Catholic Youth Congress Meets in Troubled Sudan

FIDES, Nov. 29 — Khartoum, Sudan, is not a city known for meetings of Catholic organizations, given that the Islamic government of the country has spent the better part of two decades trying to wipe out Christianity in a genocidal civil war that has claimed an estimated 2 million lives.

But that city's archbishop, Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir, managed despite all obstacles to hold a Diocesan Youth Congress in Khartoum from Nov. 22-27, the Vatican missionary news agency Fides reported.

The conference attracted 407 delegates from the diocese's 29 parishes. The attendees discussed the plight of Christian youth in Sudan, reflected on the teachings of Pope John Paul II, discussed the challenges of Church teaching on marriage and sexuality, addressed the problem of substance abuse and decried government attempts to Islamicize Sudanese society.

The meeting was timed to coincide with a key Church feast: “This year the Lord wanted us to begin and hold our Diocesan Youth Congress under the banner of Christ the King,” Cardinal Zubeir said. “He is the Leader and King who is guiding his people in the third millennium.”

Thailand Honors Missionary Priest

INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC NEWS, Dec. 1 — A beloved Catholic missionary in Thailand was commemorated last month, according to Independent Catholic News.

Father Ray Brennan, who died Aug. 16 at age 70, was remembered for founding an orphanage, vocational centers for the disabled, deaf and blind, and homes for street children and the elderly.

It's a Thai tradition to mourn the dead for 100 days, and a festival marked the end of this period.

A memorial Mass for Father Ray, as he was affectionately known, attracted more than 1,000 congregants. A life-sized statue of Father Ray was unveiled, and at the Vocational School for the Disabled — founded by Father Ray — his successor, Father Philip Banchong, joined the Thai Minister of Tourism in opening a new library named in the priest's honor.

Amendment for Unborn Stokes Abortion Acrimony

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Nov. 28 — French feminists and leftists are up in arms over a proposal by the French government to punish people who cause the death of unborn children in the course of crimes or road accidents, the Associated Press reported.

The French Lower House of Parliament approved a bill that imposed such penalties for the “involuntary termination of a pregnancy.” Abortion was legalized in France in 1975.

The Associated Press cited a feminist lawyer, Gisele Halimi, who complained, “This is a very serious move against women and their right to choose to give life. Hypocritically, surreptitiously, they are introducing into our law a new concept that gives fetuses a legal personality.”

Jacques Barrot, parliamentary leader of the ruling center-right coalition, insisted critics were misreading the bill.

“We didn't intend to use this debate to address the problem of abortion,” Barrot said. “It's regrettable that this amendment, which sets out to improve the remedy of an injustice, should have provoked such a senseless quarrel.”