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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:
Cardinal Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said religious orders today are in a "crisis" caused in part by the adoption of a secularist mentality and the abandonment of traditional practices aside from the drop in the numbers of religious men and women. The Cardinal also indicated the decline in the numbers of men and women religious became precipitous after the Second Vatican Council, which he described as a period rich in experimentation but poor in having a convincing and focused mission.

Faced with an aging membership and fewer vocations, many religious orders have turned to foreign vocations in places like Africa, India and the Philippines, the cardinal said. He said the orders need to remember that quality of vocations is more important than quantity. In any case, he said, "big numbers are not indispensable" for religious orders to prove their validity, but faithfulness to the Gospel message.

Cardinal Rode said it was undoubtedly more difficult today for all religious orders to find young people who are willing to break away from the superficial contemporary culture and show a capacity for commitment and sacrifice. Unless this is dealt with in formation programs, he said, religious orders will produce members who lack dedication and are likely to drift away.

The challenge, however, should not be seen strictly in negative terms, he said. The present moment, he said, can help religious orders better define themselves as alternatives to the dominant culture, which is a culture of death, of violence and of abuse,"and make it clear that their mission is to joyfully witness life and hope, in the example of Christ.
I’ll be back with more after this.

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Story 2:
Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau, president of Caritas Haiti, told a press conference in Rome that last month’s earthquake has left 180,000 dead, 185,000 injured, and 200,000 missing. In addition, one out of six of Haiti’s 9 million people are refugees in their own country.

He plainly stated that education cannot take place because there are no schools, fifteen major churches in Port-au-Prince are gone, starting with the cathedral, as well as no housing for priests and religious who were in charge of these parishes. Besides the ruinous state of the country as a whole, there have arisen controversies and reports of interference from the government, which aid agencies have bypassed in delivering aid directly to the people mostaeffected.

Story 3:
The police chief of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is alleging that Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee spoke untruthfully to the state senate judiciary committee on January 12 about the Diocese of La Crosse’s abuse-reporting policy. Under the diocese’s policy, victims are asked to report incidents of alleged abuse to the diocese, which in turn reports them to civil authorities. For over a year, Police Chief Jerry Matysik asked the diocese to change its policy and urge victims to reports incidents directly to police. On January 12, Archbishop Listecki told the state senate’s judiciary committee that the policy had been changed.

Story 4:
Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, and Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster offered Mass in the Three Kings Chapel in Rome, where John Henry Newman was ordained a priest in 1847. Referring the“constant call to conversion manifested in the life of Cardinal Newman, Archbishop Nichols spoke of the longing for a universal and infallible authority that led to Newman’s ordination.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Pope Benedict XVI said he hopes the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, will bring more than gold to everyone involved in the event. The pope offered his best wishes to Archbishop Miller of the diocese of Vancouver, Bishop David Monroe of the neighboring Diocese of Kamloops which is hosting some of the Olympic events, and to the athletes, organizers and community volunteers involved in the celebration of the games Feb. 12-28.

Story 6:
The Shroud of Turin, which many Christians believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus, goes on public display this spring, at a time when experts are debating new claims about the 14-foot-long piece of linen. The shroud's last showing was 10 years ago, when more than a million people lined up to see it in the cathedral of Turin in northern Italy. No one has ever been able to fully explain how the image was transferred to the linen cloth, although experts have put forward theories ranging from enzyme reaction to solar imaging. Strangely enough, none of those experts have ever mentioned the word “miracle”.

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

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Newscast for 8 & 9PM tonight.
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Attending a Catholic college has minimal impact on a Catholic student’s practice and embrace of the Catholic faith, according to a new study released Sunday at a gathering of Catholic college presidents in Washington, D.C.

The study was presented to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) by researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).
The CARA study largely confirms a 2003 study released by The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), which found significant declines in students’ support for Catholic moral teaching on abortion, marriage and sexuality after four years at a Catholic college or university. The declines were generally greater though at non-Catholic private and public institutions.

Commenting on the study, association president Richard Yanikoski argued that the loss of faith at Catholic colleges and elsewhere reflects societal trends. Despite the analysis showing that the choice of a Catholic college has little significant impact on a student’s faith practice and beliefs, Yanikoski pointed to the raw data indicating that a typical Catholic undergraduate student attending a Catholic college or university emerges more spiritually intact than if they had attended a public or secular private institution, but not nearly as spiritually active as would have been the case a few decades ago.

That’s hardly something to celebrate, a spokesman from the Cardinal Newman society noted.
I’ll be back with more after this.

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Story 2:
Pope Benedict once again commented on the theme of Anglican-Catholic relations as he met with Welsh and English bishops at the Vatican on Monday. During their meeting Pope Benedict reconfirmed the importance of his recent Apostolic Constitution.

After encouraging the bishops' important work in the areas of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, given the varied demographic profile of their flocks, Pope Benedict asked the bishops to be generous in implementing the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution in assisting those groups of Anglicans who wish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.

Story 3:
Cardinal Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, told Vatican Radio yesterday that his office was working on two documents: one, a joint document with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments on the importance of prayer in the life of religious; and the second, a document highlighting the importance of religious brothers in the church.

While the numbers of religious in every category have dropped in the last 50 years, the number of religious brothers has decreased most drastically, Cardinal Rode said, citing the example of the Christian Brothers who had 16,000 members in 1965 and have fewer than 5,000 today.

Story 4:
The third and final paternity claim against Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, a former bishop, has been withdrawn. A campaign worker who had claimed that the president fathered her two-year-old boy dropped her request for a DNA test. Earlier DNA testing confirmed that the president fathered the child of the first woman to file a paternity suit. The bishop began a long relationship with the young woman when she was 16, approximately five years after his 1994 appointment as Bishop of San Pedro. Lugo resigned his office in 2005 but remained a bishop until his laicization in July 2008-- two weeks before his presidential inauguration.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Vermont’s sole diocese has decided to sell its 32-acre headquarters-- valued at $6 million-- and other property in the hope of funding settlements for 25 pending lawsuits. Most of the lawsuits stem from Bishop John Marshall’s decision to allow notorious abuser Edward Paquette, now laicized, to minister in the diocese. Bishop Marshall, who died in 1994, governed the Diocese of Burlington from 1971 to 1991.

Story 6:
A British government source has told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that following Pope Benedict’s recent comments to the bishops of England and Wales, the government will withdraw the controversial provisions of the “Equality Bill” that threaten to undermine religious freedom.

The source said that it was clear that these parts of the Equality Bill should not go forward, noting he Pope's intervention made it clear that there would be resistance to its implementation. Ministers had tried to include a new definition of a priest in the flagship anti-discrimination law, but church leaders complained that the definition was far too narrow.

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

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Lead:
Launching a defense in many ways similar to that penned by French scholar Bernard Levy, the American author Dimitri Cavalli has published an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz defending Pope Pius XII according to L’Oservatore Romano.

Cavalli asserts that the "campaign against Pope Pius XII is doomed to failure, saying quote "His detractors cannot sustain their main charges against him -- that he was silent, pro-Nazi, and did little or nothing to help the Jews -- with any credible evidence," unquote.

The author said the proof that exists shows the contrary, noting that in 1933, when the future pope was still secretary of state, he instructed the papal nuncio in Germany to see what he could do to oppose the Nazis' anti-Semitic policies.

The author also points out that Pius the XI's 1937 encyclical "Mit brennender Sorge," which was drafted by Cardinal Pacelli, was considered by the Germans as a "security threat., and when Cardinal Pacelli was elected Pope in 1939, Joseph Goebbels, the German propaganda minister, wrote the Nazi regime was considering whether they should abrogate the concordat with Rome in light of Pacelli's election.

Cavalli concludes his article saying quote, "Perhaps only in a backward world such as ours would the one man who did more than any other wartime leader to help Jews and other Nazi victims, would receive the greatest condemnation" unquote.
I’ll be back with more after this.

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Story 2:
Ralph McInerny, the retired professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, was buried yesterday at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Notre Dame.

The scholar and prolific author died Friday and would have turned 81 on Feb. 24. He was a native of Minneapolis and held degrees from St. Paul Seminary, the University of Minnesota, and Laval University, and had taught at the University of Notre Dame since 1955, and was an acknowledged expert on the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as a prolific author. He penned over two dozen scholarly books, many more scholarly essays, and over 80 novels, including the Father Dowling mystery series.

Story 3:
The Catholic Church and the Church of England continue to have good relations even after Pope Benedict has paved the way for Anglicans to become Catholics in groups.

This is according to Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster during his presentation to Pope on behalf of the bishops of England and Wales who were in Rome for their ad limina visit. He also affirmed that the groundwork of "close cooperation between Anglicans and Catholics that have helped to ensure the various interpretations of and reactions to the Pope’s apostolic constitution have not seriously disrupted the relationships between the Church and the Anglican Communion.

Story 4:
A Cuban priest has warned that the country is on the verge of an economic collapse that can only be prevented if President Raul Castro institutes sweeping economic and social reforms. The economic situation in Cuba has given signs that it is close to free fall, Fr Boris Moreno wrote in the latest edition of Havana Archdiocese magazine. He also said the government should promote exports and small- and mid-size businesses, and allow Cubans "to give their opinions without fear of reprisal.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
The Haitian Conference of Religious has published a report on the losses suffered by religious communities during the recent earthquake. The Little Sisters of St. Teresa sustained the greatest effect, losing four sisters, seven teachers, and 60 students killed. Five houses and two schools associated with the community were also destroyed.

The nation of 8.8 million is 80% Catholic; according to recent Vatican statistics.

Story 6:
Less than five years after Kyrgyzstan’s ‘Tulip Revolution’ raised hopes that the central Asian nation would embrace greater democratic reforms, President Bakiyev has signed a law restricting the religious freedom of communities with fewer than 200 members. Bishop Nikolaus Messmer, Apostolic Administrator of the country, says that the restrictions do not affect the small Catholic Church in the country, which continues down her path in the pastoral care of the faithful.

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

Newscast for 8 & 9PM tonight.
Click on link in the top box under Catholic Information Network at the right to listen. This will open up a new window with an embedded player.

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Lead:
Catholic teaching and the truths of the Gospel have a right to be heard in public debate, especially in a country where so many people claim to be Christian, Pope Benedict told the bishops of England and Wales. However, the church must recognize dissent within its own ranks and not accept it as being part of a balanced discussion.

The meeting with the bishops, who were at the Vatican for their ad limina visit, took place as Pope Benedict prepares to visit Great Britain in September. Referring to the Equality Bill under debate in Britain's Parliament, the pope said some legislation designed to guarantee equal opportunity for all people actually would impose limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.

The bishops have commented the bill means churches could be sued by anyone who was turned away as a candidate for the priesthood on grounds of gender or sexual lifestyle. The Pope urged the bishops to continue defending church teaching in the public realm, adding that they have a right to participate in national debate through respectful dialogue with other elements in society.

A recent vote in Britain's House of Lords, however, supported an amendment that protected the existing rights of churches to insist that clergy and high-profile lay employees live in a manner consistent with Christian moral teaching.
I’ll be back with more after this.

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Story 2:
In what remains of St. Francis de Sales Hospital in Port au Prince Haiti, doctors are working under a pall of death. As teams of foreign doctors meet with staffers to develop treatment plans and organize medical supplies, up to 100 bodies remain in the collapsed three-story pediatrics and obstetrics wing. The hospital staff knows there were at least 25 children in the wing and a similar number of family members at their sides when the building tumbled during the magnitude 7 quake.

Located just a few blocks from the destroyed presidential palace, the hospital has few remaining functions operating and the staff was depending on experts from around the world to help them treat earthquake victims.

Story 3:
Even as Pope Benedict urged the world's priests to make better use of new media, in his own backyard, the digital revolution is still seen as a mixed blessing. The Vatican Web site remains largely a repository of printed texts, displayed on pages designed to look like parchment. And despite more than a decade of discussion about making the site interactive, the Vatican website continues to present static content.

Some Vatican agencies have embraced the digital possibilities, notably Vatican Radio, which offers online broadcasts and podcasts, but others, have posted a minimal amount of information over the last few years.

Story 4:
Former Catholic school teachers in the Diocese of Scranton have filed suit to force the diocese to pay over $1 million that an arbitrator awarded to them over a year ago. The arbitrator’s ruling is a result of then-Bishop Joseph Martino’s 2007 decision to restructure his diocese’s schools, which triggered clauses in teacher contracts with the diocesan school system.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Father Michael Sinnott, the Irish missionary priest who was held captive for 32 days last year, has returned to the Philippines to continue his missionary work following his recuperation in Ireland. Father Sinnott told Vatican Radio that he was grateful for prayers from around the world and that he has suffered no ill effects from the kidnapping. He wanted to return to Pagadian, where he has served for decades, so that he can continue to serve God as a missionary.

Story 6:
A poll conducted for The Irish Times newspaper has found that 61% believe that the Church should transfer the control of its primary schools to the state. Currently, the Church, with state support, operates over 90% of the nation’s primary schools.

Expressing concern at the poll findings, Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh, told Vatican Radio that a Catholic education contributes to the education of the whole person. He added that the Church now operates “too many” schools, leading to a dilution of Catholic identity, and called for an orderly “disengagement” of the Church from some of these schools.

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

Newscast for 8 & 9PM tonight.
Click on link in the top box under Catholic Information Network at the right to listen. This will open up a new window with an embedded player.

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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:
Writing on behalf of the USCCB, Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, praised the current US administration’s response to the Haitian earthquake while calling for long-term anti-poverty aid.

He expressed the group’s gratitude for the response of the U.S. Government to the recent earthquake in Haiti and highlighted Haiti’s long-term needs for recovery. The Conference is recommending the U.S. government adopt a strategy for development that coordinates different U.S. government agencies by engaging other groups with the expertise expertise and experience needed.

This comprehensive approach, in the bishop’s stament, includes the expansion of trade preferences, debt cancellation, and long-term funding for reconstruction and poverty reduction. Quote “dependable international assistance that target all sectors of Haiti’s needs, including infrastructure, health care, education, social support, law enforcement, judiciary, and economic and agricultural development.” Unquote is all part of the bishop’s message.

In a reference to Haiti’s notoriously corrupt political culture-- Haiti was recently ranked one of the world’s most corrupt nations-- Bishop Hubbard added that encouraging local government and institutional transparency and accountability is essential to ensure that funds are used for the benefit of the people and are not diverted for other purposes.
I’ll be back with more after this.

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Story 2:
In the cavernous interior of Christianity's largest church, a tiny black camera perched on a tall tripod was quietly mapping bit by bit almost every detail inside St. Peter's Basilica.

While thousands of tourists streamed through the basilica Wednesday, a special team from Villanova University was cordoned off from the crowds, wrapping up the last day of shooting images for one of several virtual tour projects they have been producing for the Vatican. Two virtual tours are already on the Vatican's Web site: the basilicas of St. John Lateran and St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Viewers can choose a specific location and be transported inside one of the basilicas, turn in any direction and zoom in close -- so close that the digital view is clearer and steadier than the one a tourist on the spot would get using high-powered binoculars.

Story 3:
The nun who is overseeing the Vatican-mandated apostolic visitation of U.S. communities of women religious has expressed "sadness and disappointment" over congregations that have resisted completing the questionnaire that is part of the process. In a letter dated Jan. 12 and addressed to women religious, Mother Mary Clare Millea -- who is overseeing the study of 341 congregations as apostolic visitator -- reported on her her visit with Cardinal Rode and her concerns about the response to the questionnaire. She urged those who have not responded to do so.

Story 4:
In a beautifully written, theologically astute, historically significant and warmly pastoral letter written to the faithful of the Traditional Anglican Communion, Archbishop John Hepworth is inviting members to enter into full communion by following the Apostolic Constitution and Norms offered by the Holy See. He writes quote “The Anglican tradition that we treasure will only survive, I believe, across the generations yet to come if it discovers the protection of Peter’s authority.” Unquote. Pope Benedict issued norms for the reception of Anglicans who desire unity in October of last year.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office,s ays a proposal from the new patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church to plan a meeting with Benedict XVI is "a reason for great joy. He affirmed this today in response to comments from Patriarch Iringe Gav-ril-ovic. The 80-year-old patriarch, elected last Friday, gave his suggested the possibility of organizing an ecumenical event with the Pope in Nis, where Constantine was born. The event would commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, which ended anti-Christian persecution in the Roman Empire.

Story 6:
Benedict XVI's traditional letter for Lent will be presented next week by a former president of the European Parliament. Hans-Gert Pöttering, now president of a Germany-based research group called the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, will present the Pope's message on Feb. 4 in the Vatican. Pöttering was president of the European Parliament from 2007 till last July.
The theme of the Pope's lenten message is "The Righteousness of God Has Been Manifested Through Faith in Jesus Christ".

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