Nationally broadcast Easter Mass to be celebrated in New Orleans cathedral
Washington D.C., Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - This
year’s nationally televised Easter mass will be taped at the Cathedral
of St. Louis in New Orleans and presided by Archbishop Alfred Hughes.
It will be available to ABC-TV stations nationwide to broadcast at
their discretion April 16.
The New Orleans
cathedral, which survived Hurricane Katrina with minimal damage, was
chosen as the location for this celebration to demonstrate the hope and
resilience of the people of faith in the archdiocese.
The Cathedral of
St. Louis, located in the French quarter, was established in 1718. It
had recently completed an extensive renovation when Hurricane Katrina
hit New Orleans last August.
The hour-long
liturgical special is being produced by WLAE-TV in New Orleans in
cooperation with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’
Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC).
A list of stations and scheduled broadcasts will be available on the USCCB website (www.usccb.org) beginning April 7.
Those not in truth break from unity of Christ’s Church, says Pope
Vatican City, Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - 30,000
people were on hand in St. Peter’s Square this morning to hear Pope
Benedict XVI as he chided those who break communion with and within the
Church by abandoning truth and denying the faith.
The theme of his
Wednesday audience this week was ‘Service to communion within the
Church.’ It continues an ongoing catechesis series about the union of
Christ and the Church in light of the apostles.
On a
particularly windy day in Rome, the pontiff, at one point, was forced
to hand his skullcap over to an aid to keep it from blowing away.
The Holy Father
began by saying that "The source of the communion of the disciples,
both with one another and with God, is the Spirit that pours the love
of God into our hearts."
"Where the
Church is,” he continued, quoting St. Irenaeus, “there is the Spirit of
God, and where the Spirit is, there is the Church and all grace."
Benedict
explained that "This intimate link with the Spirit does not eliminate
our humanity with all its weaknesses, as the community of disciples is
well aware." Proof of this, he added, is "constituted above all by the
contrasts concerning the truth of faith and the subsequent lacerations
of communion."
Citing the First
Letter of John in the New Testament, the Pope said that “these
potential tensions within the experience of communion” are nothing new.
"No voice in the
New Testament”, he said, “rises with greater force to highlight the
reality and the duty of fraternal love between Christians; yet the same
voice addresses itself with drastic severity to the adversaries who
were members of the community but are so no longer.”
“The Church of
love”, he stressed, “is also the Church of truth, primarily understood
as being faithful to the Gospel that Christ entrusted to His followers."
The Holy Father
said that true communion "arises from a faith inspired by apostolic
preaching, it is nourished by the breaking of bread and by prayer, and
it is expressed in fraternal charity and in service.”
Because of this,
“The Apostles and their successors are…the custodians and authoritative
witnesses of the deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, just as they
are also ministers of the charity revealed and donated by the Lord
Jesus. In this way, theirs is above all a service of love; and the
charity they live and promote is inseparable from the truth they defend
and transmit.”
“Truth and
love”, the Pope highlighted, “are two faces of the same gift that comes
from God and that, thanks to the apostolic ministry, is safeguarded
within the Church, reaching down to our own time."
Anti-Catholic resolution prompts lawsuit
San Francisco, Calif., Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - A
resolution, condemning Catholic moral teaching on homosexuality and
urging San Francisco’s archbishop and Catholic Charities to defy Church
directives prohibiting gay adoptions, has prompted a federal lawsuit by
the Thomas More Law Center.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the resolution March 21.
The lawsuit was
brought on behalf of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
and two San Francisco citizens. It challenges the anti-Catholic
resolution on the basis of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The lawsuit
claims that the First Amendment “forbids an official purpose to
disapprove of a particular religion, religious beliefs, or of religion
in general.”
Robert Muise,
the Law Center attorney handling the case, added that the U.S.
Constitution “forbids hostility toward any religion.”
“In total
disregard for the Constitution, homosexual activists in positions of
authority in San Francisco are abusing their authority as government
officials and misusing the instruments of government to attack the
Catholic Church. This egregious abuse of power is an outrage and a
clear violation of the First Amendment,” he said.
The resolution
alludes to the Vatican as a foreign country meddling in the affairs of
the City and describes the Church’s moral teaching and beliefs as
“insulting to all San Franciscans,” “hateful,” “defamatory,” and
“absolutely unacceptable.” It also says Cardinal William Levada, the
head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is
“unqualified” to lead.
This
“anti-Catholic resolution sends a clear message to Plaintiffs and
others who are faithful adherents to the Catholic faith that they are
outsiders … [and] that those who oppose Catholic religious beliefs …
are insiders, favored members of the political community,” the lawsuit
states.
Cardinal Dziwisz calls for patience in beatification process of John Paul II
Rome, Italy, Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - Cardinal
Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow and former personal secretary
to Pope John Paul II, has called upon faithful to be patient regarding
the beatification process of the late Pontiff, because “it is better to
wait and do things right.”
“What we want is
the beatification process to take place without rushing, with depth, so
that nobody later can accuse us of not working carefully,” he said in
statements to the Polish news agency PAP.
Likewise,
although the faithful desire his prompt elevation to the altars, the
cardinal explained the long process would be beneficial because it
would underscore “the charismatic figure of the Holy Father.”
Cardinal
Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was at the Vatican for commemorations of the
first anniversary of John Paul II’s passing, said, “The world is
rediscovering John Paul II and is seeking to better understand him.”
“The anniversary
commemorations showed that the world is grateful to Benedict XVI for
looking after the memory and love for his predecessor,” he said.
Bible Society, pastors at odds over ‘Jesus Loves Porn Stars’ cover
Los Angeles, Calif., Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) -
Two California pastors and the American Bible Society
are at odds over a cover design the pastors have requested for 10,000
copies of the Bible which they plan to distribute to those entrenched
in the pornography industry.
Pastors
MikeFoster, 35, and Craig Gross, 30, are the founders of XXXchurch.com,
a Corona-based anti-pornography Internet ministry. As part of their
ministry, they also meet with and hand out free Bibles to porn stars
and their fans at adult film conventions. They say they typically
giveaway 1,000 copies of the New Testament at the conventions,
according tothe Los Angeles Times.
However,
they thought a Bible cover containing their popular tag line; "Jesus
Loves Porn Stars" would triple their distribution. The American Bible
Society rejected their idea.
American
Bible Society executive Barbara Bernstengel said that while the society
applauds the pastors’ outreach, "the wording is misleading and
inappropriate for a New Testament cover. She suggested several
alternatives, but the pastors rejected them.
Gross
said their slogan is not misleading. Jesus does love porn stars and the
message doesn't insinuate that he loves pornography, he said. Rather,
the "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" cover would help get the New Testament
into the hands of those normally shunned by Christians.
The
pastors told the Los Angeles Times that this incident is a typical
clash between old school Christianity with its rigid structure and
traditions and an emerging brand practiced largely by younger
Christians who focus on relationships, spiritual experiences and
bringing the Gospel to nonbelievers through bold, sometimes edgy
marketing.
Richard
Flory, a sociologist at Biola University who studies new Christian
movements, told the newspaper that the society should not jeopardize
its larger mission by publishing a Bible cover that it believes will be
divisive.
The
pastors admit that the cover is controversial but says that if it gets
the Good News in people’s hands, then it’s a good thing. They told the
LosAngeles Times that they are in talks with other publishers to get
their Bible printed.
XXXchurch.com
was founded in 2002 to fight addiction to internet pornography
,especially among Christians. Their intentionally controversial
website, billed as the "No. 1 Christian Porn Site", includes free
"accountability software" to flag questionable sites visited by users
and podcasts featuring interviews with ex-porn stars turned Christian.
Past, future World Youth Day leaders gather for first international meeting
Vatican City, Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - The
Vatican has announced that world leaders and organizers of the popular
World Youth Day celebrations will gather for their first international
meeting this weekend at Sassone Di Ciampino near Rome.
A communique,
released yesterday by the Pontifical Council for the Laity stated that
the meeting will be attended by delegates from some 85 countries as
well as representatives from 45 religious communities, associations and
Catholic youth movements.
On Friday,
Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, will recount
last August's World Youth Day, which was held in that city. He will
analyze the effect it had on his archdiocese and on youth pastoral care
throughout Germany before looking at organizational and logistical
challenges brought by the event.
On Saturday,
Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell will speak on the challenges
and expectations of the Australian Church, which will host World Youth
Day 2008.
The delegates
will gather on April 9th, Palm Sunday for a Mass celebrated by Pope
Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square. Following the liturgy, a group of
young Germans will present the pilgrim World Youth Day cross to a group
from Australia.
Beginning
Monday, the Cross will undertake a long journey through Europe, Africa
and a number of Pacific Ocean islands before arriving in Sydney in July
of 2008 for the start of World Youth Day itself.
Pope prays for peace in Basque region, illuminated by St. Francis Xavier
Vatican City, Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - Following
his general audience held earlier today at the Vatican, Pope Benedict
XVI extended a special greeting to pilgrims from Spain, who will
celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of their own St. Francis
Xavier on Friday.
The Pope called
St. Francis "the great Jesuit missionary who preached the Gospel in the
lands of Asia, opening many doors to Christ."
He added that he
unites himself “with that celebration, thanking the Lord for this great
gift to His Church. ... In contemplating the figure of St. Francis
Xavier we feel called to pray for those who dedicate their lives to the
evangelizing mission, proclaiming the beauty of the salvific message of
Jesus.”
Benedict also
invited those gathered "to pray that, through the intercession of this
saint, everyone may intensify efforts to consolidate the horizons of
peace that seem to be opening in the Basque Country and in all Spain,
and to overcome the obstacles that may arise on this long journey."
Indian director raises eyebrows with hopes to cast Paris Hilton as Mother Teresa
Kerala, India, Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - An Indian movie director said he hopes to persuade Paris Hilton to play the role of Mother Teresa in an upcoming film.
Director T.
Rajeevnath told AFP that Hilton made a casting shortlist after a
computer-generated image showed a close facial match between the hotel
heiress and the nun. A meeting with Hilton is scheduled for the end of
April, said the 54-year-old director.
Rajeevnath is
well known in India for his Malayalam-language films, including
award-winning "Janani", the story of seven nuns who care for an
abandoned baby.
Hilton's prior
movie experience includes a homemade sex video, which appeared on the
Internet, and a starring role in the reality TV series “The Simple
Life.”
India honors John Paul II with massive new statue
New Dehli, India, Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - In
order to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of the Servant
of God, Pope John Paul II, the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India has
commissioned a statue of the beloved Pontiff to honor his memory.
According to the
Fides news agency, officials in Chennai are looking for the most
appropriate place to erect the bronze statue of John Paul II, which was
fashioned by sculptor Shihan Hussaini. “The city feels honored to
be able to offer this statue in recognition of a man of dialogue and
peace like Pope John Paul II,” officials said.
Hussaini said
the statue’s dimensions make it “one of the largest statues dedicated
to the Pontiff in the world.” He explained that statue rests on
“three great steps that represent the three phases of the life of the
Pope: the first when he was Karol Wojtyla, the second when he was John
Paul II, and third represents the path towards sainthood.
In addition, there are another 26 smaller steps, one for each year of his pontificate,” he said.
Pro-life groups denounce irregularities in efforts to legalize abortion in Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia, Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - The
Foundation Futuro Colombia has denounced certain anomalies in the case
being argued before the country’s Constitutional Court to legalize
abortion. The group is demanding it be thrown out on the grounds that
one of the court’s key reporters, Jaime Araujo, has expressed a
pro-abortion view since the start of litigation.
According to
Foundation spokesman Ilva Myriam Hoyos, when the Court declared in
December it was “inhibited” from changing the country’s laws on the
matter, Araujo had said he was in favor of total legalization of
abortion.
Since Araujo is
tasked with collecting briefs and determining if cases can go before
the Court, Hoyos argued that his actions, which included unexpectedly
changing the dates for hearings in which the public could express their
opinions on the issue, violated due process.
Poll shows that majority of Chileans consider religion very important
Santiago, Chile, Apr 5, 2006 (CNA) - More
than 60% of Chileans believe religion is “very important” in their
lives, according to a recent poll taken by the Chilean daily “El
Mercurio.” The poll showed that in general, 50% consider religion
to be important and 32% somewhat important, but emphasized the high
value of religion in one's personal life.
Although
more than 75% said the Church should allow contraceptives and 72.4%
said divorce should be allowed, 94.4% said they believe in God and more
than 51% said the country discriminates against people who have strong
faith and live according to their religious beliefs.
58.3% said they
would prefer if the government were open to religion and religious
leaders, while 36% said the Church should speak out on political
issues. Young people among respondents acknowledged they were
less religious than older age groups. 52.7% of respondents said
there was very little religion in schools.
