KAHNAWAKE, Quebec (CNS) — The Canadian church is launching a jubilee year to honor Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, who became the first indigenous North American to be beatified. Also known as "the Lily of the Mohawks," Blessed Kateri was baptized at the age of 20 in upstate New York, where she was born. Soon after, she fled to Kahnawake in southern Quebec, consecrated herself to God and lived a life of fervent prayer, penance and service. She died in 1680 at the age of 24 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II June 22, 1980. Bishop Jacques Berthelet of St. Jean-Longueuil, Quebec, declared the jubilee year April 17, during a Mass at St. Francis Xavier Mission in the diocese’s Kahnawake reserve. That day also marked the date of her death 325 years ago. Blessed Kateri "is a sign that God is at home in the native people," Bishop Berthelet told parishioners.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In his first meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, Pope Benedict XVI said he hoped countries that still do not have formal ties with the Vatican gain representation soon. In his May 12 speech to diplomats, the pope noted that some countries that do not have formal relations with the Holy See still sent representatives to Pope John Paul II’s April 8 funeral and the new pontiff’s April 24 installation. Pope Benedict said he "appreciated such gestures" and expressed his "wish to see them represented to the Apostolic See as soon as possible."

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A study of the constitutions of predominantly Muslim countries showed most enshrine freedom of worship as law. The study, released May 11, showed that countries with Islam as the declared state religion have constitutional provisions protecting religious freedom that compare favorably to international standards. Preeta Bantal, commission chairwoman, told Catholic News Service that that the study disproved a prevailing opinion in the United States that protection of religious rights was an American ideal that was not culturally relevant to Islamic countries. "In trying to emphasize the importance of upholding standards of religious freedom, it’s equally important to emphasize that this is not about imposing American ideals. The ideals are already enshrined in these countries’ constitutions," Bantal said.

ROME (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI announced May 13 that he was allowing the immediate opening of Pope John Paul II’s cause for sainthood, setting aside the five-year waiting period called for by church law. Pope Benedict made the announcement at the end of a speech to the priests of the Diocese of Rome gathered for a meeting and a dialogue with him at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Finishing his prepared speech to the priests, the pope said he had a "joyful announcement" to make before he listened to the priests’ comments and questions. He then read, in Latin, a letter from Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, to Cardinal Camillo Ruini, papal vicar of Rome.

ROME (CNS) — Members of the underground church in China have sent messages of congratulations to the new pope while urging him not to forget that they are a persecuted community in a country that lacks religious freedom. One underground community of Catholics in northwest China wrote to Pope Benedict XVI asking him "not to forget the suffering church in China" because it struggles "without any freedom at all," said an April 29 report by Asianews, an Italian-based missionary news agency. "Ever since China’s religious affairs regulations came into effect March 1, underground Catholic priests must report weekly to religious affairs officials on their activities and must ask public security officials for permission to leave the parish," the Catholic community said in its message to the pope.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A Catholic human rights official from Guatemala has opposed efforts to restore U.S. military aid to the Central American country. The army is still tied to corruption, its members are involved in summary executions and it is being used by the government to harass and repress anti-government demonstrators, said Nery Rodenas, executive director of the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala City. "There is a climate of terror against Guatemalans. Violence is used to prevent freedom of expression," he said April 28 while in Washington to brief U.S. church officials. Earlier this year, the United States announced $3.2 million in military aid to Guatemala, ending a ban imposed in 1990 because of human rights issues. Bush administration officials have said they plan to ask Congress to approve further aid later this year.

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — The Vatican nuncio to the United Nations called May 4 for the international community to "re-examine the whole strategy of nuclear deterrence." "When the Holy See expressed its limited acceptance of nuclear deterrence during the Cold War, it was with the clearly stated condition that deterrence was only a step on the way toward progressive nuclear disarmament," said Archbishop Celestino Migliore. "The Holy See has never countenanced nuclear deterrence as a permanent measure, nor does it today when it is evident that nuclear deterrence drives the development of ever newer nuclear arms, thus preventing genuine nuclear disarmament," he said.

FRANKFORT, Ill. (CNS) — Franciscan Sister Robbie Pentecost, executive director of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia, said she often shares the story of a little boy crushed to death by a giant boulder to illustrate the dangers associated with coal mining in the Appalachian region. "The mining staff said it was an act of God," Sister Pentecost told an audience gathered April 23 in the chapel on the campus of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Frankfort. On Aug. 20, 2004, near the small town of Inman, S.C., in the Appalachian Mountains, a giant half-ton boulder ripped away from the mountain and escaped the clutches of the bulldozers. Rocketing toward the town, the massive rock destroyed everything in its path, smashing through one family’s modest home and crushing 3-year-old Jeremy Davidson to death. Addressing a group of nearly 100, Sister Pentecost said she was exasperated by the alleged negligence of the crewmembers and furious by their outwardly indifferent attitudes. The 43-year-old Franciscan, who lives in Johnson County in eastern Kentucky, was a speaker at Ecology Day, held the day after Earth Day. The event was sponsored by the Joliet diocesan peace and social justice ministry and the West Suburban Faith-Based Peace Coalition.

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (CNS) — The "greatest strength" the American people have as a society is the country’s openness, which is also the nation’s "greatest foreign policy tool," retired Gen. Colin Powell said April 29 at Molloy College in Rockville Centre. The challenge for national security it is to create a balance that protects the American public without closing foreign people out entirely, he said. "While we secure ourselves, we must not close ourselves off," said Powell. "We don’t want another 9-11, but the best way to ensure we don’t have another 9-11 is to reach out to other countries and let them know what America is all about." The former U.S. Secretary of State and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke to a packed auditorium about diplomacy, leadership and foreign policy at the fifth annual Joseph F. Maher Leadership Forum. This year’s topic was "Diplomacy: Persuasion, Trust and Values."

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic groups called off their boycott of eBay once they received word from the Internet auction site May 1 that the site would no longer allow consecrated hosts or other sacred objects to be sold. "We’re glad that the concerted efforts of so many individuals and groups, including the league, have led to this positive change in eBay’s policies," said Phil Horgan, president of the Catholic Civil Rights League in Ottawa. Catholics had been urged to boycott the site after it allowed an Iowa man to try to sell shortly after Pope John Paul II’s death a Communion host reportedly consecrated by him. The host was later withdrawn by the seller, no money exchanged hands and the host was properly disposed of according to church law. But groups urging the boycott insisted that eBay should never have allowed the auction of an item that is sacred to Catholics.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A proposal for legislation aimed at reducing abortions by 95 percent over the next 10 years, known as the 95-10 Initiative, was announced in April by several Democratic members of Congress and the organization Democrats for Life of America. Since the April 21 press conference held at Democratic National Committee headquarters, Democrats for Life has had encouraging response to the initiative, according to director Kristen Day. She said it has had favorable feedback from politicians and advocates who describe themselves as pro-life and those who call themselves pro-choice. "While many talk about protecting life, we’re proposing a legitimate policy initiative that will actually reduce the number of abortions in America," Day said at the press conference. The 95-10 Initiative includes 17 different elements that would encourage adoption, fund pregnancy prevention, prenatal care, day care and children’s nutrition and prohibit insurance practices that discriminate against pregnant women.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — "Hi, I’m Mike. But you can call me Lucky." With those words, a visibly nervous Michael Moritz introduced himself to a crowd on Capitol Hill that included two U.S. senators, leading health care and business executives, and representatives of many of the nation’s top media outlets. Moritz, a self-employed handyman, wasn’t used to public speaking. But he wanted to share the story of what it was like for him last October to be uninsured and in need of open-heart surgery. "I was thinking about running for the door, because I knew I could not afford to pay for it," Moritz said of the moment when doctors at George Washington University Hospital in Washington told him he needed the surgery. But Moritz knows he is "one of the lucky ones," because doctors at the hospital contacted the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, which funded the surgery and his follow-up care. Moritz’s story, told at the national launch of Cover the Uninsured Week, was one of hundreds shared at more than 1,700 events around the country to mark the week, observed May 1-8 this year.

MILWAUKEE (CNS) — Three years ago, two Franciscan Sisters wanted to find an outreach project for college students in their campus ministry programs. With the assistance of Repairers of the Breach, a daytime homeless shelter in Milwaukee, they nailed down a unique project. Each month, students from Cardinal Stritch University and Mount Mary College offer nail grooming to homeless men and women who visit Repairers of the Breach. While having fingernails trimmed and polished sounds like frills reserved for movie stars, the two sisters who started the nail ministry see it as an important service on many levels. "The most important thing for our students is to see others as an extension, a reflection of the divine," said Sister Stella DeVenuta, a Sister of St. Francis of Assisi, who is director of campus ministry at Mount Mary College. "I really feel that it gives students the opportunity to see the face of Christ in other people that they wouldn’t necessarily come into contact with on a one-to-one basis. It makes a big difference when you’re looking in their faces, holding their hands and doing their nails."