Updated January 17, 2001 9:30 am PST
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RESPECT LIFE 2001
This may be the last chance we have to fight for the Sanctity of Life
Today we begin a series of special columns by Dr. Frank Joseph on the significance of why we must hold Life from conception to the grave in such high esteem and value. Each day he will provide a special insight on Respect Life 2001 leading up to the March for Life in Washington D.C. next Monday on the 28th anniversary of the horrendous Roe vs. Wade decision that signaled the execution in the womb of millions upon millions of innocent unborns in the worst holocaust in the history of mankind. For Dr. Frank's column today Committed to the Sanctity of Life , see PRO LIFE PRESCRIPTIONS
 
To the Lefebvre followers, to the SSPX, to those who have stated the "chair is empty," we invite you to come back home. We pray it will be a home you recognize.
In our editorial today We pray ut unum sint! and soon! , we treat tomorrow's start of the Week of Prayer for Church Unity as an ideal opportunity for all of us to pray that the Holy Father will set into motion the possibility of reconciling the "reverent right" which has been in schism over the past 20 years. It would be so simple since there is only one divide, the same divide that caused Msgr. Marcel Lefebvre to bolt and that polarizes the Church today in so many ways. It is the return of the Latin rubrics as an alternative for those Catholics who feel out-of-place, out-of-sorts in this brave new world of the Novus Ordo that in many parishes today across America no longer resembles the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Sadly many have become progressive protestant services where man is emphasized, even glorified, rather than God in so many ways from the sedalia to removing the kneelers. The Body and Blood have become the "cup" and the Sacrifice has become a "Eucharistic Meal" where everyone partakes regardless of the state of their soul. Sanctifying Grace has taken a holiday and one way to restore the reverence and sacredness would be for Pope John Paul II to reinstate those who are in schism and make the Latin Mass more readily available to all in spite of the bishops' silent resistance. For more, see CATHOLIC PewPOINT
  
Despite Russian Orthodox Patriarch's opposition, plans for Papal Visit to the Ukraine will go on a week later than scheduled in June
The only thing that has changed regarding the Holy Father's planned Papal trip to the Ukraine is the dates of his visit. Instead of June 21-24 he will visit from June 23 - 27th this summer. Vatican envoy Father Roberto Tucci and a delegation returned to Rome last Saturday, following a trip to Ukraine, to prepare Pope John Paul II’s forthcoming visit after he had met with representatives of the Latin and Eastern Ukrainian Catholic hierarchies, as well as with the prime minister and representatives of the State Commission for Religious Affairs. The commission’s vice president confirmed that the Holy Father will visit Kiev, the country’s capital, and Lvov, the capital of Galitzia in western Ukraine, center of the Catholic Church of the Byzantine-Slavonic rite (known as Greek-Catholic), which embraces 4 million faithful. John Paul will celebrate two Masses in Kiev, one in the Latin rite, and the other in the Byzantine-Slavonic rite. No decision has been made on the exact locations of the Masses.
For more, see News from the Holy See
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Founding Bishop of the Arlington Diocese in Virginia warns that tax-exempt status for the Church may not be worth the price if souls are not saved
Retired Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, the founding bishop of the
Arlington Diocese, has expressed great frustration at the voting pattern of most Catholics in the United States
during the recent election. He lambasted Catholics who voted for pro-abort candidates and he stated that the Church is constrained in what she is allowed to say by her tax-exempt status. He noted lawsuits
have been filed costing the Church hundreds of thousands of
dollars to defend, centering on stripping the tax status of
the Church based on charges that she is too political. The
bishop suggests that the time may come when the Church has
to say she will give up her tax-exempt status since, "our
message isn't getting out." He noted his speech was
restricted, saying, "But with the responsibility of being a
bishop, I can't speak as a private citizen anymore. I would
like to. I should be able to." "If you say the Church is wrong about one serious issue
like the pro-life stance, then you're undermining the whole
nature of the Church." For more, see USA News
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Philippines' Cardinal Jaime Sin fearful of violence in wake of corrupt president's acquittal
Cardinal Jaime Sin of
Manila said on Wednesday that he was afraid that violence
could erupt after President Joseph Estrada was all but
acquitted in the Senate impeachment court.
Cardinal Sin said, "I am so afraid that...we might not be
able to stop bloodshed. We know in our hearts that the
president is guilty." Demonstrators had already gathered in
Manila on Wednesday, demanding Estrada's resignation.
Estrada had been charged with corruption and accepting
bribes, but the senators sitting as judges in the trial
voted 11-10 on Tuesday to reject prosecution demands to
open bank documents which they said would prove Estrada had
amassed wealth in office illegally.
For more, see Universal News
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For More Daily News, we recommend the following available news sources:
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All the above News Agencies are not affiliated with the DAILY CATHOLIC, but the DAILY CATHOLIC provides this service to keep our readers up-to-date with what's truly happening in our world, especially considering all the misinformation the secular media circulates.
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Feast of Saint Antony of Egypt
Today is the Feast of the abbot and hermit Saint Antony of Egypt. Tomorrow we return to Weekday in Ordinary Time. For his profile and the liturgies for today and tomorrow, see Daily LITURGY
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First Reading: Hebrews 7: 1-3, 15-17
Psalms: Psalm 110: 1-4
Gospel Reading: Mark 3: 1-6
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Mark 3: 3-4
"And He said to the man with the withered hand, 'Stand forth in the midst.' And He said to them, 'Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil? to save a life, or to destroy it?' But they kept silence."
 Inaugural Novena Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven. You are all-around us, keeping us, everyone we know, and the universe itself in its very existence by your Holy Will.
Your Son Jesus taught us to keep our prayers simple and humble, and so we
ask of You for the United States three things:"
"First, we ask you to protect the lives and health of Mr. Bush and Mr.
Cheney, even if miraculous means are necessary, as they prepare and take
office in the coming days and years. Those whom You protect cannot be
injured! May Your Holy Angels protect them always."
"Second, we ask You to infuse these men and the elected and appointed
officials with whom they work with a hyper-abundance of supernatural
power and grace to make and execute only decisions which are in accord
with Your Holy Will, especially regarding the protection and sanctity of
human life from conception to a natural death. We beg you to perfect
their imperfections in Your perfection."
"Finally, we ask you to inflame in a mighty way the hearts of the
citizens these leaders serve. Never allow us to forget that all authority
comes from You and You Alone, and that Your Son is King of Kings, and
that You are always ready to answer our prayers for peace, prosperity,
and justice--if we but only pray! We commit ourselves to daily prayer for
all our elected leaders, regardless of party or principle, from this day
forward, from time into eternity, Amen."
This Novena Prayer is provided by Bud Macfarlane, Jr. of CatholiCity and is followed by the powerful Prayer to St. Michael and the following invocation of saints: "Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, pray for us.
Saint Katharine Drexel and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.
Saint Frances Cabrini and Saint John Neumann, pray for us.
Saint Thomas More, Patron of Politicians, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, pray for us.
Immaculate Mary, Patroness of the United States, crush the serpent's
head! Amen."
 
Birth of a Holy Pope who would mold Holy Mother Church for centuries to come
Today is the 497th anniversary of the birth of Michele Ghislieri in Bosco, Italy. He was born at the outset of tremendous upheaval that would become the Protestant Reformation, much of it prompted by the immoral and irresponsible Borgia Pope Alexander VI and successors who didn't have a clue how to quell the uprising. He would go on to become a Dominican priest, then bishop and cardinal before his clerical colleagues would choose him to be the 225th successor of Peter on January 7, 1566. He would become the great Pope Saint Pius V and introduce the highly successful Counter Reformation that sustained Holy Mother Church for centuries in the aftermath of vast defection and devastation. It was St. Pius V who established the Tridentine Mass to be said "in perpetuity" and who decreed the use of the Roman Missal for all. It was also this holy Pope who entreated the faithful to pray the Rosary for victory at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. He would die on May 1, 1572 and be canonized by Pope Clement XI, the last Sovereign Pontiff to be canonized until Pope Saint Pius X. For other Time Capsule events that happened Today in Church history, see Daily TIME CAPSULES in Church History
Shadow seekers love to put demeaning labels on the virtuous
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the words of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen have been known to launch a thousand images in one's mind, one of the ways this late luminary did so much to evangelize the faith. Because of the urgency of the times and because few there are today who possess the wisdom, simplicity and insight than the late Archbishop who touched millions, we are bringing you daily gems from his writings. The good bishop makes it so simple that we have dubbed this daily series: "SIMPLY SHEEN".
"For those who see shadows in virtue, love of truth is called harshness and intolerance, purity is called abnormality or fear of totems or myths; humility is termed weakeness; the meek are made to appear as lacking in force and strength; those who pray and believe in God are labeled 'escapists'; the generous are accused of seeking acclaim; the contemplative are sneered at as 'useless,' the husband of one wife and a devoted father of a family is 'in a rut.'"
Monthly Medjugorje Message for December 2000
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.
For more Our Lady's Christmas message for December and more on Medjugorje, see MEDJUGORJE AND MORE
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January 17, 2001 volume 12, no. 17
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