NATION - various US Catholic events and news

National Catholic Reporter, April 16, 1999

IV bag maker to stop using PVC in products

Baxter International, one of the nation's leading producers of intravenous bags, announced April 7 that it has agreed to develop and introduce systems that do not use polyvinyl chloride plastic tubes and bags.

The company announced the agreement as part of an understanding with the shareholder representatives of the retirement plans of two Catholic orders, the Sisters of Mercy Regional Community Center, based in Detroit, and the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and the pension fund manager of the Service Employees International Union.

Deborah Spak, a spokeswoman for Baxter, said the company "still stands behind PVCs."

"Where other materials are proven superior to PVC, we will switch to them," Spak said. Baxter did not specify when the phasing out process would be completed.

Health Care Without Harm, an international campaign of 41 hospitals and more than 130 health and environmental organizations, was pleased with the outcome.

"The medical ethic is `first, do no harm,' "said. Charlotte Brody, co-coordinator of Health Care Without Harm. "We applaud Baxter's decision to reduce the risk of harm by removing PVC from IV bags."

Health Care Without Harm reported (NCR, Feb. 19) that more than 500 million IV bags are used in the United States each year and 80 percent of those are made of PVC, which has been shown to leach the toxic chemical di-ethylhexyl phlthalates into the solutions they contain.

Connecticut bishops issue statement on Communion

Concerned about apparent misconceptions and lack of information about the Eucharist among Catholics and others, the Connecticut Catholic bishops have issued a formal statement on receiving holy Communion.

Only those who "accept and believe what the Catholic church teaches in general, and specifically about the Eucharist" can receive Communion in a Catholic church, the six bishops of Connecticut said. This would include all Catholics, whether of the Latin rite or Eastern rites, and members of the Orthodox churches and the Polish National Catholic church "if they spontaneously request it and are properly disposed," the bishops said.

However, "Catholics and Protestants have serious disagreements on the teachings about the holy Eucharist and `for this reason eucharistic intercommunion with these bodies is not possible for the Catholic church,'" the bishops added, quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Belief in the real presence of Christ in the eucharistic bread and wine is essential, the bishops said. This is a fundamental teaching of the Catholic faith; anyone who does not believe this teaching may not receive holy Communion," they said.

Texas prison escape ends religious services

Religious services for groups of inmates have been suspended indefinitely at a Texas prison unit where a death-row inmate escaped in November.

On Thanksgiving Day, Martin Gurule escaped Ellis 1 in Huntsville, which houses the state's death-row prisoners, by cutting a hole in a fence around a recreation yard and scaling two 10-foot fences topped with razor wire.

After an extensive manhunt, Gurule's body was found in a creek not far from the prison Dec. 3. He had drowned, apparently not long after his escape.

Prison spokesman Larry Fitzgerald said the "screws have been tightened" on security at the unit and that prisoners there are no longer allowed contact with each other.

Deacon Tom McKinney, who conducts Communion services for inmates twice on Saturdays, said the liturgies, along with services for other religions, were suspended about six weeks ago. Between 40 and 60 death row inmates regularly attended the services. Now, the only alternative available is for McKinney to visit inmates and offer them Communion through cell bars, McKinney said.

McKinney said the change has increased his workload, but in addition, the inmates miss the services and the chance to be around others. "They all participate in the celebration," he said.

Omaha priest resigns following solicitation charge

Fr. Richard Whiteing, 52, a priest at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Omaha, Neb., has .stepped down after he was accused of propositioning an Omaha police officer March 29.

Whiteing, 52, was cited for soliciting lewd conduct. A court date has been set for May 7, said Officer Meg Fricke, a police spokeswoman. Whiteing also was issued a "ban and bar" letter, prohibiting him from entering the city's parks.

Fr. Michael Gutgsell, the archdiocese chancellor, said Whiteing informed church officials March 31 about the arrest and then asked that he be removed as parish priest. "Until we can get a better fix on what the other facts are, he will not be in any parish situation," Gutgsell said.

Police accounts of the incident state that an undercover officer was investigating complaints of lewd activity in Mount Vernon Gardens Park in southeast Omaha when Whiteing engaged in conversation with the officer. Whiteing asked if he could touch the officer in a sexual manner and whether he was a police officer. Whiteing was then arrested and cited.