News/International

MANCHESTER, England - Some people are simply gifted at sport; they excel at any challenge involving a ball, a stick or a physical contest nearly as soon as they turn their hands to it.

One such person is Father Geoff Hilton, a priest from Salford Diocese in the north of England, who will be serving as a chaplain to athletes competing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

It was because of his sporting prowess that the former police officer from Manchester was hand-picked to become one of 16 official Catholic chaplains appointed by the Olympics organizing committee.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A massive wildfire that started around the popular hiking spot Waldo Canyon west of Colorado Springs forced the evacuation of neighborhoods around several parishes and the cancellation of Sunday Masses at two parishes in the Colorado Springs Diocese.

Holy Rosary Chapel in Cascade and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Manitou Springs canceled Sunday Mass June 24 after authorities determined they could be in the path of the wildfire and forced evacuations of those surrounding communities.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court's June 28 decision upholding the health reform law makes it even more urgent for Congress to act to fix the law's "fundamental flaws" on abortion funding, conscience protection and immigrants' access to health care, the U.S. bishops said.

The court found that although the individual mandate in the 2010 health reform law does not pass constitutional muster under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, it can be upheld as an acceptable exercise of Congress' taxing powers.

OXFORD, England - When French voters handed a parliamentary majority to their country's Socialist Party six weeks after electing a socialist Francois Hollande as president, there were fears it could herald a new aggressive secularism in a country noted for strict separation of church and state.

But observers of the French scene discount predictions of church-state conflict and say the priority will be a return to normalcy rather than any new secularist agenda.

WASHINGTON - In prayerful celebration, more than 2,000 Catholics from all regions of the Archdiocese of Washington gathered June 24 as part of the local church's "fortnight for freedom" campaign in support of the United States' "first and most cherished freedom" -- religious liberty.

The U.S. bishops dedicated June 21 to July 4 as days to encourage Catholics nationwide to focus on prayer, education and action in defense of religious freedom.

For the rally, held at George Washington University's Smith Center, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington was joined by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, Washington Auxiliary Bishop Barry C. Knestout, and dozens of priests, religious sisters and laity.

The event, which included prayers, patriotic and religious hymns, as well as videos highlighting the nation's strong Catholic heritage, concluded with solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Speaking about the election of Blessed John Paul II as pope, Cardinal Wuerl recalled when he celebrated his first public Mass, the new pontiff called upon the faithful to open wide their hearts to Christ, to put aside fear and "be not afraid."

"The challenge, 'Be not afraid,' should move us to engage our culture, our neighbors, our family and our friends," said Cardinal Wuerl. "The call is not just for priests to preach, but for the laity to respond. The response is threefold: prayer, education and action. The most important is prayer."

Throughout the service, the more than 50-member St. Augustine Parish Choir led the congregation in rousing renditions of some of the country's most beloved anthems, "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," as well religious hymns such as "I've Come This Far By Faith." Other hymns were led by the Schola of the Blessed John Paul II Seminary and the Sister Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara.

Videos highlighted the Catholic Church's deep roots of religious freedom, its history and impact in the United States from the nation's earliest days to the present.

A range of stirring images were seen, from American Catholic saints and heroes -- such as Archbishop John Carroll and St. Katharine Drexel -- to the waves of immigrants who built the nation to the 18th- and 19th-century anti-Catholic sentiment, to Catholics defending freedom in wars, to the church's staunch support of the civil rights movement, and concluding with the Catholic Church's present-day vital service in hospitals, schools and charities.

Father William Byrne, pastor of St. Peter Parish on Capitol Hill and archdiocesan secretary for pastoral ministry and social concerns, was master of ceremonies.

"We have much to celebrate. We celebrate that we live in a great country, a great land," he said. "We celebrate the vital contributions we've made and a call to faithful citizenship. We are proud to be Americans and faithful Catholics."

Father Byrne also praised the work of women religious, who, throughout American history, have been the "hands and heart of Christ, serving the poorest of the poor," founding thousands of hospitals and schools all over the nation.

"We serve others not because they are Catholic, but because we are Catholic," said the priest.

At the conclusion of his address and prior to Benediction, Cardinal Wuerl said, "In the presence of our Lord, we will kneel. There is a time to be on one's knees. There is also a time when we need to stand -- to stand up. Today there are things that should mean enough to all of us, including our religious liberty, that we simply need to stand -- to stand up for what is right, to stand up for what is ours, to stand up for freedom of religion."

During the 90-minute rally, Catholics -- from elderly to young children -- listened intently, applauded and gave standing ovations in support of the church, the clergy, women religious and audience members who served in the armed forces.

Attendees interviewed by the Catholic Standard, Washington archdiocesan newspaper, said they appreciated the cardinal's message and his leadership. They also said they believe religious liberty in America is at stake at this moment in time and Catholics must speak out in its defense.

"Young people really do care about this issue. It's what our country was founded on," said Harlan Friddle, a University of Maryland student who came to the rally with about 15 of his classmates. "It's important because we shape the future and we have to teach our children what (religious freedom) means."

Charles Luckett, a third-year seminarian at The Catholic University of America's Theological College, said, "Our religious freedom is very important and is something that has been eroding for years. If we don't take a stand now, it will continue to collapse."

"This is a wonderful opportunity to be witnesses for our faith," said Patricia Kisicki, a parishioner at St. Patrick Parish in Rockville, Md. "It is very worrisome to think we could lose our freedom of religion."

Mary Beller, a parishioner of St. Bernadette Parish in Silver Spring, Md., said, "Our religious freedom means everything to us. This is what our mothers and fathers came to this country for and we need to preserve it for our children. We have to be united in this cause."

The closing Mass for the "fortnight for freedom" will be celebrated July 4 at 12:10 p.m. at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The main celebrant will be Cardinal Wuerl and the homilist will be Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia.

LAGOS, Nigeria - Nigeria's Catholic bishops expressed concern that anger and hatred are growing among Christian and Muslim communities and have reached a dangerous level following a spate of church bombings believed to be carried out by a fundamentalist Islamic sect.

"These are sad days for Nigeria and for all Nigerians," the bishops said in a June 26 statement released in Abuja. "We feel greatly pained by the violent events which have become almost daily occurrences."

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of an Argentine bishop seen apparently being amorous with an unidentified female in a Mexican swimming pool.

The Pope accepted the resignation June 26 of Bishop Fernando Bargallo of Merlo-Moreno, Argentina, and appointed retired Bishop Alcides Casaretto of San Isidro as apostolic administrator of the diocese.

Argentine news channel A24 showed photos June 19 of Bishop Bargallo and an unidentified woman during a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, two years ago. Media outlets throughout Latin American published the photos widely.

RIO DE JANEIRO - Representatives of some Catholic nongovernmental organizations expressed disappointment at what they described as weak wording in the final document of Rio+20, the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development, but others found positive aspects.

"If this is the future our leaders want, today and tomorrow's poor and marginalized people certainly aren't part of it. Their right to live in dignity and in harmony with nature has once more been denied," said Denise Auclair, a policy expert with CIDSE, an international alliance of 16 Catholic development agencies.

LIMA, Peru - As neighboring countries recalled their ambassadors from Paraguay for consultation, Fernando Lugo, the bishop-turned-president who was impeached June 22, announced that he was forming a parallel government.

Paraguay's Senate ousted Lugo, 61, after a two-day trial that the former president called a "parliamentary coup d'etat." The move came after a confrontation between landless peasants and police left 17 people dead.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A team of researchers has been studying the skeletal remains of martyrs kept in reliquaries at a Louisville Catholic church, and so far the results seem to confirm information about the two saints passed down over the centuries.

Since 1902, the bones of two martyrs -- St. Magnus, a Roman centurion, and St. Bonosa, a young Roman virgin -- have flanked the altar at St. Martin of Tours Church. There the pair, who are believed to have been martyred in the third or fourth century in Rome, have attracted the curious and the faithful alike.