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      In honor of today's Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul we present the Preface for today's Mass:

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give You thanks. You fill our hearts with joy as we honor Your great apostles: Peter, our leader in the faith, and Paul, its fearless preacher. Peter raised up the Church from the faithful flock of Israel. Paul brought Your call to the nations, and became the teacher of the world. Each in his chosen way gathered into unity the one family of Christ. Both shared a martyr's death and are praised throughout the world. Now, with the apostles and all the angels and saints, we praise You for ever.

Events Today in Church History

      On this date in 1959 Pope John XXIII, who had been elected the previous October, issued his first of eight encyclicals Ad Petri Cathedram - "To the Chair of Peter" which dealt with Truth, Unity and Peace in the Spirit of Charity. For other pertinent events throughout the centuries that are memorable in Church history today, click on MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES

Historical Events in Church Annals for June 29:

922 A.D.


Robert I, great grandson of Charlemagne the Great, is coronated King of France. He would only live five years as the interim monarch between Catholic kings Charles III and Rudolf, who founded Burgundy.

1214 A.D.


Pope Innocent III lifts the interdict of excommunication against England and King John who had refused to acknowledge the Pope's appointment of Bishop Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury. The Holy Father only lifted the interdiction after John made full apology and submission to Rome and declared his Anglo-Irish domains a papal fiefdom.

1312 A.D.


Pope Clement V, held prisoner by Robert of Sicily at St. Peter's, assigns three cardinals to officially coronate Henry IV of Luxembourg as the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII at the Lateran.

1748 A.D.


Pope Benedict XIV releases the fifth encyclical - Magnae Nobison marriage impediments and dispensations and written for the bishops of Poland.

1881 A.D.


Pope Leo XIII issues his seventh encyclical - Diuturnium on the origin of civil power.

1896 A.D.


Pope Leo XIII ushers his 61st encyclical on the unity of the Church Satis cognitum.

1936 A.D.


Pope Pius XI releases his encyclical to the bishops of the United States on motion pictures with Vigilanti cura, something succeeding pontiffs have also done, but none as consistently as Pope John Paul II.

1958 A.D.


Forty years ago today Pope Pius XII issued his next-to-last encyclical Ad Apostolorum Principis, this one was targeted for the Bishops of China on Communism and the Church in China. From the state of things today, very little has changed behind the great wall.

1959 A.D.


Pope John XXIII issued his first encyclical on this date on truth, unity, and peace entitled Ad Petri Cathedram.

      Those words were imparted by the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Message #576 on December 16, 1994 to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart in which Our Lord foretells of His Vicar on earth eventually decreeing the Final Dogma of Mary as Advocate, Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of all graces. He also reinforces that the purification is near when satan and all evil will be swept away and the earth will be renewed as we pray Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth. His Blessed Mother's words four days earlier on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe reaffirms that she is the Patroness of the Americas and Mother of the unborn as she calls on her children to fight for the sanctity of life and not be deceived by the world, the flesh and the devil, not to mention the dissension within the ranks of her remnant. For Messages #575 and #576, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

Message Five-Hundred-seventy-five, December 12, 1994

(Imparted to the Hidden Flower by the Immaculate Heart of Mary)

      Beloved Hidden Flower of my Immaculate Heart, I am here. I love you and bless you and all who so honor me as Patroness of the Americas and Mother of the Unborn.

      Please tell all of my children that with each passing day I come to offer hope, but my Immaculate Heart is deeply wounded because you reject my pleas and continue to offend God. As each day passes without conversion of heart, I cannot restrain my Divine Son's strong arm.

      The Most Holy, Blessed Trinity is most grievously offended because of the growing sins of mankind, and thus you near many events which shall be for you the fulfillment of Sacred Scripture and my words. You who are converted in your heart already know this and for you the signs will be clear. So many of my children remain satan's pawn and they neither see nor hear.

      As your mother, the ever-Virgin Mother of God, I implore you to renew your faith, hope and love. Why, O children of my Immaculate Heart, must you judge and hate so - particularly those who are my humble servants? Please do not do this, for you are lending yourselves to satan's plan. All of this bickering and back-biting must cease, and all must pray for unity of mind and heart through the grace of the Holy Spirit. I solemnly tell you, you do not know either the hour or day of the Great Warning, but it is very near. You do not perceive the terrible events which shall befall you, and reach their summit in fire from Heaven, but it is very near.

      Come to me, your Mother who loves you. I lead you in swift steps to my Divine Son Who taught you, and be at great peace.

      Offer all to my Divine Son in reparation and expiation, and be brave and rejoice, for the hour of deliverance dawns.

      I remain yet a little while longer among you in this extraordinary way. Please, my children, pray as you have never prayed before.

      I love and bless each of you. Thank you for responding to my Call!

Message Five-Hundred-seventy-six, December 16, 1994

(Imparted to the Hidden Flower by the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

      Beloved Hidden Flower of My Mother's Immaculate Heart, I love and bless you and thank you for all of your suffering.

      Now, to all of My little children I solemnly tell you that it is the season of great change, both in the natural order and in the supernatural order where My Spirit moves with great magnanimity across the universe. I wish for all of My children to have the spirit of magnanimity, to surrender to Me everything for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity and the Triumph of My Holy and Immaculate Mother's Heart.

      I desire through willing self-sacrifice that all of My children pray earnestly, for the moment is very close when My Vicar on earth will proclaim My Mother as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate of all Graces, as Sacred Scripture contains.

      Dear children, satan, My enemy, does not want that so you must pray very much because your prayers cause satan to falter.

      Beloved children, do not grow despondent, nor restless. Heaven is home, your goal. Not the earthly life which fades with each passing day. I solemnly tell you to read Sacred Scripture and believe, for all that you see is passing away. Soon, My children, it will be wiped off the face of the earth, for at the Father's command all evil will be annihilated and all creation will be restored to the beauty of Heaven.

      My Holy Mother prepares you, but you must seek her help. If you refuse her messages you refuse me, for our hearts beat as One, and this you cannot understand in this life.

      Be watchful, My children. My signs, My warnings shall increase in the months ahead. Pray much and live your faith. I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to My Call which I give to you in My Divine Mercy. Do you hear Me? O! Hear Me, for I come!

Pope receives traditional Orthodox greeting on Papal Feast as dialogue with Constantinople progressing well

      In a tradition that is carried out only when excellent relations between East and West are in vogue, a representative of the Eastern Patriarch of Constantinople dispatches a delegation to Rome to honor the Bishop of Rome on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Relations are excellent and improving, evident from the appearance of the eastern group at the Vatican and the Holy Father's progress in reconciling with the Orthodox. He will return the favor on the Feast of Saint Andrew on November 30th. For more, click on East and West

      VATICAN CITY, JUN 28 (ZENIT).- The dialogue between Orthodox and Catholics continues to progress. This morning John Paul II received a delegation from the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, on the occasion of the feast of the Bishop of Rome, to be celebrated tomorrow, June 29, on the Day of Saints Peter and Paul.

      This is a custom begun some years ago. Rome returns the compliment by sending a delegation to Constantinople on November 30, the feast of St. Andrew, the Apostle Peter's brother. The tradition is not automatic, however. Over the years, when there were tensions on the ecumenical road, the Patriarchate of Constantinople did not send a delegation to Rome.

      The ecumenical relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have made progress over the last few years, especially at the theological level, thanks to the work of a mixed international Commission composed of members of the two Christian confessions. This year the Commission has been unable to meet because of the Kosovo war. The meeting should have taken place in Baltimore, Maryland, in the spring but, understandably, the Serbian Church, as well as other Orthodox Churches, did not feel it advisable to send a delegation to the very country directing the operations of the air attack against Yugoslavia. Once their absence was confirmed, the Holy See agreed it would be better to delay the meeting until June.

      When meeting the members of the Orthodox delegation this morning, who were led by the Archbishop of Ephesus, John Paul II made it clear that the Kosovo war should not affect the dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox. "The heavy legacy of the past and the tensions that emerge among peoples sometimes affect the action of Churches, which must be aware of the historical and cultural contexts in which they live. But the one who calls us to unity is God himself. It was Christ who implored his Father for unity among his followers as a sign inviting the world to faith."

      In order insure that this ecumenical endeavor has the support of all the faithful, John Paul II decided to agree to Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople's proposal to introduce a very important date for all the Orthodox faithful in the Roman calendar for the celebrations of the Jubilee of the Year 2000: a day of prayer and fasting for unity among Christians, to be held on the Vigil of the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6. In this way, the Pope explained, "I hope to express not only our desire to be associated with the initiatives of our brothers in the faith, but also our desire to make them participants in ours."

      The delegation of the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople will attend a Mass at Saint Peter's presided by John Paul II. The Mass will be concelebrated by a group of Archbishops from around the world to whom the Pope will give the sacred pallium, the sign of jurisdiction and communion with the Apostolic See. ZE99062805

Beatifications and canonizations in the works for 20th Century saints include 25 Mexican martyrs and the little shepherds of Fatima

      Eighteen men and women and twenty-five Mexican martyrs' names were presented to the Holy Father yesterday. All of them had lived within the last one-hundred years, making it the largest block of modern saints presented by the Congregation for the Cause of Saints ever. It included the anticipated names of Francisco Marto and his sister Jacinta, both called the "little shepherds of Fatima" - a cause very dear to the Pope. For more, click on Modern saints .

      VATICAN CITY, JUN 28 (ZENIT).- This morning the decrees of 18 causes of proposed saints of the Church were promulgated in the presence of Pope John Paul II. Two of the causes were for canonization, five for beatification, three were declarations of martyrdom, and eight were in recognition of heroic practice of virtues.

      Among the new saints are Cristoforo Magallanes and his 24 companion martyrs, all of them killed during the persecutions in Mexico between 1915-1937, and the Spanish founder of the Servants of Jesus, Blessed Maria Josefa del Corazon de Jesus, born on September 7, 1842 in Vitoria; she died in Bilbao on March 20, 1912.

Fatima Children

      The proclamation of the most eagerly anticipated beatification -- that of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the little shepherds of Fatima, who with Sr. Lucia -- who still lives in a Carmelite Convent in Coimbra, Portugal, and has passed her 90th birthday -- were witnesses of the apparitions that took place from May 13 to October 13, 1917, on the 13th of each month.

      According to the three shepherds, Our Lady appeared as the Virgin of the Rosary and, as a great gift, made them understand the importance of prayer, conversion and penance. Today there is a Basilica in the place of the apparitions; it is one of the principal pilgrimage centers of the world.

      In a message to the Portuguese in 1942, Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. John Paul II feels very close to Fatima, as he is convinced that it was the Virgin who saved his life in the attempt of May 13, 1981.

Founders

      In addition to the Fatima children, the Church proclaimed four new blessed: three Italian founders of religious congregations (Arcangelo Tadini, Rosa Gattorno and Caterina Volpicelli) and one Canadian, Mary Esther Soureau-Blondin, founder of the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Anne, who died on January 2, 1890.

Women and Martyrs

      John Paul II also proclaimed the martyrdom of several extraordinary women of our century. In all, nine female victims of the religious persecution that struck Spain in 1936 were named. The list of new martyrs is completed by eleven Polish religious of the Holy Family of Nazareth, killed by the Nazis on August 1, 1943 in Nowogrodek, present-day Byelorussia. For recognized martyrs, no proof of a miracle wrought by their intercession is necessary before beatification.

Heroic Christians

      Among those in whom John Paul II recognized the heroic practice of virtue, the most well known is Columba Marmion, an Irish Benedictine priest who died in 1923, one of the greatest teachers of modern spirituality. Other examples of heroic Christian life officially proclaimed by the Pope are Jeronimo Mariano Usera y Alarcon, Spanish priest who died in Havana in 1891; Pablo de Anda y Padilla, priest and Mexican founder who died in 1904; Maria del Transito Cabanillas, founder of the Franciscan Missionaries of Argentina, who died in San Vicente de Cordoba in 1885; Indian religious Maria Teresa Chiramel Mankidiyan, founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family, who died in 1926; and Swiss religious Maria J. Carolina Brader, founder of the Franciscans of Mary Immaculate, who died on February 23, 1943 in Pasto, Colombia. ZE99062806

The only way for survival of the Catholic universities is through implementation of "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" Cardinal Law asserts

      The Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, speaking in Spanish, addressed the closing session of the Latin American Conference at the Vatican as a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education strongly endorsing the Holy Father's Apostolic Constitution on education, "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" which, according to the Cardinal, is vital in preserving the fabric of Catholic education in the Americas. For more, click on Schools of survival.

      ROME, JUN 28 (ZENIT).- Cardinal Law, in his closing address to the recent Symposium on Evangelization in Latin America, stressed the need for recovery of a Catholic identity in the Catholic universities of the American Continent. The Archbishop of Boston, speaking in Spanish, said that only a "faithful implementation of the guidelines given by the Holy See will insure the necessary renewal of American Catholic universities."

      Referring to the "importance and urgency of a New Evangelization," Cardinal Law stressed "the indispensable role of Catholic universities," pointing out the efforts that are being made in the United States to implement the "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" apostolic constitution of John Paul II whose objective is the recovery of the Catholic character of the universities and educational institutions that define themselves as Catholic.

      Cardinal Law warned, however, of the existence of "an organized resistance on the part of many presidents of colleges and universities to a juridical implementation." "We are faced with the idea that the Bishop is out of the Catholic college or university and that academic freedom will be jeopardized by the U.S. laws.

      Cardinal Law's words were pronounced at a moment when a panel of the Society of Jesus, including presidents of several Jesuit Universities in the United States, have expressed their opposition to applying John Paul II's apostolic constitution. They believe "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" cannot be applied to the American reality, even though it is addressed to all the Catholic universities of the world.

      Cardinal Law said that from his point of view, "we have a splendid opportunity to insure the Catholic identity of our colleges and universities by a careful and full implementation of 'Ex Corde Ecclesiae.' "

      The Cardinal's address closed the working sessions of the historic symposium, which for a week was dedicated to reflection on the last hundred years of evangelization in Latin America. The event was organized to commemorate the centenary of the Latin American Plenary Council called by Pope Leo XIII, and held in Rome from May 28 to July 9, 1899. ZE99062809

Priest robbed and murdered in the sanctuary in Bristol, Connecticut

      The parishioners of St. Matthew's church in Bristol, Connecticut are in shock today after a robbery turned into the murder of Father Robert Lysz, an associate pastor who was 50 years old. His body was discovered before 7:30 Mass last Friday behind the altar. For more, click on Murder in Bristol.

      BRISTOL, Connecticut (CWNews.com) - Father Robert Lysz, 50, was found murdered by parishioners at St. Matthew Church in Bristol on Friday morning after he failed to show up for morning Mass. Police arrested a suspect in the rectory a short time later.

      Michael Ouellette, 32, was charged with murder when police found him in the rectory with Father Lysz's credit cards. He was held on $1 million bond and scheduled for arraignment on Monday.

      Father Arthur Audet, associate pastor at the parish, said: "Father Lysz was a good priest and a good man. His nature was to want to help people." Hundreds of people gathered outside the church for a vigil on Friday evening to remember their pastor. "The death of a brother priest always touches the lives of all priests" said Archbishop Daniel Cronin of Hartford. "But the circumstances surrounding Father Lysz's death will profoundly impact all who knew him, and who served with him in his priestly ministry."

      Parishioners who showed up for the 7:30 am Mass on Friday found Father Lysz's body behind the altar after he failed to show up for the liturgy. Father Audet said the church must be reconsecrated before Mass can be held there again and the parish school will be used in the meantime. Father Lysz had served St. Matthew's parish since 1988.

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 features, dossiers and Daily Dispatches at 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.

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June 29, 1999 volume 10, no. 125   DAILY CATHOLIC