Return to This Week's Front Page ... Home Index
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
People, Events, and Comments
From Zenit News Agency in Rome
REFERENDUM IN PORTUGAL ON ABORTION
LISBON, JUN 21 (ZENIT) - After a controversial 116-107 vote by the Portuguese Parliament in
February to allow abortion in the first ten weeks of pregnancy if the woman goes to counseling
beforehand, pro-life forces have arranged a public referendum on the change. Before the new
law, abortion was prohibited - except when necessary to save the life of the mother - carrying up
to a three-year jail term. The changes are being pushed by the socialist, communist, and green
parties. The Portuguese Bishops are not pleased with deciding morality by referendum. In a
statement, they indicated, "since the right to life is inviolable, it should not be submitted to a
referendum." The secretary of the Episcopal Conference added, "It [abortion] is an immoral act,
and a referendum won't make abortion moral."
CHURCH MEDIATES CONFLICT IN GUINEA-BISSAU
BISSAU, JUN 21 (ZENIT) - "The missions, with their personnel and many volunteers, have
really done their part, coordinating the exodus, offering indispensable nutritional aid and
transport for children and elderly. Despite this, many have died along the roads under the blazing
sun, having to be buried before reaching their desired destination to find a little peace," reported
Bishop Settimio Arturo Ferrazzetta of Bissau. Bishop Ferrazzetta wrote a letter to the people of
his country on June 11, discussing the armed revolt rocking the nation. "All Guineans feel
profoundly wounded and only desire one thing: to return to a normal life," he asserted. At the
same time, he asked the president to accept dialogue and seek lasting peace. "From this moment
on, the most important thing is to open the way to peace... The Church is with you."
POPE TO CALL FOR AMNESTY DURING JUBILEE
VATICAN CITY, JUN 22 (ZENIT) - In the Biblical Jubilee tradition, every fiftieth year was a
year for taking account of the past, canceling debts, and releasing prisoners. The Great Jubilee of
2000 provides a similar opportunity. The Italian press has now reported that the Pope will direct
words to the governments of the world at the beginning of the Jubilee calling for acts of
clemency, indulgence, and amnesty. This would most likely come in the Papal Bull for the Holy
Year, which will be published on November 29, the first Sunday of Advent and the Liturgical
beginning of the final year of preparation for the Jubilee. This act would recall the words of
Christ as he began his public ministry in Nazareth: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to
proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
CARITAS: PEACE DOES NOT REQUIRE NUCLEAR WEAPONS
NEW DELHI, JUN 23 (ZENIT) - While India and Pakistan continue to exchange contrary peace
proposals, two Christian groups, Caritas India and YMCA Asia, have united to condemn all
nuclear testing, calling nuclear arms deplorable and unnecessary for maintaining peace and order
in the world. Caritas India feels that national resources should be deployed for helping all people
live with equal dignity. As a Christian organization in a minority Christian population
(approximately 2% of Indians are Christian), Caritas has challenged itself to critically analyze the
situation in the light of the Gospel, acting as "yeast in society." They denounce that "some
powers give the impression of promoting a mono-culture and of controlling international
institutions, including U.N. institutions, and trying to impose their own hegemony." The Asian
branch of the YMCA, present in 24 countries, said that the arms race "only serves to impoverish
the common people even more."
POPE SENDS AID TO NORTH KOREA
VATICAN CITY, JUN 23 (ZENIT) - In a significant gesture of solidarity, Pope John Paul II
recently sent economic aid to the people of North Korea, who are suffering famine. Vice-chancellor Kim Chang Ryong received the Vatican delegation led by Msgr. Celestino Migliore
and Msgr. Paul Gallagher. Among their activities were a Mass in the Cathedral of Pyongyang and
visits to various humanitarian projects directed by the Church. The current visit marks the third
time that the Vatican has sent aid to the people of this communist country, where the Church is
often suppressed by authorities, as was the case with the recent celebrations of Our Lady of
LaVang.
SLAVES IN SHORTS
ROME, JUN 24 (ZENIT) - The Vatican News Agency FIDES, organ of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples, has decried African practices whereby soccer players become "slaves
in shorts." According to FIDES, Nigeria's excellent performance at the Atlanta Olympics of 1996
has bred a group of "secret hunters," who quietly take promising soccer players from their
homelands to train abroad, paying the families some 1,000-1,500 francs for their cooperation.
After crossing the Nigerian border, the boys have their names changed and are fully at the mercy
of their "patrons," who make all decisions for the boys. The hope is that the 8-to-10-year-old boy
taken from Africa for this price will grow into a soccer player worth 100 million francs at age 16
or 17. The players, on the other hand, get little from the system. Players on the Nigerian team
currently competing in the World Cup earn about 175 dollars per month. Of course, soccer is not
wholly a negative experience in Africa. Missionaries are using the sport to build communities
and understanding -- it should be noted that Christians and Muslims play together on the
Nigerian team. The Agency concluded its report by saying, "Soccer, when it is not just 'business,'
can also be a great opportunity to educate people in living together."
ONE HUNDRED DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS OF THE HOLY FATHER
VATICAN CITY, JUN 25 (ZENIT) - The Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" has announced that in
1999, which the Pope has dedicated to contemplation of God the Father and the virtue of charity,
it will promote a new initiative entitled "One Hundred Projects of the Holy Father." The projects
to be supported by the Vatican cover a very wide range, from providing drinkable water to people
in developing countries to an medical clinic in Ghana. Archbishop Paul Cordes presented this
plan in his visit to Malta to raise funds to support the activity. In conjunction with this project, he
has officially created the new "Ghana Mission Foundation."
FOREIGN DEBT IS NOT JUST AN ECONOMIC PROBLEM
TEGUCIGALPA, JUN 25 (ZENIT) - The Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) is
holding a meeting with international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, and the Interamerican Bank in order to find a solution to the
staggering debt in many South and Central American nations. Bishop Óscar Andrés Rodríguez of
Tegucigalpa, President of CELAM, explained that "foreign debt is not just an economic problem,
it is a human problem . . . , and it is impoverishing Latin Americans more and more, which
impedes countries of this area from achieving economic and social development." The meeting
will take place in the Honduran capital from June 30 to July 2, involving 15 Bishops along with
representatives of numerous financial institutions. Auxiliary Bishop Stephen Blaire of Los
Angeles has traveled to Honduras to take part in the meetings, which are based on the conviction
that "loans are not a solution to poverty. They are a help for development . . . , and countries must
make an effort to use their own resources and avoid foreign debt."
POPE REPEATS OPPOSITION TO GERMAN ABORTION CERTIFICATES
VATICAN CITY, JUN 26 (ZENIT) - John Paul II received Bishop Karl Lehmann, President of
the German Bishops' Conference in audience one day after the radio transmission of a letter from
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger urging his brother Bishops to be firm and clear in the defense of the
unborn. According to Südwestfunk (SWF), Cardinal Ratzinger made an exhortation to Bishop
Lehmann in the name of the Pope that the Catholic Church in Germany should not issue
certificates of abortion counseling that a woman could then use to get an abortion. The matter has
provoked heated debate in Germany since, if the Church did not issue the certificates, few
women would come to the Church for advice while, on the other hand, the issuance of the
certificate has become almost a tacit permission to abort. Last January 27, the Pope sent a letter
to the German Bishops asking them to stop issuing these certificates, but to seek a way to
continue advising women in distress. (See ZW980128-4) After the letter, the German Bishops
agreed to stop the practice, but asked for some time to adapt their structures so that the
counseling centers could continue offering their services to needy women. The Pope's meeting
with Bishop Lehmann was intended to encourage the Bishops not to wait any longer than
absolutely necessary before banning the practice, since the delay is causing confusion among the
faithful.
POPE SPEAKS ON MORALITY IN BANKING
VATICAN CITY, JUN 26 (ZENIT) - Even bankers can enter into the Kingdom of God, assured
Pope John Paul II on receiving thirty members of the Central Institute for Banks of Cooperative
Credit. As proof that bankers can live according to the Gospel, the Holy Father cited those
generations of business men who "not only have promoted economic progress, but also have
never lost sight of solidarity and protection of the most unprotected strata of society." Following
the traditional teaching of the Church, the Holy Father explained that "the goods of creation are
destined for all." This led to his conclusion that "that which human industry produces with the
contribution of labor should serve the common good."
ZENIT
is an International News Agency
Visit our web page at http://www.zenit.org/weekly/index.htm
To subscribe, send e-mail to kronos@pronet.it
Via della Stazione di Ottavia, 95
00165 Rome
Italy