CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: AUG. 6, 2009:HEADLINES
*APPOINTMENT OF THE BISHOP OF HINCHE (HAÏTI)
*TURKISH GOV. REFUSES POPE;KEEPS CHURCH AS A MUSEUM
*EUROPE: 200FT HIGH SOLAR ENERGY-PRODUCING STATUE OF P.PIO TO BE BUILT
*AFRICA: 4,000 PRISONERS SAVED FROM DEATH PENALTY
*ASIA: REMEMBRANCE OF PHILIPINE'S CATHOLIC PRESIDENT
*AMERICA: FAMILY OF THE YEAR AWARD
*AUSTRALIA : JEHOVAH WITNESS GRANTED RIGHT TO REFUSE TREATMENT
APPOINTMENT OF THE BISHOP OF HINCHE (HAÏTI)
(Exact text from Vatican website)
Pope Benedict XVI accepted the surrender of the pastoral Government of the Diocese of Jérémie (Haiti), presented by h.e. Mons. Joseph Willy Romélus, in accordance with the can. 401 § 1 of the code of Canon law.The Pope has appointed Bishop of Jérémie (Haiti) the Rev.do p. Gontran Décoste, S.I., Professor and Director spiritual in the major Seminary "‘ Notre-Dame d Haiti" to Port-au-Prince.Rev.do p. Gontran Décoste, S.I.The Rev.do p. Gontran Décoste, S.I., was born on 24 April 1957 Saint Jean du Sud, in the Diocese of Les Cay. You have completed secondary education at the minor seminary Mazenod and then at the Collège Saint Jean Les Cay. In 1978 became the major Seminary "‘ Notre-Dame d Haiti" in Port-au-Prince, where followed philosophical and theological courses. He was ordained a priest on 1 July 1984 for the Diocese of Les Cay.In 1998 came into the society of Jesus and has the novitiate in Montréal (Canada). He obtained a master of Science in Pastoral Counselling at Loyola College, in Maryland (USA) and has finished his training to the novitiate of the Jesuits in Haiti and Lyon (France).After his ordination priestly, from 1984 to 1989, the following posts held: the hospital chaplain Immaculée Conception of Les Cay, Professor of Littérature haïtienne Collège Saint Jean of Les Cay, Chaplain of the Salesian Sisters to Les Cay community and Director of the Diocesan Radio "Men Kontre".From 1989 to 1993 has achieved the PhD in theology spiritual at the Pontifical University Angelicum in Rome. From 1993 to 1998, indented in Haiti, spiritual director in the major Seminary was "‘ Notre-Dame d Haiti" in Port-au-Prince, Professor of theology spiritual in the same seminar and Secretary of the Episcopal Conference.‘ 2005 Is Professor of theology spiritual at the seminar Maggiore Notre-Dame d ' Haiti, at the inter-Instituts de Formation Religieuse Centre and at the Office de Catéchèse of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince.[01190-01.01] (Internet translation from: http://www.vatican.va/)
The Pope has appointed the Bishop of Hinche (Haiti) h.e. Mons. Simon Pierre Saint-Hillien, C.S.C., Bishop hitherto holder of Lamdia and auxiliary Port au Prince.H.e. Mons. Simon Pierre Saint-Hillien, C.S.C.H.e. Mons. Simon Pierre Saint-Hillien, C.S.C., was born on 6 July 1951 to Les Gonaïves, in the homonymous diocese. After the primary studies carried out at the brothers of Christian education to Les Gonaïves and studies minor at the Lyceum Fabre Geffrard and Saint-the "Petit Séminaire Collège martial" at Les Gonaïves, philosophical and theological courses attended at seminar Maggiore "‘ Notre-Dame d Haiti" in Port-au-Prince, and got the baccalaureat in each of the two disciplines. Studied Ethnology to Haiti and letters State University with specialization in history from the Catholic Institute in Paris, conseguendovi license.He delivered his first religious profession in the Congregation of Holy Cross on 8 September 1976 and the perpetual 5 October 1980. He was ordained a priest on 28 December 1980.He then covered the following posts: teacher College Notre Dame of Cap-Haïtien and head of pastoral care of young people (1980-1982); Director of the Postulantato of his congregation to Cap-Haïtien (1984-1985); Director of the Scolasticato in Port-au-Prince (1985-1990); superior of the Congregation of the Santa Croce (1988-1993); Haitian district Secretary of the Episcopal Conference (1994-2002). Since 1996 has also been National Director of the Pontifical Mission societies and head of pastoral care of young people of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince.Elected Bishop of Lamdia and appointed Auxiliary of Port-au-Prince on 10 December 2002, has been devoted 22 next February.[01191-01.01]
(Exact text & Internet translation from: http://www.vatican.va/)
TURKISH GOVERNMENT REFUSES POPE & KEEPS CHURCH AS A MUSEUM
AmericanCatholic reports that the Turkish government has decided that the only church in Tarsus, the city of St. Paul's birth, will remain a government museum.The Church of St. Paul, built as a Catholic church in the 1800s and confiscated by the government in 1943, was used throughout the 2008-2009 year of St. Paul for prayer services by Christian pilgrims.After the end of the yearlong celebration commemorating the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth, the Turkish government decided the building could not be used exclusively for worship.Bishop Luigi Padovese, the apostolic vicar for Anatolia and president of the Catholic bishops' conference of Turkey, told the Vatican newspaper Aug. 1 that the government decided to return to the practice of allowing Christians to pray in the church as long as they made reservations three days in advance and bought an admission ticket. Meeting the Turkish bishops in February during their "ad limina" visits to Rome to report on the status of their dioceses, Pope Benedict had expressed his hopes that the government would give Christians permanent use of the building for prayer.Bishop Padovese told L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, that in addition to asking Christians to pay to enter the church, Turkish authorities have placed a time limit on Masses and other prayer services so they do not disrupt the normal operation of the museum."It is a lack of respect for the right to religious freedom and freedom to worship," the bishop said. (Edited from: http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=1460
EUROPE:
200FT HIGH SOLAR ENERGY-PRODUCING STATUE OF P.PIO TO BE BUILT
Italy is planning to build a 200ft high, solar energy-producing statue of Saint Padre Pio. It will cost several million pounds, with the money to be raised from his followers around the world. The statue will be coated in a special photovoltaic paint which will enable it to trap the sun's heat and produce solar energy, making it an "ecological" religious icon, according to the Ansa news agency.
The planning and construction of the project, near the town of San Giovanni Rotondo in the southern province of Puglia, will be put out to international tender in the next few weeks.
Padre Pio, whose real name was Francesco Forgione, was born into a poverty-stricken family in 1887 and died in 1968. He entered the Church as a teenager and became a Capuchin monk.
His followers believe that he performed many miracles during his lifetime and that his body bore stigmata – marks corresponding to Christ's Crucifixion wounds. (Edited from:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/5978928/Italy-to-build-solar-energy-producing-statue-of-saint.html
AFRICA
KENYA: 4,000 PRISONERS SAVED FROM DEATH PENALTY
CISA reports that the Catholic Church here has welcomed President Mwai Kibaki’s decision to save some 4,000 prisoners from the hangman by reducing their death sentences to life imprisonment.But at the same time the church called for total abolition of the death penalty, saying it did not a deter crime and that any criminal could be reformed.In Kenya, persons convicted of murder, illegal possession of dangerous weapons, robbery with violence and treason could be sentenced to death by hanging. Although the death penalty is still handed to convicts by the courts, no one has been hanged in the past 22 years.President Kibaki announced on Monday that he had commuted all death sentences imposed on convicted prisoners to life imprisonment. However, he clarified that the decision does not suggest the abolition of death penalty.Reacting to the news, the head of the Catholic Prisons Chaplaincy, Fr Peter Kimani, said, “I welcome this move because there are many inmates who are innocent who could have suffered death.”Fr Kimani said that the death sentence is not a solution to crime and that it should be abolished because there is nobody who could not reform.President Kibaki said his decision to save the 4,000 convicts from the hangman was necessitated the fact that extended stay on death row causes undue mental anguish and suffering, psychological trauma, anxiety while it may as well constitute inhuman treatment.Kibaki also directed all relevant Government Ministries and Departments to conduct empirical studies urgently to determine whether the continued existence of the death penalty in the laws of the land has any value or impact in the fight against crime. (Edited from: http://www.cisanewsafrica.org/story.asp?ID=4057)
ASIA
REMEMBRANCE OF PHILIPINE'S CATHOLIC PRESIDENT
UCAN reported on the funeral of President Aquino. "Take care of each other," Corazon Aquino had said to her family members as she lay dying in hospital. But for her daughter, Kris Aquino-Yap, "those words were not meant just for our family." (pictured placing cross on coffin)
Aquino-Yap was delivering her family's message to over 2,000 people who attended the former president's funeral on Aug. 5 in Manila Cathedral.
In her speech, the tearful woman spoke about her mother's work after her presidency and highlighted the foundation Aquino set up which finances vocational projects for poor women and scholarships for young people.According to Jesuit Father Catalino Arevalo, Aquino’s spiritual director, it was precisely this concern for the country and its people that inspired Aquino to run against dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1986 election.
In his homily for the two-hour Mass, the theologian said the former president offered herself completely to God, to her country and its people, and to her family.
Following the assassination of her husband, opposition Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. in 1983, she ran against Marcos in a disputed election which spurred the "people power revolution" that swept her to office. She served as president until 1992.
Outside the cathedral, thousands more mourners stood in the rain-drenched grounds on what was a national holiday declared by the government in honor of Aquino.
She was to be buried there next to her husband.
Even Aquino's personal bodyguard, speaking during eulogies on the eve of the funeral, remembered how she would offer him a bowl of hot noodles that she had cooked herself at the end of a long day.
Aquino "made ordinary people feel special," said business leader Ramon del Rosario, Jr. at the same gathering.
(Edited & with picture from: http://www.ucanews.com/2009/08/05/aquinos-service-to-country-remembered/
AMERICA
FAMILY OF THE YEAR AWARD
CNA reports that the Vetter family of Torrington, Wyoming is this year’s recipient of the Knights of Columbus award for Family of the Year. The honor was presented to Leland Vetter, his wife and 10 children yesterday during the awards session of the Knight’s annual conference in Phoenix.
According to the Knights, the Vetters were chosen as recipients of the award for their “extraordinary record of service to the Church and their community.”
Leland, who has been a member of the Knights for 33 years, has held several leadership positions within his council and is well-known for his service to the community. For example, when it snows in his hometown of Torrington, Wyoming, Leland spends his early mornings plowing the church parking lot. In addition, he has raised funds for parish hall expansion, helps train parish altar servers and teaches at Eastern Wyoming Community College.
Leland was also recently appointed by the Governor of Wyoming to the state’s Community College Task Force on Education. He also comes from a family who won the Family of the Year award in 1994 for the state of North Dakota.
Leland’s wife Mary Ann has also contributed to the vitality of the parish by setting up and organizing Thursday Eucharistic devotions at their church. A “Mom’s Group,” which spiritually assists mothers in their parish, was also started by Mary Ann.
Their 10 children, who range from ages two to 27, are also highly active volunteers in the Church and the community.
(Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16772
AUSTRALIA
JEHOVAH WITNESS GRANTED RIGHT TO REFUSE TREATMENT
CathNews Australia reports that a Jehovah's Witness has been granted the right to refuse life saving medical treatment by the NSW Supreme Court, on the grounds of religious belief. The ruling isn't a recognition of the man's "right to die", the court said.
Justice Robert McDougall found directives by the 70 year old man, who developed renal failure last month and was being kept alive by mechanical ventilation and kidney dialysis, should be followed "even if the likely consequence of giving effect to Mr A's wishes ... is that he will die," said an AAP report published in The Australian.
In a document he had legally prepared last year, the man identified only as "Mr A" stated: "As one of Jehovah's Witnesses I direct my guardian to refuse consent for a transfusion of whole blood, red cells, white cells, platelets, or blood plasma to be given to me under any circumstances even if heathcare providers believe that such are necessary to preserve my life."
Justice McDougall found that Mr A was competent when he signed the directive, drawn up by a solicitor, the Daily Telegraph reported. He emphasised that the court was in no way recognising Mr A's "right to die".
"If (it) is made by a capable adult, and is clear and unambiguous, and extends to the situation at hand, it must be respected," Justice McDougall said.
"A valid refusal may be based upon religious, social or moral grounds or indeed upon no apparent rational grounds; and is entitled to respect regardless."
(SOURCE:http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=15624
The Transfiguration of the Lord
Feast: August 6
Remembrance of the Lord's Trasfiguration on mount Thabor with Saints Peter, James & John witnessing.
"and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Eli'jah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah." For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him."
(Picture from: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/T/transfigurationofthelord.asp
SAINTLY QUOTE
Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows. Pope Paul VI
TODAY'S GOSPEL
Mark 9: 2 - 10
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them,
and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
And there appeared to them Eli'jah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus.
And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah."
For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid.
And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him."
And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only.
And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.
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