c. 2007 Religion News Service

U.S. Bishops Agree to Meet With Catholic Lawmakers on Iraq War

WASHINGTON _(RNS) U.S. Catholic bishops have agreed to meet with Catholic House Democrats to discuss a “responsible transition” to end the war in Iraq,the bishops announced Wednesday (July 18).

“The current situation in Iraq is unacceptable and unsustainable, as is the policy and political stalemate among decision makers in Washington,” Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando wrote in a letter to Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio. Wenski is chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committee on international policy.

In June, 14 Catholic U.S. Representatives, including Ryan and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., asked U.S. bishops for help in “mobilizing public support for Congress’s efforts to end the war.”

The U.S. bishops have frequently expressed moral reservations about the Iraq war, Wenski wrote in his letter to Ryan, which the bishops’ conference made public.

In 2006, the bishops said that “our nation should look for effective ways to end (military) deployment at the earliest opportunity” that would be consistent with a “responsible transition.”

Wenksi said the bishops will bring realistic perspectives to the discussion with legislators.

“Our conference is under no illusions regarding Iraq,” he said. “There is no path ahead that leads to an unambiguously good outcome for Iraq, our nation and the world.”

A date has not been set for the meeting, which the bishops hope will be bi-partisan, said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the bishops.

_ Michelle Rindels

Controversial Prayer Could Be Removed From Latin Mass, Vatican Says

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican’s second highest official said on Wednesday (July 18) that the text of the “old Latin Mass” could be amended to remove a controversial reference to Jews.

Earlier this month, Pope Benedict XVI issued a papal decree making it easier for priests to celebrate the so-called Tridentine Mass, which had been the traditional form of the liturgy until the Second Vatican Council made Mass in local languages the norm four decades ago.

The Tridentine Missal _ the text that guides the Mass _ contains a prayer for the conversion of the Jews that refers to their “blindness” and the “veil (on) their hearts.”

Jewish leaders in the U.S. and elsewhere have objected that a wider use of that prayer by Catholics could set back recent progress in relations between the two faiths.

Bertone suggested that the prayer in question could be replaced with the more conciliatory version in the post-Vatican II Missal, which refers to the Jews as “the first to hear the word of God.”

“This could be decided and would resolve all the problems,” Bertone said.

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, welcomed Bertone’s remark.

“I am delighted that the Vatican is listening to our concerns,” Foxman told the Reuters news agency. “I hope that Cardinal Bertone’s public conjectures will shortly result in putting Catholic-Jewish relations back on the road they were on before all this.”

_ Francis X. Rocca

Lay Catholic Reform Group Has New Leader

(RNS) The lay Catholic reform group Voice of the Faithful (VOTF), announced on Wednesday (July 18) that Donna Doucette, a former VOTF volunteer, will be its executive director.

Doucette, who has been director of technical communications at a software firm in Needham, Mass., for 16 years, said she looks forward to leading VOTF.

“I welcome this opportunity to merge my daily work with VOTF’s goals and mission, which have inspired my passion these last few years,” she said.

Launched in 2002 with the hopes of reforming the church after the priest sex abuse scandals, the group has experienced ups and downs during its five-year life. Donations to the group, which claims 35,000 members, have dropped while leaders struggle over the group’s mission.

VOTF President Mary Pat Fox said Doucette has “proven to be a dynamic collaborative leader in both her professional and civic endeavors.”

“We help give voice to those who for so long could only silently pray for our Church’s reform,” Doucette said. “I am honored to be entrusted with the task of enabling those voices to be heard.”

_ Michelle Rindels

White House, Activists Mark Homeless Law Anniversary Differently

(RNS) While the White House highlights government and faith groups’ joint efforts to reduce homelessness, other advocates for the homeless say the government needs to do more.

The White House and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty held separate events to mark the 20th anniversary of the first federal law that addressed homelessness.

On Wednesday (July 18), religious and government leaders were congratulated at a forum at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for their work to address the needs of the homeless.

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson told roundtable participants at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building: “When nonprofits and faith-based providers join forces with local political leaders, the result is a powerful change in the way that homeless families and individuals are served.”

But the National Law Center on Homeless & Poverty held a news conference Thursday to say the legislation of 20 years ago needs to be reauthorized.

In an interview, Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the center, said faith-based and community groups play important role in addressing homelessness but the government needs to provide more funding for housing the poor.

“I think that the federal government has not been a good partner on the critical piece of low-income housing,” she said.

Her center has issued a statement endorsed by national advocacy and religious groups that calls for an increase in affordable housing. Endorsers include Catholic Charities USA and Lutheran Services in America.

At the White House event, Jackson and others highlighted HUD’s “Unlocking Doors Initiative” which was established two years ago by the department’s Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives.

Faith-based programs highlighted by the initiative have provided transitional and permanent housing for former prisoners and recovering addicts and food and shelter for the hungry and homeless.

Jackson said HUD awarded $258 million to faith-based organizations last year, a sum higher than any other federal agency. He said faith-based programs funded by HUD have served more than 120,000 homeless individuals and family members last year.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: Staunton, Va., City Councilman Bruce Elder

(RNS) “Instead of some used Harley-Davidson, we have God’s own motorcycle.”

_ City Councilman Bruce Elder of Staunton, Va., which is putting two motorcycles it lent to the production crew of “Evan Almighty” up for sale on eBay on Thursday (July 19). One of the bikes was used by Morgan Freeman, who played God in the movie, part of which was filmed in Staunton. He was quoted by The News Leader of Staunton, Va.

DSB DS END RNS