(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:
The woman who leapt at Pope Benedict XVI during midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve is being held in a psychiatric facility in Rome, while Vatican officials weigh their legal options.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, said that Pope Benedict-- who was not injured when he was pulled to the floor in the bizarre incident—had already forgiven Susanna Maiolo, his assailant,. Father Lombardi emphasized that there was no evidence Maiolo intended to harm the Pontiff.

The attack placed the pope's security under intense scrutiny after it came to light that Maiolo made a prior attempt to lunge at Benedict at the Midnight Mass last year, but was restrained by the pope's body guards.

Maiolo is the second person to rush the pope after a German tourist in 2007 jumped the security barrier in St Peter's Square and reached the back of the pope's car before he was brought down by security guards.

If she is deemed psychologically unstable—as most observers expect—she will not be prosecuted, the papal spokesman disclosed. Because the incident occurred inside the Vatican, the Holy See has jurisdiction over the case.

Cardinal Roger Etgaray, who also fell and broke his leg during the melee that broke out during the procession before midnight Mass, was reported in good condition after undergoing hip-replacement surgery at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. The French-born prelate—the former president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, is 87 years old.

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

Story 2:
Two additional auxiliary bishops of the Dublin archdiocese tendered their resignations on Christmas Eve, bringing to 4 the number of Irish bishops who have stepped down in the wake of a damaging report about the handling of sex-abuse reports.

Bishops Eamon Walsh and Raymond Field issued a short statement announcing their resignations. While they apologized to sex-abuse victims, they did not acknowledge any wrongdoing on their part.

A fifth bishop mentioned in the Murphy Commission report, Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway, has firmly resisted pressure to resign, saying that he did nothing wrong in his handling of sex-abuse cases.

Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick and James Moriarty of Kildare had resigned earlier this month. They, like Bishop Drennan, served as auxiliary bishops in Dublin during the years covered by the Murphy Commission investigation.

Story 3:
At a huge outdoor Mass in Madrid for the Feast of the Holy Family, Antonio Cardinal Rouco-Varela offered a strong defense of Catholic teaching on marriage and family life against contemporary threats, including abortion, same-sex marriage, and divorce. The Madrid archbishop, who concelebrated the Mass with 300 other bishops, warned that Europe has no demographic future apart from Christian families open to life.

Story 4:
In an apparent split with Roman Catholic bishops over the abortion-financing provisions of the proposed health care overhaul, the nation’s Catholic hospitals have signaled that they back the Senate’s compromise on the issue and stirring controversy within the church,” The New York Times is reporting.

The Catholic Health Association has not endorsed the health legislation that was passed by the Senate nor did it endorse the Casey compromise language that was opposed by the bishops’ conference. Instead, before seeing the final language of the bill, the Catholic Health Association said it was “encouraged by recent deliberations.

This is Catholic Information News.

Story 5:
Irish authorities plan to investigate the origin of a fire that destroyed the famous Catholic cathedral in Longford on Christmas Day, to determine whether the fire was deliberately set. St. Mel's cathedral was gutted by the blaze, and investigators are still awaiting clearance to enter the building. Because the fire occurred during a time of intense public criticism of the Church, some observers fear that arson may be the cause.
Story 6:

The December 25 edition of L’Osservatore Romano paid tribute to two new books devoted to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The L’Osservatore Romano column was written by Giuseppe Fiorentino and Gaetano Vallini, who earlier this year paid tribute on the fortieth anniversary of the film Easy Rider.

(roll theme and establish) That’s the news at the top of the hour.
I’m Bryan Douglas, CIR NEWS, for Catholic Information Radio.

Newscast script for 8PM, Tuesday, December 22, 2009. Click here to listen.

--
(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)

1. Lead:
A former spokesman for the previous Archbishop of Dublin has criticised the current Archbishop of Dublin, Deermid Martin, for his handling of the fallout from the Murphy report on abuses in the archdiocese..
Eddie Shaw, currently a director with an outside consultancy and who worked at the communications office in the Archbishop’s House for a year between 2002 and 2003, said communications strategy by the archdiocese following publication of the Murphy report had been “catastrophic”.
Speaking on a Radio Ireland program yesterday, he related that he thought the way it was done was wrong by communicating with people who are your auxiliaries through prime time television interviews.
In other developments, one of Ireland’s leading child abuse campaigners has issued an open letter calling on Pope Benedict to visit Ireland and spend seven days in repentance here.
Christine Buckley, of the Aislinn Centre in Dublin said he should do so to assist Archbishop Martin in a major cleaning of the Catholic church in Ireland.
She also says, while he is visiting, the Pontiff should invite abuse survivors to tell him directly their stories in the presence of those responsible or the leaders of those organisations that were responsible for oversight. Miss Buckley, who spent time as a child in the Goldenbridge orphanage in Inchecore, is a well-known advocate against child abuse. There has been no response from the Vatican.

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

2. Story 2:
Mexico City lawmakers on Monday made the city the first in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage, a change that will give gay couples more rights, including allowing them to adopt children.
The bill passed the capital's local assembly 39-20.
Leftist Mayor Marcelo Ebrard of the Democratic Revolution Party was widely expected to sign the measure into law.
Mexico City's leftist-led assembly has made several decisions widely unpopular in this deeply Roman Catholic country, including legalizing abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. That decision sparked a backlash, with the majority of Mexico's other 32 states enacting legislation declaring life begins at conception.

3. Story 3:
Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in an assassination attempt in May 1981, will be released from a Turkish prison in January, his lawyer has announced.
Agca, who was convicted of the assault, was imprisoned in Italy until 2000, when—in accordance with a call for amnesty by Pope John Paul himself—he was granted a pardon for that crime, and then handed over to authorities in Turkey, to continue serving a sentence for a previous killing there. He will be eligible for release on January 18.
Agca, who has a history of making sensational public statements, generated headlines earlier this year by announcing that he wanted to become a Catholic.

4. Story 4:
Invoking the names of Hindu deities, a group of Hindu militants attacked a Christmas fair in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on December 20 and set fire to biblical representations. Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal called the attack “a matter of serious concern for Christians” and said that the state’s government rarely addresses attacks on Christians. Only one half of one percent of the people who live within Bhopal’s archdiocesan boundaries are Catholic.

This is Catholic Information News.

5. Story 5:
Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, Illinois, is receiving criticism for asking at least three parishes to follow the Church’s norm on kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer. Among the priests asked to begin to follow the Church’s discipline in this matter is Msgr. James Margason, who served as diocesan vicar general when Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta was Bishop of Belleville. His request has been met with some measure of resistance.

6. Story 6:
In another story of a formerly Catholic university bowing to societal pressure, the former CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of Maryland has been adjunct instructor in the Department of Health Systems Administration at Georgetown University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies since 2005, according to her curriculum vitae. Roberta Lynn Geidner-Antoniotti has also worked as diversity summit organizer of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, as well as serving as acting project director of the Emergency Contraception Public Awareness Campaign. There was no response from the University when contacted.

(roll theme and establish)
That’s the news at the top of the hour.

I’m Bryan Douglas, CIR NEWS, for Catholic Information Radio.

8pm: on the Catholic Information Radio Network. CLICK HERE

(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)

1. Lead:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced its opposition to Senate health care legislation in its current form. In a 60-40 vote during the overnight hours of December 21, the Senate voted along strict party lines to limit debate on the measure so as to allow for the its passage before Christmas.

According to the USCCB, the legislation does not seem to allow purchasers to exercise freedom of choice or conscience to ‘opt out’ of abortion coverage in the proposed federally subsidized health plan.

Bishops William Murphy of Rockville Centre and John Wester of Salt Lake City observed it will require purchasers of such plans to pay a surcharge which is extracted solely to help pay for other people's abortions. The government agency that currently manages health care for federal employees will promote and help subsidize multi-state health plans that include elective abortions, contrary to longstanding law governing that agency.

Again, according to the bishops conference, while they apparently appreciate the efforts made by Senators Robert Casey of Pennsylvania and Ben Nelson of Nebraska to improve the bill, the final judgment is that the bill is still morally flawed.

Senator Nelson provided the 60th vote needed to move the plan forward after Majority Leader Harry Reed inserted language in the bill that would specifically assist Nebraska in meeting its unfunded obligations that the bill will impose on the states if the bill becomes law, mirroring the hundreds of millions of dollars the Obama administration promised to Louisiana earlier in the month to secure that state’s support.

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

2. Story 2:
Jewish leaders have criticized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints’ decree that declared Pope Pius XII lived a life of heroic virtue.

The Israeli government did not question the decree but called upon the Vatican to open the archives of the pontiff’s wartime years. Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor stated that the beatification process does not concern the government of the Jewish state, and it's a matter that only concerns the Catholic Church. Moves to bestow sainthood on Pius XII have been a source of tension with Jewish groups because of the view among many historians that he remained passive during the Nazi Holocaust.

The Vatican has argued that Pius XII, who was pope from 1939 to 1958, saved
many Jews who were hidden away in religious institutions, and that his silence
was born out of a wish to avoid aggravating their situation.

In Italy, at least one Jewish leader questioned whether renewed tensions could prompt a postponement of the Pope's scheduled January visit to Rome's synagogue.

3. Story 3:
In recent years, the law school of one of the nation’s leading Jesuit universities has repeatedly posted Planned Parenthood job openings. Fordham University, located in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Tarrytown NY, posted a job listing for The Public Policy Litigation and Law Department of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the world’s oldest and largest voluntary pro-abortion organization, who is looking for law student interns in its New York and Washington, D.C. offices,” according to a recent job posting.

Additionally, the school sponsors a student organization that advocates for legalized abortion. Law Students for Reproductive Justice-- one of the Fordham University School of Law’s 35 student organizations-- believes that “every person, regardless of gender, race, class, or ethnicity, has the right to choose whether or not to, use contraception, or have a child. Our projects include brownbags lunches with reproductive rights activists, an ongoing escort program in partnership with Planned Parenthood of New York City, a research partnership with local pro-choice legal organizations, and internship opportunities.”

This is Catholic Information News (pause)

4. Story 4:
Archbishop Deermid Martin of Dublin will ask the Congregation of Bishops to remove four bishops implicated in the Murphy report if they do not resign of their own accord, according to an Irish media report. Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen welcomed the resignation of Bishop Donal Murray, calling it “a welcome indication that those who are in positions of leadership are facing up to their responsibility in the light of the very clear findings of the Murphy Commission.”

Story 5:
The Catholic bishops of Australia have voted their approval for a new series of English-language liturgical translations, clearing the way for the introduction of those new texts by early 2011. The US bishops had completed their approval of the new texts at their November 2009 meeting, after a long and lively debate.

(pause)

(roll theme and establish) That’s the news at the top of the hour.
I’m Bryan Douglas, CIR NEWS, for Catholic Information Radio.

Well, in the middle of orientation for my assignment with Booz Allen Hamilton, managed to squeeze in some time watching the USCCB discussion concerning the new Roman Missal english translation debate.

A few thoughts. You have to admire Bp. Trautman (Erie, PA). He kept his powder dry and his plan of attack hidden, saving his very last musket ball for the end.

He raised a motion that the bishops should see the Gray Book of the Antiphons, discuss it and vote on it.

Pretty parliamentary, really.

Background: Cardinal George, as President, had asked in the name of the Conference that the Holy See handle translation of the the antiphons. The Holy See agreed. Eventually, the Holy See sent a Gray book, but it was not distributed to the members.

Bp. Trautman, who said at one point he wasn’t aware of the Holy See’s Gray book, reacted to this departure from procedure saying that the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy requires that competent territorial authority has to approve translations. He calls this a doctrinal issue. I will return to that important point at the end.

Therefore Bp. Trautman put a motion on the floor for the bishops to insist that the ALL USCCB Latin bishops, as a conference, have the chance to work on and approve the Gray Book for Antiphons as produced by the Holy See (huh? Since when does the territorial conference have authority over the See of Peter...never mind..).

This was probably his Waterloo.

The bishops as a body rejected his motion.

Vote on Bishop Trautman’s motion: No=166; Yes=46 DEFEATED.

It remains to be seen how the bishops will eventually deal with this departure from regular procedure in the future.

Unlooked for players on the correct side of this battle were, wait for it...Archbp. Pilarcyk and Cardinal Mahony. They both suggested that, after Bp. Trautman’s motion was addressed, the body of bishops could simply ratify what Card. George had done acting as president of the USCCB in his dealings with the Holy See over the Gray Book for antiphons.

As it was, Bp. Trautman’s last-ditch move to delay the process was rejected by the other bishops. Then Archbp. Pilarczyk made the motion that the bishops let Rome handle the antiphons and the bishops approved the same overwhelmingly.

Vote to remand the antiphons to the CDW: No=20; Yes=194 PASSED

That seems to have been the last hurrah.

At the very moment when Card. George was to announce the results of the vote on Bp. Trautman’s motion, the TelecareTV coverage died...video froze and then went black as the audio died. So, I picked up a tweet from the Twitter feed of @usccbmedia. Thanks to them I learned what happened.

We didn’t learn it from TelecareTV, the second-rate video provider tasked with the coverage. I got it from Twitter.

It was a dramatic moment for more than one reason!

It is not quite time for a Te Deum, but this was a great step forward.

All during the presentation of the various elements for voting, Bp. Seratelli, head of the liturgy committee, reminded the bishops that this meeting, this November meeting, was – ACCORDING TO THE HOLY SEE – the last chance to vote on the English translation of the Missal. After this, the Holy See would take charge and handle the issues that remained open. It seems that the bishops took this to heart...a heart that was no doubt weary and flagging after all these years of delay, discussion, and politicking.

Going back to Bp. Trautman’s motion.

As this was going on I was reminded of what I read in the book that came out under the name of the former papal master ceremonies, Archbp. Piero Marini. He described in detail the workings of the committee (Consilium) that created the current normative Mass under the late Abp. Annibale Bugnini. Marini explained that the Consilium realized they were changing doctrine with the liturgical changes. An objective of Bugnini was to strip the Congregation for Rites of its power and redistribute it to territorial conferences. One of the knives he used was the question of who gets to approve liturgical translations, Rome or the local conferences?

This same dynamic and question returned at this meeting of the bishops, with Bp. Trautman playing the advocate of the old Bugnini/Marini objective.

But it is a sign of the times that the American bishops rejected that position and were content that the Holy See not only approve the translation of liturgical texts but, in the case of the antiphons, actually do the work.

You can see why Bp. Trautman was so intent on this and why he saw it as his last great chance.

But he is a sly one. Perhaps he will find a loaded pistol on the ground even as he abandons his discharged musket.

But, for what it's worth, as one who has vocally, both online since the 1980 and in person since the New Mass was imposed in English at the Easter Vigil in 1973 in the Diocese of Trenton, prayed that a decent translation would come out of the translation cabal (and, even then, with only 3 years of Latin in High School, thought there was something wrong with the 'dynamic equivalence' translation result), I can only be cheered by this turn of events and sudden influx of Clue on the part of our shepherds.

Deo gratias.

It's been almost 7 months that my first episode with a collapsed lung, and giving up smoking.

Smoke free for 7 months? And only gained 7 lbs. Another issue, but resolved surgically in July.

I feel pretty good. And I thank God for his limitless mercy and chance to suffer ills for his sake.

Life is pretty good right now. And He's granted me new insights into the role of suffering in His plan.

For all your prayers and concerns since then...please accept my deepest thanks.