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FRI-SAT-SUN March 10-12, 2000 vol. 11, no. 50 SECTION THREESee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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Speaking to the priests of Rome Thursday in a special ceremony at the Vatican, the Holy Father called upon all priests to seek forgiveness themselves through the Sacrament of Penance, so that they may more effectively minister to "families in difficulty" as well as youth who have left the Church, and the neediest in the various dioceses throughout the universal Church. The theme of Reconciliation is in agreement with the forcoming reconciliation ceremony the Holy Father will conduct this Sunday on behalf of the entire Church.
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VATICAN CITY, MAR 9 (ZENIT.org).- John Paul II asked for a special
commitment to "families in difficulties," as well as youth who have left
the Christian community, and to the neediest of the diocese, when he
received the priests of Rome this morning in St. Peter's Basilica in the
Vatican.
Today this annual meeting became the Jubilee of the priests of the
Eternal City this Holy Year, as they solemnly crossed the threshold of
the Holy Door, made their profession of faith, and celebrated a
penitential liturgy.
John Paul II reminded them that the priest, "minister of the forgiveness
of God, must himself be forgiven" in the sacrament of Penance.
The Pope noted that "a united and harmonious priesthood, capable of working together, is a great testimony for the faithful and multiplies the efficacy of the ministry."
"May the Holy Year, a year of great pardon and of the mercy of God, offer to all the possibility to feel heard, welcomed and encouraged to find paths of reconciliation with the Lord and with their brothers and sisters, including situations where everything seems lost or irreversible."
Finally, the Pope said that "the attention of all the diocesan community for the numerous poor who live in our city," must not be lacking. He encouraged invitations to house needy Jubilee pilgrims. "Celebrating the Jubilee means opening our hearts to our poorest brothers and sisters, seeing in them the presence of the suffering Christ, who asks to be received with an active love." ZE00030905
The Protestant community in Spain, led by spokesman Pedro Tarquis, have reacted positively to the upcoming "Memory and Reconciliation" ceremony at the Vatican this Sunday. According to Tarquis, the document does contain specific references to particular historic events and he has gone so far as to ask the German Evangelical Church, as well as some North American Evangelical churches to also seek pardon of their fellow brothers and sisters, including Catholics, for no one is without fault. continued inside.
MADRID, MAR 9 (ZENIT.org).- The Protestant community in Spain welcomed
the document of the International Theological Commission, inviting
Catholic pastors and faithful to ask for forgiveness for past faults
committed by the Catholic Church. Pedro Tarquis, spokesman for the
Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities in Spain, told the agency
"Servimedia" that the "mea culpa" the Pope will pronounce next Sunday is
a positive step.
Tarquis pointed out that in the petition for pardon there are few
allusions to Protestantism, although he asserts that "during the
Inquisition thousands of Protestants died, condemned by the Catholic
Church." Nonetheless, the document of the Theological Commission, is
candid in addressing the nature of this historical period, and the Pope
is expected to address this issue in his homily on Sunday.
Moreover, Tarquis asserted that the German Evangelical Church should ask
pardon for some of its behavior during the Nazi period. Also, some North
American Evangelical Churches should finally acknowledge the fundamental
rights of the black population. The Catholic Church's examination of
conscience at the end of this millennium has not been widely taken up by
other churches, with the exception of some isolated cases, like Swiss
Protestants.
Alberto Benasly, president of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League and
member of the General Secretariat of the Federation of Jewish
Communities in Spain, said that the document of the International
Theological Commission "is positive."
ZE00030902
In an interesting outcome of the Super Tuesday elections and more super states up next with Texas and Florida on the slate, the Wall Street Journal has run a story in which a recent poll shows that the Catholic vote in November could be a "swing block vote." As we have said often in our editorials, Catholics can be the deciding factor in electing the next president of the United States. While Democrat pro-abort Al Gore holds a 10% lead, if Catholics vote according to the beliefs of their faith they can indeed elect a pro-life president and begin the process of overturning Roe vs. Wade and do away with abortion forever!
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NEW YORK (CWNews.com) - A new survey released today found
Catholic voters a key swing voting bloc in national
election this fall, reversing a trend of 40 years ago when
they were perceived to be a threat.
When Catholic John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1962,
some critics warned of "popery" and the influence of the
Catholic Church in the highest executive office in the
country. Now, in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll,
Catholics have become a key demographic, constituting an
expected 29 percent of the November vote.
"On both issues and political preferences, the poll
suggests that Catholics, especially white Catholics, are up
for grabs in the general election," said the Wall Street
Journal." It may not be an exaggeration to say that
whichever presidential candidate captures the Catholic vote
in the fall will win the election."
The survey found that the presumptive candidates,
Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, are in a
virtual dead heat among all voters, but Gore holds 10 point
lead among Catholics. The newspaper surmised the lead is the
result Bush's visit to Bob Jones University, which has
espoused anti-Catholic policies, and his rival Arizona Sen.
John McCain's attempts to tar him as a tool of
fundamentalist Christians.
"In December, before these controversies arose, Mr. Bush
had a 10-point advantage over the vice president among all
Catholics," the newspaper said. "This seems to reflect the
Republican front runner's problems rather than gains by Mr.
Gore." It added that Catholics in the poll said Bush should
have spoken out against the anti-Catholic bias of Bob Jones
when he spoke there.
Infanticide was an infamous word in the 70's; now the word is murder under the guise of abortion and a Senate Committee is hearing testimony regarding the "sale of baby parts" to researchers who rent space in abortion clinics. Democrats and pro-abort Republicans have tried in vain to keep the press out, but the truth is seeping out regardless. Too bad the truth is once again written in the blood of the innocent martyrs. continued inside.
WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - A US House Committee this
week is holding hearings on the illegal sale of baby parts
for research harvested from abortion clinics after
Democrats on the panel unsuccessfully attempted to exclude
the press and public from the meetings.
"Democrats are trying to throw a cloak over these
proceedings," Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the
National Right to Life Committee said Wednesday. The
Democrats on the Commerce Committee were joined by some
pro-abortion Republicans in asking for the closed-door
hearings, claiming fear of violence against those who
participate.
At issue is the reported sale of body parts from aborted
babies to scientists researching illnesses such as
Alzheimer's disease, AIDS, diabetes, and Parkinson's
disease. According to federal law, tissue used in research
must be donated, not sold, but the Texas-based pro-life
group Life Dynamics, Inc. revealed last year that
harvesting organizations were renting space in abortion
clinics in exchange for access to the aborted babies. They
also alleged that some abortionists perform unsafe
procedures on mothers if it means a better chance of
salvaging the baby parts.
Both the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the
National Right to Life Committee issued statements
Wednesday accusing abortion activists on the committee of
trying to prevent the public from learning about the grisly
trade.
The latest scientific symposium on the Shroud of Turin has concluded that the most important step now is to carry on the scientific research in a coordinated fashion which protects the Shroud from further damage as other areas of the material are studied. No final decision about the Shroud has been made by the Holy See and one is not expected until all information has been sufficiently gathered and analyzed. continued inside.
TURIN, MAR 9 (ZENIT.org).- According to experts, the enigma of the
dating of the Holy Shroud is neither the most relevant nor the most
urgent problem. What is important is that the scientific research be
carried out in a coordinated fashion, protecting the Shroud from further
damage, and involving historical researchers in the process. This was
the conclusion of the first congress of scientists of a variety of
disciplines and convictions, which was held in Turin from March 2-5.
A "calm" look was taken at the scientific examination carried out 12
years ago, which dated the Shroud of Turin to the Middle Ages. The
congress had no intention of "prosecuting" the previous study, but of
merely being abreast of progress made in science in recent years that
would affect the current examination of the Shroud. 12 years ago, the
Carbon-14 method was employed, and the conclusiveness of the results is
disputed. Both groups met at the Turin congress and all agreed that many
questions remain unanswered.
In particular, emphasis was placed on the need to coordinate and address
the scientific research that has focused on the formation of the image
on the Shroud. Contemporary technology makes possible a complete
computer "map" of the Shroud. A comprehensive database of the Shroud is
possible, which will be extremely useful for future studies.
As regards studies on vestiges of blood and pollen, the congress
discovered new elements, especially connected with the pollen, which
some scientists consider to have originated in a non-European setting
prior to the Middle Ages.
The experts must also study other aspects, including the historical and
the Gospel narrative, if they are to come closer to the truth about this
mysterious relic.
Within the next few days, shroud experts' attention will be drawn to Rome, where the Roman Center for Shroud Research of Caravita will hold 11 conferences, one each week, on the Holy Shroud, in preparation for the Exhibition of the Shroud in Turin, from August 12 to October 22. The first speaker will be Jesuit Fr. Heinrich Pfeiffer, Art History professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, who will address the topic, "Rediscovery of Veronica's Veil." ZE00030904
A week-long Lenten retreat for the entire Vatican staff including the Pope will be preached by Archbishop Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace. The retreat begins prophetically this Sunday after the Holy Father conducts the ceremony of "Memory and Reconciliation." Handpicked by the Vicar of Christ, Archbishop Van Thuan represents all in his country who cannot travel to Rome due to politics and has first-hand experience of religious persecution, having been imprisoned by the communists in his country for thirteen years. continued inside.
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The annual Lenten retreat for the Vatican
leadership will be preached by Archbishop Francois Xavier Nguyen Van
Thuan, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
The retreat, a week-long series of meditations, will begin on Sunday, March
12 and run through Saturday, March 18. Because Pope John Paul II and the
leaders of the Roman Curia will be attending the retreat, the working
schedule for the Holy See will be severely curtailed during that week.
Archbishop Nguyen Van Thuan, who spent 13 years in Vietnamese prisons,
was chosen by Pope John Paul to preach this year's retreat for two reasons.
First, as a Vietnamese native, the archbishop represents the Catholics of a
land whose people are unable to come to Rome for the Jubilee because of
political constraints. Second, as a former prisoner, he bears witness to the
importance of religious freedom.
Archbishop Nguyen was imprisoned from 1975 to 1998, after being named
coadjutor archbishop of Saigon. To this day he wears a pectoral cross which
he carved from a piece of wood while he was in prison, and hid from his
jailers in a bar of soap; after his release, he covered that wooden cross with
metal plating.
During his years behind bars, the archbishop was occasionally able to write
notes to his people, and smuggle them out of the prison. These notes were
eventually collected, copied into a single notebook, and circulated first within
Vietnam and later all around the world. They have been published in book
form in several languages, under the title: "Along the Path of Hope."
Archbishop Nguyen has chosen a similar theme from his Lenten retreat:
Witness and Hope.
In 1999, Bishop Andre-Mutien Leonard of Namur, Belgium preached the
Lenten retreat for the Roman Curia. In previous years the preachers had
included Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini of Turin (1994), Father Thomas Spidlik
of the Vatican's Oriental Institute (1995), Archbishop (now Cardinal)
Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna (1996), Cardinal Roger Etchegaray of the
Jubilee Committee (1997), and Cardinal Jan Chryzostom Korec of Nitra,
Slovakia (1998).
A missionary in Mozambique, Father Jean Pierre Le Scour has spent weeks trying to save the ravaged people in every way. In his treacherous travels, Fr. Le Scour has seen death at every step and approaching death through diseases brought on by the terrible floods from cyclone Eline. International aid remains scarce to this point, tied up in red tape as the terrible affliction of starvation, pollution and disease continue widespread. continued inside.
CHIBOTO, Mozambique (CWNews.com) - A French priest in
Mozambique traveled two weeks through the flood-ravaged
country, at times clinging to treetops to avoid
floodwaters, to reach an aid distribution center to find
food for his starving people.
Father Jean Pierre Le Scour, 57, said he lost his passport
and saved five people from drowning as he sought food to
feed the 10,000 people in the town of Mabalan. "They have
put their trust in me," Le Scour told Reuters news agency
on Wednesday. "Some may be dead, but I will try to do my
best."
"I knew they were sick, that they had no medicine and that
outbreaks of cholera had begun," he said. "And because I
had a car, I was their last chance."
The east African nation has been devastated since
tremendous rains began in January, washing away crops that
would have sustained the subsistence farmers in the
countryside. When the waters rose again at the end of
January, thousands of people fled to Mabalan and
surrounding areas for safety. Meanwhile, floods destroyed
Mabalan's vital rain link to Maputo, which the town
depended on for food delivery.
Very little international aid had trickled into Mozambique
before early March as European and American governments
began sending food shipments and aircraft to search for
stranded people. Father Le Scour left for Mabalan on
Wednesday in a French transport, with a promise from the
World Food Program to send food on Thursday.
In a story released by the Catholic Civil Rights League late last night word comes that the League is demanding the Montreal Police file hate-crime charges against a group of seven individuals who vandalized Montreal's Mary Queen of the World Cathedral, desecrated the altar and other statues in the sanctuary while also harrassing worshippers who were at praye during the time of the desecrations. In another case of obvious Catholic-bashing, Montreal's law authorities have been slow to react in bringing charges against the accused. continued inside.
CCRL (March 10, 2000)- The National Post reports that Tuesday, a group of seven
individuals vandalized, desecrated and burned crosses in front of
Montreal's Mary Queen of the World Cathedral. It reports: "Father
Jean-Pierre Couturier said the demonstrators had ‘profaned God’ and
disturbed people who were worshipping by rushing into the cathedral on
Tuesday afternoon, spray-painting slogans on an altar, turning over
flowerpots, sticking sanitary napkins -- some soiled -- to pictures and
walls and throwing condoms around the cathedral's sanctuary." In all it
was the grossest desecration of a church in years.
The Catholic Civil Rights League strongly denounces these acts of hateful
violence.
A police spokesman was reported to have said hate crime charges were not
considered because "the elements were not there for charges of that kind."
The Catholic Civil Rights League disagrees and strongly urges the Montreal
police to reconsider laying hate crime charges against the responsible
parties.
These were not people "raising issues of public interest and expressing
opinions in good faith". They were attempting to intimidate and harass a
peaceful religious group into fearful submission. A press conference or
peaceful demonstration would have been appropriate methods of expressing
their bigoted opinions.
Thomas Langan, president of the Catholic Civil Rights League called this
"another in a disturbing trend of offenses to which Canadian Catholics have
been exposed."
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