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WEDNESDAY April 12, 2000 vol. 11, no. 73 SECTION TWOSee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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WORLDWIDE NEWS & VIEWS with a Catholic slant: | ||
On this day 1,648 years ago in 252, Pope Saint Julius I, the 35th successor of Peter, passed on to his Heavenly reward. His pontificate lasted fifteen years and was highlighted by the fact he decreed the Eastern churches conform with the Western churches in celebrating the Nativity on the 25th of December instead of January 6th and the Feast of Epiphany. He also established the Archives for the Church by decreeing that all official acts of the Apostolic See be preserved for posterity. For other time capsule events that happened in Church history on this date, see MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES
372 A.D.
Death of Saint Sabas the Goth,a convert who was martyred for his faith by drowning along with fifty other Christians at the hands of the Gothic general Atharidus.
1204 A.D.
The Fourth Crusade arrives in Constantinople and begins sacking the infidels.
1606 A.D.
King James I chooses the Cross of Saint George and the saltire of Saint Andrew as the symbol for the flag of England.
Historical Events in Church Annals for April 12:
352 A.D.
Death of Pope Saint Julius I, the 35th successor of Peter and the Pope who founded the Archives of the Holy See since he ordered that all official acts be preserved from that time on up to today. During his 15-year pontificate Julius ordered that the Oriental Church should celebrate Christmas on December 25th instead of uniting it with Epiphany.
Today's and tomorrow's liturgy are both Lenten Weekdays plus the Optional Feast tomorrow of Pope Saint Martin I, Martyr. For the readings, liturgies, meditations, and profiles on this holy Vicar of Christ, see DAILY LITURGY .
"If you abide in My word, you shall be My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Special Prayer for Wednesday in the Fifth Week of Lent
Democratic presidential hopeful Vice President Al Gore continues to fill loyal Christians with gore as he has now endorsed World Pride 2000 in Rome in July. Organizers of this global gay event to be held in the shadows of the Vatican are intending this to be a slap in the face of the Church - the one organization that steadfastly refuses to kowtow to the sin of homosexuality. Now we discover that Gore is enthusiastically endorsing the event, further proof of his true anti-Catholicism. Gore has said that the gay-lesbian group "is building a good and just society on the bedrock principle of opportunity." Is that the kind of man we want leading our country!?? In the parody parade in Rome, activists plan on engaging in overtly sexual displays aimed at dismissing Church teaching, and slandering every moral fvalue man has ever held. Gore is goring God. Let everyone remember Gore's diabolical endorsement when it comes election time this fall!
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ROME (CWNews.com/LSN.ca) - Just weeks after having been
criticized for not distancing himself from supporters who
seek to oust the Vatican from the United Nations, US
presidential hopeful Al Gore is embroiled in a controversy
with critics calling him anti-Catholic.
Organizers of an international homosexual pride event to
take place in Rome this year -- an event which they claim
is a direct slap at the Catholic Church and the Jubilee
Year celebrations -- said they have received a letter of
endorsement from Gore.
The event, World Pride 2000, plans to flood the city, which
surrounds the Vatican, with hundreds of thousands of
homosexual activists engaging in parody of the Church and
overtly sexual displays. The Vatican had strenuously
requested that Rome not allow the gay pride event,
especially this year since millions of pilgrims are
visiting Rome due to the Jubilee-year celebrations. Rome's
city government has allowed the gay pride week to take
place from July 1 to 9 despite the Vatican pleas. Catholic
commentators in Rome have called the homosexual initiative
a calculated attack against the Church and an
"anti-Jubilee."
The pride parade's organizer in Rome, Imma Battaglia,
president of the Mario Mieli gay center, swore at Pope John
Paul II using the f-word in an interview with a homosexual
newspaper. The paper, Toronto's NOW magazine, also quoted
Battaglia as reading a letter of endorsement of World Pride
2000 signed by Gore. In the letter, Gore says he is "pleased
to send greetings," and that her group is "building a good
and just society on the bedrock principle of opportunity."
Though there is so much division in the world today and nowhere has that been more evident over the last several decades than North and South Korea, the latter's Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan remains hopeful that the Church may help peace to be restored to this island in the far east. The process must be free of war and revolution and politics and the prelate is asking for world prayer as well as sacrifices for a successful June summit meeting.continued inside
SEOUL, APR 11 (ZENIT.org).- Although the news of a future summit in
Pyongyang between North and South Korea was welcome, it has caused fear
among some South Koreans. A few days ago, a music festival of the two
Koreas, which had been planned for months, was cancelled by the North
Korean authorities at the last minute. It was these very authorities who
had requested the funds for the festival in the first place.
In commenting on the news to the Vatican agency "Fides," Cardinal
Stephen Kim, 78, said: "We welcome the summit. The Catholic Church has
always worked for the reconciliation of our people." Cardinal Kim who,
in keeping with Canon Law resigned at the age of 75, is presently
Archbishop Emeritus of Seoul. He follows all developments in his country
with great interest.
In spite of all the changes, not everyone in South Korea is happy. "Some
members of the opposition are skeptical about this sudden announcement,
given just a few weeks before the parliamentary elections. They say it
is an electoral gimmick by the party in government," the Cardinal
commented.
"In principle we work and hope for the success of the June summit. It
must be said that the reunification will only be possible if it is done
peacefully, without war or revolution. If the summit is to be
successful, it must be preceded by reconciliation and cooperation. But,
above all, it must have the consent of the entire nation, our people of
the North and those of the South," the Cardinal explained.
Cardinal Kim, who was Archbishop of Seoul for 30 years, was also
Apostolic Administrator in Pyongyang, the northern capital, although he
has never been allowed to visit the other Korea. "I hope to do so before
I die," he confided to "Fides."
ZE00041106
Yesterday the Holy See published its schedule for Holy Week services, many of which will be available on EWTN. Beginning on Palm Sunday, the Holy Father will preside at Mass in St. Peter's Square to bless the palms. His Holiness will celebrate two Masses on Holy Thursday, and will also travel the short distance to the Colisseum for the Way of the Cross on Good Friday pronouncing the meditations he personally has written. Because of the large number of pilgrims this Easter, the Easter Vigil Service will be celebrated in St. Peter's Square instead of the Basilica to accommodate the throngs. On Easter, the Pope will deliver his annual Easter Urbi et Orbi after celebrating Holy Mass. continued inside.
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- On April 11 the Vatican published the schedule
of events for Holy Week.
On Palm Sunday, April 16, Pope John Paul II will preside at Mass in St.
Peter's Square, including the ceremonial blessing of palms.
On April 20, Holy Thursday, the Pope again will preside at the Chrism Mass,
together with the clergy of Rome. Then in the afternoon he will celebrate a
second Mass, beginning the Easter Triduum with the commemoration of the
Last Supper.
On April 21, the Pontiff will preside at Good Friday observance in St. Peter's.
Then he will head to the Coliseum for the Way of the Cross-- for which he
himself has written a set of meditations.
The Pope will preside at the Easter Vigil service that begins in the evening of
Holy Saturday. This final part of the Easter Triduum will be celebrated not in
St. Peter's Basilica, as is customary, but in the Square, because of the
anticipated crowd.
Finally, the Pontiff will celebrate the Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's
Basilica on Sunday morning, and deliver his solemn Urbi et Orbi blessing.
After five years as shepherd of the Diocese of Las Vegas, Bishop Daniel Francis Walsh is returning to the area where he first began as a bishop - Northern California where he became Auxiliary of San Francisco on September 24, 1981. It was just announced that he has been appointed by the Holy Father to replace Bishop Patrick Ziemann in the troubled Diocese of Santa Rosa, California. Bishop Ziemann was forced to resign last July amidst scandal. Bishop Walsh was the first bishop of Las Vegas and it will be interesting who the Pope chooses to succeed him. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II on Tuesday
appointed the bishop of Las Vegas to head the diocese of
Santa Rosa, California, nearly a year after the former
bishop resigned in the midst of a sexual and financial
scandal.
Bishop Daniel Walsh, who was ordained a priest in San
Francisco, will succeed Bishop Patrick Ziemann, who
resigned last July. The appointment follows an apology by
Bishop Ziemann in a letter read in Santa Rosa parishes last
weekend.
"I acknowledge with deep regret my responsibility for the
current state of affairs about which you are justly angry,"
Ziemann said in his first public comment since he resigned.
Ziemann resigned after admitting to having had sex with a
priest of his diocese after the priest filed a lawsuit
against him. Administrators from the Archdiocese of San
Francisco, which had taken over control of the diocese
until a new bishop was appointed, also found Ziemann had
mismanaged $16 million in diocesan funds earmarked for
local parishes and schools.
Bishop Walsh was the first bishop of Las Vegas after it was
established as a separate diocese five years ago.
The Seraphic Father Saint Francis of Assisi's family today, now numbering more than 6,000, held their very special Jubilee celebration in an atmosphere of intense spirituality this past weekend. Mass was held at St. John Lateran in Rome after having begun in Asissi on Saturday morning. The Pope wrote a special message for the occasion, inviting all of St. Francis' followers, sons and daughters alike, to do as Francis did so many years ago: accept Christ unconditionally. That same "spirit" is also asked of all who follow Our Lord not only today, but until the end of time. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, APR 11 (ZENIT.org).- An intense spiritual atmosphere
marked the Jubilee of the great Franciscan family, which was held last
Sunday in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and included a concelebrated
Mass presided by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray. The Franciscan Jubilee began
on Saturday morning in Assisi with a pilgrimage on foot from St. Mary of
the Angels to the Basilica where St. Francis is buried.
Over 6,000 Franciscans participated, including Capuchins, Conventuals,
and Friars Minor, Sisters from various Franciscan Congregations, Third
Order young and older lay people, and other associations inspired by the
saint of Asissi. The Jubilee celebration reached its climax when the
Franciscan family crossed the threshold of the Holy Door of the Lateran
Basilica.
The Pope wrote a message for the occasion, in which he refers to "the
innumerable multitude that up until today has followed in Christ's
footsteps by imitating Francis and Clare of Assisi." "It is the limpid
testimony of the fruitfulness of their charism. They have offered the
world the challenging proposal of their original evangelical
experience," John Paul II wrote.
The Holy Father invited all St. Francis' sons and daughters to accept
Jesus unconditionally today, as Francis did so many centuries ago. In
present-day society, where attraction to the ephemeral is strong, "it is
more necessary than ever to remember and give credible testimony that
God alone is the real wealth that fills our life with meaning. In him
there is hope and profound joy, which the attractions and promises of
the world cannot give."
In order to appreciate what the Jubilee has meant for the Franciscan
Order and for the Church, Carla Cotignoli of Vatican Radio interviewed
Capuchin Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Papal Household preacher, who said,
"Yesterday, there was a very beautiful atmosphere of great spiritual
intensity, mingled, also, with the participation of the people. There
was not the usual applause one hears at a performance. It was
participation; a saying yes to the message proposed to us."
"What defines the strength and contribution that the Franciscan Order
can make to the Church and the world, is the spiritual sap that
circulates within it; spiritual sap means that Christ is at the center,
as are prayer, and supernatural and spiritual values. I think that all
together this Jubilee has helped to make this need the focus of our
attention," continued Fr. Cantalamessa.
During the homily, Cardinal Etchegaray defined the Franciscan spirit as
the word "fraternity," which "is truly at this time at the heart of all
our effort; also, Francis' poverty was imprinted on this spirit of
fraternity. Francis did not want to own anything, because he knew that
property divides, it pits some against others, creates conflict. We know
of very thought-provoking episodes in this respect. Indeed, this man
incarnated the spirit of the Bible, of the Gospel, in a way that only
the Holy Spirit can inspire and we are well aware how the whole world
today longs for this fraternity."
ZE00041107
A Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Kosikalan in India was looted by armed assailants who took not only money, but forced the nuns and priests out of bathrooms where they were hiding in order to beat them with iron rods. Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Agra said the assailants were intent upon terrorizing the school. This event follows on the heels of similar events, making it perfectly clear the Catholic Church is being singled out for terrorist purposes and persecution in India. continued inside.
NEW DELHI (CWNews.com) - Armed assailants broke into a
Catholic school run by the Agra Archdiocese at Kosikalan,
south of New Delhi, early today and attacked the priest,
nuns, and their maid with iron rods under the pretext of
looting.
Though the masked intruders cleaned out the school-convent
of cash and other valuables, Daughters of Sacred Heart
Sister Arokia Mary said it seemed their intention was "not
just looting." If they were interested in money only, the
nun said, "they would not have pulled out us (nuns) from
the toilets we had locked up ourselves and beat us."
The nun recounted the one and half hour terror while
attending to the convent maid with severe head injuries and
broken arms in the Holy Family Hospital in New Delhi to
which Father K. K. Thomas with head injuries and fractures
was taken this afternoon.
Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Agra said the intention of
the 15 assailants was to "terrorize" the school staff
rather than looting it. "Whoever came their way was
brutally assaulted," said Archbishop Concessao.
"On the face of it, it looks like an act of (robbery). But,
there is definitely something sinister behind it," said
Father Donald De Souza, deputy secretary general of
Catholic Bishops Conference of India. "It is the first time
that church schools and convents are being singled out," he
said, pointing out that half a dozen cases of similar
midnight attacks on church schools and convents have been
reported in the last month.
For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site at the CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and the Dossiers, features and Daily Dispatches from ZENIT International News Agency CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC, but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.
NOTE: We respectfully recognize and accept the final authority regarding apparitions, locutions and prophecies presently being reported around the world rests with the Holy See of Rome and the Magisterium of Holy Mother Church to whose judjment we humbly and obediently submit.
"Dear children! Pray and make good use of this time, because this is a time of grace. I am with you and I intercede for each one of you before God, for your heart to open to God and to God's love. Little children, pray without ceasing, until prayer becomes a joy for you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
