c. 2005 Religion News Service

Cardinal Says Pope May Still Make August Trip to Germany

ROME (RNS) German Cardinal Joaquin Meissner expressed optimism about the condition of Pope John Paul II Wednesday (March 2) after visiting the pontiff in a Rome hospital where he is recovering from surgery to ease breathing problems.

Meissner, archbishop of Cologne, told reporters at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital that he now believes that the 84-year-old Roman Catholic pontiff may be able to attend World Youth Day celebrations in the German city this August.

Thousands of pilgrims, who had hoped to attend the pope’s Wednesday general audience, gathered outside the hospital_ below the pope’s 10th-floor room _ to pray and sing and shout encouragement to him.

The pope was admitted to the hospital last Thursday (Feb. 24) for the second time in a month, suffering from complications of influenza. Doctors performed surgery to insert a breathing tube in his swollen larynx.

“I found him well,” Meissner said. “The pope said to me, `I am happy that you are here.’ His voice was much stronger than I had thought it would be.”

It was the second day that John Paul was reported able to speak to a visitor. Doctors had advised him to remain silent for several days after surgery, but on Monday he began exercises in breathing and speaking without the aid of the tube.

“My personal vision is that the Holy Father could be in Cologne in August,” Meissner said.

Hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of young people attend World Youth Day gatherings, which were instituted by John Paul and are held in different cities around the world at intervals of two or three years.

The German prelate said he told the pope that “it won’t be necessary for him to speak, but what is important is his presence. The figure of the Holy Father speaks for itself, and the presence of the Holy Father in Cologne is very important.”

The crowd outside the hospital included Polish-American pilgrims from Chicago belonging to an organization that prays for priestly vocations and for the healing of the sick, students from a Franciscan university in Ohio and others from Long Island and from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

Some 600 pilgrims came from the pope’s native Poland, among them 100 sick or disabled.

The crowd recited the Rosary, sang hymns in English and Polish, applauded and shouted, “Long live the pope,” “We love you” and “Holy father, bless us,” but the pope’s window remained closed and curtained.

_ Peggy Polk

Republicans Unveil `Anti-Poverty Agenda,’ Catholic Charities Questions It

WASHINGTON (RNS) Senate Republicans attempted Wednesday (March 2) to jump-start an “anti-poverty agenda” on Capitol Hill, but one major social services agency is urging caution on welfare reform and budget cuts.

Four senators, led by Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, unveiled a 12-point plan that would boost charitable giving, encourage low-income savings, expand tax credits and add mentors for the children of prison inmates.

“Compassionate conservatism relies on faith, family and civic organizations to strengthen communities and expand opportunity for all Americans,” said Santorum, chairman of the Senate GOP conference.

The legislative package includes elements of President Bush’s plan to funnel federal money to religious groups that provide social services, which has been stalled in Congress.

It also calls for an overhaul of welfare, which has survived on temporary extensions while Democrats stalled the measure over concerns of expanding work requirements without equal expansion in money for child care.

The package has the support of the Salvation Army, the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise and Nueva Esperanza, a Philadelphia-based network of Hispanic evangelical Christians.

While applauding some elements of the package as “a good first step,” Catholic Charities USA said Congress must also protect social service programs from cutbacks in President Bush’s recent budget and raise the minimum wage.

Like some other religious groups, Catholic Charities has opposed the Republican plan for welfare reform for not granting enough child care, education opportunities or treatment for mental health counseling.

“We urge Congress to resist any attempts to gut domestic programs that assist the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society,” said Sharon Daly, Catholic Charities’ vice president for social policy.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Pastor Said Church Computer Led Police to `BTK’ Killer

(RNS) The pastor of a Lutheran church in Wichita, Kan., said it was his church’s computer that helped lead police to arrest the infamous “BTK” killer, who was the president of the parish council.

The Rev. Michael Clark, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, told reporters that police traced a computer disk that was sent by the killer to a church computer that was used by Dennis Rader, who has been charged with 10 counts of murder.

Rader, 59, was the president of the church council and had used the computer a few weeks ago to print out the agenda for a council meeting.

“I remember showing him how to use the computer, how to use the printer, because his wasn’t working at home,” Clark told The New York Times. “What the investigators found, from what I understand, running that disk through scanning and processing was that that disk had to have been in our computer.”

Rader is accused of being the BTK _ for bind, torture, kill _ killer who terrorized Wichita with a spree of murders between 1974 and 1979. The killer was famous for sending letters and packages to local television stations; after a 25-year hiatus, the letters reappeared one year ago.

Clark said investigators searched the church office, and he provided a list of about a dozen names of people who had access to the computer. Rader’s name was on that list.

The charges devastated the Lutheran church, where Rader, a father and Scout leader, was held in high regard. Rader has asked to see his pastor in jail, and Clark said the family is in a “state of shock and bewilderment.”

“If you asked me to make a list of 500 names, his name wouldn’t have been on it,” one parishioner told The Washington Post. “A quarter evidently has two sides, and no one, obviously, saw the other side.”

Chicago Episcopalians Mourn Slain Husband of U.S. District Judge

(RNS) The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago is mourning the killing of Michael Lefkow, secretary of the diocese’s standing committee and husband of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow.

Michael Lefkow, 64, and his mother-in-law, Donna Grace Humphrey, 89, were found shot to death Monday (Feb. 28) in their home in northern Chicago.

The Lefkows have been members for nearly 20 years of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston, Ill.

Bishop William Persell of Chicago said in a statement Tuesday (Mar. 1) that Lefkow’s loss will be felt by his family, his church and the broader community.

“His dedication to serving workers and those living on the margins of our society has been a consistent focus of his professional life and his ministry in the church,” Persell said of Lefkow.

Lefkow, an attorney in criminal and employment law, held many roles in his church and the diocese, including singing in several choirs and working with congregations pro bono through the Episcopal Volunteer Lawyer Network. Lefkow was also the father of four daughters.

The Chicago Police Department, FBI and U.S. Marshals Service are investigating the murders and say it’s possible that the crimes were committed by a hate group.

Joan Lefkow was under U.S. Marshals protection last year after being threatened by Matthew Hale, leader of a white supremacist group.

Hale called for Lefkow’s killing after the judge found his group _ World Church of the Creator _ in contempt of court in a 2003 civil lawsuit involving the use of the name trademarked by an Oregon group. Hale was convicted in April 2004 of obstruction of justice and ordering Lefkow’s killing. Hale is currently in federal prison.

Persell said of Michael Lefkow’s work for the church, “It is through such witness to the love of God that we work toward vanquishing hate-based violence that haunts our society.”

_ Celeste Kennel-Shank

Jews Mark End of 71/2-Year Talmud Study Cycle

(RNS) Jews across the country marked the end Tuesday (March 1) of the 71/2 years that it took to study the Talmud, one page at a time.

The occasion, called “Siyum Hashas,” celebrated the fulfillment of a commitment to daily study of the Talmud, which is an extensive collection of oral laws and traditions explaining how to interpret the Hebrew scriptures. Each page of Talmud contains a piece of text in the center of the page, with commentaries on that text placed all around it.

“Jewish Unity Live,” a group that was created to combine the Siyum Hashas celebration with a general celebration of Torah study for Jews of all backgrounds and affiliations, hosted events in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and Milwaukee.

Jewish Unity Live says that its purpose is to celebrate the universality and increasing accessibility of both Talmud and Torah study.

“Not all Jews appreciate the importance of the Talmud in our daily lives, and when we discovered that many Jews were not participating in the Siyum Hashas, we realized that an all-inclusive event must be created,” said Rabbi Aron Gruman, who is a Jewish Unity Live organizer.

Accordingly, the celebrations were open to those who have completed the Talmud cycle, those who study the Torah, which is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, and also those who may have come to be inspired by the festivities and the dedication of those who did study.

The event came just before the release of a new English translation of the Babylonian Talmud, 73 volumes and some 35,000 pages that are set to be published this month by ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications.

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Quote of the Day: President Bush

(RNS) “If you’re the Methodist church and you sponsor an alcohol treatment center, they can’t say only Methodists, only Methodists who drink too much can come to our program. All drunks are welcome, is what the sign ought to say.”

_ President Bush, speaking to 250 religious leaders on March 1 on efforts to revive his faith-based initiative.

MO/JL END RNS