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618 A.D.
Death of Saint Kevin, the seventh century hermit who founded monasteries in Ireland and traveled to Rome to bring back many precious relics for the monasteries. A close friend of Saint Kieran from Clonmacnois, St. Kevin was believed to have performed many miracles and lived to the ripe old age of 120.
1098 A.D.
On this day Stephen of Blois and his army of crusaders reached Nicea, capturing Antioch on their way to also regaining Jerusalem and Tripoli. The quick victories would come back to haunt the Crusades for Europe came down with a bad case of overconfidence because of the ease in which they had marched through the Turks and Moslems. Over the next 200 years and eight crusades later they would realize how much they had overestimated the strength and resolve of the infidels. This lack of foresight would carry over to many of the succeeding crusades including the ill-fated so-called "Children's Crusade" where thousands of innocents were slaughtered. After two centuries of fighting the Crusades were declared a failure since the Arabs still held the Holy Land.
1115 A.D.
Death of Saint Morand who is regarded as the patron saint of wine growers since he is said to have fasted only on grapes during Lent. He studied under Saint Hugh at Cluny and became a monk in the Cluniac monasteries, being known for his great holiness and purported miraculous healings.
1121 A.D.
The famous French theologian Pere Peter Abelard was excommunicated for heresy on this day for his writings. Twenty years later he would return to the Church and be reconciled with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Father Abelard retired to a monastery as a monk and died in 1142 in the good graces of the Church.
With this meeting, John Paul II hopes to respond to "the worsening situation in Yugoslavia and the humanitarian drama resulting from it."
From the very beginning, the Holy See has condemned the Milosevic regime's ethnic cleansing, as well as the NATO air attacks, which have caused numerous innocent deaths. Simultaneously, he has undertaken an impressive diplomatic endeavor, which has included meetings of pontifical legates with Slobodan Milosevic; letters to president Bill Clinton of the United States and to Javier Solana, NATO secretary general; consultations with religious leaders from areas affected by the war, etc.
This work has been coupled with a special campaign of prayer for peace among all Christians of the world in May, and by a mission of prayer of the Holy See which will take papal representatives to Belgrade, Macedonia and Albania tomorrow to celebrate Corpus Christi with victims of the violence.
According to Navarro-Valls, tomorrow the Pontiff will ask Kofi Annan to have the solution to the conflict brought back to the heart of the U.N. This position of the Holy See was expressed the very first day after the allied air attacks on Yugoslavia. In fact, some argue that the NATO intervention violates the norms of international law, as it lacks a specific mandate in this regard from the U.N. Security Council.
On April 27, 1999 John Paul II wrote a letter to Kofi Annan stating, "The Holy See very much hopes that the Organization will find its full role in the management of a crisis affecting the whole international community. It is especially urgent that law and institutions be heard and that these not be suffocated by the clash of arms." ZE99060206
John Paul II expressed his sadness over the news that an armed group erupted into the Church of the Transfiguration in the city of Cali during Mass last Sunday.
The Holy Father was very clear, and referred to the "sacrilegious way" in which the guerrillas broke into the Church "during the celebration of Mass" to capture 140 hostages, among whom the parish priest. More than half the hostages have been released, but 60 remain in the guerrillas' power.
Archbishop Isaias Duarte of Cali excommunicated the kidnappers. "Never before in the history of the Church had something like this happened," the Archbishop said. That which is "most sacred for Catholics, the Eucharist, was profaned and this is why those responsible must be excommunicated."
The Pope recalled that "similar acts have taken place in the interior of the country, such as El Piņon, in Magdalena, including the murders of religious personnel."
A few weeks ago the Holy Father appealed for the release of 25 hostages kidnapped by the NLA last April after forcing the pilots of a commercial flight to land on a secret runway.
John Paul II ended his appeal by saying: "In face of acts of this magnitude, I renew my urgent call for pacification, respecting the rights of persons and committing to dialogue which will bring the desired solution to the grave crisis. I couple this hope with remembrance in my prayers that God may grant peace to Colombia." ZE99060207
It is difficult to speak about death in modern society, the Holy Father observed; society rejects such discussion, because "it casts a dark shadow, which is incompatible with a life of plenty." Nevertheless, he continued, in the context of Christian faith the prospect of death is transformed by hope in the Resurrection.
At the close of his audience, the Pope told his audience of 13,000 people that "sad news is still coming to us from Colombia." Speaking in Spanish, he condemned the guerrilla attack on a parish in Cali, which resulted in the taking of over 200 hostages-- of whom about 90 remained captive as he spoke. He called for a peaceful end to the conflict in Colombia, and asked his audience to join him in prayer for that country.
Before returning to his apartment in the Apostolic Palace, the Pope stopped in the Vatican gardens to bestow a blessing at the opening of an underground parking garage, built to relieve the shortage of parking spaces for Vatican workers.
Meanwhile, the Vatican released a preliminary itinerary of the Pope's trip to Poland this weekend. During his trip to Poland this month, Pope John Paul II will visit 20 cities in his native country, from north (Gdansk) to south (Stary Sacz), and including Warsaw, Krakow, and his hometown, Wadowice.
The Pope's trip-- the 87th of his pontificate, and 8th to Poland-- will last from June 5 to 17. Vatican announcements have indicated that the main theme of the voyage will be the Christian heritage of Poland. The Pope will make frequent references to the great Catholic heroes of Polish history, including St. Adalbert, who evangelized the Baltic region, and St. Hedwig, the queen whom Pope John Paul canonized in 1997.
Vatican insiders predict that the Holy Father will caution his countrymen about the dangers of a secularized society and a free-market economy, insisting that Polish society will be healthy only if the country's people are mindful of their religious heritage. In May, as he met with Polish bishops in Rome, the Pope called for an "interior renewal of the faith" among the country's people, and he is expected to repeat that message when he presides at the conclusion of a synod of the country's bishops at Warsaw on June 11.
Observers point out that the Polish Pope has always been remarkable influential in his homeland, and each of his pastoral trips there has produced an outpouring of enthusiasm. Organizers of the papal voyage anticipate a particularly emotional welcome in Gdansk, the birthplace of the Solidarity movement, and another powerful response in Warsaw, where the Holy Father will preside at the beatification of 108 victims of the Nazi regime. There are also high expectations for an unprecedented papal address to the Polish parliament, scheduled for June 11.
Meanwhile, in Warsaw Poland's government on Tuesday announced that liquor sales will banned in each of 11 provinces that Pope John Paul II will visit this month on the days he will be in each province.
Government spokesman Krzysztof Luft said alcohol sales in each province would be banned on the days when the Holy Father visited that particular region in the trip which begins on Saturday. Similar bans were applied on earlier papal visits.
Poland has one of the highest per capita rates of liquor consumption in Europe, with one in five road accidents attributed to drunk driving. "Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will arrive," Luft noted. "It is essential to maintain order." He added, "The ban is beneficial from the point of view of security during the Pope's pilgrimage, which is a great emotional event for Poles."Poland's government on Tuesday announced that liquor sales will banned in each of 11 provinces that Pope John Paul II will visit this month on the days he will be in each province.
Government spokesman Krzysztof Luft said alcohol sales in each province would be banned on the days when the Holy Father visited that particular region in the trip which begins on Saturday. Similar bans were applied on earlier papal visits.
Poland has one of the highest per capita rates of liquor consumption in Europe, with one in five road accidents attributed to drunk driving. "Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will arrive," Luft noted. "It is essential to maintain order." He added, "The ban is beneficial from the point of view of security during the Pope's pilgrimage, which is a great emotional event for Poles."
Monique Dostie said she is adamant about trying to keep "perversion" out of the home. "I teach them that it's wrong, that they don't need that to survive," she said. "I teach them their faith and bring God into their lives." But state regulations say people with mental retardation and autism in group homes have a right to participate in activities of choice, which include using pornographic material and sexual acts.
None of the three residents at Dostie's Jaricot Foster Home have complained, and, in fact, their guardians chose the home because of its policies. Joni Fritz, executive director of the American Network of Community Options and Resources, which represents group homes, said Dostie's policy could lead to an increase in deviate behavior as her residents seek ways to increase gratification.
James Bendell, who is representing Dostie on behalf of the American Catholic Lawyers Association, says the state believes every group home must be the same, and makes no exceptions, creating a "cookie cutter" group home that might not be in the best interest of all residents. Dostie said her residents could be placed in another home. "But they don't want to," she said. "They're not the ones asking for sex or pornography. It's the state that's mandating it."
In a related story out of Maine, a federal appeals court on Tuesday said the state is not obligated to pay student's tuition to parochial schools if it pays for students with similar situations to attend non-religious private schools.
Maine law allows families in towns without public secondary schools to send their children to any public or nonsectarian private school with the state paying at least part of the tuition, but had excluded religious schools from the program. The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston agreed with a lower judge's ruling that the state is not constitutionally required to extend these subsidies to religious schools.
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice that is representing the plaintiffs, said the appeals court ruling creates a conflict with a Supreme Court decision to let stand a Wisconsin voucher program that provides financial help for families whose children attend religious schools.
The plaintiffs had argued the Maine law's exclusion of otherwise eligible parochial schools from the state tuition program violated the constitution by demonstrating hostility toward religion. Sekulow promised to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
