People in the News

RSS
Email

0 Kudo

Author	Comment
Benodette	Cardinal Dias - Liberal churches have 'spiritual Alzheimer's'	#1821	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5711 07/23/08 09:54:13	The Telegraph - Cardinal Ivan Dias also told hundreds of Anglican bishops gathered in Canterbury that churches who take important decisions without the authority of their leaders have "ecclesial Parkinson's". His outspoken comments will add to the pressure on liberal American and Canadian church leaders who have driven the worldwide Communion to the brink of schism by electing an openly gay bishop and by blessing same-sex unions, in defiance of centuries of tradition and guidelines agreed at the last Lambeth Conference. They came just hours after the head of the church in Sudan, backed by Primates of 17 provinces in the developing world, demanded that the homosexual bishop of New Hampshire, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, be sacked and that those who consecrated him "confess". Cardinal Dias's speech is the latest in a series of critical comments from the Roman Catholic Church about the direction of the Anglican Communion. Cardinal Dias - Liberal churches have 'spiritual Alzheimer's'
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Fischer, our man in the Vatican	#1822	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5712 07/23/08 10:01:21	Canberra Times - Few Australians could be more suitable for the position of full-time ambassador to the Vatican were Australia to decide that it needed one than Tim Fischer. But there would be many who quite reasonably suspect that we need no such full-time position, and that the decision to create such an appointment owes rather more to the Government's mania to control the news cycle and perhaps to capitalise on some of the goodwill excited by the success of World Youth Day than it does to any real need to upgrade our representation, particularly when Australia is downgrading its representation in more important countries. Traditionally, our diplomatic representation at the Holy See has been a part-time job for our ambassador to Ireland, and it would be stretching it to suggest that the Rome end of the position has been arduous. By tradition or Vatican pressure, based on ultimate fears of the durability of its concordat with Italy diplomats accredited to Rome cannot be our representatives at the Vatican, so the task cannot be delegated to Amanda Vanstone, who has a sinecure there. Fischer, our man in the Vatican Appoint political foes, then mates Vatican ambassador could cost $3m pa
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Pope should apologize to Newfoundland abuse victims	#1823	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5718 07/25/08 07:00:40	Will there ever be an end to this? The Telegram - Every time Pope Benedict XVI apologizes somewhere for the sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy, the ongoing silence of the Roman Catholic church in Newfoundland becomes more noticeable and despicable. This week, the pope was in Australia, where he issued the apology at a public mass attended by thousands of people... In April, Benedict was in the U.S., where he also issued a public apology for the sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy, and met with several victims. Cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the U.S. became public in 2002 in Boston, and since then U.S. dioceses have paid out million of dollars in compensation to victims. Here in Newfoundland, of course, there has been no official public apology for the widespread sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy, even though it has been 20 years since the crimes became publicly known. The last time a pontiff visited our shores was in 1984, when Pope John Paul II famously blessed the fishing fleet at Flatrock. At that time, the sexual abuse of Newfoundland children by some members of the clergy had not yet become public knowledge. Almost a whole generation has passed since then. The globe-trotting John Paul II didn't touch down here again, nor does it seem likely that Benedict XVI will. But at any time over the ensuing years, an open letter or a public statement could have been made. Granted, the pope is a busy man. Maybe local church leaders could have issued a public apology on his behalf, or, almost as good, of their own volition. As we well know, church leaders in Newfoundland took a far different tack. Their standard response to allegations of sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy was to deny it or ignore it, and to fight extended court battles against claims for financial compensation. During the few days that Pope Benedict was apologizing in Australia, Sean Walsh of Mount Pearl was telling Telegram reporter Everton McLean that he's still waiting for about 40 per cent of the compensation he is owed by the Diocese of St. George's, even while church officials there buy back properties that had been sold to enable payments to be made to dozens of victims of sexual abuse. Pope should apologize to Newfoundland abuse victims
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Bishop Clemens praises launch of JPII sports foundation	#1824	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5733 07/28/08 13:02:25	CNS - Bishop Josef Clemens, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, said the letters of St. Paul demonstrate an understanding of the grueling demands of sports, and his missionary travels show that he probably was physically fit, as well. Thus the year marking the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth is an appropriate time to launch the John Paul II Foundation for Sports, Bishop Clemens said at a July 28 press conference. Five Italian organizations and businesses involved with promoting sports and good sportsmanship launched the foundation to strengthen parish-based sports programs, to further study about teaching values and good citizenship through sports and to sponsor international celebrations highlighting good, sweaty fun. Edio Costantini, president of the foundation, said it was named after Pope John Paul because the late pope spoke so often about sports as a way to bring people together in peace and as a way to learn teamwork, self-control and respect for rules. Bishop Clemens praises launch of JPII sports foundation
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Pope grants waiver for ex-bishop to lead Paraguay	#1825	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5736 07/30/08 10:46:23	Reuters Reuters - Pope Benedict granted Paraguay's president-elect a historic waiver to allow the former bishop to take office next month without violating church rules, a Vatican representative said on Wednesday. The Pope gave Fernando Lugo a special dispensation, downgrading him to layman's status, said Orlando Antonini, the Vatican's ambassador to Asuncion. Lugo was elected president in April, ending more than 60 years of one-party rule in the poor South American country notorious for corruption and contraband. "It's the first time this is granted. It was accepted because the people have chosen him and ... because his clerical status is incompatible with serving as president," Antonini told a news conference. "The Pope has granted him the loss of his clerical status ... he's a layman now," Antonini said after meeting with Lugo. Pope grants waiver for ex-bishop to lead Paraguay Pope agrees: Paraguayan leader no longer bishop
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn dies at 89	#1826	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5757 08/03/08 19:45:01	Herald Tribune - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, whose stubborn, lonely and combative literary struggles gained the force of prophecy as he revealed the heavy afflictions of Soviet Communism in some of the most powerful literary works of the 20th century, died late on Sunday at the age of 89 in Moscow. His son Yermolai said the cause was a heart ailment. Solzhenitsyn outlived by nearly 17 years the Soviet state and system he had battled through years of imprisonment, ostracism and exile. Solzhenitsyn had been an obscure, middle-aged, unpublished high school science teacher in a provincial Russian town when he burst onto the literary stage in 1962 with "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." The book, a mold-breaking novel about a prison camp inmate, was a sensation. Suddenly he was being compared to giants of Russian literature like Tolstoy, Dostoyevski and Chekov. Over the next five decades, Solzhenitsyn's fame spread throughout the world as he drew upon his experiences of totalitarian duress to write evocative novels like "The First Circle" and "The Cancer Ward" and historical works like "The Gulag Archipelago." Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn dies at 89
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Unicorn	The "Knights Templar" sue the Pope	#1827	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1384 08/03/08 21:43:09	Benodette, thank you for the article on the late Nobel laureate, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The world has lost one of its greatest literary voices. I noted in the article you posted that Mr. Solzhenitsyn had become a supporter of Vladimir Putin. Mr. Putin's record as a statesman has become somewhat controversial, and I can only hope that he will not ultimately betray his legendary countryman's faith in him. On another note, this has got to be one of the strangest news items I've seen yet ... I wonder if Dan Brown had anything to do with it? From the Telegraph: Knights Templar heirs in legal battle with the Pope The heirs of the Knights Templar have launched a legal battle in Spain to force the Pope to restore the reputation of the disgraced order which was accused of heresy and dissolved seven centuries ago. By Fiona Govan, Madrid Correspondent The Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ, whose members claim to be descended from the legendary crusaders, have filed a lawsuit against Benedict XVI calling for him to recognise the seizure of assets worth 100 billion euros (£79 billion). They claim that when the order was dissolved by his predecessor Pope Clement V in 1307, more than 9,000 properties as well as countless pastures, mills and other commercial ventures belonging to the knights were appropriated by the church. But their motive is not to reclaim damages only to restore the "good name" of the Knights Templar. "We are not trying to cause the economic collapse of the Roman Catholic Church, but to illustrate to the court the magnitude of the plot against our Order," said a statement issued by the self-proclaimed modern day knights. Knights Templar heirs in legal battle with the Pope Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar Proud to be Papist! "Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved ..." - Benedict XVI "He knocks at the door, he is close to us and thus true joy is close, which is stronger than all the sorrows in the world, and in our life." - Benedict XVI
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Unicorn	The Templars: Not Heretics?	#1828	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1388 08/04/08 18:43:26	There have been many books written on the Templars over the years -- some sober and scholarly, others not so -- and they seem to be in the news (somewhat) these days, evidently owing to the intention of some would-be Templars to sue Il Papa! In any case, here is an interesting article from Canada.com, concerning some historical details on the fate of the Templars, details that apparently came to light when the Vatican released some documents from the Secret Archives a few months ago (goodness, what I wouldn't give to be able to read those documents!): Document shows Templars not heretics, historian says By Jennifer Green OTTAWA - When several Knights Templar were burned at the stake for heresy in 1314, legend has it they screamed out a curse against the villainous lawyer who convicted them. Eight days later, he died. They begged God to prove their innocence by taking the pope within 40 days. Thirty-three days later, Pope Clement V died too. Eight months after that, the French king who had coveted their money also passed away, and all his sons succumbed within 14 years, ending the royal family's 300-year reign. So did the Templars really worship idols, spit on the crucifix and sodomize each other, as the French king claimed? Or did they just fall victim to his desperate greed, as a recently discovered parchment suggests? In 2001, a second-year student of ancient documents at the Vatican stumbled across the Chinon chart, a 58-by-70 centimetre parchment misfiled in the secret archives for 400 years. "I thought I was dreaming," Barbara Frale told the Citizen in an e-mail. "It took six months for me to fully grasp that it was real." Frale, who is writing a book about her find, says the document shows that Pope Clement V did not excommunicate the Templar leaders, but absolved them of heresy and brought them back in the church. Rumours about sodomy and idolatry were simply misunderstood military hazing rituals. "Historians had concluded that the Templars were innocent, but most people still thought they were heretics, occultists and the like," she wrote to the Citizen. "Now we have definitive proof. The Templars were not heretics. The order, which was a military brotherhood, simply practised a secret ritual that was grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted." Late last year, the Vatican produced 800 limited edition copies of her find, with a full-size reproduction of the parchment, a Latin translation, a historical commentary written by Frale, and three replicas of medieval church seals. Ottawa's Saint Paul University has purchased No. 302 for its renowned rare book library at a cost of $8,000. Many historians have pilloried Pope Clement for selling out the Templars to the French king. But in her commentary, Frale argues the pope was no toady. He was a subtle thinker who had to "run with the hare and hunt with the hounds" to keep the church from splitting apart. "He preferred subtle ploys to resounding strategies and his slow, hushed tactics obtained far from minor results in one of the most difficult situations in the long history of the church," writes Frale. Document shows Templars not heretics, historian says Proud to be Papist! "Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved ..." - Benedict XVI "He knocks at the door, he is close to us and thus true joy is close, which is stronger than all the sorrows in the world, and in our life." - Benedict XVI
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Court orders treatment over pope incident	#1829	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5764 08/05/08 11:42:20	Herals Tribune - A court has ordered a German man who jumped a security barrier and grabbed hold of Pope Benedict XVI's popemobile last year to undergo treatment, but stopped short of sending him to a psychiatric hospital. The 28-year-old, who was not identified, was swiftly tackled and pinned to the ground by security guards trailing the popemobile in the Vatican's St. Peter's Square on June 6 last year. On Monday, the Waldshut-Tiengen state court in southwestern Germany put the man, who suffers from a bipolar disorder, on four years' probation. To avoid the man from being sent to a psychiatric hospital during that period, the court ruled that he must begin psychotherapeutic treatment and continue with medication he is already taking, undergoing regular check-ups. Court orders treatment over pope incident
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
rcesq	Knights Templar Document Not a New Discovery	#1830	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1697 08/06/08 00:36:48 Moderator	Like many things involving the Church and its supposed nefarious history of greed and inquisitorial tactics, the stories that Unicorn posted above about the Knights Templar have another side to them. When the Vatican publishing house issued the reproduction of the trials of the Knights Templar last year, the prefect of the Vatican archives, Bishop Sergio Pagano, opened the press conference held to unveil the work with some sharp words about the unwarranted hype in the media. He also debunked the notion that the Chinon parchment had been misfiled or misidentified in the archives for centuries until its sudden discovery in 2001 by a "second-year student of ancient documents." I gather from Unicorn's post that Barbara Frale, the student who allegedly made the "discovery," is sticking by her story. I wonder if the upcoming publication of her own "explosive" book about the Knights Templar has anything to do with that, hmmm? Here's the article by John Thavis of Catholic News Service that describes what the Vatican archivist had to say last year: It was billed as the Vatican's effort to "come clean" and reveal secret documents about the mysterious Knights Templar, the medieval crusading order that has inspired ancient legends and modern novels. But after seeing exaggerated press reports for two weeks, Bishop Sergio Pagano apparently had had enough. "I've read in the papers that this is about discoveries. In no way can one talk about discoveries -- every one of these texts was already known," he said Oct. 25. * * * Since early October, international media had pumped the story, saying parchment records uncovered in the archives would exonerate and rehabilitate the Templars, erasing the charges of heresy that led to the order's dissolution in 1312. The idea was that the Vatican was finally divulging information it had long hidden -- a notion that tied in vaguely with Dan Brown's novel, "The Da Vinci Code," which gave the Templars a role in an ongoing church conspiracy. But Bishop Pagano, prefect of the Vatican archives, was having none of this. The new Vatican book is "not a scoop, not something extraordinary, does not reveal or remove penalties that were in fact never imposed, or bring to light hidden things," he said. The Vatican wasn't doing this to celebrate or rehabilitate the Knights Templar, he said. The intent was simply to make scholarly material available in a format of high artistic quality, he said. Many media reported that the elaborate collector's edition, titled "Processus Contra Templarios" ("The Trial Against the Templars"), would include a previously secret document called the Chinon parchment, supposedly discovered in 2001 after being misplaced in a Vatican archives drawer. The Chinon parchment details a 1308 investigation of the Knights Templar ordered by Pope Clement V. It is noteworthy because it shows that Pope Clement absolved the Knights of heresy and wanted at that point to reform the order rather than suppress it. Bishop Pagano, however, said the Chinon document was not a recent discovery. It was "described perfectly" in a 1912 Vatican archives catalogue and was available to researchers -- but researchers didn't notice until 2001, he said. What seemed to bother Bishop Pagano most was the hype over a scholarly volume. "All this noise is not our style," he said. "We are still proudly convinced -- and perhaps we are in a minority on this -- that books should be published, read and studied, not 'presented.' Today, books are presented and not even read afterward," he said. Bishop Pagano's blunt words suggested a divergence between scholarship and marketing at the Vatican, an impression that was reinforced when the bishop stood up and left halfway through the press conference. * * * Ferdinando Santoro, president of Scrinium, told Catholic News Service that some media had indeed overly hyped the Templars volume. He acknowledged, however, that the publicity had helped sales of the book. Although the book's price tag is 5,900 euros (about $8,400), orders have already been taken for most of the 799 copies printed, he said. The edition was designed with scholars and libraries in mind, but Santoro said the publicity has generated requests from a much wider audience, including collectors, sheiks, international fashion designers and others wealthy enough to treat themselves to a volume that is hand-sewn, bound in goatskin parchment and embellished with gold decorations. * * *
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Thirty years after his death, expert reveals true personality of Paul VI	#1831	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5772 08/07/08 11:58:42	CNA - In order to mark the 30th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's death on August 6, L'Osservatore Romano is publishing an article describing the true personality of the Pontiff, debunking myths about his supposed sadness and uncertainty portrayed in some media. Written by Maurizio Fontana, the article cites statements by the president of the Paul VI Institute, Giuseppe Camadini, who explained that it is "true that it was not easy to read and accurately portray the personality of Montini (Paul VI)-which was characterized by an intense, strong and elevated spirituality jealously guarded by him and managed by his unmistakable style of gentleness." Camadini went on to note that "perhaps the press at that time did not take into account that Paul VI took the Second Vatican Council 'by the hand' after its first session, bringing it to a positive conclusion and promulgating all of the approved documents, dedicating personal attention and precise interventions to the final approval." He also pointed out that Paul IV was the first Pontiff "who desired to follow the steps of Christ in the Holy Land and who visited all of the continents for the first time. He is also the Pope of Ecclesiam Suam, Populorum Progressio, Octogesima Adveniens, Evangelii Nuntiandi, just to name a few of his documents." In debunking the myth about his supposed sadness, Camadini underscored that Paul VI is "the only Pope to promulgate an apostolic exhortation on joy: Gaudete in Domino, 1975." Regarding the Pope's "uncertainty," he pointed to the Pontiff's determination to publish the encyclical Humanae Vitae, which was published forty years ago, and which showed his humble and constant submission to the will of the Lord" and his "uninterrupted witness of faith and love for the Church," Flores said. Thirty years after his death, expert reveals true personality of Paul VI
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	The magic of Nelson Mandela	#1832	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5773 08/07/08 12:11:44	They came to London in their droves to have their picture taken with Nelson Mandela for his 90th birthday - Bill and Chelsea Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Gordon Brown, Will Smith, Robert De Niro and many more. A A Gill reports on the allure of an African hero. The Sunday Times - The corridors of the InterContinental hotel smell of the uneaten, unchanged and unloved. The mezzanine floor is a miasma of exhausted, reconditioned air and scream-absorbing carpet. It's one of those constructions of bleak, utilitarian comfort that make you despair of human ingenuity. Here, past the press/business facilities, is a conference room - one of those large open spaces at a premium in cities, used for the amplification of grand, commercial lies and celebrations. .. Actually, it's the stage for Nelson Mandela to have his 90th-birthday picture taken with a hundred folk he doesn't know, but who know him. More precisely, it's the stage for a hundred people to have their picture taken with Mandela.... Slightly apart is an old black man in a suit, the arms too long. He is unmistakably African. He's brought the stillness with him; the guarded eyes, the private face, the quiet politeness. He is Mandela's driver and has been since the beginning - since Robben Island. He looks at the gaggle of humming talent - it's not the worst thing he's ever seen. Behind him is an open door and slowly, like the entry of shadow puppets, a phalanx, a protective creche of people, sidle across the light. In the centre, one shuffling silhouette is unmistakably the figure of Nelson Mandela. Walking with a stick, supported on each side, the radiant tableau moves towards the arena. The pop stars and the dancers, the plutocrats and PRs and photographers and all their assistant managers, handlers and agents don't know that he's just there and Mandela doesn't yet know that they're just here. It's the lull between colliding worlds. He comes into the room slowly, slowly, his damaged feet in big, comfy slippers, sagging in the trademark African shirt, and they erupt - whistle and clap and whoop, and generally can't believe it. It's like The X Factor. Terry says: "Let's get the group shot over first" - he doesn't know how long he can hold back the hyperventilating show bunnies. Mandela is ushered to sit in the middle, in the new star chair, helped by his formidable Afrikaans secretary, one of those terrifyingly admirable women only Africa produces. He looks up and around, like a child who's just woken in a strange room, and sees all the folk who have come to see him, and smiles this brilliant, beatific smile, a smile that could break your heart. It is the most conscience-tugging, soul-moving facial expression in the world, and he got it in jail. Go back and look at all the photographs of Mandela before the island, and he is another righteous black lawyer with the ebony, private face and the guarded eyes. But he comes out 27 years later with this miraculous face, moulded and creased by injustice into a transcendent African mask, this expression that speaks every language. .. Mandela regards the camera only fleetingly, not ignoring it, just perhaps not entirely aware of it. His eyes wander around the room at all these people, all this attention, all this expectation, all this love.... ... Someone here said that Mandela was "Gandhi for our generation". This is a wishful, fairy-tale nonsense that denies him his history, his anger, his blackness, his Africanness. Mandela was a revolutionary. Far from a pacifist, he organised and led Spear of the Nation, the terrorist wing of the ANC. In adopting Mandela as a smiley face, T-shirt slogan, album-cover vision of happy otherworldliness, we take him from his real family: southern Africa. We make him the West's boy. He is a real hero, he's an African hero. His struggle and his triumph are their struggle and triumph. We can't buy them with an Aids donation and a song. He's called Madiba because of his black Africanness, not despite it. He should be at home with his family on his birthday. Africans venerate age. He has lived twice as long as most African men can expect to. Here, we respect the old because they were once vital and young. In Africa they respect them for managing to get old.... Mandela is handed his ivory stick, and hobbles painfully. This, then, is where the long road to freedom ends. He looks exhausted, beaten down by the adoration of strangers, tired by the demands of so much love. The magic of Nelson Mandela
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
mag6nideum		#1833	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1473 08/07/08 13:14:59	Thank you Benodette for this posting. The author shows some real insight into the Madiba-phenomenon. A welcome change. I hope this was Mandela's last appearance with Western rock stars and the such. He deserves some respite now.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Women bishops block the path to unity, Kasper tells Anglicans	#1834	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5775 08/08/08 10:36:21	More turmoil for Archbishop Rowan Williams and the Anglican Church The Tablet - ANY HOPE of the Catholic Church recognising Anglican religious orders have been dashed by the consecration of women bishops, the head of the Vatican's office for relations with other Christians told Anglican bishops attending the 10-yearly Lambeth Conference. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said he wanted to be "clear about the new situation in our ecumenical relations", and said: "The ordination of women to the episcopate effectively and definitively blocks a possible recognition of Anglican orders by the Catholic Church." The Anglican bishops were unsurprised by the cardinal's words and acknowledged in their final document that other Churches were "bewildered by apparent Anglican inconsistency". Disappointed by the fruits of formal dialogue with Rome, the bishops suggested in their document of reflections from the conference that "the future of ecumenism should be from the bottom up, not the top down. However, whatever we do at local level must accord with dialogue at the top." Women bishops block the path to unity, Kasper tells Anglicans Anglican Church Gay Row Heats Up Time Magazine - Last week, 670 bishops of the Anglican Communion returned from the Lambeth Conference outside London to their dioceses around the world, their faith fortified by 19 days of prayer and theological debate and buoyed by relief that the once-a-decade meeting had passed off with little public acrimony or mention of schisms. But just days later, the patient efforts of Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the man charged with holding the Anglican church together despite huge internal differences over the issue of gay clergy, lay in tatters following the leak of letters to the London Times newspaper that show where Williams' own sympathies lie on the matter. In correspondence dating from 2000 and 2001 with Welsh psychiatrist and evangelical Christian, Deborah Pitt, Williams described how his literal faith in the scripture's prohibitions against homosexuality began to crumble after about 1980 and that 20 years of study and prayer had led him to the "definitive conclusion" that "an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage ..." Anglican Church Gay Row Heats Up
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Remembering Paul VI, the superhuman pope	#1835	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5776 08/08/08 10:39:38	From John Allen - A two-part dramatic miniseries on Pope Paul VI is slated for Italian national TV this fall, marking the 30th anniversary of his death in August 1978. Corriere della Sera, Italy's main daily, reports that eight million Euro are being pumped into the project, which is hardly surprising given the mammoth ratings success of earlier miniseries about the popes between whom Paul VI was sandwiched: John XXIII and John Paul II. Still, the production company is worried, conceding that Paul VI was not a "popular personality" like the other two pontiffs. As a result, unlike the previous bio-epics, which were simply named "John XXIII" and "John Paul II," this time around the producers plan to append an adjective to the pope's name in the title -- otherwise, they fret, the program might not seem "intriguing" enough for the mass market. The problem is that they have yet to settle on the right modifier to capture the essence of Pope Paul, as well as the interest of couch potatoes everywhere. As fate would have it, Pope Benedict XVI may have inadvertently come to the rescue during his Angelus address last Sunday. Reflecting on the anniversary of Paul VI's death, which fell on Wednesday, Benedict wielded a striking adjective indeed in characterizing his predecessor, who led the church through the storms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and its aftermath: "Superhuman." "Bit by bit," Benedict said, "as our view of the past expands and our understanding deepens, the merit of Paul VI in presiding over the council, leading it happily to its conclusion, and then governing the turbulent post-conciliar phase, appears ever greater -- indeed, I would say, almost superhuman." Thus RAI, the Italian national TV network, may have its title: Paolo VI: Il papa sovrumano ("Paul VI, The Superhuman Pope.") Remembering Paul VI, the superhuman pope
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
galantarie	Sueing Pope Benedict XI????	#1836	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 4495 08/08/08 12:03:02 Member	To add to "RCESQ" 's very good nomena: Any layman wanting to know the authorized, true story of the " Order of the Poor Knights of Jerusalem at the Temple Mount", can faithfully read in ENGLISH. 1) Piers Paul Read: "The Templars", 2) Malcolm Barber: "The New Knighthood", 3) Malcolm Barber: "The Trial of the Templars", 4) Stephen Howarth: "The Knights Templar", and 5) Desmond Seward: "The Monks of War". All these are the true ROMAN-CATHOLIC histories; and, were written prior to the false and silly convocations of Dan Brown! N°s. 2 - 5 were written prior to all the nonsensical "New Age" hype. When the "Knights" were officially disbanded by Clement V in the very early 14th Century, many of these HOLY Knights (who survived Philip IV's slaughter) rejoined into the "Order of St. John at Malta" ; and still other of the MONKS went to Portugal and Spain to influence a renewal of faith...eventually inspiring the likes of military-religious men as Ignatious of Lyola who brought much needed reform to the religious movements of the late 15th and 16th Century (in particularly, Caladonia and the French Pyranese, and along du Midi). Pope Clement V had taken into mind the original purpose for these Knights, as "defenders and protectors of the Holy Provence of Jerusalem and Acra". When that mission obviously ended, they became the reknowned Holy Church Bankers of a United Europe. When that became too dangerous for the Holy Roman Catholic Church, their disabandonment [as being a unique religious order (of totally of which they were) in service only to the Papacy], was wisely (for their safety and benefit) decreed and advised by the Roman Curia. Impoverished King Philip IV of France (envious of the Church's land-holdings and financial security) completely went against Pope Clement's express wishes; and instead of a so-called "clemency", the evil French King initiated the notorious events of Friday the 13th.... The Knights were NOT steeped in any "hidden-rituals"; NOR did they play ANY part in ANY conspiracy against the Holy Roman Church...of which they faithfully were part-of! THEY WERE NEVER INDEPENDENT OF THE CHURCH, even though their order permitted them to answer only to the Pope, at whose express service they were originally created in allegiance....Upon the illegal siezure of properties by PHILIP IV in France; some of the assets of the Holy Order elsewhere were handed-over to lay banking organizations in Switzerland, (who had loyal-Church connections). Many of the brother-monks were released from their vows (if they freely choose) or asked to join other monastic-movements.. Knowing these FACTS, it seems really strange, how a group coming along as "decendants" of these Knight-Monks can sue the Roman Papacy!!!! "I have a mustard- seed; and I am not afraid to use it." [Ratzinger:"Salt of the Earth"] May Our Papa's radiant-light continuously shine forth to illuminate Christ for the world! Last Edited By: galantarie 08/08/08 12:19:50. Edited 2 times.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	A grander grave at last for English cardinal tipped to become a saint	#1837	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5782 08/10/08 20:12:44	The Mail - The remains of a Victorian cardinal tipped to become the first English saint for more than a generation are to be moved from a rural cemetery to a grand urban church. After months of wrangling over a 19th century law which forbids the transfer of bodies from graves to church tombs, the Government has agreed to allow Cardinal John Henry Newman to be exhumed. The Ministry of Justice will grant a licence from today - the 118th anniversary of his death in 1890 - to let undertakers move his remains from a cemetery in Rednal, Worcestershire, to a special resting place of honour at Birmingham Oratory. It is a victory for the Vatican which wants Newman moved into a setting where he can better be venerated. Pope Benedict XVI has long been admirer of his 'theology of conscience'. The Roman Catholic Church is close to attributing a miracle to Newman and he is expected in December to be beatified - the last step before canonisation. The miracle concerns 60-year-old Jack Sullivan, a deacon from Boston, Massachussetts, who recovered from crippling back pain after praying to the cardinal. A second miracle is needed for Newman's cause to progress to canonization when he would be declared a saint. If that were to happen, he would become the first Englishman to be made a saint since 1970. .. The date of the exhumation is a secret but will take place before Newman's beatification. Undertakers will open the coffin at the graveside and Newman's corpse, wearing the vestments of a Catholic priest, will be photographed. It will then be taken to a morgue where Catholic officials from Rome and Milan will remove 'major relics' from the body - such as fingers - to send back to the Vatican so that pilgrims can pray before them. Newman's remains will be transferred to a new coffin that will go on show to the public before being placed in a marble sarcophagus at Birmingham Oratory. A grander grave at last for English cardinal tipped to become a saint
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
mag6nideum		#1838	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1475 08/11/08 03:33:57	___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ It will then be taken to a morgue where Catholic officials from Rome and Milan will remove 'major relics' from the body - such as fingers - to send back to the Vatican so that pilgrims can pray before them. Newman's remains will be transferred to a new coffin that will go on show to the public before being placed in a marble sarcophagus at Birmingham Oratory. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear friends, I hope you will not judge me too badly, but if there is one thing that baffles me totally and completely, it is this chopping off of limbs from saints to keep as relics. I can perhaps still understand this phenomenon from a sort of historical standpoint ( if I try immensely hard). But to pray before these relics? What really happens in this situation? Do the fathful have to pray to this specific saint whose spirit/soul is in heaven? Is the idea that the finger or toe of that particular departed person has a kind of (I shudder to say this) power? A specific "effect" that will increase the power of the prayer? Something almost magical? Has this departed person given his/her consent that his body may be used in this way after his earthly death? What exactly is the theological or plain doctrinal rationale behind this practise which for me verges on the irrational and superstitious? I would be most thankful if someone could direct me to an explanation of this practise in a Catholic Christian source, preferably written by someone on the level of Joseph Ratzinger, Karl Rahner, Von Balthasar et al, and not by a pious layperson who took it upon himself to write apologetics for the Catholic faith. I have read the brilliant and deeply faithful Newman's impressive An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine ( no essay by the way, but a tome...) and I still have no need to go and pray in front of one of his limbs. Will I ever be accepted as a Catholic? As it stands now, this is something that I find inexplicable and even unacceptable from a Christian doctrinal and theological point of view. Even with my much improved knowledge and background of Catholic doctrine and theology it just makes no sense. Last Edited By: mag6nideum 08/11/08 03:36:59. Edited 1 time.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Benodette	Archbishop Chaput of Denver releases his latest book	#1839	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 5790 08/12/08 06:52:30	CNA - On August 12, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver will release his latest book, which focuses on a question of undeniable importance for Catholics in the U.S. but also around the world: What is the role of faith in the public square? Fr. Robert Imbelli, a Boston College associate professor of Theology, gives readers an insightful and well-written review of the archbishop's book, which will be published in L'Osservatore Romano. This new book by the Archbishop of Denver, Colorado, though addressed primarily to his fellow Catholics, will also serve to foster a much-needed conversation both within and outside the Church. Moreover, it appears at a particularly significant time: the eve of one of the most important presidential elections in recent American history. One can read the book on several levels, each illuminating the other. The first level is indicated by the book's subtitle: "serving the nation by living our Catholic beliefs in political life." Central to the author's position is that faith, though intensely and constitutively personal, is never private. Relationship with God through Jesus Christ is inseparably relationship with others in Jesus Christ, as the great judgment scene in chapter twenty-five of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew makes abundantly clear. But, even beyond this, biblical faith always has social and even political implications. Anyone who takes seriously the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament readily acknowledges this. And the fulfillment of revelation in Jesus Christ only intensifies the believer's vocation to foster the coming of the Kingdom in every dimension of human life. The Catholic Church's social teaching, from Leo XIII's "Rerum Novarum," through Vatican Two's "Gaudium et spes," to Benedict XVI's recent Address to the United Nations, is the ongoing application of this prophetic tradition to the changing contexts of world history. Archbishop Chaput's own conviction finds expression with these words: "The Church claims no right to dominate the secular realm. But she has every right - in fact an obligation - to engage secular authority and to challenge those wielding it to live the demands of justice. In this sense, the Catholic Church cannot stay, has never stayed, and never will stay 'out of politics.' Politics involves the exercise of power. The use of power has moral content and human consequences. And the well-being and destiny of the human person is very much the concern, and the special competence, of the Christian community. 'Render Unto Caesar' answers crucial questions about intersection of faith and politics
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking


Homepage \| Biography \| Cardinal Ratzinger \| Pope Benedict XVI \| In Print \| Forum \| Shop \| Bookstore \| Blog \| Benedict in America

Yuku free message boards

People in the News