NEWS

MONTREAL — Montreal Auxiliary Bishop André Gazaille has been named the new bishop of Nicolet, Que., south of Trois-Rivieres.

Gazaille, who was named bishop by Pope Benedict XVI on July 11, fills the post vacated by Bishop Raymond St-Gelais who resigned due to age after 22 years at the helm of the diocese, in accordance with the Code of Canon Law.

Born in Montreal, Gazaille studied theology and pastoral ministry at the Montreal Grand Séminaire and at the University of Montreal. He was ordained a priest for the archdiocese of Montreal in 1971. Gazaille was ordained bishop in March 2006 and has since served as an auxiliary bishop in Montreal.

The diocese of Nicolet has 119 diocesan priests, 15 priests who are members of societies of apostolic life, 386 religious brothers and sisters, and 26 permanent pastoral agents serving 200,000 Catholics in 65 parishes and missions.

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — The bishop of Belfast appealed for Catholic and Protestant residents to prove to the world they can live together in peace after fresh sectarian violence flared during the region's contentious Protestant marching season.

Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor appealed to both sides to show restraint and respect toward police after 22 police officers were injured July 11. Treanor appealed for both communities to "show the world that here in Northern Ireland we can live and let live in peace."

"Let us prove to ourselves and the world that we can celebrate our diversity in a manner that affirms our common dignity and future. Let us show that, when confronted with conflicting rights and traditions, we can make pathways of diversity and peace," he said.

On July 12, the traditional "Orangeman's day," Loyalist demonstrations commemorate the 1690 defeat of the Catholic King James II by the Protestant Prince William of Orange that definitively installed Protestantism as the religion of the British monarchy.

TORONTO — After more than 30 years with Serra Club, Mario Biscardi has been awarded the Harry J. O’Haire Award for exemplary dedication to the organization and its mission of promoting and fostering vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

The award, the club’s highest honour presented annually to one member of Serra International, pays homage to Biscardi for more than three decades of service to the club, which includes the formation of five different Serra Clubs and the founding of the annual Ordinandi Dinner in Toronto, among other accomplishments.

Biscardi received the award, named after the first president of the Serra Club, on July 8 in Ottawa during this year’s Serra International convention.

“It was just a tremendous shock,” said Biscardi, who lives in Toronto. “It’s a real honour and privilege. But you can’t help but feel humbled and modest.

TORONTO — He was a man of principle who wasn’t afraid to stand up for the rights of the unborn, say friends of long-time Toronto pro-life activist Dr. Ray Holmes.

Dr. Holmes, 93, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on July 8. His funeral was held July 11 at St. Joseph’s Church in Brampton, Ont.

Campaign Life Coalition national president Jim Hughes called Dr. Holmes a friend and mentor for over 30 years and a “generous and kind man.” During his last hours, Hughes and his wife visited Dr. Holmes where his family gathered to pray for him.

“He clenched my hand just as strongly as he had the first time I met him. He was a man of determination and faith,” Hughes said.

BERLIN — A German appeals court has upheld the conviction of a traditionalist bishop for denying the Holocaust.

On July 11, the court ruled against British Bishop Richard Williamson, a member of the Society of St. Pius X, who in a 2009 TV interview said that the Holocaust was exaggerated and that no Jews died in Nazi gas chambers.

The interview was aired by a Swedish TV network the same day the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI had lifted the excommunication of Williamson and three other of the society's bishops in an effort to reconcile with the traditionalist group.

OXFORD, England — Greece’s Catholic Church faces disaster because the current economic crisis is forcing it to end vital social and charitable projects, said Archbishop Nikolaos Foskolos of Athens.

“This crisis could be the worst in our history,” said Foskolos. “There’s corruption everywhere, especially among our politicians. We get no help from the state or other Western churches, and our faithful can’t give any more. Our parishes and dioceses are in deep trouble, and in a few months we won’t be able to support our staffers and employees.”

The archbishop voiced the concerns as European Union finance ministers released emergency funding to rescue the faltering Greek economy. Amid violent street protests the Greek legislature approved tough austerity measures and tax increases June 29, paving the way for the EU action.

The archbishop said the higher taxes would have more impact on the Catholic Church than on the country’s predominant state-supported Orthodox Church. But the Orthodox Church still faced “serious problems” after being told its clergy’s state-paid salaries would be cut by half, he said.

TORONTO — Free the Children, the international children’s rights group founded by Craig and Marc Kielburger, has denied a web site allegation that their charity supports abortion.

“The policy of the organization has never changed or wavered,” said Marc Kielburger. “To be very clear, Free The Children is apolitical, and does not promote abortion, nor has it ever.”

Kielburger was forced to respond to allegations published by LifeSiteNews that accused the organization of taking a “direct stand in favour of abortion.”

The accusation was based on two fact sheets that briefly appeared 13 months ago on Free The Children’s web site. The documents criticized the Conservative government’s failure to include abortion funding in the maternal health care initiative it presented at the G20/G8 summits in 2010. The most contentious sentence read: “There is a consensus that family planning, including abortion, is crucial to reducing maternal deaths and improving the economic status of women in the poorest parts  of the world.”

OXFORD, England - Catholic Church groups have joined trade unions in the European Sunday Alliance, which will campaign to protect Sundays and ensure fairer conditions for family life.

"Some people say there can never be a return to work-free Sundays — but the many working together in this alliance don't share this view," said Anna Echterhoff, legal adviser for institutional and social affairs at the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, one of the organizations supporting the alliance. "That so many stakeholders from different backgrounds are involved is something new and unique."

The alliance was launched June 20 in Brussels by 65 Church organizations, unions and civil associations. Among them are Europe's Catholic Youth Network, the Central Committee of German Catholics, representatives of the German bishops and the European Jesuits, Poland's Solidarity union, France's Force Ouvriere and the Danish food workers' union. It also includes family organizations from a dozen countries.

In a July 4 interview with Catholic News Service, Echterhoff said Sundays were protected under EU law as a rest day for children and adolescents. She said she hoped work-free Sundays would be reinstated under an EU directive now being prepared.

OTTAWA - Bill Whatcott will be before the Supreme Court of Canada in October hoping to strike down the laws that allow human rights commissions to limit freedom of speech and religious expression.

DUBLIN - The Irish government has asked religious congregations implicated in the 2009 Ryan Report on abuse to transfer land and properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the state as part of a revised package to compensate victims.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn insisted that the 476 million euros ($681 million) already offered by the 18 congregations was not enough. He said he expected the congregations to pay 680 million euros and, if they are unable to do so, they should transfer the ownership of many of their schools to the state.

None of the 18 religious congregations concerned would speak on the record about the latest proposal. However, a number privately expressed reservations about the land transfer.