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Vatican encourages all to explore all avenues for peace in the Balkans

      The Holy Father and the Vatican have entreated all parties not to reject any peace proposal but to study it thoroughly and explore all avenues to achieve peace and relief for the hundreds of thousand Kosovo refugees and those suffering from the bombing. This includes Yugoslavian overtures toward peace as well. The Holy See made this statement following the Pope's meeting with the UN's Refuge Commissioner. For more, click on Leave no stone unturned

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The official Vatican newspaper has cautioned against the premature rejection of any proposal that could lead toward peace in the Balkans.

      In a front-page article published in the April 8 issue, L'Osservatore Romano said it would be a mistake "to scrap any proposal hastily, without at least searching for points that might be used to prolong to dialogue." The Vatican paper added that even a temporary truce could be extremely useful, since "only with peace will it become possible to provide adequate aid to the population of Kosovo." The paper called upon all international leaders to redouble their efforts, and "not neglect any approach without having explored it in depth."

      Meanwhile the papal nuncio in Belgrade, Archbishop Santos Abril y Castello, commented that the Yugoslavian government's offer of a unilateral truce is "a proposition that deserves attentive study." The Pope's representative in the Serbian capital told the Italian newspaper Avvenire that while the truce "should be confirmed by the facts," it remained a proposal worth exploration.

      The archbishop also said that while humanitarian intervention to help the people of Kosovo was a "duty" for the European nations, "that is not the same as armed intervention." He argued that other political and diplomatic initiatives should have been explored before the bombing raids began.

      In Belgrade, the latest effort at Church diplomacy was played out when a delegation from the St. Egidio community, led by Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, met with leading Serbian government officials. Italian press sources indicated that the St. Egidio delegation may also have met with Ibrahim Rugova, who has been considered a "moderate" leader among ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

      Eclesiales Noticias reported in Church News that Pope John Paul II received the United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, who afterwards met with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State. According to what has been informed, the meeting related to the difficult situation of the people affected by the conflict in the Balkans. Precisely, the Pontiff sent last week Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, President of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" to Albania, in order to coordinate the help offered by ecclesial organizations and also to take his message of solidarity.

East Timor's Bishop Belo expresses great alarm at Indonesian army's blatant attack on Catholic church where 1500 had sought sanctuary

      Nobel Peace Prize recipient Bishop Carlos Belo expressed sadness and indignation at the news that 1,500 were attacked inside a Catholic church by the Indonesian army which opened fire on the people, killing 25 last Tuesday. Portugal's president accused Indonesia of the murders and, along with Bishop Belo, has demanded President Habibe to stop the harassment of Christians immediately for face international retaliation. For more, click on Slaughter in East Timor.

      ROME, 8 (NE) Bishop Carlos Belo, Apostolic Administrator of Dili, strongly condemned recent manifestations of violence in East Timor. Last Tuesday, anti-independence militiamen backed by the Indonesian army opened fire against a church where 1,500 residents had taken refuge. According to the prelate, at least 25 persons were killed.

      In a press conference held yesterday Bishop Belo asked Indonesian President Habibie to investigate the incident, urging the international community for help to avoid further violence. Last January President Habibie opened the possibility for the independence of East Timor, whose population, catholic in majority, has undergone a tough and constant repression, as well as a religious politics of aggressive proselytism on part of the Muslim government during the years of occupation. It is believed that more than a quarter of the population has died for this reason.

      The President of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, declared the Indonesian government responsible for last Tuesday's massacre. "The international community must hold the Indonesian authorities as responsible for the wave of violence against civilians," he stated. East Timor, where approximately 700 000 Catholics live, was originally a Portuguese colony until 1975, year in which it became independent. That same year it was invaded and annexed as the 27th province of Indonesia.

      Last February Bishop Belo asked president Habibie to issue a decree on the situation of Timor. In that occasion the Apostolic Administrator of Dili said that a written presidential decree making explicit that East Timor would become free would help both sides to prepare for independence and avoid further situations of violence

Disney playing Pilate for Miramax in washing hands of Catholic-bashing film

      Disney's been there before and doesn't like it so Miramax Films is going to be the fall guy for yet another anti-Catholic film. We're talking about the backlash Disney felt from their previous attempts at Catholic-bashing with such garbage as "Priests" and "Nothing Sacred." Now, they've got another one ready for the masses - a film called "Dogma" that mocks the Blessed Mother and spins a heretical tale of two angels trying to get back into Heaven. Disney doesn't want the headache but Miramax is gladly taking it on and with it the entire Catholic Church, some 60 billion strong. For more, click on Disney dogma.

      LOS ANGELES (CWNews.com) - Two executives of Miramax Films said on Thursday that they would form a separate company to distribute a film that the Walt Disney Company, that owns the rights to distribute Miramax products, refuses to release because they are afraid it would offend Catholics.

      The movie "Dogma," by director Kevin Smith, stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as angels who try to return to Heaven after they are exiled, Chris Rock as a foul-mouthed 13th apostle, and rock singer Alanis Morissette as God. The film also features a descendant of Jesus who works in abortion clinics and a decidedly less-than-pure Mary, mother of Jesus.

      Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of Miramax, said they will buy the film rights and sell domestic distribution rights to a third party. "Disney is a target that's too vulnerable in a situation like this," Harvey Weinstein says in Thursday's Los Angeles Times. "They make family movies and a protest could hurt them unnecessarily. (Disney Chairman) Michael Eisner and (studio chief) Joe Roth have been so good to Bob and myself -- they give us so much latitude -- that we said, 'If this is a corporate problem for Burbank, let's solve it for them.'"

      Miramax and Disney have come under fire in recent years for releasing "Priest," a film about a homosexual Catholic priest that demeaned Church teachings, and "Kids," a movie that received an NC-17 rating and portrayed high school boys who prey on girls, racking up sexual conquests as if they were a game.

      Smith, who directed "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy," has described himself as a practicing Catholic and said, "'Dogma' is in no way blasphemous or worthy of the mild controversy that seems to be brewing around it."

Head of HLI targets US and Canada for culture of death agenda that is killing off the world's population

      Keynoting a North American pro-life conference in Toronto, Human Life International president Father Richard Welch held nothing back in targeting the US and Canadian governments for their intrinsic involvement in promoting the culture of death through forced legislation in third world countries and others, including developing countries as well, where the fallout from abortions is beginning to have an effect on the workforce as the elderly retire. Even though the Cairo initiative was blocked by the alliance of underdeveloped nations and the Holy Father, pro-aborts, led by Planned Parenthood, have ignored it and muscled through their culture of death agenda. For more, click on Exposing the pro-aborts' agenda.

      TORONTO (CWNews.com) - The United States and Canada were accused by pro-life leaders on Wednesday of practicing a "contraceptive imperialism" by forcing birth control and abortion on developing nations.

      Father Richard Welch, president of Human Life International, told a news conference opening the group's annual conference that Canada and the US promote "the myth of a population crisis" and then use taxpayer money to send contraceptives and set up population control in poor countries.

      Father Welch said, to the contrary, there is no over population crisis in the world. In fact, he said, "western contraception programs being exported to the Third World have caused a catastrophic birth dearth in many countries." "Many developed nations too, such as Germany, Israel, Spain, and Denmark, are faced with the dire consequences of zero population growth and are unable to replace a retiring work force," he added. Canada is also facing a declining birth rate, well below the replacement rate.

      He also charged the Canadian International Development Agency of being a major funder of abortion groups including the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and that the US and Canada are leading the charge in the United Nations to promote increased support of abortion and contraception through the Cairo+5 program.

Founder of Domino's hopes new Catholic School of Law will have domino effect on Catholic legal minds

      The Catholic luminary and now billionaire Thomas Monaghan who used to push "We deliver" with his Domino Pizza empire before selling it for one billion dollars last year is now delivering for the Church with the announcement that he will fund the 50 million needed to build a special Catholic Law School called Ave Maria School of Law near the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor which hopes to open their doors in the fall of next year and will feature, as one of the professors, Judge Robert Bork among other Catholic attorneys and jurists who will uphold the curriculum emphasizing natural law and Catholic teachings. For more, click on Domino effect in law.

      ANN ARBOR, Michigan (CWNews.com) - Tom Monaghan, founder of the Domino's Pizza restaurant chain, announced on Wednesday that he will spend $50 million to found the new Ave Maria School of Law to produce lawyers grounded in natural law and the teachings of the Catholic Church.

      Expected to open in fall 2000 in Ann Arbor, the school will be led by Bernard Dobranski, currently Dean of Catholic University of America's law school, and its first new professor is Judge Robert Bork, a one-time nominee for the US Supreme Court. Dobranski said the emphasis in training will be on Catholic moral truths in law. "The rule of law must be founded in a belief that there is an objective, moral order," Dobranski told the Detroit Free Press newspaper. "This is something no law school does effectively."

      Monaghan, who recently sold his privately-held pizza chain last year for an estimated $1 billion, has used his fortune to support Catholic causes, including universities, parochial schools, and a cathedral in Nicaragua. He has also served on the Boards of Trustees of Franciscan University of Steubenville and Catholic University of America. The new law school will be located on the same campus as the Ave Maria Institute, a two-year college in the process of becoming a four-year college.

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. Both CWN and NE are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provides this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

     Wrapping up our week of Divine Mercy-oriented sites, today we present one which you can join. It is the DIVINE MERCY WEBRING which you can join if you have a Roman Catholic website which, like the DAILY CATHOLIC, is totally loyal to the Magisterium. The webring is maintained by Elizabeth Barber and she offers a plethora of Divine Mercy images for you to utilize on your site. We would lilke to emphasize the advantage of such webrings and the need for loyal Catholic sites to be linked since we are all working together in His vineyard for the harvest of souls.

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April 9-11, 1999 volume 10, no. 70   DAILY CATHOLIC