By Robert Pigott
BBC News, Religious affairs correspondent
Muslims take part in Friday prayer at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur
About two-thirds of Malaysia's population is Muslim
The Malaysian government has refused to release 10,000 Bibles which it seized because they contained the word Allah to refer to God.
The government, which is dominated by Muslim Malays, claims that the word Allah is Islamic and that its use in Bibles could upset Muslims.
The Roman Catholic Church is challenging the ban in court.
Religion has become highly sensitive in Malaysia, where about two-thirds of the population is Muslim.
Religious minorities have accused the government of undermining their rights.
The government has impounded Bibles before, intercepting 5,000 in March as they were imported from Indonesia.
Church officials say that although the word Allah originated in Arabic, Malays have used it for centuries to refer generally to God, and Arabic-speaking Christians used it before Islam was founded.
The Christian Federation of Malaysia said the religious freedom guaranteed by the Malaysian constitution was meaningless if people were denied Bibles which used their own language.
Friday, 6 November 2009
Loreto Grants Citizenship to Focolare Leader
Founder Received 1st Inspiration in Mary
ROME, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The president of the Focolare movement is now an honorary citizen of the city where the Blessed Virgin's house sits -- in honor of the fact that Chiara Lubich received her first inspiration to found the group within the walls of that holy house.
"This is a great moment for the city of Loreto," but also "for all those who share the plan that Chiara Lubich had in her heart: to unite institutions and politics to spirituality," said Moreno Pieroni, mayor of the Italian city.
On Oct. 25, he opened the ceremony to grant distinguished citizenship in memory of the founder of the Focolare, to Maria Voce, the current president of the movement.
The mayor mentioned the timeliness and depth of the "spiritual, cultural and operative message" of Lubich.
He also spoke of "her work based on the ideal of fraternity, the impetus she gave to the renewal of politics, the economy, pedagogy and many realms of society, and to the dialogue she established with humanity, overcoming differences of race, religions and cultures."
May she be an "example above all for those who work in the political world," he said.
Fiat
The honor coincides with the 70th anniversary of Lubich's visit to the holy house of Loreto, where she had "the first intuition of a new way in the Church," a statement from the movement explained.
Voce said Lubich's intuition shows "an intervention of God," beyond "rational explanations."
"When the Divine invades history, it does not have the sound of trumpets, but [does so] submissively as in Nazareth," the president reflected.
She said Lubich's experience is set in history and "unites simple and holy faithful who within those walls have had the revelation of God's plan for their life and there have pronounced their 'Let it be done unto me.'"
Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci of Loreto also noted the parallel between Lubich and the Blessed Mother: "Among those stones, which witnessed the incarnation of the Son of God, that intuition was born in Chiara from which infinite horizons would open, which hope to be enlarged and realized by all who have received her legacy."
ROME, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The president of the Focolare movement is now an honorary citizen of the city where the Blessed Virgin's house sits -- in honor of the fact that Chiara Lubich received her first inspiration to found the group within the walls of that holy house.
"This is a great moment for the city of Loreto," but also "for all those who share the plan that Chiara Lubich had in her heart: to unite institutions and politics to spirituality," said Moreno Pieroni, mayor of the Italian city.
On Oct. 25, he opened the ceremony to grant distinguished citizenship in memory of the founder of the Focolare, to Maria Voce, the current president of the movement.
The mayor mentioned the timeliness and depth of the "spiritual, cultural and operative message" of Lubich.
He also spoke of "her work based on the ideal of fraternity, the impetus she gave to the renewal of politics, the economy, pedagogy and many realms of society, and to the dialogue she established with humanity, overcoming differences of race, religions and cultures."
May she be an "example above all for those who work in the political world," he said.
Fiat
The honor coincides with the 70th anniversary of Lubich's visit to the holy house of Loreto, where she had "the first intuition of a new way in the Church," a statement from the movement explained.
Voce said Lubich's intuition shows "an intervention of God," beyond "rational explanations."
"When the Divine invades history, it does not have the sound of trumpets, but [does so] submissively as in Nazareth," the president reflected.
She said Lubich's experience is set in history and "unites simple and holy faithful who within those walls have had the revelation of God's plan for their life and there have pronounced their 'Let it be done unto me.'"
Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci of Loreto also noted the parallel between Lubich and the Blessed Mother: "Among those stones, which witnessed the incarnation of the Son of God, that intuition was born in Chiara from which infinite horizons would open, which hope to be enlarged and realized by all who have received her legacy."
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Vatican "Regrets" European Court Ruling on Crucifix
Spokesman Defends Symbol of Italian Culture, Identity
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican expressed "astonishment" and "regret" at Tuesday's decision from the European Court of Human Rights that crucifixes in public school classrooms are a violation of freedom.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, gave a brief statement today to Vatican Radio in response to the decision.
"The crucifix has always been a sign of God's offer of love, of union and of welcome for the whole of humanity," the spokesman said. "It is to be regretted that it has come to be considered as a sign of division, of exclusion and of limitation of liberty. It is not this, and it is not so in the common feeling of our people."
The Italian government protested the ruling, having contended that crucifixes -- often hung in Italian public schools -- are national symbol of culture and history.
Father Lombardi echoed this idea.
He called particularly grave "the desire to set aside from the educational world a fundamental sign of the importance of religious values in Italian history and culture."
The Jesuit added that "religion makes a precious contribution to a person's formation and moral growth, and is an essential component of our civilization. It is mistaken and myopic to want to exclude it from the educational realm."
"It is astonishing then that a European court should intervene weightily in a matter profoundly linked to the historical, cultural and spiritual identity of the Italian people," the Vatican spokesman stated.
Father Lombardi said decisions like this one do not make a person "attracted to love and share ever more the European idea, which as Italian Catholics we have strongly supported since its origins."
"It seems," he suggested, "that there is a desire to ignore the role of Christianity in the formation of European identity, which instead has been and remains essential."
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Spokesman Defends Symbol of Italian Culture, Identity
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican expressed "astonishment" and "regret" at Tuesday's decision from the European Court of Human Rights that crucifixes in public school classrooms are a violation of freedom.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, gave a brief statement today to Vatican Radio in response to the decision.
"The crucifix has always been a sign of God's offer of love, of union and of welcome for the whole of humanity," the spokesman said. "It is to be regretted that it has come to be considered as a sign of division, of exclusion and of limitation of liberty. It is not this, and it is not so in the common feeling of our people."
The Italian government protested the ruling, having contended that crucifixes -- often hung in Italian public schools -- are national symbol of culture and history.
Father Lombardi echoed this idea.
He called particularly grave "the desire to set aside from the educational world a fundamental sign of the importance of religious values in Italian history and culture."
The Jesuit added that "religion makes a precious contribution to a person's formation and moral growth, and is an essential component of our civilization. It is mistaken and myopic to want to exclude it from the educational realm."
"It is astonishing then that a European court should intervene weightily in a matter profoundly linked to the historical, cultural and spiritual identity of the Italian people," the Vatican spokesman stated.
Father Lombardi said decisions like this one do not make a person "attracted to love and share ever more the European idea, which as Italian Catholics we have strongly supported since its origins."
"It seems," he suggested, "that there is a desire to ignore the role of Christianity in the formation of European identity, which instead has been and remains essential."
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Monday, 2 November 2009
2/11/2009. All Souls day- A reflection
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, whenever we remember the departed brothers and sisters, especially the person that very close to us, perhaps the thing that remember most is his death, we remember how the person died, or we will remember the date when that person died. In my own memory, when I recall how my father passed away 6 years ago, one thing that I remember most was the day of his funeral. After the funeral by 3pm, I rushed back to the parish where I was for another big celebration, the Mass on Christmas eve. So, I have only few hours to adjust myself, from painful to joyful event. That was part of the memory. There are lots of thing to remember for those person who have died. For today, as we commemorate the departed brothers and sister, I would like to mention three important points.
1. First and fore most, All souls day is a day of faith. We express our faith and hope for the resurrection. Not just for the sake of the memory itself on how the person departed, but celebrating our hope for them that their soul may rest in peace. “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.” This is what we profess in the Apostolic creed. The word “Amen” here is our commitment that we really believe and hope for the life to come.
The three readings of today emphasized the faith and hope for resurrection of the dead: Isaiah 25: 6-9-The Lord will destroy Death for ever. It is the Lord is the one in whom we hoped. Roman 5:5-11, St. Paul tells us that we have confidence, we have hope through Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation. The gospel of Mark demonstrates the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a summary of our faith: Christ has died, risen, and will come again. No one can explain exactly how he rose from the dead, and now one can explain on how will he come again. These are belongs to faith. So, we renew our union with Christ, our faith and hope in him.
2. Today is a day of memory. We remember the departed brothers and sisters. We recall these people whose lives have deeply affected us, people who have traveled a part of Life’s journey with us. We remember them not as perfect being but as human persons with limitation much like we have. We express our closeness with them. We pray for them ask our concern and solidarity with them, to show that we are one family with the living and the death. Death is not final. It is the will of the Father, as mentioned by Jesus, that he will raise us up on the last day. We ask God to strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in his resurrection
3. Today is to remind ourselves that one day we will depart. Can I imagine how will be my own death? Nowadays, people seemed to think less about death. If someone died in the family, for example, they prefer to stay away and let the funeral care-taker to take care for the burial. Some people would give the best decoration and setting for the grave as if there is no more pain. No matter how, we cannot avoid the grave. We cannot escape from death. But then, in the other hand, there are also people that eager to die soon. Some priest that I know they have already book their own grave. Yesterday, I went to the grave yard and I saw there are few empty tomb, next to Fr. Pang who died recently. These must be reserved for the priest, or bishop. There was one time, when a priest asked the Archbishop to reserve one for him and the Archbishop replied, “No booking, first come first serve”.
But how do we prepare for our departure? We must die with Christ if we wish to live with him. St. Paul says: “For me, to live is Christ and die is gain”. We are not ready “to die” if we are not ready “to live”. Thus, we need to live the best we can in every moment of our life, and let tomorrow take care itself. We are only to live day by day in faith with good works, with love and with hope.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, whenever we remember the departed brothers and sisters, especially the person that very close to us, perhaps the thing that remember most is his death, we remember how the person died, or we will remember the date when that person died. In my own memory, when I recall how my father passed away 6 years ago, one thing that I remember most was the day of his funeral. After the funeral by 3pm, I rushed back to the parish where I was for another big celebration, the Mass on Christmas eve. So, I have only few hours to adjust myself, from painful to joyful event. That was part of the memory. There are lots of thing to remember for those person who have died. For today, as we commemorate the departed brothers and sister, I would like to mention three important points.
1. First and fore most, All souls day is a day of faith. We express our faith and hope for the resurrection. Not just for the sake of the memory itself on how the person departed, but celebrating our hope for them that their soul may rest in peace. “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.” This is what we profess in the Apostolic creed. The word “Amen” here is our commitment that we really believe and hope for the life to come.
The three readings of today emphasized the faith and hope for resurrection of the dead: Isaiah 25: 6-9-The Lord will destroy Death for ever. It is the Lord is the one in whom we hoped. Roman 5:5-11, St. Paul tells us that we have confidence, we have hope through Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation. The gospel of Mark demonstrates the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a summary of our faith: Christ has died, risen, and will come again. No one can explain exactly how he rose from the dead, and now one can explain on how will he come again. These are belongs to faith. So, we renew our union with Christ, our faith and hope in him.
2. Today is a day of memory. We remember the departed brothers and sisters. We recall these people whose lives have deeply affected us, people who have traveled a part of Life’s journey with us. We remember them not as perfect being but as human persons with limitation much like we have. We express our closeness with them. We pray for them ask our concern and solidarity with them, to show that we are one family with the living and the death. Death is not final. It is the will of the Father, as mentioned by Jesus, that he will raise us up on the last day. We ask God to strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in his resurrection
3. Today is to remind ourselves that one day we will depart. Can I imagine how will be my own death? Nowadays, people seemed to think less about death. If someone died in the family, for example, they prefer to stay away and let the funeral care-taker to take care for the burial. Some people would give the best decoration and setting for the grave as if there is no more pain. No matter how, we cannot avoid the grave. We cannot escape from death. But then, in the other hand, there are also people that eager to die soon. Some priest that I know they have already book their own grave. Yesterday, I went to the grave yard and I saw there are few empty tomb, next to Fr. Pang who died recently. These must be reserved for the priest, or bishop. There was one time, when a priest asked the Archbishop to reserve one for him and the Archbishop replied, “No booking, first come first serve”.
But how do we prepare for our departure? We must die with Christ if we wish to live with him. St. Paul says: “For me, to live is Christ and die is gain”. We are not ready “to die” if we are not ready “to live”. Thus, we need to live the best we can in every moment of our life, and let tomorrow take care itself. We are only to live day by day in faith with good works, with love and with hope.
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