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TUESDAY March 14, 2000 vol. 11, no. 52 SECTION THREESee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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WORLDWIDE NEWS & VIEWS with a Catholic slant continued:
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On April 27, the United States Bishops will hold a "Singles" Jubilee with the intended result of allowing all single persons within the Church the opportunity to learn that their vocation is worthy and they can contribute as much as any other lay person and grow close to Our Lord through work in His Church. The effort is also meant to raise self-esteem at a time when the pressure of marrying causes many to close God out. continued inside.
WASHINGTON, MAR 10 (ZENIT.org).- The U.S. Episcopal Conference has
organized a Jubilee Day for Single People on April 27.
The Bishops' original initiative seeks to emphasize the mission of
single persons in the world, and the contribution they can make if they
are aware of the Lord's call, which is no different than that of all
other lay members of the Church.
Given the great variety of personal situations included in the "singles"
category (youth, adults, widows and widowers, separated, divorced,
consecrated, etc.), the Episcopal Conference proposed to dioceses and
parishes that the Day be celebrated in the manner considered most
appropriate. The parish of Ss. Peter and Paul in Milwaukee, for
instance, will invite all the unmarried of the area to a dinner to find
out how they are received by the local Catholic community.
The objectives of the Jubilee Day are to help singles understand the
need to dedicate more time to prayer, formation, and parish activities;
to live the sacramental life more intensely, practice charity and share
their faith with others, making their home a "domestic church" open to
persons with difficulties. In addition, they should be more socially
committed, have the courage to go out to exhibitions, weddings, etc.,
and tell others in similar circumstances about the Jubilee Day dedicated
to them.
In preparation for this Jubilee, the Bishops offer bibliographic
information on pastoral care for singles, and suggest 4 saintly models
who were neither priests nor religious: St. Benedict Joseph Labre, St.
Praxedes, St. Joseph Moscati, and St. Zita.
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As the Jubilee Year progresses, the Church is honoring on a regular basis various groups. Thus the Vatican has announced that three such celebrations will be held this year for the working man beginning with a Jubilee for craftsman to coincide with the Feast of the master craftsman Saint Joseph over the weekend of March 18-20th. This will be followed by a special Jubilee on May 1 for Workers to commemorate the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, and in November there will be a Jubilee for Agricultural Workers on November 12th.continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, MAR 9 (ZENIT.org).- The Great Jubilee of the Year 2000
dedicates three special events to the working world: March 18-19, the
Craftsmen's Jubilee; May 1, the Workers' Jubilee; November 12, the
Agricultural Workers' Jubilee. At a press conference in the Vatican this
morning, all three events were discussed, especially the most imminent,
the Jubilee of Craftsmen.
During the meeting with reporters, Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, secretary
of the Vatican Jubilee Committee, explained that the Craftsmen's Jubilee
"is a manifestation of the will of the Creator who wants man to perfect
creation by making his contribution, in an attempt to make creation ever
more beautiful."
The key moment of the Craftsmens' Jubilee will take place on March 19,
when men and women of this profession from all over the world meet with
the Holy Father in St. Peter's Square. About 35,000 men and women of
these professions are expected to attend. The event will begin the
previous evening in the Basilica of St. John Lateran with a Prayer
Vigil.
The Workers' Jubilee will be held on May 1. As an enormous number of
participants are expected, the event will be held on the outskirts of
Rome (St. Peter's Square does not have sufficient space). Labor unions
of different persuasions from several countries are committed to
participate. In Italy the support for this event on the part of the
unions is virtually complete. In the morning of their special Jubilee,
workers will attend a Mass with the Pontiff. In the afternoon, they will
enjoy a Labor Day concert, whose theme will be the cancellation of the
poor countries' debt.
Finally, on November 12, St. Peter's Square will welcome agricultural
laborers from around the world. The theme of their celebration will be:
"Land of God, Land for Man." It is a reminder to safeguard and preserve
the earth's wealth.
During the press conference to present these Jubilees, attention was
called to the fact that the Jubilees are not just for those who enjoy
the right to work, but the Church also keeps in mind all those who at
this time do not enjoy such a right.
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The president of the Virginia-based Population Research Group spoke to a pro-life group in Philadelphia late last week and showed, without a shadow of a doubt that the myth of overpopulation being spread by the pro-aborts in the United States and the UN must be exposed so they will be stripped of their arguments and the real agenda - murder of unborn babies and of the elderly through promotion of Euthanasia will be laid bare to the world. continued inside.
PHILADELPHIA, (NE) "The myth of overpopulation is one of the
driving forces of the abortion movement here and abroad", said
recently Stephen Mosher, president of the Virginia-based
Population Research Institute, during a dinner of Pennsylvanians
for Human Life (PHL), a group that promotes the protection of
human life from conception through natural death through
educational programs schools, community groups and the media.
During his address, Mosher recalled as well the decline in
population in Europe. This year the continent, taken as a whole,
he said, will show a decline in population. While countries or
groups of European countries have had previous population
declines, mostly because of war, emigration or crop failure,
this decline will be the first for the entire continent "since
the black death of the Middle Ages."
He also denounced the presence of other interests to promote
control population in third world countries, asserting as well
that the United States sends "hundreds of millions of dollars
overseas to promote population control in these countries." "The
United Nations Population Fund also tells us too many people are
being born to poor children in developing counties," Mosher
further emphasized. "This is tantamount to saying only wealthy
people should be allowed to have children; it's a new global
form of racism."
When, and we pray it won't be for a very long time, the Holy Father is called home to his Heavenly home, there will be only 103 electoral cardinals eligible to vote in the Sacred Conclave, due to the recent birthdays of a number of prelates who have reached the age of 80 and therefore not eligible for participation in the College of Cardinals. Speculation continues that the Pope could appoint up to 20 new red-hats. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, MAR (ZENIT.org).- On March 1, Cardinal Simon Ignatius
Pimenta, Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay, turned 80. Next Friday, March
17, Philippine Cardinal Jose T. Sanchez, Prefect Emeritus of the Vatican
Congregation for the Clergy, will also be 80. Thus, on March 17 there
will be only 103 electoral Cardinals eligible for a conclave, as only
those younger than 80 are permitted by Canon Law to vote for a new Pope.
On May 15 Lebanese Cardinal Pierre Nasrallah Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch
of the Maronites, will celebrate his 80th birthday, as will Lithuanian
Cardinal Vicentas Sladkevicius on August 20, U.S. Cardinal James A.
Hickey on October 11, and Brazilian Cardinal Eugenio Sales de Araujo on
November 8. Consequently, at the end of 2000 the list of electoral
Cardinals will be decreased by at least another 4. For this reason, it
is expected that Pope John Paul II will announce a consistory during
this Jubilee year to create new Cardinals.
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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 and the Dossiers, features and Daily Dispatches from ZENIT International News Agency CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC, but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.
