CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: WED: MAY, 12, 2010

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: WED: MAY, 12, 2010: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: POPE REPLIES TO QUESTIONS FROM JOURNALISTS-
AMERICAS: COLOMBIA: DOCTOR SUSPENDED FOR REFUSING TO PERFORM ABORTION-
ASIA: CHINA: SIX CHILDREN HACKED TO DEATH IN KINDERGARTEN-
AFRICA: CAMEROON: LEADERS OF RELIGION DEDICATE CAMEROON TO GOD-
EUROPE: SPAIN: ARCHBISHOP CALLS ON MEDIA TO REPORT TRUTH-
AUSTRALIA: BISHOP INVITES CATHOLICS TO SIGN PETITION ON ETHICS CLASSES-

VATICAN
POPE REPLIES TO QUESTIONS FROM JOURNALISTS

VATICAN CITY, 11 MAY 2010 (VIS REPORT) - This morning during his flight to Portugal, the Holy Father responded - as he traditionally does on his flights abroad - to a number of questions put to him by the journalists accompanying him on the papal plane.
Answering a query about the current secularisation of Portugal, a once profoundly Catholic country, the Holy Father replied that Portugal "has carried the faith to all corners of the world; a courageous, intelligent and creative faith. ... The dialectic between secularism and faith in Portugal has a long history", he said, noting how "over centuries of discussion between enlightenment, secularism and faith, there has never been a lack of people who have sought to build bridges and create dialogue".
"I believe that the task and mission of Europe in this situation is to discover such dialogue, integrating faith and modern rationality into a single anthropological vision which completes the human being and thus also makes human cultures able to communicate with one another. Thus I would say that secularism is normal, but separation and contrast between secularism and the culture of faith is anomalous and must be overcome. The great challenge of the current time is for the two to meet and thus discover their true identity. This, as I have said, is a mission for Europe and the [great] human need of our own history".
Replying then to another question about the economic crisis, which some people believe could endanger the future of the European Union, Benedict XVI affirmed that "ethics are not something external, but inherent to rationality and economic pragmatism. ... Catholic faith, Christian faith, has often been too individualist, it left concrete and economic matters to the world and thought only of individual salvation", he said.
Yet "the entire tradition of the Church's social doctrine has sought ... to widen the ethical and faith-related dimension, over and above the individual, towards responsibility for the world, towards a rationality 'moulded' by ethics. Moreover, events on the markets over the last two or three years have shown that the ethical dimension is inherent and must become part of economic activity, because man is one, and what counts is ... a sound anthropology that embraces everything. Only in this way can the problem be resolved, only in this way can Europe accomplish its mission".
The third question put to the Pope concerned the significance of the apparitions of Fatima and whether the third secret, apart from referring to the shooting of John Paul II, also referred to the Church's suffering for the sexual abuse of minors.
"Apart from the great vision of the Pope's suffering, which we can primarily ascribe to Pope John Paul II", said Pope Benedict, the apparitions "indicate events of the future of the Church, which develop and are revealed little by little. Thus it is true that, apart from the moment indicated by the vision, we see the need for a passion of the Church, a passion naturally reflected in the person of the Pope, but the Pope stands for the Church and thus it is the sufferings of the Church that are being announced".
"As for the novelties we can discover in this message today", he went on, "we may see that attacks against the Pope and the Church do not only come from outside; rather, the sufferings of the Church come from inside the Church, from the sin that exists in the Church. This was always common knowledge, but today we see it in truly terrifying form: the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from external enemies, but is born of sin within the Church. Thus the Church has a profound need to relearn penance, to accept purification, to learn forgiveness but also the need for justice. Forgiveness does not replace justice".
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ONLY CHRIST CAN SATISFY PROFOUND LONGINGS OF HUMAN HEART
VATICAN CITY, 11 MAY 2010 (VIS) - At 5.30 p.m. today the Holy Father travelled by popemobile from the apostolic nunciature in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon to the "Terreiro do Paco", the city's central square also known as "Praca do Comercio". There, before the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration in the presence of 200,000 faithful, the mayor handed him the keys of the city.
In his homily, the Pope recalled how "generations upon generations of Christians ... have journeyed forth" from Lisbon, and how "in all five continents there are local churches that owe their origin to Portuguese missionary activity.
"In times past", he added, "your departure in search of other peoples neither impeded nor severed your bonds with what you were and what you believed. On the contrary, with Christian wisdom you succeeded in transplanting experiences and characteristic elements, opening yourselves up to the contribution of others so as to be yourselves, through an apparent weakness which is actually strength. Today, as you play your part in building up the European Community, you offer the contribution of your cultural and religious identity".
"Christ is not two thousand years distant from us, but is really present among us: He gives us the Truth and He gives us the light which is our life and helps us find the path towards the future", said Benedict XVI. He is "present in His word, present in the assembly of the people of God with its pastors, and pre-eminently present in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. Jesus is here with us".
Although the Church "has quarrelsome and even rebellious sons and daughters", said the Holy Father, "it is in the saints that she recognises her most characteristic features, it is in them that she tastes her deepest joy".
"This local Church has rightly concluded that today's pastoral priority is to make each Christian man and woman a radiant presence of the Gospel perspective in the midst of the world, in the family, in culture, in the economy, in politics. Often we are anxiously preoccupied with the social, cultural and political consequences of the faith, taking for granted that faith is present, which unfortunately is less and less realistic".
"In order for this not to happen, it is necessary to proclaim anew with vigour and joy the event of the death and resurrection of Christ, the heart of Christianity, the fulcrum and mainstay of our faith, the firm lever of our certainties, the strong wind that sweeps away all fear and indecision, all doubt and human calculation. The resurrection of Christ assures us that no adverse power will ever be able to destroy the Church.
"Therefore our faith is well-founded, but this faith needs to come alive in each one of us. ... Only Christ can fully satisfy the profound longings of every human heart and give answers to its most pressing questions concerning suffering, injustice and evil, concerning death and the life hereafter".
Benedict XVI went on to encourage the faithful never to doubt the presence of Christ. "Always seek the Lord Jesus, grow in friendship with Him, receive Him in communion. Learn to listen to His word and also to recognise Him in the poor. Live your lives with joy and enthusiasm, sure of His presence and of His unconditional, generous friendship, faithful even to death on the cross.
"Bear witness to all of the joy that His strong yet gentle presence evokes, starting with your contemporaries", he added in conclusion. "Tell them that it is beautiful to be a friend of Jesus and that it is well worth following Him. With your enthusiasm, demonstrate that, among all the different ways of life that the world today seems to offer us - apparently all on the same level - the only way in which we find the true meaning of life and hence true and lasting joy, is by following Jesus".
Before the end of Mass the Pope read out a brief message to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the shrine of Christ the King at Almada, in the Portuguese diocese of Setubal. He took the opportunity "to point out to the younger generation the example of hope in God and fidelity to their vow, that the bishops and faithful Christians of that time left us in this sculpture, a sign of their love and gratitude for the preservation of peace in Portugal".
Benedict XVI then travelled back to the apostolic nunciature where he had dinner. Hearing the singing of a group of young people from various parishes and ecclesial movements who had gathered outside the building, the Holy Father emerged onto the balcony to greet and bless them.
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THE CHURCH MUST ALWAYS SEARCH FOR TRUTH
VATICAN CITY, 12 MAY 2010 (VIS) - This morning, having celebrated Mass in private, Benedict XVI travelled to the Belem cultural centre to meet with representatives from the world of culture. On arrival he was greeted by Bishop Manuel Clemente of Porto, president of the episcopal commission for culture, and by the film director Manoel do Oliveira, who addressed some words of welcome to the Pope.
In his own address the Holy Father affirmed how "culture today reveals a 'tension' which sometimes takes the form of a 'conflict' between the present and tradition". However, he went on, "emphasis on the 'present' as a source of inspiration for the meaning of life, both individual and social, clashes with the powerful cultural tradition of the Portuguese people, deeply marked by the millenary influence of Christianity and by a sense of global responsibility. This came to the fore in the adventure of the discoveries and in the missionary zeal which shared the gift of faith with other peoples".
"This 'conflict' between tradition and the present finds expression in the crisis of truth,", the Pope affirmed. "A people no longer conscious of its own truth ends up by being lost in the maze of time and history, deprived of clearly-defined values and lacking great and clearly-formulated goals". And he went on: "Fidelity to man requires fidelity to the truth, which alone is the guarantee of freedom and of the possibility of integral human development. For this reason the Church searches for truth, proclaims it tirelessly and recognises it wherever it is manifested. This mission of truth is something that the Church can never renounce
"For a society made up mainly of Catholics, and whose culture has been profoundly marked by Christianity, the search for truth apart from Christ proves dramatic", he added. "For Christians, Truth is divine; it is the eternal 'Logos' which found human expression in Jesus Christ. ... The Church, in her adherence to the eternal character of truth, is in the process of learning how to live with respect for other 'truths' and for the truth of others. Through this respect, open to dialogue, new doors can be opened to the transmission of truth".
"The Church must enter into dialogue with the world in which she lives", said Pope Benedict quoting Pope Paul VI. "Dialogue, without ambiguity and marked by respect for those taking part, is a priority in today's world, and the Church does not intend to withdraw from it. ... Given the reality of cultural diversity, people need not only to accept the existence of the culture of others, but also to aspire to be enriched by it and to offer to it whatever they possess that is good, true and beautiful".
"Point out new worlds to the world", said the Holy Father quoting the poet Luis de Camoes, author of 'Os Lusiades'. You who are "forgers of thought and opinion", he told his audience, "have the opportunity to speak to the heart of humanity, ... to broaden the horizons of knowledge and of human engagement. Do not be afraid ... to enter into dialogue with believers, with those who, like yourselves, consider that they are pilgrims in this world and in history towards infinite Beauty!".
He continued his address: "Precisely so as 'to place the modern world in contact with the life-giving and perennial energies of the Gospel', Vatican Council II was convened. There the Church, on the basis of a renewed awareness of the Catholic tradition, took seriously and discerned, transformed and overcame the fundamental critiques that gave rise to the modern world, the Reformation and the Enlightenment. ... The Council laid the foundation for an authentic Catholic renewal and for a new civilisation - 'the civilisation of love' - as an evangelical service to man and society".
"The Church", Benedict XVI concluded, "considers that her most important mission in today's culture is to keep alive the search for truth, and consequently for God; to bring people to look beyond penultimate realities and to seek those that are ultimate".
Following his meeting with representatives from the world of culture, the Holy Father went to the apostolic nunciature in Lisbon where he met Jose Socrates, prime minister of Portugal.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 12 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Timothy L. Doherty of the clergy of the diocese of Lafayette in Indiana, U.S.A., pastor of St. Catherine church in Dundee, and of St. Mary Mission church in Gilberts, as bishop of Lafayette in Indiana (area 25,455, population 1,296,384, Catholics 108,000, priests 98, permanent deacons 17, religious 81). The bishop-elect was born in Rockford, U.S.A. in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1976. He succeeds Bishop William L. Higi, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.



 
AMERICAS
COLOMBIA: DOCTOR SUSPENDED FOR REFUSING TO PERFORM ABORTION

CNA report: Colombia’s Attorney General, Alejandro Ordonez Maldonado, recently called on the country’s Constitutional Court to protect the fundamental rights of Dr. German Arango Rojas, who was suspended for refusing to perform an abortion on a minor with a disability despite the demands of her parents.

Maldonado warned that the doctor’s fundamental rights to fair justice, equality and due process were violated. After Rojas refused to perform the abortion, the National Medical Ethics Tribunal suspended him and ordered him to pay damages to the girl's family.
Colombia’s Public Ministry announced it has taken measures to protect the fundamental rights of the girl and her child who has since been adopted.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/colombian-doctor-convicted-for-not-performing-abortion-on-minor/   

ASIA
CHINA: SIX CHILDREN HACKED TO DEATH IN KINDERGARTEN

Asia News report: Six children and a teacher stabbed to death, another 20 wounded. The murderer then committed suicide. It is the fifth case of violence against children in two months. Local authorities suggest increased security outside and inside schools and see these as isolated cases. Bloggers and commentators put the blame on the social gap, poverty, injustice, lack of space for people to express their frustrations.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Six children and one teacher were killed and 20 were wounded in a Shaanxi nursery school. This attack is the fifth onslaught towards children and students in less than two months in spite of promises to increase patrols and checks inside and outside of schools.
The serious accident occurred this morning at 8 am in a kindergarten in the county of Nanzheng (Hanzhong). The injured children are now hospitalized. According to local authorities, the murderer was killed. Similar attacks on children and pupils have increased public fear that violence against children can become a kind of model.
On April 30 a farmer in Shandong attacked children with a hammer, injuring five and then setting himself on fire. The day before a man with a knife, wounded 29 children and three adults in the city of Taixing (Jiangsu). In the same week a 33 year-old former teacher, with mental health problems, wounded with a knife 15 students and a teacher in Guangdong. In March, a doctor, frustrated because his girlfriend left him, killed eight children and wounded five others in Fujian. The man has been sentenced to death and his sentence was carried out quickly.
On 7 May, the Ministry of Public Security has sent groups to verify the situation to 18 different locations. Previously the authorities have said that they would ensure greater security in schools, controlling access points and making sure people who have mental problems are kept at a distance.
The most likely hypothesis is that the murderers, from the government point of view, are people who are mentally unstable. But of all the violence of recent months, only one of the assassins was considered as much.
Commentators and bloggers in China argue that the deeper reason for these attacks is the anger and frustration of people who can not find another way to express their anguish than attacking the most defenseless.
The growing gap between rich and poor, lack of social safety nets, the rapid economic development at the expense of justice are among the cases cited that lead to such violence.
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Children-killed-in-a-kindergarten-in-Hanzhong-18384.html



AFRICA
CAMEROON: LEADERS OF RELIGION DEDICATE CAMEROON TO GOD

All Africa report: The Christian and Moslem leaders prayed God in an inter-religious service in Yaounde as part of activities to celebrate Cameroon's 50 years of independence.

Christian and Moslem religious leaders have entrusted Cameroon to God and prayed the Almighty to continuously shower his peace, mercy, unity, prosperity and development on the country. This was during a two and a half hours inter-religious service at the Yaounde Multipurpose Sports Complex yesterday, May 11 organised as part of activities to mark the celebration of 50 years of Cameroon's independence and reunification.
The Minister of State, Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Marafa Hamidou Yaya represented the Head of State in the ceremony. This was in the presence of President of the National Committee of the Organisation of the fiftieth anniversaries of Cameroon's independence and reunification, Martin Belinga Eboutou, some members of governments, members of the diplomatic corps, other State dignitaries and members of the various religious bodies. In the first part of the occasion, leaders of seven religious bodies took turns to read bible and Koran passages and prayed God to bless Cameroon and its Head of State, Paul Biya. The religious bodies were Islam, Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC), Eglise Evangélique du Cameroun, Union des Eglises Baptistes du Cameroun, Eglise Presbyteérienne Camerounaise, Eglise Orthodoxe and the Catholic Church.
Each intercession and prayer were interspaced by a song rendered by the Congressional Choir of the PCC and the La Voix du Cénacle of Professor Gervais Mendo Ze. He was the chairperson of the sub committee for religious manifestations in the independence and reunification 50th anniversaries celebrations.
Besides prayers by religious leaders, there was equally a universal prayer delivered in nine Cameroonian national languages chosen according to their regional representative nature. Specific themes prayed for included God's grace for 50 years of Cameroon's independence, fallen patriots who sacrificed their lives for the country, peace, progress and unity in the country. There were also prayers for Cameroonians both at home and abroad to forge ahead in common solidarity, as well as for Cameroonian youths, women, the sick, underprivileged, orphans, street children and the disabled. The people prayed for the Head of State and his family and Cameroon's economic partners, friendly countries and international organisations. In all, there was a convergence of prayers for tolerance, acceptance of diversity, patriotism, solidarity, spirit of sharing, general interest, uprightness and selfless rendering of services. The leaders condemned corruption and prayed for the country's resources to be judiciously used to ensure the welfare of all.
The candle light ceremony displayed by ten people emphasised the concern that every Cameroonian be guided by the light of the unique destiny of peace and unity. As the Archbishop of Yaounde, Mgr Victor Tonye Bakot explained, this aspect of the ceremony was a plea to God to continuously illuminate the feet of Cameroonians as they move in peace.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005120840.html
EUROPE
SPAIN: ARCHBISHOP CALLS ON MEDIA TO REPORT TRUTH

CNA report:The Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, called on the media this week to report the truth and to respect the dignity of persons. He also denounced the “destructive” effects that take place when the media degrades the dignity of individuals.

In a message for the 44th World Day of Social Communications, which the Church will celebrate next Sunday, Cardinal Rouco Varela said the technological evolution of the media has been “dizzying” and acknowledged the socio-political, cultural, spiritual and religious influence they exert.
Nevertheless, the cardinal continued, in his opinion, "all too frequently," the media puts itself at the service “of social and cultural processes profoundly degrading to the dignity of the human being.”
Consequently the cardinal urged the media to report “the truth in truth.” He added that this can be difficult because of the “classic temptations to selfishness, to the acquisition of power at all costs, to money, and consequently, to deception and offending one’s neighbor.”
He added that Catholics in the media know how to be “servants of the full truth” and are therefore “direct and explicit witnesses” of the word of Jesus Christ in their profession and in the broadcasting of information to their audiences.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/madrid-cardinal-calls-on-media-to-report-the-truth/

AUSTRALIA
BISHOP INVITES CATHOLICS TO SIGN PETITION ON ETHICS CLASSES

Cath News report: Bishop Peter Ingham of Wollongong has invited Catholics throughout NSW to sign a petition in support of the work of Catechists in the State Schools, opposing the teaching of ethics classes in time set aside for Special Religious Education (SRE).

All Dioceses of New South Wales were invited to consider contributing to the petition and at this stage the Archdiocese of Sydney, and Dioceses of Parramatta, Broken Bay, Wollongong and Canberra-Goulburn are contributing to the petition, said a statement from Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Wollongong.
The issue has been given broad coverage in recent weeks in mainstream media, but the reporting failed to accurately present the reasons why major faith traditions are opposed to the classes, the statement said.
The current trial ethics classes are being run in competition with scripture classes which Bishop Ingham described as being "in clear breach of the Legislation and the Department of Education and Training's (DET) own policies with regard to SRE" that no course, including ethics or civics style courses, should run during time set aside for Religious Education.
Before the trial commenced, religious leaders were assured that ethics classes would only be offered to students who have already "opted out" of SRE. Unfortunately, this guarantee was breached and all students were invited to participate, including those who were previously in SRE classes, he said.
The Government has apologised for this error, but the damage was significant, the statement said.
The petition does not oppose ethics classes, but asks that the New South Wales Government does not run these classes during Scripture time as it creates an unnecessary dilemma for Catholic parents whose sons and daughters will not be able to attend both SRE and ethics classes. They will be forced to choose between the two.
The petition also affirms that New South Wales has a proud tradition of recognizing the valuable contribution religious education makes to society, and should therefore remain a key part of the curriculum under legislation.
It recognizes that additional material on ethics is a welcome addition to the New South Wales education curriculum and it should therefore also be available to students who want to participate in Scripture classes.
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21280



TODAY´S SAINT

St. Pancras

MARTYR
Feast: May 12

Information: Feast Day: May 12

Born: ~289 AD, Synnada, Phrygia

Died: ~304 AD, Via Aurelia, Rome

Major Shrine: San Pancrazio, Rome

Patron of: children; invoked against cramp, false witness, headache, and perjury
He is said to have suffered at Rome in the fourteenth year of his age. Having been beheaded for the faith, which he had gloriously confessed under Dioclesian in the year 304, he was interred in the cemetery of Calepodius, which afterwards took his name. His old church in that place was repaired in the fifth century by Pope Symmachus, and in the seventh by pope Honorius I. St. Gregory the Great speaks of his relics. St. Gregory of Tours1 calls him the Avenger of Perjuries, and says that God by a perpetual miracle visibly punished false oaths made before his relics. Pope Vitalian sent a portion of them to king Oswi in 656.2 Italy, England, France, Spain, &c., abound with churches which bear his name.3 See D. Jenichen, Diss. de S. Pancratio, urbis et ecclesiae primariae Giessensis patrono titular), in 4to. anno 1758, at Giessen, a university in Upper Hesse, belonging to the landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt.
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stpancras.asp


TODAY´S GOSPEL

John 16: 12 - 15

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: TUES. MAY 11, 2010

CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: TUES. MAY 11, 2010: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: POPE VISITS PORTUGAL AS A PILGRIM TO THE VIRGIN OF FATIMA-

AFRICA: LIBYA: MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE DIE AT AIRPORT-
ASIA: IRAQ: 99 DEAD & 270 WOUNDED IN ATTACKS-
AMERICA: CUBA: WOMEN IN WHITE TO ASK FOR VATICAN MEDIATION FOR RELEASE-
EUROPE: ENGLAND: CARDINAL O´CONNOR TO RECEIVE HONORARY DEGREES-
AUSTRALIA: GOVERNMENT CENSORS PRO-LIFE SITES-


VATICAN
POPE VISITS PORTUGAL AS A PILGRIM TO THE VIRGIN OF FATIMA

VATICAN CITY, 11 MAY 2010 (VIS) - At 9.10 a.m. this morning Benedict XVI departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport, landing at 11.00 a.m. at Portela international airport of Lisbon, thus beginning his apostolic trip to Portugal, the fifteenth foreign visit of his pontificate.
On arrival the Holy Father was greeted by Anibal Cavaco Silva, president of the Republic of Portugal, and by Cardinal Jose da Cruz Policarpo, patriarch of Lisbon. Various political and civil authorities were also in attendance, as well as members of the Portuguese episcopate."I come as a pilgrim to Our Lady of Fatima", said the Pope at the beginning of his address, "invested from on high with the mission of confirming my brothers and sisters as they advance on their own pilgrimage towards heaven".
"The Virgin Mary came from heaven to remind us of the truths of the Gospel which for humankind - lacking in love and without hope of salvation - represent a source of hope. Clearly this hope has as its first and radical dimension, not the horizontal, but the vertical and transcendent relationship. The relationship with God is a constituent part of man who was created and ordained for God, who seeks for truth within his own cognitive structures, who tends towards good in the sphere of volition, and who is attracted by beauty in the aesthetic dimension.
"A conscience may be described as Christian in the measure to which it is open to the fullness of the life and wisdom we have in Jesus Christ", he added. "The aim of this visit, which I am now beginning under the sign of hope, is to be a proposal of wisdom and of mission".
The Holy Father went on: "An insightful vision of life and of the world leads to a just ordering of society. Situated within history, the Church is open to collaborate with those who do not marginalise essential consideration for the human significance of life, or reduce it to the private sphere. This does not mean an ethical confrontation between a secular system and a religious system, rather it concerns the question about the meaning that we give to our freedom. The distinguishing feature is the value attributed to the problem of meaning and its implication in public life".In this context, Benedict XVI recalled how the foundation of a republic in Portugal 100 years ago, "by distinguishing between Church and State, opened a new space of freedom for the Church (to which the two Concordats of 1940 and 2004 later gave form) in a cultural and ecclesial context deeply marked by rapid changes. The sufferings caused by the transformations were, in general, faced with courage", he said.
"Living in a plurality of value systems and ethical structures makes it necessary to journey to the core of one's own self and to the nucleus of Christianity in order to reinforce the quality of our witness unto sanctity, and to discover the paths of the mission that lead even to the radical choice of martyrdom".
Having completed his address, Benedict XVI went to the apostolic nunciature. At 12.30 p.m. he travelled nine kilometres by car to the "Mosterio dos Jeronimos". The monastery was built between 1502 and 1580 over the hermitage of "Santa Maria de Belem", donated by King Manuel I to the order of Hieronymites.
The building, which is currently used to welcome visiting heads of State, also has strong ties to the great Portuguese explorers and missionaries, whose exploits are recorded in the nearby "Torre de Belem". Since 1983 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in 2007 it was the location used for the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon.
Benedict XVI was received by President Cavaco Silva and his wife. Following the welcome ceremony, in the company by Cardinal Policarpo, he made a brief visit to the ancient church of "Santa Maria de Belem" where he prayed before the Blessed Sacrament then visited the cloister of the monastery.
At 1.15 p.m. the Holy Father mounted the popemobile to travel the 400 metres separating the monastery from the "Palacio de Belem", also built in the sixteenth century and the residence of Portuguese monarchs until the declaration of the republic in 1911, when it became the official residence of the president.
In the "Palacio de Belem", the Pope paid a courtesy visit to President Cavaco Silva, with whom he held a private meeting before signing the visitors' book and greeting members of the president's family. He also addressed some words to the staff who work in the palace. He then returned to the apostolic nunciature where he had lunch.
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NEW FIBRE OPTIC COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE IN VATICAN
VATICAN CITY, 11 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Governorate of Vatican City State and Telecom Italia have announced the signing of a contract for the installation of the first nucleus of the "Integrated Communication Infrastructure for Vatican City State". This consists in a broadband IP network capable of voice, data and video transmission within the territory of the Holy See and Vatican City State, according to a communique published today.The plan includes, among other things, fibre optic cable links between the ten main extraterritorial sites including the Pontifical Villas at Castelgandolfo and the radio stations in Santa Maria de Galeria.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 11 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:
- Fr. Edward A. Nevares of the clergy of the diocese of Tyler, U.S.A., vice rector of the Josephinum Pontifical College in Columbus, as auxiliary of the diocese of Phoenix (area 113,831, population 4,415,210, Catholics 706,433, priests 318, permanent deacons 269, religious 317), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in San Antonio, U.S.A. in 1954 and ordained a priest in 1981.
- Bishop Giorgio Corbellini, president of the Labour Office of the Apostolic See and member of the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia, as president of the same commission.

AFRICA
LIBYA: MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE DIE AT AIRPORT

All Africa report: More than 100 people died at Tripoli's international airport when a flight from Johannesburg crashed while landing early Wednesday.

The airline operating the aircraft, Afriqiyah Airways, said in a statement posted to its website that flight 8U 771 had been in an accident at 6 am on Wednesday, Tripoli time. The flight left Johannesburg on Tuesday night.

"At this moment we have no information concerning possible casualties or survivors," the airline said.
Hoever, Agence France-Presse reported an airport official in Tripoli as saying there was only one survivor of the crash - a Dutch boy who had been rushed to hospital. The airline said 93 passengers and 11 crew members had been on board.
The South African agents of the airline told Johannesburg's The Star newspaper that many of the passengers were South Africans who had been scheduled to fly on to London. Reuters quoted a security source in Tripoli as saying there had been 22 Libyans, including passengers and crew, on board.
The aircraft which crashed was an Airbus A330-200. Airbus said on its website that Afriqiyah Airways had taken delivery of its first A330-200 in August 2009.
The manufacturers, Airbus Industrie, said in a statement they would provide "full technical assistance" to those responsible for the investigation into the crash.
Afriqiyah Airways says on its website that it was founded to realize "the dream of linking African countries directly with one another, hence the name Afriqiyah which stands for African, without the need to suffer through long connecting flights from Africa to Europe and then back to Africa."
It says it began operations with five leased Airbus aircraft and signed a contract with Airbus in 2007 to buy 11 new planes.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005120254.html
IMAGE SOURCE http://www.independent.ie/world-news/africa/eightyearold-boy-sole-survivor-of-libyan-plane-crash-2176928.html

ASIA
IRAQ: 99 DEAD & 270 WOUNDED IN ATTACKS


Asia News report: At least 99 dead and 270 wounded in attacks in Mosul, Baghdad, Hilla and Basra. The violence attributed to al Qaeda, but there is a risk of increasing the political vacuum created after the elections. Allawi: The conflict may spread beyond the Iraqi borders.

Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The scenario that everyone feared and dared not imagine is manifesting itself: the political void that remains after the elections on March 7 has given a free hand to terrorists who shook Iraq yesterday with a series of attacks throughout the country, with a toll of 99 dead and 270 wounded.
In the aftermath of what was the bloodiest day in Iraq in 2010, today the former prime minister and winner of the latest elections, Iyad Allawi warns of new sectarian war. In an interview with British newspaper The Guardian the leader – a Shiite but the leader of a secular group, Iraqiya - stated that all political groups have abandoned efforts to build a unity government and are pursuing personal and ethnic interests, with the full support Iran. Iraqiya took the Iraqi parliamentary elections winning 91 seats and to ensure stability the country needs has to find a broad coalition agreement with other local groups. While in some districts a recount of votes continues.
According to the former premier, who in his party has also Sunni leaders, "this conflict will not remain within the borders of Iraq. It will expand and will have the ability to involve the whole world, not only the neighbouring countries. "
The attacks yesterday covered the entire country: from Mosul to Baghdad, Hilla to Basra. Suicide bombers, explosions and shootings targeted civilians and security forces. In the capital there were seven attacks on police and army checkpoints. The Iraqi authorities point the finger at al Qaeda and "well-known terrorist groups”, some of whom" have regional and international support with the aim of influencing the political and democratic process in Iraq, "said Gen. Qassim al Musawi, a spokesman for security operations in Baghdad.
So while the new government is far from being formed and the attacks increase, some are calling for the creation of an interim authority, which can at least act as a form of control.
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Iraq,-the-most-violent-day:-nearly-100-dead-18376.html
AMERICA
CUBA: WOMEN IN WHITE TO ASK FOR VATICAN MEDIATION FOR RELEASE

CNA report .Berta Soler, a member of the Women in White in Cuba, said this week that the group will ask the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, to provide mediation for the release of the country's prisoners of conscience when he travels to Cuba in mid-June.

The Women in White movement is comprised of the wives of Cuban political prisoners.
Speaking to reporters, Soler said, “the Vatican representative could influence the release of many people, not only political prisoners, but also common ones as well, as occurred during the visit by Pope John Paul II” in 1998. On June 15, Archbishop Mamberti will open the 10th Catholic Social Week at the University of Havana, during which there will be a debate on the reality of Cuba between various Catholic and non-Catholic intellectuals.
After a peaceful march this past Sunday carried out by 60 Women in White in Havana, Soler said, “We are hopeful that even if all the remaining 53 men (out of the 75 imprisoned in 2003) are not released, at least the ones who are sick will be freed.”
Solar emphasized the “important role” that the Catholic Church is playing, referring to the mediation two weeks ago by Cardinal Jaime Ortega, who was able to lift the official prohibition against the Women in White from marching without an official permit.
Sunday’s march was led by Reina Tamayo, the mother of Orlando Zapata, who died February 23 after an 85 day-long hunger strike.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/women-in-white-to-request-mediation-from-vatican-to-free-cuban-prisoners-of-conscience/
EUROPE
ENGLAND: CARDINAL MURPHY-O´CONNOR TO RECEIVE HONORARY DEGREES

Catholic Bishops Conference of England report: Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor is travelling to America this week to receive two honorary doctoral degrees.

The national Catholic University of Notre Dame, Indiana (rated as one of the top 25 institutions of higher learning in the US News and World Report survey of America’s best colleges) wishes to formally recognise the Cardinal’s "life-long devotion to the unity of the Church and to ecumenism, your witness to the Gospel, and most recently to the problems caused by the movement of peoples. So many of your accomplishments reflect what we hold out to our students as ideals for Catholic Christians." His Eminence, Cardinal Sean O’Malley will be honoured at the same ceremony for his work in Boston.
One of the oldest Jesuit Catholic universities in the United States, Boston College (Massachusetts) also wishes to recognise the Cardinal’s "powerful example of faith, pastoral care, and commitment to Roman Catholicism. As Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, you have provided spiritual leadership for millions of Catholics for decades. Your more than 50 years as a priest and your work on behalf of the disenfranchised, undocumented workers, and migrants have made a difference in the lives of so many, especially the less fortunate."
The University of Notre Dame degree ceremony will take place on Sunday May 16; Boston College’s ceremony will take place on Monday May 24.
http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/catholic_church/media_centre/press_releases/press_releases_2010/cardinal_cormac_murphy_o_connor_to_receive_two_honorary_doctoral_degrees

 AUSTRALIA
GOVERNMENT CENSORS PRO-LIFE SITES

Cath News report: The Australian Government is censoring numerous anti-abortion sites for depicting graphic material, reportedly images and videos of abortion procedures, said the Catholic League of Australia.

The group said on its website that information gathered both by the ABC TV's Four Corners program and a leaked list containing banned websites from the Australian Communications and Media Authority showed that there was censorship of such sites.
One website that is censored is abortSA.com, the website is run by Trevor Grace, who was an anti-abortion candidate for South Australian Parliament in 2008. But the site recently became available to Australian web users when its hosting server was moved offshore.
AbortionNO.com, known for its graphic resources on abortion, was also on the censor list, said the report.
"We are told by governments, parliamentarians and pro-choice advocates, that abortion just involves the removal of 'cells' and 'tissues' from the human body," said a spokesperson for the Catholic League.
"It should then not be an issue to allow images and videos that depict the process of how these 'cells' and 'tissues' are removed from the body.
"It is totally hypocritical for anyone to claim abortion is just the removal of 'cells' and not murder, but then claim it is OK to ban images of abortions because they are too graphic or too real."
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21244



TODAY´S SAINT

St. Francis of Girolamo

PRIEST
Feast: May 11Born: 17 December 1642 at Grottaglie, Apulia, near Taranto, Italy
Died: 11 May 1716 at Naples, Italy
Canonized: 26 May 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI
Patron of: Grottaglie, Italy
In that part of the kingdom of Naples which is commonly called Terra d'Otranto, a small village near Taranto gave birth to St. Francis di Girolamo. This event, which was destined to exercise so important an influence over the world in these latter times, took place upon the 17th of December, 1642. His parents, John Leonard di Girolamo and Gentilesca Gravina, were distinguished less by the honorable station which they occupied in society, than by their virtues and the excellent education they gave to their children—eleven in number, of whom Francis was the eldest.
But not only was virtue thus the inheritance of our saint, and as it were the natural growth of his soul, but it sprung up therein with an energy that early developed the rich qualities of the soil it occupied. A judgment beyond his years, a sweet submission and obedience to his parents, a virginal modesty, and an ardent love of prayer and retirement, marked the childhood of the saint, and betokened his future greatness and sanctity. At a proper age the holy youth was admitted to the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist; from which moment his hunger and thirst for this sacred banquet constantly increased, drew him to its participation as often as possible, and nourished in him that love for our Lord, which kept him ever in communion with the Spouse of souls. His pious parents were careful to cultivate the extraordinary talents with which God had blessed him, by procuring him early instruction. He was taught the rudiments of the Latin tongue, which he acquired with surprising facility; and so quickly did he learn, and so correctly retain, the truths of religion, that already, in his tender years, he commenced his apostolic career, by teaching the children of his own age their catechism. When he was sixteen years of age, his parents, ever watchful over his interests, sent him to Taranto, that he might study philosophy and theology in the schools of the Society of Jesus. Here his exemplary conduct won for him the esteem and affection of his venerable archbishop, who, more and more persuaded of his worthiness, advanced him successively to the minor orders, subdeaconship and deaconship. With the consent of his parents he went to Naples, in order to acquire the canon and civil law, at the same time that he prosecuted the study of theology. But what Francis had most at heart-to complete the dedication of himself to God-occupied his first thoughts on arriving at Naples. Wherefore, procuring dimissorial letters from his archbishop, and a dispensation from the pope, on account of his age, he received priest's orders from the hands of Don Sanchez de Herrera, bishop of Possuoli. Deeply penetrated with a sense of the awful responsibility he had assumed, and the exalted dignity with which he was invested, Francis, although pure and holy and studious before, became now more watchful, fervent, and assiduous, and dreaded lest the shadow of imperfection should obscure for a moment the virginal purity of his soul. And though he lived in the world as one not belonging to the world, still he was now anxious to quit it entirely, and to betake himself to some solitude far removed from its dissipations and the breath of its polluted atmosphere, where he might have full leisure to attend to his advancement in learning and sanctity. Heaven granted the wish of its favored servant. A prefect's post became vacant in the College of Nobles of the Society of Jesus. Francis applied for, and obtained it. The youths who were submitted to his care, were not slow to discover that a saint had been set over them. His countenance and demeanor, his amiable manners and sweet and pious conversation, the austerities and mortifications which all his efforts did not entirely conceal, soon manifested the exalted degree of perfection which he had attained.
After five years' residence there, in the situation of prefect, our saint, in his twenty-eighth year, felt a sudden and strong inclination to enter the Society. Indeed, he had all the qualifications requisite to become a member, and though the idea presented itself to him for the first time, his mind was prepared to receive it with avidity, from the sentiments which he had long cherished, and which his education among the Jesuits, and his long connection since with the order, had considerably strengthened. But now an obstacle arose, which it cost the saint no little pains to overcome. This was his father's opposition to the step. He wrote Francis a long and vehement letter, full of pathetic remonstrances, which the saint so affectionately and eloquently answered, as at least to subdue his reluctance, and induce him to acquiesce in the will of God. Thus all difficulties being removed, on the eve of the Visitation of Our Lady, in the year 1670, being then in his twenty-eighth year, he repaired to the house of probation to perform his novitiate.
No sooner did Francis find himself admitted among the novices, and bearing the sacred habit, than his soul burst into lively effusions of gratitude; and with such zeal did he apply himself to the duties now imposed upon him, that the master of the novices soon perceived what an acquisition the Society had made. A more fervent, mortified, and obedient novice than Francis, never was found. He scrupulously complied with the minutes" and most irksome ordinances. Being of a meek and affable disposition, he won the hearts of others by his amiable conduct; and, being appointed to preside over the lay-novices, his exalted virtues and profound spirituality speedily wrought a beneficial change in their dispositions. Armed at all points, and strengthened against every assailant, he issued from the first year of his novitiate, exulting like a giant, to run the career of apostolic virtue. He was sent to Leece, together with the celebrated Father Agnello Bruno, and during three years, these holy missionaries traversed every city and village in the two provinces of Terra d'Otranto, and in that of Apulia, preaching, and converting, wherever they went, an infinite number of sinners. It used to be said of them, "Father Bruno and Father Girolamo seem not mere mortals, but angels sent expressly to save souls." In 1674, our saint was recalled to Naples, in order to finish his course of scholastic theology, previous to his being solemnly professed. When his studies were completed, he was, in 1675, by a special disposition of Providence, appointed to the church called the Gesu Nuovo, where he commenced the labors of that apostolic career, which he continued for forty years, without intermission, unto the close of his earthly pilgrimage. For the first three years, indeed, his only fixed duty was to give the invitation to communion, as is the custom in that church, on the third Sunday of every month; which task, however, is arduous enough to discourage any but a most zealous laborer. Yet, oven this and the other incessant works of charity in which he spent these three years, could not satisfy the cravings of our saint's zeal. Wherefore, on the news reaching him that the mission of Japan was once more to be opened, he importuned the superiors, by letters dispatched to Rome, to let him have a part in this glorious enterprise, so that he might slake, in some degree, the burning thirst which devoured him. For his desire had ever been to die for the faith, yet was he content to linger out a painful life, amidst the thorns of martyrdom, even though it should be denied him to pluck the rose he so much coveted. The answer came, precise and peremptory. He was to consider Naples as his , and to perfect the sacrifice he had made of himself to God, by the surrender of his inclinations. Thenceforward he looked upon Naples as that province in the vineyard of our Lord, which the divine husbandman wished him to exclusively cultivate. Such was the sovereign will of God, manifested in the command of his superiors, and in which our humble saint acquiesced without hesitation; nor was that Providence, which rules events, slow in carrying its purpose into effect.
The superiors, in 1678, confided the whole mission to Francis. Here it may be proper to describe the duties such a charge imposed. First, to watch over and maintain the fervor of a pious congregation, who assisted at all the processions, and were the right arm of the missionary: secondly, to preach every Sunday and festival-day during the year, in the squares or other frequented parts of the city; and this not only in Naples, but also in other towns and provinces of the kingdom. And thirdly, to give the monthly invitations to communion. Our saint undertook the first of these obligations with an ardor only surpassed by the success which attended his efforts. He reformed all abuses, and excluded every imperfection that could retard the spiritual advancement of his scholars. He introduced, or established among them, the custom of frequenting the sacraments every Sunday, and on all the festivals of our Lady, and the practice of mental as well as vocal prayer, and of public penance and humiliation. The law of the Gospel he was careful to instil into them by frequent exhortations, and he gave efficacy to his precepts by his example. But as the members of this confraternity were destined to be his partners and coadjutors in the apostolic ministry, he was, above all, assiduous in kindling and keeping alive the flames of zeal in their breasts; so that they became his zealous and indefatigable assistants. Besides this, he chose seventy-two of the most efficient and capable, with whom he held counsel twice a month, and sent them into the heart of the city, to spy out the evil that existed, and learn what souls stood most in need of ghostly and bodily succor. The vigilance he exercised over all, extended to each in particular. With marvellous dexterity he practiced what St. Basil calls the insinuating arts of grace. His charity also and forbearance were unbounded: in sickness he never abandoned them a moment, but continued his affectionate attentions to the last. Another practice, to which he had recourse, to promote piety, was the visit to the seven churches, in commemoration of our Redeemer's seven journeys. This was performed in the following manner: a procession, carrying the crucifix, chanted the litanies as they went, and at every church where they stopped, Francis delivered an impressive exhortation. The devotion terminated with a renewal of the oblation each one made of himself, to our Lord Jesus and our Lady, with vows of perpetual fidelity.
The second duty, of preaching in public, embraced a much more extensive range, and required a proportionately greater degree of toil. When the Sunday came, he first spent two hours in mental prayer, then said Mass, and afterwards recited the Canonical Hours, bareheaded and kneeling, either in his room, or in the church before the blessed Sacrament. His private devotions being satisfied, he spent the rest of the morning in the Confessional, or with his congregation. At the appointed hour the saint and his companions went into the streets in procession, and then, distributing themselves in divers parts, began to preach to the people. Francis usually mounted a stage, near or opposite to the dancers or mountebanks, who either slunk away at his approach, or vainly strove, through rage and spite, to distract the attention of the audience, who were fascinated by his eloquence. After the discourse, he would kneel at the foot of the cross, and scourge his shoulders with the discipline: then once more he betook himself to the Confessional, where he remained till the doors of the church were closed. Still his ardor longed for more extensive occupation; and, with the approbation of the superiors, and the concurrence of his companions, he repeated the missionary labors on holidays, during the week as well as Sundays.
The third duty annexed to his charge was the invitation to communion. For nine days preceding the third Sunday of every month he went about the principal streets, along with a few companions; by ringing a little bell, he gave notice of the approaching day of communion; and, to excite the attention of his hearers, recited, in a loud voice, some short, but sententious maxim or admonition from Holy Writ. Thus he continued all the morning until dinner-hour, and after noon resumed his task with never-wearying zeal till nightfall.
In the suburbs, also, of Naples, he performed this laborious duty; nor is it easy to conceive the pains and privations it cost him; how, under the scorching sun, or pouring rain, he journeyed through marshes, over rocks, oft times to the peril of life and limb, and always on foot, until, in his latter days, he was constrained to ride. When the day arrived, and from fifteen to twenty thousand communicants appeared, Francis used his strenuous efforts to keep order among them. The troops of men and women who came from the adjoining towns and villages, he received at the door, and placed in their respective posts. The children, crowned with cowers, were welcomed by him with tears of joy; but it was in imparting to them the life-giving food, that his soul overflowed with tenderness, and the love of Jesus beamed from his countenance, and thrilled in the fervid expressions with which he excited their devotion. Such were the labors of our saint's mission, and such the manner he discharged them. On the feast of the Immaculate Conception of our Lady, in the year 1682, Francis made his solemn profession; on which occasion he manifested that humility which distinguished him, by falling on his knees in public, and kissing the feet of the superior, thanking him aloud for admitting so unworthy a member into the society.
Before we enter further into the detail of his apostolic career, it may not be improper to give some notions of that quality whereby he wrought so many wonders,—his extraordinary eloquence. His voice was loud and sonorous, and was heard distinctly at a great distance; and the style of his preaching was copious, simple, and impressive. No one ever knew the human passions better, or swayed them with more tact and delicacy. Sometimes he stole upon his hearers with an insinuating grace, that charmed them almost unconsciously into persuasion, at other times, he would pour out such a volley of arguments, sustained by suitable quotations from Scripture, or the fathers, and illustrated by all the images of a lively fancy, so as to overpower all opposition, and force conviction on the most stubborn. His descriptions were forcible and graphic; his pathetic appeals were sure to draw tears, and his energy astounded and terrified. Indeed, he was accustomed to speak with so much vehemence, as occasionally to bring blood to his lips: he often talked himself hoarse, and till his palate was parched; and once, in the midst of an animated invective against sins, he dropped down suddenly and swooned away. The method he ordinarily pursued in his discourses, was first to paint the enormous malice of sin and the terrors of the Divine judgments, in colors so striking as to raise self-indignation and alarm in sinners. Then, changing his tone with a master-skill, he dwelt upon the sweetness and mildness of Jesus Christ, so as to make despair give way to hope, and the most hardened melt into compunction. This moment he seized, to make an appeal so tender and so overpowering as to cause his hearers to bend their knees before the image of their crucified Lord, and implore, in tears, and sobs, and broken accents, forgiveness and reconciliation. It was usual for him to subjoin, at the conclusion, some striking example of God's chastisements or favors, whereby his audience might carry away a deeper and more lively impression of the truths he had just been inculcating. His eloquence, however, was less the result of any natural talent, than of his ardent love of God and zeal for his service. When he was to preach, he used to note down in few words his arguments, authorities, and examples; and at the foot of the crucifix, he prepared himself to treat on his affairs with men, by communing with God. Thence, like another Moses, he descended—all on fire from his colloquy with the Deity; and it seemed as if God himself often inspired him with expressions of supernatural efficacy. It was matter of surprise to all who knew him, how he could possibly go through so many labors, which were more than sufficient to occupy five missionaries, and far beyond the natural strength of his weak constitution and emaciated frame; so that it was not unreasonably thought, that to prolong such exertions for the space of forty years, he must have been supported by a miracle. He was in constant attendance on the hospitals, prisons, and galleys, besides visiting the sick in their houses, and ministering to the spiritual necessities of monasteries, asylums, confraternities, and schools. The consequence of these labors was the amendment of numberless sinners; the conversion of several Turkish infidels to the faith of Jesus Christ; and the introduction of a surprising regularity of manner in those habitual abodes of wretchedness and vice—the galleys and the prisons. His zeal also reclaimed the soldiery from a state of the greatest disorder to the most edifying piety. Still, however, his ardor, which knew no bounds, thirsted for more fruit; accordingly he used to go and preach, during the night, in the very hotbeds and receptacles of vice, that sinners might be awed into repentance by the novelty and solemnity of this warning, at the hour when they least apprehended interruption. Once our saint, being in prayer in his chamber, felt a sudden inspiration to go out and preach, which, by the advice of his superiors, he obeyed. For some time, he wandered in the dark—he knew not whither, till he came to the corner of a street, where he began to preach on the necessity of immediate correspondence with the divine grace; and having finished, returned home, satisfied with having complied with his duty, though ignorant to what purpose, or with what fruit. The next morning, however, a young woman came to him to confession; and, with signs of the bitterest compunction, told him that when in company, the evening before with her paramour, her attention was suddenly arrested by his voice in the street, denouncing God's vengeance against unrepenting and procrastinating sinners, which so terrified her that she began to exhort her partner in guilt to break off their unlawful intercourse. To this, however, he would by no means consent, and even laughed at and derided the holy man's threats: when, to her horror, she beheld their awful fulfilment. For the man suddenly ceasing to speak, she found him a breathless corpse; his soul having taken its flight to God's tribunal, while the words of blasphemy were yet upon his lips. Plunged into the greatest alarm by this catastrophe, she implored pardon of God, with sighs and tears, and now came to effect her reconciliation, and to expiate her past scandals by a life of penance. Francis had to experience many mortifying contradictions. Yielding to certain representations, the cardinal archbishop forbade him to preach any more. The humble saint uttered no complaint or remonstrance, but consoled his zeal by a perpetual attendance in the confessional. Soon after, moved by the conduct of the saint, as well as by the entreaties of wiser and more virtuous advisers, who assured him that he was depriving Naples of its apostle, the cardinal gave Francis back his faculties. For the purpose of proving his virtue, the superior forbade him to quit the house without obtaining express permission—a command with which Francis for several months scrupulously complied; till she father, edified by his humility, and convinced of his virtue, removed the restraint. Even the lay-brother who was assigned him, being a man of morose temper, was a great cause of trouble to him. Where his zeal thought to effect most good, it often met with the harshest construction and reproof. He was abused as a meddling busybody-a disturber of the public quiet. He was often overwhelmed with outrages, and more than once turned out of doors. A certain cavalier had such an aversion for him, that he could not bear his presence. A large sum was entrusted to Francis for this person, with whom he more than once sought an interview, without being able to attain it. "Well!" said the cavalier, who admitted him at last, "what brings you here? the usual story! charity, I suppose—I've nothing for you." My lord duke," replied the saint, "I certainly have a small favor to ask, which is, that you would exercise your benevolence so far as to furnish a poor person with money to purchase a bed to sleep upon. And this cannot inconvenience you, for in the purse I here present, you will find two hundred ducats, which I have been the means of restoring to you." The cavalier exclaimed, in a rage: "That's not all." "Nay," replied the saint, "I know nothing, but that such a sum was given to me." "And by whom?" "I cannot inform you." Whereupon he snatched the purse out of his hands, and turning his back upon him, left him to depart. But not long after he had occasion to recall him: for falling dangerously ill, he was anxious to conciliate the man he had so grossly insulted; and though he was then forty miles distant from Naples, he sent for him. The saint assisted him at the hour of his death, to his great spiritual advantage and consolation.
His charity, indeed, towards those who injured him, was remarkable. Attempting one day to quell a strife among some soldiers, he received from one of them a blow upon the head that drew blood copiously: and when the captain, hearing of it, would have punished the man severely for the sacrilege, our saint did not desist from his entreaties until he obtained his pardon. Even in the tribunal of confession he was not secure from insults. Two poor women had come from a great distance to confession, and were anxious to get home early, as there was no one to take care of their houses in their absence. Whereupon the saint requested a man, who was also waiting, to allow them precedence. This he did, but with a very bad grace. He even threw out a slanderous insinuation against the saint, who, after he had dismissed the women, heard the confession of this very man, and treated him with so much sweetness and charity, that he sent him away with an altered temper and feelings of esteem and admiration. One of the most frequent and effectual instruments which our saint employed for the sanctification of souls, were the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. It is impossible to conceive with what energy and fruit he delivered the meditations which compose this course of Christian philosophy. Often he was obliged to interrupt his discourses, that the sighs, tears, and, sobs which they occasioned, might subside. Private individuals, as well as communities-ignorant and learned-the aged and the young of both sexes, alike profited by his exhortations, and to such a pitch of enthusiasm did he excite tile compunction of sinners, that they openly declared their offences and inflicted severe chastisements upon themselves, so that sometimes it was necessary to restrain their ardor. Nor was this a transient effect, but a durable benefit; hence followed many conversions of sinners, who for ten, twenty, or thirty, or even fifty years, had thrown off the yoke of religion. Indeed, Francis possessed a wonderful tact in bringing back sinners to duty, as the following examples will show.
A certain man had not been to the sacraments for five-and-twenty years; at length, admonished more than once in a dream to have recourse to our saint, he obeyed, to his own great happiness and the glory of Our Lady, to whose mercy he was indebted for the admonition. Another, commencing his confession, was asked by the saint, how long it was since he had last made it; whereat he burst into tears, and besought the holy mall not to dismiss him, for that he was a great sinner; but he, bidding him not be discouraged, asked him if it was ten, twenty, or fifty years? "Fifty," said he, "exactly, father, have I kept aloof from God." "Kept aloof from God?" repeated Francis, "why should you avoid so tender a parent-a Saviour, who has poured out the last drop of his blood for you? Nay, rather turn and meet Him who has been running after you so long." And the man confessed with sincerity and compunction all the crimes he had committed, and thenceforward led a virtuous life. An inveterate sinner was once dying, without giving any sign of hope, or manifesting a wish to repent. After Francis had urged him long in vain to confide in the mercies of God, suddenly changing his tone, he thus addressed him: "Do you think that God incurs any obligation, if you accept his offer of Paradise; or that he must needs mourn if you prefer hell? how many princes and nobles are lost, whom God suffers to perish; and do you suppose God cares more for you? If will be damned, be so;" and he turned away from him. This sudden and impressive address wrought a wonderful change in the dying man, who in agony of grief and alarm, besought the saint not to abandon him. He then confessed his sins, with every demonstration of sincere contrition, and expired full of hope. Indeed, no heart, however hardened, could withstand the exhortations of the holy man. A young man once threw himself at the feet of the saint, exclaiming: "Father, behold here, not a human being, but a very demon: a soul abandoned to despair. Many years ago, a confessor denied me absolution; I have never since confessed, never heard mass, never entered a church, or even as much as recited a Hail Mary, or made the sign of the cross. Alas, I have even gone so far in wickedness as to league myself with Satan, and to have recourse to his aid, through those who are skilled in the black art. Can I, after such a life, presume to hope; dare I ask for mercy?" "Why not, my son?" replied Francis: "it is true thy crimes are great, yet cloth the mercy of God surpass their magnitude: was it not for sinners that Jesus Christ died? There is yet pardon for thee, if thou wilt seek it earnestly, and fervently, and set about reforming instantly thy life." These consoling words revived the sinner, long dead in iniquity, and gave to God a persevering penitent.
Still more remarkable is the following occurrence, which the saint was accustomed to relate in his public sermons. One day a young man presented himself before him, with a grave and devout air: "Father," said he, "I am come to declare to you the wonders of God's mercy in my regard, and to beseech you both to return him thanks for his signal favors, and to counsel me how I may best profit by them. Many years have elapsed since I was addicted to a certain vice, which struck such deep root into my soul, that God permitted my reason to be clouded, and my heart to be changed, so that I fancied myself a beast. In this persuasion I stripped myself of clothing, and wandered through the fields, and crawled along the ground exposed to the sun and rain, the frost and the snow, in company with the irrational animals, partaking their food, and imitating their cries. After a year of this life it pleased God to take compassion on me, and to restore me to my reason. Words cannot describe the confusion and shame I felt. I clearly perceived that it had been a punishment of my sins. I made the best confession I was able, as soon as I could, and have lived ever since, by God's grace, up to his divine laws. What think you-hath he not used unparalleled mercy towards me?" Our saint, embracing him, said: "In very deed cloth the sinner become like the brute beast, that hath no understanding." He approved his present conduct, confirmed his sentiments, and comforted him by the assurance that God would never withdraw his grace from him, so long as he was faithful to his resolutions.
An assassin, who had been hired to murder some persons, passing a crowd to whom the saint was preaching, stopped on his road, saying within himself, "Perhaps he whom I seek is among this multitude." Whereupon he stood to observe, and could not help hearing the discourse of the preacher, and hearing, was, as it were, spell-bound to the spot. When suddenly these words caught his ear—"thousands bewail past sins, and cost thou, wretched sinner, meditate new crimes? Unhappy creature whom neither the arm of God outstretched to launch his thunderbolts, nor hell opening beneath Thy feet to swallow thee, can deter from thy wickedness!" His guilty conscience smote him, his heart turned away from evil, he confessed his enormities, and from a murderer became a saint. A youth of disordered life was so moved by another sermon of Francis, that overcoming every human respect, he cast himself in public at the foot of the crucifix, and exclaimed—" Father, I am lost: for nearly twenty years I have not been to a confessor," and so saving, wept bitterly, and lashed himself with the discipline. Then, accompanying the confraternity to the Gesu Nuovo, he sought Francis, who embraced him like a tender father, and exhorted him to have confidence in God, with whom he was instrumental in reconciling him. The young man not only forsook his former vicious habits, but exhibited a model of repentance, and persevered in an exemplary life. But if, on the one hand, the happiest results were experienced by all who attended to his counsels, on the other, grievous chastisements often befell those who neglected or despised his warnings. A youth of depraved conduct had the effrontery to laugh at and deride his remonstrances, and even dared to heap abuse upon him. Francis bore all meekly, in imitation of our Blessed Saviour, "who when he was reviled, did not revile;" but God would not suffer such a crime to go unpunished, for shortly after the young man perished miserably in a riot. But it is now time to take a rapid view of his labors out of Naples.
The fame of his great achievements in this city occasioned earnest solicitations to be made, that the fields of his exertions might be extended to the provinces. But Naples was by no means willing to surrender its apostle, even for a short time; and the intervention of several distinguished persons was requisite to effect the desired object. In upwards of a hundred missions which Francis undertook in consequence, he traversed all the provinces of the kingdom, with the exception of the Calabrias. Incredible were the hardships and privations he encountered,—the difficulties and obstacles he surmounted in the execution of this work of charity. Wherever he went, the clergy and most respectable inhabitants came out to meet him, and gave him an honorable reception. Without however losing a moment, the indefatigable servant of God commenced his career by an introductory discourse and an invocation of the tutelar saint and guardian angels of the place. At daybreak he celebrated mass, and spent the remainder of the morning in a manner somewhat similar to that already described, in speaking of his mist signs in Naples. It was an edifying and affecting sight, to witness the communion of the children, and the procession of penitents through the streets. But when at length he came to give the concluding discourse, and to repeat his farewell admonitions, then was it that the fruit of his exertions was perceptible. The seed of grace, which had struck deep root, gave signs of vigorous growth and duration; for when he exhorted the people to perseverance, with one voice they promised to preserve inviolably their engagements; and when he imparted his last blessing, with his customary "adieu, to meet again in Paradise," no words can describe, no imagination is able to conceive, the emotions of the multitude.
Not always, however, did Francis meet with such consoling encouragement to his zeal. The devil, raging to behold so many souls redeemed from his snares by the active charity of the holy man, spared no pains to molest and baffle him, by raising against him hosts of enemies, who threw discredit, upon his conduct, fomented suspicions and jealousies, and waged war against him by every possible art that bad passions or his own malignant spirit could suggest. Hence it not infrequently happened that he experienced insults instead of welcome, on his arrival at places where calumnies had beforehand been industriously spread. Sometimes he found no attention paid to his exhortations; yet, finally, his invincible forbearance and persevering charity, his saintly demeanor-itself a confutation of his calumniators-triumphed over all opposition. Few details respecting these memorable missions have been recorded, but some, preserved by the testimony of eye-witnesses, have been rescued from the oblivion of time.
When the holy man was on his way to Capua, the carriage stuck in a deep ditch, and resisted all the efforts of the driver to extricate it. Whereupon, after the manner of this class of persons, he began to curse and swear. "O my son," cried the saint, "blaspheme not, for God's sake." "Why, father," said the man, would not a saint swear in such an infernal hobble, with nobody near, nor a chance of any one's coming to assist us?" "Have patience," rejoined the holy man; and as he was yet speaking, two robust young men, turning the corner of the road, volunteered their services and relieved the travellers from their difficulty; after which, without waiting to be thanked, they disappeared. Wherever he went he reconciled enemies, converted sinners, besides performing many prodigies.
He had to contend against obstacles of another description. He applied to Monsignor Capece, bishop of Cheti, a capital town of the Abruzzi, for leave to preach there. "Certainly," replied the bishop; "but, Father Francis, you must be forewarned ours is a sensible and cultivated city, accustomed and able to weigh well the force of reason; and therefore you will at once perceive that certain addresses to the senses, such as the exposition of the crucifix, or images of the Virgin and other saints,—things admirable in themselves, would here be quite out of place, and calculated to do more harm than good." "Your lordship's wishes shall assuredly be attended to," said the humble saint, "till such time at least as you yourself shall deem it proper to recall them."
Not long after this the prelate felt an acute pain, for which he could not account; but as his conscience troubled him, he sent word to the saint, that in regard to the subject of their conversation he might use his discretion. The bishop had himself more than one occasion of witnessing the fruit which the practices he was disposed to condemn invariably produced; and Francis knew so well how to employ them, that the mission of Cheti succeeded beyond the most sanguine expectations. With the like fruit did Francis perform the missions in various other towns, working conversions and prodigies too numerous to he here mentioned.
It would be superfluous to enlarge upon the particular virtues of our saint; his public life being rather the subject of this history. Yet are we unwilling to pass over unnoticed, his great and fervent love of Jesus Christ. Especially he honored and worshipped him in his divine infancy, his sacred passion, and his adorable sacrament. When he meditated upon these mysteries, he was always absorbed and penetrated with love; and when he approached the sacrament of the altar, his countenance glowed, as though he stood before a fire. Nothing provoked his indignation, or drew down his severe rebuke, so much as disrespect towards the blessed Eucharist. He removed many abuses: he would not suffer any levity in the church; and once reproved a lady of quality who had remained seated during the consecration. In like manner he was tenderly devoted to our blessed Lady. For twenty-two years he preached a sermon in her praise and honor every week. To youth especially, it was his custom to recommend this devotion as the surest preservation of innocence, and the best remedy after sin: saying that one could hardly be saved who felt no devotion towards the Mother of God.
Mary was his counsellor in doubt, his comfort in toil, his strength in all his enterprises, his refuge in danger and distress. He experienced an inexpressible delight whenever he recited the rosary of our tender Mother. He was likewise particularly devoted to his angel guardian, to St. Francis Xavier, and St. Januarius. His charity, humility, purity, and obedience, were never surpassed; nor did God withhold from him those gifts with which he is pleased at times to favor his chosen servants.
Our saint was favored with the foreknowledge of his dissolution. On the death of his brother he observed, "A year hence we shall meet;" and while he was still in health, taking leave of the nuns of St. Mary del Divino Amore—" My dear daughters," said he, "this is the last time I shall ever address you. Do not forget me in your prayers; adieu till we meet in Paradise." When he was sick, the festival of St. Cyr drawing near, "I shall not live to see it," he exclaimed. And finally, when the physician that attended him paid him his last visit, he thanked him for his attentions, and said:—"We shall never see each other again on this side of the grave, for Monday will be the last day of my life." During the month of March, 1715, at the beginning of Lent, he was, for the third time, giving the retreat to the students of the noble college, when suddenly he felt a racking fever assail his limbs, insomuch that he was obliged to be carried home. In a few days, however, it was somewhat subdued; and, though weak, he resumed his usual labors. Still his health declined, and towards December his constitution appeared quite broken down. Anxious to preserve so valuable a life, the superior sent him to take the mineral waters of Puzzuoli. But he experienced not the smallest benefit; and in March, 1716, on his return to Naples, he took up his abode in the infirmary. The agonies he suffered are not to be expressed; and yet a murmur never escaped him. "Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who consoles us in all tribulation," was his constant exclamation. When some one approached to sympathize with him, the heroic man crossed his hands on his breast, saying: "Crescant in mille millia." He was told of the great good he had achieved. "Nothing, nothing," he cried, "the fault I have most to apprehend is my slothfulness."
Death now began to hasten on apace; wherefore, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, making a general confession, he received the viaticum; and six days later was anointed. All night long, he gave vent to the fulness of his heart in such expressions as the following-" Let us bless the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; let us praise and exalt Him forever. Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised, in the city of our God, on his holy mountain." Then kissing the wounds of his crucified Saviour, he cried out, weeping, "Remember, dear Jesus, that this soul has cost the ransom of every drop of thy precious blood." And when the infirmarian entreated him to pray rather with his heart than his lips, by reason of the distress which speaking occasioned him: "Ah, my dear brother," said he, "whatsoever we think, or say of so great a God, his greatness is beyond all thought and expression." Then fixing his eyes upon an image of our Lady: "Ah, Mary," said he, "my dearest mother, thou last ever cherished me like a loving parent, though I have been thy too, too unworthy child. Complete now the measure of thy mercies in my regard, by obtaining for me the love of thy divine Son." Then, as though at the gate of Paradise, he exclaimed, "How great is the house of the Lord! Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house, O Lord; forever and ever shall they sing thy praise. Ye holy angels, why delay ye? Open the gates of Justice. Entering therein, I will praise the Lord."
His malady, however, continued for some days longer. Although he had repeatedly expressed a wish to be left alone, it was impossible to keep away numbers, who pressed to see him for the last time, to kiss his hand, and to receive his farewell blessing. With an amiable sweetness, he welcomed them all; and seeing their sorrow, said:-" Weep not; I go to heaven, where I shall remember you, and be better able to assist you." But what sunshine so serene is not occasionally clouded, what sea so calm as never to be ruffled by a storm? It pleased God to enhance our saint's virtue by submitting it to a dreadful trial. The frame of the holy man shook under the severity of the struggle. With a loud cry he called upon the Almighty, the eternal Son, our Lady, and all the saints, to save him. Being asked the cause of this fearful commotion, "I am fighting," he exclaimed, "fighting! pray for God's sake that I may not perish." Then, as if rebuking the evil spirit, he cried-"No, it shall never be. Begone! I have no part with you." His countenance at last brightening, he repeated softly, "'Tis well, 'tis well!" and so saying, chanted the and . He was anxious to receive the holy sacrament; but the superior did not judge it advisable, as he had lately been to communion; and the humble saint acquiesced. He now fell into his agony; the recommendation of a departing soul was recited; and, amidst the tears of his brethren, Francis di Girolamo expired, about mid-day, on Monday, the 11th of May, 1716, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, and the forty-sixth of his religious life, having spent forty years in the labors of an apostolic career.Although, from a motive of prudence, the superior had forbidden the bell to be tolled, to announce his death, there needed no sound to convey the intelligence through the city; it was read in every countenance, and spread so rapidly, that in a short time the Gesu Nuovo was filled with an immense concourse of people of all classes. The infirmarian being desirous of keeping some relic of so holy a man, before he laid him out in the sacerdotal habit, pared off a piece of the hard skin of the sole of his foot. But the pious theft soon became apparent, though he had used every effort to conceal it; for the blood began to flow so freely from the wound, as not merely to stem the knell, but to fill a vial holding three or four ounces: which portion being preserved, retained during three months its ruddiness and liquidity, and wrought many cures.
In the evening the body was carried into the church, that the office might be chanted, and a detachment of Swiss guards was hardly sufficient to protect it from the indiscreet devotion of the crowd. Indeed, three psalms had scarcely been sung, before they broke through all restraint, and pressed towards the body, eager to carry away some relic, especially to dip their handkerchiefs in the blood, which still streamed from the wound already mentioned. At length, the body was removed into a side-chapel, where it was secured against further violence by iron railing, through which, at the same time, it was visible to all. Still it was impossible to refuse the prayer of several devout persons, to be permitted to approach and kiss the hand or the saint, and at night some artists were admitted to take likenesses and effigies of him. A throng of suppliants crowded to the church next morning, and implored the saint to deliver them from their evils and distempers. Nor were they disappointed. Many cures took place on the spot, and the church again and again echoed with the cry of "A miracle, a miracle." Three days the body was left thus exposed, and the fourth was buried in a leaden coffin. On the 3d of July, 1736, leave being obtained, the coffin of our saint was disinterred, and the body was found mouldered into dust, which was carefully collected, deposited in another coffin of wood lined with brass, and translated from the common cemetery to the chapel of Saint Ignatius.
Numerous miracles quickly spread the fame of his holiness throughout Italy. He was scarcely dead, when the most prudent and virtuous individuals gave him the title of saint: and cardinal Orsini, afterwards Benedict XIII., who was singularly devoted to him, preached his panegyric in the cathedral of Benevento. Not long after his decease, the city of Naples, joined by Benevento, Nola, and several others, petitioned the Congregation of Rites to have him beatified; and the juridical process of his virtues and miracles was drawn up, and sent to Rome by Cardinal Pignatelli, in conjunction with other cardinals, nobles, and magistrates of the kingdom. After the requisite preliminaries, a decree declaring his heroic virtues was published by Benedict XIII., on the 2d of May, 1758. His miracles were approved by another, of Pius VII., dated the 9th of February, 1806, and finally the definitive decree of his beatification was issued by the same pontiff, on the feast of St. Joseph in the same year. He was subsequently canonized by Gregory XVI., on Trinity Sunday, 26th May, 1839.
SOURCE http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/F/stfrancisofgirolamo.asp


TODAY´S GOSPEL

John 16: 5 - 11

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5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?'

6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

8 And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;

10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more;

11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.