CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: SAT. OCT. 31, 2009

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: SAT. OCT. 31, 2009: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: CLARIFICATION RE: ANGLICANS ENTERING FULL COMMUNION -
ASIA: NEPAL: CATHOLIC YOUTH IN HINDU ENVIRONMENT -
AFRICA: UGANDA NEW CONVENTION TO PROTECT DISPLACED PERSONS-
AMERICA: USCCB SENDS PRO-LIFE INFO TO THOUSANDS OF PARISHES -
EUROPE: FAMILIES FIND ALTERNATIVES TO HALLOWEEN-
AUSTRALIA: CARDINAL PELL QUESIONS DEAL TO BUY CALVARY HOSPITAL-

VATICAN

CLARIFICATION RE: ANGLICANS ENTERING FULL COMMUNION

Vatican Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi has issued the following clarification of the announced Apostolic Constitution regarding personal ordinariates for Anglican entering into full communion with the Catholic Church:"There has been widespread speculation, based on supposedly knowledgeable remarks by anItalian correspondent Andrea Tornielli, that the delay in publication of the Apostolic Constitutionregarding Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the CatholicChurch, announced on October 20, 2009, by Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is due to more than “technical” reasons. Accordingto this speculation, there is a serious substantial issue at the basis of the delay, namely,disagreement about whether celibacy will be the norm for the future clergy of the Provision.Cardinal Levada offered the following comments on this speculation: “Had I been asked Iwould happily have clarified any doubt about my remarks at the press conference. There is nosubstance to such speculation. No one at the Vatican has mentioned any such issue to me. Thedelay is purely technical in the sense of ensuring consistency in canonical language andreferences. The translation issues are secondary; the decision not to delay publication in orderto wait for the ‘official’ Latin text to be published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis was made some timeago.The drafts prepared by the working group, and submitted for study and approval through theusual process followed by the Congregation, have all included the following statement, currentlyArticle VI of the Constitution: §1 Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisitesestablished by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may beaccepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case ofmarried ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotaliscoelibatus, n. 42 and in the Statement “In June” are to be observed. Unmarried ministers mustsubmit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, §1.§2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, asa rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petitionthe Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to theorder of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the HolySee.This article is to be understood as consistent with the current practice of the Church, inwhich married former Anglican ministers may be admitted to priestly ministry in the CatholicChurch on a case by case basis. With regard to future seminarians, it was considered purelyspeculative whether there might be some cases in which a dispensation from the celibacy rulemight be petitioned. For this reason, objective criteria about any such possibilities (e.g. marriedseminarians already in preparation) are to be developed jointly by the Personal Ordinariate andthe Episcopal Conference, and submitted for approval of the Holy See.”Cardinal Levada said he anticipates the technical work on the Constitution and Norms willbe completed by the end of the first week of November".(SOURCE: http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=330866

ASIA
NEPAL: CATHOLIC YOUTH IN HINDU ENVIRONMENT

UCAN reports that Kathmandu is awash with Hindu and Buddhist temples. The air is often thick with incense smoke and many people’s foreheads are marked red with tika, a paste of rice and vermillion, after prayers.
Father Robin Rai celebrates Mass to conclude the youth retreat






For Catholic youths in this Himalayan Hindu country, living out their faith can often be a socially daunting task.
Mhendo Tamang, 18, a parishioner of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, the main parish in Kathmandu, says she often joins friends whenever they visit Hindu temples to make offerings.
However, she feels hesitant when it comes to talking about her own faith.
“The last time I told my friends about my faith, they smiled and looked at me as if I were an alien,” she said.
Manaisha Shakya, 19, has the same problem. She says she would like to talk about her faith with her Hindu and Buddhist friends, but thinks twice before doing so. “They don’t seem interested in what I have to say,” she said.
“I feel Christianity is non-existent in Nepal; it is always Hinduism that people talk and hear about.”
With these youths in mind, the Church organized a retreat from Oct 23 to 25 to help boost their spiritual formation.
“It has been over two years since the last retreat,” Kishore Shrestha, the leader of the National Catholic Youth Movement (NCYM) in Kathmandu, said. “The youth movement in Nepal is beset with several problems like funding, and it didn’t have a facilitator for almost two years,” he said.
“However, this year we managed to generate funds and organize the retreat.”
The retreat in Ishalaya parish in Godavari saw 51 young people from the three parishes in Kathmandu watching movies on the lives of saints, making confessions and taking part in meditation sessions.
Participants said they enjoyed the retreat. “I liked the way we got together, prayed and shared ideas,” said Muna Ghale from Baniyatar, adding he learned how to get closer to Jesus.
Priyanka Dawadi, another participant, told UCA News, “I love retreats and the feel of being with Jesus in silence.”
Father Robin Rai, parochial vicar at the Assumption Church, explained the long gap between the two retreats.
“The youths have to take the initiative, and for the past two years they haven’t,” said the priest, the main facilitator of the recent program.
Young people in Nepal face many challenges. Lack of educational and employment opportunities are compounded by a political and religious climate not conducive to openness about one’s faith, especially if you are a Christian.
A bomb blast at Assumption Church on May 23 was a reminder of the threat posed by Hindu extremists like the Nepal Defense Army (NDA), who claimed responsibility for the attack that killed three people. NDA then ordered Christians to leave Nepal or face dire consequences.
Father Rai admits it is not easy being a Catholic in Nepal today. However, in spite of the challenges they face, Catholic youths still “need to be able to talk about things that may seem peculiar to people of other faiths and this is a challenge for all of us.”
“They need spiritual formation and getting this is again tough; most of them don’t seem serious about it,” he said.
He expressed hope that the retreat helped them realize their duties.
For youth leader Shrestha, this retreat was “more fruitful and spiritual” than the last one. “It feels good to be back with God after a long time,” he said.
(SOURCE: http://www.ucanews.com/2009/10/30/catholic-youths-strive-for-spiritual-growth-in-hindu-environment/



AFRICA
UGANDA NEW CONVENTION TO PROTECT DISPLACED PERSONS



CISA reports that African leaders meeting in the capital, Kampala, adopted a new convention on Friday that will provide legal protection and assistance to millions of people displaced within their own countries by conflicts and natural calamities on the continent.Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, chairing the two-day African Union (AU) summit on forcibly displaced people, praised the pact as a "historic agreement aimed at protecting and assisting our brothers and sisters, the internally displaced."The new African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa is the first legal instrument of its kind in the world.It defines the obligations that states, and even armed groups, have to protect and assist their own uprooted citizens.46 African nations unanimously adopted the landmark convention while 17 heads of state and government, and foreign ministers signed it. The convention still requires ratification by a minimum of 15 countries.In the official summit declaration, the AU heads of state and government vowed to take measures to "prevent and finally eliminate from our continent the occurrence of forced displacement of people arising from conflict and natural disasters”.Africa has nearly 12 million displaced people. According to figures from the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, evacuees and refugees in Africa are mainly concentrated in 8 countries: Chad, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Sudan.The convention will be the first legally binding international instrument on IDPs with an continental scope, and UNHCR hopes that it will translate into better lives for African IDPs," the agency's spokesman Andrej Mahecic said.(SOURCE: http://www.cisanewsafrica.org/story.asp?ID=4211




AMERICA
USCCB SENDS PRO-LIFE INFO TO THOUSANDS OF PARISHES



The USCCB reports that in an extraordinary call to Catholics to prevent health care reform from being derailed by the abortion lobby, the United Sates Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent bulletin inserts to almost 19,000 parishes across the country.
"Health care reform should be about saving lives, not destroying them," the insert states. It urges readers to contact Senate leaders so they support efforts to "incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights" in health reform legislation.
"If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill should be opposed," it adds.
The insert highlights the Stupak Amendment from Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) that, it states, "addresses essential pro-life concerns on abortion funding and conscience rights."
"Help ensure that the Rule for the bill allows a vote on the amendment," the insert states. "If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill should be opposed."
A dramatic ad of a pregnant woman notes that the Hyde Amendment, which passed in 1976, has prevented federal funds from paying for elective abortions, yet healthcare reform bills that are advancing violate this policy. The ad message: "Tell Congress: Remove Abortion Funding and Mandates from Needed Health Care Reform."
The insert also directs readers to www.usccb.org/healthcare.
Bulletin inserts were distributed to dioceses October 29, the day Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unveiled the House health care reform bill and in expectation that they will show up in parishes in early November. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the USCCB; Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chair of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-life Activities; Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chair of the Committee on Migration; and Bishop William Murphy of Rockville, Centre, New York, chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development urged fellow bishops to promote this campaign in their dioceses.
"The bishops want health care reform, but they recoil at any expansion of abortion," said Helen Osman, USCCB Secretary for Communications, who helped organize the campaign. "Most Americans don’t want to pay for other people’s abortions via health care either. This impasse on the road to reform of health care can be broken if Congress writes in language that assures that the Hyde Amendment law continues to guide U.S. federal spending policy."
The Catholic bishops have a long history of support for health care reform based on its teaching that health care is essential for human life and dignity and on its experience providing health care and assisting those without coverage.
(SOURCE: http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2009/09-218.shtml



EUROPE
FAMILIES FIND ALTERNATIVES TO HALLOWEEN


CNA reports that this week, the Spanish daily “La Razon” published an article discussing the efforts of Catholics in Spain, France and Chile to offer alternatives to customary Halloween activities. According to the newspaper, Halloween “is not as innocent as dressing up as a witch and creating jack-o-lanterns with scary looking faces.” Father Joan Maria Canals of the Committee on the Liturgy of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference told La Razon that the problem with Halloween is its connection to “occultism and anti-Christianity.” Parents should “be conscious and channel the meaning of the day towards that which is good and beautiful instead of towards terror, fear and death itself,” he added. In the Spanish Diocese of Alcala de Henares, the Emmanuel Community will hold a vigil on Saturday night beginning at 10 p.m. Children and young people will be invited to participate in “music, Eucharistic adoration and dancing ‘in a Christian spirit’.” In Paris, Catholics have created something they call “Holywins.” Organizers of the activity say, “In a society that avoids the issue of death, the feast of Halloween has merit for making us focus on this issue, but it only deals with morbid and macabre rituals.” For this reason, “the young people of Paris want to take advantage of the feast of Halloween to bear witness to the faith and hope of Christians regarding death on the vigil of All Saints and All Souls,” they said. “La Razon” also noted that in Santiago, Chile, the evening of October 31 has become an occasion to celebrate a spring festival. “No monsters, ghosts or witches here. All the costumes children wear are of angels, princesses, and even saints,” the article stated, quoting one store owner who said demand has been changing for the past decade. “Before customers only wanted scary costumes. Now they want to dress up as women from ancient times, as queens, Cinderella and angels,” he added. (SOURCE: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17537




AUSTRALIA
CARDINAL PELL QUESIONS DEAL TO BUY CALVARY HOSPITAL




Cath News reports that Sydney's Cardinal George Pell said the ACT Government deal to buy Calvary hospital is driven by ideological and anti-Christian elements against the faith in public life, ABC reports.
The Government says the sale will allow it to boost investment in the hospital, but Cardinal Pell is cited saying that the deal is part of a wider hostility towards religious participation in public life, and if it succeeds then other hospitals will be targeted.
ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher rejected Cardinal Pell's assertion, saying the deal was not influenced by any anti-religious motive.
"It's about how our community pays for future health needs," she said.
"It's never been Catholic or anti-Catholic."
"It should be something our community should decide, not necessarily outsiders from out of town with very strong views about the role of religion in public health care," she said.
(SOURCE: http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=17367



TODAY'S SAINT








St. Wolfgang
BISHOP
Feast: October 31
Information:
Feast Day:
October 31
Born:
924 in Swabia
Died:
31 October 994 at Pupping, Linz (modern Austria)
Canonized:
1052 by Pope Leo IX
Patron of:
apoplexy; carpenters and wood carvers; paralysis; stomach diseases; strokes

Bishop of Ratisbon (972-994), born about 934; died at the village of Pupping in upper Austria, 31 October, 994. The name Wolfgang is of early German origin. St. Wolfgang was one of the three brilliant stars of the tenth century, St. Ulrich, St. Conrad, and St. Wolfgang, which illuminated the early medieval period of Germany with the undying splendour of their acts and services. St. Wolfgang sprang from a family of Swabian counts of Pfullingen (Mon. Germ. His.: Script., X, 53). When seven years old he had an ecclesiastic as tutor at home; later he attended the celebrated monastic school on the Reichenau. Here he formed a strong friendship with Henry, brother of Bishop Poppo of Würzburg, whom he followed to Würzburg in order to attend at the cathedral school there the lectures of the noted Italian grammarian, Stephen of Novara. After Henry was made Archbishop of Trier in 956, he called his friend to Trier, where Wolfgang became a teacher in the cathedral school, and also laboured for the reform of the archdiocese, notwithstanding the enmity with which his efforts were met. Wolfgang's residence at Trier greatly influenced his monastic and ascetic tendencies, as here he came into connection with the great reformatory monastery of the tenth century, St. Maximin of Trier, where he made the acquaintance of Ramwold, the teacher of St. Adalbert of Prague. After the death (964) of Archbishop Henry of Trier, Wolfgang entered the Order of St. Benedict in the Abbey of Maria Einsiedeln, Switzerland, and was ordained priest by St. Ulrich in 968.
After their defeat in the battle of the Lechfeld (955), a victory gained with the aid of St. Ulrich, the heathen Magyars settled in ancient Pannonia. As long as they were not converted to Christianity they remained a constant menace to the empire. At the request of St. Ulrich, who clearly saw the danger, and at the desire of the Emperor Otto the Great, St. Wolfgang, according to the abbey annals, was "sent to Magyars" as the most suitable man to evangelize them. He was followed by other missionaries sent by Bishop Piligrim of Nassau, under whose jurisdiction the new missionary region came. After the death of Bishop Michael of Ratisbon (23 September, 972) Bishop Piligrim obtained from the emperor the appointment of Wolfgang as Bishop of Ratisbon (Christmas, 972). Wolfgang's services in this new position were of the highest importance, not only for the diocese, but also for the cause of civilization. As Bishop of Ratisbon, Wolfgang became the tutor of Emperor St. Henry II, who learned from him the principles which governed his saintly and energetic life. Poppe, son of Margrave Luitpold, Archbishop of Trier (1016), and Tagino, Archbishop of Magdeburg (1004-1012), also had him as their teacher.
St. Wolfgang deserves credit for his disciplinary labours in his diocese. His main work in this respect was connected with the ancient and celebrated Abbey of St. Emmeram which he reformed by granting it once more abbots of its own, thus withdrawing it from the control of the bishops of Ratisbon, who for many years had been abbots in commendam, a condition of affairs that had been far from beneficial to the abbey and monastic life. In the Benedictine monk Ramwold, whom St. Wolfgang called from St. Maximin at Trier, St. Emmeram received a capable abbot (975). The saint also reformed the convents of Obermunster and Niedermunster at Ratisbon, chiefly by giving them as an example the convent of St. Paul, Mittelmunster, at Ratisbon, which he had founded in 983. He also co-operated in the reform of the ancient and celebrated Benedictine Abbey of Altach (Nieder-altach), which had been founded by the Agilolf dynasty, and which from that time took on new life. He showed genuine episcopal generosity in the liberal manner with which he met the views of the Emperor Otto II regarding the intended reduction in size of his diocese for the benefit of the new Diocese of Prague (975), to which St. Adalbert was appointed first bishop. As prince of the empire he performed his duties towards the emperor and the empire with the utmost scrupulousness and, like St. Ulrich, was one of the mainstays of the Ottonian policies. He took part in the various imperial Diets, and, in the autumn of 978, accompanied the Emperor Otto II on his campaign to Paris, and took part in the great Diet of Verona in June, 983.
St. Wolfgang withdrew as a hermit to a solitary spot, now the Lake of St. Wolfgang, apparently on account of a political dispute, but probably in the course of a journey of inspection to the monastery of Mendsee which was under the direction of the bishops of Ratisbon. He was discovered by a hunter and brought back to Ratisbon. While travelling on the Danube to Pöchlarn in Lower Austria, he fell ill at the village of Pupping, which is between Efferding and the market town of Aschach near Linz, and at his request was carried into the chapel of St. Othmar at Pupping, where he died. His body was taken up the Danube by his friends Count Aribo of Andechs and Archbishop Hartwich of Salzburg to Ratisbon, and was solemnly buried in the crypt of St. Emmeram. Many miracles were performed at his grave; in 1052 he was canonized. Soon after his death many churches chose him as their patron saint, and various towns were named after him. In Christian art he has been especially honoured by the great medieval Tyrolese painter, Michael Pacher (1430-1498), who created an imperishable memorial of him, the high altar of St. Wolfgang. In the panel pictures which are now exhibited in the Old Pinakothek at Munich are depicted in an artistic manner the chief events in the saint's life. The oldest portrait of St. Wolfgang is a miniature, painted about the year 1100 in the celebrated Evangeliary of St. Emmeram, now in the library of the castle cathedral at Cracow. A fine modern picture by Schwind is in the Schak Gallery at Munich. This painting represents the legend of Wolfgang forcing the devil to help him to build a church. In other paintings he is generally depicted in episcopal dress, an axe in the right hand and the crozier in the left, or as a hermit in the wilderness being discovered by a hunter. The axe refers to an event in the life of the saint. After having selected a solitary spot in the wilderness, he prayed and then threw his axe into the thicket; the spot on which the axe fell he regarded as the place where God intended he should build his cell. This axe is still shown in the little market town of St. Wolfgang which sprang up on the spot of the old cell. At the request of the Abbey of St. Emmeram, the life of St. Wolfgang was written by Othlo, a Benedictine monk of St. Emmeram about 1050. This life is especially important for the early medieval history both of the Church and of civilization in Bavaria and Austria, and it forms the basis of all later accounts of the saint. The oldest and best manuscript of this "Life" is in the library of the Abbey of Maria Einsiedeln in Switzerland (manuscript No. 322), and has been printed with critical notes in "Mon. Germ. His.: Script.", IV, 524-542. It has also been printed in, "Acta SS.", II November, (Brussels, 1894), 529-537; "Acta SS. O. S. Ben.", V, 812-833; and in P.L., CXLVI, 395-422.
ued to feed and defend his flock until it pleased the Supreme Pastor to recompense his fidelity and labors. (SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/W/stwolfgang.asp



TODAY'S GOSPEL


Luke 14: 1, 11
1
One sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him.
11
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: FRI. OCT. 30, 2009

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: FRI. OCT. 30, 2009: HEADLINES-

VATICAN: STABILITY OF MORAL VALUES DIGNIFIES SOCIETY -

ASIA: PHILLIPINES: NEGOTIATIONS TO FREE PRIEST THROUGH REBELS -
EUROPE: ENGLAND: ANGLICANS WELCOME PAPAL DECREE -
AFRICA: KENYA: SECT LEADER SET FREE AFTER 5 YEARS -
AMERICA: US 40 DAYS FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN SAVE MANY BABIES -
AUSTRALIA: TOOWOOMBA: STRIKE AT ST MARY'S COLLEGE-

VATICAN

STABILITY OF MORAL VALUES DIGNIFIES SOCIETY

(VIS) - Today the Holy Father received the credential letters of the new ambassador of Panama, Delia Cardenas Christie. In his address, the Pope highlighted that "the identity of Panama, which for centuries has been forged as a mosaic of ethnicities, peoples, and cultures, presents itself as an eloquent sign to the human family that peaceful co-existence between persons of diverse origins in a climate of communion and cooperation is possible". In this sense, he encouraged all its citizens "to work toward greater social, economic, and cultural equality between the distinct sectors of society, renouncing selfish interests, strengthening solidarity, and reconciling wills, so that, in the words of Pope Paul VI, 'the scandal of glaring inequalities' might be uprooted." The Pope emphasized that "the Gospel message has played an essential and constructive role in shaping Panama's identity, forming part of the nation's spiritual patrimony and cultural heritage". "The Church's presence holds particular relevance in the area of education and in assisting the poor, the sick, the weak, the imprisoned, and immigrants, as well as in the defence of aspects as basic as the commitment to social justice, the fight against corruption, the work toward peace, the inviolability of the right to life from the moment of conception until natural death as well as in safeguarding the family based on marriage between a man and a woman. These are irreplaceable elements for creating a healthy social fabric and building a dynamic society, precisely because of the stability of the moral values sustaining, ennobling, and dignifying it". The Pope continually referred to the commitment of Panamanian authorities "in strengthening democratic institutions and public life rooted upon strong ethical pillars. In this respect they have spared no efforts to promote an efficient and independent juridical system and to act in all areas with honor, transparency in community activism, and professionalism and diligence in resolving the problems affecting the citizens. This will favor the development of a just and fraternal society in which no sector of the population is forgotten or doomed to violence or marginalization". "The valuable role Panama is playing in the political stability of Central America bears noting," he highlighted, "in moments where the current situation shows how the consistent and harmonic progress of the human community does not depend solely on economic development or technological discoveries". The Holy Father concluded by pointing out that "these aspects necessarily have to be carried out with those of an ethical and spiritual nature because a society advances primarily when in it abounds in persons with inner righteousness, faultless conduct, and the resolute will to work toward the common good, and who also impart to further generations a true humanism, sown within the family and cultivated at school so that the welfare of the nation be the fruit of the fundamental growth of the person and of all persons".CD/CREDENTIALS/PANAMA:CARDENAS VIS 091030 (470)

POPE RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMY YEAR PARTICIPANTS

VATICAN CITY, 30 OCT 2009 (VIS) - This morning, Benedict XVI received participants in the conference sponsored by the Specola Vaticana (Vatican Observatory) for the International Year of Astronomy accompanied by Giovanni Cardinal Lajolo, President of the Governorate of Vatican City. The Pope recalled that the International Year of Astronomy coincides with the 400 year anniversary of Galileo's first observations of the heavens made with a telescope and added; "As you know, the history of the Observatory is in a very real way linked to the figure of Galileo, the controversies which surrounded his research, and the Church's attempt to attain a correct and fruitful understanding of the relationship between science and religion". "I take this occasion," he continued, "to express my gratitude not only for the careful studies which have clarified the precise historical context of Galileo's condemnation, but also for the efforts of all those committed to ongoing dialogue and reflection on the complementarity of faith and reason in the service of an integral understanding of man and his place in the universe". The pontiff observed that "the International Year of Astronomy is meant not least to recapture for people throughout our world the extraordinary wonder and amazement which characterized the great age of discovery in the sixteenth century. (...) Our own age, poised at the edge of perhaps even greater and more far-ranging scientific discoveries, would benefit from that same sense of awe and the desire to attain a truly humanistic synthesis of knowledge which inspired the fathers of modern science". "As we seek to respond to the challenge of this Year -- to lift up our eyes to the heavens in order to rediscover our place in the universe -- how can we not be caught up in the marvel expressed by the Psalmist so long ago? Contemplating the starry sky, he cried out with wonder to the Lord: 'When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place, what is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man, that you should care for him'?". "It is my hope," the Pope concluded, "that the wonder and exaltation which are meant to be the fruits of this International Year of Astronomy will lead beyond the contemplation of the marvels of creation to the contemplation of the Creator, and of that Love (...) which, in the words of Dante Alighieri, 'moves the sun and the other stars'".AC/INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY/LAJOLO VIS 091030 (400)

BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR NOVEMBER

VATICAN CITY, 30 OCT 2009 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for November is: "That all the men and women in the world, especially those who have responsibilities in the field of politics and economics, may never fail in their commitment to safeguard creation". His mission intention is: "That believers in the different religions, through the testimony of their lives and fraternal dialogue, may clearly demonstrate that the name of God is a bearer of peace".BXVI-PRAYER INTENTIONS/NOVEMBER/... VIS 091030 (90)

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 30 OCT 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in separate audiences: - Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, archbishop of Genoa, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference. - Professor Angelo Caloia. This evening he is scheduled to receive Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. AP/.../... VIS 091030 (50)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 30 OCT 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father: - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Kohima, India, presented by bishop Jose Mukala, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the code of canon law. - Appointed Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop emeritus of Westminster, Great Britain, as member of the Congregation for Bishops and for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.RE:NA/.../MUKALA:MURPHY-O'CONNOR VIS 091030 (70)

ASIA

PHILLIPINES: NEGOTIATIONS TO FREE PRIEST THROUGH REBELS

UCAN reports that the head of the effort to rescue kidnapped Father Michael Sinnott has proposed that the rebel Islamic Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) set up a task force to help free the priest.
Father Michael Sinnott
Governor Aurora Cerilles of Zamboanga del Sur, chairman of the Crisis Management Committee (CMC), asked the MILF group not to pursue its plan to deploy a militia company to free the priest, fearing it could lead to clashes with government troops.
But the CMC countered with a proposal for a smaller group to gather information and help with negotiations, a source in the committee says.
The Philippine military had also earlier appealed to the MILF not to deploy a large armed contingent.
“One hundred plus (MILF) troops may be a problem and they would be passing through grounds of the military and the police and besides this could attract further attention,” the anonymous CMC source told UCA News.
The CMC had instead proposed that the MILF create a 20-man task force, including security personnel, he said.
The task force would have four functions: “to validate and provide information on the location of Sinnott; help facilitate negotiation for his release; facilitate the delivery of medicine for the ailing Sinnott, and identification of the perpetrators,” the source said, quoting from Cerilles’ communication with the MILF.
CMC spokesperson June Allan confirmed that the CMC welcomes the setting up of an MILF task force but declined to comment on its size.
The CMC sent the message to the MILF on Oct. 28 through the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command chief Major General Ben Dolorfino.
Father Sinnott was snatched by armed men from the Columban Fathers’ house in Pagadian City on Oct. 11. in Pagadian City in southern Philippines.
The military says the kidnappers belonged to a group of “pirates” led by one Guingona Samal and they had turned the priest over to a “rogue” MILF group. The CMC would not confirm this.
The 15,000-strong MILF formed in the mid-1970s to establish Islamic rule in claimed territories is negotiating a peace deal with the government.
Its vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar and MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said they have yet to see Cerilles’ reported response to their offer to help free Father Sinnott.
(SOURCE: http://www.ucanews.com/2009/10/30/islamic-rebel-group-asked-to-help-secure-priest%e2%80%99s-release/

EUROPE

ENGLAND: ANGLICANS WELCOME PAPAL DECREE

The Catholic Herald reports that traditionalists in the Church of England have welcomed the news of a papal decree offering a new legal structure for Anglicans wishing to be in communion with Rome. Members of Forward in Faith - a group of conservative Anglo-Catholics within the Church of England - met for their annual National Assembly last weekend, only days after the news broke that the Holy See was welcoming Anglicans into communion with the Catholic Church with a new canonical structure. During the assembly members of the group, including some of its bishops, welcomed Pope Benedict XVI's gesture with "gratitude", calling it "mind-blowingly different", "generous" and the "answer to our prayers".But it was far from clear that a majority of its 1,000 clergy will accept the offer in the short term. They will wait to find out more about the "Personal Ordinariates" set out by the Apostolic Constitution, which is yet to be published. It is expected to provide details of a new structure similar to that of military dioceses. This would accommodate Anglicans who wished to be in full communion with Rome but to retain aspects of their liturgical and spiritual heritage. Most members of Forward in Faith are Anglo-Catholic and cannot in good conscience accept ordained women either as priests or bishops. The group was founded in 1992 after the General Synod of the Church of England voted to ordain women priests. The Rt Rev John Hind, Bishop of Chichester, said that it looked as though traditionalist Anglicans were on the brink of being offered two solutions to their problems, one coming from Rome in the shape of the Apostolic Constitution and the other possibly coming from the Church of England. During his address to the assembled members of Forward in Faith, Bishop Hind warned them against seeing Pope Benedict's offer as a "refuge for those opposed to the ordination to the episcopate".He said: "This is not a single issue. What is being offered is an identifiable entity for Anglicans wishing to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church while maintaining what Pope Paul VI described as the legitimate patrimony of the Anglican inheritance."Bishop Hind added that the "recognition by the Holy See that Anglicans have something to give to as well as to receive from the Catholic Church must be regarded as remarkable". The Sunday Telegraph reported that Bishop Hind had said he would accept the Vatican's offer. He later issued a carefully worded denial, reassuring his flock that he was not "about to become a Roman Catholic".He explained: "I stated that, in the event of union with the Roman Catholic Church, I would be willing to receive re-ordination into the Roman Catholic priesthood but that I would not be willing to deny the priesthood I have exercised hitherto."The so-called "flying bishops", Provincial Episcopal Visitors who minister to members of the Church of England who cannot accept women priests, also addressed the assembly. They are already in close touch with Rome.The Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, who last year announced his willingness to become a Catholic, said that the Pope's provision answered prayers.He said that most of the clergy members of Forward in Faith had indicated after last year's General Synod vote on women bishops that they wanted a corporate solution for their objections and that many of them would become "Roman Catholics".Bishop Burnham added: "The message was clear. We are Western Christians, Catholics of the Latin rite separated from the Holy See. We are invited together in a kenotic, self-emptying way, without denying who we are, and what we have been, to re-enter the fullness of unity severed by act of state 500 years ago. "The irony is that the response from the Holy See provides far more than we asked for and hoped for. We were looking for a lifeboat to take us to the mother ship. We are being offered a galleon to sail proudly as part of the admiral's fleet, with some of our fixtures and furnishings, our customs and our traditions."Other speakers included Bishop John Broadhurst of Fulham, who said that the Vatican offer was "mind-blowingly different, though not without its questions". But he added: "I am staying to see whether we can sort this mess out once and for all together because the one thing I've always been committed to is that we are in this together."The former Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali - who is more in line with conservative evangelicals in the Anglican Communion - also addressed the assembly. He did not rule out the possibility of taking advantage of Benedict XVI's offer. In other Church of England circles, the reactions were mixed. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, said he was "appalled" by the Church's failure to give proper notice of the move to Dr Rowan Williams, the current Archbishop of Canterbury. Lord Carey said Dr Williams should complain to the Pope. Dr Williams was informed of the details of the Apostolic Constitution only days before he held a joint press conference announcing it with Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster. He made his displeasure clear in a letter to fellow Anglican bishops, saying that he only found out what was happening "at a very late stage".But Lord Carey also said: "I give it [the Pope's offer] a very cautious welcome. It is worth considering because there are a number of deeply worried, anxious Anglo-Catholics who do not believe they have a constructive future in the Church of England with the ordination of women as bishops. I was pastorally concerned for them when I was Archbishop of Canterbury. I know Rowan is as well. So this could go a long way to helping."The conservative Anglican bishops in the Global South group - which includes Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda - issued a statement welcoming the Pope's Apostolic Constitution.They made it clear, however, that most of them were unlikely to take advantage of it. Instead, they are backing an international "covenant" of mostly evangelical churches that reject theological liberalism, and especially the ordination of homosexuals.They said: "We believe that the proposed Anglican Covenant sets the necessary parameters in safeguarding the Catholic and apostolic faith and order of the Communion. "It gives Anglican churches worldwide a clear and principled way forward in pursuing God's divine purposes together in the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church of Jesus Christ."
(SOURCE: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000674.shtml

AFRICA

KENYA: SECT LEADER SET FREE AFTER 5 YEARS

CISA reports that the leader of Kenya’s murderous sect, Mungiki, was set free last week after five years in police custody after the government said they had insufficient evidence to link him with the murder of 29 villagers five months ago.Maina Njenga’s lawyers, however, said the government panicked after Maina announced he would release a dossier linking several senior government officials to the sect’s activities.And hours after gaining his freedom, Njenga, whose religious sect has been accused of massive killings of people and chilling oath taking ceremonies including human sacrifices trooped into a Nairobi evangelical church where he announced his conversion to Christianity and that he would be baptized soon.Addressing the congregation, which included several Mungiki ‘converts,’ Njenga, who did not take a Christian or saintly name, told the huge congregation that during his confinement, he had read the Bible.“I read the whole Bible because I had the time. That is why I said I will not be bitter with those who ordered my arrest because it has saved my soul,” said Mr. Njenga.Njenga was being held in custody in relation to the murder of 29 people in Mathira, central province in May this year.He called on followers of the sect, suspected to be close to a million, to abandon their activities and engage in development.He added that his priority would be to bury his wife who was killed by unknown people while on her way to Naivasha prison to visit him. Another former leader of the sect, Ibrahim Waruinge converted to Christianity, then Islam days after being released from custody.The outlawed sect is believed to have begun in the late 1980s as a local militia.(SOURCE: http://www.cisanewsafrica.org/story.asp?ID=4208

AMERICA

US 40 DAYS FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN SAVES MANY BABIES

CNA reports that the 40 Days for Life campaign says that its participants have now helped save at least 2,000 babies from abortion in the past five years.
The 40 Days for Life campaign began in Bryan/College Station, Texas in 2004. It presently organizes spring and fall events of prayer and fasting to end abortion, peaceful vigils outside abortion facilities, and grassroots community activism.
“We now have confirmed reports of at least 2,000 babies whose lives have been saved from the tragedy of abortion," David Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life, said in a press release. "Who knows what wonders each of these children will bring to the world!"
“Through the grace and mercy of God -- and the faithful prayers of more than 200,000 volunteers standing vigil outside abortion facilities -- an incredible miracle has taken place,” he added.
The campaign estimated that two thousand children would fill at least 80 classrooms and make up 180 soccer teams.
“Just as importantly, this could represent 180 teams of soccer moms -- women who will enjoy watching their children run and jump and shout -- blessings they would have never known if they had fallen for the lies that are so often disguised by the rhetoric of 'choice,'" Bereit added.
He also discussed how the sight of people standing in prayer can convince a woman to turn away from abortion.
Bereit said he often tells those holding vigil to just pray and don’t worry about what to say.
“We have countless stories of women rejecting abortion and leaving the clinics even when not a single word was spoken," he explained. “Just last week, I heard about two little girls who were singing 'Jesus Loves Me' at a 40 Days for Life vigil. They sang as a woman went in for an abortion appointment -- then watched as she left the clinic in tears, read the number of a pregnancy resource hotline, and called for real assistance.”
The 40 Days for Life campaign says that it is the largest and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history. Its fall campaign began on Sept. 23 and will end on Nov. 1. It counts participants in 212 cities, spread out across 45 U.S. states, five Canadian provinces and Denmark.
Its website is http://www.40daysforlife.com.(source/: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17534

AUSTRALIA

TOOWOOMBA: STRIKE AT ST MARY'S COLLEGE

CATH NEWS reports that teaching staff from St Mary's College in Toowoomba who are facing redundancies joined in the strike action demanding pay parity on Wednesday.
The Toowoomba Chronicle said the school was set to cut the equivalent of four full time teachers by the end of the year, which would result in "unacceptable levels of stress and uncertainty about workloads in 2010", said one of the teachers, Samantha Parle.
The strike on Wednesday followed months of dispute over pay rates.

(SOURCE: http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=17387

TODAY'S SAINT

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
CONFESSOR AND LAY BROTHER
Feast: October 30
Information:
Feast Day:
October 30
Born:
July 25, 1532, Segovia
Died:
October 31, 1617
Canonized:
6 September, 1887
Major Shrine:
Majorca

Born at Segovia in Spain, 25 July, 1532; died at Majorca, 31 October, 1617. On account of the similarity of names he is often confounded with Father Rodriguez the author of "Christian Perfection", who though eminent in his holiness was never canonized. The Saint was a Jesuit lay-brother who entered the Society at the age of forty. He was the son of a wool merchant who had been reduced to poverty when Alfonso was still young. At the age of twenty-six he married Mary Francisco Suárez, a woman of his own station, and at thirty-one found himself a widower with one surviving child, the other two having died previously. From thattime he began a life of prayer and mortification, although separated from the world around him. On the death of his third child his thoughts turned to a life in some religious order. Previous associations had brought him into contact with the first Jesuits who had come to Spain, Bl. Peter Faber among others, but it was apparently impossible to carry out his purpose of entering the Society, as he was without education, having only had an incomplete year at a new college begun at Alcalá by Francis Villanueva. At the age of thirty-nine he attempted to make up this deficiency by following the course at the College of Barcelona, but without success. His austerities had also undermined his health. After considerable delay he was finally admitted into the Society of Jesus as a lay-brother, 31 January, 1571. Distinct novitiates had not as yet been established in Spain, and Alfonso began his term of probation at Valencia or Gandia -- this point is a subject of dispute -- and after six months was sent to the recently-founded college at Majorca, where he remained in the humble position of porter for forty-six years, exercising a marvelous influence on the sanctification not only of the members of the household, but upon a great number of people who came to theporter's lodge for advice and direction. Among the distinguished Jesuits who came under his influence was St. Peter Clavier, who lived with him for some time at Majorca, and who followed his advice in asking for the missions of South America. The bodily mortifications which he imposed on himself were extreme, the scruples and mental agitation to which he was subject were of frequent occurrence, his obedience absolute, and his absorption in spiritual things even when engaged on most distracting employments, continual. It has often been said that he was the author of the well known "Little Office of the Immaculate Conception", and the claim is made by Alegambe, Southwell, and even by the Fathers de Backer in their Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus. Apart from the fact that the brother did not have the requisite education for such a task, Father Costurer says positively that the office he used was taken from an old copy printed out of Spain, and Father Colin asserts that it existed before the Saint's time. It may be admitted, however, that through him it was popularized. He left a considerable number of manuscripts after him, some of which have been published as "Obras Espirituales del B. Alonso Rodriguez" (Barcelona, 1885, 3 vols., octavo, complete edition, 8 vols. in quarto). They have no pretense to style; they are sometimes only reminiscences of domestic exhortations; the texts are often repeated; the illustrations are from every-daylife; the treatment of one virtue occasionally trenches on another; but they are remarkable for the correctness and soundness of their doctrine and the profound spiritual knowledge which they reveal. They were not written with a view to publication, but put down by the Saint himself, or dictated to others, in obedience to a positive command of his superiors. He was declared Venerable in 1626. In 1633 he was chosen by the Council General of Majorca as one of the special patrons of the city and island. In 1760 Clement XIII decreed that "the virtues of the Venerable Alonso were proved to be of a heroic degree"; but the expulsion of the Society from Spain in 1773, and its suppression, delayed his beatification until 1825. His canonization took place 6 September, 1887. His remains are enshrined at Majorca.(SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/A/stalphonsusrodriguez.asp

TODAY'S GOSPEL

Luke 14: 1 - 6
1
One sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him.
2
And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.
3
And Jesus spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not?"
4
But they were silent. Then he took him and healed him, and let him go.
5
And he said to them, "Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a sabbath day?"
6
And they could not reply to this.

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: THURS. OCT. 29, 2009

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: THURS. OCT. 29, 2009: HEADLINES-

VATICAN: DEACONATE OF CULTURE IN THE DIGITAL CONTINENT-

AFRICA: SUDAN: CARITAS APPEALS FOR MILLIONS TO FEED THOUSANDS OF POOR-

ASIA: MYANMAR: CHURCH PROVIDES HOUSING FOR HIV/AIDS PATIENTS -
AMERICAS: CANADA: NEW COUNCIL TO LEAD THE CCCB-

EUROPE: SPAIN: RETIRED BISHOP HEARS CONFESSIONS 6 HOURS DAILY-
AUSTRALIA: BRISBANE TO BUILD LARGE CHURCH-

VATICAN

DEACONATE OF CULTURE IN THE DIGITAL CONTINENT

(VIS) - The Pontifical Council for Social Communications "has, for some time now, been following the surprising and rapid evolution of the means of communication growing in the involvement of the magisterium of the Church". With these words, Benedict XVI received participants in the plenary assembly of that dicastery, presided over by Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, which is examining the role of new technologies in the media during these days. The Holy Father cited Paul VI's pastoral instruction "Communio et Progressio" and John Paul II's "Aetatis Nova", "two important documents that have favoured and promoted greater awareness on the themes tied to communication in the Church". He also recalled John Paul II's encyclical "Redemptoris Missio" that affirms: "Involvement in the mass media, however, is not meant merely to strengthen the preaching of the Gospel. There is a deeper reality involved here: since the very evangelization of modern culture depends to a great extent on the influence of the media, it is not enough to use the media simply to spread the Christian message and the Church's authentic teaching. It is also necessary to integrate that message into the 'new culture' created by modern communications". "Effectively," Benedict XVI said, "modern culture is established, even before its content, in the very fact of the existence of new forms of communication that use new languages; they use new technologies and create new psychological attitudes. All of which supposes a challenge for the Church, which is called to announce the Gospel to persons in the third millennium, maintaining its content unaltered but making it understandable, thanks also to the instruments and methods in tune with today's mentality and culture". At the same time, the Pope referred to his last message for the World Communications Day in which he encouraged "those responsible for communication in all areas, to promote a culture of respect for the dignity and worth of the human being, a dialogue rooted in the sincere search for truth and friendship (...) capable of developing the gifts and talents of each and of putting them at the service of the human community". "In this way the Church exercises that which can be defined as a "deaconate of culture" in today's "digital continent", using its means to announce the Gospel, the only Word that can save the human being. The task of enriching the elements of the new culture of the media, beginning with their ethical aspects, falls to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications as well as serving as orientation and guide in helping the particular churches understand the importance of communication, which represents a key point that cannot be overlooked in any pastoral plan". Concluding, the pontiff recalled the 50th anniversary of the Vatican Film Archive founded by Blessed John XXIII, which possesses a "rich cultural patrimony pertaining to all humanity" and he encouraged to continuing collection and cataloguing of images "that document the path of Christianity through the suggestive witness of the image".AC/ASSEMBLY/SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS VIS 091029 (490)

IRAN: SERVE THE CAUSE OF PEACE, DEFEND UNIVERSAL RIGHTS VATICAN CITY, 29 OCT 2009 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received the credential letters of the new ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Akbar Naseri. Speaking of Iran, the Pope affirmed that "it is a great nation that possesses eminent spiritual traditions and its people have a profound religious sensibility. This can be reason to hope for a greater openness and confident collaboration with the international community. For its part, the Holy See is always willing to work in harmony with those who serve the cause of peace and promote the dignity that the Creator endowed to all human beings". "Today," he continued, "we must hope for and sustain a new phase of international cooperation, more concretely rooted in humanitarian principles and in the effective assistance of those who suffer, one less dependent on the cold calculation of exchange and technological or economic benefits". Benedict XVI emphasized that "faith in the one God should draw all believers closer and urge them to work together to defend and promote the fundamental human values". In this context he recalled that "among universal rights, religious freedom and the freedom of conscience occupy a fundamental place because they are the origin of all other freedoms. The defence of other rights that arise from the dignity of persons and peoples, particularly the protection of life, justice, and solidarity, should also be the object of true collaboration". "As I have already had repeated occasion to emphasize, the establishment of cordial relations between believers of different religions is an urgent need in our day, in order to build a world that is more human and that conforms more to God's plan of creation". The Pope stressed that "Catholics have been present in Iran from the first centuries of Christianity and have always been an integral part of the nation's life and culture". "The Holy See", he added, "trusts the Iranian authorities to strengthen and guarantee Christians the freedom of professing their faith and of assuring the Catholic community conditions essential to its existence, especially the possibility of counting on sufficient religious personnel and their ability to move within the country to ensure religious service to the faithful". The Holy Father emphasized that "the Holy See, by its nature and its mission, is directly interested in the life of the local churches and wishes to make all the necessary efforts to help the Catholic community in Iran keep alive the signs of Christian presence in a spirit of benevolent understanding with all". Finally, addressing the Catholics who live in Iran, the Pope assured them that he is "near to them and prays that they persevere in maintaining their own identity and remaining rooted to their land, generously working with all their compatriots in the development of the nation".CD/CREDENTIALS/IRAN:NASERI VIS 091029 (450)

PAPAL CELEBRATIONS (NOVEMBER 2009-JANUARY 2010) VATICAN CITY, 29 OCT 2009 (VIS) - This is the calendar of celebrations that the Holy Father will preside over from the end of November 2009 until January 2010. NOVEMBER - Saturday 28. At 17 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, celebration of first Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent. DECEMBER - Tuesday 8. Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. At. 4 p.m. in Piazza di Spagna, veneration of the Virgin. - Thursday 24. Solemnity of the Lord's Nativity. At 10 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica the Pope will celebrate Midnight Mass. - Friday 25. Solemnity of the Lord's Nativity. At 12 p.m. the Pope will impart the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the central balcony of the Vatican Basilica. - Thursday 31. At 18 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica the Holy Father will preside over first Vespers in thanksgiving for the closing year. JANUARY - Friday 1. Solemnity of Holy Mary, Mother of God, and the 43rd World Day of Peace. At 10 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, celebration of Holy Mass. -Wednesday 6. Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany. At 10 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, celebration of Holy Mass. - Sunday 10. Feast of the Lord's Baptism. At 10 p.m. in the Sistine Chapel, celebration of Holy Mass and baptism of children. - Monday 25. Feast of the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. At 5:30 p.m. in the Basilica of St. Paul without the Walls, celebration of Vespers.OCL/CALENDAR NOVEMBER 2009-JANUARY 2010/... VIS 091029 (220)

AUDIENCES VATICAN CITY, 29 OCT 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.AP/.../... VIS 091029 (20)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS VATICAN CITY, 29 OCT 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed as members of the Directive Council of the Holy See's Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of the Quality in Universities and Ecclesiastical Faculties (AVEPRO) Msgr. Piero Coda, President of the Italian Theological Association; Fr. Philippe Curbelié, Dean of the Theology Faculty of the Institut Catholique of Toulouse (France); Fr. Friedrich Bechina, F.S.O., Official of the Congregation for Catholic Education; Sjur Bergan, Director of the Department of Higher Education and Research on the Council of Europe; Paolo Blasi, former Rector of the University of Studies in Florence (Italy); Jan Sadlak, Director of the European Centre for Higher Education (UNESCO-CEPES) in Bucharest (Romania); and Annick Johnson, Director of the same organization.NA/.../... VIS 091029 (110)

AFRICA

SUDAN: CARITAS APPEALS FOR MILLIONS TO FEED THOUSANDS OF POOR

CISA reports that Catholic agency Caritas Internationalis has launched an appeal for USD 3.4 million to feed 35,000 people affected by conflict and drought in South Sudan.The appeal will supply food aid in Western and Eastern Equatoria states in the south of the country who, for the last two years have experienced drought that left hundreds of thousands of people in need, according to the aid agency.Caritas will provide 10,000 people with food aid and planting materials, and train farmers on improved farming techniques, in order to support people’ livelihoods until harvest in 2010.Caritas Internationalis Humanitarian Director Alistair Dutton said, “people caught in drought or conflict in South Sudan need urgent food aid. Caritas is able to reach isolated villages and communities caught in conflict to provide support.The Catholic agency aims to reach 25,000 people in urgent need of immediate care in Western Equatoria. (SOURCE: http://www.cisanewsafrica.org/story.asp?ID=4209

ASIA

MYANMAR: CHURCH PROVIDES HOUSING FOR HIV/AIDS PATIENTS

UCAN reports that when Thandar decided to cut her long hair in order to sell it a year ago, she was really down on her luck. But living hand-to-mouth with two young kids, she felt she had no choice.

Thandar and her family in front of theirhouse that was rebuilt by the Church
Thandar (not her real name), also has something she prefers to keep secret. She is HIV positive, infected by her first husband.
HIV and AIDS still carry a stigma in Myanmar, but luckily for Thandar, the Church-run Karuna Pyay Social Service came to her aid recently.
The bamboo house where Thandar's family were living in on the outskirts of Pyay, western Myanmar, was in a bad state and looked as if it would collapse anytime. The family had little money to build a new one.
Karuna then built a bamboo house with a thatched roof for her family early this year.
Thandar, 29, told UCA News recently, "We'd really like to thank the Church for helping us with a house. We can now live safely with our children."
She said her second husband is a daily wage earner, so they do not have a regular income. "I couldn't imagine building a house especially since we are struggling for our daily food," she said.
Karuna has supported about 200 HIV patients since 2005 with rice, cooking oil, salt, medications, counseling and health education. However, last year, the organization also started a housing program for HIV patients, irrespective of religion. It has so far built 15 new houses and repaired five others.
Father David Ba Thein, director of Karuna Pyay told UCA News, "We not only support the basic needs of patients but also try to raise their living standards."
Another beneficiary of the new Church project is Thin Thin who contracted HIV from her second husband, who died three years ago.

Edward Nyein distributes kitchenware to HIV/AIDS patients
Thin Thin, 38, a mother of two, told UCA News "As I'm a widow, it's very hard to build a house and feed two children. The Church not only built us a house but also gave scholarships to my children."
San Oo, 29, who also has HIV, told UCA News "I really must thank the Church for my new home, otherwise my mother and I would be sleeping in the streets."
The Church is not only helping people with HIV get a home, it is also trying to prolong their lives by encouraging people to be more open about the illness so they can receive medical treatment.
Some HIV patients are afraid of discrimination once others find out about their condition, said Edward Nyein, who is in charge of the Karuna Pyay HIV/AIDS program. "It was the main cause of the high death rate among sufferers," he said.
Karuna has appointed four HIV-positive women, including Thin Thin, as "peer educators" to teach sufferers how to cope with HIV/AIDS and non-sufferers how to avoid infection.
According to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, 240,000 people in Myanmar are presently living with HIV.
(SOURCE: http://www.ucanews.com/2009/10/28/church-builds-new-homes-for-hivaids-patients/

AMERICAS

CANADA: NEW COUNCIL TO LEAD THE CCCB

The CCCB reports that during their annual Plenary Assembly, 19 to 23 October, held at the Nav Canada Centre, Cornwall, the members of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) elected those Bishops who will sit on the Permanent Council for the next two years.
The office of CCCB President will be held by Most Reverend Pierre Morissette, Bishop of Saint-Jérôme, and that of Vice President by Most Reverend Richard Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton.
The two Co-Treasurers will be Most Reverend Paul-André Durocher, Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall, from the French Sector, who is serving his second term, and Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop of Corner Brook and Labrador, who is from the English Sector.
The four regional episcopal assemblies in Canada will be represented by Most Reverend Claude Champagne, O.M.I., Bishop of Edmundston, New Brunswick; Most Reverend Eugène Tremblay, Bishop of Amos, Quebec; Most Reverend Ronald P. Fabbro, C.S.B., Bishop of London, Ontario; and Most Reverend Luc Bouchard, Bishop of Saint-Paul, Alberta.
To ensure a balanced sectoral representation on the Permanent Council, two additional members of the English Sector were also elected: Most Reverend J. Michael Miller, C.S.B., Archbishop of Vancouver, and Most Reverend Terrence Prendergast, S.J., Archbishop of Ottawa.
Four ex officio members are automatically members of the Permanent Council: His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Archbishop of Quebec City; His Eminence Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, Archbishop of Montreal; Most Reverend Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto; and Most Reverend Lawrence Huculak, O.S.B.M., Archeparch of Winnipeg and Metropolitan of Ukrainian Catholics in Canada.
The 14 Bishops noted above make up the CCCB Permanent Council until the 2011 Plenary Assembly. (SOURCE: http://www.cccb.ca/site/content/view/2729/1214/lang,eng/

EUROPE

SPAIN: RETIRED BISHOP HEARS CONFESSIONS 6 HOURS DAILY

CNA reports that Bishop Jose Gea Escolano, who retired from the Spanish Diocese of Mondonedo-Ferrol and is currently a missionary in Peru explained this week that one of his most frequent tasks is hearing confessions each Sunday for “five to six hours...although on some days it has been 10.”
Bishop Gea, 80, recently marked his fourth year as a missionary in the Peruvian Diocese of Carabayllo, where he was sent after retiring from his diocese in Spain, which he served as bishop for 18 years.
He said he hopes to remain working “until the Lord wishes” as a missionary in Peru, “where there is a great shortage of priests” and thus an “urgent need for a greater presence of priests and missionaries.”
Bishop Gea also expressed his concern that families in Peru are suffering, “with marriages that are constantly breaking apart, and thus, with children who grow up without the stable and continual presence of their parents.”
In the Diocese of Carabayllo, Bishop Gea collaborates at the parish of Santa Maria de la Providencia, which has been under the care of Spanish missionaries for the last 16 years. (SOURCE: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17505

AUSTRALIA

BRISBANE TO BUILD LARGE CHURCH

CATH NEWS reports that Brisbane's City Council has given the green light for one of the city's largest Churches, a 600 seater to be constructed in suburban Jindalee next year.
Parish finance committee chairman Pat O'Dwyer said the church would call for building tenders next month. Construction is expected to finish by the end of 2010, according to the Courier-Mail.
Mr O'Dwyer was quoted by the Springfield News as saying that Brisbane's St Stephen's Cathedral held 800 seats, but the new infrastructure was needed to accommodate the western corridor's population growth.
"It's quite a large church driven by population, he said. And it draws a lot (of people) from the Springfield direction. The Jindalee church will be a large church but not the largest in southern Queensland."

(SOURCE: http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=17388

TODAY'S SAINT

St. Narcissus
BISHOP
Feast: October 29
Information:
Feast Day:
October 29
Born:
99
Died:
215

St Narcissus was born towards the close of the first century, and was almost fourscore years old when he was placed at the head of the church of Jerusalem, being the thirtieth bishop of that see. Eusebius assures us that the Christians of Jerusalem preserved in his time the remembrance of several miracles which God had wrought by this holy bishop, one of which he relates as follows. One year, on Easter-eve, the deacons were unprovided with oil for the lamps in the church, necessary at the solemn divine office that day. Narcissus ordered those who had care of the lamps to bring him some water from the neighbouring wells. This being done, he pronounced a devout prayer over the water; then bade them pour it into the lamps, which they did, and it was immediately converted into oil, to the great surprise of the faithful. Some of this miraculous oil was kept there as a memorial at the time when Eusebius wrote his history. The veneration of all good men for this holy bishop could not shelter him from the malice of the wicked. Three incorrigible sinners, fearing his inflexible severity in the observance of ecclesiastical discipline, laid to his charge a detestable crime, which Eusebius does not specify. They confirmed their atrocious calumny by dreadful oaths and imprecations; one wishing he might perish by fire, another that he might be struck with a leprosy, and the third that he might lose his sight, if what they alleged was not the truth. Notwithstanding these protestations, their accusation did not find credit; and some time after the divine vengeance pursued the calumniators. The first was burnt in his house, with his whole family, by an accidental fire in the night; the second was struck with a universal leprosy; and the third, terrified by these examples, confessed the conspiracy and slander, and by the abundance of tears which he continually shed for his sins, lost his sight before his death.
Narcissus, notwithstanding the slander had made no impression on the people to his disadvantage, could not stand the shock of the bold calumny, or rather made it an excuse for leaving Jerusalem and spending some time in solitude, which had long been his wish. He spent several years undiscovered in his retreat, where he enjoyed all the happiness and advantage which a close conversation with God can bestow. That his church might not remain destitute of a pastor, the neighbouring bishops of the province after some time placed in it Pius, and after him Germanion, who dying in a short time was succeeded by Gordius. Whilst this last held the see, Narcissus appeared again, like one from the dead. The whole body of the faithful, transported at the recovery of their holy pastor, whose innocence had been most authentically vindicated, conjured him to reassume the administration of the diocese. He acquiesced; but afterwards, bending under the weight of extreme old age, made St. Alexander his coadjutor. St. Narcissus continued to serve his flock, and even other churches, by his assiduous prayers and his earnest exhortations to unity and concord, as St. Alexander testifies in his letter to the Arsinoites in Egypt, where he says that Narcissus was at that time, about one hundred and sixteen years old. The Roman Martyrology honours his memory on the 29th of October.
If we truly respect the church as the immaculate spouse of our Lord, we will incessantly pray for its exaltation and increase, and beseech the Almighty to give it pastors according to his own heart, like those who appeared in the infancy of Christianity. And, that no obstacle on our part may prevent the happy effects of their zeal, we should study to regulate our conduct by the holy maxims which they inculcate; we should regard them as the ministers of Christ; we should listen to them with docility and attention; we should make their faith the rule of ours, and shut our ears against the language of profane novelty. (SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/N/stnarcissus.asp

TODAY'S GOSPEL

Luke 13: 31 - 35
31
At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."
32
And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, `Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.
33
Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.'
34
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
35
Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: OCT. 28, 2009

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: OCT. 28, 2009: HEADLINES:

VATICAN: LATIN THEOLOGY FLOURISHED IN THE 12TH CENTURY
ASIA: PHILLIPINES: EXPLOSION IN CATHEDRAL -
AMERICAS: ARGENTINA: ARCHBISHOP ASKS CHILDREN TO BRING PEACE-

AFRICA: ANGOLA: THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES IN NEED OF AID -
EUROPE: ROME: KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS TO RECIEVE AWARD FOR SERVICE -
AUSTRALIA: ARCHBISHOP ASKS PRIESTS TO DISREGARD LETTER-

VATICAN

LATIN THEOLOGY FLOURISHED IN THE 12TH CENTURY

(VIS) - During this Wednesday's General Audience celebrated in St. Peter's Square the Pope spoke about a series of events that, during the twelfth century, created a renaissance in Latin theology. "During this time," he explained, "a relative peace reigned in Western Europe, which ensured society's economic development, consolidated political structures, and favored vibrant cultural activity thanks also to contact with the East. The benefits of the vast movement known as the Gregorian Reform were felt in the Church, which led to "a greater evangelical purity in the Church, above all in the clergy" and an expansion of religious life. As fruits of this development, figures such as St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure would appear in the thirteen century. Benedict XVI affirmed that in this context two different models of theology arose: that of "monastic theology" and that of "scholastic theology". Regarding the first, the monks "were devoted to the Sacred Scriptures and one of their main activities consisted in lectio divina, that is, a meditative reading of the Bible". It was precisely the 2008 Synod of Bishops on "the Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church" that recalled the importance of this aspect. "As monastic theology is listening to the Word of God", he said, "it is necessary to purify one's heart to welcome it and, above all, one must be full of fervor to encounter the Lord. Theology therefore becomes meditation, prayer, a song of praise, and the impetus for sincere conversion". The Holy Father emphasized that "it is important to reserve a certain time each day for meditation on the Bible so that the Word of God will be the lamp that illuminates our daily path on earth". Continuously referring to the method of "scholastic theology", the Pope pointed out that "it is not easy for modern mentality to understand. The quaestio, which consisted of a theme for discussion," was essential to its process. "The organization of the quaestiones led to the compilation of evermore extensive syntheses, the so-called summae that were vast dogmatic-theological treatises. Scholastic theology sought to present the unity and harmony of Christian Revelation with a method, called precisely 'scholastic', that grants faith in human reason". Benedict XVI concluded by emphasizing that "faith and reason, in reciprocal dialogue, tremble with joy when they are both animated by the search for intimate union with God. ... Truth is sought with humility, welcomed with wonder and gratitude: in a word, knowledge only grows if one loves the truth".AG/LATIN THEOLOGY/... VIS 091028 (410)

POPE'S PASTORAL VISIT TO BRESCIA AND CONCESIO

(VIS) - Benedict XVI will make a pastoral visit to the Italian towns of Brescia and Concesio next Sunday, 8 November, according to a communique of the Holy See Press Office. The Holy Father will take off from Ciampino Airport in Rome at 8:30 and will land an hour later at the Alfredo Fusco Military Airport in Ghedi (Brescia). He will then make a private visit to the parish church of Botticino Sera where he will venerate the mortal remains of St. Arcangelo Tadini. He will then visit the cathedral of Brescia and, at 10:30, concelebrate Holy Mass and pray the Angelus in Paul VI Square. In the afternoon he will meet with the organizers of the visit at the Paul VI Pastoral Center. At 16:45 he will go to the house in Concesio where Pope Paul VI was born and to the institute's new site dedicated to the Populorum Progressio pope. At 17:30, in the Vittorio Montini Auditorium of the Paul VI Institute in Concesio, he will give a speech during the official conference for the inauguration of the institute's new site and the presentation of the Pope Paul VI International Prize. At 18:15, the Pope will visit St. Anthony's Parish in Concesio where Giovanni Battista Montini (future Pope Paul VI) was baptized and will give an address. Benedict XVI will return at 19:00 from the Airport of Brescia and will land at Ciampino Airport one hour later where he will be then be taken back to the Vatican.BXVI-VISIT/.../BRESCIA:CONCESIO VIS 091028 (250)

PRESENTATION OF EXHIBIT DEDICATED TO MATTEO RICCI

(VIS) - A presentation of the exhibit "To the Heights of History. Matteo Ricci (1552-1610): Between Rome and Peking" was held this morning in the Holy See Press Office. Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums and organizer of the exhibit, led the presentation. The exhibit, in the Charlemagne Wing of the colonnade in St. Peter's Square (30 October 2009-24 January 2010), was organized by the Committee for the Celebration of the Fourth Centenary of Fr. Matteo Ricci in collaboration with the Vatican Museums, the General Curia of the Company of Jesus, and the Pontifical Gregorian University. Speaking at the exhibit's presentation were Bishop Claudio Giuliodori of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia (Italy); Antonio Paolucci, Director of the Vatican Museums; Giovanni Morello, President of the Foundation for the Heritage and Artistic Activities of the Church; Adriano Ciaffi, President of the Committee for the Celebrations of the Fourth Centenary of the Death of Fr. Ricci; and Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., Director of the Holy See's Press Office. Matteo Ricci's "extraordinary missionary adventure", Bishop Giuliodori explained, "led him to build, for the first time in history, a true bridge of dialogue and exchange between Europe and China. (...) Besides paying homage to this giant of the faith and friendship between peoples, the exhibit seeks to provide all with an opportunity to learn about and be inspired by a model of evangelization of the Gospel culture and inculturation that, in many aspects, has no equal in the history of humanity".OP/MATTEO RICCI EXHIBIT/GIULIODORI VIS 091028 (250)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS VATICAN CITY, 28 OCT 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed: -Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck, former auxiliary bishop of Munster (Germany) as bishop of Essen (area 1,877, population 2,590,021, Catholics 909,117, priests 577, religious 555, permanent deacons 78) in Germany. -Fr. Milton Kenan Junior, pastor of the parish of "Nossa Senhora Aparecida" and diocesan co-ordinator for pastoral care in Bebedouro, Brazil, as auxiliary bishop of Sao Paulo (area 1,645, population 7,346,000, Catholics 5,363,000, priests 851, religious 2,802, permanent deacons 40) in Brazil. The bishop-elected was born in Taiuva (Brazil) in 1963 and ordained priest in 1987. -Fr. Joseph M. Siegel, pastor of the parish of the Visitation in Elmhurst (USA), as auxiliary bishop of Joliet in Illinois (area 10,920, population 1,842,000, Catholics 667,000, priests 268, religious 718, permanent deacons 199) in the United States. The bishop-elected was born in Joliet (Illinois, USA) in 1963 and ordained priest in 1988.NER:NEA/.../OVERBECK:KENAN:SIEGEL VIS 091028 (160)

ASIA

PHILLIPINES: EXPLOSION IN CATHEDRAL

UCAN reports that the bishop of Jolo has cancelled the All Saints' Day Mass at a cemetery following an explosion at his cathedral in the southern Philippines.

Bishop Angelito Lampon of Jolo
Bishop Angelito Lampon said it was a "precautionary measure."
The Jolo vicariate's justice and peace commission director said the grenade attack on Oct. 27 caused little damage to Our Lady of Mount Carmel cathedral. "The damage I saw was not that bad, mostly a few broken jalousie windows," Oblates Father Romeo Villanueva told UCA News.
The vicariate is based in the capital town of predominantly Muslim Sulu province.
The grenade exploded mid-morning at the rear of the cathedral near the bishops' cemetery. There were no reported casualties and no group has claimed responsibility for the incident.
It is the fourth explosion at the cathedral since Bishop Lampon was installed as apostolic vicar of Jolo in February 1998.
A grenade blast on July 7 killed two people and wounded 24.
In an article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website Bishop Lampon said even though he would not celebrate Mass at the cemetery on Nov. 1, he would still go ahead with brief prayers for the dead and the blessing of graves.
Christian Filipinos traditionally visit cemeteries from the evening of Oct. 31 to show respect for their dead on the All Saints' Day as well as for All Souls' Day on Nov. 2.(SOURCE:http://www.ucanews.com/2009/10/28/bishop-cancels-mass-following-cathedral-blast/

AMERICAS

ARGENTINA: ARCHBISHOP ASKS CHILDREN TO BRING PEACE

CNA reports that during his homily for the Archdiocesan Mass for Children, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, reminded the 10,000 children present of the need to grow in faith and love. He also asked them to promise Jesus that “where there is hatred, we will bring love, where there is fighting, we will bring peace.”
According to the AICA news agency, Cardinal Bergoglio reflected on the theme for the Mass, “Let’s go to the feast, Jesus awaits us,” and underscored that “the center of the feast must be Jesus.”
“In order for there to be a feast, there must be joy, but also something else: in order for there to be a feast in the hearts of each one of us - pay attention now - we must give joy to others, we must make others joyful, and we must help others to open their hearts to Jesus' feast.”
At the conclusion of the Mass, Cardinal Bergoglio renewed the consecration of both Buenos Aires and the hearts of children to St. Therese the Little Flower.
Afterward, the children released balloons and doves while listening to a recording made by the archdiocesan mission office of the prayer intentions of children who live on the street. “May we all have enough food to eat,” prayed one child. “May all children have a warm home,” prayed another. “May we care for our grandparents,” and “may all the children of the world have a family,” prayed others.(SOURCE: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17503

AFRICA

ANGOLA: THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES IN NEED OF AID

CISA reports that 42,000 Angolans have been expelled from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and they need urgent aid.According to Bohdan Nahajlo, representative in Angola of the UNHCR, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the refugees are in urgent need of lodging, food, medicines, and medical stations. He said that there is not enough drinking water, either. Some of the people drink from the nearby rivers which are highly contaminated and there are already cases of diarrhea.“There are significant numbers of Angolan refugees among the forcibly returned and this is for us the most worrisome aspect of the situation. Some of them say they had been rounded up and taken to the border despite the fact they carried documents certifying their refugee status,” Nahajlo said in a statement.“Others said they were forced back without the chance to take their identification documents or any of their belongings. Most of them were deported from the Bas Congo Province in southern DRC,” he added.Among the registered needs are tents, cooking utensils, plastic bags, medicines, and medical attention. So far, the UNHCR has developed an assistance plan that includes the distribution of primary need items and tents.“The expulsion of Angolans from DR Congo was in retaliation to a similar expulsion of a large number of Congolese nationals from Angola since December 2008.An agreement has been signed between the governments of DR Congo and Angola to end to the cross border expulsions. However, UNHCR says Angolan authorities are preparing for further, large-scale evacuation of Angolans who feel they can no longer remain in the DRC, the UNHCR's statement said.(SOURCE: http://www.cisanewsafrica.org/story.asp?ID=4210

EUROPE

ROME: KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS TO RECIEVE AWARD FOR SERVICE

CNA reports that Supreme Knight of Columbus Carl A. Anderson on Wednesday will receive the city of Rome’s Lupa Capitolina (The Wolf of the Capital) award in honor of the nearly 90 years of service of the Knights in Rome.
Anderson will receive the award from Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno on Wednesday evening on the Campidoglio, one of the Seven Hills of Rome.
"I am honored to receive this award from the City of Rome for the great work the Knights of Columbus have done there for nearly a century,” Anderson said in a Knights of Columbus press release.
“As both the 'eternal city' and the center of the Catholic Church, Rome has a special place in the hearts of the Knights of Columbus, and we look forward to another 90 years of service in this great city.”
In 1920 a delegation of Knights led by then-Supreme Knight James Flaherty met with Pope Benedict XV. The Pope asked the Knights to expand their work in Rome.
During the 1920s the Knights opened several sports facilities for the free use of the youth of Rome. Another facility opened in the 1950s. The Knights continue to operate four of these facilities, which are regularly used by Roman youth.
The Knights also donated a new shortwave radio transmitter to the Vatican in 1966 and presently pay for the costs of a satellite uplink for major worldwide telecasts from the Vatican.
In the 1980s the Knights funded construction on several chapels and sponsored the restoration of the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica. In the 1990s the Knights provided financial support for the repair of the roof and restoration of the mosaics in St. Peter’s Blessed Sacrament Chapel, as well as the restoration of the Maderno Atrium and its massive bronze doors in preparation for the Jubilee 2000 celebration.
In the last decade the Knights have sponsored several academic conferences and other efforts in restoration work. The order also sponsored the Concert for Reconciliation between Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, held in the Vatican in 2004 in the presence of Pope John Paul II.
The Lupa Capitolina award is named for the wolf that suckled the legendary founding brothers of Rome, Romulus and Remus. The award is a miniature version of a famous statue of the wolf nursing the two infant brothers.
Last year the honor was given to Italian-American actor Al Pacino. (SOURCE: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17511

AUSTRALIA

ARCHBISHOP ASKS PRIESTS TO DISREGARD LETTER

Cath News reports that Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart is asking all parish priests in the archdiocese not to read to congregations a letter from a woman who claims nuns led her to a priest who raped her as a child.
Archbishop Hart's direction was meant to address queries from priests on how to respond to the three page letter sent by the alleged victim Jenny Tiffin's lawyer, Angela Sdrinis, The Age quotes a spokesman for the Archbishop as saying.
Ms Sdrinis sent the letter to every Catholic parish in Victoria with a request for it to be read to the congregation.
In his communication with the priests, Archbishop Hart said the alleged sexual abuse occurred in another diocese and has no connection with Melbourne, and that a complaint has been dealt with under the national protocol, Towards Healing, according to The Age.
Ms Tiffin, the alleged victim, received $12,000 compensation in 2006 from the Sisters of Nazareth who ran the Nazareth House children's home in Ballarat. But a second application to the diocese of Ballarat was rejected.
Ballarat Bishop Peter Connors told The Age yesterday he could say with certainty there was no assault.
Ms Tiffin said she had been repeatedly raped by convicted priest Gerard Ridsdale since she was seven years old, while she and her brother were in Nazareth House in 1963-64. She claims the nuns would procure children for him. She gives an account of the abuse in her letter.
Ridsdale has pleaded guilty to abusing dozens of children and is in jail, the report adds.
(SOURCE: http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=17368

TODAY'S SAINT

St. Simon
APOSTLE
Feast: October 28
Information:
Feast Day:
October 28
Born:
Cana or Canaan
Died:
Abyssinians claim he was crucified in Samaria; Lipsius says he was sawn in half at Suanir, Persia; Moses of Chorene writes that he was martyred at Weriosphora in Iberia; many locations claim to have relics including Toulouse, France, and Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy
Major Shrine:
relics claimed by many places, including Toulouse; Saint Peter's Basilica
Patron of:
curriers; sawyers; tanners

St Simon is surnamed the Canaanean or Canaanite, and the Zealot, to distinguish him from St. Peter, and from St. Simeon, the brother of St. James the Less, and his successor in the see of Jerusalem. From the first of these surnames some have thought that St. Simon was born at Cana, in Galilee: certain modern Greeks pretend that it was at his marriage that our Lord turned the water into wine. It is not to be doubted but he was a Galilean. Theodoret says, of the tribe either of Zabulon or Nepthali. Hammond and Grotius think that St. Simon was called the Zealot, before his coming to Christ, because he was one of that particular sect or party among the Jews called Zealots, from a singular zeal they possessed for the honour of God and the purity of religion. A party called Zealots were famous in the war of the Jews against the Romans. They were main instruments in instigating the people to shake off the yoke of subjection; they assassinated many of the nobility and others in the streets, filled the temple itself with bloodshed and other horrible profanations, and were the chief cause of the ruin of their country. But no proof is offered by which it is made to appear that any such party existed in our Saviour's time, though some then maintained that it was not lawful for a Jew to pay taxes to the Romans At least if any then took the name Zealots, they certainly neither followed the impious conduct nor adopted the false and inhuman maxims of those mentioned by Josephus in his history of the Jewish war against the Romans.
St. Simon, after his conversion, was zealous for the honour of his Master, and exact in all the duties of the Christian religion; and showed a pious indignation toward those who professed this holy faith with their mouths, but dishonoured it by the irregularity of their lives. No further mention appears of him in the gospels than that he was adopted by Christ into the college of the apostles. With the rest he received the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, which he afterwards exercised with great zeal and fidelity. If this apostle preached in Egypt, Cyrene, and Mauritania, he returned into the East; for the Martyrologies of St. Jerome, Bede, Ado, and Usuard place his martyrdom in Persia, at a city called Suanir, possibly in the country of the Suani, a people in Colchis, or a little higher in Sarmatia, then allied with the Parthians in Persia; which may agree with a passage in the Acts of St. Andrew, that in the Cimmerian Bosphorus there was a tomb in a "rot, with an inscription importing that Simon the Zealot was interred there. His death is said in these Martyrologies to have been procured by the idolatrous priests. Those who mention the manner of his death say he was crucified. St. Peter's Church on the Vatican at Rome and the Cathedral of Toulouse are said to possess the chief portions of the relics of SS. Simon and Jude.(SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/S/stsimon.asp

St. Jude
APOSTLE
Feast: October 28
Information:
Feast Day:
October 28
Major Shrine:
Saint Peter's, Rome, Rheims, Toulouse, France
Patron of:
lost causes, desperate situations, hospitals

The apostle St. Jude is distinguished from the Iscariot by the surname of Thaddaus, which signifies in Syriac praising or confession (being of the same import with the Hebrew word Judas), also by that of Lebbaeus, which is given him in the Greek text of St. Matthew. St. Jude was brother to St. James the Less, as he styles himself in his epistle; likewise of St. Simeon of Jerusalem, and of one Joses, who are styled the brethren of our Lord, and were sons of Cleophas and Mary, sister to the Blessed Virgin.
This apostle's kindred and relation to our Saviour exalted him not so much in his Master's eyes as his contempt of the world the ardour of his holy zeal and love, and his sufferings for his sake. It is not known when and by what means he became a disciple of Christ, nothing having been said of him in the gospels before we find him enumerated in the catalogue of the apostles. After the last supper, when Christ promised to manifest himself to every one who should love him, St. Jude asked him why he did not manifest himself to the world? By which question he seems to have expressed his expectation of a secular kingdom of the Messias. Christ by his answer satisfied him that the world is unqualified for divine manifestations, being a stranger and an enemy to what must fit souls for a fellowship with heaven; but that he would honour those who truly love him with his familiar converse, and would admit them to intimate communications of grace and favour.
After our Lord's ascension and the descent of the Holy Ghost, St. Jude set out, with the other great conquerors of the world and hell, to pull down the prince of darkness from his usurped throne; which this little troop undertook to effect armed only with the word of God and his Spirit. Nicephorus, Isidore, and the Martyrologies tell us that St. Jude preached up and down Judea, Samaria, Idumaa, and Syria; especially in Mesopotamia. St. Paulinus says that St. Jude planted the faith in Libya. This apostle returned from his missions to Jerusalem in the year 62, after the martyrdom of his brother, St. James, and assisted at the election of St. Simeon, who was likewise his brother. He wrote a catholic or general epistle to all the churches of the East, particularly addressing himself to the Jewish converts, amongst whom he had principally laboured. St. Peter had written to the same two epistles before this, and in the second had chiefly in view to caution the faithful against the errors of the Simonians, Nicholaits, and Gnostics. The havoc which these heresies continued to make among souls stirred up the zeal of St. Jude, who sometimes copied certain expressions of St. Peter, and seems to refer to the epistles of SS. Peter and Paul as if the authors were then no more. The heretics he describes by many strong epithets and similes, and calls them wandering meteors which seem to blaze for a while but set in eternal darkness. The source of their fall he points out by saying they are murmurers, and walk after their own lusts. The apostle puts us in mind to have always before our eyes the great obligation we lie under of incessantly building up our spiritual edifice of charity, by praying in the Holy Ghost, growing in the love of God, and imploring his mercy through Christ. From Mesopotamia St. Jude travelled into Persia. Fortunatus and the western Martyrologists tell us that the apostle St. Jude suffered martyrdom in Persia; the Menology of the Emperor Basil and some other Greeks say at Arat or Ararat, in Armenia, which at that time was subject to the Parthian empire, and consequently esteemed part of Persia. Many Greeks say he was shot to death with arrows: some add whilst he was tied on across. The Armenians at this day venerate him and St. Bartholomew for the first planters of the faith among them. (SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjude.asp

TODAY'S GOSPEL

Luke 6: 12 - 16
12
In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God.
13
And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles;
14
Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,
15
and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,
16
and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.