c. 2003 Religion News Service
No Need for Changes Due to Flu, Bishops’ Liturgy Office Says
WASHINGTON (RNS) The worship office for the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops says there is no need yet for “widespread liturgical adaptations” to Communion practices to help stem the spread of the flu.
The bishops’ Secretariat for Liturgy said in a Dec. 17 memo that officials, after consulting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will “continue to closely monitor the situation” but saw no need to impose national changes.
Several bishops in California _ in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and Monterey _ have issued guidelines for changes in the Communion rite to help stop the spread of the flu.
Those bishops urged parishioners not to shake hands during the passing of the peace, and not to hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer. They also recommended that the Communion wafer be placed in worshippers’ hands, not on their tongues, and that parishioners not share a common chalice of wine.
“I recommend that in your catechesis (teaching) to remind parishioners that while the obligation to attend Mass on the Lord’s Day is serious, it does not extend to those who are ill,” Bishop Allen Vigneron of Oakland told his priests. “Indeed, if they have flu symptoms, the prudent thing is to stay at home.”
Similar recommendations have been made by bishops in Omaha, Neb., Reno, Nev., and Colorado Springs, Colo. Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs said priests or parishioners who distribute the Communion elements are allowed to dip the wafer into the wine rather than share a common cup.
The memo from the liturgy office said priests, deacons or parishioners who distribute Communion should “practice good hygiene” by washing their hands with anti-bacterial soap before handling the bread or wine.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
President Bush Marks Holidays With Visit to Children, Menorah Lighting
WASHINGTON (RNS) President Bush spent Monday (Dec. 22) celebrating the holiday season by giving out Christmas presents to children of prisoners and taking part in a White House menorah lighting ceremony.
The president and first lady Laura Bush visited Shiloh Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., to take part in Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree Christmas party.
“Our attitude is … that we change America one heart and one soul at a time,” Bush said. “That everybody matters, everybody counts; that every child has got a hopeful and bright future; and each of us has a responsibility of loving that child with all our heart and all our soul.”
The Angel Tree program began in 1982 and, with the help of sponsors, has brought millions of gifts to prisoners’ children since that time.
About an hour after stopping at the Virginia church, the president was back at the White House for a ceremony marking Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the miraculous story of oil that burned for eight days instead of the expected one at the rededicated Jerusalem Temple.
“Tonight, as we prepare to light the candles, we hope and pray that all who live under tyranny will see their day of freedom, and that the light of faith will always shine through the darkness,” Bush said.
“We also pray for the brave men and women of our armed forces, many of whom are spending the holiday season far from home and their loved ones. We are grateful for their service to America. We’re grateful for the support and sacrifice of their families.”
On Dec. 19, he issued statements marking Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, a seven-day observance by people of African descent that celebrates family, community and culture. “This holiday season, as we share in the spirit of giving and enjoy familiar Christmas traditions, we give thanks for the wonder of God’s love and rededicate ourselves to helping those in need,” the president said in the Christmas message. _ Adelle M. Banks Conservative Jews Seek to Block Orthodox Prayer Plan for Western Wall JERUSALEM (RNS) The Masorti movement, the Israeli wing of Conservative Judaism, has asked Israel’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to block a plan to turn the back of the Western Wall plaza into an Orthodox place of prayer. Once completed, the recently initiated construction project will significantly extend the front section, which adjoins the wall, where men and women pray separately. This space will come at the expense of the upper, or back, section of the plaza, which has traditionally served mixed groups of men and women, though not at prayer. Israel constructed the large plaza in front of the Western Wall shortly after gaining access to the holy site in the 1967 Middle East war. Since then, roughly one-fourth of the plaza’s length has been earmarked for separate praying areas for men and women, divided by a wall, in accordance with Orthodox Jewish law. The section behind it is often used by the Israel Defence Forces during ceremonies to induct mixed groups of male and female soldiers, and by Jewish and non-Jewish visitors not engaged in prayer. Andy Sacks, president of the Masorti movement’s rabbinical council, told RNS that the expansion, which was initiated by Shmuel Rabinovitch, rabbi of the site and an employee of the religious affairs ministry, “is a complete shattering of the delicate religious status quo” worked out over the years between the government and Reform and Conservative Jews. “It’s the equivalent of an Orthodox synagogue expanding onto a public sidewalk that until now has allowed mixed activities,” Sacks said. During the 1990s, Conservative and Reform Jews praying in egalitarian fashion at the wall were often attacked, both physically and verbally, by Orthodox Jews who objected to men and women praying together. Following an uproar from non-Orthodox American Jews, in 2000 the Israeli government worked out a compromise whereby non-Orthodox Jews were permitted to pray at a part of the southern Western Wall known as Robinson’s Arch. It is not part of the plaza. Ehud Bandel, president of the Masorti movement, told RNS that “while we agreed for the sake of peace to conduct our services at Robinson’s Arch, we stated very clearly that we were not giving up the right for all Jews to pray at the back of the plaza.” “The Kotel belongs to all the Jewish people,” Bandel said, using the Hebrew word for the holy wall. He said the construction “is an attempt to delegitimize the vast majority of Jews in the world.” Rabinovitch defended the extension, insisting that the religious status quo was not in jeopardy “because the upper plaza is not for prayer.” _ Michele Chabin Priests Tell Egan that Morale Is at `All-Time Low’ (RNS) Seventy-four Catholics priests in the Archdiocese of New York told Cardinal Edward Egan that morale is “at an all-time low” because he treats priests accused of sexual abuse like “damaged goods.” In an open letter that was obtained by The New York Times, the priests said Egan has left accused priests in legal limbo and has remained distant from his priests. “We have received so much support from the laity but we also need it from you,” the letter said, according to The Times. Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said the letter had not yet arrived at church headquarters. “It wouldn’t be fair to anyone to discuss a letter that we haven’t even had a chance to look at yet,” he said. Egan, head of the nation’s second-largest archdiocese, has suspended at least 14 priests accused of abuse but has not determined their future or made their names public. Zwilling said the cardinal is awaiting guidance from the Vatican. Victims’ advocates said they can sympathize with the priests on Egan’s “secrecy,” but said the process is still ongoing. “It’s better to err on the side of protecting children than to err on the side of maybe a priest having his name brought down in the eyes of his parishioners,” David Cerulli, director of the New York City chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. The priests told Egan that “the impression you have given is that those men who stand accused are `damaged goods’ and it would be better if they did not return to active ministry,” the letter said. “We continue to minister under a cloud that shows no sign of lifting,” the letter said, according to The Times. Facing the Music: Irish Church Recommends Minimum Fees for Musicians (UNDATED) Minimum fees for church musicians have been recommended by the Catholic Church in Ireland. For someone combining the posts of organist and choir director it suggests a minimum fee for working 48 Sundays of the year varying from $2,969) for one Mass per Sunday and no choir to $7,719 for two Masses with a weekday rehearsal for the choir. The minimum suggested fee for a funeral is $99.50 and for a wedding $136.70, but “higher when the musician is required for a rehearsal or when music has to be purchased or learned.” In addition, when a couple getting married wish to import an organist of their own choice the regular organist should be paid a “displacement fee.” Emphasizing that the guidelines for paying parish church musicians should be regarded as “guidelines and advice, not directives,” the National Center for Liturgy said parishes needed to bear in mind such factors as the musician’s qualifications and ability, the ability of the choir and the quality of the church organ. Further, the recommended minima are for amateur musicians _ people who may be professionally qualified as musicians but who earn their living principally outside the world of music. “Higher rates would be appropriate for musicians who earn their living principally by performing and/or teaching music,” the guidelines add. _ Robert Nowell Quote of the Day: The Rev. Robert Lee Hill, Kansas City, Mo., pastor (RNS) “Christmas is the most crassly exploited of the Christian holy days and yet its essential mystery is never dulled.” _ The Rev. Robert Lee Hill, pastor of Community Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Kansas City, Mo. DEA END RNS
