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Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010

Week of July 19, 1999

WCR News Highlights for July 19

Bishops plan for Lenten TV mission:

Buoyed by the success of its nationally-televised daily Catholic Masses, the National Catholic Broadcasting Foundation is now considering a three-day TV mission before Lent, to be viewed across Canada at prime time. The mission would be a way of "calling people to contemplate the spiritual realities represented by Lent and to enter into those spiritual realities in a spirit of prayer, fasting and of almsgiving, the traditional ways," said Bishop John Sherlock, of London, Ont., chair of the foundation.

Fetal rights ruling disappoints group:

The Catholic Group for Health, Justice and Life says it's "deeply disappointed" at the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada that unborn children can't sue their parents for injuries suffered while in the womb. But the group, which includes that Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, also noted that the court has once again invited Parliament to pass legislation dealing with fetal rights. In a 7-2 decision released July 9, the court said Ryan Dobson, 6, can't sue his mother, Cynthia, for prenatal negligent conduct for injuries he received in a 1993 car accident in Moncton, N.B., while his mother was at the wheel.

European church often seen as aging - Vatican:

In many ways, Europe is a continent where the Catholic Church is often seen more as an aging institution than as the bearer of a life-giving message, a Vatican document said. "The Church's task is to reaffirm with force and conviction that Christ is necessary for humanity," said the working document for the Synod of Bishops for Europe. "At this moment Europe appears to be lost, confused, adrift and with its hope in peril," said the document. The Oct. 1-23 European synod is the last in a series of regional gatherings of bishops in preparation for the year 2000.

World needs Benedictine witness:

In a fast-paced world filled with chatter, the Benedictine life of silence, prayer and manual labour can help people see the simple beauty of a life devoted to God, Pope John Paul said in a letter to the abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Subiaco, Italy. The July 7 letter marked the beginning of a year-long celebration of the 1,500th anniversary of the Subiaco monastery, the first founded by St. Benedict. Benedictines should realize how much the world needs the straightforward witness of lives devoted to listening to God's word, praying and building a community marked by brotherhood, the pope said.

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