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News & Herald I
Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte
Volume 2 Number 15
The
In
City
December
•
11,
1992
Of David
Left::
The Church of St. Catherine inside the Basilica of the Nativity. Thousands of make their way to Bethlehem to celebrate Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve
pilgrims will at the place
of Jesus'
birth.
Above: Grotto of the Nativity. "Hie de Virgine Maria, Jesus Chris tus natus est" "Here was
bom Jesus Christ of the Virgin Mary." (See story on Page 2)
Photos by
JOANN KEANE
Pope Asks Countries To Ensure That Aid Reaches World's Suffering ROME
(CNS)
— As
U.S. troops
launched a relief-protection operation in Somalia, Pope John Paul tional
II
of populations and entire ethnic groups seriously
"This
said the interna-
community should make
sure hu-
Leader Asks Clinton To End
"War between nations
iplomatic Ties With Vatican USA
WASHINGTON (CNS)— The leader
Catholic Charities
Southern Baptist organization has urged
Fred KammerandformerGeorgetown presi-
Clinton to "redress a
dent Father Timothy Healy, now head of the
.ident-elect Bill
ng" done by President Ronald
Reagan
New York Public
7 request from Catholic
Richard D. Land, executive director of
comment on Land's
2
letter to
asked Clinton in a
revoke the diplomatic status
By failing to distinguish the Vatican as |jcclesiastical entity, not a civil state" the
aliment maintains an inappropriate renship, according to
Land. The
tie "vir-
y tears down the wall of separation ;een the government and this particular ion((ZathoUcism),wMediscrirniig against iiot I,"
other religious entities which
receive the
he
same diplomatic ben-
presidential
Vatican.
in
I,
was
raised a Baptist
and
is
a Little Rock, Ark., Baptist congre-
jbn but
has
ties to
other churches. His
and he is a Georgetown Univer-
Hillary, is a Methodist,
jfuate of Jesuit-run
pn Washington. Several of Clinton's friends are promiI
by making the post of envoy an ambassadorship and
full
diplomatic relations to the
The Vatican
representative to the
United States similarly was upgraded from
an apostolic delegate to a
full
ambassador,
or pro-nuncio.
Land's
letter
noted that
"Southern Baptists were
at the time,
at the forefront
the effort to convince President Reagan the Senate that appointing
of
and
and confirming
an ambassador to the Vatican was both
and bad public policy. Baptist Convention is the largest of the nation s Baptist groups and
The Southern
Catholics, including
two Jesuit priests,
or internal con-
The pope has appealed
has long opposed any formal diplomatic
between the United States and the "This request should not be miscon-
strued as anti-Catholic bigotry,"
Land
said,
citing occasions on
which his denomination and the U.S. Catholic Conference have collaborated on public policy matters. "We
million people
must not condemn defenseless civilby hunger," he said Dec. 5. While not specifically endorsing military operations, the pope said relief must get even if it means intervening in through
ficials
have argued for military protection of
relief
convoys
the internal affairs of a country.
ence, the pope focused on the long-term
—
The pope made
his appeal in
Rome at
in
war-decimated Bosnia-
Herzegovina, where tens of thousands are
homeless and hungry. In his
main remarks to the FAO confer-
solutions to world hunger.
the opening of the International Conference
He said the great disparity between the
on Nutrition, sponsored by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. The weeklong meeting was to draft a plan of action to help the world's estimated 780 million hungry.
world's hungry and the well-off represented
As
the conference began, the
about 28,000 U.S. troops prepared to
tutes the
world
plagued the East African country
Union
1970s and by the
in the
The pope did not mention initiative,
but he
made
where
civil strife
any case be guaranteed," he
must be overcome
—
including the arbitrary objection that such operations constitute "interference in the internal affairs
of a country," he
said.
"The conscience of humanity, supported by provisions of international hutervention be obligatory
problem of
pope recommended:
international plan to ensure fair
distribution, especially in high-risk
— More
aid targeted for
are often mothers, educators ily
women, who
and chief fam-
providers.
— More — Removal
transfer of technology to Third
"In such situations, food and medical in
food
to the
said.
Specifically, the
the U.S.-led
threatens the supply of food aid.
must
he
zones.
a strong case for
intervention in countries
main obstacle
nutrition,"
— An
Somalia was heavily armed by
United States in the 1980s.
relief
more unacceptable because the world today growing global population, he said. "You must hear the painful cry of millions who see the scandal provoked by the 'paradox of abundance,' which consti-
dubbed "Operation Restore Hope" by the Bush administration, aimed at protecting humanitarian relief from the clan warfare
the Soviet
con-
produces enough food to nourish even a
Ocean. The UN-authorized deployment,
for months.
common
science of humanity." The situation is all the
come
ashore in Somalia from ships in the Indian
that has
a "grave warning to the
of
first
manitarian law, asks that humanitarian in-
See Diplomatic, Page 13
.5
face starvation. Recently, other Vatican of-
ians to death
said. All obstacles
Vatican.
1
said.
previously on
flicts
'
ties
Clinton
letter.
unconstitutional
said.
As a Southern Baptist, Clinton should fljrstand and "strike a blow" for the pples of church-state separation, Land
jt'e
Service for
ing U.S. policy
extending
|ie U.S. representative to the Vatican.
News
In 1984, Reagan reversed a long-stand-
|3iristian Life Commission of the South-
|Baptist Convention,
Library.
Clinton's staff did not respond to a Dec.
stop the practice of appointing U.S.
assadors to the Vatican.
president Father
community," he
behalf of Somalia, where
tions.
is
said.
a duty for nations and the
is
international
manitarian aid reaches suffering popula-
aptist
compromised," the pope
where the survival
World
countries.
that prevent
of
commerce
restrictions
developing nations from fully
participating in the
— An end
world market.
to "the selfish
demands
by the current economic models." The pope lamented the fact that conditions are sometimes placed on the concession of food aid, even in places where it is tolerated
urgently needed.