Head of bishops’ conference says priests deserve thanks, support
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
(CNS PHOTO BY PAUL HARING)
By Patricia Zapor
Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Msgr. William P. Fay, USCCB general secretary, lead the U.S. bishops on the opening day of their annual fall general meeting in Washington Nov. 14.
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The priests of the United States deserve not only the deepest gratitude, but also the support, esteem and collaborative respect of their bishops, said the president of the U.S. bishops in his first address to the conference as their leader. More than ever before, events of the past four years have focused attention on the priesthood, said Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., in his Nov. 14 presidential address during the bishops’ annual fall meeting in Washington. He called priests “the treasures who safeguard the church as a eucharistic community.” Attention stemming from publicity about sexual abuse cases and how the church has handled them was not about the “wonder, commitment, dedication and perseverance” of priests, but about “the darkness and sin which overwhelmed some,” he said. “It has been a personally painful time for the vast majority of priests who did nothing to deserve that pain.” Despite that, his own experience as a bishop, reports from fellow bishops and polling data shows that Catholics “appreciate their priests,” said Bishop Skylstad, whose three-year term as president began at the end of the bishops’ 2004 fall general meeting. Such support is a tribute to the strength of the priesthood and the service of individual priests, that “in the midst of the most scathing kind of coverage that any single group could imagine receiving, the Catholic people, by an overwhelming majority, can still say that they appreciate the job their priests are doing for them,” he said. That is a reminder, he said, that Catholics think of the priesthood in terms of “the many faithful men they have encountered in their lives and do not judge all by the unfaithfulness, as terribly damaging as it has been, of a few.” He noted that morale remains high among priests, with more BISHOPS, page 11
NEWS ANALYSIS Planned Parenthood spending helps defeat parental rights law By Jack Smith Proposition 73, an initiative proposal requiring parental notification prior to performing an abortion on a minor, was voted down by a slim margin in the Statewide Special Election Nov. 8. Prop. 73 failed by a margin of 47.4 to 52.6 percent to bring California law into line with the vast majority of other States. On an election day where every statewide initiative was rejected by vot-
ers, Proposition 73 managed to garner more yes votes than any other initiative. The closest in comparison was Proposition 75 regarding the use of union dues for political activity, which received 30,000 fewer yes votes than 73. Other initiatives received up to one million fewer votes than 73. Still it was a huge defeat for an initiative that, according to some polls, was ahead by nearly 20 points in the weeks leading up to the election. Bill
May, chairman of Catholics for the Common Good, said after the election that “parents and families all over the country lost out to the powerful interests of Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry.” Planned Parenthood, NARAL ProChoice America and the California Democratic Party were the largest institutional opponents of 73. Planned Parenthood affiliates, which receive the largest portion of their funds from
State of California programs, gave millions to the “No on 73” effort. Two affiliates, Los Angeles and Mar Monte, gave at least $500,000 each. An election map for Prop. 73 shows a huge disparity in levels of support and opposition, similar to the red and blue state divides in recent national elections. In general, north coastal counties and those around the Bay Area opposed Prop. 73 by large PLANNED PARENTHOOD, page 8
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Bishops reject death penalty. 5 Veterans’ Day at Holy Cross . 6
Sacramento’s restored Cathedral
Senior Living. . . . . . . . . 8-11 Hurricane relief . . . . . . . . 10 Editorial and columns. . 14-15
~ Page 9 ~ Sister Suzanne Toolan honored ~ Page 3 ~ November 18, 2005
Scripture and reflection . . . 16
Children and poverty ~ Pages 12-13 ~ SIXTY CENTS
‘Chicken Little’ review. . . . 20
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