2013
 POPE FRANCIS - SEE WITH CHRIST'S EYES AND LATEST FROM VATICAN3 MISSING TEENS FOUND 10 YEARS LATER - PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYERFAMOUS ACTRESS GOES FROM ELVIS TO JESUS - DOLORES HART - NEW BOOKTODAY'S SAINT : MAY 8 : ST. PETER OF TARANTAISE(Vatican Radio IMAGE-SHARE)HOLY SPIRIT TEACHES US TO SEE WITH CHRIST'S EYES Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – Eastertide, which culminates with the Solemnity of Pentecost when the Church relives the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is the perfect time of the Holy Spirit,” the Pope explained to the 75,000 persons present in St. Peter's Square to attend hisWednesday general audience. After winding through the square in the Popemobile, greeting the various groups of faithful who greeted him as he passed by, the Pope began his catechesis, which was dedicated to the third Person of the Trinity; the Holy Spirit. “In the Creed,” Francis said, “we profess with faith: 'I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life'. The first truth that we adhere to in the Creed is that the Holy Spirit is 'Kyrios', that is, Lord. This means that He is truly God as are the Father and the Son … but I want to mainly focus on the fact that the Holy Spirit is the inexhaustible source of God's life in us.” “Men and women of all times and all places desire a full and beautiful life ... a life that is not threatened by death but that can mature and grow to its fullness. The human being is like a traveller who, crossing the deserts of life, is thirsty for living water, gushing and fresh, capable of deeply quenching that profound desire for light, love, beauty, and peace. We all feel that desire! And Jesus gives us this living water. It is the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and whom Jesus pours out into our hearts. 'I have come so that you might have life and have it more abundantly', Jesus says.” Jesus has come to give us the living water that is the Holy Spirit “so that our lives might be guided by God.” That is why, “when we say that the Christian is a spiritual being we mean precisely this: the Christian is a person who thinks and acts in accordance with God, in accordance with the Holy Spirit. … We know that water is essential to life. Without water we die. It quenches our thirst, washes us, makes the land fertile. … The 'living water', the Holy Spirit, Gift of the Risen One who abides in us, purifies us, enlightens us, renews us, and transforms us so that we might be made to participate in the very life of God who is Love.” Paul the Apostle, the Bishop of Rome noted, affirms that the Christian life “is enlivened by the Spirit and and by his fruits, which are 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control'. … The Spirit himself, together with our spirit, attests that we are God's children. And, if we are children, we are also inheritors, inheritors of God and co-inheritors with Christ if we truly take part in his suffering so that we might also be glorified with him. This is the precious gift that that the Holy Spirit brings to our hearts: the very life of God, the life of true children, a relationship of confidence, freedom, and trust in the love and mercy of God, which also has the effect of a new vision of others, near and far, seen always as brothers and sisters in Jesus to respect and to love. The Holy Spirit teaches us to see with Christ's eyes.” “That is why,” he concluded, “the living water that is the Holy Spirit quenches the thirst of our lives, because He tells us that we are loved by God as children, that we can love God as his children, and that, with his grace, we can live as children of God, as Jesus does.” |
| POPE'S GREETINGS DURING THE GENERAL AUDIENCE Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – After his catechesis, the Pope greeted, among others, the family members of the new Swiss Guards who swore their oath on Monday, 6 May. He also welcomed the Polish pilgrims who are celebrating today the feast of their patron, St. Stanislaus of Szczepanow. “May his attention for each human being and for the moral order in society,” the pontiff said, “serve as an example and inspiration in your commitment to the good of your brothers and sisters and your country.” “This is the day in which we celebrate Our Lady of Lujan, heavenly Patroness of Argentina. Let's give an applause for the Virgin of Lujan. Stronger. I can't hear it. Stronger,” he said while the Argentinian pilgrims broke out clapping. “I wish to send to all the children of these beloved Argentinian lands my sincere affection while I place all their joys and worries in the hands of the Most Holy Virgin.” Finally, he recalled that today, 8 May, in the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei, Italy, the “Supplication to the Madonna of the Rosary”, composed by Blessed Barolo Longo, will be prayed. “We join in spirit to this act of popular piety and devotion so that, through the intercession of Mary, the Lord may grant mercy and peace to the Church and the entire world.” |
| CAREERISTS AND CLIMBERS DOING “GREAT HARM” TO THE CHURCH Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – “The men and women of the Church who are careerists and social climbers, who 'use' people, the Church, their brothers and sisters—whom they should be serving—as a springboard for their own personal interests and ambitions … are doing great harm to the Church.” This is what Pope Francis asserted in his address to the participants in the plenary assembly of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) whom he received in audience this morning. The pontiff spoke to the sisters of obedience, poverty, and chastity: “Obedience as listening to God's will, in the interior motion of the Holy Spirit authenticated by the Church, accepting that obedience also passes through human mediations. … Poverty, which teaches solidarity, sharing, and charity and which is also expressed in a soberness and joy of the essential, to put us on guard against the material idols that obscure the true meaning of life. Poverty, which is learned with the humble, the poor, the sick, and all those who are at the existential margins of life. Theoretical poverty doesn't do anything. Poverty is learned by touching the flesh of the poor Christ in the humble, the poor, the sick, and in children.” “And then chastity, as a precious charism, that enlarges the freedom of your gift to God and others with Christ's tenderness, mercy, and closeness. Chastity for the Kingdom of Heaven shows how affection has its place in mature freedom and becomes a sign of the future world, to make God's primacy shine forever. But, please, [make it] a 'fertile' chastity, which generates spiritual children in the Church. The consecrated are mothers: they must be mothers and not 'spinsters'! Forgive me if I talk like this but this maternity of consecrated life, this fruitfulness is important! May this joy of spiritual fruitfulness animate your existence. Be mothers, like the images of the Mother Mary and the Mother Church. You cannot understand Mary without her motherhood; you cannot understand the Church without her motherhood, and you are icons of Mary and of the Church.” Continuing, Pope Francis spoke to the superiors about service. “We must never forget that true power, at whatever level, is service, which has its bright summit upon the Cross. … 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them ... But it shall not be so among you.'—This is precisely the motto of your assembly, isn't it? It shall not be so among you.—'Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave'.” “Your vocation is a fundamental charism for the Church's journey and it isn't possible that a consecrated woman or man might 'feel' themselves not to be with the Church. A 'feeling' with the Church that has generated us in Baptism; a 'feeling' with the Church that finds its filial expression in fidelity to the Magisterium, in communion with the Bishops and the Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, a visible sign of that unity,” the pontiff added, citing Paul VI: “It is an absurd dichotomy to think of living with Jesus but without the Church, of following Jesus outside of the Church, of loving Jesus without loving the Church. Feel the responsibility that you have of caring for the formation of your Institutes in sound Church doctrine, in love of the Church, and in an ecclesial spirit.” “The centrality of Christ and his Gospel, authority as a service of love, and 'feeling' in and with the Mother Church: [these are] three suggestions that I wish to leave you, to which I again add my gratitude for your work, which is not always easy. What would the Church be without you? She would be missing maternity, affection, tenderness! A Mother's intuition.” |
| POPE'S NEARNESS TO THOSE AFFECTED BY EXPLOSION IN ECATEPEC, MEXICO Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – Below is the complete text of the telegram that Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., sent, on behalf of the Holy Father, to Bishop Oscar Roberto Dominguez Couttolenc, M.G., of Ecatepec, Mexico because of an explosion of a gas truck in the city's suburbs that has, to date, resulted in 21 deaths and numerous wounded. “The Holy Father was saddened to receive news of the serious accent that occurred in the municipality of Ecatepec, which has caused numerous victims and serious wounded as well as much damage. I ask your excellency the kindness of expressing his spiritual nearness to all those who are affected by this tragedy. At the same time he offers prayers asking God for the eternal rest of those who lost their lives in this terrible accident.” “Likewise, His Holiness Pope Francis wishes to send, through your excellency, his condolences to the families of the dead, together with expressions of consolation and affection for all the wounded, with the strong desire for their quick and complete recovery.” “With these sentiments, the supreme pontiff, while calling upon the sweet name of Our Lady of Guadalupe, wholeheartedly imparts to all the comfort of the apostolic blessing as a sign of hope in the Risen Christ.” |
| PATRIARCH OF COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA WILL MEET WITH POPE FRANCIS IN THE VATICAN Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) - From 9 to 13 May, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, will come to Rome to meet with His Holiness Pope Francis. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt has about ten million faithful. This large membership makes the Coptic Church one of the most important elements in the ecclesial landscape of the Middle East where, in recent times, Christian communities are having to deal with very difficult situations. Pope Tawadros’ predecessor, Pope Shenouda III, met with Pope Paul VI in the Vatican 40 years ago in May of 1973. On that occasion, the Pope and the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch signed an important Christological Declaration in common and initiated bilateral ecumenical dialogue between the two Churches. Since the election of Pope Tawadros II as the new Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, there has been a growing rapprochement between the Christian communities in Egypt. This has led to the establishment of a council of Christian Churches in Egypt. Pope Tawadros, as well as having an audience and a shared prayer with the Holy Father onFriday, 10 May, will be received at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and other dicasteries of the Roman Curia. He will visit the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul and will meet with the faithful of the Coptic community resident in Rome. |
| COLLABORATION BETWEEN AIF AND FINCEN AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office issued a press release yesterday with the information that the Financial Intelligence Authority of the Holy See and Vatican City State (“Autorita di Informazione Finanziaria”, AIF), signed a Memorandum of Understanding that day, 7 May, in Washington, D.C., USA. The memorandum's cosignatory was the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), its United States counterpart at the US Department of Treasury. The purpose of the collaboration is to strengthen efforts to fight money laundering and the global financing of terrorism. The Memorandum, signed by Rene Brulhart, director of AIF, and Jennifer Shasky Calvery, director of FinCEN, will foster bi-lateral cooperation in the exchange of financial information. “This is a clear indication that the Holy See and the Vatican City State take international responsibilities to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism very seriously, and that we are cooperating at the highest levels”, said Brulhart. “The Vatican has shown that it is a credible partner internationally and has made a clear commitment in the exchange of information in this fight.” The AIF was established in 2010 and became operational in April of 2011. It is the competent authority of the Holy See and Vatican City State for financial intelligence and for supervision and regulation in the prevention and countering of money laundering and financing of terrorism. The press release also includes a background note that the AIF is currently in discussions with various Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) of other countries and jurisdictions, including European countries, about entering into Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation to fight Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing. So far, the AIF has already signed MoUs with the FIUs of Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, and now the United States, which plays a leading role in combating money laundering. The AIF is currently in discussions with more than 20 other FIUs, and expects several MoUs to be signed in the course of the year. |
| CANONIZATIONS ON SUNDAY: ANTONIO PRIMALDO AND COMPANIONS, LAURA OF ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA, AND MARIA GUADALUPE GARCIA ZAVALA Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – At 9:30am this Sunday, 12 May, in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass during which he will canonize: Blessed Antonio Primaldo and Companions (martyrs, 1480); Blessed Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena (nee Maria Laura De Jesus Montoya Upegui, 1874–1949), virgin, foundress of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and St Catherine of Siena; and Blessed Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala (1878–1963), co-foundress of the Congregation of the Handmaids of St Margaret Mary (Alacoque) and the Poor. |
| OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father: - appointed Fr. Luiz Antonio Cipolini as bishop of Marilia (area 11,958, population 711,000, Catholics 568,000, priests 91, permanent deacons 1, religious 163), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Caconde, Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1986. Since ordination he has served in several pastoral and academic roles, most recently, since 2006, as rector and professor of the diocesan Institute of Philosophy and as pastor of “Nossa Senhora de Fatima” parish in Sao Joao da Boa Vista. He succeeds Bishop Osvaldo Giuntini, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. - appointed Msgr. Benno Elbs as bishop of Feldkirch (area 2,601, population 393,600, Catholics 258,000, priests 208, permanent deacons 23, religious 407), Austria. The bishop-elect, previously administrator of the same diocese since November of 2011, was born in Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Austria and was ordained a priest in 1986. After ordination he was appointed spiritual director and successively rector of the Marianum in Bregenz and as director of the diocesan Pastoral Office and member of the college of consultors as well as the diocesan Financial Council. - appointed Msgr. Jose Aparecido Goncalves de Almeida as auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Brasilia (area 5,814, population 2,246,000, Catholics 1,541,000, priests 320, permanent deacons 69, religious 674), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Ourinhos, Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1960 and was ordained a priest in 1986. Since ordination he has served several pastoral and administrative roles, most recently as Undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts where he has worked since 1994. - appointed Archbishop Martin Krebs as apostolic nuncio to New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and apostolic delegate to the Pacific Ocean. Archbishop Krebs, titular of Taborenta, was previously apostolic nuncio to Guinea and Mali. |
3 MISSING TEENS FOUND 10 YEARS LATER - PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER
The suspects Ariel Castro, age 52, Pedro, age 54, Onil age 50 have been arrested (pictured below).
Amanda Berry, age 27, her 6 year old daughter, Georgina de Jesus, age 23, and Michelle Knight, age 32 were found. Amanda managed to escape when the captors were out of the house. A man passing by heard Amanda screaming from the front door and managed to let her out. She then went to a nearby house and phoned the police. Berry was abducted in 2003 at the age of 16, DeJesus at the age of 14 in 2004, and Knight went missing in 2002. They were all taken to hospital for severe dehydration and malnutrition. It was reported that the woman gave birth to at least 5 babies in their captivity. However, so far only 1 child was found a 6 year old girl, named Jocelyn, belonging to Berry. Police found chains and ropes against the walls which held the women.
Michelle Knight (Photo from James Ford Rhodes High School yearbook)
FAMOUS ACTRESS GOES FROM ELVIS TO JESUS - DOLORES HART - NEW BOOK
In 1961 she played St Clare in Francis of Assisi opposite Bradford Dillman. She met Pope John XXIII. She said to him: "I'm Dolores Hart, the actress playing Clare." The Pontiff replied: "No, you are Clare!"
She remains a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is the only nun who can vote at the Oscars.
The Abbey of 38 nuns is self-sufficient and has its own 400 acre farm.
Reverend Mother Dolores Hart became Prioress of the Abbey in 2001.
As the world focuses on fame and money, Mother Dolores is an example of forsaking all for the greatest love of all Jesus Christ. Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.`(Matt. 22:37)
The book is entitled:
The Ear of the HeartAn Actress' Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows | ||
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Here is an excerpt from her book trailer.
RU 486 IS DANGEROUS ACCORDING TO SCIENTIST DR. KLEIN IN AUSTRALIA
ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY RELEASE
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
7 May 2013
7 May 2013
Dr Rentate Klein says RU486 abortions are unsafe, painful and high risk
The Federal Government's decision to consider subsidising RU 486 (mifepristone) or the Abortion Pill as it is popularly-known by placing it on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is a return to the dangerous days of illegal back street abortions in the 1950s and early 60s.
"RU 486 is unpredictable, high risk and can cause immense pain and nausea, weeks of severe bleeding, rare infections which are often not diagnosed until it is too late, and in some instances may even cause death," warns Dr Renate Klein, biologist, social scientist, women's health researcher and former Associate Professor in Women's Studies at Deakin University, Melbourne.
Being able to terminate a pregnancy in the "privacy of a woman's own home," as is touted by pro-choice advocates by taking two lots of pills - mifepristone first and 24 to 36 hours later, four pills of prostaglandins - is not a win for women, she insists. Instead it is a high risk option with an average failure rate of between 5% and 7%, with a 10% failure not uncommon.
Dr Klein is concerned about the lack of time given to canvass the range of scientific, social, ethical and medical issues emanating from the complexity of RU486/PD abortions before approval for the drugs' use was granted in Australia in August last year. She is equally concerned that despite this, negotiations about price between Health Minister Tanya Plibersek and MS Health, a subsidiary of multi-national Maria Stopes International Australia (MSIA) which holds the rights to distribute a form of RU 486 manufactured in France are now underway.
Although worldwide there are cheaper generic forms of Mifepristone available, in discussing and negotiating taxpayer subsidies for RU486, the Government is dealing only with MSIA's Mifepristone Linepharma which costs around $300 for one pill.
"This is five times higher than the $60 charged by pharmaceutical company Exelgyn for the same 200 mg of mifepristone," Dr Klein says and notes that Exelgyn's Mifepristone Mifeprex has been available to the 187 medical practitioners across Australia registered as "authorised prescribers" by the Therapeutic and Goods Administration (TGA) from 2006.
For six years only registered prescribers could provide RU486 to women but this changed in August last year when the TGA approved RU486 and its companion drug, prostaglandin (PG) for use by Australian women as a "relatively safe and effective way" to terminate unwanted pregnancies. The TGA also granted MS Health, the subsidiary of MSIA to control the importation of both mifepristone and its companion drug, the prostaglandin Gy Miso.
"MSIA is not a pharmaceutical company but is a reproductive health services and abortion provider and imports the drugs from the French manufacturer, Linepharmaa. But its subsidiary, MS Health was also granted the right - indeed the mandate - to deliver an online course for every clinic or GP who wants to become an abortion pill provider," she says.
Dr Klein has equal concerns about the fact that those who undergo the online course not only receive a certificate but have their names placed on a provider registry giving Marie Stopes and MS Health a large amount of control over abortion services in Australia.
By listing both the abortion drugs imported by MS Health on to the PBS, Australian taxpayers will be subsidising a form of RU486 and its companion prostaglandin drug at a far higher rate than is necessary, she says.
"We need to know just how much the tax payer will be contributing to the coffers of MS Health," she argues and is increasingly troubled by the dominance of the multi-national company and its local subsidiaries not only in its control of the distribution of RU486 and its companion drug, Gy-Miso but at the rapid expansion of Marie Stopes' abortion clinics across Australia.
The company operates 15 clinics that provide suction and pill abortions to women in Australia with this number continuing to grow.
While Dr Klein does not describe herself a "pro-choice" advocate for abortion, she does believe there are occasions when there is an overwhelming medical, psychological or other need among women where a pregnancy must be terminated. In these instances suction abortion in a clinic and under the supervision of a doctor and trained medical staff is the far safer and much preferred option, she says.
"One of the main problems of putting Mifepristone and GyMiso on the PBS is that the cost will be reduced to just $36.10 and even less in some special instances. The effect of this is likely to push many more women into using drugs instead of seeking the much safer alternative of a suction abortion, preferably carried out with local anaesthetic," she says.
Co-author with Janice Raymond and Lynette Dumble of "RU486: Misconceptions Myths and Morals" which she is currently updating with a detailed preface of events and clinical research studies since the book with its warnings about the dangers of abortion pills was published more than 20 years ago, Dr Klein says health Minister Plibersek and her advisors have got it wrong. Far from giving women access to a safe service, she says the Government is giving women "easy and inexpensive access to a second rate, unpredictable and dangerous drug cocktail."
Contrary to the 'safe, effective and more natural' mantra put forward by abortion pill advocates, RU486 and the four prostaglandin pills proscribed for chemical abortions forces women to endure days, weeks or even longer of severe pain, bleeding and risk of infection when in some cases only part of the embryo is expelled.
"Each individual woman reacts differently and every case is unpredictable," she says and disputes the popularly quoted idea that the abortion pill is no different from a miscarriage.
Health Minister Tanya Plibersek
"This is not so. It is far more dangerous, can trigger fever, cause vomiting and great pain and can also lead to infection and in some instances life-threatening blood loss."
What is not understood and continues to be overlooked by most women, she says, is that a chemical abortion is not a morning after pill and a simple matter of swallowing a drug and getting on with life.
To undergo a chemical abortion, a woman first takes mifepristone, or RU486, which cuts off nutrients to the child she is carrying in the early stages of pregnancy. "This is a cruel process and weakens the embryo which begins to detach from the uterus," she explains. The second pill containing the synthetic biochemical molecule, prostaglandin is then taken 24 to 36 hours later which triggers contractions to promote the embryo's expulsion from the womb along with rich uterine lining that has held and fed the embryo since conception.
"It is a myth to say pill abortions are not invasive. Blood loss can be excessive and can last as long as six weeks," she says and cites a recent case of a young woman in Bristol, England who died from severe blood loss after an RU486 and prostaglandin abortion.
"This woman lived in a major city near hospitals with facilities for transfusions. Imagine how much more dangerous to prescribe these pills to women living in rural areas, hours away from a hospital or any facility that can perform a transfusion or step in to counter an emergency. It is totally irresponsible and dangerous to think that chemical terminations are safe for women in remote and regional areas."
Chemical abortions also put a woman at risk of developing an infection such as Clostridium, a rare form of bacteria associated with childbirth and more recently - and worryingly - with RU486/Prostaglandin abortions in the UK, Sweden and the USA. As the infection is not accompanied by fever, it is difficult to diagnose and frequently not picked up until it is too late.
Dr Klein is impatient with claims by advocates who back their claims of the safety and "ease" of chemical abortions citing the fact RU486 is recommended by the World Health Organisation and used by millions of women in undeveloped and third world countries.
"Advocates argue that a pill is preferable to desperate women using a stick inserted into the womb or a caustic substance to end an unwanted and unaffordable pregnancy. This is not the right argument. All such methods are wrong and it is to the eternal shame of society at large that we still have millions of women dying each year from unsafe abortions. We also have no way of knowing in Bangladesh or other third world countries if the women who die after an abortion used the abortion pill, caustic solution or some other method. There are no statistics and those the woman turns to are interested in trying to save her life and staunch the bleeding, not in determining the method responsible, especially in countries where abortion is illegal."
For Dr Klein it is time Australians ceased the ongoing and increasing cacophony between pro-choice and pro-life groups. "It is time we had a proper conversation about this issue and understood that an abortion is something the majority of women seek only as a last resort, often in the belief they have nowhere to turn in order to keep the pregnancy. The decision frequently triggers intense dilemmas, emotional turmoil and great sadness."
While strongly believing that in certain cases an abortion may absolutely be needed, Dr Klein is anxious to dispel the myth frequently preached by pro choice lobby groups that access to chemical abortion is about freedom of choice and that terminating a pregnancy is no different from having a tooth out or wart removed, after which life resumes as normal.
"Nothing is that black and white. The issue is complex and we should realise we are all pro life, pro the life of a woman and pro the life of a baby. Instead of polarising the population, it is important we talk about this and have the conversation," she says and argues that releasing a cheap and substandard drug cocktail onto the market to put women even further at risk and in danger is not the answer.
"With RU486, Australia is going back to the future and returning to the grim and dangerous days of backstreet abortions," she says.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
PRIEST KILLED IN COLOMBIA RIP FR. JOSE VALLE - AGE 48
Agenzia Fides REPORT - Another priest has been killed in Colombia. Father José Antonio Bayona Valle, 48 years old, a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Barranquilla (Colombia) was killed last night with 18 stab wounds. The priest was found on a path in the area of the village of Juan Mina.
The Archdiocese of Barranquilla reported to Fides that the priest was ordained on December 20, 1998 and served as pastor of the parish of Christ the King in the southwest of Barranquilla in the neighborhood called Lipaya. The Archdiocese stresses the violence carried out against the priest. The Catholic community is very saddened and the authorities are working to clarify this brutal murder.
In Colombia a priest was killed in 2012; in 2011 6 priests and 1 lay person were killed; in 2010 three priests and a religious were killed; in 2009 5 priests and 1 lay person died violently. In 2013, 4 Colombians priests have been killed so far. (CE)
The Archdiocese of Barranquilla reported to Fides that the priest was ordained on December 20, 1998 and served as pastor of the parish of Christ the King in the southwest of Barranquilla in the neighborhood called Lipaya. The Archdiocese stresses the violence carried out against the priest. The Catholic community is very saddened and the authorities are working to clarify this brutal murder.
In Colombia a priest was killed in 2012; in 2011 6 priests and 1 lay person were killed; in 2010 three priests and a religious were killed; in 2009 5 priests and 1 lay person died violently. In 2013, 4 Colombians priests have been killed so far. (CE)
SECRET MESSAGE ON BILLBOARD CAN ONLY BE READ BY CHILDREN
UCAN NEWS REPORT
Poster has hidden number that a child can call for help
- Spain
- A poster than can only be fully seen when looked at from a child's point of view has been used in an anti-child abuse campaign.
Spanish organisation the Anar Foundation used lenticular printing - a technique which means those looking at different angles see a different image.
On the poster, a "secret" message showing a child helpline would show up when seen from a child's height.
The foundation said it helped children gain confidence to call the number.
The campaign was designed get the information about where to find help to children who may be accompanied by their abuser.
Seeking help
The foundation worried that if a poster containing a phone number that both adult and child could see, the adult may possibly say things to dissuade the child from considering seeking help.
Lenticular printing can also be used to produce a 3D effect
The "secret" message on the campaign poster reads (translated from Spanish): "If somebody hurts you, phone us and we'll help you."
Lenticular printing is a concept which has existed for several decades - and has been used for various purposes, perhaps most memorably as "animated" stickers found on children's lunchboxes, stationery and other items.
But recent developments mean a greater illusion of depth can be achieved - meaning the technique is also used to create a 3D effect that does not require glasses.
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : WED. MAY 8, 2013
| 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. |
TODAY'S SAINT : MAY 8 : ST. PETER OF TARANTAISE
St. Peter of Tarantaise
ARCHBISHOP
Feast: May 8
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He was a native of Dauphine. A strong inclination to learning, assisted by a good genius and a happy memory, carried him very successfully through his studies. At twenty years of age he took the Cistercian habit at Bonnevaux, a monastery that had been lately filled by a colony sent by St. Bernard from Clairvaux. They employed a great part of the day in hewing wood, and tilling the ground in the forest, in perpetual silence and interior prayer. They ate but once a day, and their fare was herbs or roots, mostly turnips of a coarse sort. Four hours in the twenty-four was the usual allowance for sleep; so that, rising at midnight, they continued in the church till it was morning, and returned no more to rest: which was the primitive custom of that order. Peter practiced the greatest austerities with fervor and alacrity: he was most exactly obedient, obliging to all, humble, and modest. His pious parents, after the birth of four children, lived in perpetual continency, and the practice of rigorous abstinence, prayed much, and gave large alms: their house they seemed to turn into a hospital, so great was the number of poor and strangers they constantly entertained, whom they furnished with good beds, while they themselves often lay on straw. The father and his two other sons at length followed Peter to Bonnevaux and the mother and daughter embraced the same order in a neighboring nunnery. The year after Peter had taken the monastic habit, his example was followed by Amedeus, nearly related to the emperor Conrad III., and sixteen other persons of worth and distinction. Amedeus, indeed, having there made his solemn profession with the rest, by the advice of persons of great virtue and discretion, spent some time at Cluni, the better to superintend his son's education, in the school established there for the education of youth: but he returned after some time to Bonnevaux; and made it his request, at his readmission, that he might be enjoined the lowest offices in the house. To this the abbot, for his greater advancement in humility and penance, consented. The earl of Albion, his uncle, coming one day to see him, found him in a sweat, cleaning the monks' dirty shoes, and, at the same time, so attentive to his prayers, as not to perceive him. The earl remembering in what state he had seen him in the world, was so struck and so much edified at this spectacle, that he ever after retained the deep impression which it made on his mind, and published it at court. Amedeus built four monasteries of his order: among which was that of Tamies, or Stomedium, in the desert mountains of the diocese of Tarentaise, of which he procured his intimate friend St. Peter, not then quite thirty years of age, to be appointed the first abbot, in 1128. Amedeus worked himself with his spade and mattock in building some of these monasteries, and died at Bonnevaux, in the odor of sanctity, in 1140. His son Amedeus, for whose education in piety he had always the greatest concern, after having spent part of his youth in the court of his kinsman the emperor, became a Cistercian monk under St. Bernard, at Clairvaux, and died bishop of Lausanne.
The monastery of Tamies seemed a house of terrestrial angels; so constantly were its inhabitants occupied in the employment of angels, paying to God an uninterrupted homage of praise, adoration, and love. St. Peter, by the help of Amedeus III., count of Savoy, founded in it a hospital to receive all the poor sick persons of the country, and all strangers; and would be himself its servant to attend them. In 1142, the count of Savoy procured his election to the archbishopric of Tarentaise, and he was compelled by St. Bernard and the general chapter of his order, though much against his own inclinations, to accept of that charge. Indeed, that diocese stood extremely in need of such an apostolic pastor, having been usurped by a powerful ambitious wolf, named Idrael, whose deposition left it in the most desolate condition. The parish-churches and tithes were sacrilegiously held by laymen; and the clergy, who ought to have stemmed the torrent of iniquity, contributed but too often to promote irregularity by their own wicked example. The sight of these evils drew tears from the eyes of the saint, with which he night and day implored the divine mercy upon the souls intrusted to his care. He directed all his fasts, his prayers, and labors, for the good of his flock: being persuaded that the sanctification of the people committed to his charge was an essential condition for securing his own salvation. He altered nothing in the simplicity of a monastic life, and looked on the episcopal character as a laborious employment rather than a dignity. His clothes were plain, and his food coarse; for he ate nothing but brown bread, herbs, and pulse, of which the poor had always their share. He made the constant visitation of his diocese his employ; he everywhere exhorted and instructed his whole charge with unwearied zeal and invincible patience, and besides, he provided the several parishes of his diocese with able and virtuous pastors. When he came to his bishopric, he found the chapter of his cathedral full of irregularities, and the service of God performed in a very careless manner; but he soon made that church a pattern of good order and devotion. He recovered the tithes and other revenues of the church that had been usurped by certain powerful laymen; made many excellent foundations for the education of youth, and the relief of the poor; repaired several churches, and restored everywhere devotion and the decent service of God. The author of his life, who was the constant companion of his labors, and the witness of the greatest part of his actions after he was made bishop, assures us he wrought many miracles in several places, chiefly in curing the sick, and multiplying provisions for the poor in times of great distress; so that he was regarded as a new Thaumaturgus. The confusion his humility suffered from the honors he received, joined to his love of solitude, made him resolve to retire from the world; and accordingly, in 1155, after he had borne the weight of the episcopal character thirteen years, having settled his diocese in good order, he disappeared on a sudden; and made his way to a retired monastery of Cistercians in Germany, where he was not known. In the mean time, his family and diocese mourned for the loss of their tender father. Strict inquiry was made in all the neighboring provinces, especially in the monasteries, but in vain; till, after some time, divine providence discovered him by the following accident. A young man, who had been brought up under his care, came to the monastery in which he lay concealed, and upon observing the monks as they were going out of the church to their work, he knew his bishop, and made him known to the whole community. The religious no sooner understood who he was, but they all fell at his feet, begged his blessing, and expressed much concern for not having known him before. The saint was inconsolable at being discovered, and was meditating a new escape, but he was so carefully watched, that it was not in his power; so that he was forced to go back to his diocese, where he was received with the greatest demonstrations of joy. He applied himself to his functions with greater vigor than ever. The poor were always the object of his peculiar care. He was twice discovered to have given away, with the hazard of his own life, in extreme cold weather in winter, the waistcoat which he had on his back. For three months before the harvest he distributed general alms among all the inhabitants of the mountains, provisions being always very scarce there at that season. He founded hospitals on the Alps, for the entertainment of poor travellers; because, before that time, many perished for the want of such a succor. To preserve in his heart the spirit of devotion and penance, he continued to practise, as much as possible, all the austerities and other rules of his order, only commuting manual labor for the spiritual functions of his charge. By his conversation with the God of peace, he imbibed an eminent spirit of that virtue, and learned, by humility and charity, to be truly the man of peace; having also a singular talent for extinguishing the most implacable and inveterate enemies. He often reconciled sovereign princes when they were at variance, and prevented several bloody wars. The emperor Frederic I. set up Octavian, a schismatical pope, under the name of Victor, against Alexander III. St. Peter was almost the only subject of the empire who had the courage openly to oppose his unjust attempt, and he boldly defended the cause of justice in presence of the tyrant, and in many councils. The emperor, who banished others that spoke in favor of that cause, stood in awe of his sanctity: and Peter, by his mild counsels, frequently softened his fierceness, and checked the boisterous sallies of his fury, while, like a roaring lion, he spread terror on every side. The saint preached in Alsace, Burgundy, Lorraine, and in many parts of Italy; and confounded the obstinate by numberless miraculous cures of the sick, performed by the imposition of his hands and prayer. He was ordered by the pope to go into France and Normandy, to endeavor a reconciliation between the kings of England and France, who had made peace in 1169, but quarrelled again the next year. Though then very old, he preached wherever he went. Louis VII. sent certain gentlemen of his court to meet him at a great distance, and received him with the greatest marks of honor and respect; but honors and crowds were of all things the most troublesome to the saint. The man of God restored the use of sight to one blind in the presence of the count of Flanders, and many other noblemen, who were at that time with the king of France: who, being also himself an eye-witness, examined carefully all the circumstances, and declared the miracle to be evident and incontestable. The saint went from Paris to Chaumont, on the confines of Normandy, where Henry II., king of England, met him: and when he arrived in sight of the holy man, alighted from his horse, and coming Up, fell at his feet. The people stole the cloak or hood of St. Peter, and were going to cut it in pieces to divide the scraps, being persuaded that they would perform miracles. But the king took the whole cloak for himself, saying: I have myself seen miraculous cures performed by his girdle, which I already possess." In his presence, the saint restored the use of speech to a girl that was dumb. On Ash-Wednesday, in 1171, St. Peter being at the Cistercian abbey of Mortemer, in the diocese of Rouen, the king of England came thither with his whole court, and received ashes from his hands. The archbishop prevailed on the two kings to put an end to their differences by a treaty of peace, and to procure councils to be assembled in their dominions, in which Alexander's title should be solemnly recognised. The holy man hereupon returned to his church, but was some time after sent again by the pope to the king of England, to endeavor to compose the difference between him and his son: but his journey had not the desired effect. He fell sick on his return, and died the death of the just, at Bellevaux, a monastery of his order, in the diocese of Besancon, in 1174, being seventy-three years old. He was canonized by pope Celestine III., in 1191. See his life written nine years after his death by Geoffrey, some time his companion, and afterwards abbot of Hautecombe, by the order of pope Lucius III. See also Le Nain, t. 2, p. 83.
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source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stpeteroftarantaise.asp#ixzz1uGVgBnhP
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