| Theologians try to slow John Paul II’s beatification
Theologians critical of John Paul II are urging Catholics to
speak out against the late pope’s bid for sainthood and pressing
church officials to include a critical review of his policies in
their evaluations of his candidacy. The appeal, which was reported
in several Italian newspapers on Nov. 6, was the first public attempt
to halt a fast-moving campaign that was jump-started by chants of
“Sainthood now!” at John Paul’s funeral in April
and fast-tracked by Pope Benedict XVI in May.
Entitled “A Call for Clarification” and signed
by 11 theologians, the statement cited John Paul’s handling
of the sex abuse scandal, his crackdown on liberation theology in
Latin America and his opposition to birth control as part of a seven-point
objection to his proposed sainthood.
Missionaries urge Venezuelan court to overturn expulsion
An American evangelistic group accused of espionage and exploiting
Indian communities by the government filed a court appeal Dec. 6
to overturn an order to abandon its missions in Venezuela. In November,
Venezuela’s interior ministry gave the New Tribes Mission
three months to leave areas where it has been working with indigenous
communities after President Hugo Chavez accused the group of destroying
Indians cultures and conducting reconnaissance for the CIA and other
foreign interests.
Marco Britto, New Tribes spokesman in Venezuela, said the group
was appealing to the Supreme Court to annul the order. The group is seeking to suspend the 90-day
deadline while the court decides whether to annul the expulsion
order — a decision which could take up to a year, Britto said.
New Tribes specializes in evangelization among 3,000 indigenous
groups in the world’s most remote areas. The group has been
in Venezuela since 1946.
Limbo is in limbo, recommends Catholic commission
A Roman Catholic commission has advised Pope Benedict to drop
the teachings about “limbo” from the Roman Catholic
Catechism. Limbo, according to medieval theologians, is neither
heaven nor hell, but is where babies go if they die before they
are baptized.
The pope is already on record as questioning the existence
of limbo and pointing out that it has “never been a definitive
truth of the faith.” He headed the commission when it began
to study the issue last year, while he was a cardinal. — E.P. News
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