News from Around the World

THE words of Pope John Paul II helped me gain many a confession from guilt-ridden IRA men.

This memory was brought back by a small section on the relationship of peace and justice in Alice Camille’s “Invitation to Catholicism: Beliefs + Teaching + Practices” Camille credited Pope John Paul II with the following two statements:

On October 28, 1958, Pope John XXIII was elected by the College of Cardinals as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Speaking of someone who didn't stay still and allowed changes! He doubled the number of cardinals, promoted diversity within the Catholic Church, launched a council for ecumenical dialogue and instituted Vatican II. He was beatified (mini-sainted) by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000. But don't forget, and Pope John XXIII would be the first to tell you this, you don't have to be Pope to change the world!

Wow, tell us your true feelings, Mr. Poswall! What’s next, a comparison of Pope John Paul to Osama Bin Laden?

I heard on the news just now that the late Pope John Paul just may be in line for Sainthood. Well, just shooting from the hip here, part of the process leading to sainthood involves proving that miracles occured following prayers to the dead candidate.

The only car the late Pope John Paul II ever owned has sold at auction for more than $A900,000 to a Houston attorney and car collector.

Well, one way to prevent the coup is to be utterly fearless and authentic in pronouncing the things we believe. Pope John Paul II made enormous headway against the Painless Coup which had gone so far as to turn our beautiful churches into bare concrete monstrosities (ready-made for quick-conversion into temples to secular reason) and he managed to reclaim the liturgy and renew appreciation for the Eucharist by repeating the truth over and over, with the reminder, “do not be afraid!”

Hee. I have no idea whether this is photoshopped or genuine, but either way…aww. The Pope stole Bono’s hipster sunglasses! I think Pope John Paul II was probably the first pope who could actually be described as “adorable.”

Here is a link to the now infamous picture of Pope John Paul the Great wearing the glasses of U2’s Bono. The pic is hosted by Flickr.

In 1939 Francis was proclaimed patron saint of Italy and in 1980 he was proclaimed patron of ecology by Pope John Paul II.

So do we blame darwin or Pope John Paul ll? Both have evidence. Well sort of. religion has a book writen by other men 2000 years ago. Science has physical evidence of the mechanics of life. But neither that i have found have eveidence of why an individual human being or any animal for that matter has the awarness of self being.

“The future of humanity passes by way of the family. ” - Familiaris Consortio, Pope John Paul II, November 22, 1981

Many Christians and the majority of Catholics have no problem reconciling evolution with religion, a position endorsed by Pope John Paul II. But evolutionary scientists step well beyond science into philosophy and even theology when they assert that the theory of evolution leads to a materialism without God and so the incompatibility of science and religion.

Although originally intended solely as an internal tool for VOA’s broadcasters, the publicly accessible Web site, http://names.voa.gov/, has found a broader audience. In addition to news bureaus in the United States and abroad, it has won a following at think tanks, at corporations and in higher learning. Average citizens who are curious about the proper pronunciation of names such as al Qaeda and Karol Wojtyla — Pope John Paul II’s given name — are frequent visitors.

I invite the holy pope John Paul II to pray for us, and for the whole world.

The new document– which was prepared by the Congregation for Catholic Education, in response to a request made by the late Pope John Paul II in 1994– will be published soon. It will take the form of an “Instruction,” signed by the prefect and secretary of the Congregation: Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski and Archbishop Michael Miller.

After suffering from Parkinson’s disease for many years, the last words of Pope John Paul II’s were “let me go to the house of the Father”, according to documents released by the Vatican. His words were spoken in his native Polish to aides hours before he died last April. They are preserved in a new 220-page volume which chronicles the last two months of the late pontiff’s life. It is the first time the Vatican has published such a detailed account of any pope’s final moments.

There was a very public (at least, well known within Catholic circles) battle between Pope Benedict XVI when he was Pope John Paul II’s right-hand man.. and increasingly liberal North American Bishop Conferences, over ridiculous political correct changes to the official Roman Missal at the ‘insistence’ of the Bishops, some of which watered down, and a few that actually changed meaning, in Scriptural verses.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Struggling to breathe, Pope John Paul II mumbled his final words weakly in Polish: “Let me go to the house of the Father.” Six hours later, the comatose pontiff died, the Vatican says.

Pope John Paul II was a very fine man, but he never had time to talk to me.

I like Notre Dame to show us they are the real deal in this game. Charlie Weis will be sainted before Pope John Paul II afterwards.

Durzy said the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the death of Pope John Paul II created a noticeable uptick in related items.

In his 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus, Pope John Paul II stated:

Eckhart was condemned for many of his propositions and is considered by orthodox catholics to be heretic until today, although the late pope John Paul II was in favour of the rehabilitation and confirmation of Eckhart’s orthodoxy. In 1985 John Paul II, said: “Did not Eckhart teach his disciples: ‘All that God asks you most pressingly is to go out of yourself - and let God be God in you‘? One could think that, in separating himself from creatures, the mystic leaves his brothers, humanity, behind. The same Eckhart affirms that, on the contrary, the mystic is marvelously present to them on the only level where he can truly reach them, that is in God.”

Baer is the former international president of B’nai B’rith and in that capacity has met with countless religious leaders and heads of state from around the world. Dignitaries include: the late Pope John Paul II, Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, England Prime Minister Tony Blair, the late King Hussein of Jordan, President Bill Clinton, and President George H. Bush. Baer is currently president of the Council for America’s First Freedom, a new Richmond-based project to preserve religious freedom.

If Dave thinks that the “nature of the weapon” (i.e Nuke) proves that the bomb drops are unjustifiable, it (to borrow a phrase from his beloved Cardinal John Henry Newman) “proves too much.” It not only proves that the bomb drops are unjustifiable, but that Pope John Paul II, in recognizing the moral licitness of nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence, is endorsing situation ethics (i.e. the ends justify the means). The logical conclusion here is inescapapble: If the acquisition and/or build-up of nuclear weapons is morally licit, then so are their use, should the circumdstances require it. And as we will see a bit later, this isn’t the first place Mr. Armstrong runs into trouble with the late pontiff.

The death of Pope John Paul II earlier this year touched the world because the Pope had reached out to touch the world. He was an evangelist as he traveled around the globe to share the good news of Jesus Christ. He said something that is very important for us to hear as we prepare for Sunday morning. We will be talking about the joy that comes when we tell others about the good news of our faith.

Is there a columnist anywhere in the world more in line with Pope John Paul II�s social teachings than Mark Steyn?

It was Pope John Paul, the world’s highest leader of the Catholic Church, who reminds Bush of this. Additionally, the Protestant church is involved in this case. Even in America, NCC (National Council of Churches) is against this war. The Pope even wants to go to Iraq to prevent the attack upon Baghdad. But due to the risk, and his bad health, that plan was cancelled.

After Pope Benedict XVI there will only be one more pope of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict may well prove to be a disappointing pontiff whose actions and rules could well be at odds with what Catholics want. He has already decreed that condoms will not be permitted in Africa, a country that their use should really be allowed for by Catholics. Pope Benedict and the last pope are expected to undo all the efforts and good works done by the late Pope John Paul II thereby helping to destroy the Catholic Church. Many of those that become disillusioned with the Christian religion will look to the new Islam, making it easier for the Antichrist as his hoards march into Europe.this is happening America will be attacked. A ballistic missile will hit the White House killing the incumbent President who at present is President Bush in his second term of office and many others of his staff. Then the majority of the American fleet will be destroyed in a surprise attack, most likely it will be the Russians, whom will have sided with the Antichrist. The religious war to cleanse the world has begun.

Here in lies my problem. Yes, drug dealers regardless of small scale or kingpin status are the same people as you, me, and Gregory Kane. I will not go on a tirade of how the biggest drug dealers in history are Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, but I will break it down to the local level. Drug dealing is a job. An option oft given the optionless. Of course drug dealing often includes robbery, murder and famine, but on face value drug dealing is a business, much like Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, your local bar or beer distributor, etc. It’s wrong– it IS bad yet it’s not different than any honest job that any honest kid can obtain if they honestly know how to how to utilize their absence of education or work skills to obtain gainful employment. Especially when drug dealing is not frowned upon in many major communities. Take Rayful Edomnd, D.C.’s biggest ever drug dealer for example, his elderly mother supported his efforts and is now incarecereated for it (at one time with Martha Stewart) at a federal prison.

To the sound of a ram's horn, and the traditional Hebrew greeting, "Shalom alechem," Pope Benedict became the second Roman Pontiff ever to visit a synagogue. He used the occasion, on the second day of his visit to Germany, to underline his intention to pursue close relations with Judaism, noting that this was "a path on which Pope John Paul II (bio - news) had already taken decisive steps."

The late Pope John Paul II recognized years ago that biological evolution had progressed beyond the hypothetical stage as a guiding principle behind the understanding of the evolution of diverse life forms on Earth, including humans. At the same time, he rightly recognized that the spiritual significance that one draws from the scientific observations and theory lie outside of the scientific theories themselves. To mush them up is to offend both, and some Catholic scholars have suggested that intellegent design (as known in the US: an alternative to evolution) is actually blasphemous.

The Attard parish organising committee will be holding a cultural evening at the Pope John Paul II parish centre on Friday at 8 p.m. as part of the festivities marking the feast of the Ascension of Our Lady.

On April 5 he complains about endless news coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II and predicts that "Allah will throw him in hell."

These films, as well as that criminally overpraised Million Dollar Baby (which I think didn’t deserve to win the Best Picture Oscar, despite its merits; Sideways should have won instead) and the controversy surrounding the Terry Schaivo case—and to a certain extent, the late Pope John Paul II’s public struggle with and eventual defeat to Parkinson’s disease—brought the issue of dying with dignity to the fore this year. The issue lingered in my head after watching The Barbarian Invasions and The Sea Inside, to the point I feel compelled to write about it.

Well, hello! Today is my very first posting as a blogger, now you can know what’s happening with me here in Chile. This weekend, Steve and I went to Coquimbo to the mercado de pescados, the fish market. It was a big, stinky, very cool place. We didn’t buy anything, just walked around. They were selling all kinds of fish, sea urchins, octopus, and they even sell cups of raw fish for you to enjoy as you walk around. We weren’t that adventurous yet. The highlight for me was going out on the pier and seeing the sea lions, a family of 5. The fisherman were cleaning some of their fish there and throwing the sea lions the heads. There were also pelicans and seagulls vying for the fishermen’s attention. After the market, we drove around Coquimbo, which is a town nestled in the rocks along the sea. We then went to La Cruz del Tercer Milenio, the cross of the 3 millenniums, which is a monument to the third millennium of Christ on earth. It stands 93 meters tall, and we were able to go up to the arms of the cross and look over the surrounding area. There was a museum dedicated to Pope John Paul II, and we were able to see some of his possessions.

Each participant should be justly proud of their accomplishments through this marathon blogging experience. The late Pope John Paul II said, “A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings. You, the people, give it this soul.”

From other places: Our state Catholic Daughters chaplain (can't remember his name - maybe Msgr. Zorbak?), Fr. Joe Talamo, Fr. Rhenne Cervantes, Fr. Adrian Hall, Fr. Rodney Bourg, Fr. Jimmy Jeanfreau, Fr. Terrence Henry, Fr. John Capuci, Fr. Joseph Calamari, Fr. Bill Pickard, Pope John Paul II (RIP), Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope John Paul II gets his own TV biopic. Described as a "papal page-turner," despite the fact that it's TV, not a book.

The hopes expressed by Pope John Paul II for a peaceful resolution to the conflict during his visit to Ireland in 1979 were also recalled by Mr Ahern.

In a recent National Public Radio commentary, Loconte accused all churches and religious groups who had questions about the war in Iraq of being hopelessly utopian pacifists, and invoked the example of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr's opposition to Hitler as the more realistic path. The problem is that Pope John Paul II, who opposed the war in Iraq, and the current Pope Benedict are not pacifists. Nor are the majority of church bodies around the world who studied the rationales for the war in Iraq (including the majority of evangelical churches worldwide) and concluded it did not fit the traditional just war categories. And Niebuhr, suggest many of his students (including his theologian daughter), would have been quite alarmed at the Bush theology in the war on terrorism, which too easily sees our adversaries as evil and us as good, denying the evil that runs through all human hearts and nation states.

You’d have thought this was unexceptional, and would be echoed by all people of good will. Not so. Exception was taken by the Government of Israel, who claimed that the Pope should have condemned recent attacks by Palestinians, and later asserted that the Vatican had a long standing policy of not condemning attacks on Israeli citizens, allegedly demonstrated by “the silences of Pope John Paul II”. Use of this particular wording can only be intended to recall the controversy over whether Pope Pius XII failed to speak up against the Holocaust.

PBS’s Frontline has a fascinating 2003 interview with Eamon Duffy, author of The Stripping of the Altars (see right sidebar) , which I’m in the middle of right now. The discussion was about Pope John Paul II, and contains some amazing insights about JP the Great, and the impact he has had on the Church and the world. The entire interview is “excerptable”, but here’s a wee comment that set the hairs up on the back of my neck:

Read what our late, beloved Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, wrote in his 1998 encyclical, "Dies Domini: On Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy": "The custom of the ‘weekend’ has become more widespread, a weekly period of respite, spent perhaps far from home and often involving participation in cultural, political or sporting activities which are usually held on free days. This social and cultural phenomenon is by no means without its positive aspects…. Unfortunately, when Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes merely part of a ‘weekend’, it can happen that people stay locked within a horizon so limited that they can no longer see the heavens…. The disciples of Christ, however, are asked to avoid any confusion between the celebration of Sunday, which should truly be a way of keeping the Lord’s Day holy, and the ‘weekend’, understood as a time of simple rest and relaxation."

So I get up Saturday, veg about and catch up with my Mum and Dad, and then pop off to Gloria’s sister’s wedding in Kinsealy, where I finally get to meet the infamous J and realise that the man she’s been raving about for the past 7 months does ACTUALLY exist and is very cool indeed. The ceremony was lovely, Audrey looked fab - although myself, Deirdre and Glo kept messing and making Matthew (their son) pull faces. Was hilarious, the priest completely messed up at one point and said Pope John Paul, then attempted to cover it by faking a coughing fit before continuing on with Pope Benedict! LOL I graciously declined heading on to the dinner and afters as I knew I would never escape (although I did miss the dancing with lots of bows on my head, boo). So I come home, have a few hours to kill, change into my slouchy gear and started teaching Mum how to rip and burn cds - she discovered that she likes 2 Many DJs - and then Dad says we’re going to the Pavillions and I have to come. So we head down and he buys me the cutest ever 6MB Turquoise mini iPod!!! I was giggling like an escaped monkey, it was sooo class! And of course my darling sister gave us discount, heehee. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play with it til Monday as all my music is on my iMac in work, so I just had to content myself with stroking it lots and messing with the games etc…

Elwes will star in the CBS miniseries “Pope John Paul II,” playing the younger Karol Wojtyla in the four-hour film about the late pontiff’s life, CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said Tuesday (July 19) at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. He joins Ian Holm, who will play the pope as an older man.

After getting all of Pope John Paul's luggage loaded into the limo (and he doesn't travel light), the driver notices that the Pope is still standing on the curb."Excuse me, Your Holiness," says the driver, "Would you please take your seat so we can leave?" "Well, to tell you the truth," says the Pope, "they never let me drive at the Vatican, and I'd really like to drive today." "I'm sorry but I cannot let you do that. I'd lose my job! And what if something should happen?" protests the driver, wishing he'd never gone to work that morning."There might be something extra in it for you," says the Pope.Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 105 mph."Please slow down, Your Holiness!!!" pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens."Oh, dear God, I'm gonna lose my licence," moans the driver.The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.

Finding Design in Nature By CHRISTOPH SCHÖNBORN Published: July 7, 2005 The Catholic Church's official stance on evolution. Excerpts: Ever since 1996, when Pope John Paul II said that evolution (a term he did not define) was "more than just a hypothesis," defenders of neo-Darwinian dogma have often invoked the supposed acceptance - or at least acquiescence - of the Roman Catholic Church when they defend their theory as somehow compatible with Christian faith.

It is my own Orthodox brethren who appear to be the cranky partners. Catholics have been making friendly overtures for more than a decade now. Pope John Paul II even said that the extent of papal power – over which the two churches split in the 11th century – could be “open to a new situation.” Both churches hold as ideal a united body with Rome as “first among equals.” Yet the Orthodox drag their feet, sometimes seeming downright rude. A Catholic friend tells me that the attitude seems to be: “Take this olive branch and shove it.”

Ever since 1996, when Pope John Paul II said that evolution (a term he did not define) was "more than just a hypothesis," defenders of neo-Darwinian dogma have often invoked the supposed acceptance - or at least acquiescence - of the Roman Catholic Church when they defend their theory as somehow compatible with Christian faith.

Ever since 1996, when Pope John Paul II said that evolution (a term he did not define) was "more than just a hypothesis," defenders of neo-Darwinian dogma have often invoked the supposed acceptance - or at least acquiescence - of the Roman Catholic Church when they defend their theory as somehow compatible with Christian faith.

The process to canonise Pope John Paul II opened on Tuesday with Cardinal Camillo Ruini suggesting the late Pope could be declared a martyr of the faith, which would further accelerate the already record pace that has marked his beatification cause.

The Roman Catholic Church in sub-Saharan Africa has grown in such a spectacular manner in recent years that some Vatican observers said the election of a black pope following the death of Pope John Paul was more likely than at any time in history.

As one who professes to be Catholic, you must have heard the phrase "consistent life ethic." I would suggest a thorough read of Evangelium Vitae, the encyclical letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II.

Of course, the London bombing is Bush's fault, along with the death of Pope John Paul (I kid you not), hurricanes, high oil prices, hate, racism, the 2004 tsunami, good hygiene, etc, etc, etc...

Even a joint commitment to ‘’the culture of life'’ turns out to be very thin. Catholics and conservative Protestants may agree broadly on abortion and euthanasia; but what about capital punishment, which Pope John Paul II condemned as an immoral usurpation of God’s authority to determine life and death but which many evangelical Christians support as biblically mandated? To reach consensus, the values evangelicals have to water down the ‘’values'’ they say they accept to the point where they would mean nothing at all. They are left either acknowledging disagreement about values or else falling into a kind of relativism (I’m O.K., you’re O.K.) that is inconsistent with the very goal of standing for something rather than nothing.

"May the Year of the Eucharist be for everyone a precious opportunity to grow in awareness of the incomparable treasure which Christ has entrusted to his Church. May it encourage a more lively and fervent celebration of the Eucharist, leading to a Christian life transformed by love." (Pope John Paul II, Mane Nobiscum Domine)

Finally, there we were, standing in St. Peters...and there is was...Michaelangelo's Pieta. I cannot not tell you the joy and excitement that poured through me.� It was placed behind glass, as years ago someone tried to hammer a chunck out of it.� But it was there infront of me! Looking around, I realize how huge it really was.� Sadly, the crypt where they buried the popes, (including Pope John Paul) was closed to the public.� But we explored everywhere and soaked in the sights and sounds.� It was awesome!� Thank you Ernst!� You have made a dream come true!� I love you!� So ends the perfect day and a great vacation.�

ROME, Italy (AP) -- The process to beatify Pope John Paul II officially opens in Italy with a solemn ceremony in which all the clerics involved will take an oath of secrecy -- and promise not to be corrupted by taking any money or gifts that might sway their decisions.

Conservatives believe in lower taxes; liberals believe in higher taxes. We want few regulations; they want more. Conservatives measure the effectiveness of government programs by results; liberals measure the effectiveness of government programs by inputs. We believe in curbing the size of government; they believe in expanding the size of government. Conservatives believe in making America a less litigious society; liberals believe in making America a more litigious society. We believe in accountability and parental choice in education; they don’t. Conservatives believe in advancing what Pope John Paul II called a “culture of life"; liberals believe there is an absolute unlimited right to abortion.

There’s an offical prayer published by the diocese of Rome to ask for intercession from Pope John Paul the Great. Hopefully God will shower us with miracles that will confirm his sainthood.

Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, erred catastrophically in fishing for young converts with the net of pop culture (i.e. World Youth Day and other such events). Notwithstanding his personal charisma, John Paul II's reign was marred by a plummeting of morals among the faithful and a proliferation of rebellion against Church teachings. The permissive message of rock music from the beginning has been, "If it feels good, do it". It should be no surprise, then, that in the "mainstream" Church where Life Teen "rock masses" are becoming more common, that some 98% of Catholics dissent from Church teaching on contraception, and in Canadian polls over 50% support homerast "marriage". Interestingly, trying to attract youth to Christ with pop culture doesn't work because the two are incompatible. There are more young adults at the tiny S.S.P.X chapel I attend than at the majority of the "mainstream" parishes which are many times the size of ours throughout Winnipeg.