CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD : WED. JUNE 5, 2013 - SHARE BREAKING NEWS

2013

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POPE FRANCIS "THE HUMAN PERSON IS IN DANGER" AND LATEST FROM VATICAN RIP CARDINAL STANISLAW NAGY SCI AGE 91 - EXPERT THEOLOGIAN - POPE'S CONDOLENCES OVER 150000 AT VIGIL OF CHINA'S TIANAMEN SQUARE IN HONG KONG FORMER SEMINARY STARS IN NEW MOVIE THE GREAT GATSBY IN AUSTRALIA 1000 INJURED IN ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN TURKEY WORLD BISHOPS CALL FOR G8 TO PROTECT POOR FREE CATHOLIC MOVIES - ST. AUGUSTINE - RESTLESS HEART - WATCH TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : WED. JUNE 5, 2013 TODAY'S SAINT : JUNE 5 : ST. BONIFACE GENERAL AUDIENCE: CULTURE OF WASTE TREATS PERSONS AS IF THEY WERE GARBAGE Vatican City, 5 June 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis dedicated the catechesis of today's Wednesday morning general audience to the environment, noting that today marks the World Environment Day promoted by the United Nations.Below please find a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy Father’s catechesis:Catechesis Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! Today I want to focus on the issue of the environment, which I have already spoken of on several occasions. Today we also mark World Environment Day, sponsored by the United Nations, which sends a strong reminder of the need to eliminate the waste and disposal of food. When we talk about the environment, about creation, my thoughts turn to the first pages of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, which states that God placed man and woman on earth to cultivate and care for it (cf. 2:15). And the question comes to my mind: What does cultivating and caring for the earth mean? Are we truly cultivating and caring for creation? Or are we exploiting and neglecting it? The verb "to cultivate" reminds me of the care that the farmer has for his land so that it bear fruit, and it is shared: how much attention, passion and dedication! Cultivating and caring for creation is God’s indication given to each one of us not only at the beginning of history; it is part of His project; it means nurturing the world with responsibility and transforming it into a garden, a habitable place for everyone. Benedict XVI recalled several times that this task entrusted to us by God the Creator requires us to grasp the rhythm and logic of creation. But we are often driven by pride of domination, of possessions, manipulation, of exploitation; we do not “care” for it, we do not respect it, we do not consider it as a free gift that we must care for. We are losing the attitude of wonder, contemplation, listening to creation; thus we are no longer able to read what Benedict XVI calls "the rhythm of the love story of God and man." Why does this happen? Why do we think and live in a horizontal manner, we have moved away from God, we no longer read His signs. But to "cultivate and care" encompasses not only the relationship between us and the environment, between man and creation, it also regards human relationships. The Popes have spoken of human ecology, closely linked to environmental ecology. We are living in a time of crisis: we see this in the environment, but above all we see this in mankind. The human person is in danger: this is certain, the human person is in danger today, here is the urgency of human ecology! And it is a serious danger because the cause of the problem is not superficial but profound: it is not just a matter of economics, but of ethics and anthropology. The Church has stressed this several times, and many say, yes, that's right, it's true ... but the system continues as before, because it is dominated by the dynamics of an economy and finance that lack ethics. Man is not in charge today, money is in charge, money rules. God our Father did not give the task of caring for the earth to money, but to us, to men and women: we have this task! Instead, men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the "culture of waste." If you break a computer it is a tragedy, but poverty, the needs, the dramas of so many people end up becoming the norm. If on a winter’s night, here nearby in Via Ottaviano, for example, a person dies, that is not news. If in so many parts of the world there are children who have nothing to eat, that's not news, it seems normal. It cannot be this way! Yet these things become the norm: that some homeless people die of cold on the streets is not news. In contrast, a ten point drop on the stock markets of some cities, is a tragedy. A person dying is not news, but if the stock markets drop ten points it is a tragedy! Thus people are disposed of, as if they were trash. This "culture of waste" tends to become the common mentality that infects everyone. Human life, the person is no longer perceived as a primary value to be respected and protected, especially if poor or disabled, if not yet useful - such as the unborn child - or no longer needed - such as the elderly. This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste and disposal of food, which is even more despicable when all over the world, unfortunately, many individuals and families are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Once our grandparents were very careful not to throw away any leftover food. Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food, to which, at times, we are no longer able to give a just value, which goes well beyond mere economic parameters. We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the the poor, the hungry! I encourage everyone to reflect on the problem of thrown away and wasted food to identify ways and means that, by seriously addressing this issue, are a vehicle of solidarity and sharing with the needy. A few days ago, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, we read the story of the miracle of the loaves: Jesus feeds the crowd with five loaves and two fishes. And the conclusion of the piece is important: " They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets" (Lk 9:17). Jesus asks his disciples not to throw anything away: no waste! There is this fact of twelve baskets: Why twelve? What does this mean? Twelve is the number of the tribes of Israel, which symbolically represent all people. And this tells us that when food is shared in a fair way, with solidarity, when no one is deprived, every community can meet the needs of the poorest. Human ecology and environmental ecology walk together. So I would like us all to make a serious commitment to respect and protect creation, to be attentive to every person, to counter the culture of waste and disposable, to promote a culture of solidarity and of encounter. Thank you. Summary in English Dear Brothers and Sisters: Our Audience today coincides with World Environment Day, and so it is fitting to reflect on our responsibility to cultivate and care for the earth in accordance with God’s command (cf. Gen 2:15). We are called not only to respect the natural environment, but also to show respect for, and solidarity with, all the members of our human family. These two dimensions are closely related; today we are suffering from a crisis which is not only about the just management of economic resources, but also about concern for human resources, for the needs of our brothers and sisters living in extreme poverty, and especially for the many children in our world lacking adequate education, health care and nutrition. Consumerism and a “culture of waste” have led some of us to tolerate the waste of precious resources, including food, while others are literally wasting away from hunger. I ask all of you to reflect on this grave ethical problem in a spirit of solidarity grounded in our common responsibility for the earth and for all our brothers and sisters in the human family.Greeting: I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore and the United States. God bless you all! SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA

SUPPORT PRIESTS WITH YOUR PRAYERS, BENEVOLENCE, AND GOOD COUNSEL Vatican City, 5 June 2013 (VIS) – After his catechesis, greeting the faithful from the different language groups, the Pope welcomed the French-speaking pilgrims from the Antilles, Mauritius, and the Ivory Coast. He took advantage of the opportunity to note the presence of a group of imams from France who are engaged in interreligious dialogue. He also invited all, as he had already urged during the catechesis, to care for creation and for the human person. He also greeted the seminarians and newly ordained priests from Poland, urging them to thank Christ for the gift of their vocation and to cultivate it “in the light and strength of the Holy Spirit, so that you will always be zealous ministers of God's grace and true guides of the paths of holiness.” He then invited all the Polish people to give thanks to God for their priests and to “support them with your prayers, benevolence, and good counsel.”

(Vatican Radio REPORT: Lamenting one’s suffering to God is not a sin, but a prayer of the heart that reaches the Lord: this was Pope Francis’ reflection at Mass Wednesday morning in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae residence at the Vatican, with the presence of some members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and of the Vatican Apostolic Library. Among others, the Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera; Archbishop Joseph DiNoia, secretary of the same Congregation; and Monsignor Cesare Pasini, Prefect of the Library. Listen: The story of Tobit and Sarah, reported in the first reading of the day, was the focus of the Pope’s homily: Two just people who live dramatic situations. The first is blinded despite his performing good works, even risking his life, and the second marries seven men in turn, each of whom dies before their wedding night. Both, in their great sorrow, pray to God to let them die. “They are people in extreme situations,” explained Pope Francis, “and they seek a way out.” He said, “They complain,” but, “they do not blaspheme.”: “To lament before God is not a sin. A priest I know once said to a woman who lamented to God about her misfortune: ‘But, madam, that is a form of prayer. Go ahead [with it].’ The Lord hears, He listens to our complaints. Think of the greats, of Job, when in chapter III (he says): ‘Cursed be the day I came into the world,’ and Jeremiah, in the twentieth chapter: ‘Cursed be the day’ – they complain even cursing, not the Lord, but the situation, right? It is only human.” The Holy Father also reflected on the many people who live borderline cases: malnourished children, refugees, the terminally ill. He went on to observe that, in the Gospel of the day, there are the Sadducees who present to Jesus the difficult case of a woman, who is the widow of seven men. Their question, however, was not posed with sincerity: “The Sadducees were talking about this woman as if she were a laboratory, all aseptic - hers was an [abstract] moral [problem]. When we think of the people who suffer so much, do we think of them as though they were an [abstract moral conundrum], pure ideas, ‘but in this case ... this case ...’, or do we think about them with our hearts, with our flesh, too? I do not like it when people speak about tough situations in an academic and not a human manner, sometimes with statistics ... and that’s it. In the Church there are many people in this situation.” The Pope said that in these cases, we must do what Jesus says, pray: “Pray for them. They must come into my heart, they must be a [cause of] restlessness for me: my brother is suffering, my sister suffers. Here [is] the mystery of the communion of saints: pray to the Lord, ‘But, Lord, look at that person: he cries, he is suffering. Pray, let me say, with the flesh: that our flesh pray. Not with ideas. Praying with the heart.” And the prayers of Tobit and Sarah, which they offer up to the Lord even despite their asking to die, give us hope, because they are accepted by God in His own way, who does not let them die, but heals Tobit and finally gives a husband to Sara. Prayer, he explained, always reaches God, [so long as] it is prayer from the heart.” Instead, “when it is [an abstract exercise], such as that the Sadducees were discussing, never reaches him, because it never goes out of ourselves: we do not care. It is an intellectual game.” In conclusion, Pope Francis called on the faithful to pray for those who live dramatic situations and who suffer as much as Jesus on the cross, who cry, “Father, Father, why have you forsaken me?” Let us pray - he concluded – “so that our prayer reaches [heaven] and let it be [a source of] hope for all of us.” SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA   POPE REPEATS HIS CONCERN FOR SYRIA: ASKS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR NEGOTIATED SOLUTION TO CONFLICT AND HUMANITARIAN AID FOR REFUGEES Vatican City, 5 June 2013 (VIS) – This morning, shortly after 9:00am, in the sitting room of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Pope received participants in the coordination meeting between the Catholic charitable organizations that are acting in the situation of the crisis in Syria and its neighbouring countries. The meeting was sponsored by the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, whose president is Cardinal Robert Sarah. “I would like to thank you for coming together,” said the Pope, “and for all the humanitarian work that you are doing to aid the suffering peoples of Syria and nearby countries owing to the conflict there. I encouraged the Pontifical Council Cor Unum to promote this meeting designed to coordinate the activities carried out by Catholic charitable organizations in the region. I wish to express my gratitude to Cardinal Sarah for his greetings. I offer a special welcome to those who have come from the Middle East, especially those representing the Church in Syria.” “The Holy See’s concern for the crisis in Syria, and in a particular way, for the people, often defenceless, who are suffering as a result of it, is well known. Benedict XVI repeatedly called for a ceasefire and for a search for a resolution through dialogue in order to achieve a profound reconciliation between the sides. Let the weapons be silent! Furthermore, he wished to express his personal closeness this past November, when he sent Cardinal Sarah into the region, accompanying this gesture with the request to 'spare no effort in the search for peace' and manifesting his concrete and fatherly solicitude with a donation, to which the Synod Fathers had also contributed in October. “The destiny of the Syrian people,” he repeated, “is a concern that is also close to my heart. On Easter Sunday I asked for peace 'above all for dear Syria, for its people torn by conflict, and for the many refugees who await help and comfort. How much blood has been shed! And how much suffering must there be before a political solution to the crisis is found?'” “In the face of ongoing and overwhelming violence, I strongly renew my appeal for peace. In recent weeks the international community has reaffirmed its intention to promote concrete initiatives to bring about a fruitful dialogue designed to bring an end to the war. These initiatives are to be encouraged, and it is hoped that they will lead to peace. The Church feels herself called to give her humble yet concrete and sincere witness to the charity which she has learned from Christ, the Good Samaritan. We know that where there is suffering, Christ is present. We cannot pull back, precisely from those situations where the suffering is greatest. Your presence at this coordinating meeting demonstrates your will to faithfully continue this precious work of humanitarian assistance, in Syria and in neighbouring countries which generously receive those who have fled from the war. May your timely and coordinated work be an expression of the communion to which it gives witness, as the recent Synod on the Church in the Middle East suggested.” “To the international community, besides the pursuit of a negotiated solution to the conflict, I ask for the provision of humanitarian aid for the Syrians who have been displaced and made refugees, showing in the first place the good of each human person and safeguarding their dignity. For the Holy See, the work of various Catholic charitable agencies is extremely significant: assisting the Syrian population, without regard for ethnic or religious affiliation, is the most direct way to contribute to peace and to the construction of a society open and welcoming to all of its different constituent parts. The Holy See also lends its efforts to the building of a future of peace for a Syria in which everyone can live freely and express themselves in their own particular way.” The Pope also directed his thoughts at the moment “to the Christian communities who live in Syria and throughout the Middle East. The Church supports the members of these communities who today find themselves in special difficulty. These have the great task of continuing to offer a Christian presence in the place where they were born. And it is our task to ensure that this witness remain there. The participation of the entire Christian community to this important work of assistance and aid is imperative at this time. Let us all, each of us, think of Syria. There is so much suffering and poverty, so much pain of Jesus who suffers, who is poor, who is forced out of his homeland. It is Jesus! This is a mystery but it is our Christian mystery. In the beloved Syrians we see Jesus suffering.” “I offer my gratitude once again,” he concluded, “for this initiative and I invoke upon each one of you abundant divine blessings. This heavenly benediction extends in a particular way to the beloved faithful who live in Syria and to all Syrians who have been forced to leave their homes because of the war. May all of you here present tell the beloved people of Syria and the Middle East that the Pope accompanies them and is near to them. The Church will not abandon them!”

TELEGRAM ON DEATH OF CARDINAL NAGY, EXPERT THEOLOGIAN Vatican City, 5 June 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father has sent a telegram of condolence to Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Cracow, Poland, on receiving news of the death there this morning of Cardinal Stanislaw Kazimierz Nagy, S.C.I., cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria della Scala. Cardinal Nagy was 91 years old. “On hearing the news of the death of the venerable Cardinal Stanislaw Nagy, I wish to express to you, to the entire diocesan community, to the family members of the worthy prelate, and to the Congregation of Dehonian Fathers my heartfelt participation in their sorrow, affectionately thinking of this dear brother who generously served the Gospel and the Church, especially in the academic world, which appreciated this studious and experienced theology teacher. I recall with gratitude his fruitful collaboration, warm friendship, and mutually shared esteem with Blessed John Paul II, as well as his intense ecumenical activity. I pray earnestly that the Lord, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, welcome this faithful servant and eminent man of the Church to eternal peace and joy and I wholeheartedly impart to all who mourn his loss the comfort of the Apostolic Blessing.”

RIP CARDINAL STANISLAW NAGY SCI AGE 91 - EXPERT THEOLOGIAN - POPE'S CONDOLENCES

TELEGRAM ON DEATH OF CARDINAL NAGY, EXPERT THEOLOGIAN Vatican City, 5 June 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father has sent a telegram of condolence to Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Cracow, Poland, on receiving news of the death there this morning of Cardinal Stanislaw Kazimierz Nagy, S.C.I., cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria della Scala. Cardinal Nagy was 91 years old. “On hearing the news of the death of the venerable Cardinal Stanislaw Nagy, I wish to express to you, to the entire diocesan community, to the family members of the worthy prelate, and to the Congregation of Dehonian Fathers my heartfelt participation in their sorrow, affectionately thinking of this dear brother who generously served the Gospel and the Church, especially in the academic world, which appreciated this studious and experienced theology teacher. I recall with gratitude his fruitful collaboration, warm friendship, and mutually shared esteem with Blessed John Paul II, as well as his intense ecumenical activity. I pray earnestly that the Lord, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, welcome this faithful servant and eminent man of the Church to eternal peace and joy and I wholeheartedly impart to all who mourn his loss the comfort of the Apostolic Blessing.” IMAGE RADIO VATICANA/BING

OVER 150000 AT VIGIL OF CHINA'S TIANAMEN SQUARE IN HONG KONG

UCAN REPORT

Demand for vindication of victims 'will not diminish'

Thousands of people packed Victoria Park to commemorate the ‘Tiananmen Incident’
 

• ucanews.com reporter, Hong Kong

Tens of thousands of people yesterday braved heavy downpours to mark the 24th anniversary of the “Tiananmen Incident,” a student-led pro-democracy movement that ended in a bloody crackdown in Beijing on June 4, 1989.
The annual two-hour vigil in which organizers called on new Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve human rights and embrace democracy was cut short by an hour due to heavy rain.
Despite this, most of the participants who packed six soccer fields at Victoria Park chose to stay until a democracy movement song that usually concludes the event was sung.
 “We will persist to the end. By this, the Communist Party will be scared,” said one participant who called herself Mrs. Shum.
Noting that the turnout for the event is closely watched by local and international media every year, another participant Leung Wai-si said, “We use our bodies and flesh to tell others that although 24 years has passed our demand for the vindication of the victims has not diminished.”
The organizers, Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, estimated 150,000 people took part. The police however estimated the crowd at only 54,000.
Before the vigil there was a split over this year’s slogan: “Love the country, love the people.” Some people felt the wording was meant to promote patriotism for China.
Lee Cheuk-yan, the alliance chairperson later told reporters at the vigil that the turnout shows that “Hong Kong people can put aside arguments and unite together.”
Chan Shu-fai, secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, told the crowd that the student-led movement in 1989 was motivated in the name of patriotism. “It is a progressive force. We know the Communist Party twisted its meaning. But why can’t we define our own?” he said.
A smaller group of 200 people took part in separate commemoration at a different location.
“The alliance’s vigil is the same every year. It fails to attract the younger generation,” said Chan Tzi-chun, the organizer.
“We think commemoration of the Tiananmen Incident is not just about casualties but also issues on anti-corruption and the fight for freedom,” said the 27-year-old.
Meanwhile, the former mayor of Beijing who was said to have played a major role in the 1989 crackdown has died.
Chen Xitong died of cancer on Sunday, the Hong Kong China News Agency said without giving further details.
Although credited with supporting the crackdown he was quoted in a book published last year as saying the crackdown could have been avoided and that he regretted the loss of life.  
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS

FORMER SEMINARY STARS IN NEW MOVIE THE GREAT GATSBY IN AUSTRALIA

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
4 Jun 2013

St Patrick's Seminary at Manly transformed as Long Island Mansion for The Great Gatsby

One of the most outstanding landmarks in Sydney, the Archdiocese of Sydney's former seminary at Manly is one of the undisputed star's of Baz Luhrmann's hit movie, The Great Gatsby.
Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel as American imploded on excess on the eve of the depression, the film centres around the mysterious Jay Gatsby, his enormous, enigmatic past, his fabulous parties which he never attends and his ongoing obsession with Daisy, the girl he fell in love with as a young man who is now married to an arrogant, rich philandering husband.
Although set in the US director Baz Luhrmann filmed the entire movie in Australia with the former seminary, now the International College of Management, taking centre stage as the Gatsby's home on Long Island where the fictional hero threw his fabulous Jazz Age parties.
According to Luhrmann, the Gatsby Mansion was created at the former Seminary with fountains and a pond added to the grounds for filming and ivy clustered over the first two floors of its sandstone Gothic exterior.

Cardinal Moran Responsible for St Patrick's College, Australia's first Catholic seminary

The front stairs and entrance way were also changed and gravel put down to create a sweeping driveway.
Originally conceived by the second Archbishop of Sydney, Roger Bede Vaughan, the Church applied for and was granted 12 hectares of land on North Head Reserve in 1859 on which to build a seminary. For almost 30 years the land stood vacant but finally work began in 1885 under the direction of Sydney's third Archbishop, Cardinal Patrick Moran who had arrived in Australia the previous year and was taken with the land and what must be one of the most spectacular sites in Sydney.
Well known 19th century architects, Joseph Sheerin and John Hennessey designed the seminary in a blend of neo-Gothic and Romanesque styles. Using stone quarried from North Head and finer stone sent by barge from Pyrmont, along with cedar and kauri, the four storey seminary with its six storey belltower was eventually finished winning wide praise worldwide.

Former Seminary becomes mansion of Great Gatsby where the fictional hero threw lavish jazz age parties

Hennessy and Sheerin designs were outstanding and before the building was even finished, they were awarded a medal for the architecture at the London's Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886. They would later go on to design other well known Catholic buildings including St Joseph's College, Hunter's Hill, the Cathedral of Joseph and Mary at Armidale and were responsible for finishing William Wardell's designs for Sydney's much loved St Mary's Cathedral.
However despite all the praise and their meticulous attention to detail, when the seminary at Manly finally opened on 23 January 1889 there was also considerable controversy over its grandiose size.
"Some may think a seminary on so large a plot is not required. But I look to the future. In erecting this seminary I shall meet the want of all Australian dioceses," Cardinal Moran responded.
Over the next 100 years, 1714 men who studied at St Patrick's Seminary were ordained priests. Many of the nation's outstanding church leaders also trained there, including Cardinals Gilroy, Freeman, Cassidy and Clancy together with more than 41 bishops.

Archdiocese's former St Patrick's Seminary at Manly where much of The Great Gatsby was filmed

In 1995, after a modern purpose built seminary was constructed at Homebush, the Archdiocese of Sydney and the Australian Tourism Group undertook a major refurbishment of the nineteenth century building which was reopened in 2002 as the International College of Management, Sydney.
Although no longer used as a seminary, St Patrick's Estate as it is now called remains one of the most spectacular and historic areas of Sydney. The Hennessy and Sheerin-designed Cardinal Cerretti  Memorial Chapel in the Estate grounds remains a favourite with those planning weddings and on 25 June 2006 is where actress Nicole Kidman chose to wed Keith Urban.


SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY

1000 INJURED IN ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN TURKEY

ASIA NEWS REPORT
Death toll now stands at three. In recent clashes 1000 injured in Istanbul and 700 in Ankara. In the capital, police use teargas in clashes against demonstrators. The Prime Minister claims the title of "Spring Turkish" to describe the work of his government. Protesters demand his resignation.


Istanbul (AsiaNews) - The public employee unions are starting a two-day strike in support of anti-government demonstrations that have spread throughout the country from Taksim.
The demonstrations that started five days ago in Istanbul, to defend the Gezi Park from property speculation, have become a mass protest movement against the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In recent days, the violent clashes between protesters and police have left three people dead. The most recent victim is 22 year old  Comert Abdullah, who died in hospital after being hit by a gunshot during clashes in southern Turkey, on the border with Syria. The first victim was Sarisuluk Ethem, who died in Ankara from a shot of gunshot wound to the head. The second victim is 20 year old Mehmet Ayvalitas: he died in Istanbul hit by a car that drove into the demonstrators.
Meanwhile, human rights groups and doctors have updated the toll of the clashes: the wounded are at least 1000 in Istanbul and a further 700 in Ankara. The interior ministry said they have arrested 1,700 people.

Yesterday there were still demonstrations in Taksim Square. To the cry of "Tayyip, resign!" many protesters tried to reach the house of the Prime Minister in the Besiktas neighborhood, blocked by police and tear gas. This morning, there were clashes between demonstrators and police in Ankara.
The Prime Minister Erdogan, before flying to Morocco, spoke yesterday on television, blaming "vandals" and "extremists" of being behind the demonstrations. He warned against comparing the recent riots to a " Turkish Spring". " Was there a multiparty system in the Arab Spring countries?", he asked. He also claimed that his government, its political and economic reforms are already a "Turkish spring ". "Those in foreign media who talk about a Turkish Spring, we are already going through Turkish Spring, we have been living in it, and those who want to turn it into winter will not succeed".
Erdogan, who came to power in 2002, has modernized the economic structures of the country and reduced the power of the military, launching his nation as a model for the entire Islamic world. He has also recently launched a number of laws on religious education and against the sale of alcohol. But part of the secular society accuses him of wanting to Islamize the country and stifle personal freedoms. Most of the protesters liken him to an authoritarian dictator.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT

WORLD BISHOPS CALL FOR G8 TO PROTECT POOR

IND. CATH. NEWS REPORT

Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the Group of eight nations (G8) are urging national leaders to protect the poor and assist developing countries at the upcoming G8 Summit in the United Kingdom. In a letter dated 3 June, 2013, the bishops urged leaders to focus on agriculture and nutrition ahead of the G8 Meeting.
“In a world that has made great strides in improving food production and distribution, far too many of God’s children still go to bed hungry or suffer from a lack of nutrition, a tragedy that has lifelong consequences for health and educational achievement. In particular, there is a need to strengthen assistance to African countries in order to improve local agriculture,” the letter says.
They also pressed for special attention to tax evasion, trade and transparency issues. “Trade and trade rules must serve the universal common good of the whole human family and the special needs of the most vulnerable nations. It is counterproductive to provide agricultural development assistance on the one hand and then to use unfair agricultural trade policies that harm the agricultural economics of poorer nations on the other,” the letter says.
“The G8’s emphasis on transparency is critical. Human dignity demands truth, and democracy requires transparency. With more and better information, civil societies, including faith-based organizations, can hold their governments accountable and help insure that resources reduce poverty and improve the health of the whole society,” they added.
The bishops argued for a consistent focus on the impact of policies on the poor.
“By asking first how a given policy will affect the poor and the vulnerable, you can help assure that the common good of all is served. As a human family we are only as healthy as our weakest members,” the bishops wrote.
The coalition of bishops who signed the letter includes the presidents of the Catholic Conferences of England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the Conferences of the European Community.
The full text of the letter is available online: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/poverty/global/upload/2013-G8-Letter.pdf
SHARED FROM IND. CATH. NEWS

FREE CATHOLIC MOVIES - ST. AUGUSTINE - RESTLESS HEART - WATCH

FREE CATHOLIC MOVIES - ST. AUGUSTINE

IN HONOR OF THE YEAR OF FAITH JCE NEWS will be showing some of the Best Catholic Films of all time. Here is the drama of ST. AUGUSTINE in English :

TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : WED. JUNE 5, 2013

Mark 12: 18 - 27
18	And Sad'ducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying,
19	"Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.
20	There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no children;
21	and the second took her, and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise;
22	and the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died.
23	In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife."
24	Jesus said to them, "Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?
25	For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
26	And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, `I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
27	He is not God of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong."

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