Bishop Threaten To Refuse Communion to Catholic MPs Who Vote in Favor of Therapeutic Cloning Bill

Hiz-Kidz transforms urban rap into Catholic evangelizing message

California, Jun 2, 2007 (CINS /Catholicvoice)For many people, music rap has negative connotations because of its lyrics, but for the youth group at St. Paul Parish in San Pablo rap has become a new form of evangelization.

Thanks to the initiative of Conventual Franciscan Father Masseo Gonzales, the teens have discovered rap from the Catholic perspective.

Two months ago the priest, known as “El Padrecito” from the collection of “Homies” his brother developed and marketed in books, comic strips and plastic figures, decided to create Hiz-Kidz, a group of 20 young people between 14 and 19 years old. The title comes from urban slang. “It is a game of words,” said Father Gonzales. “’Hiz’ means both God and Hispanics.”

According to El Padrecito, who has a website offering advice to young Hispanics, (www.elpadrecito.com) the internet is wonderful, “but the power of music, dance, the arts and performance is much bigger and there is a lot of potential out there.”

“I really believe that we must do something very creative to keep our kids in Church.”

Hiz-Kidz debuted during the recent Cinco de Mayo celebration at the parish with three songs in its repertoire. One, written by Father Gonzales, makes reference to an encounter between Judas and the Virgin Mary. Hiz-Kidz members wrote the other two.

Arturo Cruz, a professional Richmond rapper, also is working with the adolescents.

Sixteen-year-old Talia Padilla, one of His-Kidz’s singers, said she likes this group “very much. El Padrecito is one of the coolest priests. It is not common to see the priests rapping.”

Yesenia Alonso, 14, said participation is a unique experience where she can “be with my friends and with the people I like. Here you are close to people who support you and believe in you. It is not necessary to be in the street looking for problems.”

After being involved in gangs for three years and seeing his younger brother stabbed, Jorge Sanchez, 19, decided to quit the world of delinquency and to look to God for help. Today he is one of the Hiz-Kidz singers and the proud father of a five-month-old baby boy.

“I began to change for my son; he motivated me to leave all the danger of the streets. I came to church and a young person told me about this program. I like it because music is very important to me. Besides the entertainment element, it allows me to be with God,” Sanchez said..

Two days before the Cinco de Mayo presentation, Hiz-Kidz rehearsed in front of their parents for the first time.

Verónica Sandoval, parish youth minister and mother of one of the rappers, said she was impressed. “They are discovering themselves, they have demonstrated that they have the capacity to sing and compose.”

“This is wonderful because they bring ideas to express their love to Christ,” said another mom, Patricia Sandoval, whose 13-year-old son is part of the group.

“They are touched with the music they like. It motivates them to compose for God in their own way.”
Father Gonzales understands the young people very well because during his adolescence he, too, had to overcome many difficulties. “I dropped out of high school, I was in juvenile hall and in jail. When I was 18 years old, I lost my leg in a gang fight.”

At age 24, he began to study in a community college near Los Angeles, where he later received his diploma in Chicano studies. He traveled to Spain, Honduras and El Salvador to study Spanish so he could work with the Latino community. In spite of his Hispanic roots, he had forgotten the language of his youth.

Father Gonzales was ordained in San Pablo in 1996. Since then he has traveled throughout California conducting youth retreats and has gotten his website up and running.

He currently serves as associate pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral in Reno, Nevada, where he was called two months ago due to the shortage of priests there. Every two weeks he returns to San Pablo to work with Hiz-Kidz.

“My dream is doing this full time and to consecrate every youth in California to the Virgin Mary,” said the priest. “I want to put together more songs and theatrical pieces to help get these kids out of trouble. I would like to go to Oakland, San Francisco, and other cities to get other kids involved.”

“Why couldn’t we have rap contests in the Diocese of Oakland?” he asked. “Of course, they would need to have Catholic lyrics, offer rewards and provide kids with the chance to see who is better. Gangs work in that way: ’Who is better?’

Archbishop Pius Ncube: Green Bomber militias threaten Zimbabwe Catholics

Bulawayo,Zimbabwe,June.01,2007(CINS/Cathnews) - Bulawayo Archbishop Pius Ncube says that Government-backed "Green Bomber" militias are seeking to intimidate voters ahead of Zimbabwe elections next year with Catholics around the country also facing threats.

Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, a long time critic of Mugabe's government, said that the attacks by the militias were part of a strategy of intimidation ahead of next year's presidential and parliamentary elections, IRIN reports.

"The Green Bombers (militias from youth training centres) are being used to go around to strike fear in voters so that, come next year, they will be forced to vote ZANU-PF," Ncube said, referring to the governing political party of President Robert Mugabe.

Ncube said members of his church were being harassed throughout the country and recounted a recent incident in the south-western border town of Plumtree where he had prevented ZANU-PF militias from gatecrashing a meeting he was holding with priests in the area.

He said a priest was subsequently arrested in Wedza, Mashonaland Central, for distributing the pastoral letter while members of his congregation were also detained for questioning by state security agents.

In Mashonaland East province, traditionally a ruling party stronghold, parishioners are opting to stay at home rather than attend church after militias threatened them for distributing the pastoral letter.

"They [militias] are accusing us of being members of the MDC [Movement for Democratic Change] and working to topple the government.

"It's no longer safe to worship because the militias treat you as enemies," said 55-year-old Fr Tirivafi Haka, who declined to use his real name, a church leader in Murewa, about 90km east of the capital, Harare.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the National Council of Churches National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) has added its voice to the call for a free and democratic Zimbabwe after learning of the atrocities perpetrated in the African nation, the Catholic Leader reports.

NATSIEC executive secretary Graeme Mundine said in a statement it was evident that there was a problem with the lack of democratic process in the country.

"Zimbabwe is also experiencing large scale poverty within the country, which particularly affects our Indigenous brothers and sisters," he said.

NATSIEC has asked its representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Peter Smith, to make representations on the issue of Zimbabwe.

China may ban Catholics from 2008

Beijing,China,June.01,2007(CINS/ICN) - China's Ministry of Public Security has issued a directive listing 43 categories of 'unwanteds' who are to be investigated and may be barred from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Falun Dafa Information Centre reports.

The banned groups will include members of religious groups not sanctioned by the state, including the underground Catholic and other Christian churches; "key individuals in ideological fields," "counter-revolutionary" figures, the Dalai Lama and all affiliates, "individuals who instigate discontentment toward the Chinese Communist Party through the Internet," and certain types of "handicapped" persons.

Members of the indigenous religious group Falun Gong would be barred, as would "family members of deceased persons" killed in "riots" -- a euphemism for events such as the Tiananmen Massacre -- and Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province, which the regime brands "national separatists."

Foreign athletes, members of the media, Olympic staff members, referees, sponsors, dignitaries, and the International Olympic Committee itself, will all be investigated, to determine whether they fall into any of the 43 categories.

According to AsiaNews, up to 50 Roman Catholic bishops and priests are in prison or otherwise prevented from carrying out their ministry in China.

In theory Chinese law guarantees a degree of religious freedom, but the Communist government forbids all worship outside state-backed "patriotic" religious groups which it effectively controls.

China broke links with the Vatican soon after the Communists took sole control of the country. During the 1950's the government expelled foreign clergy and established its own state approved "Catholic church", the China Patriotic Catholic Association, which pledges loyalty to Beijing rather than the Pope.

Despite continual harassment and arrest of its priests and members, the Roman Catholic Church in China claims an estimated eight million worshippers, double the total for the government approved body.

Cardinal Toppo Releases Catholic Education Policy

New Delhi,India,June.01,2007(CINS/CBCI) - “Education is the key to the development of India and Catholic education is integral to the very mission of the Church,” declared Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, (CBCI).

Cardinal Toppo was releasing the “All India Catholic Education Policy 2007” today, May 31 at the CBCI Centre, New Delhi.

Quoting Blessed Pope John XXXIII, Cardinal Toppo said, “Church is both a mother and a teacher. That’s why it is so much involved in the education apostolate and has invested a huge amount of personnel and money in education.”

“Unless the poor and the marginalised are educated, India cannot be a developed country,” stated the Cardinal .

“The Church has always cooperated with the government in the field of education. The government too on its part, must support the Church’s effort to bring education to the masses,” he asserted.

Speaking on the occasion, Member of Parliament Dr Francis Fanthome said, “It is not enough only to define excellence, we need to define reach too.”

“Our schools are agents of societal transformation. However, education policy should aim at bringing about the desired change in the society,” stated Dr Francis.

Earlier, executive secretary of the CBCI Commission for Education and Culture Fr Kuriala welcomed the gathering and executive secretary of CBCI Commission for Social Communications, Fr Henry D’Souza presented a message from the chairman of CBCI Commission for Education and Culture, Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil.

Former executive secretary of the CBCI Commission for Education and Culture Fr PP George gave the vote of thanks and highlighted the key points of the nationwide survey conducted by the commission.

Apart from the many media personnel the other prominent persons present for the function were Bishop of Jamshedpur Bishop Felix Toppo, deputy secretary general of CBCI Fr Thomas Sequeira, national secretary of Conference of Religious, India (CRI) Bro. Mani and the CBCI Commission secretaries.

The first Catholic school in India was started by St Francis Xavier in 1541 in Goa.

The Catholic Church has 14, 539 Catholic educational institutions, of which 448 are colleges.

Contrary to the perception that most of the schools are in the urban areas, 59.3% of the schools are in the rural areas and only 40.3% of schools are in the urban areas.

The Church is the biggest NGO with 534 technical institutes, 310 non-formal educational institutions.

Of the 7 million students studying in the Catholic institutions, 54% are girls and 46% are boys.

The percentage of Catholic students is only 22.7%, other Christians 5.6%, while that of Hindus is 53%, Muslims 8.6% and others 10.1%.

Caste wise 25% are from SC/ST origin, 31% from BC origin, 11% from OBC origin and others are 33%.

Contrary to the popular perception that most of the schools are only catering to the rich, the nationwide survey conducted by the CBCI Commission for Education and Culture reveals: only 6.9% of the students are from the higher income group, 19% from the middle income group, 32.4% belong to the lower income group and a large majority of the students 41.4% belong to the Below Poverty Line group.

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