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News, of the hour, on the hour, from Catholic Information Radio.
I’m Bryan Douglas in Philadelphia, and at this hour….
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Lead:
In light of the upcoming presidential elections in Costa Rica set for February 7, the country’s bishops issued a statement reminding the faithful that their Catholic faith is not just another aspect of their lives, but rather has implications in the field of political morality and public life.

The letter urged Catholics to vote by discerning the best choice in consonance with the faith and to use sound reasoning for what is best for the country.

After noting that politics can be a noble activity, they added that it must be guided by respect for human life, marriage, the family, religious freedom and the search for the common good. The bishops then pointed to the various challenges the next president must address such as the country’s breakdown in security, violence, disrespect for life, ongoing poverty, unstable families, unemployment, corruption and drug trafficking.

The letter reminded Catholic voters they must not check their Catholic identity at the door of the polling booth, and stressed that the Christian faith has unavoidable implications in the field of political morality and public life.

The bishops also exhorted all people of good will to attentively discern, guided by reason and ethics, the proposals set forth by candidates, in order to cast a vote that is responsible and reasoned.

I’ll be back with more after this. (insert PSAs)

Story 2:
Seeking the return of $1.4 million dollars donated to a parish building campaign just before its merger with another parish, nearly 300 parishioners of St. Vincent Pallotti Church in Haddon Township, New Jersey, have filed suit against Bishop Joseph Galante of Camden.

They claim that prior to the start of construction, the bishop had an obligation to ask the parish to suspend the campaign until he decided what he was doing with the parish, according to one parishioner. They contend that donors made donations with the reasonable expectation that they would have the normal use of the facilities they were contributing to. With the merger of the parish, the disposition of the funds was claimed by the diocese. There has been no comment from Bishop Galante.

Story 3:
The European Parliament has condemned the recent violence against Christians in Egypt and Malaysia, and is urging the Egyptian government to guarantee that Coptic Christians and members of other religious communities and minorities enjoy the full range of human rights and fundamental freedoms-- including the right to choose and change their religion freely-- and to prevent any further discrimination.

In addition, the parliament praised the recent Malaysian court decision that permitted Christians to refer to God as “Allah,” and called upon Malaysian authorities to carry out thorough and rapid investigations into the reported attacks.

Story 4:
Caritas Europa, the consortium of Catholic relief and development agencies in 44 European nations, has launched a Zero Poverty campaign. Asserting that the three traditional sources of social welfare are the labor market, the family, and the welfare state, Caritas Europa pledged to lobby governments to end child poverty by guaranteeing allowances for every child in Europe, regardless of the status of their parents.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Pope Benedict joined with those marking the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp yesterday. The Holy Father noted how it is observed as the "'Day of Remembrance,' in memory of all the victims of those crimes, especially the planned annihilation of the Jews, and in honor of all those, who at the risk of their own lives, protected the persecuted, opposing the murderous madness. The Pontiff expressed his plea that the memory of such events will awaken an ever more convinced respect of the dignity of every person.

Story 6:
Thousands of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic -- and points farther abroad – are returning to Port-au-Prince in search of information on loved ones and, in many cases, retrieve them from the ruins of an earthquake that claimed an estimated 200,000 lives and destroyed a city that will not be rebuilt for years. An estimated 1 million Haitians live in the Dominican Republic, where many go in search of better economic opportunities. News outlets have reported long lines of people waiting for travel documents outside Haitian Embassies around the world.

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And that’s top news of the hour.
I’m Bryan Douglas, CIR NEWS, for Catholic Information Radio.