 VATICAN : POPE : APPOINTMENT OF BISHOPS FOR USA - CANADA - INDIACATHOLIC MOVIES - WATCH BELLS OF ST. MARY'S - PART 1TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : THURS. JAN. 10, 2013(Vatican Radio IMAGE SHARE)AUDIENCESVatican City, 10 November 2012 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in separate audiences: - Mrs. Slavica Karacic, the new ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Holy See, presenting her credential letters. - on their "ad limina" visit:Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, and Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O. Carm., vice gerent of the diocese of Rome and emeritus of Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo, Italy, along with auxiliary bishops: Paolino Schiavon, titular of Trevi; Guerino Di Tora, titular of Zuri; Giuseppe Marciante, titular of Tagora; Matteo Maria Zuppi, titular of Villanova; and Lorenzo Leuzzi, titular of Cittanova. - Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. |
| OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Vatican City, 10 November 2012 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father: - Appointed Bishop Oscar Cantu as bishop of the diocese of Las Cruces (area 115,166, population 532,000, Catholics 140,200, priests 81, permanent deacons 38, religious 82), USA. Bishop Cantu, previously titular of Dardanoand auxiliary of San Antonio, was ordained to the priesthood in 1994 and received episcopal ordination in 2008. In the national bishops' conference he currently serves on the committees on Catholic Education, International Justice and Peace, and Protection of Children and Young People, as well as the Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs. He succeeds Bishop Ricardo Ramirez C.S.B., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. - Appointed Fr. Marwan Tabet, M.L., as bishop of the eparchy of Saint-Maron de Montreal of the Maronites (Catholics 85,000, priests 20, religious 15), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in Bhamdoun, Lebanon in 1961, entered the Congregation of the Lebanese Maronite Missionaries in 1980, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1986. He succeeds Bishop Joseph Khoury, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same eparchy the Holy Father accepted in accordance with canon 210 para. 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. - Appointed Fr. Brendan Leahy as bishop of the diocese of Limerick (area 2,100, population 178,800, Catholics 171,500, priests 167, religious 411), Ireland. The bishop-elect was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1986. Since 2006 he has taught Systematic Theology at St Patrick’s College Maynooth and served as a corresponding member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. He is also the chairman of the archdiocese of Dublin's Diocesan Ecumenical Committee and the secretary of the Irish Bishops' Advisory Committee on Ecumenism. FROM THE ORIENTAL CHURCHES Vatican City, 10 November 2012 (VIS) - The Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church, meeting at Mount St. Thomas near Kerala, India, with the prior assent of the Holy Father has canonically elected Fr. George Madathikandathil as bishop of Kothamangalam of the Syro-Malabars (area 1,840, population 787,100, Catholics 230,760, priests 282, religious 2,494), India. The bishop-elect was born in Purapuzha, India in 1956 and ordained to the priesthood in 1980. He taught Canon Law at the St. Thomas Pontifical Seminary of Vadavathor, where he also served as vice-rector and then rector. He is currently pastor of St. Mary's Church in Arakuzha. He succeeds Bishop George Punnakottil, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same eparchy the synod accepted, in accordance with canon 210 para. 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. |
CATHOLIC MOVIES - WATCH BELLS OF ST. MARY'S - PART 1
IN HONOR OF THE YEAR OF FAITH - JCE NEWS WILL BE SHOWING SOME OF THE TOP CATHOLIC MOVIES OF ALL TIME.
EUROPE : PRINCE CHARLES TRIES TO END CATHOLIC BAN TO SUCCESSION
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
10 Jan 2013
10 Jan 2013
Prince William's and Duchess of Cambridge's first child expected by July
New British legislation to allow a future monarch to marry a Roman Catholic has hit a stumbling block at the eleventh hour.
Prince Charles has urged his government to reconsider plans to amend the rules, saying he fears "unintended consequences" if the proposed legislation in its current form goes ahead.
The legislation would end the 300-year old policy that bars Catholics and spouses of Catholics from the throne.
While the terms of the proposed new legislation will allow members of the royal family to marry Catholics without sacrificing their chance of succeeding to the throne, the legislation will retain the ban on a Catholic monarch, since the King or Queen is by law the head of the Church of England.
However the complication is that under Catholic canon law, the children of such a marriage should be raised as Catholic and this is where the Prince of Wales sees a potentially serious difficulty in the lines of succession since the children raised as Catholics would remain barred from the throne.
Act of Settlement does not allow a Royal heir to marry a Catholic
Unless this is resolved or separate legislation presented to the British parliament there could be another stumbling block for Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, expecting their first baby in seven months. Bound up in the law proposed law is the end to the preference for male offspring in the line of succession making it possible for the daughter of a monarch to become queen if she is the oldest child.
According to Richard Blackburn, a Professor of Constitutional Law at King's College, London raising these complications at the eleventh hour is probably because Prince Charles and others in the Royal family were not fully consulted on the issue even though the Bill was first discussed more than two years ago.
Moves to allow women to inherit the throne began with Prime Minister, Gordon Brown who believed it was high time the ancient Act forbidding Catholics or their heirs to ascending to the throne was updated along with primogeniture which gives a son precedence over a daughter when it comes to inheriting England's crown.
When David Cameron was elected a short time later, he agreed that an heir to the throne should be free to marry a Catholic without having to forfeit the throne as well as the removal of the longstanding tradition of primogeniture so that if Prince William and his wife's first-born was a baby girl, she would take precedence and could become monarch ahead of any of her younger brothers.
King Henry VIII
This was more in keeping with modern times and modern attitudes, he said and both sides of British parliament seemed to agree.
But while many British MPs, including previous prime ministers, have thought it anomalous for a Catholic to be prevented by law from becoming the King or Queen of England, until the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton there was little political will for reforming the 300 year old Act of Settlement - an Act which came about through ambitious and ruthless means.
It is King Henry VIII who is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church - as well as his six wives and mistresses. Henry failed to be granted Papal authority to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn which brought about the English Reformation, the king's excommunication, the Dissolution of Monasteries, as well as a number of subsequent beheadings and further marriages.
By the time of Henry VIII's death in 1547, Parliament's involvement in making religious and dynastic changes had been firmly established.
But it was not until almost a century and a half later in 1701 that British Parliament passed the Act of Settlement which excluded Catholics or their spouses from succeeding to the throne. This ensured only Protestants inherited the throne and under the Act, Catholics and those who married Catholics or were born to them out of wedlock forfeited their right of succession to the British crown.
The Act also required that every monarch, on accession to the throne make a public declaration before the UK Parliament, rejecting Catholicism.
Prince Charles wants legislation re-considered
In recent years Prince Michael of Kent, who married Maria-Christine Von Reibnitz and raised a Catholic and educated at Sydney's Kincoppal, lost the right of succession, as did the Earl of St Andrews. Then in 2008, when Peter Phillips, son of the Queen's daughter, Princess Anne, announced he would marry his partner Autumn Kelly, it emerged she had been baptised a Catholic. The only way he could keep his place in the line of succession was for her to forego Catholicism and become an Anglican.
However until the 300 year ban can be lifted, British MPs as well as Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand must give their consent. But even here there is disagreement with Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman insisting as a sovereign state, Queensland would pass its own legislation on the matter rather than join the other States who have referred to the Commonwealth and Federal Government's and its ability to make changes on the matter.
"We have one Crown in Australia," says PM Julia Gillard unhappy with Queensland's decision to "go it alone" and whose actions may prevent a legally binding consensus being reached, even though the state agrees to the changes.
Prince Charles' views on the matter were leaked after the Prince had a conversation with a civil servant. But constitutional lawyers believe the Bill is being rushed through without proper consultation and the wide scope for disagreement on repealing the bar on marriage to Catholics.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
AFRICA : GHANA : NEW PRESIDENT SWORN IN BEFORE THOUSANDS
CISA NEWS REPORT
ACCRA, January 08, 2013 (CISA) -The head of state of Ghana, John Mahama has promised to work hard to consolidate the democratic values of the country during the swearing in ceremony before thousands of Ghanaians gathered at the Independence Square in Accra.
“I will create a path of opportunity and development for all regardless of ethnic, social or political affiliations,’’ promised the president.
“I will keep the promise, I will not betray Ghana and will work hard to consolidate the democratic values of the country,” said Mahama exactly one month after he was elected with about 50.7% of the vote.
Mahama later addressed a delegation of diplomats and African presidents that included Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and Jacob Zuma of South Africa among others.
Mahama first became head of state July last year after the death of his predecessor and party colleague, John Atta Mills.
Mahama stressed the need to combine economic growth with a commitment to rights and freedoms. He stressed the need to develop hydrocarbon resources production which began in 2011. He then said that the country should focus on forms of dialogue and co-operation extended to the entire spectrum of political forces recognized by the Constitution.
The opponents of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court to challenge the regularity of the elections won by Mahama’s National Democratic Congress.
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS
AMERICA : CANADA : RIP ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS - JOSEPH PLOURDE
CCCB REPORT
(CCCB – Ottawa Ottawa , Ontario , died on Saturday, January 5, 2013, in Ottawa , at the age of 97, after almost 49 years as a Bishop.
(CCCB –
Archbishop Plourde was born on January 12, 1915, in Saint-François-de-Madawaska , New Brunswick Ontario , by Pope Paul VI on July 30, 1964; ordained Bishop on August 26, 1964, in Edmundston; appointed Apostolic Administrator of Alexandria-Cornwall on October 15, 1966, and appointed Archbishop of Ottawa on January 12, 1967. For reasons of health because of heart problems, his resignation as Archbishop of Ottawa was accepted by the Holy Father in September 1989, about six months before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 for Bishops.
Following his ordination as Bishop in 1964, the Most Reverend Plourde was a member of the Second Vatican Council. Shortly after the Council, he had a pivotal role in the restructuring of what was then the Canadian Catholic Conference (after 1977 renamed the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops). In 1966, he was elected to the Conference’s newly constituted Board, on which he served until 1971 (later renamed the Administrative Board, and eventually the Permanent Council). In 1967, he was elected to an ad hoc committee which brought forward recommendations on the nature and role of the Conference in the light of Vatican II. From 1969 to 1971, he was President of the Conference. Later, from 1979 to 1983, he served on its then Commission for Non-believers.
From 1966 to 1967, Archbishop Plourde chaired a committee of the Conference which oversaw the establishment of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. During October 1969, while Vice President of the Conference, he was in Rome as the Canadian episcopal consultant and spokesperson for the media covering the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on "Cooperation between the Holy See and the Episcopal Conferences".
His funeral Mass will be on Friday, January 11, at 11:00 a.m. at Notre-Dame Cathedral-Basilica,Ottawa .
SHARED FROM CCCB
ASIA : PHILIPPINES : AMAZING - 6 - 8 MILLION AT FEAST OF BLACK NAZARENE
UCAN REPORT
Millions join procession in Manila
Joe Torres, Manila
Millions join the procession to Manila's Quiapo church (Photo by Vincent Go)
This year's Feast of the Black Nazarene, attended by an estimated six to eight million people today, has passed off "generally peacefully," authorities say.
Initial reports said some 200 people were injured, compared with about 700 last year, as devotees tried to get near the carriage carrying the statue of the Black Nazarene in the annual procession to Quiapo Church in Manila.
The feast takes place every January 9, and is considered one of the most spectacular religious events in the Philippines.
It is celebrated by millions of devotees who believe that the centuries-old wooden life-size statue of Jesus Christ, which was brought to the Philippines from Mexico by Augustinian friars in 1606, is miraculous.
The statue is believed to have turned black after surviving a fire on the ship which brought it to the country.
Gwendolyn Pang, head of the Philippine National Red Cross, said most of the injuries this year were minor although several devotees collapsed due to heat exhaustion during the procession.
Devotees, many carrying small towels or handkerchiefs, try to squeeze their way to the front of the crowd to touch the statue or grab the rope used to pull the carriage carrying the image to ask favors from God or give thanks for granted ones.
At last year's feast, the procession of the image lasted more than 22 hours.
More than 3,000 police officers provided security while the Metro Manila Development Authority said 1,000 of its personnel helped keep order.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, in his homily before the religious procession, called on Filipinos "to value the sacredness of life" amid reports of killings in recent days around the capital.
"There are a lot of reports about killings. Let us be witnesses to the truth regarding the sanctity of life," the prelate said.
Political leaders, meanwhile, urged Black Nazarene devotees to match their faith with hard work.
"We should not just rely on prayer but also do something to make our dreams come true," said House Deputy Minority Leader Mitos Magsaysay.
Representative Sonny Angara, chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education, said the annual feast is a "symbol of hope and optimism" for Filipinos "despite and in spite of all the trials and ordeals that we face."
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
Initial reports said some 200 people were injured, compared with about 700 last year, as devotees tried to get near the carriage carrying the statue of the Black Nazarene in the annual procession to Quiapo Church in Manila.
The feast takes place every January 9, and is considered one of the most spectacular religious events in the Philippines.
It is celebrated by millions of devotees who believe that the centuries-old wooden life-size statue of Jesus Christ, which was brought to the Philippines from Mexico by Augustinian friars in 1606, is miraculous.
The statue is believed to have turned black after surviving a fire on the ship which brought it to the country.
Gwendolyn Pang, head of the Philippine National Red Cross, said most of the injuries this year were minor although several devotees collapsed due to heat exhaustion during the procession.
Devotees, many carrying small towels or handkerchiefs, try to squeeze their way to the front of the crowd to touch the statue or grab the rope used to pull the carriage carrying the image to ask favors from God or give thanks for granted ones.
At last year's feast, the procession of the image lasted more than 22 hours.
More than 3,000 police officers provided security while the Metro Manila Development Authority said 1,000 of its personnel helped keep order.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, in his homily before the religious procession, called on Filipinos "to value the sacredness of life" amid reports of killings in recent days around the capital.
"There are a lot of reports about killings. Let us be witnesses to the truth regarding the sanctity of life," the prelate said.
Political leaders, meanwhile, urged Black Nazarene devotees to match their faith with hard work.
"We should not just rely on prayer but also do something to make our dreams come true," said House Deputy Minority Leader Mitos Magsaysay.
Representative Sonny Angara, chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education, said the annual feast is a "symbol of hope and optimism" for Filipinos "despite and in spite of all the trials and ordeals that we face."
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
AUSTRALIA : CHILDREN OF THE YEAR OF GRACE
DIOCESE OF PARRAMATTA REPORT
CHILDREN OF GRACE IN THE YEAR OF GRACE
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| Fr John Watkins baptises Noah, held by his parents Sarah and Daniel Ang.Photography: Alphonsus Fok & Grace Lu |
By Diocesan Pastoral Planning Officer Daniel Ang
The Year of Grace (Pentecost 2012 to Pentecost 2013) has been an opportunity for the renewal of faith in the ever present possibilities that God’s gifts place before us.
As a community of grace, our identity as Church depends on our receptivity to the self-offering of God in the life of Christ, a life ‘poured out’ on the Cross, embodied in the Resurrection, communicated in the Spirit at Pentecost and received in the gift of the Eucharist.
Grace brings us into an encounter with this very life and friendship of God, present not outside of human history but active within it, drawing us by need and desire to Himself.
For my wife Sarah and I, our year of grace commenced a few days earlier than that of the Australian Church with the arrival of our first child, a baby boy, in mid-May. The Chinese name we chose, in addition to his English name Noah, was Beng Sim which means, roughly, ‘bright, clear heart’.
SHARED FROM DIOCESE OF PARRAMATTA
2013
TODAY'S SAINT : JAN. 10 : ST. WILLIAM OF BOURGES
St. William of Bourges
CISTERCIAN BISHOP
Feast: January 10
Information:
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Ciscertian bishop, also called William of Dongeon. He was born at Nevers, France, and studied under his uncle, Peter, the archdeacon of Soissons, before receiving ordination and appointment as a cannon of Soissons. He helpd the same post in Paris adn then entered the monastery of Grandmont, transferring to the Cistercian community at Pontigny. In succeeding years, he was abbot of Fontaine-Jean, in Sens; abbot of Chalis, near Senlis; and bishop of Bourges, receiving consecration in 1200. The last office he was compelled to take at the behest of Pope Innocent III (r. 1198-1216). As bishop, he distinguished himself by his austerities, concern for the poor, the defense of the rights of the Church against the French crown, and his success in converting many members of the Albigensian heresy. He was canonized by Pope Honorius III (r. 1216-1227).
(Taken from Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints) |
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : THURS. JAN. 10, 2013
Luke 4: 14 - 22
14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning him went out through all the surrounding country.15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read;17and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written,18"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,19to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."20And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.21And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."22And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"
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