In Brief
Mexico: More than two million pilgrims for Our Lady of Guadalupe
On Sunday December 12, around 2.3 million faithful converged on the sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico. In cars, buses, on bicycles or on foot, pilgrims from all over Mexico came in droves in order to celebrate the 473rd anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady to Juan Diego, in December 1531. Mexico has a population of 102 million, 90% of whom are Catholics. It is the second largest Catholic community in the world, after Brazil.
United States: Archbishop of Boston goes back on his decision to close several parishes.
In the face of intense opposition from many parish communities, the archbishop of Boston, Mgr. Sean P. O’Malley, has gone back on his decision to close at least 20% of the parishes in his diocese. The American prelate had announced last spring, that he would close 83 of his 357 parishes. At that time, he blamed the shortage of priests and the drop in Mass attendance numbers. But of the 50 parishes already closed, 7 are occupied by protesting parishioners. “I will take into account any new information which could allow me to reconsider the decision to close,” he said.
France: The Feast of Saint Nicholas falls victim to secularization.
The teachers at the nursery school of Coudekerque-Branche (North), wanted neither the feast, nor the chocolate figure, of Saint Nicholas. “The law is the law,” they argued. These teachers felt that the cardboard miter, decorated with the Christian cross, glued to the silver paper wrapping, was an infringement of the law on secularity. Some of them even pulled off the miter and scratched out the cross in order to erase the religious signs. “The teachers had no right to interfere. Saint Nicholas was a bishop, he has always been represented with his cross and his missal,” said the mayor, who preferred to remove the candy in order to avoid any “health risk”. The financial loss sustained by the municipality is estimated at around 4,000 euros.
Poland: A statue of Christ taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York
A Polish-American Catholic Adam Ocytko, a Chicago publisher, wants to pursue his plan in spite of the reluctance of the Catholic clergy and local organizations: to erect in the diocese of Tarnow, a statue of Christ the King, 60 meters high, and estimated to cost 50 million dollars. It should have been erected last October, for the 26th anniversary of the pontificate of John Paul II.- “But now we are encountering nothing but problems; even the local bishop says he is against this project,” said Adam Ocytko to the American Catholic press agency CNS. This statue of Christ the King Savior of the World, which should be completed in 2005, will be taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty.
United States: Launch of Muslim television channel
Bridges TV, launched on November 30, is seeking to be a bridge between the American population and the Muslim community, giving Islam a more positive image than the one left by the events of 9/11, in New York. Its chief, Muzzammil Hassan explained: “Every day on television we are inundated with stories of a Muslim extremist, terrorist, militant or rebel. What is missing are the innumerable stories of the tolerance, the progress, the diversity, the excellence, the spirit of service of Islam.” The Bridges TV agenda: a Muslim journalist solving a criminal mystery, the drama of a muslim father whose daughter wants to marry a non-Muslim, and a comedy Allah Made Me Funny…
