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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:
Speaking in Houston, Texas, where then-Senator John F. Kennedy delivered a famous speech on religion during his presidential campaign in 1960, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver offered a serious and thoughtful critique of the late president's address. The Kennedy speech, which has been widely adopted as a model for Catholic politicians, was "sincere, compelling, articulate-- and wrong.

Archbishop Chaput said by setting up artificial barriers between private beliefs and public actions, Kennedy harmed the cause of Catholic influence in American political affairs and also said Kennedy’s Houston remarks profoundly undermined the place not just of Catholics, but of all religious believers, in America’s public life and political conversation. Today, half a century later, we’re paying for the damage.

Kennedy was right to say that he would be guided by his own conscience in his execution of the public trust, the archbishop argues. But he was wrong to suggest that his conscience could or should be separated from the guidance of his Church.

Archbishop Chaput says that the net result of the Houston speech was a gain for secularists who seek to remove religious influence from public life. He remarked that too many Christian individuals, Protestant and Catholic alike, live their faith as if it were 'private idiosyncrasy' which they try to prevent from becoming a 'public nuisance.

I’ll be back with more after this.
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Story 2:
A spokesman for the US bishops' conference has flatly contradicted the claim by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that the health-care reform plan now under discussion on Capitol Hill would not provide subsidies for abortion. However, ro-life groups have consistently pointed out that the bill advanced by the White House would provide taxpayer subsidies for abortion in several different ways. The group's analysis noted that the legislation provides direct federal funding of abortion on demand through Community Health Centers and would institute federal subsidies for private health plans that cover abortion on demand including federal mandates that would require even non-subsidized private plans to cover elective abortion."

Story 3:
The Washington DC office of Catholic Charities will drop health-care coverage for spouses of employees in order to avoid clashing with a new law that requires equal treatment of same-sex couples. Officials for the agency chose to change their health-care plan for employees rather than expanding the definition of "spouse" to allow for the inclusion of a same-sex partner. The Washington archdiocese has already ended its adoption services because of the same law which would have required the Catholic agency to provide equal service to homosexual couples

Story 4:
Bishop Denis Brennan of Ferns, Ireland, has called upon the parishioners of his diocese to help pay over €10.5 million ($14.2 million) in expenses from clergy sex-abuse lawsuits. That figure reflects the payments to abuse victims and to lawyers involved in about 60 cases. The cost would amount to about $150 for every Catholic living in the Ferns diocese. The diocesan finance officer said insurance had paid one-seventh but that, so far, the diocese had spent €3.5m partly by running down its savings and recently, by raising a €1.8m loan.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
The strong words of Pope Benedict XVI against anti-Christian violence in Mosul were acknowledged with gratitude by Iraqis, according to a bishop speaking from Iraq on Monday. Christians, Muslims and members of two other Iraqi minority groups peacefully protested in Baghdad, calling for an end to the violence and demanding protection. Auxilary Bishop of Baghdad Shlemon Warduni spoke from the Iraqi capital with the Italian bishops' news agency SIR about the demonstrations and the reaction to the Pope's special greeting and call for government protection of minorities, especially Christians in Mosul.

Story 6:
The Apostolic Nuncio in Chile, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, remarked on Monday that the Church has already started reaching out to those most impacted by the country's 8.8 earthquake.
Speaking with Vatican Radio, the archbishop noted that while communication has been difficult due to damage in the hardest-hit areas of Concepcion, Temuco and Curico, aid is being sent to the over one million people who have been left homeless.

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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:
As Chile's Catholic Church coordinated aid to victims of the massive earthquake that struck the country's central coast on Feb. 27, church leaders expressed their condolences to families of the more than 700 people killed.

After praying the Angelus on Sunday,, Pope Benedict XVI said quote "I am praying for the victims and am spiritually close to those affected by this serious catastrophe. For them, I ask God to grant relief of suffering and courage in this adversity” unquote.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet declared the southern regions a disaster area, ordered the army to reinforce the police, and imposed a nighttime curfew on the region to halt looting of stores. She also asked other countries to assist with field hospitals, water purification, communications equipment, and generators.

Telephone communication with Chile still was difficult today, and Chileans abroad struggled to contact relatives. Much of the disaster area and even some communities around the capital city of Santiago are still without electricity.

The magnitude 8.8 quake, one of the eight strongest on record, struck at 3:34 a.m. local time Feb. 27. Over the next two days, more than 115 aftershocks measuring more than 5.0 were recorded, nine of them registering more than 6.0. The strongest earthquake on record, which measured 9.5, struck the same area in 1960.

I’ll be back with more after this.
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Story 2:
Syrian Catholic Archbishop Basile Casmoussa of Mosul led over 1,000 Iraqi Catholics in a silent protest on February 28 to demand that the government act to put a stop to violence against Christians there. The United Nations has estimated that over 680 Christians fled Mosul in the last week. In Kirkuk, Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako led another prayer rally, and warned against the "Nineveh Plains plain” which is a proposal to gather Christians into a single location in the Nineveh region. He called for Christians to be united in opposition to that proposal because the archbishop said, Catholic leaders have generally agreed that a Christian enclave in Iraq would be vulnerable to organized mob attacks.

Story 3:
Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore has denounced government indifference to the persecution of Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs in Pakistan, an indifference that has allowed the Taliban to impose a tax on non-Muslims in certain areas.

Lamenting the frequent incidents of violence and crime posing grave threat to the life, liberty, and property of the members of religious minorities in the country, Archbishop Saldanha said that “the government should protect the religious minorities on priority, as they happen to be one of the most vulnerable groups to social and organized crimes.”

Story 4:
The Portuguese bishops have announced details of Pope Benedict’s May pilgrimage to their nation of 10.6 million. Capacity crowds of 150,000 and 250,000 respectively may attend open-air Masses in the capital city of Lisbon and in the northwestern city of Porto. The Pontiff will also visit Fatima, where 600,000 attended a Mass offered by Pope John Paul II in 2000.

“With You, We Walk in Hope: Christianity, and Mission” is the theme of the visit. 88% of the population is Catholic.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Returning from a conference in South Africa, the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications has lauded the Church in India’s use of new technologies. Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli emphasized that such technologies should not be used for propaganda and proselytism, but rather should be used to communicate the joy of the Christian message to a world marked by loneliness, in accord with the writings of St. Paul

Story 6:
On the occasion of the 70th birthday of the Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Benedict XVI sent him a telegram to wish him well on his birthday. The Holy Father's message recalls the "pleasant memories" of his meetings with the Patriarch, referring above all to his visit to Fanar for the feast of St. Andrew in 2006. The telegram concluded quote, "I exchange with Your Holiness a holy embrace, expressing my hope in faith that the Spirit of God continue to enlighten and guide our path toward the full communion desired by Christ for all of his disciples” unquote

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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:
Hundreds of Christian families are leaving Mosul, Iraq each day to escape a concerted campaign of violence and intimidation. Syrian Catholic Archbishop Basil Casmoussa presided on February 25 at a funeral for 3 family members who were the latest victims of execution-style murders.

Chaldean Catholic Bishop Emil Nona fears that Mosul will be emptied completely of Christians. In response to this, he will visit Baghdad to plead for help from the national government in establishing some minimal security for the city's religious minority.

Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk plans a demonstration calling the attention of international leaders to the ongoing massacre of Iraqi Christians."

Many of the Christians who are fleeing from Mosul, which has been prompted by a series of targeted killings, are looking for refuge in the Nineveh plains. Church leaders have warned against plans to confine Christians in that region, saying that it will subject the Christian minority to "ghettoization" and make it easier to plan anti-Christian violence for a single locale.

Pope Benedict XVI interrupted his Lenten Retreat long enough to issue a statement of deep sorrow over the news of fresh violence against Christians in Mosul. He assured the embattled minority that he would be them through prayer and affection during his spiritual exercises.

I’ll be back with more after this.
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Story 2:
The United States Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging congressional leaders to commit themselves to enacting genuine health care reform that will protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all.

In yet another in an ongoing series, they’ve sent a letter to Congressional leaders, renewing their plea for passage of health-care reform legislation. The letter deliberately avoids references to any specific piece of legislation, but appears just as President Obama convenes a summit with leaders of Congress looking for support of his plan, which would include coverage for abortion. Without directly addressing the Obama plan, the USCCB leaders are making a more general argument for pro-life legislation.

Story 3:
The Spanish parliament has approved new legislation that establishes a woman's so-called "right" to abortion and eliminates all restrictions during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. The new law also allows 16-year-old girls to obtain abortions without their parents' consent. The bill, advanced by the government of Prime Minister José Zapatero, was strongly opposed by the country's Catholic bishops, who warned that no Catholic legislator could vote for the bill in good conscience.

Story 4:
Days after violence erupted in Punjab following the publication of a textbook with a blasphemous image of Jesus, the bishops of India welcome actions against the publisher but said they would not support an anti-blasphemy law introduced in one Indian state. The textbook publisher has since apologized, attributing the image’s publication to “oversight and human error.” The bishops, leery of the use of blasphemy laws against Christians in Pakistan, oppose a bill introduced in the northeastern state of Meghalaya that would make it a crime to “hurt the religious sentiments of people.” It was in Meghalaya that nuns first noticed the blasphemous image.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Catholics and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must continue to stand together as a "vital bulwark" against those in American society who want to "reduce religion to a purely private reality," the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told a historic gathering at Brigham Young University in Provo.

Cardinal Francis George of Chicago spoke Feb. 23 on "Catholics and Latter-day Saints: Partners in the Defense of Religious Freedom" as part of the Mormon school's forum series. He was the first cardinal to speak at the university.

Story 6:
The leader of the Anglican Communion has joined his voice to the chorus of those defending Christian presence in the Holy Land and urging peace so that Christian emigration will stop. On a four-day tour of the Middle East, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury met with the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Latin patriarchs, and with leaders of the Jewish community. In each meeting, there was affirmation of the need to do everything possible to support the Christian churches in the Holy Land, serving not only their own best interests but also those of all the people in the Middle East.

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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:
As the head of the Catholic Health Association expressed hope that President Barack Obama's health care summit would "move health care reform closer to completion," the leaders of a group of Catholic physicians called on Congress to scrap the current legislative proposals and start over.

Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is CHA president and CEO said quote "The American people are tired of partisan bickering and want lawmakers to find common ground toward creating a stronger, more equitable health care system," unquote.

But John Brehany, president and executive director of the Catholic Medical Association said in an open letter to Obama and members of Congress that the most responsible course of action would be to pause, reflect and then begin the legislative process again, working in a more deliberate and bipartisan manner.

A Feb. 25 summit is being convened by Obama to bring together key members of Congress from both parties and government officials to discuss an 11-page proposal unveiled by the president Monday. No specific legislative language was released, but a summary of the president's plan makes no mention of abortion or health care for immigrants.

A poll released Feb. 23 by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the nation is evenly split on current health reform legislation, with 43 percent in favor and 43 percent opposed.

I’ll be back with more after this.
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Story 2:
In the silence of St Joseph's Convent in Leeds each morning, Sister Catherine dresses herself in a gray habit and she slips her feet into the sandals of a Franciscan nun. Twelve years ago, when she was Kirstin Holum, she was reaching for her skates instead, competing in 1988 for the United States at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Instead of continuing her speed skating career, she joined the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, an order founded in New York in 1988. She arrived in September in England to work with the poor, with youth and to evangelize. She is a member of a community of four nuns based in a house that, until last year, was owned and occupied by the Sisters of Mercy.

Story 3:
Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Washington closed its 80-year-old foster care and public adoption program in the District of Columbia so the agency would not violate church teaching by licensing same-sex couples as foster or adoptive parents. The program -- which covered 43 children and their biological families, 35 foster families and seven staff members -- was transferred to the National Center for Children and Families Feb. 1. Under a new law allowing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia, Catholic Charities would have been required to place children with same-sex parents for foster care and adoption, which would violate church teaching that marriage is a permanent union between one man and one woman.

Story 4:
Pope Benedict has sent a message of support to the Catholic bishops of Brazil as they begin their Fraternity Campaign, an annual Lenten tradition. This year's campaign-- which is being undertaken jointly by the Catholic bishops along with the National Council of Christian Churches and other Christian groups-- focuses on economic concerns. In his message the Pope praises the participants who this year have decided to unite their forces to reconcile people with God.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Children who are conceived by in vitro fertilization face elevated risks of health problems that include birth defects, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, medical studies show. As the first generation of IVF babies reaches adulthood, there are also indications that they face a higher rate of infertility, perhaps a genetic trait inherited from their parents. A doctor in the vanguard of IVF treatment says that parents are willing to accept that risk, reasoning that the children, too, can receive IVF treatment.

Story 6:
Catholic relief agencies in 40 nations have received 200 million dollars in donations from individuals and $36 million dollars in pledges from governments and other institutions to assist Haitian earthquake victims, according to Caritas International, the international consortium of Catholic relief agencies. Within Haiti, Caritas has fed 500,000 people and given shelter kits to 43,000.

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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:
The latest Vatican statistics show a slight increase in Catholics as a percentage of the world's population, and a slow but steady rise in the number of priests and seminarians worldwide.

The statistics, from the end of 2008, were presented along with the new Vatican yearbook on February 20th.

The Vatican said the number of Catholics reached 1.166 billion, an increase of 1.7 percent from the end of 2007. During the same period, Catholics as a percentage of the global population grew from 17.33 percent to 17.4 percent, it said.

The number of priests stood at 409,166, an increase of 1,100 over 2007. Since the year 2000, the Vatican said, the number of priests has increased by nearly 4,000, or about 1 percent. Looking at the way priests are distributed around the world, it said: 47.1 percent were in Europe, 30 percent in the Americas, 13.2 percent in Asia, 8.7 percent in Africa and 1.2 percent in Oceania.

The number of seminarians around the world rose from 116,000 at the end of 2007 to 117,000 at the end of 2008, an increase of more than 1 percent, it said. The increase in seminarians varied geographically: Africa showed an increase of 3.6 percent, Asia an increase of 4.4 percent, and Oceania an increase of 6.5 percent, while Europe had a decrease of 4.3 percent and the Americas remained about the same.

I’ll be back with more after this.
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Story 2:
Victims of the abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Dublin said they are close to despair because they say the church will not take full responsibility for the covering up of the abuse. Clergy abuse survivors met with Dublin Archbishop Deermid Martin to discuss the outcome of the meeting of Irish bishops with Pope Benedict XVI and senior officials from the Roman Curia. The meeting reviewed a November report by an independent commission that investigated how the Dublin Archdiocese handled complaints of clerical child abuse between 1975 and 2004. Maeve Lewis, director of the One in Four abuse survivors' group, said that the statement issued by the Vatican only accepted the failure of Irish church authorities , but did not go far enough towards complete acceptance by the pope.

Story 3:
Nineteen Catholic scholars of theology and history are asking Pope Benedict XVI to slow the process of the sainthood cause of Pope Pius XII. Saying that much more research needs to be done his papacy, the scholars said in letter to Pope Benedict that "history needs distance and perspective" before definitive conclusions can be reached on the role of Pope Pius during World War. Leading the effort are Father John Pawlikowski, professor of ethics at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and Father Kevin Spicer, associate professor of history at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass. Copies of the letter were also sent to Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and Cardinal Walter Kasper.

Story 4:
This Easter, thousands will enter the Catholic Church, and the U.S. bishops are encouraging all faithful to find ways to welcome the newest members. The conference publicized a list of suggestions for building this welcoming attitude. The message explained that Lent is the moment of final preparation for those who will receive the sacraments at the Easter Vigil Mass and encourages parishes to begin praying now for the candidates.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Britain’s House of Commons is set to vote on legislation this week that would introduce a program of sex education to primary school children from as young as 5 years of age. The "Children, Schools and Families Bill" also contains many other clauses which, critics say, is not so much a denial of Catholic teaching “as a whole uprooting of the natural law relationship between parents, children and the state.” The bill, which Members of Parliament will vote on Tuesday, is causing widespread concern among United Kingdom priests and laity who see it as further erosion of legitimate freedoms of religious belief.

Story 6:
Benedict XVI entrusted his spiritual exercises that started Sunday to the intercession of the Blessed Mother, asking her to pray that Lent be a time lived with joy. The Pope said this Sunday before praying the midday Angelus with those in St. Peter's Square. It was his last public audience until next weekend, as he began his seven-day spiritual exercises. The Holy Father's address touched on what it means to enter into the Lenten journey, and said the Gospel from yesterday’s liturgy -- detailing Christ's temptations in the desert -- illustrates the meaning of what we all face at we journey through the Lenten experience..

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