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THURSDAY March 9, 2000 vol. 11, no. 49 SECTION THREESee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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Taiwan's Vice Foreign Minister told reporters that the Vatican may soon open communications with mainland China, but senior Taiwan officials denied it vehemently. While all parties are denying the possibility of any diplomat ties between Beijing and Rome because of the vast philosophical void, the active mood in government circles is fearful it could be made in the future, but the Vatican would never accept shutting out Taiwan or the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Church if it were not in union with Rome. continued inside.
TAIPEI (CWNews.com) - Senior Taiwanese officials on
Wednesday denied reports that their ambassador to the
Vatican said the Holy See planned to switch diplomatic
relations to Communist China soon.
Vice Foreign Minister David Lee said Ambassador Raymond Tai
denies telling the United Daily News that "very soon both
sides would establish diplomatic relations." The Vatican,
Taiwain, and China have denied rumors of such a change
since last year.
China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and will not
maintain full diplomatic relations with countries that also
have those relationships with Taiwan. In addition, the
Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship
only in state-controlled associations, including the Chinese
Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any
connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics
worship in illegal, underground churches, following only
bishops appointed by the Pope.
Lee said Tai had been misquoted by the newspaper, but Lee
conceded that the situation has become very active and said
Taiwan has "to step up efforts to cement ties with the Holy
See."
"It is still not clear who is going to win the diplomatic
battle," Lee said. "Religious freedom and the Holy See's
right to ordain Catholic bishops in the mainland remained
major barriers ... and these problems are not expected to
be resolved easily."
Beijing has said the Vatican must sever its diplomatic
relations with Taiwan, and stop interfering in what it said
was China's internal affairs through ministering to Chinese
Catholics if the links are to be normalized.
The ACLU is at it again, this time in Boulder, Colorado where Bill McCartney founded the Christian "Promisekeepers" movement. Presently under the gun is Ricardo Patton, the head basketball coach of the Colorado Buffalo varsity cage team who has been ordered not to pray with his players prior to games. They don't take into consideration what he and the team are praying for: the slain sister of one of the player's who was a victim of the Columbine shootings. Coming to Patton's defense - the Rutherford Institute out of Virginia. Our question to the ACLU: Would they rather have prayer or guns and violence? We pray justice will be served and God honored. continued inside.
DENVER (CWNews.com) - The head basketball coach of the
University of Colorado in Boulder has received an order
from the Colorado ACLU to stop praying with his players or
face a lawsuit.
Ricardo Patton received the letter from the state branch of
the left-wing American Civil Liberties Union on February 22,
but the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based civil
liberties organization, has come to his defense. Members of
the team have reportedly gathered in a circle for prayer
after practices with and without the presence of Patton.
On at least one occasion, the players reportedly prayed for
teammate Josh Townsend and his family after the loss of his
sister, Lauren, one of students killed in the Columbine
High School shootings.
"Free exercise of religion was one of the most important
factors in the founding of this country," said John
Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute. "That the
ACLU would attack Coach Patton for supporting his players in
doing something they feel is right, which in this case
happens to be praying, is unfortunate. The First Amendment
clearly protects the rights of adults who want to pray
together voluntarily on a public university campus."
