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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: WED. MAY 5, 2010









CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: WED. MAY 5, 2010: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: POPE: SUPPORT PRIESTS, ESPECIALLY IN MOMENTS OF DIFFICULTY-
AFRICA: TANZANIA: FR KIMARYO APPOINTED BISHOP-

EUROPE: PORTUGAL: PODCASTS WITH PRAYER RECORDINGS TO PREPARE FOR VISIT-
ASIA: INDONESIA: CHURCH GROUPS TRYING TO IMPROVE WORK CONDITIONS-
AMERICA: CANADA: STUDENTS ON MARCH FOR LIFE-
AUSTRALIA: DIFFERENT APPROACH TO HEALING MASS CAUSES PROBLEMS-

VATICAN
POPE: SUPPORT PRIESTS, ESPECIALLY IN MOMENTS OF DIFFICULTY


VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS REPORT) - In today's general audience, which was celebrated in St. Peter's Square, the Pope focused his remarks on the priest's mission to sanctify humankind.
"Sanctifying a person means putting that person in contact with God", said the Pope, noting how "an essential part of a priest's grace is his gift, his task to establish such contact. This comes about through the announcement of the Word of God, ... and particularly intensely in the Sacraments".
"Over recent decades", he went on, "various schools of thought have tried to make the aspect of announcement prevail in the priest's mission and identity, separating it from sanctification. It has often been affirmed that there is a need to go beyond merely sacramental pastoral care".
"Ordained ministers", the Pope explained, "represent Christ, God's envoy, they ... continue His mission through the 'Word' and the 'Sacrament', which are the two main pillars of priestly service". In this context he identified the need "to reflect whether, in certain cases, having undervalued the faithful exercise of 'munus sanctificandi' has not perhaps led to a weakening of faith in the salvific effectiveness of the Sacraments and, in the final analysis, in the real action of Christ and His Spirit, through the Church, in the world".
"It is, therefore, important to promote appropriate catechesis in order to help the faithful understand the value of the Sacraments. But it is equally necessary, following the example of the saintly 'Cure of Ars', to be willing, generous and attentive in giving the faithful the treasures of grace that God has placed in our hands, treasures of which we are not masters but custodians and administrators. Especially in our own time - in which on the one hand, the faith seems to be weakening and, on the other, there is a profound need and widespread search for spirituality - it is necessary for each priest to remember that ... missionary announcement and worship are never separate, and that he must promote a healthy sacramental pastoral care in order to form the People of God and help them to fully experience the liturgy ... and the Sacraments as gratuitous gifts of God, free and effective aspects of His action of salvation".
The Pope went on to highlight how "each priest knows he is a tool necessary for God's salvific action, but nonetheless just a tool. This awareness must make him humble and generous in administering the Sacraments, respecting the canonical norms but also profoundly convinced that his mission is to ensure that mankind, united to Christ, can offer itself to God as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to Him".
Addressing himself directly to priests the Holy Father encouraged them "to practice liturgy and worship with joy and love". He also renewed his call "to return to the confessional, as a place in which to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but also as a place in which 'to dwell' more frequently, that the faithful may find mercy, counsel and comfort, feel themselves to be loved and understood by God, and experience the presence of Divine Mercy alongside the real presence in the Eucharist".
"I would also like to invite each priest to celebrate and to live the Eucharist intensely", said Benedict XVI. Priests "are called to be ministers of this great Mystery, in the Sacrament and in life".
Likewise, "it is indispensable to strive after the moral perfection which must dwell in each authentically priestly heart", because "there is an example of faith and a witness of sanctity that the People of God expect from their pastors".
Pope Benedict concluded by calling on the faithful "to be aware of the great gift that priests represent for the Church and the world. Through their ministry the Lord continues to save mankind, to make Himself present, to sanctify. Give thanks to God and above all remain close to your priests with prayer and support, especially in moments of difficulty, that they may increasingly become pastors in keeping with God's heart".
AG/ VIS 20100505 (680)

APPEAL FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, PRAISE OF MARRIAGE
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience the Holy Father reminded those present that the eighth Review Conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty began work in New York on 3 May.
"Progress towards combined and secure nuclear disarmament is closely connected to the full and rapid fulfilment of the relative international commitments", said the Pope. "Peace, in fact, rests on trust and on respect for promises made, not only on the balance of power. In this spirit I encourage the initiatives that seek progressive disarmament and areas free of nuclear weapons, with a view to their complete elimination from the planet.
"Finally, I exhort all those participating in the New York meeting to overcome historical conditioning and patiently to weave a political and economic web of peace in order to help integral human development and peoples' authentic aspirations".
Benedict also greeted a group of people who are due to participate in a congress on the family in Jonkoping, Sweden, later this month.
"Your message to the world is truly a message of joy, because God's gift to us of marriage and family life enables us to experience something of the infinite love that unites the three divine persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit", Pope Benedict told them speaking English. "Human beings, made in the image and likeness of God, are made for love; indeed at the core of our being, we long to love and to be loved in return".
"Marriage is truly an instrument of salvation, not only for married people but for the whole of society. Like any truly worthwhile goal, it places demands upon us, it challenges us, it calls us to be prepared to sacrifice our own interests for the good of the other. It requires us to exercise tolerance and to offer forgiveness. It invites us to nurture and protect the gift of new life. ... I encourage all of you in your efforts to promote a proper understanding and appreciation of the inestimable good that marriage and family life offer to human society". AG/ VIS 20100505 (360)


CARITAS IN VERITATE GUIDES ACADEMY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Today in the Holy See Press Office Mary Ann Glendon, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, presented a summary of the academy's sixteenth plenary assembly which took place in the Vatican's Casina Pio IV from 30 April to 4 May on the theme: "Crisis in a Global Economy. Re-planning the Journey".
Ms. Glendon pointed out that this was the first gathering of the academy since the publication of Benedict XVI's Encyclical "Caritas in veritate", and that the deliberations took account of the guidelines contained in that document. She also observed that, as the plenary assembly had coincided with the crisis in Greece, it "was marked by an analysis of recent events in a manner more immediate than is customary in the rhythms of academic life".
The three main themes on which the participants focused were: Financialisation of the Economy and of Common Life; The Consequences of the Crisis on the Poor, and Governance of Economic Activity.On the first of these subjects, the participants highlighted how "the fragility of the economic system was partly a consequence of over-reliance on speculative financial activities separated from productive activity in the real economy". Examining the consequences of the crisis on the poor, the academy noted that, "for the first time, our world will soon have one billion malnourished people".
"If one compares the relative cost of the financial bailouts to the amounts needed for basic nutrition, for example, one cannot avoid the conclusion that this crisis has distracted greatly from urgent questions of development", said Ms Glendon.
Finally, the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences reaffirmed that "the principles laid out in 'Caritas in veritate' about the need for stronger regulation of international finance were discussed with various concrete measures suggested in order to ensure greater transparency in financial instruments and to avoid the moral hazard problems arising from bailouts". ACAD-SS/ VIS 20100505 (330)


CARDINAL HUMMES, SPECIAL ENVOY TO EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter in which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, as his special envoy to the sixteenth Eucharistic Congress of Brazil, due to take place in the country's capital city of Brasilia from 13 to 16 May.
In the Letter, written in Latin and dated 19 April, the Pope expresses the hope that the event will prove fruitful and he entrusts the participants to Our Lady of Aparecida. BXVI-LETTER/ VIS 20100505 (100)

AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father yesterday received in audience Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany.AP/ VIS 20100505 (30)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Jose Valdeci Santos Mendes of the clergy of the diocese Coroata, Brazil, pastor of the parish of "Nossa Senhora de Graca" at Arari, rector of the propedeutic seminary and co-ordinator for pastoral care in his diocese, as bishop of Brejo (area 23,340, population 475,000, Catholics 444,500, priests 25, religious 16), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Coroata in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1994. He succeeds Bishop Valter Carrijo S.D.S., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
 
 
AFRICA
TANZANIA: FR KIMARYO APPOINTED BISHOP

All Africa report. The Holy Father has appointed Fr Rogath Kimaryo of the Holy Ghost fathers as the new Bishop for Same diocese. The bishop elect has been the Pontifical administrator since of the diocese of Same since last year.

Fr. Kimaryo was born on October 30th 1956 in Rombo Parish in Moshi where he baptised. He attended Ubaa primary and Maua seminary in Moshi and later Mzumbe in Morogoro district.
He took his vows on September 30, 1983 in Nairobi, Kenya.
He studied philosophy in Kibosho seminary, Moshi and theology in Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Nairobi.
He was ordained priest in May 30, 1987 in Moshi.
He graduated from the Gregorian University, Rome, Italy
The newly appointed bishop has worked in various educational institutions including Tangaza college, a constituent of Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), he was Rector of Sacred Heart seminary in Arusha, as well as teacher of Canon law at Segerea major Seminary.
Meanwhile, Monsignor Novatus Rugambwa of Tanzania has been appointed by Rome as the new nuncio to Angola, Sao Tome and Principe, replacing Don Angelo Becciu who ended his mission in Angola in September last year.
The New nuncio has had an illustrious life of service in the Church. Born in Bukoba, Northern Tanzania on 8th October 1957, he was ordained to the priesthood in July 1986.
He began working for the Diplomatic mission of the Holy See in 1991. He has since served in Panama, Republic of Congo, Pakistan, New Zealand and Indonesia. He has also worked as the undersecretary for the Pontifical Council for Pastoral care of migrants and itinerant people in the Vatican.
Archbishop Rugambwa, who is also the Titular bishop of Tagaria, is a gifted person who speaks several languages including English, French, Spanish, German, and Kiswahili among others. He therefore brings with him a wealth of experience and service to the Church of Angola, Sao Tome and Principe.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005050144.html


EUROPE
PORTUGAL: PODCASTS WITH PRAYER RECORDINGS TO PREPARE FOR VISIT

Cath News report. Pope Benedict has made podcasts with prayer recordings in Portuguese for web-savvy Catholics in Portugal in the lead up to his visit there this month.

The first module will be available to download Tuesday from a website set up for the pope's four-day visit, http://www.passo-a-rezar.net/ , which means "Let's Get Praying", said an AFP report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The "pioneer project" will feature prayers read by the pope and by leading Portuguese Roman Catholics, the country's bishops' conference said in a statement this week.
The Church has also set up Facebook and Twitter sites devoted to the pope's trip, which will take him to Lisbon on May 11 and on to the shrine of Fatima in central Portugal on May 12-13, finishing in Porto in the north on May 14.
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21115


ASIA
INDONESIA: CHURCH GROUPS TRYING TO IMPROVE WORK CONDITIONS
 
UCAN report — Concern over the hardships faced by many domestic workers, has prompted several Church groups in Jakarta archdiocese to offer programs aimed at raising political awareness and improving working conditions.

The Communion of Domestic Workers (Paperta), which was established by the archdiocese in 2006, now has more than 200 members. “We hope more domestic workers will join this communion,” Paperta coordinator Maria Gorethi told UCA News on May 4.
Improving domestic workers’ rights is the main purpose of Paperta. We also take them on outings or pilgrimages, and organize them to stage rallies urging the government to draft legislation for their protection.
“Through these programs, we also give advice and support to domestic workers working for Catholic families as well as those working in parish Churches and monasteries,” the Catholic laywoman said.
She said a typical maid is often required to do many chores such as cooking, laundry work, cleaning the house, and taking care of children. They are often required to work 12 hours a day, she added.
“This is too much, and as a result, many maids do not have time to socialize,” Gorethi added, expressing hope that Catholic families will not treat their domestic workers like that.
Maria Yoanita from the Mitra Imago Dei (partnership of the image of God), an organization dealing with domestic worker issues, said her group organizes regular meetings to make them aware of their rights. It also offers maids cookery classes and how to do laundry properly.
Yoanita said her group, “represents a form of Church contribution and support to domestic workers.” She also expressed her gratitude to the Church for paying serious attention to domestic worker issues.
Roosvita Gunawan, a member of the archdiocese’s Catholic Women of the Republic of Indonesia (WKRI), told UCA News that her group worked together with Paperta and Mitra Imago Dei in organizing a special gathering for domestic workers on May 2 in Sawangan, West Java province.
More than 150 Catholic, Muslim and Protestant domestic workers working for Catholic families, monasteries and parishes attended the event.
“The gathering was aimed at lifting their spirits and to encourage them to have self-confidence. It was also an opportunity where they could share their experiences with one another,” said Gunawan, who chaired the program.
She said her group will organize a similar program next year. “Domestic workers at the recent program were very enthusiastic and asked me to hold similar programs regularly,” she noted.
http://www.ucanews.com/2010/05/05/church-groups-lift-domestic-workers%e2%80%99-spirits
AMERICA
CANADA: STUDENTS ON MARCH FOR LIFE
JCE report: Every year approximately 1.6 million children are aborted in Canada and the United States. Worldwide the figure is over 40 million. The numbers are stunning. This summer two students from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Barry’s Bay, Ontario, Michael Hayden and Jonathan Baker, have decided to do something about it. They’ll be going for a walk.

Pope John Paul II, as part of what he called the New Evangelization, made an impassioned plea for Catholics, especially the young, to promote the dignity and the sanctity of all life. In response to the Holy Father’s call Michael and Jonathan will be walking across Canada, from Vancouver to Ottawa, as part of a Pro-life group called Crossroads. Founded in 1995 by a student at Franciscan University in Ohio, Crossroads is composed of small groups of college students who walk across Canada and the United States to raise awareness for the pro-life cause and work towards ending the tragedy of abortion.
During their 5500 kilometer walk, which will take them almost three months to complete, Michael and Jonathan will pray morning and evening prayer plus 20 decades of the rosary every day, attend daily Mass when possible, speak to Churches and youth groups across the country, and pray in front of abortion clinics in every major city they visit.
It will be the walk of a lifetime but it won’t be without sacrifices. In order to do the walk they will have to forgo their summer jobs and will be unable to meet the costs of their education next year. If you would like to help Jonathan and Michael in their mission, donations may be sent to Michael Hayden (attention: Walk for Life) at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, 18 Karol Wojtyla Square, Box 249, Barry’s Bay, ON K0J 1B0. Donations can also be made online through http://www.paypal.com/  and enter the following email:
mike.walks.for.life@gmail.com  

AUSTRALIA
DIFFERENT APPROACH TO HEALING MASS CAUSES PROBLEMS

Cath News report. A foreign-trained priest who laid a mentally and physically disabled girl on an altar during a West Australian mass at the weekend and ordered her to walk has raised a furore among parishioners.

Although neither the priest nor parish is identified in a report in The West Australian, the newspaper cites the Vicar-General of Perth's Catholic Archdiocese Brian O'Loughlin saying the "bizarre and unusual service" was largely due to the priest's mental condition.
The priest was later escorted to a mental health clinic by police. The congregation is being counselled over the event, which left children and adults in tears. Monsignor O'Loughlin said it also highlighted that foreign-trained priests had a more spiritual approach, while Westerners had a more logical outlook and tended to turn to the spiritual when they could not understand concepts in other ways. He said the approach by African, Asian and Eastern European-trained priests was sometimes a "difficulty" but while it required adjustment, it was not a problem because overseas priests were an important addition and were welcomed by multicultural congregations.
Catherine Roatch, who saw the faith-healing service, said it appeared to be an attempted exorcism.
"He prayed in some gibberish and then started to demand that this girl speak as well as stand up," she is cited saying.
"The girl would not have even been able to comprehend, let alone follow instructions. It was very undignified for the young lady and she was just crying, howling at the altar.
"People were getting up and leaving. People were crying and they were angry. The children were terrified."
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21123

TODAY´S SAINT

St. Hilary of Arles

BISHOP
Feast: May 5
Information: Feast Day: May 5
Born: 400 at Lorraine
Died: 449
This saint was nobly born about the year 401, and was related to St. Honoratus of Arles, and of the same country in Gaul, which was probably Lorraine, or some other part of Austrasia. He was brought up in a manner suitable to his birth, in the study of the liberal arts, and of every branch of polite learning. especially of eloquence and philosophy. But how little value we ought to set on all things that appear great in the eyes of the world, he himself has taught us. "We are all equal," says he, "in Jesus Christ; and the highest degree of our nobility is to be of the number of the true servants of God. Neither science, nor birth, according to this world, can exalt us, but in proportion to our contempt of them." Before God had put these sentiments into his heart, he seems to have been not altogether insensible to the advantages of this world, in which he was raised to the highest dignities. His kinsman, St. Honoratus, who had forsaken his country to seek Christ in the solitude of the isle of Lerins, where he had founded a great monastery, was the instrument made use of by the Almighty to open his eyes. This holy man had always loved Hilary, and thought he could not give him more solid proof of his friendship than by endeavoring to gain him entirely to God. He therefore left his retirement for a few days to seek him out, and endeavored to move him by the same powerful, weighty reflections, which had made the deepest impression on his own mind, and induced him to break the chains of the world. "What floods of tears," says St. Hilary, "did this true friend shed to soften the hardness of my heart! How often did he embrace me with the most tender and compassionate affection, to obtain of me that I would take into serious consideration the salvation of my soul! Yet, by an unhappy victory, I still remained conqueror." Honoratus, finding his endeavors to wean him from the charms of a deceitful world ineffectual, had recourse to prayer, his ordinary refuge. "Well," said he to Hilary, "I will obtain of God, what you will not now grant me." Upon which they took leave of each other. Hilary, reflecting on what Honoratus had said to him, was not long before he began to feel a violent conflict within himself. "On one side," says he, "me-thought I saw the Lord calling me; on the other the world offering me its seducing charms and pleasures. How often did I embrace and reject, will and not will the same thing! But in the end Jesus Christ triumphed in me. And three days after Honoratus had left me, the mercy of God, solicited by his prayers, subdued my rebellious soul." He then went in person to seek St. Honoratus, and appeared before him as humble and tractable as the saint had left him haughty and indocile.
From this moment there appeared in Hilary that wonderful change which the Holy Ghost produces in a soul which he truly converts. His words, looks, and whole comportment breathed nothing but humility, patience, sweetness, mortification, and charity. Every one saw in him a man who began to labor in earnest to save his soul, and who had put his hand to the plough to look no more behind him, or to send a single thought alter v. hat he had left for Christ's sake. Aspiring to perfection, he sold all his several estates to his brother, and distributed all the money accruing from the sale among the poor, and the most indigent monasteries. Thus disengaged from the world, and naked, no less in the inward disposition of soul than in his exterior, he, like Abraham, took leave of his own country, and made the best of his way to Lerins; where from his first entrance he made it appear that he was worthy to live in the company of saints. He set out in the pursuit of monastic perfection with such zeal and fervor, as to become in a short time the pattern of those on whose instructions and example he came to form his own conduct. His application to prayer and mortification, and his watchfulness and care to avoid the smallest faults and imperfections, prepared him to receive the gift of tears. It is thought that his baptism was posterior to his retirement. St. Honoratus having been chosen archbishop of Arles, in 426, Hilary followed him to that city; but it was not long before his love of solitude occasioned his return to Lerins. All the holy inhabitants of that isle testified as great joy to receive him again, as he felt to see himself among them. But God, who had other designs upon him, did not permit him to enjoy long his beloved retirement. St. Honoratus begged his assistance, and the comfort of his company, and as he did not yield to entreaties, went himself to fetch him from Lerins. Soon after God called St. Honoratus to himself, his death happening in 428 or 429. Hilary, though sensibly afflicted for the loss of such a friend, rejoiced however to see himself at liberty, and set out directly for Lerins. But no sooner were the citizens apprized of his departure, than messengers posted after him with such expedition, that he was overtaken, brought back, and consecrated archbishop, though only twenty-nine years of age. In this high station the virtues which he had acquired in solitude shone with lustre to mankind. The higher he was exalted by his dignity, the more did he humble himself beneath all others in his heart. He reduced himself in every thing to the strictest bounds of necessity: and he had only one coat for winter and summer. He applied himself diligently to meditation on the holy scriptures, and preaching the word of God, was assiduous in prayer, watching, and fasting. He had his hours also for manual labor, with a view of gaming something for the poor; choosing such work as he could join with reading or prayer. He travelled always on foot, and had attained to so perfect an evenness of temper, that his mind seemed never ruffled with the least emotion of anger. He had an admirable talent in preaching. When he spoke before the learned of the world, his elocution, his accent, his discourse, his action, were such as the greatest orators justly admired, but despaired ever to come up to. Yet when he instructed the illiterate, he changed his manner of address, and proportioned his instructions to the capacities of the most simple and ignorant, though always supporting the dignity of the divine word by a maimer and expression suitable to its majesty. He preached the truth in its purity, without flattering the great. He had often in private admonished a certain judge in the province of a criminal partiality in the administration of justice, but without effect. One day the magistrate came into the church, attended by his officers, while the saint was preaching. The holy bishop broke off his sermon on the spot, and gave his surprised audience for reason, that he who had so often neglected the advice he had given him for his salvation, was not worthy to partake of the nourishment of the divine word. the judge no sooner heard his reflection, but withdrew in confusion, and the saint resumed his discourse Observing one day that many went out of the church immediately after the reading of the gospel, just as he was going to preach, he prevailed with them to return, by saying: "You will not so easily get out of hell, if you are once unhappily fallen into its dungeons." He had such a love for the poor, that to have the more to bestow on them, he lived himself in the greatest poverty: he never kept a horse, and labored hard in digging and manuring the ground, though educated according to the dignity of his family. To redeem captives, he caused the church plate to be sold, not excepting the sacred vessels; making use of patens and chalices of glass ill the celebration of the divine mysteries. If his compassion for the corporal miseries of the faithful was so tender, we may judge how much more he was moved to pity at their spiritual necessities. He bore the weak with tenderness, but never indulged the passions or sloth of any. When he put any one in a course of penance he was himself bathed in tears; whereby he troth excited the penitent to the like, and with ardent sighs and prayer obtained for him of God the grace of compunction and pardon. He visited the bishops of his province, and endeavored to make them walk in the perfect spirit of Christ, the prince of pastors. He established many monasteries and took particular care to enforce a strict observance of monastic discipline among them. He had a close friendship with St. Germanus, whom he called his father, and respected as an apostle. He presided in the council of Ries in 439, in the first council of Orange in 441, in the council of Vaison in 442, and probably in 443, in the second council of Arles, in all which several canons of discipline were framed.
His zeal exasperated several tepid persons; and some of these, by misconstruing his actions, gave the holy pope St. Leo a disadvantageous character of him. His zeal, indeed, had been on some occasions too hasty and precipitate: but this was owing in him to mistake, not to passion; for the circumstances of his actions, and of his eminent piety, oblige us to interpret his intention by the same spirit by which he governed himself in his whole conduct. This disagreement between St. Leo and St. Hilary proved a trial for the exercise of zeal in the former, and of patience in the latter, for his greater sanctification by humility, submission, and silence. Chelidonius, bishop of Besancon, had been deposed by St. Hilary Upon an allegation, that, before he was consecrated bishop, he had married a widow, and had condemned persons to death as magistrate; both which were looked upon as irregularities or disqualifications for holy orders. Chelidonius hereupon set out for Rome, to justify himself to the pope, St. Leo, who received his appeal from his metropolitan, and acquitted him of the irregularity with which he stood charged. St. Hilary, upon hearing that his suffragan was gone for Rome, followed him thither on foot, and in the midst of winter. The pope having assembled a council to judge this affair, St. Hilary took his seat among the other bishops that composed it: but from his not attempting to prove the irregularity which had been alleged against Chelidonius, the saint seemed to own that he had been imposed on as to the matter of fact. But he pretended, that the cause ought not to be judged otherwise than by commissaries deputed by the pope to take cognizance of it in the country that gave it birth, a point for which some Africans had contended. This plea was overruled, the contrary having been frequently practiced, when both parties could appear at Rome: though the manner of judging appeals is only a point of discipline, which may vary in different places. Another affair brought St. Hilary into a greater difficulty. Projectus, a bishop of his province, being sick, St. Hilary, upon information, hastened to his see, and ordained a new bishop: after which Projectus recovering, there were two bishops contending for the same see, and Hilary supported the last ordained; perhaps because the first might remain disabled for his functions. The author of St. Hilary's life does not clear up his conduct in this particular: but we cannot doubt of the sincerity of his intention. Moreover the discipline of the church in such matters was not at that time so clearly settled by the canons as it has been since. St. Hilary therefore imagined a metropolitan might have a discretionary power in such matters. However St. Leo rightly judged such an ordination irregular, liable to great inconveniences, and productive of schisms. Wherefore he forbade St. Hilary to ordain any bishops for the future. Our holy prelate cancelled his mistakes by his patience, and St. Leo, writing immediately after the saint's death, to his successor Ravennus, calls him, . Exhausted by austerities and labors, St. Hilary passed to a better life on the 5th of May, 449, being only forty-eight years old. St. Honoratus, the eloquent bishop of Marseilles, who has given us an abstract of his life, relates several miraculous cures wrought by the saint while he was living. His body lies in a subterraneous chapel, under the high altar, in the church of St. Honoratus at Arles, with an elegant ancient epitaph. The name of St. Hilary stands in the Roman Martyrology.
That this saint never gave in to the Semi-Pelagian doctrine, though it hard not been then condemned by any decree of the pastors of the church, is clearly shown by Tillemont and Dom. Rivet. This is proved from several passages in his life by St. Honoratus; and in the Martyrologies of Rabanus and Notker it is mentioned that he vigorously exerted his zeal in bringing a light and in correcting the Pelagian heresy, which is taught in the conferences of Cassian. His exposition of the creed, commended by the ancients, is now lost: his homilies on all the feasts of the year were much esteemed, but are not known at present. The best edition of his works is given by John Salinas, regular canon of St. John Lateran, in Italy, in 1731.
SOURCE http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/H/sthilaryofarles.asp

TODAY´S GOSPEL

John 15: 1 - 8

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: TUES. MAY 4, 2010











CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: TUES. MAY 4, 2010: HEADLINES-
VATICAN. POPE: DENOUNCES ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ-
AFRICA: ZAMBIA: BISHOP CAUTIONS PARTIES TO SUPPORT FAMILY VALUES-
AMERICA: USA: FR. CORAPI WARNS LUKEWARM CATHOLICS-
ASIA: JAPAN: MGRS TAKAMI & MISUE ASK WORLD LEADERS TO STOP WEAPONS AT UN-
EUROPE: NEW VIDEO ENCOURAGES PRAYING FOR PRIESTS-
AUSTRALIA: SINGING PRIEST IS VERY POPULAR ON YOUTUBE-


VATICAN
POPE: DENOUNCES ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ

Radio Vaticana report. On Tuesday Pope Benedict XVI denounced renewed attacks against the Christian community in Iraq. A telegram written on his behalf by the Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone, was sent to Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa , the Syrian Archbishop of Mosul. It notes the Pope’s deep sadness at the “news of the tragic loss of life and injuries caused by the recent bomb attack near Mosul”.

The Holy Father was referring to a weekend bomb attack on a column of buses carrying Christian students from the village of Hamdaniya, 40 km east of Mosul, to University in the city.
Four people were killed and 171 injured, at least 17 seriously.
Pope Benedict XVI asks local Church leaders to convey his heartfelt condolences to those affected by this crime and to their families.
He reaffirms his spiritual closeness to the Christian communities of Iraq and renews his appeal to all men and women of good will to hold steadfast to the ways of peace and to repudiate all acts of violence which have caused so much suffering.
The Holy Father offers fervent prayers for the eternal repose of the victims and invokes Almighty God’s abundant gifts of strength and consolation upon those who are injured and mourning.
http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=377286



AFRICA
ZAMBIA: BISHOP CAUTIONS PARTIES TO SUPPORT FAMILY VALUES

All Africa report: SOME church and civil society organisation have condemned donors and political parties that want to champion the exclusion of the Christian Nation clause in the Constitution opting for a secular state that will promote homosexuality and gay rights.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia executive director Bishop Paul Mususu said it would be wrong for political parties and non governmental organisations to promote values that were alien to Zambian society for the sake of money.
Bishop Mususu was reacting to reports that some donors were funding some opposition political parties to support a secular State that would promote homosexuality.
"It is not proper for us to get rid of what we have cherished over the years. We shall be sinking so low if we allow things like homosexuality and pornography in the name of freedom of expression," Bishop Mususu said.
He said Zambia should retain the Christian nation clause in the new constitution but it should not be included as a legal requirement.
"We should maintain the clause in our preamble so that we do not exclude other religions," he said.He said it would be wrong for organisations to champion immorality just because donors are funding them.
"In fact, civil society organisations should promote our culture as a country and strengthen our values. We must not support wrong things just because we are getting a dollar or people are supporting our project," he said.
And the Independent Churches of Zambia board Chairperson Reverend David Masupa said political parties that would receive the funds to promote the Secular state would be de-campaigning themselves.
"There is no way the opposition political parties will be using the secular clause to campaign. Christians are in the majority and they will just be de-campaigning themselves," he said.
Rev Masupa said the National Constitutional Conference unanimously adopted the Christian nation clause and that it would be wrong for some organisation to reverse the decision.
He said it is commonplace for countries to adopt a religion in the constitution.
He said Zambia is predominately a Christian nation.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005050727.html


AMERICA
USA: FR. CORAPI WARNS LUKEWARM CATHOLICS

LifeSiteNews.com report - Speaking to a crowd of more than 7,000 faithful during an intense day-long event in St. Louis on Saturday, renowned Catholic preacher Fr. John Corapi warned, "The day for fence-sitting is over; the days to be a lukewarm Catholic are rapidly coming to an end."

In a wide-ranging discourse, sponsored by the international Catholic businessmen's organization Legatus, Corapi called Christians to task for dropping the ball and losing the culture to "neo-pagan" elements.
"The unraveling of Christianity has led to the unraveling of the world," he explained. "We are at war [for souls], so we don't have the luxury to sit on our complacent rear ends."
Urging attendees to examine the current political climate, he said that "socialism is not in conformity with biblical teaching. Socialism doesn't profit the poor, but only brings poverty and misery. Socialism is about the seizure of power. It only brings everyone down to the lowest common denominator."
In his final segment, Fr. Corapi said that in all of his years as a priest, he's never seen such fear in people. "There's a lot of anxiety, a lack of trust in government, elected and appointed officials. There's a crisis of trust," he said. Then quoting from the Gospels of Mark and Luke, he advised "fear is useless; what is needed is trust."
Fr. Corapi's biography on his website states that his life experiences went "From small town boy to the Vietnam era US Army, from successful businessman in Las Vegas and Hollywood to drug addicted and homeless, to religious life and ordination to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II, to a life as a preacher of the Gospel who has reached millions." Corapi regularly appears on the EWTN television network.
Patrick Novecosky is Legatus Magazine's editor.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/may/10050414.html



ASIA
JAPAN: MGRS TAKAMI & MISUE ASK WORLD LEADERS TO STOP WEAPONS AT UN

Asia News report: Mgrs Joseph Mitsuaki Takami and Joseph Atsumi Misue attend international review conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. At the assembly, they ask world leaders to stop the nuclear madness. The ‘Bombed Mary’ statue, which accompanied them, is on display in New York’s Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

New York (AsiaNews) – Archbishop Joseph Mitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki and Bishop Joseph Atsumi Misue of Hiroshima appealed to world leader to realise the madness of atomic weapons. They did so by bringing the story of the one nation that experienced an atomic attack. Both clergymen travelled to New York for the 2010 review conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which opened on Monday with a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and which will close on 28 May. Both of them read a communiqué to the assembly, following the address by the permanent representative of the Holy See to the United Nations, Mgr Celestino Migliore. In it, they urged world leaders to “take a courageous step toward the total abolition of nuclear weapons”.
They went further, stating, “We as the bishops of the Catholic Church of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, demand that the president of the United States, the Japanese government and the leaders of other countries make utmost efforts to abolish nuclear weapons.”
On 9 August 1945, US B-29 Superfortress bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, the second of its kind, bringing to an end the Second World War. Some 75,000 people died.
Archbishop Joseph Mitsuaki Takami was an unborn child in his mother's womb on that fateful day. “How sad and foolish it is to abuse the progress that humanity has made in the fields of science and technology in order to destroy lives as massively and swiftly as possible,” he said.
For the archbishop, the United States alone cannot be blamed for the tragic consequences of the bomb even if that country was responsible for dropping it. Every nation that loved or loves war, including Japan, is responsible. This is why, as it is thinks about the past, the world should advance together towards the future, abolish atomic weapons and build a world without wars.
The two prelates noted that the world has 20,000 nuclear weapons. That number must be reduced if we want to build a bomb-free world. Both men hope that the two international meetings held in April and May can lead world leaders to an agreement. Individual interests must be transcended in favour of a united world.
The “bombed Mary”, the partially destroyed statue of the Virgin Mary that was located by the main altar in Nagasaki cathedral, came with the two bishops. Made in Italy in 1930s, it was damaged when Urakami Cathedral was destroyed by the A-bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945.
For the 65th anniversary of that event, there is no more appropriate symbol that can underscore the importance of non-violence, Archbishop Takami said. In recent days, thousands of faithful have prayed before what is left of the two-metre statue in New York City’s Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Hiroshima-and-Nagasaki-bishops-tell-UN,-no-more-atomic-bombs-18321.html

EUROPE:
NEW VIDEO ENCOURAGES PRAYING FOR PRIESTS

CNA report: An elderly priest enters a chapel with a Rosary in hand as a young woman is heard speaking about the incredible sacrifice of priests who give their lives to others. Thus begins May Feelings III, the latest chapter in a Youtube video series that encourages the Rosary during May, the month of Mary.

After the success of May Feelings I and II, the team from Belomasan Films now presents May Feelings III, which is an expression of gratitude and solidarity towards priests.
In an interview with CNA, the creators of these videos explained that the idea for the project began in 2007 in Madrid. After hearing a song by Elvis Presley titled, “The Miracle of the Rosary,” they wondered why a Protestant would have recorded a song dedicated to Mary.
“If Elvis as a Protestant paid homage to the Virgin Mary, we had to do something. That was the reason behind the idea to do something dedicated to the Virgin Mary. After thinking and thinking we realized there were only four days until the month of May, so knowing that the Virgin Mary loves it when the Rosary is prayed, we thought that a video on the Rosary would be something that would please her.”
The May Feelings team said the reaction to the videos has been surprising, with EWTN even broadcasting them on its programs: “Life on the Rock” and “Nuestra Fe en Vivo.”
“It would be bold on our part to try and quantify the importance of the Rosary,” they said. “In fact we think its importance is unquantifiable because of its infinite value. That is, the Virgin Mary expressly told us at Fatima to pray the Rosary.”
They continued, “the fact that the Mother of God has spoken about the praying of a particular prayer seems to us to be something to consider, don’t you think?” they asked.
As far as young people are concerned, the creators said, “We think it is something essential. At a time in which it seems young people are condemned to live in a world immersed in a crisis of values, in a dictatorship of relativism, more than ever we need a vision that puts God at the center of things.”
“As the great saints say, the best way to get to Jesus is through Mary. If this is true, doesn’t the recitation of the Holy Rosary acquire an even greater importance?”
The creators of May Feelings III said the purpose of the video is two-fold. “On the one hand, it is to confirm the marvelous reality of the existence of thousands and thousands of priests in the world who give their lives for the Church, especially at a time when society and the media seem to be continuously searching and searching for mistakes and loose ends. In this sense, we don’t want to get involved in the debate, we just want to put out a positive and optimistic message.”
On the other hand, they said, “We wanted to create a message aimed directly at priests to tell them, ‘Thank you,’ thank you for the work you do. We know that times are difficult right now but we want you to know that just as you do not leave us alone, we will not do so either. We believe the Church is precisely that, a communion of persons united in Christ, and now more than ever we must show that union, and what better way than doing so through prayer, with the intercession of the Virgin Mary through the recitation of the Holy Rosary.”
The video can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_7_VrAxu14
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/youtube_video_encourages_praying_the_rosary_for_priests/


AUSTRALIA
SINGING PRIEST IS VERY POPULAR ON YOUTUBE

Cath News report: Queensland priest Father Paul Kelly has become a YouTube sensation with songs he has written, sung and filmed.

Confessing that as a boy he was torn between being "either a priest or a sound technician", Fr Kelly, the parish priest of St Mary's in Maryborough, said he was chuffed to have found an outlet for combining his passions, according to a Courier Mail report.
"I've always been interested in sound, performance and music," he said. "I love rhythm and melody in songs and I love singing.
"I do sing in the church but nobody has actually used the hymn that I wrote yet (Faith, Hope, Love), so I don't know if it's actually too hard or not. It's based on a biblical text I set to music. But the parishioners are very supportive."
"I started writing music just as an amateur interest as audio plays," he said. "I was interested in film but couldn't afford a film camera so I just got things on to audio tape and recorded plays and edited them, but then they needed theme tunes so I had to write my own because of copyright."
So far Fr Kelly has uploaded his hymn as well as other songs called Quiet Time, Sleepy Pandas and City Living, which he recorded in Shanghai, Paris, London and Florence while on sabbatical three years ago.
Sometimes he enlisted help but most times he just held a camera in front of his face. "It was embarrassing with people staring while you're miming, but I just thought, 'I'm going to do this'," he said.
He writes his music by ear, humming the tune and words into a recorder before sending it off to an arranger. "To create a song that wasn't there is an amazing feeling," he said.
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21119



TODAY´S SAINT

St. Godehard of Hildesheim

BISHOP
Feast: May 4
Information: Feast Day: May 4
Born: 960, Reichersdorf, Bavaria
Died: May 4, 1038
Canonized: 1131, Rheims by Innocent II
Patron of: ravelling merchants; invoked against fever, dropsy, childhood sicknesses, hailstones, the pain of childbirth, and gout; invoked by those in peril of the sea
He was a native of Bavaria, and abbot of Altaich, in that country, and reformed likewise the abbeys of Hersfeld, in Hesse, of Tergensee, in the diocese of Frisinguen, and of Chremsmunster, in that of Passaw. In 1021, the episcopal chair of Hildesheim falling vacant by the death of St. Bernward, St. Godard was compelled by St. Henry to take upon him that pastoral charge. The relief of the poor, both spiritual and temporal, was everywhere the first object of his attention. He died on the 4th of May, 1038, and was canonized by Innocent II in 1131. Many places in Germany acknowledge him patron, and several bear his name. See his life by Wolfhert, his disciple, in Henschenius, p. 501, and in Mabillon: and more at large, with long histories of miracles, among the writers of the history of the most illustrious house of Brunswick-Hanover, t. 2, p. 483. Several very devout epistles of St. Godard, or Godehard, are given us by Dom. Pez, in his Codex Diplomatico-Historico-Epistolaris, p. 133, &c.
SOURCE http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/G/stgodehardofhildesheim.asp

TODAY´S GOSPEL

John 14: 27 - 31

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

28 You heard me say to you, `I go away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.

29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe.

30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me;

31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go hence.

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: MON. MAY 3, 2010










CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: MON. MAY 3, 2010: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: POPE: TELEGRAM FOR THE DEATH OF CARDINAL LUIGI POGGI
AFRICA: SUDAN: CHURCH MAKES PREPARATIONS FOR YOUTH REFERENDUM-
AMERICA: MEXICO: BISHOP´S COMMITTEE EMPHASIZES PROTECTION OF LIFE-
ASIA: INDONESIA- GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES CATHEDRAL AS PROTECTED BUILDING-
AUSTRALIA: CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCES TO MEET IN SYDNEY-
EUROPE: ENGLAND: GREATNESS OF CATHOLIC WRITERS-

VATICAN
POPE: TELEGRAM FOR THE DEATH OF CARDINAL LUIGI POGGI

VATICAN CITY, 4 MAY 2010 (VIS REPORT) - The Pope has sent a telegram of condolence for the death of Cardinal Luigi Poggi, archivist and librarian emeritus of Holy Roman Church. The cardinal died in Rome this morning at the age of 92.
In the telegram, addressed to the late cardinal's brother and sister, the Holy Father recalls his "many years of solicitous collaboration with the Holy See, especially as nuncio in various countries, then as archivist and librarian of Holy Roman Church, always and everywhere giving a much-appreciated example of fervent priestly zeal and faithfulness to the Gospel".
At the altar of the Cathedra in the Vatican Basilica at 5.30 p.m. on Friday 7 May Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside at the funeral Mass with other members of the college.
At the end of the ceremony, the Pope will address those present and administer the rites of "Ultima Commendatio" and of "Valedictio".
TGR/ VIS 20100504 (170)
IMAGE SOURCE http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/index.asp

POPE CONGRATULATES RABBI EMERITUS ELIO TOAFF
VATICAN CITY, 4 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has sent a message of congratulation to Elio Toaff, former rabbi of Rome, for his ninety-fifth birthday, which fell yesterday 3 May. The Message was read out by Msgr. Georg Gaenswein, personal secretary of the Pope, in the course of the inaugural ceremony of the Elio Toaff Foundation for Hebrew Culture.
"I think", the Holy Father writes, "using the expressions of the Psalm, how the Lord restored your soul, leading you along the right path, even through the darkest valley, at the time of the persecution and extermination of the Jewish People. The Lord, in His mysterious plans, wished you to have a unique experience of His salvation, becoming a sign of hope for the rebirth of many of your brothers and sisters.
"I am particularly happy to recall", the Pope adds, "your commitment to promoting fraternal relations between Catholics and Jews, and the sincere friendship that bound you to my venerated predecessor Pope John Paul II".MESS/ VIS 20100504 (180)


THIRD MEETING OF COUNCIL FOR MIDDLE EAST SYNOD
VATICAN CITY, 4 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The pre-synodal council of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East met in Rome from 23 to 24 April, according to a communique released yesterday.
The meeting was attended by: His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon; Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples; Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; His Beatitude Antonios Naguib, patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, Egypt; His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, Lebanon; His Beatitude Gregoire III Laham B.S., patriarch of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites, Syria; His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, Lebanon; His Beatitude Fouad Twal, patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins; Archbishop Ramzi Garmou of Tehran of the Chaldeans and president of the Iranian Episcopal Conference, and Bishop Luigi Padovese O.F.M. Cap., apostolic vicar of Anatolia, Turkey. His Beatitude Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Iraq, was unable to participate.
Following a greeting and introductory talk by Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, the work focused on the reports of the individual members concerning the situation of the Church in the social and political context of the Middle East, and especially on the preparation of the "Instrumentum laboris", the working document of the Special Assembly which is due to take place from 10 to 24 October on the theme: "The Catholic Church in the Middle East. Communion and Witness. Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul".
"The Special Assembly for the Middle East has a dual objective", reads the communique: "confirming and strengthening Christians in their identity through the Word of God and the Sacraments, and fomenting ecclesial communion between the particular Churches in order to enable them to offer authentic Christian witness in their contacts with other Churches and ecclesial communities. Hence the urgent need for a convinced ecumenical commitment 'that they may be one, that the world may believe'.
"The forthcoming Synod will also be a precious opportunity to examine the religious and social situation, in order to give Christians a clear sense of being active witnesses of Christ in the context of a Muslim-majority society. This will involve profound reflection on the current situation, a situation rendered difficult by conflicts and instability which cause the exodus of people, including no small number of Christians".
SE/ VIS 20100504 (450)


THIRTY SWISS GUARD RECRUITS TO BE SWORN IN ON THURSDAY
VATICAN CITY, 4 MAY 2010 (VIS) - In the San Damaso Courtyard of the Vatican Apostolic Palace at 5 p.m. on Thursday 6 May, thirty new recruits will be sworn in as members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard in the presence of members of the Roman Curia, diplomatic representatives, and civil and religious authorities from Switzerland. William Kloter, the new major of the Swiss Guard, will also be taking the oath.
The day will start at 7.30 a.m. with Mass for the Swiss Guards, their families and friends celebrated by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. in St. Peter's Basilica. At 8.30 a.m. Daniel Rudolf Anrig, commander of the Swiss Guard, will place a laurel wreath at the monument in the courtyard of the Swiss Guard barracks commemorating the 147 members of the corps who lost their lives protecting Pope Clement VII from the onslaught of the troops of Emperor Charles V during the Sack of Rome on 6 May 1527. Archbishop Fernando Filoni, substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, will then confer military decorations on certain members of the Guard.
Among those present at this year's swearing-in ceremony will be Doris Leuthard, president of the Swiss Confederation, and Peter Stutz, chief-of-staff, who will represent the Swiss army. Also participating as guest of honour will be the council of the Canton of San Gallen. The town band of the city of Uzwil will play a concert in the courtyard of the barracks on 7 May.
The swearing-in ceremony is celebrated every year on 6 May to commemorate the death of the 147 Swiss Guards who died during the Sack of Rome.GSP/ VIS 20100504 (290)


OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 4 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed as members of the Academic Council of the Holy See's Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Universities and Ecclesiastical Faculties (AVEPRO): Fr. Slwomir Nowosad, vice-rector for research and international relations, and professor of moral theology at the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland; John L. Davies, professor emeritus of the Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, England; Peter Jonkers, professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of Tilburg, Netherlands; Donald McQuillan, former director of the Irish Universities Quality Board, and Emanuela Stefani, director of the Conference of Italian University Rectors. On Saturday 1 May it was made public that the Holy Father elevated the apostolic administration of Comores (area 2,033, population 800,000, Catholics 6,000, priests 6, religious 14) to the rank of apostolic vicariate, with the new name of Archipelago of the Comores and the same territorial configuration as before. He appointed Fr. Charles Mahuza Yava S.D.S., provincial superior of the Salvatorian province of Africa, as the first apostolic vicar of the new vicariate. The bishop-elect was born in Sandoa, Democratic Republic of Congo in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1993.


IN MEMORIAM
VATICAN CITY, 4 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:
- Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer O.S.B., president emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, on 30 April at the age of 98.
- Cardinal Tomas Spidlik S.J. on 6 April at the age of 90.
- Archbishop William Donald Borders, emeritus of Baltimore, U.S.A., on 19 April at the age of 96.
- Bishop Edmund Joseph Fitzgibbon S.P.S., emeritus of Warri, Nigeria, on 17 April at the age of 85.
- Bishop Norman Francis McFarland, emeritus of Orange in California, U.S.A., on 16 April at the age of 88.
 

 
AFRICA
SUDAN: CHURCH MAKES PREPARATIONS FOR YOUTH REFERENDUM

All Africa report. The Catholic Church in Sudan is engaging in a massive civic education exercise targeting the youth ahead of the country's 2011 referendum, newly appointed executive secretary for the social communication has said.

speaking during the ongoing AMECEA youth workshop in Tanzania Joseph Kadidol said that in return these youth "are supposed to enlighten other people on how to vote in the referendum."
The head of social communication and media also cited challenges faced by especially catholic media in the Muslim dominated region of the country.
"There is no radio station in Northern Sudan because of political differences." He said that although they have applied for a license to establish a radio station in the area, nothing has been forthcoming.
"Since 2000 to 2010 the Sudanese Catholic Bishop's conference (SCBC) has not been having an executive secretary because the office was burnt in 2002 and they lost everything," added Kadidol.
Just after the announcement of the results of the just concluded elections that saw President Omar Al- Bashir return to power, chaos erupted in Southern Sudan claiming lives.
The spokesman for Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) is denying reports that the party has agreed to accept results of the general elections.
Most Southern Sudanese feel that the elections were influenced and therefore were not fair. To avoid a repeat of the bloodshed the Catholic Church is encouraging youth to embrace peace and reconciliation efforts before the referendum.
He also said that during elections one of the most outspoken Catholic Radio Bakhita was shut down by government because they were reporting the truth about its injustice actions.
Currently Sudan has seven Catholic radio stations.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005050142.html

AMERICA
MEXICO: BISHOP´S COMMITTEE EMPHASIZES PROTECTION OF LIFE

CNA report: The Mexican Bishops’ Committee on the Family, Youth and the Laity, called on Mexicans this
week “to commit themselves before God” to protecting the “life and dignity of children, and their integrity in the family, the Church and society.”

The statement, signed by Bishop Francisco Chavolla Ramos, was released for Children's Day. The message recalled the value that the Gospel gives to children. “The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, was very severe with those who harm a child, no matter who they are.”
Moreover, the statement indicated, “The Church does not forget that Christ made children the examples and teachers of simplicity, which opens the gates of the Kingdom of God for us.” For this reason, “He commanded us adults to treat them with special importance, respecting in each child the innocence that allows them to contemplate the very Face of God.”
“We discover that the child, all children, are Good News and must embraced, with a thankful heart, by both parents and those of us who have the mission of supporting them.” The statement added that they must be cared for and educated “in the love of a family.”
Bishop Chavolla called for a conversion of heart so that by transforming the family, the Church and society, all Mexican children would be guaranteed the care of which God himself is the guarantor and custodian.
“All of us who form the Catholic Church, as disciples and missionaries, will always fight to promote them, support them and offer them comprehensive education that will prepare them for a decent, full and happy life,” the bishop concluded.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mexican_bishops_emphasize_the_dignity_of_chidren/

ASIA
INDONESIA- GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES CATHEDRAL AS PROTECTED BUILDING

UCAN report– The national government has recognized a Catholic cathedral in western Indonesia as a protected building.

“This cathedral church is a historical landmark symbolizing the growth of the Catholic population on Bangka Island,” Pangkalpinang mayor Zulkarnain Karim told about 1,500 Catholics at a May 2 reception in St. Joseph Cathedral Church’s compound.
The reception declaring protected status was organized to coincide with celebrations marking the 76th anniversary of the cathedral church in Pangkalpinang, capital of Bangka-Belitung province. The government decree declaring the cathedral a protected building took place on Jan. 8.
“In this cathedral, the good values of life have poured in and grown. That is why it has become a significant historic site,” said Karim, a Muslim.
He also recalled that the cathedral produced the first native diocesan priest in Indonesia, Father Mario John Boen, who was ordained in 1935.
In addition, the cathedral also initiated the establishment of the first of several schools on the island.
“This cathedral church has become a place where Catholics from different ethnic backgrounds have grown in their faith. It has united them and brought forth a good change in their lives for a better future,” Karim said.
Father Petrus Sunarto, the cathedral parish priest, told UCA News that as a protected building, the cathedral is officially recognized as having special historical or architectural interest and is therefore protected from demolition or alteration. “If renovation must be done, it should not change the original architecture,” he said. “But we can introduce something like air conditioning or paint the walls,” he added.
St. Joseph Cathedral Church was established on March 19, 1934, but the celebration was annually observed on May 1, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. According to 2008 statistics, the cathedral parish has 45,477 Catholics out of a population of 2.4 million people.
http://www.ucanews.com/2010/05/05/%e2%80%98protected%e2%80%99-cathedral-a-beacon-for-catholics


AUSTRALIA
CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCES TO MEET IN SYDNEY

Cath News report: The Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania will meet in Sydney from May 10-14, gathering prelates from more than a dozen countries around the region.

The event, held once every four years in different countries, will be attended by bishops from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and other countries in the Pacific.
They include the Mariana Islands, Guam, Noumea, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga and Tahiti, with representation from East Timor and the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference.
"The current Executive has worked over the past four years to ensure that this 2010 Sydney meeting, of the Pastors of the Local Churches of Oceania, will further progress our communion, our collaboration and our mutual understanding of the joys, hopes, grief and anguish through which we work in making Jesus Christ better known and loved among the peoples of Oceania, as we walk his way, tell his truth and live his life," said President of the FCBCO Bishop Peter Ingham in a statement.
"The Church in Oceania is diverse and far-reaching, with different challenges in each of its countries. We come together for this Assembly to learn from and support one another as bishops and share the many gifts of our dioceses," he said.
The opening concelebrated Mass at St Mary's Cathedral will be led by Cardinal George Pell and Bishop Peter Ingham will preach. Sessions of the Assembly will be held at Sancta Sophia College at the University of Sydney, the statement said.
Speakers from a number of religious congregations and orders have been invited to give keynote presentations and conduct workshops during the event.
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21122


EUROPE
ENGLAND: GREATNESS OF CATHOLIC WRITERS

Catholic Herald report. Roy Peachey says it is time to expand the canon of great Catholic writers to include those born outside the western world

Hilaire Belloc and G K Chesterton
CS Lewis once wrote: “Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristics of our own period. And that means the old books.” 
Useful as Lewis’s advice undoubtedly is, his assumption that, “all contemporary writers share to some extent the contemporary outlook” takes us only so far. Even in the age of the global village, authors from different cultures and continents simply do not think or write in the same way as each other. They may share something of the same outlook but the differences are often more interesting.
We must therefore extend C S Lewis’s argument. Since we all need books to correct the characteristics of our own period, we should read not just old books but books from around the world. We might like to think that, as Catholics, we are particularly aware of the need for catholicity but, in truth, we are as likely as anyone else to become parochial the moment we step inside a bookshop.
Most English language studies of the Catholic novel – and, I would guess, most readers – tend to focus on a very small group of western writers. More often than not that group is based around either Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene or G K Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc and J R R Tolkien. Some critics and readers, it is true, are more daring in considering Bernanos, Mauriac and Undset – after all, it’s hard to ignore two Nobel prize winners entirely – while others read Flannery O’Connor and Rumer Godden. More recent writers like Michael O’Brien, J F Powers and Piers Paul Read may even get a look in.
But very rarely will you see any mention of writers from outside Europe or North America. The only exception is Shusaku Endo, and one suspects that this was largely because he received Graham Greene’s imprimatur. It is perhaps churlish to pick on any one publication as an example of this parochialism but the CTS booklet on 100 Books You Really Should Read is both widely available and fairly representative in this regard. Divided into separate sections on biography, fiction, history, spiritual reading, and theology, teaching and faith, it makes many valuable recommendations and is certainly worth dipping into.
Its lack of geographical range is quite striking. Reading this booklet, it would be easy to believe that the Catholic Church did not extend beyond the confines of Europe or North America. To put it another way, it would be easy to think that the Catholic Church were not catholic at all.
Of the 25 recommended works of fiction, for example, only two (by the Australian novelist Morris West) break the North American and European stranglehold. Not one novel from Asia, Africa, South or Central America is recommended.
Nor do the other sections remedy the booklet’s imbalance: most of the world simply doesn’t feature in the list of recommendations. And yet Catholic authors from all around the globe have produced a wonderful array of writings which may help us to escape what C S Lewis calls the “great mass of common assumptions” that we share with most writers from the Anglophone world.
To do justice to the Catholic Truth Society, whose booklets usually set a very high standard, their authors faced a number of practical difficulties in drawing up their list of recommendations.
A lack of translations into English was perhaps the main problem. Many excellent Catholic novelists, like the Argentinian Manuel Gálvez for instance, still remain to be translated, often, in part, because of their Catholicism. As one critic has pointed out, Gálvez was condemned as “a literary, ideological, conservative, religious dinosaur” at the time of his death in 1962 and only now is his literary reputation being re-evaluated. Other authors have not even got as far as a re-evaluation. The great Chinese writer and critic Su Xuelin found herself effectively marginalised as a woman, an anti-Communist and a Catholic after the Communist victory in 1949. After working for CTS in Hong Kong she moved into exile in Taiwan where she built up a reputation as a formidable scholar.
But, even today her novels – like Ji Xin, a semi-autobiographical account of a young Chinese woman’s conversion to Catholicism – remain out of print and untranslated.
Even when authors do manage to find translators, their more explicitly Catholic works are often neglected. Japan’s leading Catholic novelist, Sono Ayako, has had two of her novels translated into English but her non-fiction work about Maximilian Kolbe can still be read only in Japanese, despite its being described as a “minor classic” by the renowned critic and translator Philip Gabriel.
And so we could go on. Catholics from around the world languish in untranslated neglect because they are neither fashionable enough nor heretical enough to break into the publishing mainstream. But this is not the whole story: a lack of translations does not entirely explain the CTS booklet’s blindspots. There are plenty of Catholic writers from Japan to Trinidad, from Indonesia to Nigeria, whose books have either been translated or were written in English in the first place.
One of the glories of the Catholic Church is its catholicity and we can only benefit from reading widely among our co-religionists, if only because, as C S Lewis put it in that same essay with which we started: “Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction.”
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/f0000563.shtml


TODAY´S SAINTS

St. Philip

APOSTLE
Feast: May 3
Information: Feast Day: May 3
Born: Bethsaida, Palestine
Died: 80 at Hierapolis, Phrygia
Patron of: hatters; pastry chefs
St. Philip was of Bethsaida, in Galilee, and called by our Saviour to follow him the day after St. Peter and St. Andrew. He was at that time a married man, and had several daughters; but his being engaged in the married state hindered him not, as St. Chrysostom observes, from meditating continually on the law and the prophets, which disposed him for the important discovery of the Messias in the person of Jesus Christ, in obedience to whose command he forsook all to follow him, and became thenceforth the inseparable companion of his ministry and labors. Philip had no sooner discovered the Messias, than he was desirous to make his friend Nathanael a sharer in his happiness, saying to him: , that is, the Messias; Nathanael was not so ready to give his assent to this assertion of his friend, by reason that the supposed Messias was reported to be of Nazareth. Philip therefore desired him himself to Jesus ; not doubting but, upon his personal acquaintance with the Son of God, he would be as much convinced of the truth as he was himself. Nathanael complied, and Jesus, seeing him approach, said, within his hearing: Nathanael asked him, how he came to know him: Jesus repined: Nathanael, as two holy fathers explain the matter, calling to mind that the closeness of his retirement on that occasion was such, that no human creature could see him, owned him hereupon for the , and the , or, in other words, the Messiah, foretold by Moses and the prophets. The marriage at Cana of Galilee happening three days after, to which Jesus and his disciples were invited, St. Philip was present at it with the rest. The year following, when our Lord formed the college of apostles, Philip was appointed one of that number, and. from the several passages of the gospel, he appears to have been particularly dear to his divine Master. Thus, when Jesus was about to feed five thousand persons, who had followed him into the wilderness, for the greater evidence of the miracle, and for the trial of this apostle's faith, Jesus proposed to him the difficulty of feeding the multitudes in that desolate place. And a little before our Saviour's passion, certain Gentiles, desirous to see Christ, made their first address to Philip, and by him and St. Andrew obtained that favor. Our Saviour, in the discourse he made to his disciples immediately after his last supper, having promised them a more clear and perfect knowledge of his heavenly Father than they had had hitherto, St. Philip cried out, with a holy eagerness and impatience: From which words our Saviour took occasion to inculcate afresh a steady belief of his divinity, and perfect equality with the Father, saying: , (teaching you who I am both by my words and actions,) (If you beheld me with the eyes of faith such as I really am, in seeing me you would see the Father also, because)
After our Lord's ascension the gospel was to be preached to the whole world by a few persons, who had been eye-witnesses of his miracles, and were enabled, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to confirm their testimony concerning him by doing the like wonderful works themselves. That this might be accomplished, it was necessary that the disciples should quickly disperse themselves into all parts of the world. St. Philip accordingly preached the gospel in the two Phrygias, as Theodoret and Eusebius assure us from undoubted monuments. St. Polycarp, who was only converted in the year 80, enjoyed his conversation for some time, consequently St. Philip must have lived to a very advanced age. It appears, from a passage of Polyerates, quoted by Eusebius, that he was buried at Hierapolis, in Phrygia, which city was indebted to his relies for its preservation by continual miracles, as is averred by the author of the sermon on the twelve apostles, attributed to St. Chrysostom. An arm of St. Philip was brought from Constantinople to Florence, in 1204, whereof we have an authentic history in the Bollandists. The Orientals keep his festival on the 14th of November; the Latins on the 1st of May, with St. James. His body is said to be in the church of SS. Philip and James, in Rome, which was dedicated to God under their name, in 560. The emperor Theodosius, in a vision, received from St. John the Evangelist, and St. Philip, the assurance of victory over the tyrant Eugenius, the morning before the battle, in 394, as Theodoret relates.
From St. Philip we must particularly learn an ardent love of God, and desire to see the Father. He asked only this favor, because this was his only desire. Is it ours? Do we feel it so perfect as to extinguish all inordinate earthly affections and desires in our breasts? Do we employ the proper means to attain to this happy disposition? To obtain it, let us employ the succor of this apostle's prayers, and by disengaging our hearts from corruption and vanity, become, in desires and affections, citizens of heaven. The pilgrim soul sees herself a stranger here on earth, and discovers nothing in this desert place of her banishment hut an abyss of vanity, and subjects of compunction, grief, and fears. On the other side, looking up to God, she contemplates the magnificence and splendor of his kingdom, which will have no end; its peace, security, sanctity without stain, delights without sorrow, unchangeable and incomprehensible joys; and she cries out in a holy transport: "O joy surpassing all joys, and without which there is no true joy, when shall I possess you? O, sovereign good, discover to me some ray of thy beauty and of thy glory; may my heart be set on flame by thy love, and my soul languish and wade with desire to be united to thee, to behold thee face to face, to sing thy praises night and day, to drink of the plenty of thy house, and of the torrent of thy delights, to be forever confirmed in thy love, and in some measure transformed into thee!" Such a soul seeks to hide herself from the eyes of men, to live unknown to the world; and, in retirement and repose, to apply herself to prayer, all her thoughts being taken up in contemplating the glorious things which are said of the blessed city of her God. All worldly enjoyments and distractions are insupportable to her, and she finds no comfort in this place of banishment but in singing the praises of her God, in adoring and in doing always his will, and in the sweet sighs and tears with which she seeks him, and begs him to reign perfectly in her affections by his grace and love, and to draw her speedily to himself out of this Babylon, in which every object increases her affliction, and inflames her desire, seeming to say to her:
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stphilip.asp

St. James the Lesser
APOSTLE
Feast: May 3
Information: Feast Day: May 3
Patron of: apothecaries; druggists; dying people; fullers; hatmakers; hatters; milliners; pharmacists
St. James, to distinguish him from the other apostle of the same name, the son of Zebedee, was called the Less; which appellation is supposed to have taken its rise, either from his having been called later to the apostleship than the former, or from the lowness of his stature, or from his youth. He is also known by the title of James the Just, a denomination all agree, with Hegesippus and St. Clement of Alexandria, to have been given on account of his eminent sanctity. He was the son of Alpheus and Mary, the sister of the Blessed Virgin and seems to have been born some years before our Lord. Jesus came with his brethren, and probably St. James among the rest, to settle in Capharnaum, at the beginning of his ministry. James and his brother Jude were called to the apostleship in the second year of Christ's preaching, soon after the Pasch, in the year 31. He was favored with an extraordinary apparition of his Master after his resurrection. Clement of Alexandria says, that Christ being risen from the dead, communicated the gift of science to SS. James the Just, John, and Peter, and that they imparted it to the other apostles. We are told by SS. Jerome and Epiphanius, that our Lord, at his ascension, recommended his church of Jerusalem to St. James; in consequence whereof the apostles, before their dispersion, constituted him bishop of that city. It was probably for a mark of his episcopal authority, and as an ensign of his dignity, that he wore on his head a lamina, or plate of gold, as is recounted by St. Epiphanius. Polycrates, quoted by Eusebius, testifies, that St. John did the same: others relate the like of St. Mark. It was probably done in imitation of the Jewish high-priest.St. James governed that church in perpetual dangers, from the fury of the people and their violent persecutions; but his singular virtue procured him the veneration of the Jews themselves. As to his sanctity, Eusebius and St. Jerome give from Hegesippus the following account concerning him: "He was always a virgin, and was a Nazarite, or one consecrated to God. In consequence of which he was never shaved, never cut his hair, never drank any wine or other strong liquor; moreover, he never used any bath, or oil to anoint his limbs, and never ate of any living creature except when of precept, as the paschal lamb: he never wore sandals, never used any other clothes than one single linen garment. He prostrated so much in prayer, that the skin of his knees and forehead was hardened like to camels' hoofs." St. Epiphanius says, that, in a great drought, on stretching out his arms to heaven, he, by his prayers, instantly obtained rain. His eminent sanctity made even the Jews style him the just man: and Origen observes, that Josephus himself gives him that epithet, though it is not to be found now in Josephus' works. The same reverence for his person procured him the privilege of entering at pleasure into the Sanctum or Holy place, namely, that part of the temple where none but the priests were allowed by the law to enter. St. Jerome adds, that the Jews strove, out of respect, who should touch the hem of his garment. In the year 51, he assisted at the council of the apostles, held at Jerusalem, about the observance of circumcision, and the other legal ceremonies of the law of Moses. Here, after having confirmed what St. Peter said, he devised the sentence which the apostles drew up on that occasion. This apostle being bishop of a church, which then chiefly consisted of Jewish converts, tolerated the use of the legal ceremonies, and, together with others, advised St. Paul to purify himself and offer sacrifice. He is the author of a canonical epistle which he wrote in Greek. It is at the head of those called , or universal, because addressed not to any one particular church, but to the whole body of the converted Jews dispersed throughout the then known world. It was penned some time after those of St. Paul to the Galatians, in 55, and to the Romans in 58. It could not, therefore, be written before the year 59, fourteen years after the death of St. James the greater. The author's view in this epistle is to refute the false teachers, who, abusing certain expressions in St. Paul's writings, pretended that faith alone was sufficient to justification without good works: whereas, without these, he declares our faith is dead. He adds excellent precepts of a holy life, and exhorts the faithful not to neglect the sacrament of extreme unction in sickness.
The oriental liturgy or mass, which bears the name of this apostle, is mentioned by Proclus, patriarch of Constantinople, and by the council in Trullo, and is of venerable antiquity. St. Basil, indeed, testifies, that the words of the sacred invocation in the consecration of the bread and of the cup, were not committed to writing, but learned and preserved by tradition down to the fourth century, which was done on a motive of respect and veneration: but other parts of the liturgy were written. Perhaps St. James gave only general directions about this liturgy, upon whose plan it was afterwards drawn up or enlarged. His singular learning in sacred matters is extolled by St. Clement of Alexandria, and St. Jerome.The Jews, being exasperated at the disappointment of their malicious designs against St. Paul, by his appeal to Caesar, to whom he was sent by Festus, in the year 60, were resolved to revenge it on St. James. That governor, dying before the arrival of his successor, Albinus, this vacancy gave them an opportunity of acting more arbitrarily than otherwise they durst have done. Wherefore, during this interval, Ananus, the high-priest, son of the famous Annas mentioned in the gospels, having assembled the Sanhedrim, or great council of the Jews, summoned St. James and others before it. Josephus, the Jewish historian, says, that St. James was accused of violating the laws, and delivered to the people to be stoned to death. And Hegesippus adds, that they carried him up to the battlements of the temple, and would have compelled him from thence to make a public renunciation of his faith in Christ, with this further view, thereby to undeceive, as they termed it, those among the people who had embraced Christianity. But St. James took that opportunity to declare his belief in Jesus Christ, after the most solemn and public manner. For he cried out aloud from the battlements, in the hearing of a great multitude, which was then at Jerusalem on account of the Passover, that Jesus, the Son of man, was seated at the right hand of the Sovereign Majesty, and would come in the clouds of heaven to judge the world. The Scribes and Pharisees, enraged at this testimony in behalf of Jesus, cried out: "The just man also hath erred." And going up to the battlements, they threw him headlong down to the ground, saying, "He must be stoned." St. James, though very much bruised by his fall, had strength enough to get upon his knees, and in this posture, lifting up his eyes to heaven, he begged of God to pardon his murderers, seeing that they knew not what they did. The rabble below received him with showers of stones, and at last a fuller gave him a blow on the head with his club, such as is used in dressing of cloths, after which he presently expired. This happened on the festival of the Pasch, the 10th of April, in the year of Christ 62, the seventh of Nero. He was buried near the temple, in the place in which he was martyred, where a small column was erected. Such was the reputation of his sanctity, that the Jews attributed to his death the destruction of Jerusalem, as we read in St. Jerome, Origen, and Eusebius, who assure us that Josephus himself declared it in the genuine editions of his history. Ananus put others to death for the same cause, but was threatened for this very fact by Albinus, and deposed from the high-priesthood by Agrippa. The episcopal throne of St. James was shown with respect at Jerusalem, in the fourth century. His relics are said to have been brought to Constantinople about the year 572.
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjamesthelesser.asp

TODAY´S GOSPEL

John 14: 6 - 14

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6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.

7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him."

8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied."

9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father'?

10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.

12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father.

13 Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son;

14 if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.