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WEDNESDAY March 15, 2000 vol. 11, no. 53 SECTION THREESee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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WORLDWIDE NEWS & VIEWS with a Catholic slant:
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With great skill and strategy, arrangements have been made for the Pope to visit both places that lay claim to the Baptism of Our Lord, one on the Palestinian side of the River Jordan, the other on the West Bank claimed by Israel. The Holy Father has requested this be a private moment, not televised and though we won't see it, we'll pray God will look down on him with the endorsement: "This is My Beloved Pope-son, in whom I am well pleased." continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, MAR 14 (ZENIT.org).- The careful political arrangements
surrounding the papal visit to the Holy Land have brought about another
small change to the itinerary. The Holy Father was already scheduled to
visit the site at Wadi Kharrar, in Jordan, where it appears the Baptism
of Jesus took place. However, yesterday Israeli officials announced that
he would also visit the traditional site, which is in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank.
This second commemoration of Christ's Baptism has been termed a private
visit -- there will be no television cameras, and the Pope will only
spend about 15 minutes at the site on March 22, before being flown to
Bethlehem.
At the Vatican last month, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat urged the
Pope extend his visit in Palestinian-ruled areas to include Jericho and
its adjacent baptismal site. However, the baptismal site remains under
Israeli control, and it is unclear whether there will be any official
Palestinian presence there. There is no plan for the pope to go to
Jericho itself.
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Hollywood has its "Walk of Fame" where mortal feet may tred, but in Bethlehem where Jesus Christ the Son of Man was born, a new street will be named after Pope John Paul II, whose footsteps will retrace Our Lord's. While the concrete/metal stars on Hollywood Blvd. will crack and corrode, the imprints of Christ's footsteps are eternal. continued inside.
BETHLEHEM, MAR 14 (ZENIT.org).- A street in Bethlehem will be named
after John Paul II, in honor of his forthcoming visit to the Palestinian
city of Jesus' birth.
"We are ready for the great day of the Pope's arrival. The City Council
decided that an important street of our city will be named after John
Paul II, who within a few days will honor us with his visit," Hana
Nasser, mayor of Bethlehem, said to "Al-Quds" newspaper of East
Jerusalem.
Bethlehem already has a street named after Paul VI, who visited this
city and the Holy Land 36 years ago.
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When the Holy Father emerges from his week-long retreat this Saturday he will welcome leaders and members of the Syro-Malabar Church and the Chaldean Catholic Church, largely from Iraq. No doubt the latter will celebrate with the Pope his spiritual journey to Ur that took place two weeks ago in Paul VI Hall because of political complications that prevented His Holiness from fulfilling his desire to actually walk in Abraham's footsteps. Both Churches have their roots in the Assyrian Church with Syro-Malabar's largest population located in India and the mid-east. continued inside.
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The Chaldean and Syro-Malabar Catholic
churches will celebrate their Jubilee in Rome on March 18 and 19, the
Vatican has announced.
The Chaldean and Syro-Malabar churches both trace their origins to the
Assyrian Church. But while the Assyrian Church as a whole broke with Rome
in the 5th century-- in the first major split within Christianity-- these
particular churches have remained in communion with the Holy See. About 3
million Catholics in India follow the Syro-Malabar rite, while the Chaldean
Catholic Church centered in Iraq has 500,000 faithful.
On March 14, the Vatican published the program for the Jubilee of these
Eastern Catholics. Pilgrims from the two churches will meet with Pope John
Paul II in an audience on March 18. Then on that same Saturday afternoon,
the Chaldean Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid will preside at the Divine Liturgy
in the Roman basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, with Cardinal Achille
Silvestrini, the prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches,
concelebrating the Chaldean-rite ceremony.
On the following Sunday, Archbishop Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-
Angamaly, India, will preside at a celebration of the Mass in the Syro-
Malabar rite in the same basilica, again with Cardinal Silvestrini attending.
Cardinal Simon Lourdusamy, the former prefect of the Congregation for
Eastern Churches, is also expected.
There have been occasional tensions between the Syro-Malabar Church and
the Latin Church in India during recent years. In 1992, in an effort to ease
those tensions, Pope John Paul II created the new rank of "major archbishop"
of Ernakulam-Angamaly to lead the Syro-Malabar Church, and installed
Cardinal Antony Padiyara in that post. Cardinal Padiyara retired in 1996,
and-- in an other illustration of the lingering difficulties within Indian
Catholicism-- his successor has not yet been named. Archbishop Vithayathil
is actually functioning as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, and thus
the ranking leader of the Syro-Malabar Church.
While the un-Catholic faction Catholics for a free choice continue their insidious campaign to oust the Vatican from its role as UN Permanent Observer, more than 800 pro-life groups, spearheaded by the Catholic Family & Human Rights, along with other faiths including the Muslims, are launching a counter attack, flooding the House and Senate with requests and many congressmen are warning that any downgrading of the Holy See's status would greatly damage relations between the UN and the United States. continued inside.
NEW YORK, MAR 14 (ZENIT.org).- The attempt by pro-abortion groups to
downgrade the Holy See from U.N. Permanent Observer to non-governmental
organization (NGO) is meeting with hefty opposition. A coalition of some
800 groups, spearheaded by the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute
(C-FAM), have joined together to defeat the campaign.
The "See Change" campaign, promoted by "Catholics for a Free Choice,"
calls for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to review the status of the
Holy See. According to the See Change web site, the Catholic Church
enjoys priveleges that other religions do not, and hence should be
downgraded, out of justice to the others. The group has gathered
together some 350 NGOs in support of its project, which also includes a
postcard campaign from the general public.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the opposition to this campaign is
its universality. Tomorrow, Focus on the Family, Family Research
Council, and Concerned Women for America will announce their involvement
in the campaign. "This campaign is a world historical moment precisely
because it brings together so many groups from so many faiths in defense
of the Catholic Church," said Austin Ruse, president of C-FAM.
Tom Minnery, vice-president of Focus on the Family, a mainline Christian
organization founded by Dr. James Dobson, stated, "We at Focus on the
Family know what a valuable ally the Catholic CHurch has been in
defending life and the family around the world. We worked with
Catholics, Protestants¡ evangelicals, and Muslims at the U.N. World
Conference on Women at Beijing back in 1995."
The U.S. House and Senate have also passed resolutions in favor of the
Holy See. The resolution warns that a Vatican Ouster from the U.N. would
"further damage relations between the United States and the United
Nations."
The Holy See's status in the U.N. and other international forums stems
from a long tradition of diplomatic activity beginning even before the
advent of modern European diplomacy. As early as the fourth century the
Holy See sent and received envoys, enjoying the same diplomatic rights
and privileges as envoys of kings and queens.
In 1870, the Kingdom of Italy annexed all that remained of the Papal
States, or almost all -- Vatican City and a few extra-territorial sites
remain sovereign. This enabled the Church to focus more exclusively on
its spiritual mission in the world.
This change, however, did not eradicate its legal and juridical standing
in the international forum. The Holy See maintained, and continues to
maintain its diplomatic stature as a sovereign, autonomous, enduring
institution with a place in the international community. Currently, the
Holy See maintains full diplomatic relations with 168 countries of
various creeds and cultures.
The Holy See is a Permanent Observer in the U.N. rather than a full
member for two principal reasons. First, the Holy See does not provide
military forces for U.N. peacekeeping actions, and second, the Church
has no desire to wield temporal power by having a vote in such forums.
Archbishop Renato Martino, Vatican Permanent Observer to the U.N.
explains that "The desire of the Holy See maintain absolute neutrality
in specific political problems." Since the Holy See is the
representative of the Roman Catholic Church, its interests are not the
economic and political interests of other states. Its mission focuses
on the human person, and "In keeping with this principle, the Holy See
is mainly concerned with all the issues of human rights, of justice, of
religious freedom, of development, peace, etc., and attempts to present,
always respectfully but without fear, the principles of the Gospel."
The Holy See's presense serves to bolster efforts to peace and justice,
and to promote the true good of the human person. In 1995, the Holy
Father spoke to the U.N. He came not as a religious leader seeking to
endanger religious freedom, but as a "witness of hope." He came to
testify to the possibility of doing good in the world, and achieving the
high aspirations of the U.N. Charter.
In the words of the U.N. Newsletter published after the visit of the
Pope, he "gave us the best anniversary gift of all, his spirit... for a
moment, we had a strong sense of possibility, of what we can be... as an
organization, as we chart the course for the next 50 years."
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