http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/catholic-religion/ en-us Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:50:12 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050992/posts July 25, 2008                                    Feast of Saint James, Apostle       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 12 Cor 4:7-15 Brothers and sisters:We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;perplexed, but not driven to despair;persecuted, but not abandoned;struck down, but not destroyed;always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus,so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.For we who live are constantly being given up to deathfor the sake of Jesus,so that the life of Jesus may be... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050992/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:50:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050960/posts I pierced it with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus's tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash, followed by the classic, decorative items of trash cans everywhere, old coffeegrounds and a banana peel. My apologies to those who hoped for more, but the worst I can do is show my unconcerned contempt. By the way, I didn't want to single out just the cracker, so I nailed it to a few ripped-out pages from the Qur'an and The God Delusion. They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God... Pharyngula Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050960/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:01:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050758/posts BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- When Iraqi youths were not granted visas for World Youth Day in Australia, Iraq's Chaldean Catholic bishops decided they would bring World Youth Day to Iraq. The bishops organized processions, catechesis, the Way of the Cross and Masses in several northern Iraqi cities. More than 6,600 Iraqi youths participated in the alternative World Youth Day. Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, Iraq, invited Lebanese Capuchin Father Joseph Azzo to travel to Iraq for the July 16-20 gatherings. Father Azzo invited Lebanese singer Abir Nehme to accompany him; both spoke to Catholic News Service when they returned... CNS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050758/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:57:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050749/posts University of Minnesota professor Paul Z. Myers made good on his pledge to desecrate the Eucharist today. According to his statement on the subject, “I pierced it [the Host] with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus’s tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash.” Saying he did not want to “single out just the cracker,” Myers also tore pages from the Koran along with a few pages from Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion and nailed them to the Host. He then said, “They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. (His emphasis.)... Catholic League http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050749/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:26:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050743/posts Castelgandolfo, Jul 23, 2008 / 08:15 pm (CNA).- Having returned from his visit to Australia for World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI has moved to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. After three days of rest, he will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki on Friday and travel to the northern Italian town of Bressanone the following day.In Bressanone, a German-speaking town near the Italian border with Germany, the Pope will stay with his brother Father Georg Ratzinger in a medieval seminary from July 28 to August 11. According to ANSA news agency, a grand piano has been... CNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050743/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:18:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050703/posts The Risk of Love July 23rd, 2008 by Mark Shea Recently a reader wrote me to say, “I read a story on the Internet about a Catholic couple whose new baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and anencephaly (no brain). They chose to abort it. How on earth would you deal pastorally with such a horrible situation?” Such questions involve several parts. What does God think? What would I do? What should I make of those people over there? We feel torn between obeying God’s commands “Don’t kill” and “Don’t judge.” And in our culture, “Don’t judge” has much the... Catholic Exchange http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050703/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:10:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050692/posts This all began a few days ago, when Jeff Miller at the Curt Jester blog posted this comment regarding RC women who seek to be ordained. I do enjoy it when my own humor sparks others to their own hilarity.  I jested the other day: "If women are being called to the priesthood then why is it only dissident women that are being called?  Where are the women being ordained that have a preference for the extraordinary form of the Mass?  Why do they always have a preference for Hippy stoles and not beautifully embroidered ones.  Where are the traditionalist... WDTPRS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050692/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:45:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050680/posts Breaking, big, news: The St. Louis Archdiocese filed suit today against the St. Stanislaus Kostka church in an attempt to regain control of the former Polish parish. Six parishioners, including three recent board members, joined the archdiocese in the suit. They are asking a St. Louis judge to void any changes to the St. Stanislaus' bylaws since 2001 and give the archbishop the authority to appoint a pastor and board there. Last month, the St. Stanislaus board voted 4-3 to dissolve itself and allow parishioners to elect a new board at its annual meeting in August. Eight St. Stanislaus... American Papist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050680/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:29:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050631/posts Madrid, 2008 In 1936, during the great Socialist Terror of the early months of the Civil War, the large monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Cerro de los Ángeles, near Madrid, was attacked and demolished, a symbol of one of the harshest large-scale persecutions of the Church in History. From one of the stones of the demolished statue, a small sculpture of the Sacred Heart was sculpted and placed in the public garden outside the Parish Church of San Antonio de la Florida, in Madrid - otherwise a very famous building due to the extensive paintings of... Rorate Caeli http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050631/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:00:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050567/posts In 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, Communist troops murdered three Carmelite nuns at Guadalajara, Spain. They were: Sr. Maria of the Angels of St. Joseph (born Marciana Valtierra Tordesillas), thirty-one years oId; Sr. Maria Pilar of St. Francis Borgia (Jacoba Martinez Garcia), fifty-eight; Sr. Teresa of the Child Jesus (Eusebia Garcia y Garcia), twenty-seven. On July 22, with soldiers roaming the city, the eighteen nuns of the Monastery of St. Joseph scattered through the streets disguised in secular clothes. Some found shelter with Catholic families, and Srs. Maria of the Angels, Maria Pilar, and Teresa, along with two other... 1000Questions.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050567/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:26:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050551/posts What are the things Christians want most in life? According to a recent national survey by the Ventura County-based Barna Group, “it depends upon what type of Christian you ask.” Catholics, in particular, show marked differences from Protestants in what they want most in life. The survey was based on telephone interviews Barna conducted in May with a random sample of 1003 Americans from across the U.S., ages 18 and older. Sampling error was plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. According to the July 21 Barna Report, Barna researchers divided respondents according to various criteria.... California Catholic Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050551/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:03:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050532/posts When I came into Catholicism, a number of non-Christians and Protestant Christians asked me: “How could a good Christian like you ever become a Catholic?” It was a classic case of the fallacy we’re going to examine in this chapter. The fallacy is called Question-Begging Definition, and it occurs when the person challenging you with a question purposely or inadvertently subtly redefines a key term to make the question sound half reasonable, when in fact the question is fallacious.This article is a series about right reasoning and the way logical and linguistic fallacies confuse communication and often lead us... Catholic Exchange http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050532/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:36:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050477/posts Indulgences, which give Catholics time off Purgatory for good behaviour, are making a comeback under Pope Benedict XVI. In the past year, the Vatican has granted them for World Youth Day, the 150th anniversary of the Virgin Mary's apparition at Lourdes and, most recently, the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth. The renewed enthusiasm for the controversial practice is being felt here. Ottawa's archbishop, Terrence Prendergast, is encouraging area Catholics to celebrate St. Paul by going for the indulgences; going so far as to issue a press release recently spelling out how to get one. People don't need to apply... The Ottawa Citizen http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050477/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:04:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050375/posts July 24, 2008                                     Thursday of the Sixteenth Week                                 in Ordinary Time       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Jer 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 This word of the LORD came to me:Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear! I remember the devotion of your youth,how you loved me as a bride,Following me in the desert,in a land unsown.Sacred to the LORD was Israel,the first fruits of his harvest;Should any presume to partake of them,evil would befall them, says the LORD. When I brought... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050375/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:48:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050318/posts Two weeks ago I spoke with Bishops Mar Sarhad Jammo and Mar Bawai Soro about their plan to protect Iraqi Christians from violence and ensure religious liberty. The bishops expressed hope that one day the provisions of the Iraq Constitution protecting all religious minorities from discrimination and persecution could be implemented. In speaking with Manny Miranda, who recently returned from 12 months in Iraq, I found out that in the short term, legal remedies are not the answer. Miranda served at the embassy in Baghdad for the U.S. Department of State as director of legislative statecraft, advising the country on... Inside Catholic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050318/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:24:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050308/posts Kiev, Jul. 23, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The two most powerful leaders of the Orthodox world-- Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow-- will be in Kiev, Ukraine, this weekend to join in celebrating the 1020th anniversary of Christianity there. The "Baptism of the Rus" is seen by the Moscow patriarchate as the historic foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Alexei will preside at a liturgical celebration of the event on July 28. Patriarch Bartholomew, the acknowledged "first among equals" of the world's Orthodox patriarchs, will also be in Kiev to commemorate the event. But his... CWN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050308/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:08:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050298/posts Canterbury: The Vatican’s top evangelism officer urged the bishops of the Anglican Communion to set their house in order so that they may fulfill the Gospel mandate of bringing the world to Christ. Vatican official in warning to Anglican bishops Cardinal Ivan Dias, the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples said internal dissention within the Christian world and external attacks were hindering the spread of the faith. However, “for a disciple of Jesus Christ” to “preach the Gospel is not an option, but a command of the Lord.” Speaking to bishops gathered for the 14th Lambeth Conference... Religious Intelligence http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050298/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:54:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050295/posts Rome, 23 July (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI will meet Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki on Friday for the first time during his official visit to Italy. Al-Maliki is due to arrive in Rome on Thursday to meet his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi on the second leg of his European visit after talks with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin on Tuesday. The Iraqi prime minister will meet the Pope at the pontiff's summer residence at Castelgandolfo, outside Rome. He will then hold separate talks with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state. Iraq is home to the Chaldean... AKI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050295/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:50:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050293/posts Sydney certainly knows how to throw a party. The extraordinary scenes played out on the city's streets over the course of the World Youth Day week, and relayed on television screens for huge world audiences, or reported in newspapers or on radio bulletins, have been in some respects reminiscent of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In other ways they have surpassed them. For this was a party quite unlike any other: five days and nights of peace, love and Christianity, enjoyed by young pilgrims from around the world; no alcohol, little trouble, barely even a hint of disorder. To cap it... Otago (NZ) Daily Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050293/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:45:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050290/posts History's humongous wheel turns and turns and turns again. Over time, mud and sludge accumulate on even the sprucest institutions. Take the 500-year-old Anglican family of churches, Christianity's third-largest, after Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy. With Anglicanism's biggest family event under way - the every-10-years gathering of bishops and archbishops in England - what the world sees, accurately or not, is a family in moral and spiritual disarray. --snip--For all that, Anglicanism's public troubles proceed from the takeover of Western Anglicanism by theological activists whose purpose is the remolding of Christianity into something less like the old-time religion than like the... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050290/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:38:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050216/posts Yes, the sad little cracker has met its undignified end, so stop pestering me. The cracker, the koran, and another surprise entry have been violated and are gone. You'll have to wait until tomorrow for the details, what little of them there are. Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050216/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:28:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050162/posts When Gov. Alfred E. Smith ran for president in 1928, his candidacy was derailed in large part by anti-Catholic prejudice. It has been nearly 48 years since John F. Kennedy became the first (and so far only) Roman Catholic president, but experts say that anti-Catholic sentiment — much of it originating in, or as a response to, immigrants in New York — remains an enduring force in American culture. That was the consensus of a panel assembled at the Museum of the City of New York on Tuesday night to consider the question, “Is Anti-Catholicism Dead?” ...The Rev. Richard John... NY Times City Room Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050162/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:47:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050153/posts Yes, the sad little cracker has met its undignified end, so stop pestering me. The cracker, the koran, and another surprise entry have been violated and are gone. You'll have to wait until tomorrow for the details, what little of them there are. I must quickly apologize to all you good Catholics who were hoping to attend Mass, since you can't anymore — I have been told many hundreds of times now that cracker abuse violates your right to practice your religion. I guess you'll have to adapt. Secular humanism is a good alternative, if you aren't already flocking to... Pharyngula http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050153/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:24:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050128/posts Issue: In the 1500s, Protestant Reformers claimed to have divine guidance in attempting to restore the order, truth and unity of the early Christian Church. Does the Bible and other historical evidence support their claim? Response: No. As the Bible and other historical evidence testify, Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church. While some of the Church’s leaders and practices (not doctrines) were in need of reform in the 1500s, the Protestant Reformation erred in rejecting the visible papal authority that God provided to establish and maintain order, truth and unity in His Church (cf. Jn. 17:20-23). In seeking Christ without His... CUF http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050128/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:39:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050032/posts  The RCIA Inquiry Stage In the Catholic Church Thinking about joining the Catholic Church, and feeling a little lost? Here's some detailed, Christ-centered guidance on faith development during the RCIA inquiry stage. The RCIA inquiry stage is the starting place for adults who are thinking about entering the Catholic Church. "Be still, and know that I am God." — Psalm 46:10 In the inquiry stage, you're just finding out about Jesus, Christianity, and the Catholic Church. Talk to people, walk around in our shoes for a bit and get a feel for the place. As an inquirer, you're not yet... BeginningCatholic.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050032/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:30:03 GMT