VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Adolf Hitler personally ordered one of his senior Nazi officers to arrange the kidnapping of Pope Pius XII toward the end of World War II, according to new information cited by an Italian newspaper. Instead of carrying out Hitler’s order, the officer met secretly with the pope in May 1944 to warn him of the plot. A month later, the Nazis were fleeing Rome, and Hitler’s plan could not be carried out. The reconstruction of the kidnapping scenario was published Jan. 15 by the Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire, based on testimony taken by Church experts examining a possible declaration of sainthood for Pope Pius. Purported plans by the Nazis to abduct or arrest Pope Pius and take him out of Italy first came to light in the Nuremberg trials after World War II, but details have been sketchy. According to Avvenire, Church experts in Germany looking into the canonization cause of the wartime pope received sworn testimony March 24, 1972, from Gen. Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff, head of the Waffen SS, or Nazi elite guard, in Italy. Wolff said that in 1943 Hitler had first raised the idea of abducting Pope Pius and removing him from the Vatican, but his aides were able to talk him out of the idea. Then in 1944, as German forces were in retreat, Wolff met with Hitler again in his general quarters in Germany. "I received a personal order from Hitler to kidnap Pope Pius XII," Wolff told the church investigators.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II said the high number of migrants and refugees in the world requires dialogue to favor friendship and cultural understanding. The pope made the remarks at a Sunday blessing Jan. 16, which the church celebrates in many countries as the World Day for Migrants and Refugees. "I offer my cordial greetings to all migrants and hope that dialogue may favor the growth of sympathy and understanding among the various cultures," he said. The pope referred to his message for this year’s migrants and refugees day, in which he examined the sensitive question of social integration of migrants. The papal message said integration should not be seen as "an assimilation that leads migrants to suppress or to forget their own cultural identity." Instead, the pope said, it should be a process of mutual sharing that can gradually shape societies and cultures when "valid aspects" of newcomers are accepted.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A Catholic archbishop was freed unharmed in Mosul, Iraq, less than 24 hours after he was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen. Pope John Paul II thanked God for the happy ending to the ordeal, and the Vatican said no ransom was paid for the prelate’s release. Syrian-rite Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa of Mosul was released Jan. 18 and was resting safely at his residence. Church officials said it was unclear whether the abduction was directed against the Christian community or was part of the general criminality in Iraq. Archbishop Casmoussa, 66, told Vatican Radio after his release that his captors had treated him well and freed him soon after they discovered he was a Catholic bishop. "I’m very happy to be back in the archbishop’s residence, where many friends and faithful gathered to meet me," Archbishop Casmoussa said. "In general I can say I was not mistreated. The kidnappers were very friendly toward me. As soon as they learned that I was a bishop, their behavior changed," he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — For the Italian police who help ensure the security of Pope John Paul II, terrorism is the biggest theoretical threat to the pope. However, in the pope’s day-to-day life, teenage and young adult faithful are the biggest real threat, they said. The young people’s devotion to the pope and their enthusiasm mean the police agents wage a constant battle against brave young souls willing to jump security barricades to touch the pope. "Safeguarding the life of the pope is impossible, because it is impossible to surround him with the men and equipment that would guarantee his safety," said Enrico Marinelli, former director of the Italian police Inspectorate..

TORONTO (CNS) — The Ontario Municipal Board rejected Jesuit arguments that the spiritual values invested in their 600 acres of farmland north of Guelph, Ontario, are incompatible with building a Wal-Mart next door. In early January, the board ruled that Wal-Mart is free to build a new shopping center next to the Jesuit retreat center and between Catholic and Protestant cemeteries. Religious values, which the Jesuits argued are in direct conflict with consumerist values represented by Wal-Mart, cannot be part of the planning process, the board ruled. It was the final word on a case that has been before the Ontario Municipal Board in one form or another for nearly 10 years. Wal-Mart expects to have a shopping center operating at the north end of Guelph in 2006. "No one has a license to create a ‘zone of exclusivity’ which would be the result if the position of the Jesuits was adopted," read the Ontario board’s decision. Jesuit Father Jim Profit, superior of the Jesuit community in Guelph, said the board sided with the arguments of the Wal-Mart lawyers. "The bottom line is that what we do on our property ... has a long history of being done here," he said. "I would consider it to be spirituality and to be important not only for the city but obviously for a wider group of people."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Dark suits and red ties replaced red jumpsuits and helmets when Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello met Pope John Paul II. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari, told the pope Jan. 17 that the Italian car maker wanted to honor him for "26 years in the pole position on the roads of humanity." Presenting the pope with a three-foot long model of the famous red Ferrari Formula One racer, Montezemolo told the pope his company tried to operate according to Catholic social principles with teamwork, creativity, research and enthusiasm.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II urged Rome’s officials to try to solve the city’s traffic jams and rush-hour bottlenecks. Though the pope lives and works most of the year in relatively traffic-free Vatican City, he said he was well-aware of the honking, beeping and white-knuckled chaos that reigns daily beyond his city walls. In a Jan. 13 audience with Rome’s regional and city officials, the pope said, "Year after year (city traffic) becomes more congested and tiresome" and "causes considerable problems in the daily lives of many people and families." He urged officials to find a real solution in tackling "the issue of traffic viability and urban transport." "Opening up new roads and thoroughfares," the pope said, would be "certainly useful."

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The head of the U.S. bishops’ International Policy Committee welcomed a new peace agreement between the Sudanese government and southern rebels and said the Church would continue to support "the fragile process of carrying out the agreement." "This historic agreement holds the promise that the Sudanese people can find ways to walk the path of peace and reconciliation," said Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla., committee chairman. "We hope this action brings an end to Africa’s longest-running war and ushers in a new era of hope," said the bishop’s statement.

ALEXANDRIA, La. (CNS) — Hundreds filled St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Alexandria and hundreds more watched on closed-circuit television from across the street as Msgr. Ronald P. Herzog was ordained the 11th bishop of Alexandria Jan. 5. The 62-year-old bishop had been pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Laurel, Miss., and two other Mississippi parishes until Pope John Paul II appointed him to the Louisiana diocese Nov. 4. Among the approximately 20 bishops participating in the episcopal ordination and installation was Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, papal nuncio to the United States.

MEXICO CITY (CNS) — The Archdiocese of Mexico City has joined the nation’s politicians in criticizing a new Arizona law that restricts illegal migrants’ access to some public services. "We have already said many times that (illegal migrants) are not criminals," Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera told reporters following Mass Jan. 16. "They merely leave their ... country in search of work and ... governments (should) respect their human rights." An editorial in the Mexico City Archdiocese’s weekly newsletter was more blunt in its criticism, saying the Arizona law "was another example of political arrogance and social selfishness that has characterized some governments in the United States." Cardinal Rivera expressed concern that the new law could be adopted in other states. "Fortunately, this is an isolated case up until now," he said. In November, Arizona voters approved Proposition 200, which denies some public welfare benefits to illegal migrants. The law took effect Dec. 22. Human rights groups on both sides of the border have criticized the measure as racist, though the law’s supporters say it will save taxpayers money and strengthen law enforcement.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — President George W. Bush said he could not envision being president without a relationship to God and that he is sustained by the prayers of millions of people "I will never see." In an interview with The Washington Times, he also said religious faith is not under attack in the United States. "I think more and more people ... understand the importance of faith in their life," said Bush in a lengthy interview with editors and reporters of the daily newspaper.

WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) — As head of the psychological trauma team for the Maryland State Police, Dr. Michael Finegan helps troopers and rescuers deal with car wrecks, shootings and natural disasters. But even the worst of those events pales in comparison to Finegan’s current assignment as a volunteer with Catholic Relief Services in Galle, Sri Lanka. He is there to help community leaders, medical personnel and relief workers cope with the massive loss of life and property following the tsunamis that struck Sri Lanka and 11 other Asian and African countries Dec. 26. Finegan, 49, is a parishioner at St. Francis de Sales Church in Salisbury, Md., in the Wilmington Diocese. He also helps train local religious and community leaders in "the essence of psychological first aid," as he calls it, to help them overcome survivor’s guilt and other emotional issues as they begin to rebuild their homes and livelihoods. Finegan, a clinical psychologist, said he volunteered to help since he was familiar with that part of Asia; he had worked on three occasions in India in the 1980s with Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity. He was physically able to handle the climate and conditions.

PATERSON, N.J. (CNS) — No room or not enough staff at your parish for an eat-in soup kitchen? To feed the poor in its neighborhood, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Paterson solved space and personnel limitations by going "takeout" — opening a food pantry that delivers much-needed groceries right to clients’ doorsteps. On a chilly December morning, the parish dedicated its new pantry — called Marianna’s Cupboard — which will provide food hassle-free to the hungry poor it serves. Clients fill out a simple application, after which pantry staff members visit their homes to determine whether they can help the families with other needs. Then, twice monthly, the parish’s Knights of Columbus will deliver the food to the clients’ homes.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Fifty years to the day after her death, Washingtonians gathered Jan. 10 to celebrate the life of Mary Virginia Merrick, who may become the first recognized saint from the nation’s capital. When she died on Jan. 10, 1955, at the age of 88, Merrick was nationally known for her outreach to children in need as the founder of the Christ Child Society. Although paralyzed in a fall as a teen, she had the faith and determination to start a movement that grew to include chapters across the country and offered special centers and summer camps for poor children. Her work began in a simple way, when Merrick inspired family members and friends to sew clothes for a poor family’s baby. Today the National Christ Child Society includes 40 chapters nationwide with 7,000 members who continue Merrick’s work on behalf of children.