WORLD

National Catholic Reporter, Dec 8, 2000 by Teresa Malcolm

German lay group supports abortion counseling

The Central Committee of German Catholics rejected the pleas of individual delegates not to take a position against the Vatican and reiterated its support for abortion counseling provided by the organization Donum Vitae ("Gift of Life.")

The committee -- the coordinating body of official German Catholic lay organizations -- also discussed the future of the church and committed itself to working with Germany's Muslim community.

Central Committee President Hans Joachim Meyer said Catholic laity had a duty under the Second Vatican Council to follow their consciences, including on such issues as abortion counseling. He also warned against a "church on command."

Donum Vitae was founded by prominent lay Catholics to continue Catholic-inspired abortion counseling within the state system, which requires counseling centers to issue a certificate giving entitlement to a legal abortion. The move followed a decision by the Vatican requiring the bishops to withdraw from the system because of the certificate.

Meyer said it was "depressing" that an "argument over methods" was damaging the church: The hierarchy and Donum Vitae worked to protect the life of the unborn child, but had different views on how to do it. He emphasized that although Donum Vitae was founded with the support of many members of the Central Committee, it was an independent organization.

In other action, the central committee approved a paper on the "Community of the Future." The paper called for an end to compulsory celibacy for priests and said it wanted lay members to have more influence in the church's decision-making process.

Vatican issues norms on faith healing

The Vatican issued norms on faith healing services, saying prayer meetings for healing need the approval of local church authorities and must avoid "anything resembling hysteria."

It said a climate of "peaceful devotion" should reign in such services, and if healings occur they should be reported and documented to competent church officials.

The norms were issued Nov. 23 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as part of a 17-page "Instruction on Prayers for Healing." The 10 disciplinary norms highlight the authority and responsibility of local bishops to closely monitor encounters that feature prayers for healing.

"Anything resembling hysteria, artificiality, theatricality or sensationalism should be absent from such gatherings, above all on the part of those who are in charge," it said.

Several of the norms stressed that prayer gatherings for healing should remain separate from the celebration of Mass and the sacraments.

The norms said local diocesan bishops have the right to forbid the participation of another bishop in healing services -- a touchy issue in Italy, where retired Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia has held faith healing celebrations for years, sometimes without local church permission.

French court tells Internet company to block auctions

In a victory for French anti-racist groups, a Paris judge has given American Internet company Yahoo three months to block all French access to Nazi-related items on its auction page or face a $13,000-a-day fine.

The Nov. 20 decision by Judge Jean Jacques Gomez appeared to close--for the moment at least--a case that has launched a fierce debate over the limits of national law and free speech on the Web.

In April, the Paris-based International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism paired with France's Union of Jewish Students to file a court case against Yahoo Inc. for violating French law, which forbids the sale and display of racist or anti-Semitic items. At issue are more than 1,000 neoNazi items for sale on the American company's auction site.

In May, Gomez agreed with the plaintiffs that Yahoo had indeed broken French law. The November ruling gives Yahoo three months to comply with screening measures set by a court-appointed panel.

Yahoo lawyer Christophe Pecnard indicated the company might appeal the decision. The U.S. company has argued it should not be subject to the laws of another country. Moreover, it has said, the French anti-Semitism law violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protection of free speech.

Kenyan church makes constitution proposals

A Kenyan archdiocese has weighed in on what the Kenyan Constitution should allow or outlaw.

The Nyeri archdiocesan justice and peace office presented the People's Commission of Kenya with a 37-point statement. Among its proposals were that Kenyans should be able to vote on whether or not the country will accept external loans; capital punishment should be stricken from the books; and detention without trial must be outlawed.

The People's Commission of Kenya is gathering views nationwide as part of the Ufungamano movement to reform Kenya's constitution.

The Ufungamano movement, an initiative of more than 52 religious and secular organizations working to revive an earlier unsuccessful process, was formalized last December. The People's Commission of Kenya became an official body in April.