Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
By Dennis Sadowski WASHINGTON (CNS) – Saying there is “no greater work than the psalmist’s call to ‘seek peace and pursue it,’” nearly five dozen Christian leaders have pledged their support to President Barack Obama in his effort to end the long-standing IsraeliPalestinian conflict and open a new era of U.S.-Muslim relations. In a letter sent June 4 to the White House after Obama’s speech in Cairo, Egypt, the leaders said they were pleased to hear about the president’s clear commitment “to sustained, hands-on diplomacy” to secure safety and peace for Palestinians and Israelis and offered to rally Christians nationwide to support the effort. Representing Catholic, Episcopal, Protestant, Orthodox, African-American and evangelical churches, the Christian leaders said the political stalemate between Palestinians and Israelis requires a “strong, helping hand” to negotiate an agreement between long-warring people in the region. Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on International Justice and Peace, was among the signatories. He said the president’s position paralleled that of the bishops. “We are very pleased that the president
has now chosen to take the personal initiative to address this issue and in his speech made it very clear that this will be a priority for him in this administration,” Bishop Hubbard told Catholic News Service. “(The letter) is a very positive response to the address he delivered and shows support across a broad face of religious leaders our determination that what has begun now must proceed with all diligence,” he said. In his address at Cairo University, the president called for a renewed effort to seek peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but said the effort must involve the entire world as partners in the process. He offered support for a two-state solution, which he said would end the conflict and guarantee the safety and security for both Israel and Palestine. Obama called for Palestinians to abandon violence to achieve their goal of a homeland as well as for Israel to end the expansion of settlements on Palestinian land. He urged both people to recognize the other’s right to exist and said the United States would work for such an outcome. The peace effort also must involve the cooperation of Arab states, the president said. He promised to align America’s policies with those who pursue peace. Acknowledging that tension exists between the U.S. and Muslims around CHRISTIAN LEADERS, page 22
(PHOTO BY ARNE FOLKEDAL/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO.)
Christian leaders support Obama’s Mid-East peace effort
St. Raymond Parish Confirmation Archbishop George H. Niederauer confirms Patrick Tinsley at the May 20 Confirmation Mass at St. Raymond Parish in Menlo Park. With Patrick is his sponsor, Bill Campbell. To see more images from the Confirmation Mass at St. Raymond, follow the link on the Catholic San Francisco Online homepage at www.catholic-sf.org.
USF honors dissenting South African bishop By Michael Vick Jesuit Father Stephen Privett, president of the University of San Francisco, stirred up controversy May 22 with his presentation of an honorary degree to a South African bishop who has defied the Vatican by promoting the use of condoms in some cases. USF honored Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa at its undergraduate commencement ceremony to “draw attention to the millions in South Africa and around the world who are living with HIV/AIDS,” read the honorary degree citation. Bishop Dowling has worked in HIV/ AIDS care and prevention since 1992. His diocese runs a clinic, school, day care facility, skills-training center and hospice facility to care for vast shanty communities that grew in the shadow of a local platinum mine. Bishop Dowling first drew public attention in 2001 when a reporter asked him his opinion on condom usage to fight HIV. His response drew the ire of the papal nuncio to South Africa and his
Bishop Kevin Dowling
own bishops’ conference, though Bishop Dowling has received no official reprimand and continues to serve as bishop in good standing. In a May 5 statement, the Congolese bishops’ conference called condom use ineffective, and said it is “not only an ethical disorder but above all the proof of the trivialization of sexuality in our
society.” In an interview after his commencement speech, Bishop Dowling said he agreed with his fellow bishops, at least in part. To be sure, the bishop takes a nuanced position on condom usage. Bishop Dowling told Catholic San Francisco he supports Church teaching on sexuality, saying “abstinence before marriage and faithfulness to a single partner within a stable marriage relationship is obviously the only failsafe way of preventing yourself from being infected with HIV.” The bishop said he promotes abstinence and marital faithfulness especially with children and young adults, running educational and behavior modification programs to teach people to make proper choices in all areas of life, including sexuality. But he said the reality in Africa is far from the ideal. “We can promote those values, and they work pretty well in the context where a person has a security net,” Bishop Dowling said. “Unfortunately, extreme poverty is driving particularly vulnerable
Ordination Mass June 20 Archbishop George H. Niederauer invites the faithful of the Archdiocese of San Francisco to the Mass of Ordination for Rev. Mr. Michael Quinn, Rev. Mr. William Thornton, and Rev. Mr. Joseph Previtali June 20 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1111 Gough Street at Geary Blvd.
young women to extreme positions. They are forced into transactional sex.” Bishop Dowling said with the South African economy in shambles, many unemployed women wind up in the slums around the mine. They come looking for jobs, though many are illegal immigrants and cannot secure proper identification. With so many searching for employment, even citizens have difficulty finding work. In order to feed themselves and their children, the bishop said women feel BISHOP DOWLING, page 11
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION News in brief. . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 Archdiocese challenges tax. . 9 Catholic graduates . . . . 12-13 Letters and columnists . 14-15 Scripture and reflections .16-17
Slumping economy forum advice ~ Page 3 ~ June 12, 2009
Forming a priest: Joseph Previtali ~ Page 4-5 ~
Book mixes intrigue with faith values ~ Page 20 ~
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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