From Catholic News Service

Vatican gave about $650 million in tsunami relief

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Vatican nuncio to the United Nations, said July 13 that agencies related to the Vatican had given an estimated $650 million in relief to victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean area. In addition, work is still being done by several organizations involved in projects throughout the region, he said. The nuncio made his comments in a statement to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, which was holding its annual meeting June 29-July 27 at U.N. headquarters in New York. He began by commending the U.N. agencies for their "swift response" to the "unprecedented crisis." Then, speaking of the Catholic response, he said that in carrying out the tsunami relief, Catholic agencies were committed "in all circumstances to respect religious and cultural differences" and sought to "facilitate greater trust among believers of all faiths and nonbelievers."

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Moments of silence for bombing victims

LONDON (CNS) -- London's bishops gathered on the steps of the city's Westminster Cathedral to observe two minutes of silence in memory of the 53 people killed by terrorist blasts. At noon July 14, the tolling of Edward -- the giant cathedral bell named after St. Edward the Confessor, England's patron saint -- signaled the moment when the capital ground to a halt as Londoners remembered the victims of the July 7 suicide bomb attacks on three Underground stations and a bus. A crowd of about 3,000 people assembled on the square outside the cathedral. They were joined by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster and Auxiliary Bishops George Stack, Alan Hopes and Bernard Longley. In the stillness that swiftly descended upon the city, people bowed their heads, and the only sounds that could be heard were the sobs of those mourning the dead. In Les Combes, Italy, where Pope Benedict XVI began his vacation July 11, the pontiff also observed the two-minute silence and offered special prayers during his daily recitation of the Angelus at noon.

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African church official says doctor misleading on AIDS

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- A German doctor who is promoting a vitamin therapy regimen to South Africans with AIDS is "misleading uninformed people," said a South African church official. German Dr. Matthias Rath claims that life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs are toxic and that AIDS can be better treated through multivitamins he sells. He has been financing a high-profile media campaign attacking the anti-AIDS medication. Rath's campaign is dangerous to South Africans infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, said Dominican Sister Alison Munro, who heads the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference AIDS unit. "He is disputing scientific facts and misleading uninformed people," Sister Munro said.

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New attention given to 2003 Cardinal Ratzinger letter on Harry Potter

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the sixth volume of the adventures of Harry Potter, the teen wizard, about to be released, new attention was being given to a 2003 letter from then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Although the Vatican press office July 14 said it would have no comment on the letter since Pope Benedict XVI and his secretary were on vacation in the northern Italian Alps, a former Vatican official said Harry Potter books must be read as children's literature, not theology. Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, wrote to Gabriele Kuby to acknowledge receipt of her book, "Harry Potter: Gut oder Bose" ("Harry Potter: Good or Bad"), which expresses her concern that children can become fascinated with the occult through reading the series. In the cardinal's letter, excerpted on Kuby's Web site and published widely since late June, he praised the author's attempt to "enlighten people about Harry Potter" and the possible "subtle seductions" that can distort children's thinking before they mature in the Christian faith. Cardinal Ratzinger did not say if he had read any of the Harry Potter books.

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European religious leaders condemn use of faith to support terrorism

BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNS) -- European Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders have condemned the use of religion to support terrorism. "No reason, in particular not a religious one, can justify such acts against humanity," the church leaders said in a July 13 statement, released after the group met with Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, in Brussels. Religious leaders reaffirmed their dedication to building "a free, united, prosperous and peaceful Europe characterized by solidarity, where all citizens and nations, regardless of their religion, convictions, language, culture, tradition and ethnic origin, may live together and feel at home united in diversity." The Brussels meeting took place in the wake of the July 7 terrorist bombings on the London Underground trains and bus. The statement said religious leaders "strongly condemned" the attacks and highlighted the responsibility of Christians, Muslims and Jews for making "the common vision of a united Europe a reality."

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