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Sebelius petition with 35,000 signatures reaches Georgetown president
Washington D.C., May 18, 2012 / 11:50 am (CNA).- A petition with tens of thousands of signatures was recently delivered to the president of Georgetown University in protest of a decision to honor U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius with an invitation to speak at a commencement weekend ceremony.

Thomas Peters of CatholicVote.org said that the Catholics for Unity petition shows strong “grassroots Catholic support” for the bishops’ message about religious freedom.

“Religious liberty is the first freedom. It’s there from the founding of America,” he told CNA. “And Catholic institutions have a special responsibility to stand...
Italian journalist publishes book of Vatican leaks
Rome, Italy, May 18, 2012 / 09:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi reveals private Vatican correspondence in a new book containing a collection of letters titled, “Sua Santita (His Holiness).”

Nuzzi, whose coverage of Vatican affairs is scant, was responsible for leaking two private letters in January that the Pope sent to the current Apostolic Nuncio to the United States and former secretary of the Vatican City Government, Archbishop Claudio Maria Vigano.

He also leaked other private letters from the Holy See, contributing to a series of confidentiality breaches dubbed “Vatileaks” by the media.

The journalist is also known as...
Law professor says flawed view of sex threatens religious freedom
Washington D.C., May 18, 2012 / 04:09 am (CNA).- A law professor at George Mason University believes that current threats to religious freedom are intrinsically connected to the modern understanding that “sexual freedom is about shaping yourself.”

Helen Alvaré, who has formerly worked with the U.S. bishops' pro-life office, spoke on May 10 at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. She observed that many modern threats to religious freedom “are coming by way of a newly strong government position on human sexuality.”

This view holds that sex is unrelated to procreation or the union of man and woman,...
Parish threatened, harassed over sign opposing 'gay marriage'
Acushnet, Mass., May 18, 2012 / 02:29 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A Massachusetts Catholic parish has received threats of arson and other harassing messages after posting a sign with the Church's position on same-sex “marriage.”

“It went viral,” said Steven Guillotte, Director of Pastoral Services at Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet, recalling an “explosion” of responses to the message displayed on the sign in front of the church earlier this week. It read: “Two men are friends, not spouses.”

Guillotte posted the message on the morning of May 15, and responded within hours to an e-mail “saying that...
Senator proposes adding prayer to WWII memorial
Washington D.C., May 18, 2012 / 12:01 am (CNA).- U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) has introduced a bill to place President Franklin D. Roosevelt's D-Day prayer on the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C.

“On D-Day, courageous Americans risked and sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedoms and end tyranny abroad,” said Portman. “That morning, President Roosevelt asked our nation to come together to pray for the men overseas.”

A senator in the key swing state of Ohio, Portman is considered one of the top potential picks for Vice President on the 2012 Republican ticket.

In a May...
Legion leaders regret not acting sooner in Fr. Williams case
Rome, Italy, May 17, 2012 / 04:15 pm (CNA).- Leaders of the Legionaries of Christ have apologized for not acting more quickly in the case of Father Thomas Williams, who acknowledged on May 15 that he fathered a child several years ago.

In a statement published on its website, the Legionaries said the priest's superiors “suggested to Fr. Thomas to act in an appropriate way and to withdraw himself from public appearances … Nevertheless, it would have been better to act faster and more forcefully.”

“The General Director and his council are deeply sorry for not having acted earlier and...
Spain would save over $72 million by axing abortion funding
Madrid, Spain, May 17, 2012 / 04:09 pm (CNA).- The spokesman for the organization Right to Life in Spain, Gador Joya, said eliminating abortion funding from the federal budget would save Spain nearly $72 million.

According to Europa Press, Joya suggested the funds be used for a comprehensive maternity program, with special emphasis on women with “unexpected pregnancies.”

She criticized the government for continuing to provide funding for abortion, while at the same time arguing that the health care system is too poor to pay for treatments such as hip replacements.

“At times we have the sensation that the government does...
Vatican laicizes Canadian bishop convicted for child pornography
Ottawa, Canada, May 17, 2012 / 12:32 pm (CNA).- The Vatican has dismissed from the clerical state a Canadian bishop who pleaded guilty to the possession of child pornography.

“Raymond Lahey has accepted the Decree of Dismissal, which also requires him to pray the Liturgy of the Hours in reparation for the harm and the scandal he has caused, and for the sanctification of clergy,” the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said May 16.

Bishop Raymond Lahey of Antigonish, Nova Scotia was arrested in 2009 after Ottawa airport workers found hundreds of images of child pornography in his possession on...
Lima archdiocese issues clarification on priest stripped of faculties
Lima, Peru, May 17, 2012 / 12:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Archdiocese of Lima issued a statement clarifying the decision by Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani to strip local priest Father Gaston Garatea of his ministerial faculties.

On May 16, the archdiocese condemned what it called a “campaign of misinformation and discredit” launched against the cardinal by some in the media, stating that the priest is still able to exercise priestly ministry outside the cardinal's jurisdiction.

Father Garatea – a member of the religious order titled the Congregation of the Sacred Heart – was privately sanctioned in recent days by...
Austrian chancellor’s son tells how faith helped him survive Nazis
Washington D.C., May 17, 2012 / 04:19 am (CNA).- Kurt von Schuschnigg Jr., son of the former chancellor of Austria, says that his Catholic faith helped him get through difficult times during World War II and now guides the way that he looks back at past events.

“Faith is always a big thing when you are in trouble,” he observed. “Unfortunately today, not too many people hold on to faith anymore.”

Von Schuschnigg was a first-hand witness of many of the atrocities committed during the Second World War. His father, who has the same name, was chancellor of Austria...