Tridentine Mass Letter Not Ready, Says Cardinal

THE UNIVERSE, Nov. 7 — The document allowing wider use of the Tridentine Mass is far from complete, a French bishop said, according to the British Catholic newspaper.

Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, president of the French Bishops’ Conference, said the expected document will not change the direction the Church has taken since the Second Vatican Council. Pope Benedict XVI merely wants to heal the break with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, but has not yet worked out a formula to do so, Cardinal Ricard told French bishops meeting in Lourdes.

The French prelate was at the Vatican in October to discuss the issue, the paper said.

Cancer Cure May be Second Miracle for Late Pope

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL, Nov. 7 — When Nicola Grippa found out that deadly tumors had disappeared from his lungs, kidney and spine, his wife confided to him that she had prayed to the late Pope John Paul II and had seen him in a dream, the wire service said.

Grippa, an Italian whose cure may ultimately lead to the Pope’s canonization, said however that he regrets that the news leaked out. The cure took place over a year ago. The doctors had not given Grippa any hope for recovery, as the tumor was spreading rapidly.

Archbishop Gerardo Pierro of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno apparently learned of the man’s sudden recovery from doctors at San Leonardo Hospital in Salerno and summoned Grippa. The archbishop said that the necessary scientific studies have been carried out to prove that the cure has no medical explanation.

“It seems that in the hospital of our city a miraculous intervention has taken place through the intercession of John Paul II,” said the archbishop in the cathedral of the southern Italian city on All Saints Day, the Italian bishops conference newspaper Avvenire reported.

“For me, it was a surprise, this story about the miracle,” Grippa told La Stampa newspaper. “Today, I was called by Bishop Pierro to the cathedral, and he made me sign the papers that authorize the Vatican to examine all my medical records. ... I would have liked that it remained a secret.”

Pope Voices Concern Over Gaza Strip Violence

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Nov. 1 — At the end of his Nov. 5 noonday Angelus prayer, Pope Benedict said he was worried about the “grave deterioration” of the situation in the Gaza Strip and is calling on all sides to work to stop the bloodshed.

Israel began a campaign in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun Nov. 1 to try to halt rocket fire on southern Israeli towns. Five days of Israeli air raids and gunfire left some 50 people dead.

The Pope expressed his closeness to the civilian population suffering from acts of violence. He urged those gathered in St. Peter’s Square to join his prayers asking God to “enlighten the Israeli and Palestinian authorities as well as those of nations with a particular responsibility in the region.”