Vietnam Communists nix Papal visit; Only Prayer will turn the tide

      When push came to shove, the Communist leaders of Vietnam showed their true colors by initially nixing the possibility of a papal visit to Vietnam in 1999 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Apparitions of Our Lady of La Vang. Contradicting themselves after stating they knew nothing of the invite, they admitted they had received a letter from the Bishops Conference of Vietnam. The door was left slightly ajar that the Pope's visit may not be dead deal when the Communists used the word "yet" in their communique. Through the prayers of the eight million Catholics in Vietnam and millions of others around the world there is still a possibility the government will relent, but it will take a lot of petitions to Heaven to sway these atheistic lords. For more, click on Papal Vietnam Visit

Nicaraguan Cardinal implores the world to forsake politics for the sake of relief

      As the statistics of those dead or missing mount, the head of the Church in Nicaragua Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, placed in charge by the government to distribute relief supplies to the victims, has appealed to the world to forego any political objectives and capitalization on others misfortunes by opening their hearts and coffers for the less fortunate who have suffered greatly over the past two weeks from the devastating effects of the floods wrought by Hurricane Mitch. Even though the Church has been placed in charge because of the trust factor, fears are that Catholics will get priority attention before all others but the Cardinal assured all that priorities will be given to those most in need, regardless of creed or political persuasion. For more, click on Nicaragua dispersal

Separation of Church and State group raise question of undue influence in School Vouchers debate

     An alarming point was raised this week by an education group out of Fresno, calling themselves Separation of Church and State Alliance. They claim that the school voucher bill is written so that those private institutions agreeing to the vouchers will have to comply with government directives that could greatly water down the religious content of their curriculum at the behest of those holding the vouchers and which would allow the government to dictate courses. If this is indeed true, then Catholic administrators will study the school voucher bill further and seek to eliminate those loopholes before pushing for the same legislation in their states. For more, click on state of separation.

Vatican observer tweaks UN General Assembly's conscience with the fact immigrants getting the raw deal in many countries

      During the week we celebrate the saintly Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini who did so much for immigrants, Archbishop Renato Martino, permanent Vatican observer to the United Nations, once again spoke to the UN General Assembly, imploring them to preserve the dignity, rights and safety of immigrants in many countries where they are being abused and exploited. He decried the fact that while money for arms are always available - especially for ethnic cleansing, humanitarian resources are not readily available for refugees and immigrants. This imbalance of military and humanitarian aid sorely tips the scale at the detriment of human life, the Archbishop asserted. For more, click on Immigrants.

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