c. 1997 Religion News Service

Pope addresses Vatican policies enroute to Brazil

(RNS) Brazilians put the finishing touches on preparations for a visit by Pope John Paul II as the pontiff discussed Vatican policies on sainthood and anti-Semitism before arriving in the South American nation Thursday afternoon (Oct. 2).

Enroute, the pontiff dashed the hopes of the faithful intent on speeding up the process toward sainthood for Mother Teresa, who died Sept. 5. Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane en route to Rio de Janeiro, John Paul said he will not change Roman Catholic Church rules for canonization, which can only begin five years after the death of the candidate.”I think it is necessary to follow the normal way,”the pontiff said.

On another matter, the pope said a document on anti-Semitism and the Holocaust promised to Jewish leaders in 1987 is still far from being completed, the Associated Press reported.

During his third and shortest trip to Brazil in 17 years as pope, John Paul is expected to drive home his belief in the traditional family and promote Catholicism. In Brazil, only 13 percent of baptized Catholics actually describe themselves as practicing the faith. The pontiff also will spend his four-day trip speaking at an international Catholic conference on the family, and he will preside over a festival at Maracana stadium, the world’s largest soccer arena.

Angel sculptor loses suit against cathedral

(RNS) A sculptor serving as artist-in-residence at the Washington (Episcopal) National Cathedral has lost his small-claims suit charging the cathedral with improperly evicting him.

Robert Mihaly, 30, argued in his lawsuit that the cathedral cut short his stay last spring, disrupting his work on a 10-foot-tall marble statue of an angel he was working on for a grave for child back home. He had expected to conclude his term as a resident artist this fall.

Cathedral officials, on the other hand, asserted that Mihaly broke the contact because he worked outside rather than in a sculptor’s studio on cathedral property.”The cathedral believed Mr. Mihaly’s claim was without merit and we are glad the (judge) agreed,”said Andrew Shapiro, the lawyer who represented the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation.

Mihaly told the Associated Press he worked outdoors because the marble block did not fit inside the studio. The artist, who worked under scaffolding and a tarp, said cathedral officials knew he would be working outside.

Mihaly sued the cathedral for $5,000 to cover the expenses of relocating his materials and tools to Raleigh, N.C., where he is finishing the work at Meredith College. The statue was commissioned by a North Carolina lawyer for the tombstone of his child.

Begun in 1992, two years after the cathedral was completed, the artist-in-residence program is designed as a mutual partnership between the cathedral and artists. While the artists may be inspired by the cathedral’s beauty, visitors can watch the artists work.

The program was suspended after Mihaly departed, and its fate had not been decided when the ruling was announced.

NBC won’t bow to pressure regarding TV ratings

(RNS) NBC executives in New York said they won’t bow to pressure from federal lawmakers intent on forcing local affiliates to adopt a new, detailed TV rating system, which took effect Wednesday (Oct. 1). Most of the major networks have agreed to comply with the new warning system advocated by parents and watchdog groups.

The new age-based ratings, alerting parents to TV violence, sex and profanity, will be confusing at best, said NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer, a staunch critic of the new system.

But Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., said in an interview with the Associated Press he is determined to put TV managers on the hot seat.

Taking the ratings issue a step further, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, is mustering support from the Federal Communications Commission to revoke broadcast licenses of stations failing to comply with the ratings guidelines. NBC continues to use the less-detailed ratings that most in the industry have been using since Jan. 1.”At this juncture, we feel strongly the additional labels merely add to parents’ confusion,”said NBC President Robert Wright.

Orthodox Jews in Ukraine join worldwide Rosh Hashanah celebration

(RNS) As Jews worldwide celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, Wednesday (Oct. 1), Orthodox Jews in Ukraine revived traditions long suppressed by leaders of the former Soviet Union.

Thousands of Hasidim flocked to Ukraine this year on a pilgrimage to the 187-year-old grave of Rabbi Nahman, a spiritual leader to Hasidim Orthodoxy, in the town of Uman, the Associated Press reported. They donned black hats, prayer boxes strapped to their foreheads and prayer shawls wrapped around their shoulders.

Ukraine is home to the world’s fifth largest Jewish community.

Many of the pilgrims came to Ukraine from Israel, the United States and France. Although their numbers have swelled since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, locals are still intrigued by their appearance in traditional dress.

Liebel Berger, who traveled from New York for the celebration, told the Associated Press he noticed attitudes have improved since the first group of pilgrims came in the 1960s during Soviet rule, when they were viewed with suspicion.

Now, post-Soviet officials are interested in ending the mistrust of Jews that has existed for centuries, and many Jewish communities have re-emerged in Ukraine.

Romanian Orthodox leaders face charges of communist collaboration

(RNS) Leaders of Romania’s Orthodox church faced charges by a top government official of collaborating with communists and impeding efforts toward democracy in the Balkan nation.

Ioan Moisin, a top Romanian politician, used the start of a two-day church synod in Bucharest on Tuesday (Sept. 30) to level the charges against the Romanian Orthodox Church, in which 86 percent of the population holds membership. Moisin named senior clerics he said had abetted communists, particularly the feared Securitate secret police, Reuters reported.

Patriarch Teoctist, the 82-year-old head of the church, was among those named by Moisin as collaborating with the communists”through a double game.”Teoctist was also accused of not intervening as Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania’s ruthless dictator, had dozens of churches destroyed. Teoctist backed Ceausescu until the final days before his execution in 1989.”I ask priests who told the Securitate what they heard at confession: In whose service were they, Christ’s or the Securitate’s?,”Moisin asked.

Also during the synod, clerics discussed Teoctist’s widely criticized proposal to build a vast cathedral in central Bucharest with state funds in light of the nation’s rampant poverty.

Quote of the day: actor Kevin Anderson

(RNS) Kevin Anderson, star of the new and controversial ABC-TV drama”Nothing Sacred,”speaking to USA Today about why his role as Father Ray appeals to him:”This is a priest who’s seeking to find God not so much in the church but in the real world. God doesn’t always show up on command. There are times you want him to be there, and he’s not. Those moments of silence can be extremely frustrating to the characters in the show. We are trying to create those moments of surprise.”

MJP END RNS