Sunday, October 19, 2008

"I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion is already born." - Ronald Reagan

Pope Names Coadjutor Archbishop For Cincinnati


The Holy See announced today that Pope Benedict XVI has appointed the Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr, currently bishop of Duluth, Minn., and treasurer of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, to be coadjutor archbishop of Cincinnati.
As coadjutor, he will assist Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk and then succeed him upon Archbishop Pilarczyk’s retirement. Roman Catholic bishops are required to submit their resignation to the pope upon the age of 75, which Archbishop Pilarczyk reaches in August 2009. The pope may accept the resignation immediately or after some time.
“I hope that all the members of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati are as happy as I am about the appointment of Archbishop Dennis Schnurr as coadjutor archbishop of our local church,” said Archbishop Pilarczyk. “I wish Archbishop Schnurr many years of fruitful and joyous service in our midst. I know that the days of all of us will be bright because of his ministry here.”
Archbishop Schnurr, 60, organized the highly successful 1993 World Youth Day which brought the late Pope John Paul II to the United States in 1993. A canon lawyer, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, in 1974 after studies in Rome. He spent three years in parish ministry, three years in graduate studies and five years in diocesan administration before working on the staff of the papal nuncio to the United States from 1985 to 1989.

In 1989, he was hired by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to oversee the Conference’s peace and social justice projects. As general secretary of the USCCB from 1995 until 2001, he oversaw a staff of 350 and a budget of $50 million. He became bishop of Duluth in 2001. Today he remains highly active in the USCCB as its treasurer.
“It is humbling to be called by the Holy Father to serve as the Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,” he said today. “Relying upon the help of God and the prayers of the People of God, I have accepted the nomination. I am grateful to our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, for the confidence he places in me.”
“I am particularly thankful to the Holy Father for asking me to serve with Archbishop Pilarczyk, whom I have known for nearly twenty years and for whom I have the highest esteem,” Archbishop Schnurr added. “He served as President of the NCCB/USCC when I was Associate General Secretary, and I had the opportunity to work closely with him on a number of Conference projects. He appointed me National Executive Director of World Youth Day 1993, which brought the Holy Father and 500,000 young people for a week-long celebration of the faith in Denver, Colorado. I look forward to once again being able to collaborate closely with and work under the leadership of Archbishop Pilarczyk.”
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 26th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with almost 500,000 Catholics, and has the eighth largest network of Catholic schools in terms of enrollment. The 19-county territory includes 220 parishes and 113 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

A nation without women

I came across this from a friend.

Indian filmgoers have a weakness for feel-good song-and-dance spectaculars. So it's not surprising that Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women won a handful of international prizes, but flopped at home. It is a tale of unrelieved horror. An innocent young girl is sold to a rural family of five sons and married to all five, plus the father. In the end, the whole woman-less village gets into the act and murderous fights break out for her favours. The film ends with the lass giving birth to a daughter.
Is this a nightmarish fantasy dreamed up by man-hating feminists?
To Western audiences, perhaps, but in India, the notion of “a nation without women” is no fantasy. It could be the future. So many unborn and newly-born girls are being killed as a result of a deep-seated preference for male heirs that millions of young men will find it hard to marry.
At the moment, according to figures from the 2001 census, the national ratio of girls aged 0-to-6 to boys is 927 to 1,000. The normal figure should be 950 to 1,000. However, this conceals enormous regional and social differences. According to the British NGO ActionAid, the situation is worst in the northern state of Punjab. "The most extreme case that we found in our research was among wealthy Punjabi families where in some communities there's only 300 girls to every 1,000 boys,” says Laura Turquet, ActionAid's women's rights policy official.
"The real horror of the situation is that, for women, avoiding having daughters is a rational choice. But for wider society it's creating an appalling and desperate state of affairs," said Ms Turquet. Despite India's growing prosperity – or perhaps because of it -- there is growing pressure on women to produce sons, because girls are seen as an expense, rather than an asset. To marry them off, parents have to pay a huge dowry. “Spend 500 rupees now and save 50,000 rupees later,” is a slogan which every parent has heard.
Check out the rest at: http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/a_nation_without_women/
Talk at ya Later

Saturday, October 4, 2008