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FRI-SAT-SUN March 3-5, 2000 vol. 11, no. 45 SECTION THREESee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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As SuperTuesday approaches, the organization Priests for Life headed by Father Frank Pavone have come forward to warn all candidates that pro-choice is not an option for any single Catholic who lives their Faith to the fullest. The priests are making clear the distinction that no law says one has to be Catholic, but if one professes to be such, his or her views cannot vary with the laws of the Church and the teachings of the the Holy Father, particularly regarding the Sanctity of Life. Politics, far from absolving anyone, imposes upon each individual member of the Church the obligation to vote for the candidate whose views are in accord with the teachings of the Church.continued inside
WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - A national pro-life
association for Catholic priests today warned politicians
that being pro-abortion in their policy stances is not an
option for Catholics.
Priests for Life said the US bishops had been clear on the
issue in a November 1998 statement. "As Americans, as
Catholics and as pastors of our people, we write therefore
today to call our fellow citizens back to our country's
founding principles, and most especially to renew our
national respect for the rights of those who are unborn,
weak, disabled, and terminally ill," the bishops wrote.
The group said those who hold or seek elected office,
proclaiming to be Catholic while holding "pro-choice" views
are risking confusion and scandal for lay Catholics who live
the Church's teachings. "No law says you have to be
Catholic. But if you publicly declare that you are, don't
be surprised if someone criticizes inconsistencies between
your public positions and the teachings of the Church," the
group warned.
Priests for Life also said its members will refuse to be
intimidated by those who tell them that they should not
"meddle in politics" when they denounce the evil of
abortion or otherwise proclaim the Gospel. "Politics is not
an arena which can absolve itself of responsibility to moral
laws; nor can the Church absolve herself of the
responsibility to teach those laws," they said.
As Cardinal John J. O'Connor continues in failing health, the U.S. has rushed through legislation which will award the exemplary New York Archbishop with this country's highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal. The resolution now goes before President Clinton for final approval. Once cleared, Cardinal O'Connor will be counted among the ranks of just a few elite citizens who have received the medal, including Mother Teresa and George Washington. continued inside.
WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - The US Senate on Wednesday
rushed through legislation to award Cardinal John O'Connor
of New York with the country's highest civilian honor, the
Congressional Gold Meal, even as they received news of the
80-year-old cardinal's continuing fight with illness.
The Senate agreed unanimously to grant the award to the
cardinal, following on the House's vote last month 410-1 to
do so. The resolution will go before President Bill Clinton.
Only 250 people have received the award, including George
Washington and Mother Teresa.
The cardinal had surgery last August to remove a brain
tumor and was weakened by radiation treatments. After
returning to the pulpit for Christmas, Cardinal O'Connor
was forced to miss last Sunday's Mass at St. Patrick's
Cathedral and cancel appointments this week because of
continuing weakness and failing eyesight.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Charles Schumer,
D-New York, praised the cardinal's work on behalf of AIDS
patients, the needy, children and farm workers, and for his
work to re-establish diplomatic ties between Israel and the
Vatican, while also noting their disagreement on abortion
and homosexual rights.
As the culture of death swirls about us, a school district in Alabama has rescinded its stance on church-state by allowing a young eleven year old girl to wear her cross necklace to school. Proponents for the girl argued that her constitutional right to express her religious upbringing was infringed upon by the school's dress code. In the end, she won out because of her God-given rights and the district's hopes to avoid further negative publicity. continued inside.
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (CWNews.com) - An Alabama school
district this week relented and settled a lawsuit brought
on behalf of an 11-year-old girl who was told she could not
openly wear a cross necklace under her school's dress code.
Kandice Smith was told by authorities of the Walker County
School District at the beginning of the school year that
she had to hide the cross, a gift from her parents, under
clothing. The Curry Middle School had instituted a
mandatory dress code that included a provision that said:
"Neck jewelry should be restricted to around the neck and
not hang outside of required shirt."
The American Center for Law and Justice, which represented
Kandice in the suit, argued that "religious expression such
as wearing a cross is protected expression pursuant to both
the United States Constitution and the Alabama
Constitution. These are very important constitutional
safeguards that we must defend whenever they are
threatened."
The settlement agreement requires the school to revise its
dress code "to mandate religious accommodations in
accordance with the Alabama Religious Freedom Amendment."
Similar cases where students were forbidden from wearing
openly wearing religious symbols have been settled in other
states recently.
A symposium to study and reflect on the Shroud of Turin began in Turin yesterday. Encouraged by the Diocesan Commission for the exhibition of the Holy Shroud, a gathering of over 40 experts from Italy and other nations. After the studies, the results will be given to the Archbishop of Turin. Each day focuses on various aspects regarding the Holy Shroud with the final session to focus on the Carbon 14 dating, as well as other modern techniques of dating the material. continued inside.
ROME, 2 (NE) A symposium to study and reflect about scientific
research regarding the Holy Shroud will begin today in the city
of Turin. Encouraged by the Diocesan Commission for the
exhibition of the Holy Shroud, more than 40 experts will gather
at the Italian city to discuss several aspects of the Sindone
-considered the shroud that covered Jesus' body after his death-
in the light of the latest research. Almost half of the
participants are Italians, while the rest come from countries in
America, Asia and Australia. Results will be given afterwards to
the Archbishop of Turin, official custos of the Holy Shroud, who
will be also attending. The symposium will have as main theme
"The Sindone of Turin. Past, present and future."
The event that will take place until Sunday will have four main
sessions, each of them focusing on crucial themes about the
Shroud. The first session will discuss how did the image was
printed on the shroud. During the second session, experts will
focus on the stains of blood present in the Sindone, in the
light of chemical and physical analysis made. A more historic
point of view will be considered during the third session, to
discuss the relationship between the Gospel and the shroud, as
well as historical data documenting the existence of the shroud
through the centuries. The last session will discuss the
validity of Carbon 14 dating, considering as well later
research.
Over the last years, several studies have increasingly validated
the authenticity of the Holy Shroud. In 1998, a group of experts
from three different countries gathered to analyze the shroud,
from their different scientific disciplines, with the latest
scientific equipment. These scientists concluded that there was
a 2 million against 1 probability that the Shroud was authentic.
And in August last year, botany professor Avinoam Danin of The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem concluded that the origin of the
Shroud of Turin was Jerusalem after an analysis of pollen grains
and plant images on the cloth. He identified these as coming
from species only found in the months of March and April in the
Jerusalem region.
Pollen identified as "Gundelia tournefortii" was also found in
the Sudarium of Oviedo, a 83 x 52 cm. cloth that has several
blood stains and believed to be the burial face cloth of Jesus.
A 1983 study showed that both the Shroud and the face cloth -the
latter of which is documented from the First Century and kept in
the Cathedral of Oviedo in Spain since the 8th Century- were
stained with type AB blood.
In preparation for his visit to the Holy Land in three weeks and in particular the place of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Holy Father welcomed the Knights, Dames and ecclesiastics of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Rome to celebrate the Jubilee. These representatives of this ancient equestrian order were received at a general Wednesday audience, marking the beginning of their Jubilee celebration from March 1st through Saturday when it will conclude with a special Mass where Mozart's Coronation Mass will be conducted. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, MAR 2 (ZENIT).- Once again John Paul II's thoughts turned
to the Holy Land this morning, the destination of his forthcoming
Jubilee pilgrimage, which will take place from March 20-26. He was given
the opportunity during an audience with 3,000 Knights, Dames and
ecclesiastics of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, whom he
received at noon in the General Audience Auditorium, on the occasion of
their special Jubilee, from March 1-4.
"In a few weeks, God willing, I will also have the grace to visit the
Holy Sepulcher. Therefore, I will be able to spend some time in prayer
in the place where Christ offered his life and took it up again with the
resurrection, gifting us with his Spirit. Because of this, I count on
your prayers," the Holy Father said.
In his address, the Pope emphasized the "generous spiritual and
charitable commitment" of the Order in favor of the holy places and the
Latin Patriarchy of Jerusalem, as well as the "appreciation of the
precious heritage of historical testimonies that are kept in the Holy
Land." Our technically advance modern society looks to this heritage
with new interest, as it is "in need, as never before, of spiritual
values and evocations."
John Paul II mentioned that Pius IX reformed the Order in 1847, "to
favor the recomposition of a Catholic community in the Holy Land." That
Pontiff restored the Order to "its original function, but with a
significant difference: the custody of the tomb of Christ would not be
entrusted to the force of arms, but to the valor of a constant testimony
of faith and solidarity by Christians resident in the holy places."
"Today this is still your task," the Pope said to the Knights and Dames,
hoping that the celebration of the Jubilee "will help you to grow in
assiduous practice of the faith, in exemplary moral conduct and in
generous collaboration with ecclesiastical activities."
In particular, the Pontiff emphasized the need to apply an up-to-date
interpretation of their rule of life of singular service: "For you, as
for the rest of Christians, it is decisive to rediscover Baptism, the
foundation of all Christian existence. This demands a careful in-depth
catechetical and Biblical study, a serious review of life and generous
apostolic initiative. As a result, you will be open to the world of
today without faltering in the spirit of the Order, whose desired
renewal depends above all on the personal conversion of each one," the
Holy Father stressed.
The Order of the Holy Sepulcher has 20,000 Knights and Dames, spread
throughout the world. At present, they assist with the needs of the
Latin Patriarchy of Jerusalem, especially the priests, the patriarchal
seminary, and parochial schools, which serve over 15,000 students. They
also direct initiatives of a social nature, such as the construction of
homes, assistance to schools offering professional training, the
granting of loans to promote agricultural activities and craftsmanship.
The institution was created to defend pilgrims threatened by a myriad
dangers in their pilgrimages to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in 1099,
shortly after the Holy City was conquered by the Crusaders.
The Knights and Dames will celebrate their Jubilee Mass in Rome on
Saturday, March 4, during which the "Wiener Hofmusikkapelle," a chamber
orchestra from Vienna, will interpret Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's
"Coronation Mass" under the baton of Riccardo Muti.
ZE00030207
As the Jubilee marks each day as significant for Catholics worldwide, in Brazil the Catholics of this largest South American nation are rediscovering their own Catholic roots through the archeological remains of the Church of St. Francis, which was constructed between 1503 and 1515 on a hill in the town of Porto Seguro. The archeologists have found not only the outside walls, but the base of the belfry and main altar. This ancient church is spoken of as being among the first expressions of Christianity established thre by the Portuguese. continued inside.
BRASILIA, MAR 2 (ZENIT).- Vestiges of the Church of St. Francis,
constructed between 1503 and 1515, and regarded as the oldest in Brazil,
were discovered buried on a hill considered sacred by the inhabitants of
the tourist town of Porto Seguro. In the 80s Catholics energetically
opposed municipal plans for the construction of an urban complex on the
hill. They were certain that the hill concealed a treasure, vestige of
the first expression of Christianity in Brazil. Their faith was rewarded
a few days ago when the ruins of the church came to light.
The discovery was the fruit of the work of researchers of the University
of Salvador of Bahia. In addition to the outside walls, the
archeologists found the base of the belfry and the main altar.
Chronicles of the time refer to the Church of St. Francis as being part
of the first urban nucleus established by the Portuguese in Brazil.
The church was abandoned following an attack on the colonists by the
Aymore Indians. The whole area went into decline, and the inhabitants
moved to Porto Seguro, where Pedro Alvares Cabral had once disembarked.
Cabral was the first European to set foot on Brazilian land.
But the memory of the first Catholic Church in Brazil was never lost. Up
until the 70s, Mass was celebrated on the hill, although no one knew
exactly where the ruins were buried.
ZE00030202
With our lives filled with soundbites, the Archdiocese of Chicago, under the direction of Cardinal Francis E. George, OMI, will begin a six-week radio program corresponding with the preparation of Lent during Lent. The context of a 60 second announcement invites listeners "to come closer to Christ." The cardinal's invitation which will reach the entire Chicagoland area, is in English and Spanish with a Polish version announced by one of the local Auxiliary bishops. continued inside.
CHICAGO, 2 (NE) Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago,
has begin a six-week Lenten radio series to encourage an
adequate preparation for faithful in the Windy City. In it, he
invites listeners "to come closer to Christ" during a 60-second
radio spot that will air on eight local radio stations between
February 28 through March 5. The radio message is said in
English and Spanish by the Archbishop, while a local Auxiliary
Bishop reads a Polish version. "The Church's season of Lent was
created for the hungry and restless heart," Cardinal George said
in his radio message. "I invite you to come closer to the Christ
who comforts, forgives, and gives hope to our restless hearts."
The Archbishop of Chicago has also urged listeners to take part
in parish-based "Lenten spiritual programs" to be on air during
Lent. He specially encouraged listeners to tune in to three
specially produced radio series that will air during the six
weeks of Lent on local English, Polish, and Spanish-language
radio stations. "I strongly encourage you to listen to [these
speakers] explore and explain the Gospel of Christ," Cardinal
George said, stressing that the aim of these programs is to
"enable us to see ourselves and the world through the eyes of
faith."
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"Dear children! Wake up from the sleep of unbelief and sin, because this is a
time of grace which God gives you. Use this time and seek the grace of healing of your heart from God, so that
you may see God and man with the heart. Pray in a special way for those who have not come to know God's
love, and witness with your life so that they also can come to know God and His immeasurable love. Thank you
for having responded to my call."
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