schools Week in the local community.

“There is such a rich diversity and freedom of choice in our local education. I am so very proud to have this Catholic education system in our community,” Ames said.

Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, praised the schools during his homily and implored the students to not take their education for granted.

“This is a wonderful environment and support system. Don’t take it for granted because it is a blessing. Always be grateful to God, to your parents and to your teachers.