Newscast for 8, 9, and 10PM tonight.
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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….
(Theme Out)

Lead:
This morning, the USCCB expressed “profound gratitude” for the assistance that Pope Benedict has given the bishops in their efforts to respond to victims, deal with perpetrators and to create safe environments for children. The statement comes in the midst of numerous media reports attempting to link the Pope to the mishandling of sex abuse cases.

The bishops opened their statement by saying that the recent emergence of more reports of abuse by clergy saddens and angers the Church and causes us shame.” Continuing that if “there is anywhere that children should be safe, it should be in their homes and in the Church,” the bishops said.

In remarks following Palm Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York urged Catholics “to express our solidarity for Pope Benedict, who he said, given the recent media onslaught over abuse allegations, is now suffering some of the same unjust accusations, shouts of the mob, and scourging at the pillar, as did Jesus.

The archbishop stated the somberness of Holy Week is intensified for Catholics this year, as certain sources, driven by their secularist agenda, seem frenzied to implicate the one man who, perhaps more than anyone else, has been the leader in purification, reform, and renewal that the Church so needs.

I’ll be back with more after this.
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Story 2:
Archbishop Louis Kebreau of Cap-Hatien and president of the Haitian Bishops’ Conference, made the announcement that following Holy Week, the Port-au-Prince seminary will resume its activities interrupted by the country's January 12 earthquake. Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Archbishop Kebreau said the seminarians from the various dioceses of Haiti will be housed in tents, along with the academic staff. Archbishop Kebreau also stated that the situation is now slowly returning to normal, but at the same time there is still much work to be done.

Story 3:
The bishops of Nicaragua released a message last week reminding Nicaraguans of God's love for all human beings and encouraging them to continue defending life. The message, addressed to all Nicaraguan Catholics, was released on March 25, the Day of the Unborn, and the Solemnity of the Annunciation. The bishops also urged Catholics to participate in Holy Week celebrations in order to deepen their faith and prepare to celebrate Easter with joy.

Story 4:
The Diocese of Portland, Maine has cut the funding for a homeless aid group who lied to about their support for same-sex "marriage." Sue Bernard, spokesperson for the diocese, told CNA on Monday that “it's a shame that the funding had to be moved,” given the group's dishonesty. Officials from both the Diocese of Portland and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) recently told the non-profit homeless agency, Preble Street, that it had violated its grant agreement by supporting Maine's “No on 1” campaign last November which opposed legislation that would overturn the legalization of same-sex “marriage.”

Story 5:
The Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and the Latin Catholic Archbishop of Moscow have reacted to the Moscow Metro bombings with bewilderment and pain. Catholic Mass attendees missed the attacks by “a matter of minutes.” Several dozen people were killed and more than 100 injured in the attacks, reportedly carried out by two female suicide bombers. Chechen rebels are suspected.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 6:
An American nun who founded a congregation of sisters to minister to the poor and elderly, and particularly to slaves, is now recognized as venerable. Sister Henriette Delille, founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family, is one of seven to be recognized as venerable with decrees authorized by the Holy Father on Saturday. She founded her congregation of black sisters in 1842. In addition to the proclamation regarding the Venerable Henriette, the Pope also authorized proclamations noting the heroic virtue of two Germans, two Italians, a Paraguayan and a Slovenian.

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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, 9, and 10PM 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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Back from a well-deserved week off. Thanks for all who enquired as to where I was.
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(Roll Theme)
News, of the hour, on the hour, from Catholic Information Radio.
I’m Bryan Douglas in Philadelphia, and at this hour….
(Theme Out)

Lead:
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards has praised the Catholic religious sisters who endorsed the Senate health care bill, claiming they deserve gratitude for making “a critical demonstration of support” for a bill that significantly increased coverage of so-called “reproductive health care”, a code-word for abortion, which is the only type provided for by her organization.

Writing for the Huffington Post Wednesday in her capacity as president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Richards claimed that it was Catholic nuns who had the greatest effect by breaking with the bishops and the Vatican to announce their support for Obama’s health plan.

Additionally, the dissident group called NETWORK claimed in a March 17 letter to the House of Representatives that it represented 59,000 women religious across the U.S. It urged members of Congress to support the bill.

Their statement was uncritically reported by the Associated Press. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and others working to pass the legislation invoked the sisters’ endorsement for support as justification for their efforts.
But, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ spokeswoman Sr. Mary Ann Walsh said NETWORK “grossly overstated” their numbers.

Not clear is how much Planned Parenthood stands to make from this institutionalized and government-encouraged form of population control in the guise of health care.

I’ll be back with more after this.
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Story 2:
The way in which the Church confronts sexual abuse and its extensive coverage recently in the media is “crucial” for her moral credibility, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said on Saturday. He looked to Pope Benedict XVI and various bodies within the Church working to "eradicate the scourge of abuses." Referring to the "decisive measures" and actions of the U.S. Bishops, he said their recently released annual report shows that the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" is obtaining positive results. Fr. Lombardi remarked that it must be recognized that efforts are proving to be "effective."

Story 3:
The prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Jose Martins, explained this week that the possible miraculous healing of a French nun attributed to the intercession of John Paul II has not yet been examined by the Vatican Medical Commission. Cardinal Saraiva made his statements to a group of reporters in Rome in reference to reports published a month ago in Poland claiming that the Vatican commission had dismissed the miracle supposedly experienced by Sister Marie Pierre. The cardinal said the miracle could not have been rejected “because the doctors have not examined it yet.”

Story 4:
Capuchin Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa dedicated his final Lenten meditation to the necessity of “an internal purification of the Church, starting with its clergy." He emphasized the importance of love for Christ, fidelity and repentance in bringing about change. The call to conversion for those who are already within the Church is a different one from that of non-believers and neophytes explained Fr. Cantalamessa to Pope Benedict XVI and clergy present in the Vatican's Redemptoris Mater Chapel on Friday morning.

Story 5:
The February 27 earthquake that killed hundreds and damaged over a half million homes has also left one million of Chile’s Catholics without a place of worship, according to that country’s episcopal conference. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami damaged 47% of the nation’s churches. 19% of these churches collapsed, while 24% reported severe damage.

74% of the nation’s 12.3 million people are Catholic.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 6:
Bishops from around the Philippines are discouraging the faithful from taking part in literal reenactments of Christ’s scourging and crucifixion. Such acts “are expressions of superstitious beliefs and are usually done out of the need for money and for tourism purposes, which is totally wrong,” said Bishop Rolando Tirona of Infanta, who instead recommended “fasting, abstinence, prayer, reflection, and almsgiving.” The bishop continued that the Church allows Holy Week activities that are consistent with the teachings of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ.

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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, 9, and 10PM 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….
(Theme Out)

Lead:
Leading pro-abortion groups such as the National Organization of Women (NOW), Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America have harshly criticized President Obama’s decision to issue an executive order to reassure pro-life Democrats that there would be no federal funding for abortion.

The executive order was published by the White House scant minutes before Congressman Bart Stupak announced that he and his bloc of pro-life Democrats would be caving into pressure to allow the health care bill to pass Sunday evening by a 219-212 margin.

To protect the sanctity of life, Stupak said his coalition went for the “best enforceable” option and settled for the President’s executive order. Nevertheless, according to Richard Doerflinger, Stupak’s deal will be useless in defending life.

According to Doerflinger, the statutory mandate construed by the courts would override any executive order or regulation and only a change in the law enacted by Congress, not an executive order, will address this very serious problem in the legislation."

Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser announced that the organization had been planning to honor Rep. Stupak at its third annual Campaign for Life Gala on Wednesday for “his efforts but said they would no longer be doing so.
I’ll be back with more after this.

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Story 2:
In a recent interview, the president of the Christian Liberation Movement in Cuba, Oswaldo Paya reiterated the need for a democratic change in Cuba and called on the international community to support this peaceful struggle without ideological bias. In the interview, Paya spoke of the complicated situation on the island that has caused some to lose hope. Referring to the Varela Project, he explained it is a peaceful path but it gives citizens the ability to participate in public and economic life and vote on changes to be the ones to decide what is good, what they want, but above all in an atmosphere of reconciliation, in an atmosphere of brotherhood.

Story 3:
With a theme of “Be Reconciled with the Lord,” the Men’s Spirituality Conference in Philadelphia drew more than 1,500 Catholic men of all ages, some even bringing young sons, to Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia on a very stormy Saturday last week. It was a full day of instruction, worship and sacramental healing, with 60 priests hearing confessions, culminating with the celebration of the Eucharist by Cardinal Justin Rigali. This was the second of what is intended to be an annual event. “Last year we had 1,200; that was a strong response,” said Dominic Lombardi, director of the archdiocesan Family Life Office. “This year is even better.”

Story 4:
Ireland’s leading prelates welcomed Pope Benedict’s pastoral letter to the Church in Ireland in which he apologized to Irish abuse victims, lamented the hierarchy’s failure to confront the scandal, and announced an apostolic visitation. Preaching on the woman caught in adultery, the archbishop said that Christ’s logic is different to ours. In the face of sin he does not respond with fundamentalist condemnation; neither does he respond with modern-day liberal toleration

Story 5:
Canadian Archbishop Terrence Prendergast circulated a letter asking that everyone kneel for the entire Eucharistic prayer from the Sanctus to the conclusion for a total of about five minutes. Currently, some congregations stand for most of the prayer, kneeling only as the priest consecrates the Eucharist. Some stand for the whole prayer; others kneel throughout. Archbishop Prendergast said in his letter he has noted a wide range of practices ... which present a lack of harmony in a matter where we should be united . Predictably, there is a lot of resistance to the Archbishop’s direction.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 6:
Father Paul Marx, an international leader of the pro-life movement, died on March 20, just days short of his 90th birthday. The founder of Human Life International, Father Marx had brought the pro-message to 91 different countries before his retirement in 1999. He was once told by Pope John Paul II: "You are doing the most important work on earth." Father Marx authored over one dozen books, including The Death Peddlers: War on the Unborn (1971), Death Without Dignity: Killing for Mercy (1982), and his autobiography, Faithful for Life (1997).

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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, 9, and 10PM 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….
(Theme Out)

Lead:
The Catholic Medical Association, a group representing American Catholic doctors, has issued a strong statement of opposition to the health-care reform bill pending in Congress.
The group’s statement echoes the charge of Denver’s Archbishop Charles Chaput that other organizations such as the Catholic Health Association and Network have done a “grave disservice” to the Church with their public break from the US bishops’ opposition to the proposed reform legislation.

The CMA statement emphasizes the legislation’s approach to abortion, saying that the bill would provide “multiple new streams of funding for abortions.” The bill also fails to protect the consciences rights of health-care providers, the doctors’ group says.

CMA goes further in its condemnation of the bill, however, saying that the problems extend beyond abortion by putting the government in charge of health-care decisions, and that is “an approach that is flawed in principle and ineffective, if not dangerous, in practice.”
The CMA also criticizes the legislation’s handling of immigrants, and says the cost of the bill is “unsustainable from an economic standpoint.”

I’ll be back with more after this.
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Story 2:
Mother Mary Quentin, president of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) issued a statement on yesterday opposing the Senate health care legislation. Sister wrote quote “unlike the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious is known for its fidelity to the Church’s Magisterium. Protection of life and freedom of conscience are central to morally responsible judgment, and statements by other dissident groups do not reflect the true teaching and opinion of the nation’s bishops.

Story 3:
Sliding further down the slippery slope begun by the 1968 introduction of the criterion of “brain death,” the US Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $321,000 to two Pittsburgh hospitals to extract organs from emergency room patients who are organ donors but have not yet been declared brain dead. The Catechism teaches that the transplant of organs is morally acceptable only with the consent of the donor and without excessive risks to him or her. Before allowing organ donation after death, one must verify that the donor is truly dead.

Story 4:
As part of a wider budget cutting plan, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has proposed the complete elimination of millions of dollars of funding for agencies run by Planned Parenthood. According to Mary Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life (NJRTL), Planned Parenthood-run agencies have been receiving more than and average of 7 million state taxpayer dollars a year, having nearly doubled since 2002. In the same period, New Jersey was one of the top three states with the highest teen abortion rates.

Story 5:
The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household organized a concert in honor of the Pope for the feast of St. Joseph, his namesake. A string quartet and an accomplished mezzosoprano vocalist was at the Vatican to celebrate his “name day.” On the program was a modification of Joseph Haydn’s original work “The Last Seven Words of Christ on the Cross,” which was presented in a new version called “In the manner of Haydn” by Spanish composer Jose Peris Lacasa. The concert was performed by the Henschel String Quartet and mezzosoprano Susanne Kelling, all from Germany.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 6:
The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute has stated that it stands by its reporting of a sexually explicit Planned Parenthood brochure being distributed at an international Girl Scouts meeting. At the same time, a spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts USA told the Catholic News Agency that if graphic brochures were passed out quote “it wasn't from us, it wasn't known to us, we had nothing to do with it” unquote. C-FAM stands by its reporting of the distribution of the brochure as compared to the Girl Scout spokewoman’s protestations and denial of responsibility.

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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, 9, and 10PM 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….
(Theme Out)

Lead:
Writing for the online edition of The Washington Post, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Bishop William Murphy, and Bishop John Wester have explained why the United States bishops oppose the health care legislation that was passed by the US Senate in December and will soon be considered by the House of Representatives.

The three bishops, who chair bishops’ committees for pro-life activities, justice, and migration respectively-- note that the Senate bill extends abortion coverage, allows federal funds to pay for elective abortions and denies conscience protection to individuals and institutions.

The House bill provides that no one has to pay for other’s abortions, while the Senate bill mandates the opposite. They note the Senate provides for one plan without abortion coverage in each exchange, those who select another plan in an exchange to better meet the special needs of their family will be forced to pay a separate monthly fee into a fund exclusively for abortions.

The Senate bill would continue current law that denies legal immigrants access to Medicaid for five years and prohibit undocumented immigrants from buying insurance for their families in the exchanges using their own money. These provisions could leave immigrants and their families worse off, and at the same time it would also hurt the public health of our nation by making hospital emergency rooms the doctors' offices of the uninsured.

I’ll be back with more after this.
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Story 2:
Breaking with his brother bishops, Bishop John McCarthy has endorsed Senate health care reform legislation. The USCCB has written recently that the legislation would expand federal participation in abortion, and refuse to incorporate essential conscience protections.” Bishop McCarthy, however, told the Associated Press that taxpayers would not pay for abortions under the Senate bill pleading to not kill the legislation at this crucial moment. Bishop McCarthy, who led the Diocese of Austin from 1986 until his retirement, 5 years before he required to, in 2001.

Story 3:
During his regular weekly audience yesterday, Pope Benedict said that his letter to the Irish Church would be released very soon. The Vatican press office announced today that his letter, in response to the sex-abuse crisis there, will be released on Saturday, March 20 During his weekly public audience the Holy Father had said that he would sign the letter on March 19 and it would be released shortly thereafter; but he had not given an exact date. With this announcement, the date has been set.

Story 4:
The priests in Ireland resoundingly support Cardinal Seán Brady following calls for his resignation. The cardinal is resisting calls to step down after it was revealed that, in 1975, he took part in a Church trial of paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth but didn't report the offences to the police. In a telephone survey, The Irish Catholic newspaper contacted two-thirds of the parishes in the Armagh diocese, with the overwhelming majority of priests contacted expressing clear support for Cardinal Brady. Most priests said it was their desire that the Cardinal remain in office and continue his 'good work' on implementing child protection measures.

Story 5:
If a priest admits to abuse of children during a sacramental confession, the confessor cannot report that abuse to legal authorities, a Vatican official has reminded readers of the Vatican newspaper. The confessional seal has not often been an issue in the sex-abuse scandals that have come to the fore in public discussions. The criticism of Catholic bishops for mishandling abusive priests has centered on cases in which the revelations of abuse came outside the confessional-- either through complaints from victims or through admissions made by priests in administrative interviews.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 6:
Mother Teresa encouraged working with the poor not only in the slums of India, but primarily in our own families, says the author of a new book about the nun. Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle is the author of the recently published "Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship." O’Boyle related that even with all of this holiness, she wasn't an abstract saint from hundreds of years ago and no stranger to the realities of modern life. She met each person right where they were coming from and ministered to them at their unique level and state of life.

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