California 's Catholic bishops issue early backing for initiative
Departing from its usual strategy, the California Conference of Bishops has thrown early support behind an effort to place an initiative on the November 2000 ballot that would require parents be notified in advance of an under-age daughter receiving an abortion. In a statement issued Sept. 10 and titled "Parental __ Notification Prior to SEE FULL TEXT, page 5 Abortion for a Minor Daughter , "the California bishops reaffirmed the "profound importance of family communication and parental responsibility," underscored a news release accompanying the statement text. The Conference of Bishops does not ordinarily take a position on an initiative until it has qualified for the ballot. However, the bishops are "making an exception in this case due to their strong conviction of the centrality of the family in society, and the irreplaceable role, responsibility and ri ghts of parents in the formation and education of their children ," the press release stated. In addition to issuing the statement, the bishops would like to help collect roughly half of the signatures needed to (Continued an pageS)
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Mission Dolores bell returned to its home
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East Timor Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximines Belo wipes tears from his face during Mass in Lisbon, Portugal, Sept. 12. He appealed for a spirit of forgiveness despite the killings in East Timor.
East Timor Vatican f ears p eacekeepers will be too late WASHINGTON (CNS) — After a week of bloodshed and repeated calls for international intervention , the Indonesian government agreed to allow U.N. peacekeeping troops into East Timor. The Sept. 12 move answered pleas from East Timor's two bishops, Pope John Paul II, and church leaders from several continents, but the Vatican newspaper questioned whether it was too late, since pro-Indonesia militias reportedly had killed tens of thousands of people and left some 200,000 homeless. "What will remain of East Timor? What could be saved at this point?" asked the newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.
Others, however, urged the peacekeeping force to begin work immediately. A church worker in East Timor reported that on Sept. 13, militias were on the move again, burning property and shooting indiscriminately. The worker feared that unless U.N. troops arrived quickly, the militias would go on another killing spree. "You go from hearing good news to hearing discouraging news," the worker said. "It keeps going back and forth , and it's pretty tiring, and we keep waiting and waiting." U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Sept. 13 she had Vatican fears, page 5
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Father Maurice "Mickey" McCormick places the bell that had been stolen on Aug. 11 from Mission Dolores Basilica 's coat-of-arms back where it belongs. An anonymous caller informed thq Mission Dolores staff the stolen bell could be found in a Mission Street pawnshop . When the San Francisco police investigate d,they found the pawnbroker had sold the bell minutes before they had arrived. After four local TV news broadcasts covered the story the weekend of Sept. 3, the basilica staff received another call. "I think I may have your bell," said an antique dealer on Market Street. The bell was a gift from Pope Pius XII on the occasion of naming Mission Dolores a basilica on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows in 1952. "Now," said Father McCormick ,pastor, "We have to come up with a way to secure the bell to make it difficult to steal."