SARS Fears Shorten Asian Holy Week

FIDES, April 4 — The rites of Holy Week in Hong Kong were scheduled to be modified and simplified, reported Fides, the Vatican missionary news agency, because of the deadly new form of pneumonia called SARS.

The Hong Kong Diocese told all 53 of its parishes that they should not distribute palm fronds on Palm Sunday, wash parishioners' feet on Holy Thursday or baptize catechumens by immersion during the Easter Vigil. The sign of peace was forbidden during Mass, as was Communion on the tongue.

The diocese instructed parishes not to allow holy water, booklets and missals in church for fear of transmitting the new virus, which kills 4% of those who catch it.

For holy Communion and confession, priests were instructed to wear face masks, Fides reported.

In neighboring Singapore, the archdiocese cancelled catechism classes, children's liturgies and most parish functions.

Most English Priests Dissent

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (London), April 6 — In the land of Henry VIII, papal authority is once again rather tenuous, reported The Daily Telegraph.

Msgr. Stephen Loudon, former military chaplain, and Professor Leslie Francis of the University of Wales conducted a survey of 1,482 Roman Catholic priests — almost half the total number in England and Wales.

They found that 43% of those priests actively oppose the Church's teaching on contraception and 19% were unsure, leaving only 38% in support of the orthodox position, according to the paper.

Smaller percentages — between one-fourth and one-fifth — favored the ordination of married men and practicing homosexuals, while some 10% thought an inclination to pedophilia should not be an obstacle to active ministry. A full 61% of the priests said priests should not be removed from ministry for having sex with a married woman.

“This contains potentially explosive information for the Catholic Church,” Francis commented to the conservative British paper.

In September, the results will appear in the book The Naked Parish Priest.

Francis noted that the younger priests in England and Wales had the most liberal attitudes, presaging an ongoing shift away from traditional moral teachings, he concluded.

A representative of the Catholic bishops' conference criticized the methodology of the survey, calling the questions “very general and, on occasions, confused and confusing to the respondents.”

Church Decries Condom Gimmick

EXPATICA.COM, April 3 — In the eastern German city of Erfurt, local tourism officials have decided to promote the city by distributing souvenir condoms emblazoned with an image of the city's historic cathedral, reported Expatica.com, an English-language news site for Germany, France, Holland and the Netherlands.

Church officials consider the condoms “a profane misuse of a sacred symbol,” said Father Reinhard Hauke, a priest of St. Mary's Cathedral in Erfurt.

“We still think it's a great promotional gimmick,” said Carmen Hildebrandt of the Erfurt tourist board.