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McDonald's has nothing on the Church; One billion and counting!

      It has just been revealed that there have been one billion served. We're not talking hamburgers, we're talking souls! That is now the official number of Catholics in the world - one billion - according to a census report released by the Vatican late last week. The numbers were compiled from bishops' figures submitted throughout the world and estimating the number of underground Catholics in North Korea and Red China where the exact figures are not available. For more, click on one billion Catholics

      VATICAN CITY (CWNews.com) - The Vatican's Central Statistics Office said this week that it estimates there are now more than 1 billion Catholics in the world.

      The figure is part of the annual report on the Catholic Church and was calculated based on reports from bishops' conferences in most countries, and by estimating the number of the faithful in countries where the Church is suppressed including China and North Korea. Enrico Nenna of the Central Statistics Office said the figure was arrived at by adding nearly 5 million Catholics in China and North Korea to 995.128 million elsewhere in the world in 1996.

      In 1995, the Vatican estimated there were 989 million Catholics worldwide, excluding China and North Korea.

Murder of Swiss Guard Commander-elect Alois Estermann and his wife were evidently premeditated in suicide note left by Tornay

      A suicide note left by disgruntled Swiss Guard Cedric Tornay to his mothers just hours before he gunned down his superior officer Alois Estermann and his wife Gladys points to the fact that he knew exactly what he was doing. These facts came to light with the release in the Italian press of excerpts written by Tornay earlier on last Monday, the day of the murders. One newspaper, known for being reputable, published the words of the note in its entirety. For more, click on Suicide note.

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Several Italian newspapers today carried slightly differing versions of what was said to be a suicide note written by Swiss Guard Corporal Cedric Tornay to his parents on the afternoon before the fatal encounter in which he apparently killed Colonel Alois Estermann and his wife, then turned his weapon on himself.

      No paper carried a photo of the letter-- a fact which suggested that the text had been dictated to reporters by an indiscreet investigator. And the versions published in different newspapers showed some small differences, presumably because of differences in translating the original French. But the different versions were not fundamentally incompatible, and the text of the letter was plausible. Corriere della Sera, considered one of the country's more respectable papers, carried the most complete text.

      The text, as it appears, matches the investigators' explanation of the crime. In the purported letter, Tornay asks his mother's forgiveness for what he is about to do. He indicates that he has been deeply wounded by the harshness of his superior, Colonel Estermann, and by the absence of any official recognition for his service. "I ask your pardon for leaving you alone, but my duty calls," he says, asking his mother to convey his love to the other members of the family.

      Investigators in Rome have not officially released any information about the contents of Tornay's last letter, and the Vatican has made it clear that the letter would not be made public without the explicit permission of the family. Tornay's mother, who came to Rome for her son's funeral, has avoided all contact with the press.

Speaking of suicides: Arrest of suicide doctor could put an end to it!

     They caught Al Capone on tax fraud, maybe this time they can make resisting arrest stick for Jack Kevorkian and a fellow doctor who were arrested outside a Detroit suburban hospital after delivering another body. The difference this time is that the dead man was a quadriplegic and could not have injected himself, thus making it a homicide, not a suicide. Though Kevorkian was released on bail, you can bet authorities will try to pin the wrap on the so-called "suicide doctor" to once and for all put an end to his penchant for euthanasia. For more, click on Suicide is a homicide.

      ROYAL OAK, Michigan (CWNews.com) - Assisted suicide activist Jack Kevorkian and an assistant were arrested Thursday night after scuffling with police outside a hospital where the two men were bringing the body of an apparent assisted suicide victim.

      Kevorkian was arraigned Friday morning and was wheeled into the courtroom in a wheelchair, apparently because he refused to go voluntarily. Kevorkian sat slumped in the wheelchair and refused to answer the judge's questions as he was arraigned on charges of assault, battery and resisting arrest for allegedly shoving police officers. His associate, Dr. Georges Reding, was charged with interfering with a police officer and resisting arrest. Both men were later released without having to post bail. They are due back in court on June 2.

      Kevorkian and Reding took the body of a 26-year-old quadriplegic from Aptos, California, to William Beaumont Hospital in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak at 10:23 pm Thursday, hospital spokeswoman Collette Stimmell said. Oakland County Medical Examiner Dr. L.J. Dragovic said an autopsy this morning revealed the man died of a lethal injection. Dragovic said the case has been ruled a homicide, given that the man was a quadriplegic and medically could not inject himself. Kevorkian has admitted helping more than 100 people die since 1990.

Holy Father heading for Croatia in the Fall

      The Vatican announced late last week that his holiness John Paul II will be visiting Croatian this coming October where he will beatify Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac who shielded many Jews from persecution by the Communists in Yugoslavia. For this he was imprisoned and it is where he died. With the announcement of the Pope's visit, speculation again begins to surface that the Holy Father might possibly make a side trip south to Medjugorje. For more. click on Croatia.

      ZAGREB (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II is expected to visit Croatia in October and beatify Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, who was imprisoned by Yugoslav Communist authorities after World War II, said Archbishop Josip Bozanic on Friday.

      Addressing a congregation in Krasic, the birthplace of Cardinal Stepinac, the archbishop said the Holy Father would visit Croatia from October 2-4, the Hina state news agency reported. He is expected to beatify Stepinac on October 3 at the Marija Bistrica shrine.

      Cardinal Stepinac was arrested and tried by Yugoslav authorities for allegedly supporting the Nazi-backed Ustasha fascists, who killed thousands of Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies in Croatia. He died under house arrest in 1960. However, Croatia's Jewish community recently credited the cardinal with helping to avert the persecution of many Jews.

The inmates are running the prison, literally!

      Colorful Benton County Sheriff Andy Lee must feel like Moses when he brought the ten commandment tablets down from Sinai and discovered they were rejecting him and the new laws. That is because a Judge from Bentonville, Arkansas upheld a prisoner's complaint that Lee's posting of the "Ten Benton County Jail Rules," patterned after the Ten Commandments, offended the inmate's rights. Wait a second, who said prisoners have rights? Don't they lose such privileges when they are convicted? Evidently not according to the Judge. It's sad because if anyone needs God it's the prisoners and now they'll be deprived because of one crackpot atheist. For more. click on Ridiculous decision.

      BENTONVILLE, Arkansas (CWNews.com) - A Benton County, Arkansas judge ruled that the local sheriff must remove a set of rules posted in the county jail because they have religious connotations.

      Sheriff Andy Lee posted his "Ten Benton County Jail Rules" which are adapted from biblical rules alongside 30 other rules regarding inmate conduct. The judge cited as inappropriate one the rules which says, "Remember the Sabbath day is a holy day for some detainees (i.e., Do not interfere with others' worship of Almighty God)."

      In testimony, Lee said his goal was to put God in the jail as much as possible to help create a positive atmosphere that could lead to a reduction in crime. "I do believe the world would be a better place," the sheriff said, "if we would obey those Ten Commandments and walk with the Lord." The lawsuit was brought by inmate Jamey Ashford who argued that the rules violated his rights.

For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site. CWN is not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provides this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

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PROVERB OF THE DAY

"Expel the arrogant man and discord goes out; strife and insult cease."

Proverbs 23: 10

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May 11, 1998 volume 9, no. 91   DAILY CATHOLIC