NEWS
2004 NEWS STORIES
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ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
Contents © 2004
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
NEWS
July/August 2004
CARDINAL MAHONY IS UNHAPPY with a new draft translation of the Mass into English, but he is not the only one. According to a May 12 Catholic News Service interview with the Los Angeles archbishop, other prelates besides Mahony have complained about the draft text, issued by the episcopal board of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy in January. The bishops of England and Wales, for instance, criticized the draft for its "lengthy sentences, poor syntax and archaic language." On May 11, the bishops of Australia voted to return the draft for revisions. The new translation is in response to the Holy See's insistence on a new English translation of the Mass that faithfully renders the Latin of the original text of the Roman liturgy.
What is Cardinal Mahony's opinion of the draft? "I felt that there are a few improvements that are very helpful, but the effort to translate every Latin word into English has not been successful," the cardinal said while on his ad limina visit to the pope in Rome. Mahony said he gave copies of the translation to members of his priests' council, asking them to read it aloud with members of the priests' parish liturgy committees. Mahony said that "most of the responses" he received from the priests' council members "were quite negative." "We simply cannot have a translation that is labored and is not easily proclaimed or understood," Mahony said.
ALL FOR CONTINUITY. Though he said he was not opposed to changes in the translation of the Mass, Cardinal Mahony said he only favored changes "that are obviously an improvement, not just a change to be transliteral." Mahony asked, "what is the more important value? Is the more important value to have a more precise translation of Latin into English or is it more important to have a translation that helps people's prayer be nourished and deepened? That, to me, is the more important question." Mahony noted that several bishops and himself would prefer that the parts of the Mass recited by the people remain unchanged. Presumably, this would mean the maintaining of such "easily proclaimed" passages as "and also with you" (instead of the more faithful "and with your spirit"), "we believe" instead of "I believe" in the Creed, and the current confession of sins (no "and through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault" -- mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.)
Though Cardinal Mahony has been zealous to "renew" the liturgy in his diocese (insisting, for instance, that the faithful stand rather than kneel after the Agnus Dei), Catholic News Service revealed that the cardinal is very much concerned about liturgical continuity. "Following the [clerical sex abuse] scandal," Mahony said, "the last thing our people need is to now disrupt the liturgy, which has been a source of nourishment and strength during this difficult journey." And, the cardinal hinted that he might not enforce the new translation (if approved by Rome) in the archdiocese. "The danger is that that kind of new Roman Missal, if it were approved in such a stilted fashion, would simply not be used," he said, adding that he feared that priests would stay with the old translation. This, "of course," said the cardinal, "is not helpful either."
LAST YEAR, CARDINAL FRANCIS ARINZE, head of the Holy See's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who in May addressed the Thomas Aquinas College commencement, addressed the graduating class of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. On that occasion, Cardinal Arinze stated that one of the reasons the family is under siege worldwide is because it is "mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions...."
Many Catholic gay and pro-gay individuals and groups immediately attacked him, including a number of Georgetown's faculty. One of the annoyed organizations was the Rainbow Sash Movement, which describes itself as a "National Gay Catholic Organization." Publicly denouncing the Church's teaching against same sex marriage, and denying that the practice of homosexuality is a sin, Rainbow Sash declared it "must condemn [Cardinal Arinze's] words as bigotry. Where there is intolerance, evil is always invited in to do its bigoted work. We call on Cardinal Arinze to ask for forgiveness of the many innocent gay people he has put in harm's way with his mean-spirited comment."
THE RAINBOW SASH came into the public eye recently when it announced that on Pentecost Sunday (May 30) 2004, its members, wearing rainbow sashes to proclaim their active sexuality, would present themselves in groups for communion at cathedrals and churches around the country. In response, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago declared that he would order his priests to refuse the Blessed Sacrament to anyone wearing the sash. By way of contrast, Cardinal Mahony "notified the Rainbow Sash Movement that his Cathedral will welcome Rainbow Sash Members as part of the Catholic Family to his Cathedral, and when RSM members present themselves for Communion they will receive it." It was, perhaps, a bit ironic that the group's press release, in response to Cardinal George, said that "going to church and receiving Communion is a personal act of faith and we don't think it is good judgment to turn it into a tool of confrontation at the altar rail." But the release added, "we thank Cardinal Mahony for welcoming us."
Oddly, the same group had earlier issued a release calling for the resignation of Cardinal Mahony. "Cardinal Mahony," said the release, "has emerged as a self-styled reformer, yet more than 300 alleged victims claim he has concealed sex abusers." The release further said that Mahony "has not been forthcoming in sharing church records with the local state's attorney's office. Cardinal Mahony must admit the part he has played in creating the clergy sex abuse scandal in his Archdiocese and resign. Hiding behind the 1st Amendment is unworthy of the cardinal, and shows the victims and their families where his concerns are."
NO AUTHORITY. The April 22 Orange County Register reported that the California state department of education on April 19 decided not to place sanctions on the Westminster school district, which has refused to comply with state anti-discrimination policies. The state policy broadens the basis on which parents and students can allege discrimination from merely sex to "gender" -- including transsexual. According to the Register, state superintendent of education Jack O'Connell said that the Westminster school district's anti-discrimination policy -- defining gender as "biological sex" -- complies with state law.
But in his April 19 letter (posted on the Gay Straight Alliance website), O' Connell declared that "after a thorough legal review," he "unequivocally rejected the district's attempt to circumvent protections from discrimination for all students. No local school district or county office of education," said O'Connell, "has the authority to choose which laws to enforce or to adopt its own definitions of any protected class. Students in the Westminster Elementary School District have and will continue to have the same legal protection from discrimination and harassment that all other students in California enjoy.
"I want to make clear," O'Connell concluded, "that if any local educational agency attempts to adopt a similar discriminatory policy or fails to resolve a complaint of alleged discrimination on any basis, my office will respond with every legal means available to protect the students we are all elected to serve."
THE GODDESS REMAINS. Prompted by a threatened American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, the Los Angeles County board of supervisors on June 1 voted to remove a small gold cross on the county seal, said a June 2 Los Angeles Times story. Though Supervisor Don Knabe protested changing the seal, saying it would be tantamount to "rewriting" the history of an area founded by Catholic missionaries, Supervisor Gloria Molina disagreed. Molina said the county would be sure to lose such a legal challenge. A Catholic, Molina also "quietly pointed out," according to the Times, that "there are many people who argue that the missions were not a great part of our history. The reality is that they were built by slaves." But Supervisor Janice Hahn (whose father, deceased supervisor Kenneth Hahn, designed the seal) argued that "this seal in no way favors the practice or promotion of any religion over another, just as the Goddess Pomona certainly does not encourage the act of pagan worship." The county seal displays, besides the cross, a tuna fish, a cow, a Spanish galleon, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Roman goddess Pomona. The cross may be replaced by a depiction of a Spanish mission.
"We realize this is not the most important civil liberties issue in our society," said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU's Southern California chapter. "But it does make some people feel unwelcome. And we feel the county seal should be welcoming." But Cardinal Roger Mahony argued in a June 4 letter to the board of supervisors that "to remove the cross would be to deny the historical record. It would not make any more sense than deleting the Mayflower because of its Puritan passengers, the figure Jedediah Smith because of his Mormon belief or the Star of David because of its relationship to Judaism."
THE NATIONAL REVIEW BOARD, a committee of prominent laymen established by the United States bishops to investigate reports of sexual abuse by priests, issued a letter in March to the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, saying that the bishops risked "backsliding" in their commitment to protect children from sexual abuse, said the May 12 Los Angeles Times. In the formerly confidential letter, made public May 11, Anne Burke, the interim chairwoman of the Review Board, accused the bishops of taking a "business-as-usual" approach to the crisis, of manipulation of the board, and of denying it information.
Burke's letter noted that Cardinal Edward Egan of New York City, in a February 2 letter to the president of the U.S. bishops conference, asked that talks on a proposed second audit on the progress made by bishops in dealing with molesting priests not be held at the bishops' June meeting but be delayed until their November meeting. Egan's letter, according to Burke, received a response from Cardinal Roger Mahony, who said that he and other California bishops would not attend the June meeting if the audit was not to be discussed. The Times noted that it was unable to get a comment from Mahony on Burke's claim, as he was then in Rome.
"A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING" was Cardinal Roger Mahony's verdict on the report issued in February by the National Review Board. According to the board's report, "after allegations were made that Cardinal Mahony had allowed numerous predator priests to remain in the ministry, the [Los Angeles] archdiocese engaged in a very public spat with law enforcement agencies who questioned his level of cooperation in the criminal investigation. The archdiocese resisted grand jury subpoenas ... by arguing that communications between priests and bishops were privileged." In a May 13 interview with National Catholic Reporter's John Allen, Jr., Cardinal Mahony said he found it "very unfortunate" that the National Review Board "decided to release [its report] the same day as the John Jay study, having not seen the John Jay study. I thought that was very unhelpful to all of us, and I thought their report reflects the lack of that context." Without the review of the John Jay study, said the cardinal, the review board's "report was greatly diminished in its importance and meaning because of that."
But Cardinal Mahony said he favors a second sex abuse audit of dioceses. "I've already offered a date, the week of Sept. 27, for the next audit," he said. "We wish to move forward." Yet, Mahony does not necessarily favor another audit under national auspices. "I also had discussions with Kathleen [McChesney] and Bill [Gavin -- both of the review board] ... I pointed out to them that article 8, in its third point, indicates a movement away from a national centralization of this to regional and provincial oversight." Mahony said he gave as an example of this the finance review boards that operate in California dioceses. These, he said, are "made up of finance council lay members from all six dioceses, and every other year a team goes to assess us.... I said that given our oversight boards, and all the lay people we have involved in this, we could easily do the same thing locally, developing review teams who would go around every year simply to share best practices and to see whether there could be improvements." Mahony said he would "speak to this" at the June meeting of the United States bishops.
BUT THOUGH HE FOUND the National Review Board's report to be "far less than it could have been and should have been," Cardinal Mahony said he found "Kathleen and her staff to be wonderful to work with." Asked whether he thought the review board was "playing a positive role," the cardinal said he thinks "the board needs more direct dialogue with bishops. I think that would be very helpful. We had a visit from Bob Bennett, plus Penetta, Bland, a couple other people. But that's been a year ago March. We had a wonderful discussion, but nothing of that relationship ever appears in their discussion." The board, Mahony suggested, needs to have regular meetings for the next two or three years, "maybe at a regional level." And does he want to keep the review board? "Yes, oh yes. I think the board can be very helpful in continuing to track this issue and this problem, in terms of the life of the church, and whether or not we are thinking broadly enough." The cardinal said he sees "a role for the board," but one in which it is "in closer dialogue with the bishops. It's not either/or, it's not us and them. It's ourselves as church moving ahead."
ZERO INTOLERANCE FOR ZERO TOLERANCE. In the Allen interview, Mahony voiced his continuing support for the United States bishops' "zero tolerance" policy for clergy sexual molesters. "Any signal," said Mahony, "that the bishops are less demanding of enforcing 100 percent safety for children and young people would be a real, real setback." But "what about the hypothetical case of a one-time offender from 30 years ago who's been clean since?" Allen asked. "We're not at a point in time to be taking chances with children and young people in the church," said Mahony. "The Holy Father himself in that document from April 2002 said, 'There is no room in the priesthood for a priest or religious who has abused a child.' He didn't say once 30 years ago, he didn't say three or more times, he said there is no room in the priesthood or religious life for someone who has abused a child. I think he's right. This is so horrific, there simply isn't any room. Canon law itself says for one case of guilt, a priest can be dismissed from the clerical state. One."
But what about bishops who knowingly transferred child molesters from parish to parish? "What should happen to those bishops?" asked Allen. Should such a bishop resign? "I don't think so, necessarily," Mahony said. "I think you have to look at the whole context. I think there has to be some kind of process to evaluate that, and to put it on a scale from zero to 10. Some decisions have to be made on when it happened, what was known, what was best practices, what he did or didn't do. That's the only way to proceed."
THE CARDINAL ON CUNNINGHAM. Over a month after removing Father Chris Cunningham as pastor of St. Louise de Marillac, Cardinal Roger Mahony, in a May 7 letter to St. Louise parishioners, told all. The May 18 San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported that in his letter the cardinal said he removed Father Cunningham because he had "exhibited emotional instability that inhibited his priestly duties and secretly recorded a meeting." Cunningham, said Mahony, had not only hindered an internal church investigation into the state of his parish, had withheld information on two church accounts, convincing others to keep silent on them, but was harsh in his exercise of authority. "There is evidence, coming from multiple and verified sources that underpins the grounds for removal," wrote Mahony. "In the canonical process, Father Cunningham responded to each of these grounds." Further, the cardinal said, "two independent pastor-consultors ... concurred that the evidence was substantial and not only justified, but required his removal as pastor."
On May 19, the Tribune reported that Father Cunningham said he did not intend to resolve the matter of his removal in public; rather, he would appeal to the pope.
"I AM WELL AWARE that for the faith community of St. Louise de Marillac, there has been darkness, doubt, confusion and anger," said Mahony's May 7 letter about Father Cunningham's removal. "I do not expect that this letter will dispel all doubt and confusion, little less dissipate all anger." Indeed, the letter, it seems, did little to change the status quo ante epistulam at the parish. Despite Cunningham's alleged harsh, authoritarian style, before the issuance of the cardinal's letter, about 4,000 people signed petitions asking the cardinal to reinstate Cunningham, say the priest 's supporters; about 8,000 letters were addressed to Mahony directly. Cunningham's supporters, too, do not believe the cardinal's accusations. "Many of the cardinal's statements in the letter were different than the message from him that Bishop (Gabino) Zavala previously read to the parishioners (in March)," one parishioner told the May 18 Tribune. "People were offended by the cardinal's prior statements saying he would not give personal information about Father Chris in order not to hurt Father Chris, and now he chose to vilify not only Father Chris, but the entire parish."
Supporters of Father Cunningham staged their fourth demonstration at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Sunday, May 23. According to the Tribune, about 150 people participated in the two-hour rally. A statement issued by "Friends of St. Louise" said that "as an outspoken advocate for children and teens, [Cunningham] has taken public stances against child abuse, against Archdiocesan policies favoring priests, and against abusers in Catholic schools. His actions have even gone so far as to recommend that alleged victims should seek legal counsel before participating in inquisitions by the Archdiocesan investigators."
IT SEEMS THE CARDINAL'S LETTER has left some parishioners confused what to think. "All of the things Mahony mentioned in his letter are serious," a longtime St. Louise parishioner told the May 19 Tribune. "We have no way of knowing what's true and not true. It's difficult to pin the burden of proof on Cunningham or Mahony." But the confusion will continue, it appears, since Father Cunningham will make no further public statements and the archdiocese will give no more details. "For some, no explanation of facts or expressions of candor will suffice," archdiocesan spokesman Tod Tamberg told the Tribune. "We sincerely hope that these people will recognize that they can continue to support Father Chris as a person, but accept the fact that what has happened is in his best interest and that of the parish."
BUT SUCH STATEMENTS have not assuaged the concerns of one Cunningham supporter -- the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. A May 20 Tribune editorial called the cardinal's letter "more smoke screen than substance." The editorial asked readers to recall that Father Cunningham "spoke out against Cardinal Roger Mahony's handling of the sexual abuse scandal that continues to rock the U.S. Roman Catholic Church and the Los Angeles archdiocese in particular." Referring to the cardinal's claim that Cunningham is "emotionally unstable," the editorial quipped, "well, if that means he's overemotional about sexual molestation within the priesthood, we'd say he's right." If, as the cardinal's letter said, Father Cunningham was 'harsh in exercising authority,'" could Mahony, asked the editorial, "extend to them the hope that their beloved pastor would return to them in due time after proper counseling and penance? The editorial further noted that "in the eyes of those who had come to admire and rely on 'Father Chris' for spiritual guidance, the punishment doesn't fit the 'crime' and still appears little more than retribution, although the archdiocese denies such charges."
Instead of a letter, said the editorial, the cardinal should "address parishioners directly." If the archdiocese does not clear up the matter, opined the editorial, "the message conveyed seems meant to silence not only parishioners who question the church but those officiants who, like Cunningham, are deeply disturbed by what many see as the Catholic Church's complicity in protecting pedophile priests."
FAMILY MEMBERS of the late Rev. Dennis O'Neal, auxiliary bishop of San Bernardino diocese, sharply criticized an April 30 News Press article that detailed an act of physical abuse of a parishioner by O'Neal when he was pastor of St. Emydius church in Lynwood. [See "News," June Mission.] The response, published in the June 7 News Press, did not deny that Father O'Neal punched Maria Elena Vega above the ear (which the priest himself denied) but detailed the circumstances that led to the incident. Though the original News Press story said Vega was a catechism teacher at St. Emydius, O'Neal's family said that not only was she not a catechist, but that parish records show she was not even registered at the parish. "Parish catechists are required to undergo formal training and certification," said the letter in defense of Father O'Neal. "Vega was never trained as a catechist. She did not use a textbook or follow the two-year curriculum that is standard for children making their First Communion in the Catholic Church. By her own accounts, whatever 'teaching' Vega did was in her home or at South Gate Park, where she also scheduled a First Communion service. Vega was paid directly by the predominantly new-immigrant parents of these youngsters. Her classes constituted an informal, home-based business, and as such were contrary to the tenets of the church."
The O'Neal family's letter continued that, "according to court testimony, Vega barged, cursing and shouting, into two meetings called by Dennis O'Neil at St. Emydius. As pastor, he conducted these meetings for concerned families who were sadly discovering that their youngsters' off-site religious instruction was neither church-sanctioned nor theologically sound."
THE HOLY SEE IS STILL CRITICAL of the United States' invasion of Iraq last year, Pope John Paul II told President George W. Bush on June 4. President Bush made a stopover in Rome enroute to D-Day observances in Normandy, France. Bush said he came to present the pope with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed by the United States on civilians. According to a June 4 Catholic News Service report, the pope and president met in private for 15 minutes, followed by a public meeting. During the public meeting, the 84-year-old pontiff said that the president was "very familiar with the unequivocal position of the Holy See" on the Iraq war. "In the past few weeks," said the pope, "other deplorable events have come to light which have troubled the civic and religious conscience of all, and made more difficult a serene and resolute commitment to shared human values; in the absence of such a commitment neither war nor terrorism will ever be overcome." He further noted that "it is the evident desire of everyone that this situation now be normalized as quickly as possible with the active participation of the international community and, in particular, the United Nations organization, in order to ensure a speedy return of Iraq's sovereignty, in conditions of security for all its people." John Paul praised President Bush for promoting respect for life and the family in American society.
When presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the pope, President Bush told the pope that he is highly respected and loved by Americans. Like the pope, Americans, said Bush, "recognize the power of freedom to change societies and to change the world." The president made no reference to the Iraq situation.
IN SELLING ST. JOHN'S SEMINARY COLLEGE land to a housing developer, the archdiocese of Los Angeles will not violate the "vision and mandate of pioneer landowner Juan E. Camarillo," said the May 7 Tidings. The land belonging to the former seminary college, closed in 2003, occupies 60 of the 100 acres donated to the archdiocese by Camarillo in 1927. On May 4, Cardinal Roger Mahony announced that St. John's Seminary board of trustees and the archdiocesan finance council agreed to sell the 60 acres to Shea Homes; the "contribution" of $12 million to $40 million from the sale of the land will go into the seminary endowment fund, said the Tidings. St. John's Theologate, occupying the remaining 40 acres, will remain open.
The Tidings emphasized that the transformation of seminary land into a housing development that would "likely include a mix of affordable housing and larger-size lots" does not at all violate the provisions of Juan Camarillo's deed. Rather, other proposals that would have, according to Cardinal Mahony, produced "zero revenue" for the theologate and added an operating deficit would truly have violated Camarillo's express will. Though Camarillo's agreement, quoted in the Tidings, does not specify that unused portions of the granted land must be sold -- they may be leased or "otherwise dispose[d]," it does say that any funds realized from a sale must be used for the seminary. "The funds can be used for no other purpose, including the payment of clergy sex abuse case settlements," Mahony "stressed" (according to the Tidings.) Further, according to the Tidings, "without an increase of $40 million in the Theologate Endowment, the cardinal noted, there is a danger of having to close the Theologate and sell the entire site, the proceeds of which would have to be used in creating a new seminary in another location. That would be illogical, given that the archdiocese already has a seminary in place."
GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL STUDIES at Loyola-Marymount University and Mount Saint Mary's College in Los Angeles and St. John's Theologate in Camarillo have been "reshaped" "to prepare and form pastoral associates for ministry and leadership in the parishes," said the May 28 Tidings. "National trends indicate that the need for educational programs for the laity has never been greater," said the Tidings article. In the United States, 60 percent of parishes utilize lay ministers, according to a 1999 study commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In his 2000 pastoral letter, As I Have Done for You, Cardinal Roger Mahony referred to this phenonomen, saying it is rooted in the priest shortage, which, he said, has awakened the Church to appreciate "a broadly based shared ministry." The cardinal continued: "what some refer to as a 'vocations crisis' is, rather, one of the many fruits of the Second Vatican Council, a sign of God's deep love for the Church, and an invitation to a more creative and effective ordering of gifts and energy in the Body of Christ." The Los Angeles archdiocesan synod, concluded last year, called for a greater institutionalizing of lay ministry. Hence, the revamping of programs at local Catholic theological schools.
TO HONE THE EXPERTISE of lay ministers, Loyola-Marymount University offers a Masters in Pastoral Theology for pastoral associates and lay ministers, said the Tidings. "A large full-time faculty of 20 theology professors means students can choose from a wide variety of courses and receive personal attention for advisement," the Tidings said. Among these professors, listed on the Loyola-Marymount, is Jesuit Father Thomas Rausch. Rausch has recently championed the cause of lay leadership; in a 2003 article in America magazine, Rausch said episcopal authority needs to submit to structures that are accountable to laymen. He has also been a proponent of the Church as a "big tent" that allows for doctrinal diversity. In "Divisions, Dialogue and the Catholicity of the Church," published in the January 31, 1998 America, Rausch claimed heresy is not false doctrine but "being sectarian rather than catholic." He said that Catholics in the parishes are convinced "that the ancient structure of the Catholic Church" will not collapse "if Catholics use a more inclusive language in their prayer, stand during the eucharistic prayer, welcome and support their gay and lesbian children or disagree with the Pope over birth control or the ordination of women."
Mount Saint Mary's Doheny campus in downtown Los Angeles offers a Masters in Religious Studies, directed by "a core group of faculty" as well as adjunct professors and "renowned visiting theologians." At St. John's, Camarillo, lay ministers and priest candidates have the "unique opportunity to study, learn and work side-by-side" in the spirit of the collaborative ministry model favored by Cardinal Mahony.
"WAS THIS GOOD LITURGY? YOU BET." So said Nathan Mitchell in a May 10 America magazine article, republished in the May 28 Tidings. What liturgy inspired Mitchell's emphatic approval? A church blessing celebrated by the "parish community of St. Mark's, in Independence, Missouri." Despite its "magnificent, Romanesque-style, cruciform structure," the new church "allows the assembly to gather in a semicircle around the altar." About 1000 gathered for the dedication, gathering in the nave where the floor "slopes gently toward altar and ambo," and where "worshipers with disabilities are fully accommodated." During the long dedication liturgy, wrote Mitchell, the bishop and worshippers "loved what they were doing together. People sang robustly in several languages, supported by adult and children's choirs and accompanied by handbells, organ, piano, guitars and percussion." While the bishop "began slathering consecrated oil over the surface of the red-oak altar," parishioners, dancing "a solemn saraband," approached the altar with arms outstretched, "holding censers, lights and freshly laundered linens for wiping and drying the wood of the altar/cross/body of Christ." As "slowly the space became suffused with smoke, a prelude to the fires the bishop would soon set on the altar as part of the dedication ritual," Mitchell said, "one could not help imagining the spice-bearing women approaching Jesus' tomb 'on the first day of the week' -- or even the recent photos from the Hubble telescope that show swirling galaxies, star nurseries and spirals of incandescent gas glowing in the first moments of creation."
This liturgy, continued Mitchell, "was a superb example of what happens when parishes take to heart the principles of the Second Vatican Council's 'Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy' (Nos. 14, 22-40, 48)." Presumably, for Mitchell, one of these principles includes "the community" eschewing, as he said, "self-righteous rubricism," yet avoiding "the temptation to make the rite up as it goes along, a strategy that inevitably impedes participation, because people do not know what will happen next."
A BILL SPONSORED BY HUNTINGTON BEACH Republican U.S. representative Dana Rohrabacher will target illegal immigrants who, in the words of the congressman, have "consumed all sorts of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars" in emergency room healthcare. The bill, which, according to the May 13 Daily Pilot, Rohrabacher was to bring to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on May 18, requires emergency room personnel to inquire into the immigration status of those seeking care. If the patient turns out to be illegal, the hospital must ask who the patient's employer is and take a photograph or fingerprint from the patient. This information the hospital will then upload into a database being set up by the departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security. "There is nothing that would suggest that that information could not be used to immediately begin deportation proceedings against an illegal immigrant who is coming into our hospitals to get thousands of dollars, if not tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars of free medical care from the taxpayers of the United States," Rohrabacher said in a January speech before Congress. Rohrabacher's bill would place the costs of an illegal immigrant's healthcare on the employer who hires him.
SNAP DECISION. On May 12, Los Angeles superior court judge John Mayeda dismissed a suit filed by a former Los Angeles priest against the group Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said the May 13 Los Angeles Times. Monsignor Joseph Alzugaray, now pastor of St. Apollinaris church in Napa, has been accused of molesting a girl attending Immaculate Conception School in Monrovia from 1967 to 1972. Monsignor Alzugaray denies the allegations and says he has been cleared by his diocese. Alzugaray accused the Survivors Network of defaming him in leaflets and information the group spread about him on websites. But Judge Mayeda ruled that Alzugray offered "insufficient evidence to refute the truthfulness of the defendant's statements. The statements of defendant SNAP were in connection with a judicial proceeding, and the information was disseminated in a public forum on a public issue pursuant to defendant SNAP's 1st Amendment rights."
Mary Grant, director of Survivors Network for Southern California, said in prepared statement of Alzugaray's attempt to defend himself: "we urge victims of abuse to not be deterred or intimidated by church leaders' harsh legal maneuvers and public relations stunts that are designed to keep victims of abuse trapped in their trauma and keep vulnerable people at risk of abuse in the church."