THURSDAY
November 20, 1997 vol 8,
no.35
SECTION THREE
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NEWS & VIEWS
with a Catholic slant
HEADLINES:
One bishop under the knife, while other learns of terminal cancer; both need your prayers
Having just returned from presiding over the NCCB Conference last week in Washington, D.C., Cleveland's Bishop Anthony M. Pilla underwent successful heart surgery which will sideline him till the first of the year. Meanwhile, in Manchester, New Hampshire Bishop Leo O'Neil has revealed that he has inoperable bone cancer and knows his days are numbered. Please remember both prelates in your prayers. Click on Bishops to read more.
CLEVELAND ARCHBISHOP UNDERGOES OPEN-HEART SURGERY; NEW HAMPSHIRE BISHOP ANNOUNCES SECOND CANCER, POOR PROGNOSIS
CLEVELAND (CWN) - Archbishop Anthony M. Pilla of Cleveland,
president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops,
underwent successful quadruple bypass heart surgery on
Tuesday and is expected to return to his duties in six
weeks.
Archbishop Pilla, 65, was diagnosed with an irregular
heartbeat in 1991 and blocked coronary arteries were found
during a regular examination this fall. Dr. Mehdi Razavi of
the Cleveland Clinic said the operation was routine and that
the archbishop's vital signs are excellent. "I sincerely
believe his faith has helped a great deal," said Razavi.
The archbishop who was appointed to the Cleveland
archdiocese in 1980 isn't expected to return to work until
early next year, according to chancery staff members.
In a related story, Bishop Leo O'Neil of
Manchester announced on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed
with a second form of cancer and that doctors can no longer
help him.
The 69-year-old bishop told reporters that he plans to
remain bishop while he is able. "I have come really now to
understand how great a gift life is, and I hope that the
people of this state will sustain me in prayer," he said.
"When I was told the news, a great peace came over me. I'm
not too sure I'm going to have that courage throughout this
ordeal, but I depend upon all of you and all of the people
of this state."
Bishop O'Neil has bone cancer and was recently diagnosed
with leukemia. He has been hospitalized twice recently,
including last week. In 1993, doctors removed a tumor from
his sternum and then gave him chemotherapy and radiation.
In 1995, he broke his leg which had been weakened by
another tumor.
Reconciliation across the Border as Canadian Bishop apologizes to Spanish-speaking countries
During the second session of the Synod of America in Rome, Ottawa's Archbishop Marcel Gervais, representing the Canadian bishops, asked forgiveness for the manner Canadian missionaries treated the people of the Central and South America countries in the past. Click on Canada to read more.
CANADIAN BISHOP APOLOGIZES TO LATIN CHURCHES
VATICAN (CWN) -- In a dramatic statement at the American Synod,
Archbishop Marcel Gervais of Ottawa asked pardon from the
churches of Latin America, in the name of the Canadian episcopal
conference, for the "errors" committed in the past by Canadian
missionaries in those countries. He said that Canada had taken more
from the Latin American churches than it had given them.
The Synod continued with interventions from the individual bishops
participating in the discussions. Today's morning session is set aside
for meetings of the various linguistic groups. These groups, each of
which will have 25 participants, include 6 groups speaking Spanish
and 3 speaking English, with one apiece speaking French, Italian, and
Portuguese. The full plenary sessions of the Synod, with the
continuation of individual bishops' addresses, resumed this
afternoon.
If there was a common theme in the many different presentations by
individual bishops, it was the desire to coordinate efforts across the
boundaries of the countries of the New World. Cardinal Anthony
Bevilaqua of Philadelphia, for instance, emphasized that all of the
greatest challenges facing the Church-- the drug culture, the
disintegration of family life, the poverty of religious education, the
rise of sects) require a new "continental" approach. He also observed
that since by the year 2050 it is estimated that nearly one-quarter of
the US population will speak Spanish, it behooves North Americans to
work together with the Latin countries. He advanced the possibility
that inter-American episcopal conferences might be set up to help in
that process.
Pope intros new topic at Wednesday Audiences
Completing his talks on the Blessed Virgin Mary's role in salvation and to the Church, the Holy Father began a new series of talks in preparation for Jubilee 2000 at his packed audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican Wednesday. He spoke of the coming millennium with great hope, his voice having recovered sufficiently compared to last week when he could barely speak. Click on Jubilee to read more.
POPE BEGINS WEEKLY TALKS ON JUBILEE
VATICAN (CWN) -- Pope John Paul II today introduced a new theme
for the catechetical talks which he delivers each Wednesday at a
public audience. For the last several months the Holy Father has been
speaking on the Virgin Mary and her role in salvation. Now he has
announced a new series of talks, dedicated to the preparation for the
Jubilee Year 2000.
The importance of the Jubilee, the Pope said, calls for a more
complete understanding, for preparation, and especially for prayer.
"For believers," he said, "the passage into the third millennium
should not be another stage in the unstoppable passage of time, but a
significant occasion for profitable reflections on God's design for the
history of humanity."
"What is time?" the Pope asked, as a way of setting the framework
for his talk. "What is its origin?" He brought his audience back to the
fundamental mystery of creation, saying, "in creating the universe,
God created time.... time is thus a gift from God.... each day is a gift of
divine love for us." Thus it is, he concluded, that the passage into the
third millennium should be seen as a special gift to the Church.
In fact, the Pope elaborated, the Incarnation began a "new creation,"
and thus a new measure of time. So he reasoned: "The event of the
Jubilee is an invitation to celebrate Christian life as a period of
renewal for humanity and for the world, whatever the difficulties
might be that have marked these 2000 years of grace."
Looking to the future, the Pope said that "the years that are to come
remain in the hands of the Lord. The future of man is above all the
future of God, in the sense that God alone knows, prepares, and will
bring about the future."
"Only God knows what the future will be," the Holy Father concluded.
"We know simply that, in any case, our future will be a future of
grace... For that reason we look to the future full of confidence, and
we cannot allow ourselves to be won over by fear. The road to the
Jubilee is the path of hope." .
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PROVERB OF THE DAY
Today's Proverb honors Our Lady
"Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all."
Proverbs 31: 29
PRAYER & DEVOTION
In honor of Blessed Mary's feast tomorrow, we encourage praying the special prayer at the end of each Rosary: the Salve Regina which can be found in the special prayer for today inside. Click on SALVE REGINA
Salve Regina
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
Medjugorje Monthly Message
October 25th Message
Dear children: Also, today I am with you and I call all of you to renew yourselves by living my messages. Little children, may prayer be life for you and may you be an example to others. Little children, I desire for you to become carriers of Peace and of God's Joy to today's world without peace. That is why, little children, pray, pray, pray! I am with you and I bless you with my motherly peace. Thank you for having responded to my call!
For more on Medjugorje, Click on MEDJUGORJE
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November 20, 1997 volume 8, no. 35 DAILY CATHOLIC
Visitors in '97