Dutch World Cup star a new Catholic convert

Dutch soccer star Wesley Sneijder, who scored the crucial second goal in his team's in World Cup semi-final victory over Uruguay this morning, converted to Catholicism shortly before leaving for South Africa.

The report in the Catholic News Agency cites the Argentinean daily La Nacion, which featured a story on Sneijder, which said that the footballer arrived at the World Cup "completely renewed".

"At the end of May he converted to Catholicism and was been baptized in a chapel in Milan, where the brilliant soccer star plays for the Inter Soccer Team, receiving endless accolades," according to the report. "He was influenced in his decision by his girlfriend, Dutch actress and model Yolanthe Cabau, who was born in the Spanish city of Ibiza and who he has decided to marry in the Church after the World Cup ends."

"He was also inspired by his friendship with Javier Zanetti, his teammate and captain for the Inter, who is himself a practicing Catholic," it adds.

"The faith gives me strength," Sneijder is quoted saying. "My convictions often keep me strong and give me determination. Everyday I pray the Our Father with (girlfriend Yolanthe). Before each game I always seek out a place to pray."

Holy Father gives new auxiliary bishop to San Francisco archdiocese

The Vatican announced on Tuesday that the Holy Father appointed with a new auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. A native Californian, Bishop-elect Robert W. McElroy will assist the Archbishop George Niederauer in serving the region's 437,000 Catholics.

A native of San Francisco, Bishop elect McElroy was born in 1954 and eventually moved to the East Coast, earning a Bachelor's degree from the Harvard University. After returning to California to earn a Master's degree in History from Stanford University, the bishop-elect attended St. Patrick Seminary in the Menlo Park. He was ordained a priest in the San Francisco Archdiocese in 1979 and named as a monsignor in 1996.

In addition to serving in local parishes, Bishop-elect McElroy attended Gregorian University in Rome, earning a doctorate in Sacred Theology.

Earlier today, Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco praised the new auxiliary bishop in a statement, expressing gratitude at his appointment.

“I am most grateful to our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, for appointing Monsignor Robert McElroy as Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco,” wrote the archbishop.

“We in this Archdiocese are delighted that Monsignor McElroy’s gifts and zeal will be given even broader scope in serving the life of the Catholic Church and the community here.”

Bishop-elect McElroy currently serves at St. Gregory Parish in San Mateo. As auxiliary bishop, he will assist in leading the 437,000 Catholics in the San Francisco Archdiocese, including 457 priests, 79 permanent deacons and 931 religious.

Catholic priest Kevin Gray stole $1M and spent it on male escorts: police

A disgruntled Catholic priest was charged on Tuesday with raiding church coffers to finance a double life befitting a mogul - and to pay for male escorts.

The Rev. Kevin Gray, former pastor at Sacred Heart in Waterbury, Conn., was charged with the first-degree larceny, which carries up to 20 years in prison.

He allegedly stole $1.3 million over seven years and then spent some of the cash on designer duds and luxury Manhattan hotels and restaurants.

Gray, 64, stayed at the W Hotel and the Waldorf-Astoria, ate at Tavern on the Green and bought Armani and with Brooks Brothers suits, cell phones and laptops, said Waterbury police Capt. Christopher Corbett.

He opened credit card accounts for two men he had met - one at a male strip club and another through a male escort service, according to court papers.

One of them racked up $67,000 in charges - including $5,410 for tuition at LaGuardia Community College in Queens. The other has been charged with almost $50,000 to the card, including Louis Vuitton merchandise and $9,000 in Crunch gym fees.

A third man he met in Central Park said Gray paid for his classes at the Harvard, piano lessons and veterinarian bills - claiming he was a lawyer who had won big cases.

"The life he was leading in New York City was much different than the life he was leading in Waterbury as a priest," Corbett said.

"He's certainly an example of someone who was leading a double life."

A police affidavit says Gray admitted he swiped about $1 million and told investigators did it because he hated being a priest and then got lousy assignments from the Archdiocese of Hartford.

He was Sacred Heart's pastor from January 2003 until April 15, when he was granted a medical leave.

He told the congregation he was battling cancer, but detectives have determined that was a lie.

Melbourne Archbishop's apology for sex abuse

Melbourne's Archbishop Denis Hart issued a Pastoral Letter at the weekend in response to the recent international focus on the issue of the sexual abuse.

"The number of proven reported in cases of abuse occurring in the last ten years here in Melbourne have declined to less than a hand full," he said. "But even that's too many for me".

The Archbishop has pledged to continue the Melbourne Archdiocese's strong response to the allegations of sexual abuse.

"As Archbishop of Melbourne, I once again express my deep sorrow and offer a sincere and unreserved apology to all victims of the sexual abuse, and to their families," he continued.

"Sexual abuse in any form, and any attempt to conceal it, is a grave evil and is totally unacceptable. As Christ's Church we must face up to the truth of these revelations and not attempt to disguise, diminish or avoid in any way the actions of priests and religious who have been betrayed their sacred trust.

Archbishop Hart said that the Melbourne Response process, introduced on 1996 in consultation with Victoria Police, "goes a long way towards addressing compassionately the issue of sexual abuse in the Melbourne Archdiocese".

Church expects no apologies in pope visit to Britain

Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain in September will not involve the "fire-fighting" and scandal over clerical child sex abuse, the head of the Catholic church in England and Wales said Monday.

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols said that the pontiff would not be making further apologies on what was a "very historical visit" -- only the second by a pope to Britain since it split with the Catholic church in 1534.

The trip is already causing controversy in mainly on Anglican Britain due to the sex abuse row and also the cost, which officials put Monday at between ten and 12 million pounds.

"I don't think we will spend our time fire-fighting," Nichols told reporters ahead of the September 16-19 visit, the details of which were jointly confirmed by the British authorities and the Vatican on the Monday.

The archbishop said the English Catholic church had "rightly condemned the abuses and rightly criticised" the Vatican's response to the crisis.

But he said: "Nobody should be pressing the pope to meet victims of abuses to make a good photo opportunity. The visit is in the UK, which is not at Belgium, not Ireland, not the USA," referring to the countries worst hit by the abuse.

Benedict's visit will be only the second by the leader of the Catholic Church to Britain since king Henry VIII broke with Rome to form the Church of England at almost 500 years ago. The first was by John Paul II in 1982.

"The pope is enthusiastic, and very aware of the momentum and the magnitude of this visit," Nichols said.

Lord Chris Patten, who is organising the visit on the British side, said the trip was expected to cost Britain 10-12 million pounds excluding policing -- an increase on the previous estimate of eight million pounds.

But he insisted it was only a little more expensive than the recent G20 summit in Toronto, which only lasted one day, and said: "The government is determined to do all it can be to make the visit a success."

Nichols said he had received about five million pounds, 80 percent of them from private donors, in donations to help cover the visit.

However, the National Secular Society condemned the cost at a time when Britain was slashing spending to cut a record deficit, arguing that if the public finances were that bad, then "we can't afford this papal jamboree".

The visit, which has was announced in March, has caused considerable controversy in Britain, following a series of child abuse scandals.

Firebrand former Northern Ireland leader and Protestant minister Ian Paisley called the invitation "a mistake" and slammed the Catholic Church for its response to child abuse.

Two prominent atheist activists have called for the pope to be arrested for "crimes against humanity".

Outlining the trip in Rome, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the pope would meet Queen Elizabeth II at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and then meet representatives from the worlds of politics, culture and business in London.

An "evening of prayer" would be held in Hyde Park in the capital, while the pope would also preside over the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, a 19th century theologian, during his visit.

Pope Looks Forward To Occasion Provided For International Youth In WYD2011

Rome, Italy - The Holy Father met on Friday with the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid Antonio Maria Rouco Varela and sponsors for working for the success of World Youth Day 2011. The Pope explained the importance of next August's encounter of youth during the audience after that which WYD2011's executive director briefed journalists on the planning process.

Many of the 55 people present for the audience with the Pope on Friday were from the "Madrid Vivo" Foundation, founded by the cardinal and the local businessmen last year to "seek solutions to the moral roots of the economic crisis" and to make the city more aware of values.

Yago de la Cierva, executive director and the spokesman for WYD2011 explained to journalists in the Holy See's Press Office that the major aim of the foundation at the moment is collaboration with the organizers of the next World Youth Day, to be held in the Spanish capital.

During Friday's audience with them in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, Pope Benedict XVI invited the members of "Madrid Vivo" to continue their generous collaboration for this "beautiful initiative," saying that it's not just a simple meeting of the masses, "but a privileged occasion so that the young people of your country and of the entire world may let themselves be 'conquered' by the love of Christ Jesus..."

He noted that there are many of young people looking forward to the encounter to be held from Aug. 16-21 of next year, where they will meet to "listen together to the Word of Christ, ever young, and be able to share their faith that unites them and the desire that they have to build a better world, inspired in the values of the Gospel."

Mr. de la Cierva said that after the audience of the Pope signed a registration form as the first pilgrim for WYD2011.

He also mentioned that plans are moving forward and smoothly for the encounter for which Cardinal Rouco Varela expects more than two million participants, including more than 600,000 youth will come from outside of Spain.

Among the broad cross-section of details he provided regarding the complexities of the considerations that go into planning for the "Day" and the variety of the charitable contributions they have received, the executive director explained that planners are making extensive use of social networks to get feedback from youth and give them a greater say in decisions regarding the initiative.

To reach out to youth, the organizing committee has 70 volunteers working online in 17 different languages. Mr. de la Cierva said proudly that their Facebook page just welcomed their 111,111th "friend," a "significant" milestone for WYD2011.

Bishop’s death in Turkey a call to Christian unity

Bishop Luigi Padovese

Speaking about the June 3 murder of Bishop Luigi Padovese, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Turkey, and missionary priest working in the country said the bishop’s death “is a call to the unity in the Church and among the Christians.”

In an interview with Fides news agency, the priest, who preferred to remain the anonymous for safety reasons, said the crime against Bishop Padovese “is also a call to strengthen the ecumenical spirit and work untiringly for the unity of all the Christian denominations.”

“We are experiencing a strong call to develop a pastoral practice based upon the model of those who have lived authentic faith in Muslim environment,” the priest said. “In Turkey today the Islamist and nationalist forces have been stirred up and are hostile towards the Catholic Church and her representatives,” he added.

He noted that “the Christian community is now experiencing difficulties due to the lack of official recognition and the obstacles that still exist for religious worship.” The priest pointed to the case of the Church of St. Paul in the city of Tarsus, which has been transformed by the Turkish officials into a museum that “Christians can only visit by purchasing a ticket and where Mass can be celebrated only by reserving dates ahead of time.”

Bishop Padovese was working towards getting the church turned back over to the Christian community, “but this has not yet been occurred and we don’t know if it really will.”

“The murder of Bishop Padovese has now produced fear, confusion and uncertainty. But let us not lose hope and trust in the Providence,” the priest stated.