Russert kept a promise to God to never miss Sunday Mass
WASHINGTON (vaticans.org) -- NBC News Washington bureau chief and "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert, who died June 13 at the age of 58, was remembered for his warm lifelong ties to the Catholic Church and his support for Catholic education as well as for his career covering politics.Russert collapsed of an apparent heart attack at work.An active Catholic who apparently kept a promise to God to never miss Sunday Mass if his son was born healthy, Russert spoke often and fondly of his Catholic school education and of the role of the church in his life."Americans valued his tremendous command of the political electoral process and his commitment to discovering each aspect of the story that contributed to people having a better awareness of the issues of public life and candidates for political office," said Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. bishops' communication ...Read More
Voters in Ireland have rejected the Lisbon Treaty
Dublin, Jun. 13, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Voters in Ireland have rejected the Lisbon Treaty, casting into doubt the drive for approval of a new and stronger constitution for the European Union. Despite endorsement by all the country's major political parties, the Lisbon Treaty received the endorsement of only 46.6% of the Irish voters participating in a June 12 referendum; 53.4% of the votes were cast against the treaty. The Lisbon Treaty offered an amended version of the proposed European Union constitution that had been turned down by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005. Among the 27 member-states of the European Union, only Ireland required a popular vote to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. In every other country, a parliamentary vote was sufficient for ratification, and 18 countries had already taken that step. However, the terms of the Lisbon Treaty required unanimous ratification by all of the European Union nations. Prior to the vote in Ireland, French Pri ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI hosted US President George W. Bush at the Vatican
Vatican City, Jun. 13, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Pope Benedict XVI hosted US President George W. Bush at the Vatican on June 13 for an extraordinarily cordial private talk. The warmth of the Holy Father's reception for the American leader, and the enthusiasm that Bush showed during the meeting, prompted several Italian journalists to question whether the American president might be considering a personal commitment to the Catholic faith. Breaking with the usual Vatican protocol, the Pope met President Bush in the Tower of St. John, rather than in the apostolic palace. After their private conversation, the two men walked together through the Vatican gardens, visiting the Lourdes grotto there. The Vatican announced that the unusual reception was arranged "to respond to the cordiality of the welcome received by the Supreme Pontiff during his recent visit to the United States of America." In April the Pope had been clearly surprised and delighted by the warmt ...Read More
Let us pray for the missions - Msgr Pietro Parolin(shrine of La Vang)
Hue, June 12, 2008 (Vaticans.org) - "Let us pray for the missions": this is the call issued from the shrine of La Vang by Msgr Pietro Parolin, Vatican undersecretary for relations with states, who arrived yesterday at the national Marian shrine in Vietnam. Speaking to the correspondent for AsiaNews, the prelate spoke of the Church's desire and commitment to work to improve the situation of those who are in need in the country. "In order to help the people and make our contribution to the progress of Vietnam", he added, "we need to know the reality of the country. This is a task in which the role of the laity is particularly important, who are able to meet the real needs of the people". He then emphasised how "the laity in the parish communities are able to work in the sectors of education, health care, and social services for the poor". The Vatican delegation arrived in the diocese of Hue on the fourth day of its visit to V ...Read More
Baltimore archbishop restricts the work of Legionaries of Christ
Baltimore, Jun. 11, 2008 (vaticans.org) - An American archbishop has placed restrictions on the work of the Legionaries of Christ in his archdiocese. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore, Maryland, has sent a "letter of understanding" to Father Alvaro Corcuera, the superior general of the Legionaries of Christ, setting forth the conditions under which he will allow the group to be active in the Baltimore archdiocese. The archbishop's letter, written after a meeting with leaders of the Legionaries, is posted on the website of the Baltimore archdiocese. "Knowing that your willingess to accept the discernment of ecclesiastical authority is but a further proof of the authenticity of the charisms of the Legionaries and Regnum Christi, as pastor of the local Church in Baltimore I need the following from you," Archbishop O'Brien wrote, adding a list of stipulations. The archbishop asked Father Corcuera to designate a priest as liaison between the L ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI's weekly public audience on June 11 about St. Columbanus
Vatican City, Jun. 11, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Pope Benedict XVI spoke of St. Columbanus, the 6th-century Irish monk, at his regular weekly public audience on June 11. After his education and spiritual formation in an Irish monastery, Columbanus and a group of 12 companions became missionaries on the European continent, the Pope recalled. They spread the faith "where the migration of peoples from the north and the east had caused entire Christian regions to lapse back into paganism." This first "re-evangelization" of Europe succeeded, the Pope said, because of the powerful witness of sanctity in the missionaries' own lives. Soon Columbanus and his monks had to found a new monastery to accommodate the young men seeking to enter their community. Then a third monastery was started and the movement began to take root. St. Columbanus wrote Regula Monachorum, which, Pope Benedict remarked, is "the only ancient Irish monastic rule we posse ...Read More
The small Ahmadiyah community is living in fear
Jakarta, June 10. 2008 (vaticans.org) - After the joint ministerial decree barring them from any activity in Indonesia, the small Ahmadiyah community is living in fear. The Muslim sect, considered heretical by the extremists, is at the centre of serious social tensions in the country, leading to fears of an explosion of civil war. The government has intervened by restricting the community, but not outlawing it, as the Islamic fanatics would like. And now, the 500,000 Ahmadiyah present in the archipelago, the object of persecution and violence for years, do not feel safe. They are not being reassured by the presence of the police, who have been deployed to certain sensitive areas with the order to prevent potential extremist attacks. The vagueness of the government provisions, in fact, contributes to creating a climate of witch hunting. "What exactly are we not allowed to do?", asks one Ahmadiyah of Cileduk, "to spread Islam? To pray?". The same perpl ...Read More
Zimbabwean church groups are in danger of police interference
Cape Town, South Africa , June 10, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Zimbabwean church groups are "in danger of police interference at any time," a Catholic official said after the Ecumenical Center in the capital, Harare, was raided June 9."No one is immune to these raids," Alouis Chaumba, head of Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, said in a June 10 telephone interview from Harare.Chaumba said he is "afraid of what may happen to me and my family and my friends," noting that he knows many people who have been injured or had their property destroyed in the violence that followed late-March elections.Harare's Ecumenical Center houses a variety of groups, including the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance."Heavily armed members of the police, central intelligence and military personnel" raided the center and arrested five staffers ...Read More
Pope: challenge for Christians is to enliven the future of our beloved city
Vatican City, Jun. 10, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Pope Benedict XVI presided at the opening of an ecclesial congress for the Rome diocese on Monday evening, June 9, and told the participants that the Church might offer "the gift of Christian hope" to a skeptical society. At the opening session, held in the Roman basilica of St. John Lateran, the Holy Father concentrated his remarks on "educating for hope," the theme of this year's congress. He remarked that contemporary society badly needs new sources of hope, since the secular world often breeds the belief that "the best years have passed and that a future of instability and uncertainty awaits the new generations." At other times, the Pope continued, a secular outlook offers false hopes, based on the notion that scientific progress will solve human problems. That confidence is misplaced, he said, because "it is not science and technology that can give meaning to our lives and teach us to ...Read More
Anglican and Catholic bishops joint statement slamming the violence
Colombo, Srilanka, Jun. 10, 2008 (vaticans.org) – “Shocked” by the high number of casualties in recent senseless attacks in Dehiwala, Moratuwa and Polgolla, the Catholic and Anglican bishops of Sri Lanka signed a joint statementcalling on the government to find a political solution to the civil war.“Killing of any human being is unacceptable but the killing of innocent civilians is abominable. We vehemently condemn these acts of wanton violence and terrorism,” the statement said.The bishops also appealed to Tamil Tiger rebels asking them to desist from using violence.They called on both sides to enter into negotiations to find a way out of the crisis that has plagued this country for so long.“It is most urgent that the President and the government obtain the cooperation of all political leaders to forge a consensus as regards to a political solution since peaceful m ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI:hunger and malnutrition were unacceptable
VATICAN CITY, Jun.10, 2008 (vaticans.org) - As world leaders were meeting in Rome to work out a response to the global food crisis, the Vatican weighed in on two levels -- morality and macroeconomics.Pope Benedict XVI laid out the moral principles in a message June 3 to the World Food Security Summit, saying that hunger and malnutrition were unacceptable in a world that has sufficient levels of agricultural production and resources.The pope said a chief cause of hunger was lack of solidarity with others, and he emphasized that protecting the right to life means helping to feed the hungry.The pope also spoke of structural changes needed in the global agricultural economy, but he didn't get into particulars.Those finer points, however, were examined in unusual detail in a little-noticed briefing paper produced by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.The docu ...Read More
Vatican diplomatic delegation has begun a week-long visit to Vietnam
Hanoi, Jun. 9, 2008 (vaticans.org) - A Vatican diplomatic delegation has begun a week-long visit to Vietnam. The visit-- the 15th in a series of annual trips-- comes at a time of heightened interest in bilateral relations and heightened tension between the Hanoi government and the Catholic Church. Msgr. Pietro Parolin, a ranking official of the Secretariat of State, is heading the Vatican delegation-- as he has led groups in several previous trips to Vietnam. Each year the representatives of the Holy See have sought to increase the scope within which the Church can function freely in Vietnam. The talks have produced some concrete results, with the government giving overdue approval for the appointment of several new bishops. In 2007 relations between the Vatican and Vietnam appeared to be warming, and hopes were raised for the eventual restoration of formal diplomatic ties. Vietnames premier Nguyen Tan Dung visited Rome in January, meeting privately with Pope Benedict ...Read More
China invited the bishop of Hong Kong to the Olympic inaugural ceremony
Hong Kong, June 9, 2008 (vaticans.org) - The Chinese government has invited the coadjutor bishop of Hong Kong, John Tong Hon, to the inaugural ceremony of the upcoming Olympic Games. The bishop has accepted the invitation, which was not extended to Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, while an expert on China-Vatican relations warns: "The visit appears to be just a protocol event because it is unlikely any concrete discussions with officials will be conducted". The invitation was communicated by Beijing to the Chinese office in the territory: according to some observers, this is the latest "diplomatic openness" between the two sides, following the concert at the Vatican by the Beijing Philharmonic and the informal meeting between the pope and the Chinese ambassador to the Italian republic. Others emphasise that China "wants to build good relations with bishop Tong, who is less critical in public toward the Beijing government, and will soon become the bishop ...Read More
US President George Bush will receive a special welcome at Vatican City
Vatican City, Jun. 9, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Pope Benedict XVI will extend an unusual courtesy to US President George W. Bush when the American leader visits the Vatican on Friday. The Vatican has announced that the Holy Father will meet with Bush in St. John's Tower, an ancient building in the far corner of the Vatican gardens. After their private talk there, the two will walk through the gardens to the Lourdes grotto there. Ordinarily the Pope receives foreign officials in his library on the second floor of the apostolic palace. Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, said that the unusual arrangements for the June 13 meeting reflected the Pope's wish to repay Bush for the warm reception he enjoyed at the White House during his visit to the US in April. This will be the 3rd meeting between Pope Benedict and President Bush in just more than one year. Prior to their April meeting in Washington, the American leader had visited Pope Bene ...Read More
Famous Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth said, “Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan”
Vatican City, June 07, 2008 (vaticans.org) - In an interview with the magazine “Maria Mensajera,” famous Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth said, “Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan” and that “the devil loves to take over those who hold political office.”The Spanish daily “La Razon” published the interview in an article by Alexander Smoltczyk in which the 82 year-old priest describes what happens in an exorcism. He said he has performed more than 70,000.“Evil exists in politics, quite often in fact,” Father Amorth said. “The devil loves to take over business leaders and those who hold political office. Hitler and Stalin were possessed. How do I know? Because they killed millions of people. The Gospel says: ‘By their fruits you will know them.’ Unfortunately, an exorcism on them would no ...Read More
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