United Church of Christ minister inspired by Pope John Paul II
The Rev. Jim Peck has an unusual background for a United Church of Christ minister. He was raised Southern Baptist, began his working career as a regional planner and was inspired to become a pastor by Pope John Paul II. Peck arrived in Chico in May after being called by the Congregational Church of Chico. The church on East First Avenue has had an interim pastor for several years. Peck said he's glad to be in Chico and excited about his new position. He'll be formally installed at a special service on Sept. 14. Born in North Carolina, he later moved with his family to Atlanta, where he went to high school and college. He and his parents belonged to a "non-fundamentalist" Southern Baptist Church, "a wonderful church with a loving, caring spirit," he said. "I got a great education understanding the Bible." He also developed an open mind, he said, as his parents and pastor advised him, "Don't l ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI highlighted his hope for China
Vatican City, Aug. 7, 2008Four days before the opening of the Olympic Games, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted his hope for China to welcome the Good News when he visited the birthplace of an Italian missioner who died in the mainland almost 100 years ago.We know that China is becoming ever more important in political and economic life, and in the life of ideas. It is important that this great country open to the Gospel," the scholar-pope said on Aug. 5. Observers interpreted his remarks as a passionate call for full religious freedom in the mainland, and for China to open fully to Christianity and understand it has nothing to fear from the religion.The pope had already mentioned China earlier in the week. On Sunday Aug. 3, speaking from a prepared text, he publicly conveyed his good wishes to China and all involved in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, due to open on Aug. 8.On Tuesday evening he touched on the sensitive subject of religion in ...Read More
16 Indian Priests on hunger strike against the Bishop
Trichy, India, Aug.07,2008 (Vaticans.org) - Parading with a coffin marked "Tirchy diocese", priests from the Indian city of Tiruchirapalli have gone on a hunger strike against their local bishop.Newindpress reports that 16 Catholic priests staged a hunger strike on Tuesday, keeping a coffin inscribed "Tiruchy diocese" in front of them, to condemn the alleged authoritarian acts of the diocesan bishop.According to the priests, the bishop took arbitrary decisions and acted on them. They charged that the bishop was also acting on his own in the matter of the transfer of parish priests.They accused the bishop of giving an interview to a bi-weekly which marred the reputation of the diocesan priests. Meanwhile, they have sent petitions to the Pope and his Indian Counsel, Cardinal Lopaz Quintana in Delhi.Speaking to a newspaper, Father P. Thomas Paulsamy, ...Read More
Bombing forces to move Our Lady of Madhu statue to the Bishop's house
Mannar, Srilanka, July.27, 2008 (vaticans.org) - New fighting and bombing in northern Sri Lanka has forced tens of thousands of refugees to seek shelter in the jungle and the local Catholic Church has again moved the statue of Our Lady of Madhuto the local bishop's house. AsiaNews reports the statue of Our Lady of Madhu was taken this week from the church of Thevanpiddi to the private chapel in the bishop's residence. Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph says this was done for "security reasons" due the intensification of the conflict in the areas of Thavanpiddi and Vellankulam, where the priests were also advised to leave. Bishop Rayappu has launched "an appeal to all our peopl ...Read More
WORLD YOUTH DAY SYDNEY 2008 FACTS AND FIGURES
PILGRIMS & ATTENDANCE70,000 international pilgrims took part in Days of the Diocese throughout Australia during the week before WYD08150,000 attended the Opening Mass at Barangaroo and CBD sitesIn excess of 400,000 people attended the Final Mass at Southern Cross Precinct500,000 people came out to welcome His Holiness on Thursday 17 July on the Boat-a-cade, Official Arrival at Barangaroo and Motorcade223,000 people registered for pilgrim services during WYD08 (110,000 international pilgrims + 113,000 local pilgrims)Over 170 nations were represented at World Youth Day Sydney 2008168 international flags took part in the Procession of Flags at the WYD08 Opening MassAUDIENCEWYD08 events were watched live by an estimated international TV audience of 500 million, with TV and internet audiences combined reaching 1 billionXT3.co ...Read More
Half a billion audience tune in for WYD Stations of the Cross
Sydney, Australia, Jul. 18, 2008 (vaticans.org).- An audience of half a billion tuned in to watch the performance that involved around 80 performers and was played out by young people at six major venues around Sydney. Over 270,000 international and local spectators also made their way to points around the city to watch the Stations of the Cross live and on big screen televisions.The first station held on the steps of St Mary’s Cathedral was attended by Pope Benedict XVI who led the prayer.“Make us generous and insightful as we try to walk in your footsteps,” the Holy Father prayed.The Pope then watched the procession on television from St. Mary’s Cathedral Crypt. The procession moved through the Domain, a large open space in Sydney; the Art Gallery of NSW; and the Sydney Opera House, where the actor playing Jesus, Alfio Stuto 27, received the crown of thorns. At Dar ...Read More
Pope Benedict's latest appeal to save the planet
Sydney, July 17, 2008 - Pope Benedict on Thursday told a huge gathering of young people that they were inheriting a planet whose resources had been scarred and squandered to fuel insatiable consumption.His latest appeal to save the planet for future generations came in a address to some 150,000 youths in Sydney after he rode through the city's harbour standing on the outdoor deck of a white ferry as dozens of boats blew their horns."Reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth, erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world's mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption," he told the cheering crowd.The 81-year-old pope appeared in good form as he started the official part of his trip after three days of rest. He chatted with young people on the ferry and stepped off sprightly to receive a bear hug welcome by an Aboriginal on the dock.He told the young people, som ...Read More
Pope told the crowd of the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse
Sydney, July 17, 2008 - Pope Benedict has used his first address at World Youth Day to warn pilgrims of the dangers of sex and violence in the media.More than 100,000 young people packed into the World Youth Day site in Australia's largest city, Sydney, to hear the Pontiff speak.The Pope told the crowd of the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse, which he said threatened to corrode the good in people. And he asked why violence and sexual exploitation were so often portrayed on television and the internet."I ask myself could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation explain that these tragedies portrayed in virtual form are considered merely entertainment," he said.The Pope was welcomed to the event by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dancers, and a group from the Pacific nation of Tokelau. The Pontiff expressed his delight at attending a festival wi ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI praised the Australian government
Sydney, July 17, 208 - Pope Benedict XVI praised the Australian government Thursday for its "courageous' apology to the country's indigenous Aborigines for past injustices, saying it offered hope to all the world's disadvantaged peoples.The remarks came as the pope began a busy day of public appearances expected to draw half a million people to Sydney's streets and its famous harbor.At an official welcoming ceremony, Benedict said Australia's original inhabitants were an essential part of the country's cultural landscape, and cited their plight since the first British convict settlers arrived 220 years ago."Thanks to the Australian government's courageous decision to acknowledge the injustices committed against the indigenous peoples in the past, concrete steps are now being taken to achieve reconciliation based on mutual respect," Benedict said.It was right to try to raise Aborigines out of poverty and raise their health and ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI warned Catholics of the perils of pop culture
Sydney , July 17, 2008 - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday warned Catholics of the perils of pop culture and pillaging the earth's resources after a rapturous welcome at the world's biggest Christian festival in Australia.Speaking against the spectacular backdrop of Sydney's famous harbour, the pontiff told hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in Australia's biggest and trendiest city that "something is amiss" in modern society."Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises," the pope said after a welcoming ceremony by Aborigines in tribal paint.Benedict told a vast sea of youths from around the world, gathered under a forest of national flags for World Youth Day, that humanity was squandering the earth's resources to satisfy its insatiable appetite for material goods.In one of his strongest-ever messages on the environment , the pope spoke p ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated the Pauline Year
Rome, Jun 28, 2008 - During the homily at the first Vespers of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in which the Pauline Year was inaugurated, Pope Benedict XVI stressed that Saint Paul is still a “teacher, apostle and herald” to the world today, a saint whose experience of Christ’s love freed him to love God in return.At 6 pm Roman time at the Roman Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls -- where the remains of the Apostle have been kept for centuries -- the Holy Father, in the company of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I and representatives of other Christian denominations, arrived in procession to the atrium. In front of the famous marble statue of St. Paul, they lit the candles that will remain burning during the entire Pauline year. The procession continued to the presbytery of the Basilica, where Pope Benedict descended to the Apostle's tomb under the altar.“Who was this Saint Paul?” asked the ...Read More
Holy Father: African leaders and the people should work for peace
Nairobi, June 27, 2008 - African leaders and the people should work for peace founded on accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law, Pope Benedict XVI has urged."Without justice, without fighting all forms of corruption, without respecting the rule of law, true peace is impossible and citizens will clearly find it difficult to put faith in their leaders. Indeed, without respect for the freedom of each individual, it is not possible to speak of peace". The pope said this on Thursday while addressing the new ambassador of Gabon to the Holy See, Firmin Mboutsou, who presented his Letters of Credence. The Holy See and the West African state have enjoyed diplomatic relations for 40 years.The Holy Father invited the "authorities and men and women of good will, especially on the beloved continent of Africa, to commit themselves ever more intensely to building ...Read More
Distributing Communion the old way helps faithful be devout
Vatican City, June 27, 2008— A papal aide says Pope Benedict XVI intends to return to the old way of distributing Communion at Masses. Benedict 's master of liturgical ceremonies said in an interview Wednesday in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the pontiff will place the Communion host in the mouths of the faithful who kneel before him. That's how Roman Catholics received Communion in the years before the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. The reforms made it possible for faithful to take the host in their hands while standing. Benedict gave Communion to kneeling faithful during his trip this month to southern Italy. The aide, Monsignor Guido Marini, says that distributing Communion the old way helps faithful be devout. ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI has named Cardinal Agostino Vallini as the new vicar for the Rome diocese
Vatican City, Jun. 27, 2008 - Pope Benedict XVI has named a new vicar for the Rome diocese, to replace the retiring Cardinal Camillo Ruini. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, will be the new vicar for Rome. His appointment confirms rumors that have circulated in Rome for several weeks. The Italian prelate will be replaced at the Apostolic Signatura by an American prelate, Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis. The son of an Italian police officer who was deported during World War II, Cardinal Vallini was ordained a priest of the Naples archdiocese in 1964, and became auxiliary bishop there in 1 ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI : Bishops of other Chinese dioceses would visit Rome
Vatican City, Jun. 27, 2008 - As he met on June 27 with a small group of bishops from Hong Kong and Macao, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his hope that bishops of other Chinese dioceses would soon be free to visit Rome. The Holy Father told the Chinese bishops, who were making the ad limina visits, "I and pray to the Lord that the day will soon come when your brother bishops from mainland China come to Rome on pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, as a sign of communion with the Successor of Peter and the Universal Church." The Chinese government, which has sought for years to establish an independent ...Read More
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