A daily news service

January 26

President invites Pope to Greece

Rome, 26 (NE) On Wednesday evening Holy See Press Office Director, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, announced that Pope John Paul II has been officially invited to Greece. The announcement was made after the visit to the Holy Father by Greek President Constantinos Stephanopoulos.

"The president formally invited the Pope to visit Greece. The Holy Father thanked his guest, saying he hoped that one day, in the footsteps of St. Paul, he would be able to make this visit", said the statement. Navarro-Valls also informed that "the meeting allowed for an exchange of opinions, quite cordial and in depth, on various current topics, with reference to the cultural roots of the European tradition."

"President Stephanopoulos was then received by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state. There was an ample exchange of opinions on the relations between the State and the Catholic Church in Greece, with a view to an eventual visit by the Holy Father to that country. The commitment was renewed for a close collaboration among believers for the spiritual progress of Greece and of Europe," informed Navarro-Valls.

Philippines: Nuncio calls new president to encourage unity

Rome, 26 (NE) Archbishop Antonio Franco, Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines, expressed his support to the new president of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo, and encouraged unity in the country. In a meeting with the new president, speaking on behalf of the diplomatic corps in Manila, Archbishop Franco said that "on behalf of the governments and the international organizations that we represent in the Philippines, we come here to present your Excellency with warmest and sincerest felicitations and prayers for the new office that the Filipino people have entrusted to you." The Apostolic Nuncio specially stressed that "it is time to heal and rebuild," and assured President Arroyo of international support and cooperation to reach her goal.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, President of the Bishops' conference, called the new presidnt to "work for the common good of the country, especially the poor, and to uplift the image of the Philippines, which should be a progressive, truly democratic country with a government of integrity and honesty."

January 25

Pope invites to announce the Gospel through the world of the media

Rome, 25 (NE) Pope John Paul II' message for World Communications Day was made public yesterday, as is traditionally done on the memorial day of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists. The theme for the 35th World Communications Day which will be held on May 27, 2001, is "'Preach from the Housetops': The Gospel in the Age of Global Communication."

"To proclaim the faith from the housetops means to speak Jesus' word in and through the dynamic world of communications." "In every age the Church offers the one ultimately satisfying answer to the deepest questions of the human heart - Jesus Christ himself, 'who fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his high calling'. Therefore, the voice of Christians can never fall silent, for the Lord has entrusted to us the word of salvation for which every human heart longs. The Gospel offers the pearl of great price for which all are searching."

Further on, the Pope recalls that "the world of the media can sometimes seem indifferent and even hostile to Christian faith and morality. This is partly because media culture is so deeply imbued with a typically postmodern sense that the only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths or that, if there were, they would be inaccessible to human reason and therefore irrelevant."

Nevertheless, the Papal message also recognized the good performed by the media and "the unique opportunities" it offers for reaching a global audience as well as "the positive capacities of the Internet to carry religious information and teaching beyond all barriers and frontiers. ... Catholics should not be afraid to throw open the doors of social communications to Christ, so that His Good News may be heard from the housetops of the world!"

Holy Father calls faithful to a "continual effort of conversion"

Rome, 25 (NE) "Commitment for a future worthy of mankind" was the theme of Pope John Paul II' catechesis yesterday, during the general audience held in the Paul VI Hall. In his weekly meeting with pilgrims, the Pope affirmed that "if we look at the world and at history, on first glance the banner of war, violence, oppression, injustice, and moral degradation, seems to dominate." Before this reality, he said, "a continual effort of conversion is therefore necessary, which straightens out the path of humanity in order that man freely choose to follow the 'art of God,' His design of peace and of love, of truth and of justice."

The Pope stated that "along with faith, the Holy Spirit also places the seed of hope in the heart of man. ... In a horizon often marked by discouragement, pessimism, choices of death, idleness, and superficiality, the Christian must open himself to the hope which flows from faith." "Love for humanity, for its material and spiritual well-being, for authentic progress, must animate all believers."

The Pope affirmed, furthermore, that we are called to "eliminate fear of the future" which "often entraps young generations, leading them to react with indifference, with resignation in the face of life's commitments, with self- degradation through drugs, violence, and apathy." "We must not fear the future", the Pope said in closing. "With the help of the grace of God, we can construct ... a civilization worthy of the human person, a true culture of freedom. We can and must do so!"

Preparations for Eucharistic Congress in Brazil continue

Rio de Janeiro, 25 (NE) Brazil gets ready to celebrate its 14th National Eucharistic Congress this year, which will coincide with the closing celebrations of the V Centennial of the Evangelization of Brazil. The Eucharistic Congress will be held from July 19th to 22nd, in the city of Campinas. The topic of the meeting will be "The Eucharist, source of mission and life of solidarity". The Archbishop of Campinas, Gilberto Pereira Lopes, recently made public the official banner of the Congress that has been distributed to the numerous dioceses of the country, so that it could be distributed among all the parishes, chapels and lay movements. The Prelate informed that a special document will also be distributed soon, in order to help in the intellectual and spiritual preparation for the Eucharistic Congress.

Spain: great affluence of pilgrims for Holy Lebaniegan Year

Madrid, 25 (NE) Between April 30, 2000 and April 29, 2001, the Monastery of Saint Toribio of Liébana, in the heart of the Cantabrian Peaks of Europe, celebrates the Holy Lebaniegan Year. Up to December 31, 2000, the first eight months of the Holy Year, there had gone on pilgrimage to the Spanish sanctuary about 800.000 faithful.

In the Monastery, 3 kilometers from the Cantabrian town of Potes, a relic of the "Lignum Crucis" is conserved, considered to be one of the biggest existing fragments of the Lord's Cross. It was precisely for having kept the relic of the cross since the IX century that the monastery of Saint Toribio obtained in 1512 the papal prerogative to grant to the faithful plenary indulgence for their sins during the week following its patron's feast. In 1961 Pope Paul VI lengthened the jubilee period to a whole year.

These prerogatives make it equivalent to the jubilee years of Santiago de Compostela, Rome and Jerusalem, although the pilgrimages to this sanctuary are not well-known outside of the region of Cantabria. The Holy Lebaniegan Year occurs every time the festivity of St. Toribio of Liébana, the 16th of April, falls on Sunday, as it did in the year 2000.

World Youth Day to take place April 8

Rome, 25 (NE) The theme for World Youth Day, to be celebrated locally this year in the different dioceses around the world, was made public yesterday through the Holy See Press Office. "The Holy Father John Paul II", reads the message, "has chosen as the theme the words of Christ: 'If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily'."

The 16th World Youth Day will be celebrated on Palm Sunday, April 8, 2001.The Pope's Message which he addresses to young men and women for this occasion will be published soon, also informed the Press Office.

As is customary, the celebration of Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square will include the 'passage of the Cross': the young Italians who hosted World Youth Day in Rome last August - accompanied by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar of Rome and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference - will turn the Cross over to the young Canadians who will then prepare to receive their peers from around the world for the 17th World Youth Day, which will be held in Toronto from July 23 to 28, 2002.

January 24

Denver Archbishops calls faithful to be pro-life witnesses

Denver, 24 (NE) "We can't simultaneously commit ourselves to human rights, while voting for people and policies that attack the weakest among us. Nor can we practice a commitment to the sanctity of human life only as a private piety. People of religious faith must live their pro-life witness courageously, as a matter of public record and civic responsibility - or we'll lose it even as a matter of private principle".

With these words Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver addressed participants at the Colorado Right to Life March and Rally, held last Saturday on the west steps of Colorado's State Capitol Building. During the event, highlighting the consequences of the Roe vs. Wade ruling, Archbishop Chaput stressed that "bad laws and bad court decisions poison the roots of the way we live. They degrade the way we think - and that in turn results in more bad laws, more bad court decisions, more bad political behavior . . . and gradually we lose the ability to see what's right, and to do what's good."

Inviting participants to pray for "humble hearts, because humility is the beginning of sanity", the Archbishop of Denver recalled that "justice and mercy are the food for brotherhood and real community - and that's the world God intended for us."

Vatican Cardinal starts visit to Taiwan

Rome, 24 (NE) Cardinal Jan Pieter Schotte, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops will begin today a visit to Taiwan to take part in a convention entitled "A new century, new evangelization" and to visit the local Church. During his visit, he will also meet several civil authorities, among them President Chien Shui-bian and premier Chang and the foreign minister. On July 14 2000, a few months after his election, Chen Shui-bian officially invited Pope John Paul II to visit Taiwan. Cardinal Schotte will also meet the Bishops in Taiwan, and will preside Mass in the Fengpin parish church where the faithful are mostly tribals. On January 26 he will speak at the convention on new evangelization at Wen Tsao College at Kaohsiung, and concelebrate Mss presided by Cardinal Paul Shan, Bishop of Kaohsiung. The Cardinal will return to Rome on January 29.

Mortal remains of Pope John XXIII to be moved to St. Peter's Basilica

Rome, 24 (NE) The mortal remains of Pope John XXIII will soon be moved from the "Sagre Grotte Vaticane", the extended chambers under the pavement of St. Peter's Basilica, where they are currently kept, to one of the naves inside the Basilica. The decision has been taken by Pope John Paul II, considering the recent beatification of Pope John XXIII and the number of pilgrims that visit his tomb. A similar decision was taken with Pope St. Pius X, whose mortal remains now repose below one of the altars inside the Basilica. The date for the moving of the Pope John XXIII' remains has not been made public yet.

Italy: Bishops to stress relation between science and ethics

Rome, 24 (NE) "The Holy Year has been a true experience of faith", said this week Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar general for the Diocese of Rome and President of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI), during the opening address at the CEI Permanent Council's meeting. The Italian Cardinal stressed that the joy expressed by members of the Church regarding the impressive fruits of the Great Jubilee is not "vain triumphalism", but only "the clear affirmation of the Christian truth and the decisive role of Jesus Christ for the salvation of humanity". In his address, Cardinal Ruini highlighted several pastoral orientations to be followed by Bishops over the next ten years. The Italian Cardinal stressed that the Church in Italy will have a special commitment "in favor of life of all human beings, from their conception to their natural end". Among other issues, he affirmed, "the public reiteration of the relation that must always exist between the new possibilities of science and technique -specially regarding biotechnology- and the fundamental demands of ethics".

January 23

President Bush makes first decision against abortion

Washington, 23 (NE) In his first day in office, President George W. Bush made his first decision against abortion, cutting funding to international abortion groups. The President issued an executive order on Monday, ordering that funding for international population control groups that provide or advocate abortion be cut. The decision reversed actions by former president Clinton and reinstated limitations on U.S. aid that his father and former President Reagan had imposed. The order came as tens of thousands of pro-lifers marched in Washington to mark the 28th anniversary of the US Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion on demand. In a statement to the anti-abortion marchers marking the anniversary of the court ruling, Bush said, "We share a great goal, to work toward a day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law to build a culture of life, affirming that every person at every stage and season of life, is created equal in God's image."

Future US Cardinals renew commitment of service

Washington, 23 (NE) After Pope John Paul II announced last Sunday the creation of 37 new Cardinals, among them 13 from the American continent, the Archbishops of Washington and New York expressed their gratitude and their commitment of service to faithful in their archdioceses. Archbishops Theodore E. McCarrick and Edward M. Egan, of Washington and New York respectively, will be created cardinals in a consistory to be held on February 21.

"The news of my appointment to the College of Cardinals moves me to thank God for this new opportunity for service to His Church and to beg our Heavenly Father for the grace to work more generously in the care of His people and to strive harder to become the holy priest and bishop that He asks me to be", said Archbishop McCarrick, in a statement released after the Pope announced his nomination.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Egan told faithful gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral that he was "deeply humbled'' to have been chosen by the Pope. "My prayer today is simply that my service to the faithful will in some measure approach the excellence of theirs,'' he said, reading a statement at the beginning of Mass.

El Salvador Bishops call to hope and solidarity

San Salvador, 23 (NE) "Every member of the Church must be able to discern the signs of the times and to grow in fidelity to the Gospel, to share in charity the troubles, the joys and the hopes of others," stressed Bishops in El Salvador, in a message after the earthquake tragedy that took place on January 13. In their message to the people of El Salvador, the Prelates called to hope and expressed their solidarity to victims.

"In the simple and profoundly Christian language of our people there is conviction that 'God never forgets his children'. But the Lord works through those who are willing to bend over brothers and sisters in need, lying wounded in the streets. This has happened again this time. There are many eye witnesses to confirm that no one was left without help", said the message. The Church has taken swift action to meet emergency needs, and now the Bishops stress the need to coordinate social pastoral work in all the parishes.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, will arrive today to El Salvador as a special envoy from Pope John Paul II. The Archbishop will meet some of the grieving families, and celebrate Mass in the cathedral on January 24 for the repose of all the dead. He will also make a donation in money as a sign of the Pope's closeness to all the victims of the earthquake.

Pro-abortion "McCarthyism" denounced

Washington, 23 (NE) "¿When did a belief in the inalienable right to life become grounds for denying people the opportunity to serve their country?" recently questioned Cathy Cleaver, director of planning and information for the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, stating that "in effect, pro life nominees for public service are being put on trial for their beliefs -trials whose tactics resemble those usually described as 'McCarthyism'." "Efforts to deny highly qualified and accomplished individuals a chance to serve their country based solely on a commitment to the sanctity of human life are offensive to the American sense of fair play and the achievement based on merit," emphasized Cleaver. She also stated that such tactics "also insult the millions of Americans who, sharing those pro-life beliefs, will mourn the loss of life wrought by the legalization of abortion."

January 22

Pope to create 37 cardinals in first consistory of millennium

Vatican City, 22 (NE) Pope John Paul II announced yesterday the creation of 37 new cardinals. During his traditional gathering with faithful to pray the Angelus, the Pope announced that the consistory will be held next February 21. "The new cardinals -said the Pope- come from different parts of the world. In them the universality of the Church with the multiplicity of her services is reflected". Among the future cardinals, 10 come from Latin America and 3 come from the United States.

The Pope also said he has the intention to reveal soon the names of the two cardinals "in pectore" named in the consistory of 1998. With this new group of cardinals, of which 32 have less than 80 years of age, the limit of 120 established by Pope Paul VI has been surpassed.

The future Cardinals are: Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, (Italy); Archbishop Francis-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, (Vietnam); Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, (Italy); Archbishop Sergio Sebastiani, President of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See, (Italy); Archbishop Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, (Poland); Archbishop Jose Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, (Portugal); Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, secretary general of the committee that coordinated the Jubilee celebration, (Italy); Archbishop Jorge Maria Mejia, Vatican archivist and librarian, (Argentina); Patriarch Ignace Moussa I Daoud, Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches (Syria); Archbishop Mario Francesco Pompedda, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, (Italy); Bishop Walter Kasper, secretary of the Congregation for Christian Unity, (Germany).

The Pope also named as future cardinals Archbishop Antonio Jose Gonzales Zumarraga of Quito, (Ecuador); Archbishop Ivan Dias of Bombay, (India); Archbishop Geraldo Majella Agnelo of Sao Salvador de Bahia, (Brazil); Archbishop Pedro Rubiano Saenz of Bogota, (Colombia); Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Washington, (USA); Archbishop Desmond Connell of Dublin, (Ireland); Archbishop Audrys Juozas Backis of Vilnius, (Lithuania); Archbishop Francisco Javier Errazuris Ossa of Santiago, (Chile); Archbishop Oscar Andres Rodrigues Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, (Honduras); Archbishop Bernard Arge of Abidjan, (Ivory Coast).

Also present in the list were Archbishop Louis-Marie Bille of Lyon, (France); Archbishop Ignacio Antonio Velasco Garcia of Caracas, (Venezuela); Archbishop Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne of Lima, (Peru); Archbishop Francisco Alvarez Martinez of Toledo (Spain); Archbishop Claudio Hummes, of Sao Paulo, (Brazil); Archbishop Varkey Vithayathil of Ernaklum-Angamalay, India, the major archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church; Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, (Argentina); Archbishop Jose da Cruz Policarpo, Patriarch of Lisbon, (Portugal); Archbishop Severino Poletto of Turin, (Italy); Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, Great Britain; Archbishop Edward Egan of New York, (USA).

The Pope also announced the namings of Patriarch Stephanos Ghattas of Alexandria, (Egypt), head of the Coptic Catholic Church; Archbishop Jean Honore, Archbishop emeritus of Archdiocese of Tours, (France); Father Roberto Tucci, Italian Jesuit who coordinates advance planning for papal trips; Msgr. Leo Scheffczyk, of the Archdiocese of Munich (Germany), a consultor to the Pontifical Academy for the Family; and Father Avery Dulles, an American Jesuit theologian from New York

Cuba: Fides Agency warns of new obstacles for Church

Rome, 22 (NE) The Communist regime in Cuba continues putting obstacles in the mission of the Catholic Church in the island, recently informed Fides news agency. In a report published last Friday, the agency ran by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples informed that now "primary schools in the Cuban capital have informed that children wearing religious objects such as crosses, medals or scapulars will no longer be allowed to attend classes". The norm has been issued in spite of the opposition of many parents who walked to the Ministry of Education to impugn it. According to the note, "the measure was adopted by the Ministry to avoid religious expressions that may "hinder" the political-ideological work developed with the students."

Another repressive measure has been given against Catholics by the Public Health Ministry: This measure bans doctors from prescribing medicines that their patients could get free of charge from the Church. For Cubans, scarcity of medicines is one of the gravest problems, even though there has been important progress in many health sectors. In order to alleviate this situation, since many years the Catholic Church has gratuitously distributed medicines it receives from other countries, through Caritas.

The article notes that "the Cuban government is unable provide all the medicine required." That is why the "sick people massively go to the Church to try to obtain the products they need to heal their diseases." But this means "the government loses grip on health-care, an important aspect in the life of Cubans."

Madrid: Archbishop emphasizes urgency of witness of faith for new century

Madrid, 22 (NE) "The apostolic dynamism, that blooms from the heart of the Jubilee experience, must foster us to communicate and transmit to our brethren, the men of the XXI century, what we ourselves have seen and heard," recently stated Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco in a message for the faithful of the Spanish archdiocese. In his words commenting Pope John Paul II's last apostolic letter, the Cardinal noted as urgent the need of "putting into practice that perennial maxim of the Christian spirituality: 'contemplata aliis tradere' -to give others what we have contemplated."

"From this exigency", he added, "other aspects of Pope John Paul II's program for the Church in the new century and millennium derive: the acknowledgment of the primacy of the vocation to sanctity, cultivated in prayer, in sacramental life and in an unconditional openness to the Word of the Gospel as a premise of the mission and the testimony within and outside the Church." Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter 'Tertio Millennio Ineunte', the Cardinal stressed, "has cleared with new and penetrating light the way of the New Evangelization. It has expressed the fresh validity of the II Vatican Council, as the Council for the new century of the Church -the XXI century-," underlined the Archbishop.

Italy: Bishops publish document on Catholic education

Rome, 22 (NE) The Presidency of the Italian Bishop's Conference issued last week a document on the teaching of Catholic religion, addressing teachers, students and parents. The document -published on occasion of the start of inscription for the school year 2001-2002 in Italy-, states that teaching of Catholic religion mustn't be feared at all, for what is really pernicious is "religious ignorance from which superficiality may easily come along."

The document also notes that Catholic religion, "as a matrix of culture and experience of life, apart from being a factor of sociability and transmission of a historical patrimony, is able to answer the fundamental questions regarding sense. It also offers, together with the conscience of our own roots, respect among all of us."

The document also tells teachers, students and parents that "the teaching of Catholic religion will continue being appreciated as a precious contribution to accompany the person's path to maturity and as a help to familiarize the person with values and knowledge that are a patrimony of faith and culture for everyone."

January 19

Pope calls authorities to respect the identity of family

Vatican City, 19 (NE) "The family must be at the center of social policies and should be respected in its own identity as a stable union founded on marriage between a man and a woman, never assimilable to other forms of relationships". With these words Pope John Paul II addressed yesterday officials from the city and province of Rome and the region of Lazio in what has become a traditional meeting to exchange greetings at the start of a New Year. During the audience, the Pope stressed as well that "the ageing of the population which shows how urgent it is to have a culture, policy and social organization which are truly favorable to life." The Holy Father also told the officials that their responsibility "is always the tenacious and concrete search for the common good." "I feel the duty to call your attention, above all, to the great theme of the family and to the fundamental role it has in the growth and formation of new generations, as well as in the development of human relations marked by love and solidarity," he further said.

Thailand: new shrine in honor of Blessed martyr priest

Rome, 19 (NE) Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu of Bagkok presided last January 13 the cornerstone-laying ceremony for a shrine dedicated to the first Thai martyr priest, Blessed Father Nicolas Bunkert Kitbamrung. The shrine will be built in Sam Phran, Blessed Nicolas Bunkert's birthplace, some 30 kilometers west of Bangkok. During the ceremony, Cardinal Kitbunchu called faithful to be true witnesses of Christ. Several assistants to the ceremony were relatives of the martyr.

Archbishop Adriano Bernardini, Apostolic Nuncio to Thailand, three other bishops, and the postulator for Blessed Nicolas Bunkert's cause, also attended the ceremony. At the cornerstone-laying ceremony, a procession of the martyr's relics was held and Jan. 12 was announced as the blessed's feast day. Construction of the shrine is scheduled to finish next year.

Blessed Father Nicolas Bunkert Kitbamrung was born in 1895 and martyred in the persecution Catholics faced in Thailand 1940-1944, during a conflict involving Thailand and Indochina. Arrested in 1941, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, where he died in 1944. Pope John Paul II beatified him March 5, 2000.

Chile: Charitable work of Blessed Father Hurtado highlighted

Santiago de Chile, 19 (NE) Throughout 7 months the green truck that characterized Blessed Father Hurtado's charitable work will visit several places in Chile. According to reports by the local press, the initiative aims to propagate the message of love and solidarity that Father Hurtado displayed during his life. The pilgrimage will begin next January 22 and will last for seven months. Along this time, over 360 places will be visited. On the other hand, also as a memorial to the Chilean Blessed, a graphic exposition on Father Hurtado's life and work will be held until January 28, at the Cultural Centre Mapocho Station.

Blessed Father Hurtado, known as the "Apostle of the poor" characterized himself by his charismatic personality and the promotion of the apostolate among young people. During his life he strongly faced the different ideological visions that tried to influence the work among the poor, managing as well to begin several syndicated groups with Christian inspiration in order to diffuse the Church's social thought in syndicates. Pope John Paul II raised Father Hurtado to the altars in 1994.

US University grants "Honoris causa" doctorate to Cuban Cardinal

Miami, 18 (NE) The Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, will receive an "Honoris causa" doctorate from a US University. According to a communique from the Catholic Bishops Conference of Cuba, the homage to the Cuban Cardinal has been granted by St. John University, in Queens. The "Honoris causa" doctorate in Laws to the Archbishop of La Habana will be granted to Cardinal Ortega y Alamino today in New York City. According to the communique, the university decided to give the doctorate considering principally the pastoral work of Cardinal Ortega y Alamino at the head of the Archdioceses of Havana. The Cuban Cardinal received a similar homage by another US university in October 1999. On that occasion, it was San Francisco University which granted a "Honoris causa" doctorate to the Archbishop of Havana.

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