CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD: SUN. FEB. 6, 2011: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: POPE: CALLS FOR CALM AND PEACE IN EGYPT
AFRICA: EGYPT: MUBARAK GATHERS MINISTERS AMID PROTESTS
AMERICA: USA: CATHOLIC YOUTH RALLY FOR LIFE
EUROPE: GREAT BRITAIN: PRIEST FROM ORDINARIATE SPEAKS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE
ASIA: NEPAL: NEW PRIME MINISTER TO BE ELECTED
AUSTRALIA: MACKILLOP HOMES TO BE SOLD
TODAY'S SAINT: FEB. 6: ST. PAUL MIKI AND COMPANIONS
EUROPE: GREAT BRITAIN: PRIEST FROM ORDINARIATE SPEAKS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE
ASIA: NEPAL: NEW PRIME MINISTER TO BE ELECTED
AUSTRALIA: MACKILLOP HOMES TO BE SOLD
TODAY'S MASS READINGS: 5th SUN. OF ORDINARY TIME/ YEAR A
Pope Benedict XVI appealed for calm and a return to peaceful coexistence in Egypt today.“I have been following the delicate situation in the dear Egyptian nation with attention in these days,” said Pope Benedict, adding, “I ask God that that Land, blessed by the presence of the Holy Family, once again find tranquillity and peaceful coexistence, in shared commitment to the common good.”
The Holy Father’s appeal came as news began to break of major concessions from the government to opposition groups.
Egypt's vice president met a wide representation of major opposition groups for the first time Sunday and agreed to allow freedom of the press, to release those detained since anti-government protests began nearly two weeks and ago and to lift the country's hated emergency laws when security permits.
Vice President Omar Suleiman endorsed a plan with the opposition to set up a committee of judiciary and political figures to study proposed constitutional amendments that would allow more candidates to run for president and impose term limits on the presidency.
The committee was given until the first week of March to finish the tasks.
The regime also pledged not to harass those participating in the anti-government protests, which have drawn hundreds of thousands at the biggest rallies.
The government also agreed not to hamper freedom of press and not to interfere with text messaging and Internet.
There were several reports during the past week of Mubarak supporters harassing journalists in Cairo, including Natalie Carney, who told how a group of young men stormed the office building she and her colleagues were using.
Sunday's meeting was the broadest representation of Egypt's fragmented opposition to meet with the new vice president since the protests demanding the immediate ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak began on Jan. 25.
The opposition groups represented included the youthful supporters of leading democracy advocate Mohamed ElBaradei, who are one of the main forces behind the protests.
The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group also attended the meeting.
The two sides also agreed at the meeting that the government would open an office to field complaints about political prisoners.
The government also pledged to commission judicial authorities to fight corruption and prosecute those behind it.
In addition, the government agreed to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the as-yet unexplained disappearance of police from Cairo's streets more than a week ago, which unleashed a wave of lawless looting and arson.
is A Sunni Muslim and the secretary general of Lebanon's Christian-Muslim Committee for Dialogue, Mohammed Sammak hopes that the political developments will open doors for better relations between Christians and Muslims in the future throughout the entire Mideast region. “It’s not between Christians and Muslims,” he said, “Christians and Muslims are on the same side.”
AFRICA: EGYPT: MUBARAK GATHERS MINISTERS AMID PROTESTS
Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) – Pressure is on Mubarak to hand over substantial power to his vice president, Omar Suleiman, and Tahrir Square, Cairo, protesters, after a peaceful night, are ready for another day of protest demanding the immediate departure of the Rais. The situation is still highly volatile and it is difficult to predict the timing and outcome of this standoff.Army tanks have begun to leave the square, many protesters are sitting around the tanks, to prevent them from leaving. They see them as their only defence against surprise attacks by supporters of Mubarak.
The Egyptian president has convoked Cabinet for the first time since the unrest erupted. He met the prime minister, the ministers of oil, finance, economy and the central bank governor. The most recent reports say that the new Vice President, Omar Suleiman, is set to meet with opposition leaders. It is likely that the banks reopen tomorrow, and that the stock market will reopen Monday. An attack on the pipeline that supplies gas to Israel and Jordan has led to a temporary freeze on supplies, even if the damage is minimal.
There is growing international pressure on Mubarak to bring about an institutional change quickly. Obama continues to put pressure on the Rais to "make the right choices." Angela Merkel said that the change must take into account the wishes of the demonstrators. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said that "the will of the people must be respected."
AMERICA: USA: CATHOLIC YOUTH RALLY FOR LIFE
CNA REPORT: - Choosing to carry an unplanned pregnancy to term almost seven years ago proved to be a life-threatening decision for one young Catholic woman.
Edel Carrick, a Scottsdale Catholic, shared her story during the annual Youth and Young Adult Rally for Life Jan. 21 at the All Saints Catholic Newman Center. The annual gathering, hosted by the diocesan Office of Marriage and Respect Life, marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Carrick detailed before a crowd of teens, young adults, “the young at heart,” at least two deacon candidates and a few priests and women religious from throughout the diocese, how a simple encounter at a party led to a sexual assault and pregnancy. Couple that with Carrick’s diabetes and that left the then 19-year-old fighting for both her life and the life of her unborn son.
It started with Carrick’s first ultrasound.
Afterward, the doctor told Carrick that she would resent the baby, and because of the coming complications due to Carrick’s diabetes, it’d be best for her to have an abortion.
“I looked at him and said, ‘You’re a doctor. You’re supposed to help save lives, not kill them, so if you’d like to help the next person, feel free, but I’m done here,’” Carrick recalled.
Further complications sent paramedics to Carrick’s home weekly during her pregnancy and landed her in the hospital when she was seven-and-a-half months along and facing congestive heart failure. Carrick’s son was born shortly after by c-section at 7 lbs., 15 oz.
The baby spent the next month in intensive care.
“I remember saying, ‘I fought for you. You need to fight for me,’” Carrick told an almost spellbound crowd.
Shortly after that, she introduced her 6-year-old son and happily reported that he’s learning to read and excels at sports.
“That little boy is the one who people were telling me, ‘throw him away’,” Carrick said.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted then had a brief pro-life message for those at the rally, but began by telling Carrick’s son that he is the “best message without words that we could have here this evening.”
He recounted the mystery of Christ’s birth and how Jesus’ government refused to protect him because it wasn’t convenient to have a child there — much like Roe v. Wade does for the unborn in the United States. He also affirmed that there would be a day when abortion is no longer legal.
“It will happen through prayer and penance and when we do our part to stand up for life,” the bishop said.
He also talked about how the annual rally for life was as much a rally for eternal life. Bishop Olmsted recalled a meeting outside of an abortion clinic with a Spanish-speaking woman that ultimately led not only to the birth of her child, but a return of the baby’s grandmother to the Church.
Damon Owens, founder of New Jersey-based Joy Filled Marriage, said the quest for eternal life is best met through sacrificial love. He was also among the night’s speakers.
“Our crisis in this culture of death and a call to return to the culture of life requires returning to agape love,” Owens said.
He reminded the college students, especially, that they weren’t just in school for an education, but for a period of formation of habit and their life’s vocation. Don’t just hear and accept the vocation, but love it, Owens said.
“Take the package called ‘you’ and place it at the service of mission. That will build a culture of life,” Owens said, calling abortion a personal problem first, not a political or social one.
It’s a personal problem that quickly went public after when the crowd filed out of the Newman Center and gathered in front of the Old Church immediately across from ASU for a eucharistic procession up A-Mountain.
A passing car honked in support. The procession spanned some 100 yards, following the bishop up the butte to recite the Pope’s new “Prayer for Life” over the Valley.
For high school freshman Angelica Castillo, her passion for the pro-life cause proved greater than her fear of heights. Castillo, who joined in the eucharistic procession, was among two busloads of teens from St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear.
“I like to hope that my presence would show my support for life,” said James Fernando, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Lake in Lake Havasu City. He added that, if nothing else, the sheer visual presence of people during the eucharstic procession made a statement.
The rally continued with all-night adoration for the unborn, those considering an abortion and those in the abortion industry.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/hundreds-of-young-catholics-hike-rally-for-life/
EUROPE: GREAT BRITAIN: PRIEST FROM ORDINARIATE SPEAKS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE
Speaking from his home in Woodford Green, East London this week, Father Newton said he believes the Anglican and Catholic Churches have a lot of common ground in their approach to issues like abortion. But he was also keen to stress the importance of interpreting pro-life in its broadest sense of from cradle to grave. “Third world debt is equally as important as abortion,” said Fr Newton, who sees confronting poverty in the world as key priority for Christians.
The newly-received Catholic priest said he believes there is an anti-Christian attitude in much of society. “There is a secularisation in Britain, it would be too strong though to say there is a persecution,” said Fr Newton. “I’m not sure how far Britain could be called a Christian country now.”
But Fr Newton also is convinced that the message Pope Benedict brought last September has had a profound effect on society here.
He thinks that faith schools have a key role in the future formation of the faithful. “We do need to educate children in the faith because there is sadly little religious education in state schools,” said Fr Newton, who is less concerned about those parents who come to the Church to get their children into the schools, then leave later. “It is all about seeds sown and others may reap the harvest,” he concluded.
The former Anglican Bishop of Richborough, Fr Newton was received into the Roman Catholic Church on 1 January 2011, at Westminster Cathedral, with his wife Gill, by Bishop Alan Hopes with two other former Angican bishops and their wives. On 13 January 2011 he was ordained to the diaconate. Two days later, on 15 January 2011, he was ordained to the priesthood by Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, in Westminster Cathedral. On this date Pope Benedict XVI appointed him the first Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales.
AUSTRALIA: MACKILLOP HOMES TO BE SOLD
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Screenshot of image from the report on The Advertiser/AdelaideNow
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CATH NEWS REPORT: Two properties where St Mary MacKillop once lived - one at Yankalilla and one at Peterborough in South Australia - and advertised for sale before her canonisation in mid-October are yet to sell, said a report in The Advertiser.
LJ Hooker Normanville's Melissa Rankine, who is selling the Yankalilla property where St Mary lived, said she was hopeful of securing a sale now that a tenant had moved out.Another property at Yankalilla, where St Mary's Sisters of St Joseph opened their first school in 1867, was passed in at auction last Saturday.
"We are still getting a bit of interest but now that it's empty we'll push it a bit more," she said.
The Sisters of St Joseph's Convent rented the two-bedroom Main St cottage in the late 1860s after establishing their first convent and school a few houses up the road.
Trustee of the Peterborough property Paul Teague said the house was still being renovated and would be seriously marketed in about two months, despite a call for expressions of interest in an ad placed in The Advertiser on October 15.
"There has been a lot of interest but we've pushed back a lot of it until we've finished renovating . . . we are not too far away," Mr Teague said.
Toop & Toop's Peter Stock, who is managing the sale of the former school, said it was a surprising the property failed to sell at auction.
ASIA: NEPAL: NEW PRIME MINISTER TO BE ELECTED
Author of the “Roadmap for Democratic Nepal”, Khanal is an intellectual and writer who “we hope can bring strength to Nepal along the road of democracy and rights,” commented local sources of Fides.
Christians in Nepal have welcomed the appointment, as it puts an end to a long period of political uncertainty in a vacuum of power. So it is also hoped that the issues surrounding Christian minorities - such as the lack of burial grounds (see Fides 1/2/2011) - may be reviewed and solutions found.
As reported to Fides, the Catholic Church in particular in Nepal hopes that, with the new institutional arrangements, political forces can concentrate on finishing the new Constitution (the date scheduled for this to be final is the end of May 2011). The fundamental requests submitted to Parliament by the Catholic Church, in view of the drafting of the constitutional text, are the right to full religious freedom and the recognition of legal status.
TODAY'S SAINT: FEB. 6: ST. PAUL MIKI AND COMPANIONS
St. Paul Miki & Companions | |||||||||||
MARTYR OF JAPAN WITH TWENTY-FIVE COMPANIONS | |||||||||||
Feast: February 6 | |||||||||||
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TODAY'S MASS READINGS: 5th SUN. OF ORDINARY TIME/ YEAR A
Isaiah 58: 7 - 10 | |
7 | Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? |
8 | Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. |
9 | Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. "If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, |
10 | if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. |
Psalms 112: 4 – 9 | |
4 | Light rises in the darkness for the upright; the LORD is gracious, merciful, and righteous. |
5 | It is well with the man who deals generously and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice. |
6 | For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered for ever. |
7 | He is not afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. |
8 | His heart is steady, he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire on his adversaries. |
9 | He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever; his horn is exalted in honor. |
1 Corinthians 2: 1 – 5 | |
1 | When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. |
2 | For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. |
3 | And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; |
4 | and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, |
5 | that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. |
Matthew 5: 13 – 16 | |
13 | "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. |
14 | "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. |
15 | Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. |
16 | Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. |
