CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD: THURS. MAR. 31, 2011: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: POPE: APRIL PRAYER INTENTION AND MESSAGE TO BUDDHISTS FOR PEACE
AUSTRALIA: DRIVE-THROUGH CONFESSION BY CATHOLIC PRIEST
ASIA: BANGLADESH: 14-YEAR OLD RAPED AND LASHED TO DEATH
EUROPE: ROME: 300, 000 PILGRIMS EXPECTED FOR JPII'S BEATIFICATION
2011
BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL
VATICAN CITY, 31 MAR 2011 (VIS REPORTS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for April is: "That through its compelling preaching of the Gospel, the Church may give young people new reasons for life and hope".
His mission intention is: "That by proclamation of the Gospel and the witness of their lives, missionaries may bring Christ to those who do not yet know Him".
BXVI-PRAYER INTENTIONS/
MESSAGE TO BUDDHISTS: TRUTH IS NECESSARY TO SEEK PEACE
VATICAN CITY, 31 MAR 2011 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message to Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh, issued by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. This year Vesakh, the most important Buddhist festivity, is celebrated on 8 April in Japan, on 10 May in Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore, and on 17 May in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
The message, which is entitled "Seeking Truth in Freedom: Christians and Buddhists live in Peace", Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the pontifical council, note that "in the pursuit of authentic peace, a commitment to seek truth is a necessary condition. ... This human striving for truth offers a fruitful opportunity for the followers of the different religions to encounter one another in depth and to grow in appreciation of the gifts of each".
The English-language text continues: "In today's world, marked by forms of secularism and fundamentalism that are often inimical to true freedom and spiritual values, inter-religious dialogue can be the alternative choice by which we find the 'golden way' to live in peace and work together for the good of all. ... Such dialogue is also a powerful stimulus to respect for the fundamental human rights of freedom of conscience and freedom of worship. Wherever religious freedom is effectively acknowledged, the dignity of the human person is respected at its root; by the sincere search for what is true and good, moral conscience and civil institutions are strengthened; and justice and peace are firmly established".
CON-DIR/
VATICAN CITY, 31 MAR 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc, Ukraine.
- Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis, archbishop of Aparecida, Brazil, president of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), accompanied by Archbishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo of Merida, Venezuela, first vice president; Archbishop Andres Stanovnik O.F.M. Cap. of Corrientes, Argentina, second vice president, Bishop Emilio Aranguren Echeverria of Holgun, Cuba, president of the economic committee, and Bishop Jose Leopoldo Gonzalez Gonzalez, auxiliary of Guadalajara, Mexico, secretary general.
- Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, president of the German Episcopal Conference.
- Bishop Mathew Arackal of Kanjirapally of the Syro-Malabars, India, on his "ad limina" visit.
- Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt of Palai of the Syro-Malabars, India, on his "ad limina" visit.
- Bishop George Alencherry of Thuckalay of the Syro-Malabars, India, on his "ad limina" visit.
- Bishop Mathew Anikuzhikattil of Idukki, of the Syro-Malabars, India, on his "ad limina" visit.
AP:AL/
VATICAN CITY, 31 MAR 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Removed Bishop Jean-Claude Makaya Loemba from the pastoral care of the diocese of Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo.
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Papeete, Tahiti, presented by Archbishop Hubert Coppenrath, upon having reached the age limit.
AUSTRALIA: DRIVE-THROUGH CONFESSION BY CATHOLIC PRIEST
- NEWS.COM.AU REPORT: Father opens drive-through confessional
- Includes a seven-sin-selection board
- Flashing green light signals forgiveness
SINFUL drivers can repent on the run with the opening today of Australia's first drive-through confessional.
The pray-as-you-go service is to become slicker, with a sin-selection board to be installed by Easter and a smartphone app on the way, the Herald Sun reported.
South Melbourne Catholic priest Fr Bob McGuire said yesterday that the move brought the church up to speed with modern life.
"Everybody drives past this place but no one comes in," Fr McGuire said.
"Now they can stop at the window, open their window and confess their sins. Then I'll reassure them that they'll be right."
A flashing green light will signal when a driver's sins have been forgiven. "When you're driving out you'll be clean as a whistle," Fr McGuire said.The 60-second car wash for the soul includes a symbolically refreshing spray of rose water.
The seven cardinal sins - lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy and pride - will be numbered on a sign, Chinese menu-style.
From 6.30am, sinners will repent at a mobile unit dubbed the Hopemobile in the St Peter and Paul's church driveway, confessing, for instance, to three No.7s and a No.4.
Fr McGuire said the coded response was meant to maintain confidentiality.
A more permanent set-up should be in place by Easter and Fr McGuire is hoping for a sponsor to cover set-up costs.
He said some overseas churches had confessional sponsors. At least one had a bookmaker as the backer. "They called it O'Flaherty's sin bin or something," he said.
The phone app, sourced from the US, will let drivers select deadly sins from a list, which will appear in front of the priest on a screen when the car pulls up.
It will also advise on the correct form of words to use.
"Part of it's being already used in one church in the US," Fr McGuire said.
"I think it's even been passed by the church police.
"It's the combining it with being forgiven for your sins in the flesh that hasn't been tried."
Fr McGuire ran a trial of drive-by prayer three weeks ago, on Ash Wednesday, but gave it up for Lent.
SOURCE: http://www.news.com.au/national/your-sins-forgiven-on-the-run/story-e6frfkvr-1226031706893#ixzz1ICeR01eK
ASIA: BANGLADESH: 14-YEAR OLD RAPED AND LASHED TO DEATH
CATHOLIC ONLINE REPORT: 14-year-old girl lashed 70 times in front of parents
In a horrific case of rural justice, a 14-year-old girl was lashed 70 times in front of her parents on alleged adultery charges. She cried out to her mother proclaiming her innocence, and her death a week later was judged a suicide by a local hospital.
In a horrific case of rural justice, a 14-year-old girl was lashed 70 times in front of her parents on alleged adultery charges. She cried out to her mother proclaiming her innocence, and her death a week later was judged a suicide by a local hospital.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Hena Akhter was the youngest child of Darbesh Khan and his wife, Aklima Begum. The 14-year-old Akhter lived with her parents and four other siblings in Bangladesh's Shariatpur district. Crisscrossed by murky rivers that lend waters to rice paddies and lush vegetable fields, she lived with her family in a house constructed of corrugated tin and rotting wood.
Hena's cousin, Mahbub Khan had returned to Shariatpur from a stint working in Malaysia. His son was Hena's age, and the two were in seventh grade together.
Khan reportedly eyed Hena and began harassing her on her way to school and back, said Hena's father. He complained to the elders who run the village about his nephew, who was three times Hena's age.
The elders admonished Mahbub Khan and ordered him to pay $1,000 in fines to Hena's family. According to her sister, many months later, Hena was walking from her room to an outdoor toilet when Mahbub Khan gagged her with cloth, forced her behind nearby shrubbery and beat and raped her.
Hena struggled to escape and Mahbub Khan's wife heard Hena's muffled screams and when she found Hena with her husband, she dragged the teenage girl back to her hut, beat her and trampled her on the floor.
The next day, the village elders met to discuss the case at Mahbub Khan's house. The imam pronounced his fatwa. Khan and Hena were found guilty of an illicit relationship. Her punishment under sharia, or Islamic law was 101 lashes; his 201.
Mahbub Khan managed to escape after the first few lashes. Darbesh Khan and Aklima Begum had no choice but to mind the imam's order. They watched as the whip broke the skin of their youngest child and she fell unconscious to the ground.
An initial autopsy report cited no injuries and deemed her death a suicide.
"What happened to Hena is unfortunate and we all have to be ashamed that we couldn't save her life," Sultana Kamal, who heads the rights organization Ain o Shalish Kendro says.
Bangladesh is considered a democratic and moderate Muslim country, and national law forbids the practice of sharia. Activist and journalist Shoaib Choudhury, who documents such cases, said sharia is still very much in use in villages and towns aided by the lack of education and strong judicial systems.
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=40871
EUROPE: ROME: 300, 000 PILGRIMS EXPECTED FOR JPII'S BEATIFICATION
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) -- Church and local government organizers are planning to accommodate at least 300,000 people in St. Peter's Square and the surrounding area for Pope John Paul II's beatification Mass May 1.
Msgr. Liberio Andreatta, head of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the Vatican-related pilgrimage agency, told reporters March 29, "Rome is ready to welcome every pilgrim who wants to come. Earlier, newspapers published megalithic numbers and said every hotel is booked. That's not true."
Father Cesare Atuire of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi said as soon as Pope Benedict XVI announced the beatification date, travel agents and others booked large blocks of hotel rooms. Now that the beatification is just a month away, they have a more precise idea of how many rooms they will need and so they are freeing up the extras.
In addition, he said, two campgrounds outside of Rome will be reserved for pilgrims who want to keep their costs to a minimum. The commuter trains, which usually do not run on weekends, will be on a special schedule to get them to the prayer vigil April 30 in Rome's Circus Maximus and to the Mass the next morning.
Because the pope is the bishop of Rome and the pilgrims will spend most of their time in Rome, not at the Vatican, the Diocese of Rome is responsible for much of the cost of the event, Msgr. Andreatta said.
The diocese is passing the collection basket to large Italian companies to come up with at least $1.7 million to cover the costs of handling 300,000 pilgrims for the beatification, Msgr. Andreatta said.
Although the city of Rome and its hotels, restaurants and shops will benefit financially from the pilgrims, Msgr. Andreatta said the financial crisis still weighing on Italy made the diocese look to donors instead of the local government for funding.
The money will cover building a stage and installing a sound system and lighting at the Circus Maximus, running extra buses, covering the cost of the bus and subway tickets included in the pilgrim's package, renting and erecting crowd-control barriers and renting dozens of large video screens.
A woman in St. Peter's Square holds photos of Pope John Paul II earlier this year. (CNS/Paul Haring)
The screens will be placed in the squares around the Vatican and in most of the churches in the historic center of Rome so that people who cannot get close to St. Peter's Square or would prefer to stay away from the crowds can still follow the Mass, he said.
An Italian beverage company has donated 1 million bottles of mineral water, he said, and a restaurant chain has donated the ingredients for thousands of box lunches.
Father Atuire said that as of March 29, the largest numbers of pilgrims were coming from Italy, then Pope John Paul's native Poland, followed by Spain and the United States.
Opera Romano Pellegrinaggi has launched a special website -- www.jpiibeatus.org -- to assist pilgrims with reservations and information. The information is available in five languages, including English.
AMERICAS: CHILE: PRESIDENT RECEIVES PRO-LIFE AWARD
March 30, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A group of 37 pro-life organizations active at the United Nations presented an award to Chilean President Sebastián Piñera Echenique last Saturday in an event that was covered by the country’s television networks and other major media.
Dan Zeidler, coordinator of the International Committee for the Protection of Life, praised the pro-life policies of the Chilean government as he handed the award to Piñera, pointing out that the country’s prohibition of all surgical abortions is accompanied by the lowest infant mortality rate in Latin America.
“We celebrate that more Chilean women have given birth more safely than ever,” Zeidler said. “Chile is a good example for other countries of the world that are trying to reduce their maternal mortality to reach the Millennium Development Goals of the UNO (United Nations Organization).”
The International Protect Life Award was given to Piñera not only for his country’s complete prohibition of the killing of unborn children, but also because his government has maintained policies that care for women facing difficult pregnancies and promote the value of human life in television campaigns.
The government’s “Committed to Life” program offers assistance to women who face financial challenges and other problems during their pregnancies. The “Chile Grows with You” advertizing campaign features a pregnant woman with the slogan, “My (unborn) child hears and experiences the world just as I do. We’re connected!” The ad says: “An invitation from the government to protect children.”
AFRICA: LIBYA: 40 KILLED IN BOMBING
“If it is true that the bombings appear to be very targeted, it is also true that they are hitting military targets, which are in the midst of civilian neighbourhoods, thus the local people are also affected,” said Bishop Martinelli.
The Apostolic Vicar adds: “The situation in Tripoli is becoming more difficult every day. The fuel shortage has worsened, as evidenced by the queues of cars at petrol stations. On the military level things seem to be at an impasse, because the rebels do not appear to have enough strength to move forward. For this reason I say that the diplomatic solution is the best way to end the bloodshed between the Libyans, giving Gheddafi a dignified way out.”
The recent defection of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and former external intelligence chief in Libya, Moussa Koussa, is interpreted by many as a sign of the presence of strong divisions within the regime. “Moussa Koussa was certainly one of the pillars of power,” confirms Bishop Martinelli. “His defection is perhaps due to the contradictory line that was taken in recent weeks against the UN.”
TODAY'S SAINT: MAR. 31: ST. BENJAMIN
St. Benjamin
MARTYR, DEACON
Feast: March 31
| Isdegerdes, son of Sapor III, put a stop to the cruel persecution against the Christians in Persia, which had been begun by Sapor II, and the church had enjoyed twelve years' peace in that kingdom when, in 420, it was disturbed by the indiscreet zeal of one Abdas, a Christian bishop, who burned down the Pyraeum, or temple of fire, the great divinity of the Persians. King Isdegerdes threatened to demolish all the churches of the Christians unless he would rebuild it. Abdas had done ill in destroying the temple, but did well in refusing to rebuild it; for nothing can make it lawful to contribute to any act of idolatry, or to the building a temple, as Theodoret observes. Isdegerdes therefore demolished all the Christian churches in Persia, put to death Abdas, and raised a general persecution against the church, which continued forty years with great fury. Isdegerdes died the year following, in 421. But his son and successor, Varanes, carried on the persecution with greater inhumanity. The very description which Theodoret, a contemporary writer, and one that lived in the neighbourhood, gives of the cruelties he exercised on the Christians strikes us with horror: some were flayed alive in different parts of the body, and suffered all kinds of torture that could be invented: others, being stuck all over with sharp reeds, were hauled and rolled about in that condition; others were tormented divers other ways, such as nothing but the most hellish malice was capable of suggesting. Amongst these glorious champions of Christ was St. Benjamin, a deacon. The tyrant caused him to be beaten and imprisoned. He had lain a year in the dungeon when an ambassador from the emperor obtained his enlargement on condition he should never speak to any of the courtiers about religion. The ambassador passed his word in his behalf that he would not; but Benjamin, who was a minister of the gospel, declared that he could not detain the truth in captivity, conscious to himself of the condemnation of the slothful servant for having hid his talent. He therefore neglected no opportunity of announcing Christ. The king, being informed that he still preached the faith in his kingdom, ordered him to be apprehended; but the martyr made no other reply to his threats than by putting this question to the king: What opinion he would have of any of his subjects who should renounce his allegiance to him, and join in war against him? The enraged tyrant caused reeds to be run in between the nails and the flesh both of his hands and feet, and the same to be thrust into other most tender parts, and drawn out again, and this to be frequently repeated with violence. He lastly ordered a knotty stake to be thrust into his bowels, to rend and tear them, in which torment he expired in the year 424. The Roman Martyrology places his name on the 31st of March. St. Ephrem, considering the heroic constancy of the martyrs, makes on them the following pious reflections: "The wisdom of philosophers, and the eloquence of the greatest orators, are dumb through amazement, when they contemplate the wonderful spectacle and glorious actions of the martyrs: the tyrants and judges were not able to express their astonishment when they beheld the faith, the constancy, and the cheerfulness of these holy champions. What excuse shall we have in the dreadful day of judgment, if we, who have never been exposed to any cruel persecutions, or to the violence of such torments, shall have neglected the love of God and the care of a spiritual life? No temptations, no torments, were able to draw them from that love which they bore to God; but we, living in rest and delights, refuse to love our most merciful and gracious Lord. What shall we do in that day of terror, when the martyrs of Christ, standing with confidence near his throne, shall show the marks of their wounds? What shall we then show? Shall we present a lively faith? true charity towards God? a perfect disengagement of our affections from earthly things? souls freed from the tyranny of the passions? silence and recollection? meekness? almsdeeds? prayers poured forth with clean hearts? compunction, watchings, tears? Happy shall he be whom such good works shall attend. He will be the partner of the martyrs, and, supported by the treasure of these virtues, shall appear with equal confidence before Christ and his angels." We entreat you, O most holy martyrs, who cheerfully suffered most cruel torments for God our Saviour and his love, on which account you are now most intimately and familiarly united to him, that you pray to the Lord for us miserable sinners, covered with filth, that he infuse into us the grace of Christ that it may enlighten our souls that we may love him, &c." |
SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/B/stbenjamin.asp#ixzz1ICJ1vlQk
TODAY'S GOSPEL: MAR. 31: LUKE 11: 14- 23
| Luke 11: 14 - 23 | |
| 14 | Now he was casting out a demon that was dumb; when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke, and the people marveled. |
| 15 | But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Be-el'zebul, the prince of demons"; |
| 16 | while others, to test him, sought from him a sign from heaven. |
| 17 | But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. |
| 18 | And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Be-el'zebul. |
| 19 | And if I cast out demons by Be-el'zebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. |
| 20 | But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. |
| 21 | When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace; |
| 22 | but when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoil. |
| 23 | He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. |
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