Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-11/14/2006


Bishops: U.S. must help end Iraqi Violence

The head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged national policymakers Monday to leave behind the campaign season's "shrill and shallow debate" over Iraq and help end sectarian violence, so that citizens of the war-torn nation can find peace.

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Politics Source of Conflict Between East and West, Not Religion

Though the Pope is visiting Turkey at the invitation of the president, Erdogan added: “The status of the Pope is twofold. One is political, and the other religious. With regard to his political identity, our president will meet him, while our head of religious affairs will host him as a religious leader. As for me, I will attend the NATO summit in Riga. This is not a reactionary attitude. I cannot cancel the NATO summit simply because the Pope is coming. The world continues to turn and we have to perform our duties.”

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vatican Encourages N. Korea Denuclearization

The Vatican is encouraging negotiations to obtain the "denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula, Pope Benedict XVI said Monday.

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vatican Official Blasts Human Trafficking

Human trafficking, including women forced to become prostitutes or minors forced to do child labor, is worse now than the trade in African slaves of past centuries, a top Vatican official said Tuesday.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vatican Official: Immigrants Must Follow Local Laws, Including Bans On Veils

Immigrants must follow local laws, including bans on veils covering the face, a Vatican cardinal said Tuesday, referring to debates in Europe about Muslim women and integration.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vatican Official Criticizes U.S. Border Fence Plan

A top Vatican official called the Bush administration's plans for hundreds of miles of new security fences on the United States-Mexico border "inhuman."

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Anglican, Catholic Bishops Meet In England

Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops in England and Wales have begun their first joint meeting.The 2-day conference includes discussion of some of the issues dividing the two churches, including the ordination of women, ordination of gays and the Anglican rejection of clerical celibacy, The Times of London reported.

Read more by clicking here.

Catholic News & Current Events-11/13/2006


Pope Benedict XVI and top Vatican officials will hold a meeting to discuss requests for lifting the celibacy requirement made by priests seeking to marry or who have already married, the Vatican said Monday.

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Appalled by a report that 800 million people in the world today are undernourished and that a great many people die from hunger every year, Pope Benedict XVI has called for a radical change – a "conversion" – in "the model of global development."

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Pope Benedict XVI received a delegation from the Marmara Foundation last week, when the group was in Rome to attend meetings organized by the Turkish and Italian foreign ministries to mark the 150th anniversary of Turkish-Italian relations.

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At a national meeting starting today in Baltimore, the bishops are expected to make changes that adjust to their new circumstances. They plan to channel resources away from broad social pronouncements and focus more on defining Catholicism for an often-uninvolved flock.

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The head of Poland’s Church has apologised to a leading Catholic priest after publicly comparing him to a communist police spy for investigating former clergy agents.

Read more by clicking here.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-10/31/2006



Vatican delegate addresses UN on religious freedom
The Vatican's permanent observer at the UN made a plea for recognition of religious freedom. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Nicaraguan lawmakers approve abortion ban
Nicaragua's parliament has approved legislation banning nearly all abortions. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Brazilian cardinal to head Congregation for Clergy?
Cardinal Claudio Hummes of Sao Paulo, Brazil, may soon be named by Pope Benedict XVI as the new prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-10/17/2006



Counter-terrorism measures need to protect human rights: Holy See
Effective counter-terrorism measures should serve not sacrifice the protection of human rights, the Holy See representative told the United Nations this week. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Spanish court strips diocese of $40 million inheritance
A Spanish court has ordered an archdiocese in northern Spain to hand over a $A40 million inheritance from two rich, childless widows. Read further by clicking here.
********************

The scientific case for Catholic sexual ethics
The Catholic Church has taken more heat over its teachings about sex than any other topic. You may be surprised then to learn that modern science is on the Church’s side. Read further by clicking here.
********************


Challenges of Christian Converts From Islam
Converts from Islam to Christianity pose a challenge for governments to ensure freedom of religion -- and their witness is also a challenge to the Church itself. Read further by clicking here.
********************

New York priests back Cardinal Egan
The Priest's Council of the Archdiocese of New York met for two hours yesterday with Cardinal Edward Egan to discuss with him a highly critical, anonymous letter. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Faith Schools Required to Admit Pupils from Wider Community

Under legislation being put forward by the Government on Tuesday, new faith schools in England will be required to admit at least 25 per cent of pupils from the wider community. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Worldwide Christian Community Shocked as Priest Beheaded in Iraq

The Christian community has been dismayed to learn that the beheaded and dismembered body of Father Boulos Iskander, 59, a Syrian Orthodox priest, was found in a suburb of Mosul, Iraq, last week. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-10/15/2006



Indian Dalits in mass conversion to Buddhism and Christianity
In a protest against anti-conversion laws introduced by several Indian states, over 9,000 Indigenous Dalits were received into the Buddhist and Catholic faiths in mass ceremonies in the central city of Nagpur over the weekend. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Stay faithful, Nicole Kidman hints at husband
In Rome at the weekend for the world premiere of her latest movie, Catholic film star Nicole Kidman told reporters that she has "pretty strict ideas about sexual fidelity". Read further by clicking here.
********************


Muslim scholars engage Benedict in dialogue
Thirty-eight Muslim scholars from around the world have delivered an unprecedented open letter to Pope Benedict pointing out errors in his Regensburg speech. Read further by clicking here.
Point of View
I am tired of the Muslim Clerics and their demands that the Pope apologise for merely speaking the Truth! If the Islamic Clerics find the truth so abhorrent no wonder there are so many be-headings. I have yet to see Pope Benedict or my fellow Catholics become violent.
Islam cannot say that their religion is a 'religion of peace' when they be-head anyone who has a different point of view!
As for Aljazeera they should win the Joseph Goebells award for the best propoganda which bears NO semblence of the truth! When will these Mulsim Clerics actually have the backbone to stand for the truth and condemn acts of terrorism? I wont hold my breath!
********************

Spring of the Latin rite
The freeing up of the old rite is likely to have a powerful impact on Australian Catholicism and on the broader culture, although it's unlikely to be noticeable immediately. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Friday, October 13, 2006

Catholic News and Current Events 10/13/2006


Pope Benedict XVI is set to revive the Latin version of the Roman Catholic Mass, issuing a papal decree that could restore traditional forms of worship that fell out of favor 40 years ago, according to an Italian news report.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * *

Thousands of people, many of them expectant mothers, are expected to descend this weekend on St. Lucy's Roman Catholic Church for the Feast of St. Gerard, a colorful, spiritual 107-year-old tradition that starts tonight.

St. Gerard is widely revered by Catholics as a protector of aspiring and expectant mothers.

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * *

Pope Benedict reminded Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi that the Vatican strongly defends the traditional family and ethics in scientific research when they held their first official talks on Friday.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * *

The Catholic Church and the Church of England have found themselves on opposite sides of the fence on the debate over Government proposals to offer cohabiting couples the same rights as married ones.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * *

Cardinal Peter Erdo, president of the Council of Bishops’ Conferences in Europe (CCEE), pointed to some cardinal changes in religious life in Russia.

In his interview to Svet Evangelia, a Catholic newspaper in Russia, he said that along with a discussion (at the recent CCEE assembly in St. Petersburg - IF) on problems very important for all Europe, some Western bishops discovered a new reality. It is the rapidly developing Catholic Church in Russia, overcrowded churches, a living faith and sincere devotion.

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * *

Thirty-eight Muslim scholars and chief muftis from numerous countries have accepted Pope Benedict XVI’s apology for his remarks on Islam, the editor of a Muslim journal said today.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * *

Pope Benedict XVI held talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in a strictly private meeting here Friday.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * *

Pope Benedict XVI has said that he would “be a strong, constant voice against anti-Semitism,” during a private audience with Jewish American leaders on Thursday in Rome.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * *

The Vatican is preparing to publish Pope Benedict XVI's biggest book to date: "Complete Teachings, Vol. I."

But the pope's writings are also finding their way into more bite-sized volumes that are enjoying unusual popular success, according to the Vatican publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Read more by clicking here.

* * * * * * *

The (Missouri) bishops clarified the Church’s teachings: Opposition to Amendment 2 does not mean opposition to moral methods of scientific research and therapies. "We support the aggressive pursuit of stem-cell research which respects the moral law and has genuine promise," they wrote.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * *

Mexican Bishop Rafael Guízar y Valencia was known as "the bishop of the poor," selling his bishop's cross and ring and ministering to the needy during a time of persecution around the Mexican Revolution.

Now, nearly 70 years after his death, Guízar y Valencia is set to receive the highest honor in the Catholic Church: He's to be canonized Sunday into sainthood by Pope Benedict XVI. He'll become the first official Catholic saint ever to have visited San Antonio.

Read more by clicking here.


* * * * * * *

An Indiana nun once banished from her congregation by a bishop will be proclaimed a saint tomorrow, providing a model of virtuous life to America's Roman Catholics.

Read more by clicking here.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-10/11/2006



Benedict expected to restore availability of Latin Mass
The Pope is expected to issue a "motu proprio", a legal issued on his own initiative, that will address the concerns of "various traditionalists". Read further by clicking here.
********************

"Ice" isn't cool, Catholic youth worker warns
Over 73,000 mostly young Australians are already dependent on cheap, widely available "ice" or crystal methamphetamine. Read further by clicking here.
********************


More young Christian women abducted, raped in Iraq
Young Christian women are among the preferred targets of Iraq's growing abduction problem. Read further by clicking here.
********************

IRAN: DIPLOMATS TOLD POPE BENEDICT XVI WANTS 'WAR' WITH ISLAM

Several speakers at a conference hosted by Iran's foreign ministry have claimed Pope Benedict XVI wants a "war" against Muslims and that documents exist proving he had once supported Adolf Hitler's Nazi policies. Read further by clicking here.

NOTE: The Muslims fail to recognize, or are in a constant state of denial regarding the fact that there is more violence and war involving Muslim against Muslim, than Christian against Muslim all over the world. Besides, Iran has to try to stir up the Iranian people in order to draw attention away from the arrest there of a reformation cleric, who does not believe that religion has no place being involved in politics.
********************

Church backs legal rights for parents who live in sin
The Church of England yesterday backed proposals to give millions of unmarried couples who are "living in sin" similar legal rights to their married counterparts. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-10/10/2006




Bishops say proposed cloning laws are contempt for life
Australia's bishops say that open slather on human embryo research is not the way forward. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Disarmament, not armaments: Vatican on North Korea
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, says the Holy See is in favour "not of armaments, but of disarmament and peace". Read further by clicking here.
********************

Australian Fears of ritual killing over Christian conversion
A Bangladeshi-born recent immigrant is under police guard following the killing of the man's wife in what some sources fear was a ritual killing over plans by the couple's daughter to convert to Christianity. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Vatican Museums open spectacular archeological find
The Vatican Museums will open a new section of the Roman necropolis on October 12, promising visitors a "little Pompei" at the site on the Via Triumphalis. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Canadian bishops urged to preach on sin, Confession
Pope Benedict XVI cited the "loss of a sense of sin" in modern society. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Women's group dismisses Ms magazine abortion roster

Ms. magazine, which recently publicized a listing of women who announced that they had procured an abortion. Read further by clicking here.
********************
Two Catholics arrested for blasphemy against the Qur’an
James Masih and Buta Masih, both 70, are accused of burning some pages of the Qur’an. The two illiterate men are jailed despite the lack of witnesses. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-10/6/2006




Pope warns theologians against serving public opinion
Pope Benedict XVI warned theologians against serving "the dictatorship of common opinion. Read further by clicking here.
********************

UN "sleepwalking" on disarmament Says Vatican
The Vatican envoy at the UN has accused the international body of "sleepwalking" on the issue of nuclear disarmament. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Over 350 Indians of all castes convert to Christianity
Around 350 Hindus coming from all social castes converted to Christianity. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Spanish bishop says dialogue not possible with extremists
Two European bishops have drawn a line in the sand over Muslim reaction to Pope Benedict's controversial Regensburg remarks. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Clergy warned male God may promote violence



CHURCH of England leaders have warned that calling God "He" encourages men to beat their wives, a British newspaper has reported.

The Daily Mail said churchgoers had been told to think twice before referring to God as "He" or "Lord" because of dangers it could lead to domestic violence.
New guidelines for bishops and priests reportedly warn the clergy to reconsider the language they use in sermons and ensure the hymns they sing don't foster the oppression of women.
The guidelines, entitled Responding to Domestic Abuse, advised that Biblical violence "in combination with uncritical use of masculine imagery, can validate overbearing and ultimately violent patterns of behaviour", The Daily Mail said.
Plymouth vicar Rod Thomas, a spokesman for the evangelical Reform movement, said according to The Bible, God had female and male characteristics, but it was not inhibited about referring to God as male.
"There is a danger that this document has veered too much towards political correctness," he told the paper.
********************

*Point of View*

The Anglican Church has gone from the truly ridiculous to the bizarre in their latest attempt to de-god God. Unfortunately to the minds that be or in this case the mindless in their attempt to make God more relevant and 'mainstream' they have instead succeeded in making themselves look totally idiotic.

Let us hope that with this latest bit of religious nonsence that more Anglicans will leave this lukewarm religion and return to their roots which lay within the embrace of the Catholic Church.

God has no need of 'spin' doctors so He can appeal to the masses or to the overtly feminist agenda, which is the KEY element in this nonsensical piece of political correctness.

Where will this silliness end? Will Jesus find himself a transgender lest another segment of society feels themselves marginalized?

The Church of England has truly become a very irreverent irreligious barmy army of political correctness!

Catholic News & Current Events-10/3/2006



British prelates angered by BBC attack on Pope
Church officials in Great Britain have sharply criticized a BBC program on clerical abuse. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Russian prelate disputes role of Ecumenical Patriarch
The Russian Orthodox Church has lodged a serious objection to the notion that the Patriarch of Constantinople is the worldwide leader of the Orthodox faith. Read further by clicking here.
********************
Turkish hijackers trying to stop papal visit
Hijacking marks a new stage in attempts to stop papal visit to Turkey. Turkish papers today report al-Qaeda’s death threats against any Muslim who dares meeting Benedict XVI. Read further by clicking here.
********************


Limbo under threat from Vatican theologians
Rome reports indicate that the Holy See's International Theological Commission is examining the notion of limbo. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-9/28/2006



Canberra Calvary courts controversy over hospital purchase
The Little Company of Mary's Calvary Hospital take over is facing controversy over its plans to stop IVF procedures at the hospital. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Benedict stands firm despite calls to "retract or redress"
Representatives of Islamic states in New York have called upon the Pope to either retract or make redress for his controversial Regenburg remarks. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Moscow Patriarchate says Muslim reations are Political
The Russian Orthodox Church has come to the defence of Pope Benedict XVI. Believing that his remarks have not been correctly interpreted. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Catholic Church in Spain satisfied with new government

MADRID, Spain The Catholic Church in Spain said Thursday it was satisfied with a new finance deal that cuts it loose from direct government payments. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-9/27/2006



Al Qaida to comment on Pope?
An Islamic web site is promising a message from a top leader of Al Qaida. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Chinese bishop released from prison
Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of China's Zhengding diocese has been freed after more than 10 months in prison. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Women of little faith spell trouble: Pell
Sydney Cardinal George Pell will today warn educators about the lack of faith in young women of today. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Reports of torture before execution of Indonesian Catholics
Lawyers and family members claims that the bodies of the men have bruises, broken bones. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-9/26/2006



More Catholic church attacks across Asia
Muslim fundamentalists have attacked a Catholic church in West Java while an Iraqi Chaldean church was hit by rockets. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Married Archbishop excommunicated
The Vatican has declared that controversial Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo has incurred automatic excommunication. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Euthanasia is assassination, Vatican official says
The president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care has weighed in to a debate on assisted suicide in Italy, saying that euthanasia is tantamount to assassination. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Chasm growing between Catholics, Islam
The contentious remarks cited by Pope Benedict XVI about the linkage between Islam and violence were well prepared in advance and were directed at a European audience. Read further by clicking here.
*Point of Order*
The Pope is not nor ever has been 'anti-Israeli. The Holy Father's stance is to avoid war and collateral loss of life. Pope Benedict XVI has also had deep reservations about the war in Iraq, but that does not make him anti-American.
********************

Monday, September 25, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-9/25/2006



Benedict to meet Muslim ambassadors today
A number of Asian Muslim leaders have came out in support of the Pope on the eve of Ramadan. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Sydney priests retirement fund crisis
The Sydney Archdiocese is launching a new annual public appeal to cater for the needs of retired priests. Read further by clicking here.
********************


Josephite Nun call for nuns to unite on Indigenous action
Welcoming this year's Australian Bishops' Social Justice Statement, The Heart of Our Country, released for Social Justice Sunday yesterday, Sr Katrina Brill said the plight of Indigenous Australians is still the most pressing justice issue in Australia. Read further by clicking here.
It is also time for the indigenous people of Australia to be accountable for their own lifestyle choices. The social problems now being faced are mainly due to an inability to move on with the future and instead many remain fixated on the past. In every country around this vast world there are stories of brutality and injustices throughout the history of civilization. Should the Irish continue to hate the English for the great injustice dealt to them through the great famine? Should Native Americans continue to hate their fellow Americans for the brutality they faced centuries ago? When does it end? It ends through your own choice, one either moves on with hope for the future or remain embittered by the past.
********************

Friday, September 22, 2006

Why Benedict XVI did not want to fall silent or backpedal


The masterful lecture that the pope-theologian delivered at the University of Regensburg really did send shivers throughout the world. Because what Benedict XVI said there is just what happened afterward. The pope explained the distance that runs between the Christian God, who is love, immolated in Jesus on the cross, but also "Logos," reason; and the God worshipped by Islam, so transcendent and sublime that he is not bound by anything, not even by that rational assertion according to which there must not be "any coercion in matters of faith." The Qur’an says this in the second sura, to which the pope conscientiously made reference, but it then makes other and opposite statements. And the violent eruption in the Muslim world against the pope and Christians confirms that this other tendency has the upper hand, giving form and substance to the way in which myriads of the faithful of Allah view the world of the infidels. The other side of pope Joseph Ratzinger’s lecture in Regensburg is the blood poured out in Muslim Mogadishu by sister Leonella Sgorbati, a woman veiled and yet free, a martyr whose last words were addressed to her killers: "I forgive you."
In reality, almost the entirety of Benedict XVI’s lecture in Regensburg was addressed to the Christian world, to the West and to Europe, which in his view are so sure of their naked reason – too sure – that they have lost the "fear of God." But here as well the pope’s words found their confirmation in the facts. Hand in hand with the swell of verbal and physical violence on the part of Muslims, on the other side, in theory his own side, the pope was the target of incessant volleys of friendly fire. Just as the sagacious companions of Job attributed the blame for his misfortunes to him, so also Benedict XVI was surrounded by a veritable whirlwind of advice and rebuke of the same sort.
It was the same way in the Vatican. Benedict XVI had the good fortune of installing a new secretary of state and a new foreign minister, both of them firmly in his trust, on the very day that the Muslim attack against him began, on Friday, September 15, right after he came back from his trip to Bavaria. But the grumbling of the curia members hostile toward him did not calm down at all – on the contrary. He got away with the appointment of the new foreign minister, archbishop Dominique Mamberti, from Corsica, who has worked as a nuncio in Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea, and before that in Algeria, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, and thus has direct familiarity with the Arab and Muslim world, and is skilled in the art of diplomacy. But as for the nomination of cardinal Tarcisio Bertone as the new secretary of state – for this, no, they did not forgive him. The fact that Bertone is not a career diplomat, but a man of doctrine and a pastor of souls, is now being held even more against the pope as proof of his ineptitude on the world political scene. In Bavaria, with the assignment changes not yet having taken place, Benedict XVI was accompanied by the outgoing secretary of state, cardinal Angelo Sodano, who has spent his entire life in diplomacy. But the pope was careful to avoid having cardinal Sodano read in advance the lecture he was preparing to deliver in Regensburg. Whole sections of the text would have been censored, if its supreme criterion had been the Realpolitik upon which the Vatican diplomacy of Sodano and his colleagues is nourished.
For Benedict XVI, too, realism in relations between the Church and states is a value. It was so with the totalitarian systems of the twentieth century: with German Nazism as with Soviet Communism. The controversial silences of Pius XII with Nazism, ( Pope Pius XII: Misunderstood and Maligned) and later, with Communism, of John XXIII, of Vatican Council II, and of the Ostpolitik of Paul VI, had compelling reasons, and in the first place the defense of the victims of those systems themselves. But now, it is being demanded of Benedict XVI that he maintain a similar silence in regard to the new adversary of Islam: it is a silence that is often given the name of "dialogue." Has pope Ratzinger not respected this? Then this is the comeuppance he deserves from "offended" Islam: threats, demonstrations, burning in effigy, governments demanding retractions, the recall of ambassadors, churches burned, a religious sister killed. The pope is seen as bearing his part of the blame in all this. On the other hand, it’s "post mortem" beatification for his predecessor John Paul II, who prayed humbly in Assisi together Muslim mullahs, and when visiting the Umayyad mosque in Damascus listened in silence to the invectives his hosts hurled against the perfidious Jews. No fatwa was issued for the demolition of the Vatican walls, or for the slitting of Karol Wojtyla’s throat. It was a mere coincidence that Ali Agca, who shot him, was a Muslim – the assassination had been planned in Christian territory...
Benedict XVI does not deny the proper value of political realism. The secretariat of state has mobilized its network of nunciatures to provide for governments the complete text of the lecture in Regensburg, the official note of explanation released on September 16 by cardinal Bertone, and the explanations presented by the pope in person at the Angelus on Sunday the 17th. By the end of September, the ambassadors to Muslim-majority countries will be called to the Vatican for another effort to defuse the tensions. And the pontifical council for culture, headed by cardinal Paul Poupard, is preparing a meeting with Muslim religious representatives.
But realism isn’t everything for Benedict XVI. The dialogue with Islam that he wants to create is not made of fearful silences and ceremonial embraces. It is not made of mortifications which, in the Muslim camp, are interpreted as acts of submission. The citation he made in Regensburg, from the "Dialogues with a Mohammedan" written at the end of the fourteenth century by the Christian participant in the dialogue, the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologos, was deliberate choice. A war was on. Constantinople was under siege, and in a half century, in 1453, it would fall under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire. But the learned Christian emperor brought his Persian counterpart to the terrain of truth, reason, law, and violence, to what marks the real difference between the Christian faith and Islam, to the key questions upon which war or peace between the two civilizations depends.
Pope Ratzinger sees modern times, too, as being fraught with war, and with holy war. But he asks Islam to place a limit of its own on "jihad." He proposes to the Muslims that they separate violence from faith, as prescribed by the Qur’an itself, and that they again connect faith with reason, because "acting against reason is in contradiction with the nature of God."
In Regensburg, the pope exalted the greatness of the Greek philosophy of Aristotle and Plato. He demonstrated that this is an integral part of biblical and Christian faith in the God who is "Logos." And he also did this deliberately. When Paleologos held his dialogue with his Persian counterpart, Islamic culture had just emerged from its happiest period, when Greek philosophy had been grafted onto the trunk of Qur’anic faith. In asking Islam today to rekindle the light of Aristotelian reason, Benedict XVI is not asking for the impossible. Islam has had its Averroes, the great Arab commentator on Aristotle who was treasured by such a giant of Catholic theology as was Thomas Aquinas. A return, today, to the synthesis between faith and reason is the only way for Islamic interpretation of the Qur’an to free itself from its fundamentalist paralysis and from obsession with "jihad." And it is the only ground for authentic dialogue between the Muslim world and the Christianity of the West.
At the Angelus on Sunday, September 17, which was broadcast live even by the Arab television network Al-Jazeera, Benedict XVI expressed his "regret" at how his lecture had been misunderstood. He said that he did not agree with the passage he cited from Manuel II Paleologos, according to whom in the "new things" brought by Mohammed "you will find only evil and inhuman things, like the order to spread the faith by means of the sword." But he did not apologize at all; he didn’t retract a single line. The lecture in Regensburg was not an academic exercise for him. He did not put aside his papal vestments there in order to speak only the sophisticated language of the theologian, to an audience made up only of specialists. The pope and the theologian in him are all of a piece, and for everyone. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, who has grasped the essence of this pontificate better than other Church leaders have done, said on Monday, September 18 to the directive body of the Italian bishops that "the fundamental coordinates" of the message Benedict XVI is proposing to the Church and the world are found in these three texts: the encyclical "Deus Caritas Est"; the address to the Roman curia on December 22, 2005, on the interpretation of Vatican Council II; and, last but not least, the "splendid" lecture in Regensburg.
Benedict XVI is hopeful. He would not have been so daring if he did not believe in the real possibility that an interpretation of the Qur’an that marries faith with reason and freedom can be reopened within Islamic thought. But the voices in the Muslim world that are accepting his offer of dialogue are too weak and too few, and almost not to be found. And the pope is too much alone in a wayward Europe that really does resemble somewhat the Eurabia described by Oriana Fallaci, a "Christian atheist" whom he has read, met with, and admired. And then there is the violence that hangs over Christians in Islamic countries, and also outside of them – when, to silence the pope, members of his flock are killed, and all the better if they are innocent, like a religious sister, a woman.

by Sandro Magister

Catholic News & Current Events-9/22/2006



Indonesian Catholics executed this morning
After their last request for the sacrament of reconciliation was refused, three Catholics who had been convicted of anti-Muslim violence were executed. Read further by clicking here.
So many nations world wide gave billions in donations to these people after the terrible tsunami which struck that country. Did it worry them that much of this money was from 'catholics' and 'jews' or other 'christian denominations'? Of course not, they grabbed our billions and then MURDER innocent catholics simply because they were Catholics. Something stinks in Indonesia, I suggest we leave them to themselves and see how they cope then!
********************

Filipino bishops seek solidarity from Australian Church
While mining in the Philippines has gained in value, a statement by Bishop Ramon Villena of Bayombong diocese entitled "The threat to Indigenous rights and environment by mining" says that "the environmental degradation it has caused has also increased". Read further by clicking here.
********************
Social Justice Sunday
The fourth Sunday of September is designated by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference as Social Justice Sunday. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-9/20/2006



Extra security measures for papal audience
Security has been tightened at the Vatican. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Condemned Indonesian Catholics ask for public execution
Three Indonesian Catholics condemned to death want to be executed in public. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Sorry Benedict reiterates "deep respect" for Islam
Vatican diplomats are scrambling to organise a possible interfaith summit. Read further by clicking here.
********************


Bendigo Bishop backs English test for migrants
Bishop Joe Grech said he has no problems with Prime Minister John Howard's new proposal for immigrants. Prime Minister John Howard frequently single out Muslims for criticism, saying last month that they must subscribe to Australian values. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-9/19/2006



Indonesian Christians now face execution
Indonesian authorities have set a new date for the execution of three Catholic men. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Pope saddened by Islamic protests
Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his sorrow over the misinterpretaion of his speech. Read further by clicking here.
********************

British archbishop backs Pope's speech
Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham, England, has praised Pope Benedict's speech. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Pope encourages adult stem-cell therapy
The Pope is fully behind adult stem cell research. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Iranian Leader Urges More Papal Protests
Iran's supreme leader called for more protests over the pontiff's remarks on Islam. Read further by clicking here.
********************

World leaders bid to hose down flames of Benedict controversy
As the Holy See seeks to soothe tensions with a stepped up diplomatic effort, Australian and world political and religious leaders have called for calm. Read further by clicking here.
********************
Cardinal Pell Criticizes Islamic Violence
Cardinal George Pell has hit out at Muslims protesting over comments by the Pope. Read further by clicking here.
********************


Hollywood renews faith in films
Rupert Murdoch's Fox film division is announcing plans to make up to a dozen major films a year under the FoxFaith banner. Read further by clicking here.
********************

Monday, September 18, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-9/17/2006



Churches Under Attack In West Bank

Two Christian Churches were hit by firebombs. Read further by clicking here.

*********************

Egypt's Coptic Church rejects Pope's Islam remarks
Egypt's Coptic Church has rejected Pope Benedict XVI's remarks implicitly linking Islam and violence. Read further by clicking here.

*********************


Benedict "deeply sorry" for Muslim outrage but violence continues
Pope Benedict told pilgrims yesterday that he is "deeply sorry" for the reaction to his quoted remarks. Read further by clicking here.

*********************

Pope's appeal for dialogue backfires

Pope Benedict XVI major mistake was to believe that an open dialouge can happen between Islam and Christianity. Read further by clicking here.

*********************
RIP Leonella Sgorbati

Fellow Italian nuns of slain Catholic sister Leonella Sgorbati line up to board the plane carrying her body as all the nuns working at the SOS hospital were evacuated from Mogadishu September 17, 2006.


*********************

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Islam and Pope Benedict XVI -The Real Story



I have placed these two sites here because they both bring clarity to Pope Benedict XVI comments in his speech and his obvious intent which has been lost amidst the hysteria of many Muslims who have now begun burning down Churches. The first piece is by Asia News which explains in length what the Holy Father was trying to convey. Please click here.

The other site is the Popes speech in full please click here.


Some elements of the Western media with a liberal bias have caused great damage with their malicious reporting on the Popes comments, which they took out of context.

I am deeply disturbed to see many Muslims ranting hatred and death to the Pope and the West and then in the next breath these same Muslims will then say that they are a religion of 'peace'. How can this be so when with their every word and every action the opposite is occuring?

There have been many occasions when the Catholic Church has also undergone times of controversy and attack yet there have been NO reports that Catholics have begun burning down houses of worship nor have any deaths occured to any one person. Can Islam say the same?

Once again we also see the total SILENCE of the Islamic Clerics and Mullahs when it comes to cautioning the radicals within Islam itself. If anything the opposite is occuring here is a quote from Sheikh Hassan Malin, "We urge you Muslims wherever you are to hunt down the Pope for his barbaric statements as you have pursued Salman Rushdie, the enemy of Allah who offended our religion....Whoever offends our Prophet Mohammed should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim." Is that a 'peaceful' statement?

The Islamic extremists continually bring forth historic instances where the Catholic Church behaved less than admiral the difference is that the Catholic Church has learnt from its past errors and has grown in maturity and enlightenment. Whereas Islam has never progressed from the sword and its barbaric attitudes towards all those who have a different philosophy when it comes to matters of faith. They even murder their own who feel called to leave the religion of Islam. We need only remember the outcry concerning Abdul Rahman fortunately the West intervened and so Mr Rahman was spared the sword.

Not all European countries have remained coward by the fear of Islamic extremists here the German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended the Popes speech with these words, "Whoever criticizes the Pope misunderstood the aim of his speech. It was an invitation to dialogue between religions and the Pope [expressly] spoke in favor of this dialogue, which is something I also support and consider urgent and necessary...What Benedict XVI emphasized was a decisive and uncompromising renunciation of all forms of violence in the name of religion."

I hope that Pope Benedict XVI will NOT apologise for simply speaking the truth, for only in Islam has the truth become a intolerable.

Let us remember one of the late Pope John Paul II favourite words from Scripture, 'Be not afraid'.








Catholic News & Current Events-9/16/2006



Islamic protests against Pope's speech

Pope Benedict XVI has sparked a major controversy throughout Islamic Nations who have condemned his speech. Read further by clicking here.

One has to wonder how such Nations can call themselves a 'peaceful' religion as their faces contort with the rabidness of their hatred towards anyone who dares to question their so called religion of peace which is Islam. The Catholic Church does not murder anyone who leaves the fold, nor do they promote hateful language can Islam say the same thing? If a Muslim wishes to convert to Christianity what becomes of that person? They are murdered, therefore is Islam a religion of peace? I think NOT!


********************
The Pope’s speech: lending Islam a helping hand
This is another perspective of what the Pope was truly trying to convey in his speech which has outraged many Muslims. Read further by clicking here.

********************

Chile court halts sales of morning-after pill to minors
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chile has put a hold on the distribution of the morning after pill. Read further by clicking here.

********************

Pope ends memorable return to Bavaria
Pope Benedict XVI has ended his visit to his native country with an emotional farewell. Read further by clicking here.

********************







Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Catholic News & Current Events-09/12-13/2006


"As summer simmers down, the Da Vinci Code-fever is also mercifully breaking. I only wish that the curiosity that drove 40 million people to read Brown's thriller would drive millions more to take up a more noble quest—a quest for veritas, or truth. "

Read more of Charles Colsen's thought provoking commentary on "Breakpoint" regarding the state of higher education and Christianity at todays universities by clicking here.

********************
The rising suicide rates in India are causing alarm in the Catholic Church.

Read more about this alarming trend by clicking here.


********************
"First, Benedict focused his visit on reviving Christianity in his native country, which is split equally between Catholics and Protestants. Second, he addressed the status of Muslim residents in Europe."

Read more by clicking here.


********************
"Pop star Madonna will sing suspended from a cross in the finale of her Moscow concert on Tuesday despite a plea from the Russian Orthodox Church to drop that part of her act."

Let's face it, diplomacy and culture are not some of this woman's better qualities.

Read more by clicking here.

********************
The Catholic University of America has hired three new professors who are leaders in their field at The School of Theology and Religious Studies. It appears they have hirde some very good theologians for the university.

Read more by clicking here.

********************
"Saints Columba-Brigid Roman Catholic Church in Buffalo, New York rise from the ashes after burning two years ago."

Read more about this great news for this parish by clicking here.

********************
"Every individual must perform his role in life regardless of how big or small, according to Cebu Archbishop Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal who is the most senior official of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines."

Read more of Cardinal Vidal's talk by clicking here.

********************
"Pope Benedict XVI called today for harmony in the diverse and sometimes fractious Roman Catholic Church, comparing it to a church organ in need of tuning."

With each talk he gives, Pope Benedict XVI makes me more and more happy that he is our pontiff. Read more of what he had to say by clicking here.


********************
"A solemn Pope Benedict XVI knelt in prayer at the graves of his mother, father and sister in the emotional highpoint of his six-day visit to his native Bavaria in southern Germany."

Read more about Pope Benedict's German trip by clicking here.

********************
"Speaking to academics at the University of Regensburg, where he taught theology in the 1970s, the pope traversed centuries of Islamic, Greek and Christian philosophy to decry holy wars and forced conversions, and to hold up Christianity as the "profound encounter of faith and reason".

One thing we know, and that is, the time for being "poltically correct" is well past. I am sure that there will be outcries by the Muslims regarding the Holy Father's statement. I am just waiting for Muslim outcries against violence in the name of Islam without their inserting any excuses for behavior they claim to be condemning. I won't hold my breath waiting however.

Read more about the Holy Father's statement by clicking here.