ORDINARIATE: 6th Anglican bishop joins

6th Anglican bishop joins Catholic ordinariate

March 30, 2012

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A 6th Anglican prelate—Robert Mercer—has been ordained into the priesthood in the Catholic Church.

Father Mercer will serve in the ordinariate of Our Lady of Walshingham, which was established under the provisions of Anglican Coetibus.

A native of Zimbabwe, Father Mercer was one of several Anglican priests deported from South Africa in 1970 because of his opposition to the apartheid regime. He became Bishop of Matabeleland in Zimbabwe, then moved to Canada, where he served the Traditional Anglican Communion before migrating to England.

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• Sixth Anglican Bishop Ordained a Catholic Priest for the Ordinariate in England (Catholic.org)

VIETNAM: Cardinal Van Thuan beatification group refused entry

Vietnam refuses entry to Cardinal Van Thuan beatification group

By David Kerr

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The late Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

Rome, Italy, Mar 28, 2012 / 02:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A delegation of Catholic clerics has been blocked from entering Vietnam to investigate the possible beatification of Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan.
 
"This is very disappointing news but it proves again how very difficult is to deal with communist authorities as they are so untruthful in their dealings," Vietnamese-born Bishop Dominic Luong of Orange County said to CNA on March 28.
A delegation from Rome was planning to visit Vietnam from March 23 to April 9 to hear testimonies from people who knew Cardinal Van Thuan, who died in 2002. The group also wanted to speak to two women – a nun and a lay woman – who claim they were miraculously cured through his heavenly intercession.
On March 28 the Vatican Press Office confirmed for CNA that the group's tourist visas were revoked by the Vietnamese authorities. They stressed, however, that the delegation was not traveling in any official capacity for the Vatican and that the group did not use the Holy See's diplomatic channels in planning their visit.
While the press office would not confirm the identities of the group's members, it also denied media speculation that Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, was part of the delegation.
 
Cardinal Van Thuan was named the Archbishop of Saigon just seven days before the fall of South Vietnam to the communist North in 1975. He was then imprisoned for 13 years, nine of which were spent in solitary confinement. He was released in 1998, only to be placed under house arrest until 1991, when he was forced to leave his homeland.
He spent his exile in Rome where Pope John Paul II appointed him President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in 1998. He was elevated to the Sacred College of Cardinals in 2001. He died a year later after a long battle with cancer.
At the opening of Cardinal Van Thuan's cause for beatification in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI praised "the shining witness of faith which this heroic Pastor bequeathed to us."
 
Father Peter Nguyen Huu Giai, a priest in the Vietnamese Diocese of Hue, told UCA News that he and several others had been ready to give evidence to the delegation early next week.
"I have prepared documents in English and French to present the delegation, but it is regretted that I could not meet them," he said March 26.
Fr. Nguyen said he believed the refusal to grant visas is a result of the Vietnamese government's sensitivity surrounding any possible beatification.
"I look forward with optimism about the Cardinal's beatification process because the Holy See has the right to beatify him (regardless of) the government."

Due to an editing error, story originally described the delegation as coming from the Diocese of Rome. The delegation, in fact, was only comprised of clergy from the Rome area. Corrected March 29, 2012 at 9:01 a.m. MST.

Bishop Fellay asks prayers for SSPX-Vatican talks

RSS Facebook March 29, 2012
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The head of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is exhorting members of
the traditionalist group to "redouble their fervor in prayer" during
Holy Week, as a deadline approaches for the SSPX to respond to a
Vatican offer.

Bishop Bernard Fellay has reminded SSPX members that on March 16 he
met with Cardinal William Levada, the prefect of the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, to discuss the SSPX response to the
"doctrinal preamble" that would form a basis for the reconciliation of
the traditionalist group with the Holy See. Cardinal Levada asked for
a further "clarification" of the SSPX stance, indicating that the
group's latest position had not been acceptable as a basis for accord.

Bishop Fellay urged the faithful to pray during Holy Week and Easter
"that the Divine Will may be done." He called special attention to the
Rosary Crusade that the SSPX began at Easter in 2011, and encouraged
prayers that the Virgin Mary "might obtain from her divine Son the
lights necessary to know His will clearly and to carry it out
courageously."

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   * Communiqué from the General House of the Society of Saint Pius X (DICI)
   * Vatican says No to deal with traditionalists (CWN, 3/16)

Vatican announces excommunication of rebel bishops from Ukrainian
Catholic Church
RSS Facebook March 29, 2012

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The Vatican has announced the excommunication of four Ukrainian
clerics who have sought recognition as leaders of the "Ukrainian
Orthodox Greek-Catholic Church."

In a March 29 announcement, the Vatican explained that the four
priests, who have been expelled from the Basilian religious order,
have caused grave divisions within the Eastern-rite Ukrainian Catholic
Church, and resisted all efforts toward reconciliation. In 2008 the
four—Fathers Elias Dohnal, Markian Hitiuk, Metodej Spirik, and Robert
Oberhauser—claimed to have been ordained as bishops of the Ukrainian
Catholic Church, and proceeded to condemn the existing hierarchy of
that Church as heretical. They are now seeking recognition from the
Ukrainian government, claiming to be the legitimate representatives of
the Ukrainian Church in communion with Rome.

The Vatican said that the Holy See "does not recognize the validity of
their episcopal ordinations, or of any and all ordinations that have
derived, or will derive therefrom." The group has no right to use the
term "Catholic," the Vatican added. The statement cautioned the
faithful against becoming involved with the clerics, who now identify
themselves as the "Bishops of Pidhirci."

The Vatican statement noted that excommunication of the four priests
was pronounced in 2008, as the result of a sentence from the tribunal
of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which had found them guilty of
"illegitimate usurpation of office, inciting sedition and hatred
towards certain hierarchs, provoking subjects to disobedience, and
harming a third party's good name by calumny." The Ukrainian Catholic
Church is by far the largest of the Eastern churches in communion with
Rome.

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   * Canonical Status of the So-Called Bishops of Pidhirci (VIS)

UK: Thousands of young people kneel in adoration at Wembley Arena

Thousands of young people kneel

in adoration at Wembley Arena

By Madeleine Teahan on Monday, 26 March 2012

A young man stands above the crowd at Wembley Arena

(Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk)

Complete silence filled Wembley Arena on Saturday afternoon as

approximately 8,000 young Catholics adored the Blessed Sacrament.
The famous sports arena was host to the Flame Youth Congress which was
a day of prayer and praise for young Catholic across Britain.
The day culminated in exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
led by Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster who said: "Consider the

love of God which brought you into existence. Consider how total that love
is, for it brought Jesus to give himself entirely for you and to you, on the

Cross and here in the Blessed Sacrament. In this light you are truly

extraordinary. Maybe you have never thought of that before."
Drawing on the theme of the Olympic Games which London will host
this year, he continued: "We won't all be Olympic or Paralympic athletes,
but we definitely all have our races to run, our finishing lines to cross.
"Consider the people you have heard today – the athletes, the Mizen
family, Fr Timothy, Fr Christopher and Sr Catherine. Are there things
in their words that have encouraged you? What are the gifts that the
Lord has given you that he might fan into a flame, to share with the
world? Name these gifts and ask God to help you to use them well,
always for the glory of his name."
The day also included a keynote speech from Father Timothy

Radcliffe on the theme of respect, followed by dance and drama.
Testimonies were heard from the Mizen family, whose son Jimmy
was murdered in a South London bakery and there was a short talk
on silence from Father Christopher Jamison, made famous through
the BBC documentary 'The Monastery' and 'The Big Silence.'

WOMEN: Pope Benedict meets his 'spiritual Godmother'

Benedict XVI meets his 'spiritual Godmother' in Santiago de Cuba

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Pope Benedict meets with Sr. Teresa Kereketa in Santiago de Cuba. Photo courtesy of L'Osservatore Romano.

Santiago de Cuba, Mar 27, 2012 / 08:59 pm (CNA).- After beginning his day on Tuesday with a private Mass in Santiago de Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI met a religious sister from India who has been his "spiritual Godmother" for 20 years.
 
The Pope celebrated the private Mass during his historic March 26-28 visit to the country before departing for the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre. The service was attended by 10 religious sisters from the contemplative branch of the Missionaries of Charity, which was founded by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
 
When the Mass ended, Cuban Archbishop Dionisio García, presented Sister Teresa Kereketa to the Pope. Following the practice of her order, 20 years ago she received the task of praying daily for a specific priest, thus becoming his "spiritual Godmother." The priest whom she was assigned was Cardinal Josef Ratzinger.
 
During the emotional encounter, and following an Indian tradition, the sister presented a crown of flowers to Pope Benedict. 
"The Pope was quite moved meeting her," said Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, during a press conference.

WOMEN: Pakistani forced conversion and marriage

Pakistani girl begs court to stop forced conversion and marriage

March 28, 2012

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A 19-year-old Pakistani woman has appealed to the country's Supreme Court for help, saying that she has been kidnapped, pressured into marriage, and is being forced to convert to Islam.
Rinkel Kumari, who is a Hindu, begged the court not to return her to an Islamic school where she has been detained. "Kill me here, now, in court. But do not send me back," she pleaded. The young woman's family said that she had been abducted by a politically powerful Muslim, and that local police had forced him to leave town after he reported the kidnapping.
The case is not terribly unusual in Pakistan, AsiaNews reported. Each year about 300 young women—Christians as well as Hindus—are kidnapped and pressured into religious conversion and arranged marriage.

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• Hindu girl tells Supreme Court she would rather die than convert to Islam (AsiaNews)

Vanderbilt's discrimination policy drives Catholic group off campus

March 28, 2012

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A Catholic student group has decided to move off the Vanderbilt University campus after the school ruled that campus groups cannot restrict membership on the basis of religious beliefs.
Father John Sims Baker, the chaplain of Vanderbilt Catholic, said that the group will become a private, off-campus organization because of the "discriminatory non-discrimination policy" set forth by the university. "Our purpose has always been to share the Gospel and proudly to proclaim our Catholic faith," he said. "What other reason could there be for a Catholic organization at Vanderbilt?"
A Vanderbilt official expressed regret at the Catholic group's decision, but voiced no misgivings about the policy that prompted it and said that most on-campus groups "easily will comply with the policy."

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• Catholic student group to leave Vanderbilt campus over bias policy (Tennessean)

What Natural Family Planning isn't

Jenny Uebbing

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Photo by Vera Kratochvil

When I was a blushing bride-to-be all of three years ago, I remember excitedly discussing the various merits of 'Sympto-Thermal' vs. 'Creighton' NFP models with another engaged coworker. An older, wiser office-mate happened upon our little chatfest and rolled her eyes good-naturedly at our innocence.
"NFP?" She asked, grinning mischievously, "you mean 'Now I'm Flipping Pregnant?'"
She walked away chuckling to herself and we stared at her retreating form, mouths agape.
What could she possibly mean? Obviously she and her husband weren't 'doing' it right, because NFP was, we knew, the most perfectly-crafted and money-back guaranteed way to ensure a happy, healthy and low-stress marriage free from the perils of domestic unrest and discontent.
In other words, we had it all figured out.
And then we got married.

Cameron supports same-sex

marriage and opposes our

right to wear the cross. Is this

'the most aggressively atheistic

government in our history'?

If the Prime Minister doesn't want this perception to take hold, he had better start listening

By William Oddie on Friday, 23 March 2012

David Cameron and Benedict XVI: was the Prime Minister listening? (AP)

What do the right to wear the cross as a declaration of the wearer's faith

and the Government's intention of legalising gay marriage, despite the firm

opposition of most Christians, have in common? Answer, the growing

perception that the Coalition Government is hostile to the Christian religion.

Is this really what David Cameron wants? If he doesn't want the idea to get

about that he and his Government are anti-Christian, he is going to have to

ask himself how it comes about that he is rapidly alienating most of us.

Government urged to cut ties with abortion industry after one in five clinics accused of breaking law

By Madeleine Teahan on Friday, 23 March 2012

The Government must break its ties with the abortion industry following an investigation indicating that one in five abortion clinics are suspected of breaking the law, a pro-life group has said.
Following a series of unannounced raids, the Care Quality Commission discovered that doctors were regularly falsifying consent forms and patients were not receiving acceptable levels of advice and counselling.
Anthony Ozimic of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) said: "The CQC's findings confirm what pro-lifers have been saying for decades: that abortion clinics routinely fudge or flout the law, regulations and professional guidance on abortion.
"It confirms all the other evidence that abortion is available virtually on demand. In 2007 Dr Vincent Argent, the former medical director of Britain's largest private abortion provider BPAS, told Parliament that there was widespread falsifying of abortion forms by abortion clinics.

Stations of the Cross adapted to Circle Line

By Miguel Cullen on Thursday, 22 March 2012

Two pages from the booklet

Commuters forced to ponder the inscrutable workings of London Underground's Circle Line were this week offered a new diversion. An anonymous artist has designed a pamphlet depicting the 14 Stations of the Cross and has arranged them so they sit alongside stations of the Tube line.

UK: An anchoress speaks

How I became a

medieval-style anchorite

The author, a hermit, explains how she was transformed in her mid-50s

from a professional woman into a 'prisoner of the Lord'

By Anonymous on Wednesday, 29 February 2012

An anchorite's cell at Fore Abbey, County Westmeath, Ireland

Before 2003 I thought that hermits were extinct – as dead as a Dodo.

I had heard of some of the medieval hermit saints, but in the 21st century,

in Britain, surely not.

UK: Pope offers blessing

for opening of shrine church

By Staff Reporter on Monday, 19 March 2012

The shrine church of Ss Peter and Paul and St Philomena in

New Brighton, Wirral (Photo courtesy of Anthony Keegan)

Benedict XVI is offering a papal blessing with an attached plenary

indulgence to those who attend the opening of the first shrine

church in England dedicated to the Extraordinary Form.

SOCIETY / UK: Ban the cross? Ban the Union Jack!

 Ban the cross? Ban the Union Jack!


Moscow, March 22 (Interfax) -

A picket in defense of Christians' rights in the UK was held near the British embassy in Moscow on Wednesday.
The picket was organized by the Orthodox public movement Narodny Sobor in response to the decision made by the British authorities to fire people for openly wearing crosses, Narodny Sobor told Interfax-Religion.
The protesters were holding imperial flags saying "Stop the persecution of Christians!" and "Britain! If you ban crosses, ban your flag too!"
"The Moscow division of Narodny Sobor is concerned about the recent developments in the EU in general and in the UK in particular, where discrimination against Christians has become commonplace. We consider it our duty to categorically oppose militant atheism and anti-Christian tolerance in any country of the world," the movement says.
According to earlier reports, the British authorities intend to defend the legality of the ban on public wearing of crosses in the UK in the European Court of Human Rights. 

The Strasbourg court will try lawsuits involving the religious discrimination against four Christians from the UK, who have lost their cases in British courts.
The Russian Church earlier expressed surprise about the loyalty of the British authorities, who have banned wearing crosses at work, to other symbols, for example, gay symbols.
"This decision made by the British parliament is certainly alarming, especially given the existence in modern European society of other tendencies aimed at liberating human instincts," Vladimir Legoyda, the head of the Synodal Information Department, told reporters. He said he was surprised by the fact that public demonstration of affiliation with gay culture is considered normal in the UK while the wearing of crosses is not.

h/t Posted by Josephus Flavius 1 comments

جنازة - الكنيسة القبطية الأرثوذكسية

VIDEO:  http://byztex.blogspot.ca/2012/03/funeral-liturgy-for-coptic-pope.html

Toulouse, Mohammed Merah dies in clash with police
The police entered the apartment where the young man was locked up. The young French-Algerian, who was unemployed, had trained in Waziristan and has described himself as "mujahideen". He had long been under police surveillance. The funeral in Jerusalem of four slain in Jewish school Ozar Hatorah. The Palestinian prime minister asks to stop using the Palestinian cause to justify criminal acts.

Toulouse (AsiaNews / Agencies) - French police have succeeded in gaining access to the apartment of Mohammed Merah and have confirmed that the young man was killed in a "furious," gun battle. Merah was suspected of killing Jewish three children and a teacher, as well as three French paratroopers of Arab origin. The authorities raided the apartment where he had been holed up since yesterday. The interior minister said that the police wanted to capture him alive, but the young man, who had hid in the bathroom of the house, emerged shooting in a "furious" fashion and tried to escape through the window. Three policemen were injured.
The attack which began last night, had already had moments of violence and exchanges of fire, in which two policemen were wounded. But the police had orders to capture him alive and had put pressure on him. Yesterday the boy's mother was brought to the scene and asked to convince her son to surrender, but the woman said she had no influence on him.
Police psychologists were brought in to negotiate with him, from which the picture of his personality has emerged.
Mohammed Merah (see photo) - the name of the suspect - was 23 years old, French-Algerian, one of five children, three of them males. His parents divorced many years ago and Merah was unemployed for some time, after working in a car-shop. He had a history of lawlessness before joining radical Islam and being trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The prosecutor François Molin said Merah "expressed no regret, except that he did not kill more people" and that "he was not a martyr, but preferred to kill others and stay alive." He described himself as "a mujaheddin."

Yesterday, he told police he was part of the al Qaeda network and was trained in the tribal areas of Waziristan (Pakistan). Claude Guéant, interior minister, said Merah was already on a list of people controlled by the secret services. In November 2011 he was asked about his trips abroad and had replied that they were for leisure purposes.

Yesterday the funeral of four Jews killed in the Ozar Hatorah School in Toulouse took place at the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, 30, his sons Arieh 5, Gabriel 4, were wrapped in a white ritual shawl; the small Myriam Monsonego, 7, daughter of the headmaster of the school, was wrapped in a shroud of blue and Gold. Sandler's wife was present at the funeral, pregnant with another child. The chairman of the Knesset, Reuben Rivlin, expressed the sorrow of the nation: "The whole house of Israel - he said - cries for these murders."

Yesterday Mohammed Merah claimed the killings by saying that they were to "avenge the Palestinian children" and "crimes" committed by France in Afghanistan. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has condemned Merah's acts and criticized the links to Palestinian children. "It is time for criminals to stop using the Palestinian cause to justify their terrorist actions. The children of Palestine do not want to have anything but a dignified life for them and for all children."

HISTORY/Church: Russian Orthodox should admit cooperation with Stalin

Russian Orthodox should admit cooperation with Stalin, says Ukrainian Catholic leader

March 22, 2012

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Ecumenical relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Eastern-rite Ukrainian Catholic Church are being stymied because the Moscow patriarchate will not admit its culpability for cooperating with Stalinist regime, says Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.

The leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which suffered brutal persecution during the Stalin era, said that the Russian Orthodox should acknowledge their role in that historic era. (The Russian government forced Eastern-rite Catholics in Ukraine to join the Orthodox Church, confiscating church properties and killing or imprisoning Catholics who resisted assimilation.)

The Moscow patriarchate's unwillingness to acknowledge moral responsibility for cooperating in the persecution is "a serious obstacle to the development of mutual relations," the Catholic leader said. He added: "The ability to apologize shows a lively Christian conscience, which is a precondition for the so-called healing of memories."

The Moscow patriarchate insists that tensions in the Ukraine are caused primarily by the activity of the Eastern-rite Catholic Church, which—according to Russian Orthodox leaders—is interfering in the "canonical territory" of the Moscow patriarchate.

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• Greek-catholic Patriarch: Orthodox connivance with Stalin undermines our relations (AsiaNews)

Lebanese border village shelled as UN calls for a stop to the violence
The village of al-Qaa is hit, wounding one person. The UN Security Council adopts a statement with Russia and China voting in favour.

Damascus (AsiaNews/) - The conflict between the Syrian regime and rebels has spilled over the border into Lebanon where several shells hit the Lebanese village of al-Qaa, injuring one person. Al-Qaa, 10 km from the Syrian border, has been the first stop for many of the 7,000 Syrian refugees who fled fighting at home.
In New York, the United Nations Security Council found some unity, calling on Syria to implement immediately the peace plan formulated by special UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. Although the statement carries less weight than a resolution, it does contain a veiled warning of future action to stop the slaughter.
Annan' six-point plan calls for an end to the fighting, the gradual implementation of a ceasefire, the arrival of humanitarian aid, the release of people held without trial, freedom of movement for journalists and the start political talks.
All 15 members of the Security Council voted in favour of the statement, including China and Russia, which had vetoed two previous resolutions against Syria.
"The document does not contain any ultimatums, threats or assertions about who is guilty," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to explain his country's favourable vote. In recent days, Moscow and Beijing had also criticised Assad's forces for their excessive use of force.
Still, despite warnings from the United Nations, Syrian security forces and rebels are still locked in a fight. Clashes were reported today in Homs, where 37 were killed yesterday, and in other rebel-held cities.
In Hama, the army deployed tanks to stop an attack by the Free Syrian Army against a government building. According to opposition sources, 12 people were killed.
Serious fighting is also reported in the capital.

MISSION: All churches on the Arabian Peninsula should be destroyed

Grand Mufti: all churches on the Arabian Peninsula should be destroyed 
Sheikf Abdul responds to an organization on the Kuwaiti ban on building new churches in the country. For the religious leaders only one religion on the Arabian Peninsula. The fear of the Christians and the silence of Western countries.

Riyadh (AsiaNews / Agencies) - All the churches located on the Arabian Peninsula must be destroyed. This is the opinion expressed by Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority, Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, in response to the request of the delegation of a Kuwaiti nongovernmental organization, the Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage. The delegation wanted a clarification on the basis of Islamic law with regard to the proposal made by the Parliamentary Assembly of Kuwait, to prohibit the construction of new churches in the country. A proposal not accepted by Parliament.

The Grand Mufti, who is also head of the Saudi Supreme Council of Islamic Scholars replied by quoting the prophet Mohammed, according to which only one religion should exist on the Arabian Peninsula. As part of the Peninsula, the conclusion of the Grand Mufti Kuwait must destroy all the churches in its territory.

The response of the highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia - where there are no churches, although there are at least a million Christians - supersedes the proposal of the Kuwaiti parliamentarian, Osama al-Munawar, according to whom existing churches could stay, but the construction of new buildings of religions other than Muslim should be prohibited.

The statement of the Saudi Grand Mufti was greeted with concern by Christians living in Arab countries and has caused mixed reactions in the media of the Middle East. But it has practically been ignored in Europe where March 19 a report on intolerance and discrimination against Christians in Europe was released, which certifies hundreds of cases on the Old Continent in 2011.

FAITH: Report on anti-Christian discrimination; Europe

Report documents anti-Christian discrimination in Europe

March 21, 2012

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The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe has released a report documenting incidents of anti-Christian discrimination in Europe in 2011.

"Studies suggest that 85% of hate crimes in Europe are directed against Christians," said Gudrun Kugler, the Observatory's director. "It is high time for the public debate to respond to this reality."

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• Report 2011 (Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe)
• Report documents discrimination against Christians (Vatican Radio)

Tens of thousands line up for Shenouda's funeral on day of national mourning
Government authorities are showing great consideration for the death of the Egyptian Coptic pope who will be buried in the monastery where Sadat placed him under house arrest. Three people have been crushed by grieving crowds with another 137 injured. In honour of the late patriarch, a Christian and a Muslim family end a feud that cost 11 lives.

Cairo (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Tens of thousands of people are taking part in the funeral of Shenouda III, the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church who died on Saturday at the age of 88. The service is underway in St Mark's Cathedral, in Cairo's Abbasseya neighbourhood. The authorities are showing great consideration for the head of the largest Christian community in the Middle East.
Across Egypt, it is a day of national mourning, with flags at half mask. The country's main leaders are paying their respect to the body, which will be flown to Wadr Naturn (Nile Delta) after the ceremony for burial in the cemetery of St Bushoy Monastery where the patriarch spent four years under house arrest (1981-1985) after he criticised the regime of the late President Anwar al-Sadat.
Coptic bishops from around the world are taking part in the service led by Abuna Paulos, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. "Because he is resting does not mean that we lost him," the latter said.
Following tradition, Shenouda's body was removed from the coffin and placed on the throne with his embroidered ceremonial red and gold vestments, a golden mitre on his head.
The authorities took huge security measures around the cathedral and the monastery where he will be buried. Many ambulances and medical staff are also present. Two days ago, crowds crushed to death three people, injuring an additional 137.
In honour of Shenouda's death, two families from a village in Minya province, Upper Egypt, ended a long-standing feud that caused 11 deaths.
Provincial governor General Serag Eddin al-Rouby said that the two families, one Muslim and one Christian, agreed to end the dispute when they heard about the patriarch's death.

VIETNAM: Beatification process advancing for F.X. Nguyen Van Thuan

Cause moves forward for beatification of Vietnamese prelate

March 20, 2012

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A Vatican delegation will visit Vietnam next week to collect testimony regarding the cause for beatification of the late Cardinal Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan.

The Vietnamese prelate, who serving 13 years in prison camps in his native land, was president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace from 1998 until his death in 2002. A cause for his beatification was opened in October 2010.

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• The Bishops: "The hopes of the Church for the beatification of Cardinal Van Thuan increase" (Fides)

re. Hating Religion :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4fv6FE 

In response to : 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=1IAhDGYlpqY&NR=1

French school shooting

Holy See, archbishop condemn French school shooting

March 20, 2012

From Our Store: Liturgical Year 2011-2012, Vol. 3: Lent (eBook)

The murder of a rabbi and three children at a Jewish school in Toulouse is "ignoble and shameful" and "arouses deep indignation and bewilderment and the most resolute condemnation," said Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Holy See Press Office, as he offered "bereaved families and [the] Jewish community our concern for this horrible deed, and our deepest spiritual solidarity."

"After the assassination of paratroopers in recent days in Toulouse and Montauban, which has deeply affected our region, a further horrific act took place," added Archbishop Robert Le Gall of Toulouse. "We express our profound sympathy to families affected by this horror and ensure our prayers."

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• Holy See horror at Toulouse school shooting (Vatican Radio)
• France Jewish school attacks: huge manhunt as mourners hold overnight vigil (Daily Telegraph)

St. Joseph

Chaplet of St. Joseph

This chaplet is divided into fifteen groups of four beads consisting of one white and three purple beads. The white bead symbolizes St. Joseph's purity, and the purple beads his saintly piety. A mystery of the Rosary is considered on each white bead, and two Hail Marys are said.

On the purple beads say:

Praised and blessed be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

The chaplet is ended with the following prayer:

V. Pray for us, O holy St. Joseph! R. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ!

Let us pray

O, God, Who had predestined St. Joseph for all eternity for the service of Thine Eternal Son and His Blessed Mother, and made him worthy to be the spouse of the Blessed Virgin and the foster father of Thy Son: we beseech Thee, through all the services he has rendered to Jesus and Mary on earth, that Thou wouldst make us worthy of his intercession and grant us to enjoy the happiness of his company in heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen

Coptic Pope Shenouda III has reposed in the Lord

Coptic Pope Shenouda III has reposed in the Lord

(Yahoo News) - Egypt's Coptic Pope Shenuda III, spiritual leader of the Middle East's largest Christian minority, died on Saturday at the age of 88 after a battle with illness, leaving the country's Copts in mourning.

He had suffered health problems for years and recently stopped receiving treatment for liver failure and tumours or swelling in his lungs because he was too feeble, the Coptic Church said.

The pope's health deteriorated Saturday after he suffered "a severe heart attack", sources at the church told the official MENA news agency.

"The last days were the hardest in the Pope's life, as he was unable to walk," said a church statement carried by MENA.

Shenuda was forced to cancel a weekly sermon last week over health concerns.

A funeral will be held on Tuesday at the papal headquarters for Shenuda, who was named pope of Alexandria in 1971.

There was no word on when clergy and laity would convene to begin the process of choosing a successor.

At St. Mark's Cathedral in the central Cairo neighbourhood of Abassiya, thousands crushed through a small opening at the cathedral's gate as bells tolled.

Worshippers had been told the pope's body had been laid out for the night inside and believed they would get a chance to look at the corpse and get blessings.

On the street outside, riot police stood guard at a distance.

"He was the father of every young man, women, widows and the orphaned. We have had many crises, and he gave us wisdom throughout all of them," said Emil Esam, 28 outside the pope's offices.

Shenuda led the Copts, estimated at 10 percent of Egypt's population of more than 80 million, for the best part of a generation, in which Egypt was hit by a wave of Islamic militancy from which he sought to protect his people.

Muslim leaders in the country almost immediately sent their condolences after news of his death broke.

Shenuda's death is "a grave calamity that has afflicted all Egypt and its noble people, Muslims and Christians," the country's mufti, Ali Gomaa, said in a statement.

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A St. Antoine Daniel Chaplet, Jesuit Martyr of North America

<sup>A Saint Antoine Daniel Chaplet, Jesuit Martyr of North America

Three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys, and three Glorias in worship of our Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; the Trinity for whom Saint Antoine Daniel gave his life to God with tenderness and encouragement for those Indians and fellow missionaries whom he served as a priest.</sup>

[Fr. Antoine Daniel] devoted himself... indefatigably and effectively [to missionary life]

 for ten years. On 4 July 1648 the Iroquois overran the Saint-Joseph II mission (Teanaostaiaë, near Hillsdale, Simcoe County, Ontario) just as Father Daniel was finishing his mass. He encouraged the [new believers] and spoke so movingly of the truths of the faith that [they], in large numbers, asked him to baptize them. After wreaking havoc in the village, the Iroquois attacked the chapel: "Flee," said the missionary to his congregation, "and keep the faith to your dying breath." 

As for himself, his life belonged to the souls in his charge. 

He left the chapel and strode towards the enemy, who were astonished by such courage. When [their] first moment of stupefaction had passed, 

his body was riddled with arrows. A bullet struck him in the chest, passing through his body, and he fell uttering the name of Jesus. 

After desecrating his body, the Iroquois threw it into the fire that was consuming the chapel. As the first martyr of Huronia, Father Daniel, even after his death, inspired in his brother missionaries a wealth of tenderness and encouragement. The Relation for 1649 has preserved two instances of this for us.

      The Hurons had given Father Daniel the name of Anȣennen.*

Prayer

<sup>~ Loving Father in Heaven, I will stand for You and Your people; Please give me faith and courage.

~ Your intentions.

~Father, that you may be better known and loved.
3x Our Father</sup>

^{~ Jesus, that you may be better known and loved.}

^{3 x Hail Mary}

<sup>~Holy Spirit, that you may be better known and loved.
3 x Glory Be

~ Take Lord all my liberty.  Receive my memory, my understanding, my whole will; all that I have and possess.  You have given all to me, I return it all to you.  Do with me as you will.  Amen.**</sup>

<sup>~ Holy Martyr St. Antoine Daniel, please pray for us.

+ Sign of the Cross</sup>

^{~Ad maiorem Dei gloriam.***}

* - Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

** - The Suscipe.

*** - "For the greater glory of God" - Jesuit motto.

St. Vlad's seminarians take post-abortion counseling training

St. Vlad's seminarians take post-abortion counseling training

What a wonderful opportunity and one I hope to have repeated at my seminary.

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(SVOTS) - Five of us from St. Vladimir's—Dn. Timothy Yates, Monk James Stevens, Seminarian Adam Horstman, Hierodeacon Herman Majkrzak, and myself, Dn. David Wooten—recently traveled to nearby St. Joseph's Seminary (aka "Dunwoodie"), a Roman Catholic seminary in Yonkers, to take advantage of a post-abortion counseling training seminar. St. Joseph's was hosting "Lumina Ministries," the post-abortion counseling ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and had graciously invited all clergy and seminarians to attend, free of charge, these sessions that sought to help church leaders provide help for all victims of abortion—not only the unborn but also the mother, father, and family of the unborn child.

Theresa Bonapartis, head of Lumina Ministries, delivered the afternoon sessions (seminarians from St. Vladimir's were unable to attend the morning sessions due to class requirements), in which she detailed the hurt and confusion that the would-be parents or siblings experience in the aftermath of abortion. Accompanying her in her presentations was Fr. Mariusz Koch, CFR, Vicar of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Together, they outlined common emotional responses and spiritual dilemmas that these living victims of abortion often suffer through. Theresa spoke from her own experience as a post-abortive woman, while Fr. Koch provided anecdotes of how these responses usually manifest themselves in confessional or parochial settings.

The sessions were oriented specifically towards training priests, and Theresa spoke of her own soul's healing, effected by a priest who was sensitive to the trauma of abortion: he not only acknowledged her pain over a sin that had damaged her soul but also declared to her that, yes, God is merciful, and that there is no sin that our heavenly Father cannot forgive, no wound He is unwilling to make whole.

We trainees were told over and over that these two attributes of truth and compassion—affirming the sinfulness of abortion, and declaring the mercy and forgiveness of God—were always to be presented together in order to effectively and rightly minister to men and women who are confused and hurt in the wake of their ordeal. The clarity this approach provides serves as a remedy for the lies many women tell themselves and for the lies that family, friends, and even clergymen may tell them. From serial confession ("God couldn't possibly have forgiven me last time, or ever!") to presumption and false compassion ("Well, since God forgives and the baby's in heaven instead of in a hard life on earth, abortion is technically OK.") and all points in between, these ways of dealing with emotional and spiritual wounds were addressed and diagnosed.

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