Iraqi Archbishop Freed Unharmed After Kidnapping
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Inside Archbishop Buechlein . 5 Editorial . 4 Question Corner . 15 Sunday and Daily Readings . 15 Serving the ChurchCriterion in Central and Souther n Indiana Since 1960 www.archindy.org January 21, 2005 Vol. XXXXIV, No. 15 75¢ Iraqi archbishop freed unharmed after kidnapping VATICAN CITY (CNS)—A Catholic captors had treated him well and freed “This morning, they came to tell me Vatican’s nuncio in Baghdad, Iraq, said it archbishop was freed unharmed in Mosul, him soon after they discovered he was a that even the pope had asked for my was difficult to say whether the kidnap- Iraq, less than 24 hours after he was kid- Catholic bishop. release, and I answered, ‘Thank God.’ On ping was part of a wave of terrorism napped by unidentified gunmen. “I’m very happy to the basis of the conversations I had with before the Jan. 30 national elections or Pope John Paul II thanked God for the be back in the arch- them, I don’t think they wanted to strike simply “an episode of common criminal- happy ending to the ordeal, and the bishop’s residence, the Church as such,” he said. ity.” Vatican said no ransom was paid for the where many friends and Although there were reports that the Asked whether Iraq was ready for the prelate’s release. faithful gathered to kidnappers had asked for a ransom, elections, Archbishop Casmoussa said: “I Syrian-rite Archbishop Basile Georges meet me,” Archbishop Archbishop Casmoussa said he was freed don’t think this is the right moment. The Casmoussa of Mosul was released on Jan. Casmoussa said. without any payment. very first thing we need is security and 18 and was resting safely at his residence. “In general, I can say The Vatican originally condemned the reconciliation.” Church officials said it was unclear I was not mistreated. kidnapping as a “terrorist act,” but after In a statement, the Vatican welcomed whether the abduction was directed Archbishop Basile The kidnappers were the archbishop’s release Church officials the news of Archbishop Casmoussa’s against the Christian community or was Georges very friendly toward seemed more inclined to attribute it to the release with “great satisfaction.” part of the general criminality in Iraq. Casmoussa me. As soon as they proliferating number of abductions for “The Holy Father was immediately Archbishop Casmoussa, 66, told learned that I was a ransom in Iraq. informed, and he thanked God for the Vatican Radio after his release that his bishop, their behavior changed,” he said. Archbishop Fernando Filoni, the See IRAQ, page 2 Catholic priest weighs morality Photo by Brandon A. Brandon Photo by Evans of therapeutic cloning and embryonic stem cell research By Brandon A. Evans One of the problems of using embry- onic stem cells to cure diseases—besides their uncontrollable growth—is that they will be rejected by a patient’s body just like foreign matter would be. One of the solutions to this problem has come about through what is termed “therapeutic cloning,” a process by which a person’s clone, or twin, is created in order to be killed for its stem cells— The choir of St. Susanna School in Plainfield sings during the rededication ceremony of the building used by St. Elizabeth and Coleman Pregnancy which would be a direct match to the and Adoption Services in Indianapolis on Jan. 15. The building was badly damaged by a tornado last Memorial Day weekend and has undergone major donor. renovations in the past seven months. The ethical questions that surround cloning and embryonic stem cell research were the subject of a presentation by St. Elizabeth and Coleman agency Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk on Jan. 12 at Marian College in Indianapolis. Father Pacholczyk is a priest of the rededicates tornado-damaged building Diocese of Fall River, Mass., a neurosci- entist and a national Catholic speaker. By Brandon A. Evans only did the center recover from the dam- on hand to lead a prayer service and The event was co-sponsored by the age, but it has come back to a renovated bless the building. He was assisted by Indiana Catholic Conference and When Michelle Meer, director of home and a larger staff. Father Gerald Burkert, pastor of Holy Marian’s newly formed Center for Ethics St. Elizabeth and Coleman Pregnancy Meer, her staff and the friends of Name Parish in Beech Grove, and the in Business and the Professions. and Adoption Services in Indianapolis, St. Elizabeth and Coleman celebrated the choir of St. Susanna School in See CLONING, page 8 saw the damage to the center last May official return of the teen mothers and Plainfield. by a tornado, she held onto hope. their children in the residential program “Seven months ago, God sent his “When I came and saw it, I thought, with a rededication ceremony on Jan. 15. powerful winds to change forever the we’ll be back,” Meer said. And not Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein was See ST. ELIZABETH, page 2 Criterion website adds more news and features By Brandon A. Evans The Criterion, including pictures that were Office for Film and Broadcasting. not published in the print edition, but the Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein’s The archdiocese recently launched a biggest change for readers of the online weekly column, “Seeking The Face of revamped online version of The Criterion edition will be the greatly expanded The Lord,” as well as editorials, letters to that adds expanded national and interna- national and international news coverage. the editor and a weekly list of activities tional news coverage and many other new Each business day of the week, the and events from around the archdiocese features. website will be updated with three addi- will also be available each week on the The Criterion Online Edition can be tional stories from Catholic News Service, website. found by logging on to www.archindy.org and all the stories posted will be available Readers will have easy access to an and clicking on The Criterion. in an archive for 30 days. ongoing archive of the archbishop’s The website was launched a decade ago Additionally, the news briefs of all columns, and in coming weeks an archive as one of the first Catholic diocesan news- major Catholic news stories will be posted of all print stories starting with January papers to go online, and since then has near the end of each day. 2005 will appear on the site. never seen a major overhaul. The site also will include all of the On the lighter side, there is a featured The new site will include a couple of movie reviews published each week by link at the bottom of the page that leads to local stories from the print edition of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ See WEBSITE, page 2 Page 2 The Criterion Friday, January 21, 2005 him into the back of a car and drove “The real problem is that Iraq is in unknown, but Syrian media say up to IRAQ away, according to witnesses. chaos. We need to pray—and we also ask 70,000 Iraqi Christians now live in Syria. continued from page 1 The Vatican called for his immediate this of you—so that peace may come to Most recently, an Armenian Catholic release, and Iraqi Church leaders quickly our suffering country,” Patriarch Delly church and the Chaldean Catholic happy outcome of this episode,” the state- organized prayer vigils. said. bishop’s residence were destroyed on ment said. Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Catholics in the northern Mosul region Dec. 7 in two separate bomb attacks in “No ransom was paid. The kidnapping Delly of Baghdad cautioned against see- have reported increasing acts of violence Mosul. No one was killed or injured in prompted great surprise because the arch- ing the abduction as an anti-Christian and intimidation against Christians in the attacks. bishop was very well-liked, both by act. recent months; they attribute much of the In October, Archbishop Casmoussa Christians and by Muslims,” it said. “We don’t know who was responsible violence to Islamic extremists. said terrorist groups that bomb Iraqi Archbishop Casmoussa, who ministers for this kidnapping. Nor do we know who Churches have been bombed, priests churches “hope that many, many more to some 30,000 Syrian-rite Catholics in kidnapped a Chaldean-rite priest in recent and religious threatened, and thousands Christians will go. the Mosul Archdiocese, was seized while days and held him 24 hours before releas- of Catholics have fled the country for “Their strategy is to create fear among on a pastoral visit in Mosul on the after- ing him,” he told the Italian news agency safe haven in Syria and Jordan. The exact the Christians and push them out of Iraq,” noon of Jan. 17. His abductors bundled ANSA. number of those who have left is he said. † ST. ELIZABETH continued from page 1 face of St. Elizabeth and Coleman,” A. Brandon Photos by Evans Meer said at the rededication. The tornado—which destroyed two chimneys, tore off parts of the roof, felled several trees and caused consider- able water damage to the two-story building—jump-started plans for a reno- vation. The renovation was completed thanks to a $500,000 grant from United Way of Central Indiana and financial help from the archdiocese. In the midst of that ren- ovation, St. Elizabeth’s acquired Coleman Adoption Services. The staff of St. Elizabeth and Coleman was able to return to their office in September, but the teen mothers and their children, who are a part of St.