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FRI-SAT-SUN January 21-23, 2000 vol. 11, no. 15 SECTION THREESee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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WORLD NEWS & VIEWS with a Catholic slant: | ||
(Paramount)
Because of occasional gory violence, and implied affair,
discreet homosexual innuendo, fleeting full nudity and a few instances of rough language, the
U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-IV -- adults, with reservations. The Motion Picture
Association of America rating is R -- restricted. "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is a disquieting
melodrama set in 1958 Italy where, after befriending a rich expatriate couple (played by Jude
Law and Gwyneth Paltrow), an impoverished young American assumes his identity and
stops at nothing to keep the risky charade going. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith's 1955
novel, a chilling cautionary tale of materialism expanding to grotesque evil unfolds replete with
seductive visuals and sleek performances -- but an ambiguous ending.
(MGM-UA)
Because of intermittent sci-fi violence and a few sexual encounters with
nudity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture
Association of America rating is PG-13 - parents are strongly cautioned that some material
may be inappropriate for children under 13. In "Supernova", a 22nd-century medical rescue
spaceship receives a strange distress call that launches the vessel on an adventure linking
them with an alien artifact able to make humans stronger and younger, but with some
harrowing side effects. With its unbelievable plot development and cardboard acting, this film
is one to skip for all but die-hard sci-fi fans.
(Walt Disney)
The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I --
general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G
-- general audiences. In "Toy Story 2" the animated adventures of toys
that come to life when humans aren't around continues as cowboy
Woody voiced by Tom Hanks is stolen by a greedy toy collector, sending Woody's toy buddies, led by Buzz Lightyear, the voice of Tim Allen, on a breathless rescue mission. Featuring even better animation, the briskly paced cartoon sequel is slightly less original,
but zippy action scenes and gentle humor should amuse small fry and grown-ups alike.
(Warner Brothers)
Because of much stylized violence, brutality, sexual situations,
locker-room frontal nudity, drug abuse, recurring rough language and occasional profanity,
the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-IV - adults, with reservations.. The Motion
Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. "Any Given Sunday" is a frenetically
jumbled look at a professional football team trying to make the play-offs under veteran coach
Al Pacino who puts his career on the line by starting an ailing but reliable old-timer as
quarterback rather then the hotshot young maverick favored by the club's devious owner
(played by Cameron Diaz). The strictly formula sports story follows the underdogs to the big
game in a jazzed-up narrative with jarring scenes of physical and verbal violence on and off
the field, in locker rooms, bedrooms and corporate suites, while the coach philosophizes,
cajoles, screams and whispers about team unity and the game's dignity.
While the reviews by the NCCB are very good and provide the ratings, we have discovered another site which will give you a much more detailed survey of what to watch out for. Just click on Christian Analysis of Culture Alert.
The Holy See has officially confirmed what the Egyptian government announced earlier this week - that the Holy Father would make a Papal trip to Egypt on February 25 and 26, officially kicking off his "Jubilee Journey" that will take him on a pontifical pilgrimage from Old Testament time and Mt. Sinai to the time of Christ and New Testament time to following in the footsteps of the Apostles, most notably Saint Paul. continued inside
VATICAN CITY, JAN 20 (ZENIT).- This morning the Vatican Press Office
published the program of John Paul II's pilgrimage to Mount Sinai from
February 24-26, in the context of his Jubilee pilgrimage "to places
connected with the history of salvation."
After postponing the stage of Ur of the Chaldeans in Iraq, Abraham's
birthplace, at the express request of the Baghdad regime, the itinerary
of this pontifical pilgrimage will begin in the Sinai, where Moses was
revealed the name of God and given the Tablets of the Law.
On February 26, the Pope will visit the Orthodox Monastery of Saint
Catherine, which is in the Sinai region, at the foot of Mount Horeb.
While there, he will preside over the celebration of the Word in the
garden of olives, the very place where tradition locates the burning
bush that served the Lord to reveal himself to Moses: "I am Who am."
This celebration is of great ecumenical importance, as the Monastery is
home to a community of Greek Orthodox monks, who are very enthusiastic
about the Pope's arrival.
Before reaching Sinai, the Holy Father will visit Cairo on February 24
in the afternoon. The present moment has significant connotations for
this papal visit. At present in the area of the Upper Nile, groups of
Muslim fundamentalists are carrying out a harsh repression of the Coptic
Christian minority. As is the case in other Arab countries, Egypt is
under a fundamentalist threat: the deteriorating economic situation has
caused the spread of ideas contrary to the Westernization of the country
and the secularism of the State. Violent groups have generalized their
attacks against members of the foreign community, Western economic
interests, tourists and even personalities of Egyptian public life,
which has caused the government to react with massive arrests,
executions of fundamentalist leaders and military occupation of the
areas dominated by them.
In the midst of this unhappy panorama, there are two positive signs in
the area of foreign relations. The first and most important is the role
of Egyptian diplomacy in the peace process between Israel and Palestine,
which has returned Egypt to leadership of the Arab world.
Within this context, the meeting of the Pope with the Grand Sheik
Mohammed Sayed Tantawi of Al Azhar acquires great significance. The
Sheik is the most important Sunni personality and one of the most
prestigious custodians of Islamic thought. Other important moments in
the papal visit to Cairo include a private meeting with President
Muhammad Hosni Mubarak, and a visit with Shenouda III, leader of the
Coptic Orthodox.
On February 25, the Pope will celebrate Mass in the Cathedral of Our
Lady of Egypt and participate in an ecumenical meeting in the
inter-ritual Major Seminary of St. Leo the Great.
Of the 66 million inhabitants of Egypt, about 1% are Catholics and 4.8%
Orthodox. The overwhelming majority are Muslims.
The Pope's pilgrimage to Sinai will continue with the stage in the Holy
Land, which will take place at the end of March. At that time, the Holy
Father will visit Mount Nebo in Jordan from where Moses glimpsed the
Promised Land before his death.
ZE00012004
Even though there are only 200,000 Catholics out of sixty million Egyptians they are ecstatic the Pope is coming to their land. Surprisingly, so are their Muslim countrymen who are planning to welcome the Roman Pontiff with great cooperation from those of the Islam faith. continued inside.
CAIRO (CWNews.com/Fides) - The news that Pope John Paul II
will visit Egypt next month has been received with
enthusiasm by Egyptian Catholics and Muslims, according to
Father Boulos Garas, national director of the Pontifical
Mission Societies in Egypt
Father Garas, who also teaches at St. Leo the Great major
seminary at Maadi, said: "Catholics, a tiny minority of
200,000 among 60 million Egyptians, are overjoyed. Several
of those I have spoken with could hardly hold back the
tears. And many want to come from Upper Egypt, a thousand
miles away, ready to undertake a 12-hour train journey to
witness this great event."
The priest also said the authorities at Al Azhar
University, an influential center for Islamic
intellectuals, "welcome the Pope's visit, showing great
Islamic tolerance." The question of tolerance is high on
the agenda for the Cairo authorities after the bloody
clashes between Christians and Muslims in which 20 Coptic
Christians were killed at el-Kosheh earlier this month.
This will be Pope's first visit to Egypt. "It is a pity he
cannot stay longer," said Father Ibrahim Isak Sedrach, the
rector of St. Leo the Great seminary. This is an historic
event: a Muslim country where Christians are mostly
Orthodox, will welcome a Catholic Pope. For our youngsters
it will be a joy and an encouragement."
The pro-aborts are showing their true colors by trying to drum the Vatican out of the UN's status of Permanent Observer to a non-government organization (NGO) which would place the Holy See, head of over one billion people globally in the same stratosphere as the heretical upstart Frances Kissling's "catholics for a free choice." Please, give us a break! Pressuring the Vatican like that should have every loyal Catholic in the world incensed at this brash measure. continued inside.
NEW YORK (CWNews.com) - A campaign by a group of
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) associated with the
United Nations to demote the Vatican at the international
body has grown to 400 members, according to the Catholic
Family & Human Rights Institute (C-fam) today.
The campaign, led by Frances Kissling of the US-based
pro-abortion Catholics for a Free Choice, seeks to have the
Holy See's status at the UN downgraded from Permanent
Observer to NGO, even though the Vatican is a recognized
sovereign nation. Last year, Kissling asked "why ... an
entity that is in essence 100 square acres of office space
and tourist attractions ... with a citizenry that excludes
women and children have a place at the table where
governments set policies affecting the very survival of
women and children."
The "See Change" campaign, which includes the International
Planned Parenthood Federation, the world's largest abortion
provider, has singled out the Vatican for its ability to
form coalitions of mainly Catholic and Muslim countries
that block efforts to promote abortion, contraception, and
population control or to redefine sexuality, morality, and
the family in UN documents and conferences.
Other members of the campaign, which has set up a web site
and has taken out ads in The New York Times, include the
Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, Equality Now, Marie
Stopes International, the National Abortion Federation, the
Feminist Majority, the Sierra Club, Population Concern,
Center for Research on Population and Security, the
American Humanist Association, and Atheists United.
C-fam observed, "Since the UN works by consensus, any small
group of states can theoretically stop any piece of language
they find objectionable. Since most states rely on foreign
aid, the pressure to bend to the will of the Clinton
Administration and the increasingly radical European Union
is intense. The Holy See does not receive any foreign aid,
so it cannot be pressured in the traditional ways."
Today's featured prelate of the Conclave the Archbishop of Lima Cardinal Augusto Vargas Alzamora, SJ will receive Archbishop Marcello Zago, OMI, Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples representing the Pope next Saturday during a week of celebrating the Peruvian hierarchy that was first established after the conquest of the Spanish Conquistador Juan Pizarro. continued inside.
After the celebration in Lima, the commemoration will continue in the Amazon region itself. The Holy Father will send Archbishop Marcello Zago, Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, as his special envoy. Archbishop Zago will be in Peru from January 29 until February 7.
The evangelization of Peru began at the time of Pizarro's conquest of the Incas in 1532. Missionary activity was very intense, especially during the 16th and 17th centuries. Later, the establishment of the missionary prefectures gave decisive impetus to the work of spiritual and human development promoted by the Church. ZE00012009
As the Relics of Saint Therese complete their four month pilgrimage throughout the US with a final stop in Hawaii before heading to the Philippines, the Military Ordinary of the Philippines intends to take her relics not only into the prisons to touch hardened hearts, but to death row to show that they may have life and have it abundantly just as the Little Flower taught. continued inside.
Bishop Ramon Arguelles, Military Ordinary of the Philippines, said the relics will reach Manila on January 30 and be taken to visit the prison the next day. "Somebody asked me if the relics could be brought to the prison and the first thing I asked: are you going to allow us to enter death row?" said Bishop Arguelles. "I asked that because St. Therese surely loved as Christ loves those whom we call sometimes hardened criminals. They are not hopeless. If we see them in the eyes of the saints and in the eyes of God, they are objects of our loving attention and we must sacrifice for them, like St. Therese and obtain from God their conversion."
Bishop Arguelles has been working for years to bring St. Therese's relics to the Philippines. "In 1994, several people, devotees of St. Therese, asked me to help them in bringing the relics of the saint to the country. My first reaction was that I would try." The bishop noted that the saint's "first spiritual child" was a man condemned to be executed for murdering three women in 1888. "Therese prayed for him, offered Masses, and made sacrifices and the next news she had was that, shortly before he was executed, the man approached the priest and embraced the Crucifix and for the saint this was a response from God, her prayers were answered," the bishop said.
The bishop insists the relics should be shown to those awaiting execution, although the prison authorities, for security reasons, have not yet given official permission.
Father Robert Olaguer, chaplain of the national prison, said the relics will be exposed for all the inmates of death row to see during a Mass celebrated behind bars. In the Philippines, the death penalty was abolished in 1987 and replaced with life imprisonment by former President Corazon Aquino, but when former President Fidel Ramos was elected in 1992 the situation was reversed. In 1994 the death penalty was re-introduced and a 1996 law decreed execution by means of lethal injection.
Not a fan of outgoing Bishop Samuel Ruiz, the founding priest of the Apostles of the Word is calling on the Vatican to intercede to stop the growing radical movement that is trying to influence who the next bishop will be. Liberation theology is at the core and threatens to further deplete the loyal Catholic population of Chiapas. continued inside.
SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS, MEXICO, JAN 20 (ZENIT).- Radical groups
associated with "indigenous theology" are trying to influence the
episcopal succession in the diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas,
according to one of the anti-sect experts of the Archdiocese of Mexico.
Fr. Flaviano Amatulli Valente, who is also founder of the Apostles of
the Word, has urged the Holy See to intervene in order to prevent "a
true schism in the Catholic Church in Mexico."
Fr. Amatulli noted that territory of this diocese is already less than
50% Catholic. This number is consonant with other areas where
"Liberation Theology" has been applied, according to the priest. The
theologian rejected the idea that outgoing Bishop Samuel Ruiz could be
compared to Bishops Óscar Romero and Helder Cámara. "Those were
'prophets' that did not give in to the temptation to become 'kings.'
This didn't occur with Bishop Samuel, who pushed or accepted a line of
pastoral care that is very disputed within the Catholic Church,
eliminating any type of opposition."
ZE00012023
In honor of the Feast of Saint Francis de Sales the esteemed bishop, Doctor of the Church and Patron Saint of Journalists, the Holy Father will give a special message for World Communication Day observed this coming Monday with many of the fifth estate and the entertainment industry present in Rome. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, 20 (NE) Pope John Paul's Message for the 34th
World Communications Day will be presented in the Holy See Press
Office on Monday, January 24, at 11:30 a.m local time. The
presentation of the Pope's message will be in charge of
Archbishop John Foley and Bishop Pierfranco Pastore,
respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council
for Social Communications.
The theme of the message is:
"Announcing Christ in the Media at the Dawn of the New
Millennium." The jubilee celebrations for journalists and for
those involved in the entertainment industry will also be
presented that day during the press conference.
The Bishop of Arlington, Virginia is inviting all in his diocese to join him in the March for Life on Capitol Hill Monday in a joint effort to end abortion through prayer and peaceful demonstration. continued inside.
ARLINGTON, VA, 20 (NE) Archbishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington
renewed his call for faithful to "publicly witness to the horror
of abortion and its impact on society" and "to celebrate the joy
of the jubilee year as a pilgrim Church". In a recent article,
the Prelate invited Catholics in the diocese to participate in
the pro-life activities to be held January 22, 23, and 24.
January 22 is the 27th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision
allowing the taking of the life of an unborn baby. On that day,
Bishop Loverde will celebrate Mass and afterwards will preside
the prayer of the rosary at a nearby abortion facility. "Let us
petition our Blessed Lady, the Immaculate Conception, the
patroness of the United States, to intercede for us so that this
slaughter of the innocent may be ended", wrote the Prelate.
Bishop Loverde also announced that St. Mary's Church in
Alexandria will be the goal of a pilgrimage on January 23, "as
we continue the celebration of the jubilee year at the oldest
church in our diocese". Finally, on January 24, he invited
faithful to "join me in a national display of witness at the
March for Life in Washington, D.C. I applaud the participation
of this diocese in this march over the years. I am honored to
join you as we unite with peoples from across the land in a
public witness for life."
"May we pray that the tens of thousands attending this march
representing the millions of people throughout the land make an
impact on public opinion and the legislative process in order to
recognize the horror that abortion inflicts upon us". "Mother
Teresa told us, 'the greatest destroyer of peace today is
abortion.' Let us continue the process of bringing peace to our
nation by our public witness at the March for Life. After all,
'…we are the people of life and for life, and this is how we
present ourselves to everyone'."
