Prayer for VocationsO Holy Spirit, Spirit of wisdom and divine love, impart Your knowledge, understanding, and counsel to the faithful that they may know the vocation wherein they can best serve God.
Give them courage and strength to follow God's holy will.
Guide their uncertain steps, strengthen their resolutions, shield their chastity, fashion their minds, conquer their hearts, and lead them to the vineyards where they will labour in God's holy service.
Amen.
An official study has confirmed that Brazil’s previous projections regarding its aging population are incorrect and that during 2006 the country’s fertility rate dipped to the ratio projected for 2043 of 1.8 children per woman—which does not guarantee population replacement. The official figures from the National Survey of Demography and Health, published several days ago, revealed that the projections made by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in 2004 have become a reality 40 years ahead of time.
Analyst Elza Berquo explained that the changes in the birth rate began forty years ago, and that recent data is consistent with those records.
“I don’t know why the Institute continued working with that estimate (of birth rate decline). Based on this tendency, I think fertility will continue to decline.”
Demographer Jose Eustasio Alves of the National School of Science and Statistics warned that the rapid decline in fertility will also accelerate the decline in the overall population.
The following were elected to the new Council of Priests which will take up its duty in September 2008.
Bishop Bill Murphy is happy to announce the following changes of appointment of clergy of the Diocese of Kerry Canon Denis O'Mahony P.P., V.F., Castleisland, retiring
Very Rev. Lawrence Kelly, P.P., Kilgarvan, retiring
Very Rev. John Kennelly, P.P., Causeway, retiring
Rev. Michael Maher, A.P., Ballylongford (Asdee), retiring
Msgr. Dan O'Riordan, P.P., V.G., St. John's Tralee to become P.P., Castleisland
Msgr. Michael Manning, P.P., V.G., Millstreet to become Assistant Priest, Millstreet
Canon Declan O'Connor, P.P., V.F., Killarney to become P.P., Millstreet
Very Rev. Sean Hanafin, P.P., Dromtariffe to become P.P., St. John's , Tralee
Very Rev. Liam Comer, P.P., Allihies to become P.P., Dromtariffe
Very Rev. Gearóid Godley, P.P., Baile an Fheirtearaigh to become Co-Ordinator of the Diocesan Pastoral Strategic Plan
Very Rev. Brendan Walsh, P.P., Annascaul to become P.P., Causeway
Very Rev. John Buckley, P.P., Tuosist to become P.P., Annascaul
Very Rev. Francis Nolan, P.P., Tarbert on sabbatical leave
Rev. Joseph Tarrant, C.C., Millstreet to become C.C., Ballylongford (Asdee)
Rev. Nicholas Flynn, C.C., Killarney to become Administrator, St. Mary's Cathedral, Killarney
Rev. Martin Sheehan, C.C., Causeway to become Administrator, Tuosist
Rev. George Hayes, Diocesan Secretary to continue as Diocesan Secretary and to become Administrator, Kilgarvan
Rev. Jim Lenihan, C.C., Castletownbere to become Administrator, Allihies
Rev. Eugene Kiely, C.C., Dingle to become P.P. Baile an Fheirtearaigh
Rev. Bernard Healy returning from post-graduate studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University , Rome to become C.C., Dingle
Rev. Richard O'Connor on study leave in Rome to take up an academic post at the Pontifical Angelicum University , Rome
Rev. Gerard Finucane, Diocese of Knocksville, Tennessee, U.S.A., to minister pro tem in Tarbert Parish .
Rev. Sean Sheehy, Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A. to minister pro tem in Castlegregory parish with Canon Thomas B. Looney P.P., V.F., Dingle continuing as Administrator of Castlegregory parish.
These appointments became effective on Wednesday, July 23rd 2008
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Most Reverend Martin Drennan, Bishop of Galway, Dean Christopher O’Connor, PP, Craughwell,
Monsignor Seán O’Flaherty, PP, Cathedral,
Canon Noel Mullin, PP, Claregalway,
Canon Richard Tarpey, PP, Ennistymon,
Canon Patrick Heneghan, PP, VF, Oughterard,
Canon Michael Kelly, PP, VF, Gort,
Fr. Patrick Callanan, PP, Kilbeacanty/Beagh,
Fr. Francis Larkin, PP, Kinvara,
Fr. Richard Higgins, PP, Ardrahan,
Fr. Derek Feeney, PP, Kilchreest/Peterswell,
Fr. Thomas Marrinan, Chaplain, University Hospital,
Fr. Barry Horan, recently returned from Rome,
Fr. Michael Connolly, CC, Knocknacarra,
Fr. Seán Laffan, MSC, PP, Ballinfoyle,
Fr. Augustine O’Brien, MSC, CC, Ballinfoyle,
Fr. Gerard Thornton, MSC,
The following clergy appointments have been announced by the Elphin Diocesan Office Rev. Raymond Browne, Director of the Regional Marriage Tribunal, Galway to be P.P. Ballagh, Co. Roscommon.
Rev. Alan Conway, C.C. St. Mary’s, Sligo to be C.C. Boyle, Co. Roscommon
Rev. Leonard Taylor, C.C. Boyle, Co. Roscommon to pursue post-graduate Studies at NUIG.
Rev. Michael Heylin, PIC Ballagh, Co. Roscommon to be C.C. St. Mary’s, Sligo.
Rev. John Coughlan, recently ordained to be C.C. SS. Peters and Paul, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.
If evangelization is a mission for all Christians, it is even more so for bishops, Benedict XVI's secretary of state said at the episcopal ordination of the new secretary for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith."If evangelization is the mission of all Christians, it is even more so that of pastors of the people of God," the Pope's secretary of state affirmed. He cited a recent catechesis from Benedict XVI in which the Holy Father explained that the roots of the word bishop indicate the task of those whose "mission is from on high, who look with the heart."
With heart
"To look from on high is an image that recalls the loftiness of sacred Scripture, the food of life that the word of God offers," Cardinal Bertone said. "To look with the heart means to look at the center of the human person. Man enters with the heart into a relationship with everything that exists."
Luis Ladaria Ferrer was born in Mallorca, Spain in 1944 and joined the Society of Jesus in 1966.
He was ordained a priest in 1973. Two years later, he became a professor of dogmatic theology in Spain, and in 1984, took that same role at the Gregorian University, where he also served as vice rector.
Father Ladaria Ferrer was named a consultant for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in 1995, and since 2004 has been the secretary of the International Theological Commission.
Ambrosio Spreafico was ordained a priest in 1975 and was a professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Urbanian University, of which he was rector on two occasions: from 1997-2003 and from 2005 to date. He is a consultor of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
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Benedict XVI enjoyed the first full day of his summer vacation at Bressanone's major seminary in the mountainous region of Trentino-Alto Adige in Northern Italy.The Pope will spend his holidays with his older brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, a priest and musician, who was a choir director at the cathedral of Regensburg, Germany.
The Holy Father's vacations will last through Aug. 11.
Bishop Wilhelm Emil Egger of Bolzano-Bressanone, met with journalists today and explained that during his stay the Pontiff "prays, rests, studies, plays the piano and reads the newspapers."
The prelate acknowledged that he has received innumerable requests from individuals who wish to meet with Benedict XVI, but said he has had to decline the requests as he is "the custodian of the Holy Father's rest."
"During these days, I have already had to protect the Holy Father's rest various times," he added.
When asked about possible outings, Bishop Eggar responded: "I don't know anything and if I said something, the Pope would not even be able to walk down the street because of the crowds. I try to protect his privacy."
He added, "Here he can write in peace, far from his daily occupations, and this is also a vacation."
During this period, Benedict XVI is scheduled to hold just two public meetings: the praying of the midday Angelus on Aug. 3 and 10.
The vacation will also provide the Pope an opportunity to make progress on documents and books that he is writing. It is rumored that he will use the time to work on a third encyclical and the second part of his book, "Jesus of Nazareth."
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Hundreds of admirers greeted Pope Benedict XVI on Monday at the start of his vacation in a hamlet in German-speaking northern Italy where he often spent holidays when he was a cardinal. A visibly happy pope returned the welcome, extending his greetings in both Italian and his native German, a linguistic balancing act that recognizes the region’s bilingual status.
South Tirol was part of Austria until after World War I.
"I am very happy to be back with you in Brixen, which holds so many happy memories for me," the pope said, using the German name for Bressanone.
Benedict visited Bressanone a dozen times when he was a cardinal, often in the company of his brother, Georg, who will join him, and his late sister, Maria.
The pope will spend two weeks in the mountain-ringed hamlet, reading, resting and perhaps working on a new volume on his book about Jesus or the long-awaited social encyclical, said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
The pope will stay in a seminary where he spent previous visits — only this time in deference to his security requirements the seminarians have vacated the premises, leaving the library, a grand piano and even the black seminary cat named Milly for the pope’s enjoyment.
Benedict is a well-known cat-lover.
Benedict has four appearances planned during the trip, including Angelus prayers on each of the Sundays at the cathedral and a meeting with local priests and seminarians on Aug. 6.
He will also be made an honorary citizen of Bressanone in a ceremony on Aug. 9.
In his first three summers as pope, Benedict chose spots that were favorites of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, twice vacationing at a retreat in the northwestern region of Valle d’Aosta and last year heading to a villa in Lorenzago di Cadore in Veneto.
He will return to his summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo outside Rome on Aug. 11.
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President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cited Deus Caritas Est (Latin for "God is Love"), the first encyclical letter written by Pope Benedict XVI, on the subject of Christian love, in her State of the Nation Address.
The Pastoral Forum to be headed by Dr Rowan Williams is a last-ditch attempt to bring rebel Anglican provinces into line and prevent a total split in the 80 million-strong Communion.It is designed to provide a rapid response to crises, by offering guidance either to liberal churches that break guidelines by ordaining gay clergy or blessing same-sex unions, and also traditionalist churches that cross borders to ordain bishops in other provinces.
A halt to all these practices has been demanded.
The forum will allow parishes that have defected from their national churches to be looked after in a "holding bay" until they can be returned to their previous home.
But it will also have the power to "diminish the standing" of rebel churches, which could mean their heads being thrown off the Primates Meeting of worldwide Anglican leaders, or being barred from the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade gathering of bishops that is taking place in Canterbury this week.
However even as the forum was being proposed yesterday, there were fears that it may not get off the ground.
The rescue plan has been put forward to resolve the crisis over sexuality which was triggered in 2003 when the Episcopal Church of the USA elected the openly gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.
The Anglican church in Canada later authorised the blessing of same-sex unions, while some conservative American clergy have been made bishops in Anglican provinces in Africa and South America in protest at the Episcopal church's liberal agenda.
Bishop Clive Handford, chair of the Windsor Continuation Group that proposed the forum and moratoria on gay clergy, same-sex blessings and border-crossing yesterday, said: "We believe this will help us pull back, draw breath and take stock."
He said the Pastoral Forum's President will be the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will pick a bishop as its head and its members from across the Communion. It is likely to be established as part of the Anglican Covenant, a set of rules to be worked on this week.
Bishop Handford went on: "This could well be a body that might be able to respond quickly where there is a pressure point in the communion."
It will "offer guidance on what response and any diminishment of standing within the Communion" is required if the moratoria are broken.
Bishop Handford said parishes in America that have come under the wing of orthodox churches in Africa and South America should be placed in a new "safe space" in the hope that they can eventually be returned to their national churches.
"They will be held in a kid of holding bay and can be held in trust until the day when through dialogue they can return to their parent bodies."
But Bishop Handford denied this step of churches retreating on border-crossing would also mean that Bishop Robinson must step down.
The idea of the forum will be discussed at a meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council, a body of clergy and lay people, next May.
The Windsor Group said the Communion is "likely to fracture" unless the conservatives and liberals change their ways.
But some claim its demands will be ignored as the liberal churches want to retain their independence, while conservatives are already wedded to the idea of the new movement formed at last month's Gafcon summit.
The Rt Rev Sergio Carranza, the Assistant Bishop of Los Angeles, said: "If it's something that will punish or discipline then I don't think it will work.
"We don't want to have a tribunal and we don't want to have a group that defines doctrine."
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As the Lambeth Conference continues, Anglican leaders working to ward off an open schism have called for a in which liberal churches would agree to stop ordaining homosexuals and solemnizing same-sex unions, while conservative Anglicans would agree to stop organizing in separate jurisdictions. The compromise, put forward by a working group chaired by Bishop Clive Handford, would create a new international group, the Pastoral Forum, headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
This new group would monitor the ecclesiastical truce, and could "diminish the standing" of Anglican dioceses that broke the terms of the agreement.
The Pastoral Forum proposal would not require the resignation of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the openly homosexual bishop whose installation triggered a crisis in the Anglican communion.
However, the Episcopal Church in the US would be expected to agree that it would not ordain other homosexuals, and would not approve same-sex marriage ceremonies.
The proposal would require conservative Anglicans to agree that parishes in the US should not be placed under the jurisdiction of bishops from Africa-- an arrangement that some conservative parishes have undertaken to distance themselves from homosexual bishops.
The prospects for approval of the Pastoral Forum proposal are unclear. Episcopalian leaders in the US have already defied an international agreement by allowing the installation of Bishop Robinson, and the conservative African bishops who would be required to drop their ties with American dissenters have, for the most part, refused to participate in the Lambeth Conference. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
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The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce
Just as the faithful benefit from the good done by past generations of Catholics, they also must bear the effect of the sins of past generations, said the archbishop of Los Angeles.
With great joy, the Catholic Diocese of Lucknow celebrated the Episcopal ordination of Msgr Ambrose Madtha, recently-appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Ivory Coast by Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for inter-religious dialogue was the principal Consecrator while Archbishop Albert D’Souza of Agra and Bishop Gerald J Mathias of Lucknow were the co-consecrators.
The ordination ceremony was graced by 16 Bishops from India and abroad, among whom were Bishop Decouray from Ivory Coast, Archbishop Thomas from Kumasi in Ghana and two Bishops from Taiwan.
A special presence was that of Bishop Aloysius D’Souza of Mangalore.
The solemn but devotional ordination ceremony was attended by over 120 priests from the north Indian dioceses, from Mangalore and from abroad, who also concelebrated the Eucharist and with the participation of over 1,600 sisters, brothers and laity from within the diocese, from Mangalore, Mumbai, China, Germany and from other places.
The family of Archbishop Ambrose was represented by his younger brother, Fr Henry Madtha of Chikmagalur, Sr Bridget of the FMM Congregation and Sr Therese of St Joseph of Tarbes and also by close relatives and friends.
The Cardinal in his homily spoke, basing himself on Prophet Jeremiah, on the election ‘from his mother’s womb’ of Msgr Ambrose as also of his three siblings who followed him into religious life and reminded the new Apostolic Nuncio of his responsibilities as the representative of the Holy Father in Ivory Coast.
It was a very fulfilling and spiritual moment when the Cardinal Tauran laid hands on a kneeling Archbishop Ambrose Madtha followed by other Bishops and when the principal Consecrator handed over the Ring, the Mitre and the pastoral staff to the newly-consecrated Archbishop.
At the end of the Mass, the new Archbishop Msgr Ambrose Madtha briefly reminisced his life and speaking in English, Hindi, German, French, Chinese and Konkani, thanked various people who had led him to this day with their prayers, love and affection.
The diocesan choir sang melodious hymns, including the ‘Missa de Angelis’ in Latin, adding devotional hue to the entire liturgy, which was very prayerful.
There was also a message read on behalf of the Apostolic Nuncio in India, Msgr Pedro Lopez Quintana, who was scheduled to be present but could not, due to unavoidable circumstances.
The ordination ceremony was followed by lunch for all those who attended the sacred rite.
Speaking to the press at the end of the functions, Archbishop Ambrose spoke of his loyalty and devotion to the person of the Holy Father and promised to live his life fully at the service of the Church and said that his heart was full of sentiments of gratitude to one and all for the well-organized liturgy and the day’s other programmes.
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Top clerics from Orthodox countries converged on Ukraine on Friday for three days of festivities, deepening a longstanding dispute with Russia over the ex-Soviet state's right to its own independent church.The celebrations to mark the 1,020th anniversary of the embrace of Orthodox Christianity in the region are certain to be overshadowed by the dispute between Kyiv and Moscow which has long extended beyond religion into politics.
After mainly Orthodox Ukraine won independence from Soviet rule in 1991, a separate church was formed.
But it remains unrecognized by the worldwide Orthodox Church, which sees the Ukrainian branch of the Russian Orthodox church as its only representative in the country.
Authorities in Ukraine, site of the Kyivan Rus state that preceded parts of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, are hosting the event. Russian Patriarch Alexiy II is attending after securing an agreement that the independent Kyiv-based church will stay away.
But its clerics still lobby for change.
"Ukraine has the right to its own church. Unfortunately, Moscow is denying this right in the same way it opposes the very notion of Ukraine as an independent state," Bishop Yevstratiy, a spokesman for the independent church, told Reuters.
"What is going on in Ukrainian Orthodoxy has nothing to do with violating church law. It is caused by Moscow fighting for power in Ukraine - economic, political and spiritual power."
Statistics show the churches have roughly the same number of parishioners. Property disputes between the two sides in the 1990s sparked street scuffles, often between elderly believers.
Pro-Western Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, an ardent Orthodox believer, sees creation of an independent church as part of Ukraine's task of building a national identify.
The president has tried to boost the event's profile by focusing on the visit by Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew, worldwide leader of more than 225 million believers in the Orthodox church - formed after the 1054 schism with Rome.
Bartholomew was met by Yushchenko and given top honours at Kyiv airport on Friday, a military honour guard, goose-stepping soldiers and the playing of Ukraine's national anthem. Posters of the president alongside Bartholomew dotted Kyiv streets.
Tens of thousands of guests will hold a Saturday prayer meeting near the 11th century St Sofia Cathedral and a Sunday service by the Dnipro River.
Russia is locked in disputes with Ukraine's pro-Western leaders on natural gas prices, their drive to join NATO and their calls for Russia to pull its Black Sea Fleet out of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula by 2017.
In an indicator of tensions, Ukraine's ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry and told the festivities were staged "with a lack of respect for the Russian Orthodox church and the feelings of millions of believers."
A ministry statement also complained about the decision by Ukrainian authorities to deny entry on Friday to a nationalist member of parliament and "endless talk" it said was disrupting negotiations over the future of the Black Sea fleet.
Proponents of the independent church have considered placing it under the jurisdiction of Constantinople - as an Orthodox church in Estonia did in the 1990s - to win recognition later.
The Moscow church says this will only lead to trouble.
"This is a revolutionary process and it won't work in the church," said Archimandrite Kiril, a spokesman for the Russian church. "We have started the process of rapprochement . . . Now the intervention of political authorities could bring us back to the early 1990s with violence and conflicts."
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Norfolk Police in England are being taken to an Employment Tribunal as a decorated officer is fighting for his job after being forced to choose between his conscience and his career.
Benedict XVI will visit the shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary in Pompei this October.
THE EUROPEAN Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear a challenge by three Irish women to the Government’s ban on abortion on the basis that their rights were denied by being forced to terminate their pregnancies outside the State. The women claim the restrictive nature of Irish law on abortion jeopardised their health and their wellbeing.
Their complaint centres around four articles in the European Convention on Human Rights, including protection from “inhuman or degrading treatment” and freedom from discrimination.
The identity of the three women – known as A, B and C – will remain confidential as it proceeds through the court.
They include a woman who ran the risk of an ectopic pregnancy, where the foetus develops outside the womb; a woman who received chemotherapy for cancer; and a woman whose children were placed in care as she was unable to cope.
The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), which is supporting the case as part of its campaign to introduce legal abortion services in Ireland, said the grounds on which the case is being taken are “very strong”.
“We hope the case will advance quickly through the court, ultimately making a strong recommendation to the Government to reform Irish laws and the current status quo on abortion,” a spokesperson said.
The Government has been asked by the court to indicate who they wish to sit as a judge in the case and to submit its observations to the Strasbourg-based court.
The case was originally lodged with the court three years ago. However, the court has in recent weeks requested written observations from the Government and the women involved.
Any decision of the court is binding on the member states and must be complied with, except in very limited circumstances.
The court can decide to hold a public hearing, which would be likely to be held in the middle of next year.
Alternatively, the court may review the case in paper format, followed by a public ruling, which could occur more quickly.
The IFPA says the case has the potential to contribute to a change in the law, just as the 1988 Norris case resulted in the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
It points to a ruling by the court two years ago which resulted in Poland being instructed to guarantee access to legal abortions.
It awarded damages to Alicia Tysiac, a 36-year-old woman who had sought an abortion when her doctor warned that giving birth again would seriously damage her already failing eyesight.
She was unable to terminate the pregnancy. After giving birth, she suffered a retinal haemorrhage, and her sight deteriorated drastically.
Anti-abortion groups here, meanwhile, argue that a new constitutional amendment is needed to prohibit abortion.
They say there is a need to restore legal protection for unborn children as a result of the 1992 Supreme Court decision in the X case, which legalised abortion in certain circumstances.
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Just over a week ago, the dissident group Womenpriests claimed to “ordain” three women as priests at a Boston-area Church of Christ location.On Sunday, July 20, Roman Catholic Womenpriests held an alleged ordination ceremony of three women at the Church of the Covenant, which is affiliated with both the Presbyterian Church and the United Church of Christ (UCC).
The former president of the UCC in Massachusetts, Rev. Nancy Taylor attended the ceremony to show her support for the women and told the Boston Globe that she saw the women as being discriminated against by the Catholic Church.
“Prejudice in liturgical clothing is still prejudice,” she said.
The Archdiocese of Boston responded to event by saying, “the ordination of men to the priesthood is not merely a matter of practice or discipline within the Catholic Church, but rather, it is part of the unalterable Deposit of Faith handed down by Christ through his apostles.”
Reiterating that Womenpriests is not an entity of the Catholic Church, the archdiocese said “Catholics who attempt to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the women who attempt to receive a sacred order, are by their own actions separating themselves from the Church.”
Rev. David Runnion-Bareford, Executive Director of the Confessing Movement in the United Church of Christ, responded to the situation by sending an open letter to Boston area Catholics via Cardinal Sean O'Malley.
In his letter, he apologized for the "division and confusion" caused by Rev. Nancy Taylor and the Church of the Covenant—the church were the ceremony was held.
"Please accept our deepest and sincere apology for the behavior of Rev. Nancy Taylor of Old South Church, UCC and the UCC related Church of the Covenant. They do not reflect the heart and mind of our United Church of Christ whose premise is 'that all may be one.' Those of us who truly value the unity of all Christians and treasure our ecumenical relationships with you as Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ are grieved,” Runnion-Bareford wrote.
The Confessing Movement UCC pastor also said that his movement is also “fully aware that this event was not motivated by a sincere desire to honor the call of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the ministry of committed Christian women.”
Rev. Runnion-Bradford further criticized the women for refusing to take a vow of chastity and for promoting a self-centered gospel, citing the “Body, Sex and Gender” section of the group’s web page.
“We know that 'Womenpriests' openly include candidates who are engaged in the practice of sexual license. It is significant that the participants would not take the vow of obedience or chastity. We are aware of the statements on their website proclaiming a false gospel of self and mutual affirmation, denying the fall of humanity and our need for repentance from sin and personal transformation through the atoning crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
"We note that it is not incidental that this event was hosted in Boston by a church that is prideful about its aggressive religious sanction of homosexual, bi-sexual and transgender relationships and same gender 'marriage.' We also note that the pansexual activist group Integrity participated and assisted with hospitality," Runnion-Bradford observed in his letter.
Rev. Nancy Taylor also received a letter from Rev. Runnion-Bradford according to a press release from the Confessing Movement pastor. In his letter he took Taylor to task for her “divisive statements and behavior” saying that they “appear to violate the Minister's Code of the United Church of Christ, which says, 'I will be a responsible representative of the Church Universal and participate in those activities that strengthen its unity, witness, and mission'."
Rev. Taylor’s appearance and words of support for the women who attempted ordination could have implications for UCC practices as well, said Rev. Runnion-Bradford.
He asked Taylor, “Can we infer from your actions of this last week that you would approve of groups who have justice issues with the United Church of Christ carrying out their own ordinations of individuals they believe valid regardless of our church's standards and protocols?"
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Pope Benedict XVI may be working on the conclusion of the expected social encyclical or on a new document during his vacation in Bressanone, according to Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, who spoke to reporters on the first day of the Pope’s vacation in German-speaking northern Italy. “It’s possible he will spend some time on the second part of his book about Jesus or on the conclusion of his long-awaited social encyclical. Or perhaps he is thinking of something different, like last year, when we were all expecting the social encyclical after his vacation in Cadore and instead he wrote Spe salvi,” Father Lombardi said.
This is the eleventh time Pope Benedict XVI has visited the seminary at Bressanone.
“The Pope comes specifically to the seminary, which he is very familiar with, especially the library, which he has had a key to since the time he was a cardinal,” said the seminary’s rector Father Ivo Muser.
Recalling the motto “Pietas et Scientia” (Piety and Knowledge) that is displayed over the entrance of the 400 year-old seminary, Father Muser noted that the seminary possesses “a great heritage of culture and art that is very stimulating for the Holy Father.”
It was at this seminary where then Cardinal Ratzinger wrote the first chapters of his book, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and where in 1984, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he was interviewed by Vittorio Messori for his book, “The Ratzinger Report.”
During his first full day of vacation, the Pope spent all of his time inside the seminary.
Aramaic, the language of Jesus that flourished in villages thousands of years ago, is being kept alive in the Syrian desert, about an hour's drive from Damascus.
Roman Catholic Church priests have acknowledged that they find themselves in dilemma when it comes to deciding whether or not to approve marriages involving couples determined to have been infected with HIV/AIDS.
August 16 will be a big day for both Obama and McCain.
A "pro-family" activist group in Spain has filed charges against the organisers of the 2008 Madrid Gay Pride march. HazteOir accused them of making hateful statements against Catholics, pro-family organisations, and those politicians opposed to the Spanish Socialist Worker's Party (PSOE).
"From both humanitarian and Christian concepts of society, only by protecting values such as liberty, justice and solidarity can citizens retain their rights and dignity," HazteOir states on its website.
"Our projects are aimed to promote political participation, human dignity and the value and integrity of human life."
Gay Pride marchers in Madrid held a banner depicting Pope Benedict XVI on fire and calling him "chief of the inquisitors."
"Yet again, the march has been marked by attacks against the Catholic Church, mockery of the bishops and slogans against Christians, " said HazteOir, according to lifesitenews.com.
Article 525.1 of the Spanish Penal Code, which HazteOir is invoking to support their case, carries heavy fines for those who seek to "hurt the feelings of the members of a religious confession" by "publicly, by word or through any type of document, make fun of their dogmas, beliefs, rites, or ceremonies, or publicly humiliate those who profess or practice them."
In March Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero won re-election.
In an interview with a gay magazine during the election campaign, Mr Zapatero promised to fight any attempt to remove or weaken gay rights laws he has introduced as Prime Minister.
During his four years in office he has legalised gay marriage and given same-sex couples the right to adopt.
The Roman Catholic Church in Spain opposed the Zapatero government's introduction of gay marriage in Spain in 2005 and reform of the divorce laws.
The leader of the opposition Partido Popular, Mariano Rajoy, suggested that the "traditional family" needs extra protection and promised to set up a "family ministry" if he won.
In January the country's Roman Catholic bishops told the faithful not to vote for parties that support gay marriage.
Clearly angry, Mr Zapatero defended his government's policies, saying they were supported by the "immense majority" of the Spanish population and that everyone had rights in Spain, whether they belonged to a religion or not.
Pope Benedict XVI addressed the rally on Sunday 30th December by a videolink from Rome.
He told the crowd, estimated at 150,000 people, that the family is "based on the unbreakable union of man and woman and represents the privileged environment where human life is welcomed and protected from the beginning to its natural end."
The Archbishop of Madrid claimed that the government's family policy was a retrograde step for human rights.
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The body of Cardinal John Henry Newman, who died in 1890, is to be exhumed and placed in a sarcophagus at his memorial church, officials confirmed yesterday. Campaigners for the beatification of the cardinal said his remains would be re-interred at the Oratory Church in Edgbaston, Birmingham, at a public ceremony in the autumn.
The announcement, made by the provost of the Birmingham Oratory, Fr Paul Chavasse, follows a request from the Vatican that the cardinal's body be moved as part of the process of beatification.
Cardinal Newman was buried in August 1890 in a small cemetery in Rednal, near Birmingham, and it is hoped that his new resting place will enable more people to pay their respects to his memory.
Fr Chavasse added: "It should be noted that, at the specific request of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the exhumation will be an entirely private event but that the re-interment in our church will be a public ceremony."
It is hoped that Pope Benedict XVI will issue a decree declaring Cardinal Newman as "Blessed" in December.
In 1854 the cardinal, a Catholic convert, came to Dublin as rector of the Catholic University, now University College Dublin.
The Vatican has assured a group of traditionalist Anglicans that it is seriously studying their request to be welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church as a group.