"The difference between an obstacle and an opportunity is ourattitude towards it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity."
-- J. Sidlo Baxter
Friday, 30 May 2008
Government should support Catholic schools: Pope
Rome, May. 29, 2008 (CWNews.com) - In a May 29 talk to the Italian bishops' conference, Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) argued that a democratic state should support Catholic schools.
Since the government invests resources in many different projects, the Holy Father reasoned, "there does not appear to be any justification for excluding adequate support for the work of Church institutions in the field of education." Public investment in Catholic schools, he said, "could not fail to produce beneficial effects" for secular society.
The Italian bishops are holding their 58th general assembly in Rome this week, with the meetings taking place in the Vatican Synod hall. The Pope spoke to the bishops about the main topics for this meeting: education and evangelization.
Italy today faces an "educational crisis," the Pope warned, raising a theme that he has mentioned frequently during his pontificate. The Pontiff has repeatedly spoken about the need to provide young people with adequate moral and cultural formation. From the Catholic perspective, he said, the educational crisis involves "the transmission of the faith to new generations."
Since the government invests resources in many different projects, the Holy Father reasoned, "there does not appear to be any justification for excluding adequate support for the work of Church institutions in the field of education." Public investment in Catholic schools, he said, "could not fail to produce beneficial effects" for secular society.
The Italian bishops are holding their 58th general assembly in Rome this week, with the meetings taking place in the Vatican Synod hall. The Pope spoke to the bishops about the main topics for this meeting: education and evangelization.
Italy today faces an "educational crisis," the Pope warned, raising a theme that he has mentioned frequently during his pontificate. The Pontiff has repeatedly spoken about the need to provide young people with adequate moral and cultural formation. From the Catholic perspective, he said, the educational crisis involves "the transmission of the faith to new generations."
Toilet trouble for space station
Astronauts on the International Space Station await the arrival of the shuttle Discovery - and a new pump for their broken toilet.
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Lord, I Want to See!
todays homily by Msgr Denn
1 Pt 2:2-5, 9-12 / Mk 10:46-52
For about 1500 years, from the time of Moses down to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, Jewish worship centered on sacrifices in their temple. There was a special sacrifice for every circumstance and each one was grounded in a key insight into human nature.
For example, every morning began with the holocaust sacrifice. An unblemished lamb and a loaf of the finest bread were burned on the altar, and a cup of choice wine was poured into the ground. Symbolically, the people were giving back to God the essentials they needed to live. In effect they were saying, “We know it all comes from you, Lord, and we’re very grateful.” How wise they were!
They had other sacrifices as well. Sacrifices of praise and of thanksgiving. Sacrifices for sins and for peace. Each one had its own prescribed ritual and special meaning, but probably the most interesting of all was the sacrifice for unknown sins.
This was more than just a bit of insurance in case a person had skipped the fine print and ended up breaking some obscure rule he knew nothing about. The sacrifice for unknown sins came from something the wise old rabbis had learned about human nature, and that is, sometimes we’re all spiritually blind.
Sometimes we just don’t see ourselves clearly or accurately. Sometimes we don’t see what we’re doing to others, what effect we’re having on them. Sometimes we don’t see the big patterns in our lives, though everyone else sees them. And sometimes we don’t see the not-so-lovely ideas that are shaping our lives at the core. Sometimes our blindness lasts just a little while, and sometimes a whole lifetime. But always inner blindness is a hazard for every one of us. It can strike any one of us at a moment’s notice! Now why is that so? Why do good people like us fail to see so much?
I think there are probably two reasons: First of all, very few of us were ever taught to ask carefully at every turn of the road, “What am I really doing, and why am I doing it?” We just weren’t taught to look methodically for the truth about ourselves. And so, unseeing, we live a lot on the outside of things.
Secondly, even those who were taught discover that quite often, as we begin to see, fear intervenes, and turns out the lights. Fear of the ugliness we may see. Fear of what we may have to change if we let ourselves see. Fear that whatever is wrong will be too much for us. Fear there’s nothing of value within us. And, so out of fear, often we live unseeing on the outside of things.
Our fears would be entirely justifiable if we were walking this road alone. But we are not alone. The Lord himself is at our side with his hand outstretched to steady and encourage and strengthen us. We have no cause to fear now, and no reason to close our eyes any more, for there is nothing that we and the Lord cannot face together.
And so it is time for us to cry out with that blind man in the Gospel, “Lord, I want to see. Lord, I am ready to see whatever there is to see, because now I know for sure that I’m not alone!”
May 29th, 2008
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
1 Pt 2:2-5, 9-12 / Mk 10:46-52
For about 1500 years, from the time of Moses down to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, Jewish worship centered on sacrifices in their temple. There was a special sacrifice for every circumstance and each one was grounded in a key insight into human nature.
For example, every morning began with the holocaust sacrifice. An unblemished lamb and a loaf of the finest bread were burned on the altar, and a cup of choice wine was poured into the ground. Symbolically, the people were giving back to God the essentials they needed to live. In effect they were saying, “We know it all comes from you, Lord, and we’re very grateful.” How wise they were!
They had other sacrifices as well. Sacrifices of praise and of thanksgiving. Sacrifices for sins and for peace. Each one had its own prescribed ritual and special meaning, but probably the most interesting of all was the sacrifice for unknown sins.
This was more than just a bit of insurance in case a person had skipped the fine print and ended up breaking some obscure rule he knew nothing about. The sacrifice for unknown sins came from something the wise old rabbis had learned about human nature, and that is, sometimes we’re all spiritually blind.
Sometimes we just don’t see ourselves clearly or accurately. Sometimes we don’t see what we’re doing to others, what effect we’re having on them. Sometimes we don’t see the big patterns in our lives, though everyone else sees them. And sometimes we don’t see the not-so-lovely ideas that are shaping our lives at the core. Sometimes our blindness lasts just a little while, and sometimes a whole lifetime. But always inner blindness is a hazard for every one of us. It can strike any one of us at a moment’s notice! Now why is that so? Why do good people like us fail to see so much?
I think there are probably two reasons: First of all, very few of us were ever taught to ask carefully at every turn of the road, “What am I really doing, and why am I doing it?” We just weren’t taught to look methodically for the truth about ourselves. And so, unseeing, we live a lot on the outside of things.
Secondly, even those who were taught discover that quite often, as we begin to see, fear intervenes, and turns out the lights. Fear of the ugliness we may see. Fear of what we may have to change if we let ourselves see. Fear that whatever is wrong will be too much for us. Fear there’s nothing of value within us. And, so out of fear, often we live unseeing on the outside of things.
Our fears would be entirely justifiable if we were walking this road alone. But we are not alone. The Lord himself is at our side with his hand outstretched to steady and encourage and strengthen us. We have no cause to fear now, and no reason to close our eyes any more, for there is nothing that we and the Lord cannot face together.
And so it is time for us to cry out with that blind man in the Gospel, “Lord, I want to see. Lord, I am ready to see whatever there is to see, because now I know for sure that I’m not alone!”
May 29th, 2008
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Priests Among Targets in Zimbabwe
HARARE, Zimbabwe, MAY 27, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Many Zimbabwean priests are in hiding out of fear for their lives, Aid to the Church in Need reported.The statement Monday from the charity organization coincided with ongoing reports of an intimidation campaign leading up to the June 27 runoff election between President Robert Mugabe, 84, and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.Tsvangirai won the March elections, but supposedly not by a wide enough margin to have clinched the victory. Results from that election were withheld for weeks; meanwhile human rights groups began to report torture and even the killing of those who had voted against Mugabe.
A priest, who remained anonymous for safety reasons, informed Aid to the Church in Need that people who voted against Mugabe's party have been kidnapped, tortured, maimed and raped by soldiers -- particularly in rural areas. "Many Catholic priests and lay people are on the wanted lists of these soldiers and militia groups," he said, "and many of them are forced to remain in hiding following death threats." Reprisals come after the Catholic Church joined with other denominations earlier this month to speak out about the country's deteriorating human rights situation, including the organized violence in areas that did not vote for Mugabe. Making a bad situation worse, local hospitals are unable to care for the wounded due to lack of even basic painkillers, Aid to the Church in Need lamented.
The priest who spoke with the aid group said he fears the situation will only deteriorate as the runoff nears.Food is being withheld from those who did not vote for Mugape, he said, and despite their best efforts, Catholic dioceses are unable obtain any food for the hungry.
In any case, with an inflation rate at 160,000%, food has been scarce for months.A report on post-election violence by the Christian human rights organization the Solidarity Peace Trust, published in Johannesburg on May 21, contained up to 50 eye-witness accounts of orchestrated beatings, torture and the destruction of homes and shops.
A priest, who remained anonymous for safety reasons, informed Aid to the Church in Need that people who voted against Mugabe's party have been kidnapped, tortured, maimed and raped by soldiers -- particularly in rural areas. "Many Catholic priests and lay people are on the wanted lists of these soldiers and militia groups," he said, "and many of them are forced to remain in hiding following death threats." Reprisals come after the Catholic Church joined with other denominations earlier this month to speak out about the country's deteriorating human rights situation, including the organized violence in areas that did not vote for Mugabe. Making a bad situation worse, local hospitals are unable to care for the wounded due to lack of even basic painkillers, Aid to the Church in Need lamented.
The priest who spoke with the aid group said he fears the situation will only deteriorate as the runoff nears.Food is being withheld from those who did not vote for Mugape, he said, and despite their best efforts, Catholic dioceses are unable obtain any food for the hungry.
In any case, with an inflation rate at 160,000%, food has been scarce for months.A report on post-election violence by the Christian human rights organization the Solidarity Peace Trust, published in Johannesburg on May 21, contained up to 50 eye-witness accounts of orchestrated beatings, torture and the destruction of homes and shops.
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