c. 2005 Religion News Service
New Orleans Archdiocese Slowly Returns to Life
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) Life is slowly returning to the Archdiocese of New Orleans, a community of 491,000 Catholics that has begun the yearslong process of restoring itself from the most disastrous event in its 212-year history.
Nine weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck the area, life is nearly back to normal in outlying parishes, which were spared the worst of the storm’s effects. But in New Orleans and St. Bernard, in Slidell and lower Plaquemines Parish, in parts of Jefferson Parish, the archdiocese is grappling with a devastated landscape.
Across the region, 70 of the archdiocese’s 150 parishes and missions are closed, said the Rev. William Maestri, who doubles as schools superintendent and archdiocesan spokesman. Nearly 1,000 employees have been laid off.
The archdiocese estimates flood damage to its properties at $85 million; it’s still evaluating how much flood insurance coverage it has, he said. Of its 1,244 buildings, 387 were flooded; 864 suffered wind damage. Many buildings suffered both.
The church’s vast network of social services were damaged, destroyed or dislocated _ although many have restarted and begun dispensing relief under difficult circumstances.
Because church and community were intimately connected, the archdiocese’s damage closely mirrors that of the neighborhoods it serves: Empty, flood-damaged churches and schools are embedded in empty, flood-damaged communities.
A team of pastors from every district in the archdiocese is pulling together a set of recommendations for Archbishop Alfred Hughes that will suggest which damaged parishes to reopen first, and which to leave for later.
Their mission is to survey church properties, make their best estimate where parishioners are likely to return first, and make sure that black, Vietnamese and Hispanic Catholics are reached even if they cannot soon return in large numbers, Hughes said.
The idea, Hughes and others said, is to determine where to focus the first rebuilding efforts. He said he hopes to see a plan by Dec. 1. That would generally dovetail with the publication of New Orleans’ own blueprint for rebuilding.
“I think maybe God has provided a purification,” he said. “I hope it’s leading us to a place where we’ll be less consumer-oriented, less concerned with material things, and more loving and faith-filled.”
“After this, we’ll be smaller in number and poorer in dollars _ but livelier in faith, hope and sacrificial love.”
_ Bruce Nolan
Anti-Abortion Groups Criticize American Girl’s Link to Girls Inc.
(RNS) Two organizations known for their opposition to abortion have questioned a recent joint alliance between American Girl, maker of popular dolls and books, and Girls Inc., which supports abortion rights.
The Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League has called on its supporters to boycott American Girl products during the Christmas shopping season. The Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association has asked its supporters to contact American Girl to voice disappointment in its decision to be involved in a fundraiser for Girls Inc., formerly known as Girls Clubs of America.
In September, American Girl, the Wisconsin-based subsidiary of Mattel, launched the “I CAN” program to encourage girls to believe in themselves. It offers one-dollar “I CAN” bands that could be worn as a bracelet, or backpack charm, with proceeds benefiting Girls Inc.
Critics of Girls Inc. point to an advocacy statement on the organization’s Web site that says, “Girls Inc. supports a woman’s freedom of choice, a constitutional right established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 in Roe v. Wade.”
Ann Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, said the bracelet program is not consistent with her group’s values.
“We are asking people who care about little girls, and about the value of human life, to refrain from purchasing and visiting American Girl Place during the entire Christmas shopping season,” she said in a statement.
Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the American Family Association and the father of three girls, said his organization is in the midst of an “education campaign” about the links between American Girl and Girls Inc. and he has personally decided to boycott American Girl for the rest of the year.
A spokeswoman for American Girl could not be reached immediately for comment. Girls Inc. has issued a statement responding to some of the concerns.
“Recently, our mission to help girls develop their self-esteem and self-reliance has become the target of false, inflammatory statements from people who are pursuing a narrow political agenda,” Girls Inc. said. “Girls Inc. stands on its long positive history. The millions of lives we have touched speak for who we are and our values.”
In a separate development, a Catholic school in Brookfield, Wis., decided to cancel plans for an American Girl Fashion Show after learning of the connection with Girls Inc.
“I’m not advocating any boycott,” said the Rev. Frank Malloy, pastor of St. Luke Catholic Church, which runs the school. “It’s just not a good fit for us at St. Luke’s. I think it would be sending out a mixed message to be accepting the funding that also winds up going to Girls Inc.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Conservative Catholic Leaders Say Abortion Issue is `Unequivocal’
(RNS) One year after Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign raised divisive questions about Catholics in public life, conservative Catholic leaders said Catholics are duty-bound to oppose candidates who support abortion rights.
The Catholic Leadership Conference, a loose-knit alliance of conservative Catholics, released a 10-point “political action” statement that said “not all moral and social teachings have equal weight” in the voting booth.
“On the specific `life issues’ in law and public policy _ direct abortion, euthanasia and the killing of unborn life for medical research _ Catholic teaching is unequivocal; the defense of innocent human life is an imperative,” the statement said.
More than 100 members of the conference representing 60 organizations met in Phoenix, Ariz., and issued their statement on Oct. 28. Related statements on marriage and pornography were drafted but have not yet been released.
The conference includes luminaries of the Catholic Right, including Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, Ave Maria founder and pizza magnate Tom Monaghan and Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, Ore.
Last year, Vasa ordered all lay Catholic volunteers to sign a 13-point “Affirmation of Faith” that promised obedience to church teachings on abortion, homosexuality and other issues in order to continue serving as cantors or Scripture readers in their churches.
The statement by the conference said Catholics “must not compromise” on core church teaching, but said there is room to disagree on issues including taxes, education, foreign policy or immigration.
“Catholic voters must first make decisions about their votes based on the moral issues that are non-negotiable,” the statement said. “First among these are the life issues.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Hindus Protest British Christmas Stamp
LONDON (RNS) Britain’s 700,000 Hindu community is protesting a Christmas stamp just issued by the Royal Mail that shows Nativity figures with Hindu marks on their foreheads.
The stamp, a reproduction of a 1620 painting from the Mughal Empire, offers an Indian version of the Holy Family, with the figures of what are presumably Joseph and Mary bearing Hindu marks on their foreheads.
This, according to Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain, is “insensitive and inappropriate” at a time when conversion is a very contentious issue in India. Christian missionaries there have been accused of “inappropriate” use of Hindu dress and customs amid charges of forced conversions.
The Royal Mail series of six Christmas stamps _ the first since 2000 to have a religious theme _ went on sale Tuesday (Nov. 1). They were intended to celebrate the multiculturalism of modern Britain, with European, Haitian, Italian, Indian, Native American and Aboriginal Australian depictions of the Madonna and child.
The Indian design appears on the 68-pence stamp, which is the denomination most likely to be used on Christmas cards sent by air mail to India and other destinations beyond Europe.
The Hindu Forum has asked for the stamp to be withdrawn, but they have already been distributed and put on sale. Because they were printed six months ago, any withdrawn copies could command a premium on the philatelic market.
“If Sainsbury’s (supermarket chain) had a product on their shelves which was going to cause cancer, they would withdraw it,” Kallidai said.
_ Robert Nowell
Quote of the Day: Evangelist Billy Graham
(RNS) “Ruth and I have enjoyed our time together these last few months, and we both feel at peace about the decision to have the New York meetings be our last. We know that God can still use us to reach people with the gospel message in other ways, and we look forward to seeing how he will do so.”
_ Evangelist Billy Graham, in a statement issued days before he celebrated his 87th birthday on Nov. 7. He held his last crusade in June in New York.
KRE/JL END RNS
