Benedict ordains 21 priests, clarifies Catholics’ mission
Pope Benedict XVI ordained 21 new priests for Rome on Sunday, but with the number of recruits for the clergy falling in western Europe, many of the men he ordained in St. Peter’s Basilica came from Latin America and Africa.
Before the 21 men came forward individually to kneel before Benedict and put their hands into his as they pledged loyalty to him, the pontiff delivered a homily that sounded like a pep talk.
“All of us are part of the network of obedience to the word of Christ,” Benedict said. The church’s mission “must continuously put us into motion, make us restless, to bring to those who suffer, to those who are in doubt, and even to those who are reluctant, the joy of Christ.”
Like his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, Benedict – also rigorously conservative – has dedicated his new papacy to spreading the Gospel worldwide and shoring up flagging faith among Roman Catholics.
The church “must open up the frontiers between peoples and break down barriers between classes and races,” Benedict said, without specifying any group.
Poll: Bush’s approval rating at 46 percent
President Bush’s approval rating continues to be dragged down by public dissatisfaction with his handling of Social Security, Iraq and the economy, a Time magazine poll found.
Less than half the public, 46 percent, approved of the job Bush is doing as president in a Time poll conducted May 10-12. That is the same approval rating found in a March poll, according to figures released by the magazine.
On specific issues, 59 percent said they disapproved of how Bush is handling Social Security, 56 percent disapproved of his performance on the economy and 55 percent said they don’t like how he is dealing with Iraq, Time reported.
The president continues to get a majority of support on the war on terrorism, with 53 percent saying they approved.
Fifty-eight percent said they approved of his emphasis on morality and religion.
Low seat-belt use ups risk for pickup riders
People who ride in pickups use seat belts less often than passengers in cars, and the consequences are deadly: A higher percentage of people killed in pickup crashes didn’t buckle up compared with those killed in passenger-car wrecks, the government reported today.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released those statistics to open the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign, which is used to enforce seat-belt laws nationwide using police checkpoints and patrols.
The two-week campaign runs from May 23 through June 5.
The agency says more than 80 percent of the people in passenger cars buckled up in 2003, compared with 70 percent of those in pickups.
Winds, waves capsize ferry; at least 22 dead
An overloaded passenger ferry capsized in strong winds and high waves in southern Bangladesh on Sunday, killing at least 22 people and leaving about 80 others missing, an official and a witness said.
The double-decker ferry capsized and sank in the mouth of the Bura Gauranga River after a strong wind struck it in Patuakhali district, 95 miles south of the capital, Dhaka, the area’s chief administrator said.
“The boat just turned on its side and sank after it was hit by a gust of wind and high waves,” said Shankar Lal Das, a survivor.
Suspected separatists set off four bombs
Suspected Basque separatists detonated four small bombs in the troubled region Sunday, police said – a day after Spain’s government made an unprecedented proposal for Parliament to endorse talks with the armed group if it renounced violence.
Two policemen and a security guard suffered minor injuries after inhaling toxic fumes at a chemical plant where one of the predawn blasts occurred.
The explosions came a day after Spain’s ruling Socialist party said it is seeking other parties’ support for a parliamentary motion supporting the start of talks with ETA if the group renounces violence, although the negotiations would rule out concessions toward ETA’s goal of Basque independence.
Rulers imply that CIA funded bombers
Myanmar’s ruling military junta implied Sunday that the CIA had funded terrorists – trained in neighboring Thailand – who carried out a recent string of bombings.
Information Minister Brig. Gen. Kyaw Hsan also raised the death toll from the May 7 bombings at two upscale supermarkets and a convention center in the capital, Yangon, from at least 11 to 19.
More than 160 others were injured.
50,000 youths attend pro-Kremlin rally
Tens of thousands of young people in red-and-white T-shirts bearing Soviet-style stars marched down one of Moscow’s main avenues Sunday in a patriotic rally organized by a nationalist pro-Kremlin youth group.
The tightly choreographed rally featured young people thanking World War II veterans for the victory over Nazi Germany and was meant to demonstrate Russia’s determination to hold a powerful place in the world.
About 50,000 people grouped in columns walked down Lenin Avenue to the sound of military songs and marches.
