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Events Today in Church History

      On this date in 1471, the British nobleman known as Warwick the "kingmaker" was murdered on Easter Sunday. His death paved the way for the rise of King Henry VII whose son Henry VIII would rent the Church asunder in England sixty years later. 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 April 14:

972 A.D.


Holy Roman Emperor Otto II marries Theophano, Princess of the Eastern Roman Empire, unifying the two empires for a short time.

1291 A.D.


A flank of Knights Templars attack the Moslem camp at night in what was called the "Siege of Acre" and all are massacred. The infidels knew they were coming. The defeat greatly demoralizes the rest of the Templars.

1386 A.D.


The doors of Saint Mary's College in Oxford, England are opened for the first time.

1471 A.D.


The "kingmaker" Warwick is killed on Easter Sunday at Weymouth, England just before Queen Margaret arrives, but too late to save Warwick and her throne.

1998 A.D.


79 year-old Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer resigns as the leading prelate of Austria after 20 years of sexual abuse allegations tear the country apart morale-wise. The Cardinal said in a statement issued by the Vatican's apostolic nuncio in Austria that, "In the past three years, there have been several, often inaccurate assertions about my person. I beg God and people for forgiveness, if I have burdened myself with guilt."

"Be faithful to My Gospel, which is the message My Mother gives to you, lest you forget your goal. "

      Those words come from Our Lord on the Solemnity of His Resurrection, April 3, 1994 to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart in Message #478 in which Jesus reminds us of the glory to come but that we must stay the course, being aware of His adversary's agenda and tactics and urging us to follow God's Will in all things to assure a glorious resurrection of body and soul for all who are faithful to Him and what He has entrusted His Blessed Mother to impart to us. Our Lady prefaces this in her Message the day before on Holy Saturday by encourages us not to allow our hearts and souls to remain dormant but to wholeheartedly heed the Divine Will through our faithfulness to all God has commanded. For Messages #477 and #478, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

Messages 477. and 478

Message Four Hundred-seventy-seven, April 2, 1994

      Beloved Hidden Flower, I bless you. Yes, I know how utterly empty you feel, and to all of my little ones I say: Your hearts lie in the cold, silent tomb with my Divine Son. You are confused, wondering as you approach Easter Sunday, why the glory and joy are not yours.

      Dear children, I do solemnly tell you it is God's Perfect Will for all of you. Little children, for many of you it is because you have not put your heart into these holy days. You have not prayed from your hearts, being distracted by many worldly concerns. For others, you share in the solemn hours wherein my Divine Son was placed in the tomb, and you feel the anguish of those whose faith was put to the test; that all my Divine Son had said would be fulfilled.

      The joy you seek is not to be given to the world now. There will be the outward sign of the Glory of the Resurrection, but you have not attained the glory which awaits the just.

      Be just and upright of heart, little ones. Be so by being humble and little and obedient. Live my messages: Your faith must be an anchor; your abandonment to God complete; your love lifted beyond human emotions and into celestial song.

      I love and bless you in this time of sorrow. Thank you for responding to my Call!

Message Four Hundred-seventy-eight, April 3, 1994

      Beloved Hidden Flower of My Mother's Immaculate Heart, I bless you for your perseverance. Do all I ask of you. I will be your strength.

      I say to all: Behold, I have risen gloriously. Yet, I have not left you orphans. Behold, to all who truly seek Me, I abide with you. Look closely at your souls. Do they burn with the brightness of My love? Or are they aflame with the love of the world - all its finery, all its glitter? I am not there. I died and rose in glorious light that you may always walk in My light.

      To all of My little ones I say: Beware the snares of satan, lest the light grow dim. Persevere. Love Me as I have loved you. Seek only the Will of the Father, and light in abundance shall illumine your souls.

      Dear children, draw together to love Me, to preserve Me in the Blessed Sacrament. Be faithful to My Gospel, which is the message My Mother gives to you, lest you forget your goal.

      I solemnly tell you to be alert. The goal is closer than you think. Read Sacred Scripture and call upon Me. Let these words be ever on your lips: "Come, Lord Jesus, come. Come swiftly!"

      I love you. I bless you. You are My own. Receive My peace and remain faithful at all cost!

In a surprise move, Vatican disassociates itself from Sant'Egidio efforts in Kosovo as Holy See paper warns of not seeking vengeance

      In a startling move politically, the Holy See issued a short statement denying any affiliation with the Sant'Egidio Community's peace efforts in Kosovo, evidently because some associated the latter with the Vatican's Secretariat of State which could harm current negotiations by the Holy See with major parties over the Balkans situation. Meanwhile, L'Osservatore Romano cautioned all to rely on prayer for peace in the Balkans and not let the emotions of hate overcome us. For more, click on Separate entities.

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- In a short, unequivocal public statement, the Vatican has distanced itself from the efforts by the St. Egidio community to mediate the Kosovo crisis.

      The official statement, issued by the Vatican press office on April 13, indicates that the St. Egidio community "has not received any mandate from the Secretariat of State" for its diplomatic efforts. While acknowledging that the Holy See has been kept informed about the community's efforts, the statement underlined the independence of the St. Egidio delegation.

      Recent stories in Italian newspapers have suggested that Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, who led the St. Egidio team to Belgrade to meet with Serbian government leaders, is unofficially acting as "the voice of the Vatican." The statement issued by the press office sharply contradicted that notion.

      The Italian newspaper La Stampa has reported that Msgr. Paglia has been in contact with Ibrahim Rugova, a Kosovar leader who is now living under house arrest in Pristina. Some Italian reporters have speculated that the Vatican hopes to arrange a meeting between Rugova and Pope John Paul II. But the Vatican statement indicated that such speculation "does not correspond with reality."

      The Vatican statement concluded by saying that the Secretariat of State, under the leadership of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, is continuing its own diplomatic initiatives to stop the fighting in Kosovo. Only these efforts, the statement cautioned, reflect the official policies of the Holy See.

      The official Vatican newspaper has called upon the faithful to remember the power of prayer in their responses to the Kosovo conflict, and to avoid temptations to "avenge the victims" and to "visceral violence."

      The April 13 issue of L'Osservatore Romano recognized that many people, seeing how the latest conflict in the Balkans "resumes the horrors of a decade," might become obsessed with the desire to punish those who are responsible for so much suffering. The temptation, the paper said, may be to "exalt the war, which remains a fault and a defeat."

      The use of violent force is not justified simply by the fact that others have been guilty of crimes and misdeeds, the article argued. The search for real justice is better served by intense prayer, L'Osservatore said, and true justice must be founded on "the rights of man, before the rights of the state-- or, worse, the resort to use of force."

Vatican exposes UN motives for what they are: abortion

      Providing medical information that the "morning-after-pill" is not a contraceptive but rather a deadly killer of eggs, the Vatican lashed out at the UN's rationalization to send these pills to women in Kosovo. Led by the vice-president of the Pontifical Academy for Life Bishop Elio Sgreccia sharply criticized the purpose of these pills, calling on all to uphold life in all its stages no matter what period of gestation from conception to full term. For more, click on abortion pill.

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- "The morning-after pill does not exist. This is an abortion." That statement was issued by Bishop Elio Sgreccia, the vice-president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, in response to reports that UN authorities are issuing "emergency contraceptives" to women in Kosovo, to be used in case of rape.

      The effect of the "morning-after pill" is to make the womb inhospitable to the unborn child, Bishop Sgreccia pointed out. The massive doses of hormones contained in these pills do not prevent pregnancy, but rather prevent the implantation of a fetus in the womb when a pregnancy has already occurred. Thus the "morning-after pill" does not prevent conception; "it is really a technique of abortion," he concluded.

      Several years ago, nuns in Congo were administered contraceptive pills as a defense against pregnancy in case of rape. But that case cannot be compared with the situation of Kosovo refugees who have already been raped, the bishop said. "No one ever envisioned a 'post-coital contraception' for those nuns," he explained, "because every form of 'post-coital contraception' is by definition abortifacient."

      Once conception has occurred-- even as a result of rape-- the life of a human being is at stake, Bishop Sgreccia observed. "We must distinguish between the act of violence and the reality of new human beings who had no control over how their lives began," he said.

Cardinal Law urges all not to judge but to aspire toward a peaceful solution through justice for all which has to be top priority

      Warning all that the cover doesn't always reveal what is on the inside of a book, Cardinal Bernard Law issued a warning to all to set aside prejudices when prejudging the causes and effects of Kosovo. He emphasized the need to maintain human dignity for all sides and that includes justice, not just for one side but for all parties concerned. That is the only road to peace he asserted. For more, click on Cardinal Law.

      BOSTON, 13 (NE) "Are we perhaps too selective in our compassion, in our indignation in the face of injustice?" This is the question raised by Cardinal Bernard Law regarding the situation of conflict in the Balkans. In an article written by Boston's Archbishop in the last issue of the archdiocesan newspaper "The Pilot," the Cardinal recalled the difficult reality of other countries in which numerous situations of violence and persecution still exist before the indifference of the international community.

      "The critical strategic question for us is how do we, as the major world power, effectively utilize our influence in the cause of justice. The bottom line must be the effect on the human person, on the family, on our solidarity with the poor," said the Archbishop. Recalling the words of Pope Paul VI, he stated that "Justice is another name for peace. There will be no peace in the Balkans without justice -a justice which is based on the legitimate aspirations of all the peoples who make up that region."

      "The road to peace, he emphasized - recalling the urgent call for dialogue and peace made by Pope John Paul II - will be long and arduous whenever it begins. It will be all the more arduous if we delay its beginning."

Paris Archbishop remembers the Shoah in a very personal way

      Like Saint Edith Stein, the Archbishop of Paris Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger has ties to the holocaust for his own mother, a Polish jewish woman, was a victim of Auschwitz and the cardinal honored her during Holocaust Day in Paris by reading off her name among thousands of others. He managed to elude detection and converted later in life to Catholicism and then answered the call to the priesthood and ultimately the higher office of the cardinalate. For more, see Remembering the Shoah

      PARIS (CWNews.com) - Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris took part on Monday in the annual public reading of names of the 76,000 Jews sent from France to Nazi concentration camps, reading the part of the list which included his mother.

      The Jewish-born cardinal announced the name "Gisele Lustiger," paused and added "ma maman" (my mum) before continuing. The cardinal's mother was killed at the Auschwitz death camp after being arrested in Paris along with his father and sister. The then-Aron Lustiger, 11, had been hidden in a Catholic school outside Paris where he later converted to Catholicism.

      The name-reading ceremony is a 24-hour annual event, held on Holocaust Day, in which volunteers read aloud the names of those sent to death camps. Cardinal Lustiger had taken part in the ceremony in past years, but this was the first time he took part in the name reading.

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.

      The full name of this Ecclesiastical Order is Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem which traces its orgin to Godfrey de Bouillon who founded it in 1099 during the Crusades. After the fall of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem national divisions throughout Europe sprouted up but the order was reorganized by Pope Pius IX in 1847 and in 1949 Pope Pius XII transferred the office of Grand Master from the Pope to a cardinal patron. The objective of the Order is strictly religious and charitable, cultural and social works of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, especially the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem though the international headquarters are in Rome where Cardinal Furno acts as Grand Master appointed by His Holiness John Paul II. For more we recommend New Advent Catholic Supersite on the this Ecclesiastical Order as well as the three recommended sites below which are featured in our SITES OF THE DAY. (source: 1999 Catholic Almanac, Our Sunday Visitor).

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SITES OF THE DAY

      In honor of today's featured cardinal who is the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Cardinal Carlo Furno we present three sites dedicated to this Ecclesiastical Order. They are the EQUESTRIAN ORDER OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE OF JERUSALEM and the site for the same order for THE MAGISTRAL DELEGATION FOR MALTA and finally, the FRANCISCAN CYBERSPOT FOR THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. These three sites should give the reader a good insight into this Ecclesiastical Order.

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April 14, 1999 volume 10, no. 73   DAILY CATHOLIC