 |
Monday thru Friday at
www.DailyCatholic.org
See why so many consider the
Daily CATHOLIC as the
"USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
e-mail: DailyCatholic@dailycatholic.org
|
|
Cardinal Pengo also succeeded Cardinal Rugambwa as the second cardinal named from Tanzania when the Holy Father included him in the most recent Consistory of February 21, 1998, bestowing on Cardinal Pengo the titular church of Our Lady of La Salette. In addition to his current duties as Archbishop of Tanzania's largest See, he has curial membership in the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Residing at the Archbishop's residence in Dare-es-Salaam, Tanzania the torch has been passed from Cardinal Rugambwa to Cardinal Pengo who, at age 55 represents the new, younger wave of the newer cardinals who will have an impact on the Church in the new millennium.
In the course of a brief stop at Heathrow airport in London, Bishop Belo said that the soldiers sent by General Wiranto to the province, officially to protect the population, "dress up as militiamen at night and fire on the towns." Bishop Belo is en route to Rome, and will meet with the Pope, probably on Monday.
The Bishop also mentioned the attack on his residence in Dili, which has been destroyed. "The diocesan offices and residence have been destroyed," he explained. "They have killed priests. I have to speak with the Pope." He concluded by saying that it is already too late for the international community to try to control the situation with economic sanctions against Indonesia. ZE99091006
Meanwhile Catholic World News reports from Rome that the brutal fighting in East Timor has become a case of "genocide," according to the Vatican’s top foreign-relations officials.
Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Vatican's Secretary of State for Relations with States, told a Vatican television audience that the "absolutely flagrant violence against the most fundamental human rights" of the Timorese represents "a regression for humanity." Speaking on the evening of September 9, the archbishop reported that at least 40 humanitarian workers have been murdered, as well as hundreds of other innocent people. He added that churches, convents, and seminaries have been destroyed, with priests and religious forced to flee into the mountains. "This is a very direct attack on the Catholic Church," he said.
Archbishop Tauran called on Indonesian government officials in particular, and world leaders in general, to take immediate action to stem the violence. "Faced with such a tragic, and such a gross violation of human rights, no one has the right to remain indifferent," he said.
The archbishop disclosed that the Vatican has been working through diplomatic channels to encourage prompt intervention, and has backed plans for the creation of an international force which might "guarantee a minimum of law and order on Timorese territory."
Although the Pope’s plan to visit India has been public knowledge for more than a month, the Vatican had never confirmed the plans for that trip until the September 10 announcement. In that same announcement, the Vatican also confirmed the more recent story that the Holy Father will visit the former Soviet republic of Georgia on his return voyage.
The Vatican press office said that "logistical problems" with the plans had caused the delay in making the official announcement. Although a detailed schedule of the voyage was not made public, the announcement did confirm that Pope John Paul will arrive in Indian on November 5, remain in Delhi until November 8, then fly to Georgia and return to Rome on November 9.
PRI Associate Researcher Josipa Gasparic visited Kosovo to gather information on the effects of the UNFPA's programs. She reports that Kosovar women have rallied against what they are calling the "White Plague" of the U.N. Population Fund's "reproductive health" campaign designed to reduce their offspring at the request of the indicted war criminal.
The epicenter of UNFPA's campaign is located in Kosovo's capital of Pristina, where a "routine program" is underway, including a marketing strategy entitled "How to Change the Mentality of Kosovar Women," designed to undercut the pro-family traditions of the Kosovars. From its office in Pristina, UNFPA is also promoting the services of international abortion provider Marie Stopes.
The PRI study asserts that UNFPA officials have confirmed that it was requested by the Milosevic government to campaign in Kosovo, first with an initial assessment which was followed by a routine program. UNFPA has also confirmed that the Milosevic invitation was given in December 1998, when Serbian forces were actively "cleansing" the ethnic Albanian population. Also suspected is that Milosevic invited UNFPA to operate only in Kosovo.
Gasparic reports, "As I traveled throughout Kosovo, I saw and was told by the Kosovars that Milosevic's ethnic cleansing, along with the refugee crisis, have cut populations in many regions to as little as 10 percent of their original size. From my conversations it remains clear that the strength of Kosovo still remains in her people. The latest available statistics reveals a robust Kosovar fertility rate of over 5 [children per family], while the Serbs experience an anemic 1.4 (1998 UN Population Division, extrapolation)."
Serbian hatred towards the Kosovar population is not hidden. The PRI document points out that a 1998 official Serbian demographics report reveals the intent to reduce the number of Kosovar children, at any expense. Milosevic's Minister for Family Concerns, Rada Trajkovic, described Kosovar women as "baby machines" and declared that "The state must find a way... to limit or forbid the enormous birthrate in Kosovo."
On August 26, Gasparic spoke with the director of UNFPA's Pristina office, Olivier Brasseur. She pressed Brasseur on UNFPA's marketing of abortion-inducing "morning after" pills as a routine form of birth control for refugees. Contrary to informed medical opinion, Brasseur contended that this chemical "only prevents women from ovulating."
According to Gasparic, "Brasseur showed complete ignorance with respect to the use of the manual vacuum aspirator (MVA) that UNFPA delivered to the region, which he claimed was intended 'for safe delivery' procedures. The MVA cannot be used in a normal delivery at all, but only in the case of miscarriage, spontaneous or induced." PRI was also able to confirm that local midwives in the region are being trained to perform abortions with MVAs.
Brasseur told Gasparic, "Let me tell you what is in the reproductive health kit. Things for helping safe childbirth, but if somebody is using it for abortion, we cannot do anything about it!"
UNFPA's leader in Pristina also told Gasparic that she would be "personally responsible for the deaths of Kosovar women" who would refuse UNFPA's "help" if her story made it to America.
The Director of Gynecology at the Pristina Hospital, Dr. Sejdula Hoxha, denied Brasseur's claims of UNFPA's focus on maternal health, stating that UNFPA is less concerned with safe delivery than it is with reducing birth. UNFPA's services "are administered in their way," Hoxha said. "So you either take UNFPA's whole package, with the contraceptives, or you leave it." ZE99091020
Today the official Vatican web site for the Jubilee introduced four lively cartoon characters that will serve as children's guides to prepare themselves for the year 2000.
"Schanty" is a young African girl who begins her adventure by asking the local missionary where Rome is on the world map. "Luca" is an Italian boy who loves soccer and can't wait to meet so many people who will come from every corner of the world to visit his country during the Jubilee. "Lyn" is a Philippine girl, in typical dress, complete with a trendy headband. Finally, "James" is a young American, with a backwards baseball cap, a T-shirt that says "I Love N.Y.," and his ever-present laptop computer. Coming together in Rome, they share experiences and visit the major sites and events in the Eternal City. Their journey takes web surfers on a guided tour where they learn along the way about the history, meaning and events of the Holy Year, especially the main attraction for kids, the "Children's Jubilee," on Jan. 2, 2000.
The official logo of the "Children's Jubilee" depicts St. Peter's Square with the "arms" of the colonnade embracing a colorful globe and the four cartoon characters in the background. There's even an audio greeting from each one of the young escorts.
Right now, everything is in Italian but volunteers are hard at work preparing the same material in several other languages for children the world over. You can see and hear the cartoon characters and follow their adventures at: http://www.jubil2000.org/bambini/bambini01.it.html ZE99091021
