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The controversial wartime pope accused of failing to openly condemn the Holocaust has moved a step closer to sainthood, the Vatican has confirmed. Pope Pius XII will be declared venerable after the current pontiff Pope Benedict XVI approved a "heroic virtues decree", the first of three stages before canonisation. To be declared venerable, a church investigation has to conclude that the person in question lived a life of exemplary holiness and heroic virtue. There must be nothing in the dead person’s writings that enables these characteristics to be challenged. Pope Benedict has also agreed to declare his predecessor Pope John...

Sister Sobodka said: "Several times he (Pope John Paul) would put himself through bodily penance. "We would hear it – we were in the next room at Castel Gandolfo. You could hear the sound of the blows when he flagellate himself. He did it when he was still capable of moving on his own." The flagellation is also confirmed by another bishop who has given testimony. Emery Kabongo was a secretary for Pope John Paul. "He would punish himself and in particular just before he ordained bishops and priests," he said. "I never actually saw it myself but several people...

President Reagan and Pope John Paul II June 25th, 2009 by George Weigel They were two of the giant figures of the last half of the 20th century — Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II — and they had many things in common. Both were trained actors whose craft had taught them the power of words to change minds and hearts. Both came to eminence through unconventional routes, and against the grain of a lot of the common wisdom. Both had a healthy skepticism about the conventions that surrounded their offices, and both intuited that diplomats, no matter how...

1. "The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name" (Is 49,1). Today we celebrate the birth of St John the Baptist. The words of the Prophet Isaiah are well-suited to describe this great biblical figure who stands between the Old and the New Testaments. In the long line of Israel's prophets and just men and women, John "the Baptist" was placed by God's providence immediately before the Messiah, in order to prepare the way before him by his preaching and by the witness of his life. Of all the saints, John...

Death Was the Seal of an Existence Totally Given to Christ VATICAN CITY, APRIL 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave today when he celebrated Mass on the third anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, The date of April 2 has been imprinted in the Church's memory as the day the Servant of God Pope John Paul II [said] good-bye to this world. Let us again live with emotion the hours of that Saturday afternoon, when the news of his passing away was received...

This fiery figure is being hailed as Pope John Paul II making an appearance beyond the grave. The image, said by believers to show the Holy Father with his right hand raised in blessing, was spotted during a ceremony in Poland to mark the second anniversary of his death. Details appeared on the Vatican News Service, a TV station in Rome which specialises in religious news broadcasts. Scroll down for more Burned into the memory: The image that appeared in the bonfire, Tending his flock: Pope John Paul II at an audience in 2001 (right) Service director Jarek Cielecki, a...

The Gospel of Work 5/5/2004 - 8:13 AM PST © Third Millennium, LLC By Deacon Keith A. Fournier Pope John Paul II recently addressed an assembly of the leaders of the “Catholic Action” movement in Italy on the “gospel of work”. He proclaimed a theme that is one of the many profound contributions of his extraordinary pontificate, the true meaning and redemptive value of all human work. In 1981 he authored an encyclical letter titled “On Human Work” that has received little emphasis. We live in an age that has lost its understanding of the Christian meaning of work,...

Doctors assisting Pope John Paul II in his final days never suspended medical treatment and the pontiff did not ask them to do so, his personal physician said. Pro-euthanasia activists in Italy have said the pope refused medical treatment such as artificial respiration and feeding because he wanted to be allowed to die. The Catholic Church forbids euthanasia, which has been at the centre of a heated debate in Italy in recent months. However, the church's Catechism says medical procedures that are "burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome" can be discontinued with the permission of the patient...

World's Last Chance, a group that takes reading the Bible to all-new-extremes, claims to be "exposing one of the last unfulfilled prophecies of the Bible. Specifically, World's Last Chance believes that they have found clues within scripture that suggest Pope John Paul II is coming back ... and will be the next pope after Benedict XVI. That's right, as crazy it sounds, they believe that Pope John Paul II is going to magically appear here on earth and make our lives hell. With folks like this, it's no wonder that Christians get a bum rap. "How will the next pope...

Pope John Paul II made more than 100 clandestine trips to ski or hike in the Italian mountains and was rarely recognized by others on the slopes, his former secretary said. Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz described the secret outings in a book of memoirs, "A Life With Karol," which was being published in late January. An excerpt appeared Jan. 23 in the Rome newspaper Il Messaggero. The cardinal, who was Pope John Paul's personal secretary for 38 years, wrote that the pope, an avid skier and hiker in his youth, often felt pent up inside the Vatican. In the winter...

It was, as they say, a close-run thing. Within the brief space of 26 months, attempts on the lives of the three leaders who would see the curtain ring down on Soviet communism--Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Margaret Thatcher--failed. If any one of the killers had succeeded, history might have turned out very different. That's the thesis of John O'Sullivan's "The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister," and it's hard to dispute. The British-born Mr. O'Sullivan, currently editor-at-large of National Review and a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute, covered the Reagan presidency as a Washington journalist,...

TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP ADDRESS TO THE QUADRANT MAGAZINE 50TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER, FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, SYDNEY Thank you very much Paddy McGuinness, Chief Justice, Justices, Your Eminence, Your Grace, my Parliamentary colleagues and ladies and gentlemen. I’m finally succumbing to Peter Garrett’s advice and its great to embrace an evening of culture and poetry and all of that after overdosing on my Philistine sporting pursuits over the weekend in almost the four corners of the Earth, from one side of the country to the other. But it really is an enormous pleasure for Janette...

In the past day or so an interesting confluence of events happened that occasionally occurs and makes one want to keep trying. First we honor the life of Oriana Fallaci, that famous and courageous Italian writer, who devoted most of her last years to warning Europeans against the threat to European culture and freedom from the Islamic invasion that is taking place there. Many of her pleas were directed at Pope John Paul II, who was so instrumental in bringing down the Soviet empire, but who gave few outward signs that Islamic fascism greatly concerned him. Oriana died today of...

by Mark P. Shea Bible Study and Truth Tracts Author Other Articles by Mark P. SheaContact this Author Teaching the Theology of the Body 5/10/2006 George Weigel, the biographer of Pope John Paul II, has remarked that one of the most exciting "ticking bombs" of Catholic thought (set to go off sometime in the 21st century) is John Paul's teaching on the Theology of the Body. In This Article...What Is the Theology of the Body?Teaching KidsTeaching Teens What Is the Theology of the Body? In a nutshell, John Paul draws on the most basic message of the entire Christian tradition —...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Under Pope John Paul II's 26-year papacy, the Catholic Church grew by 45 percent, struggled to replace priests and religious, and experienced a significant "graying" of its hierarchy, according to statistics released recently by the Vatican. In a sense, the statistics complete a by-the-numbers portrait of Pope John Paul's pontificate. They cover the period from 1978, the year of his election, through the end of 2004, three months before he died. The worldwide Catholic population increased by 342 million during that time, from 757 million to just under 1.1 billion. That sounds huge, but it was...

Amazing life ... thank God for John Paul II. Santo Subito!

His final illness and passing, one year ago today, shook the world. Hundreds of thousands people were compelled to go to Rome to pray for him .. to be near him .. as his illness finally extinguished the flame of his human body. He was so loving, so humble and so beloved, and is still sorely missed today. And, yet we know how blessed we were that he walked this earth in our time. His viewing and funeral were epic events. So many from all walks of life were touched by his life and grieved his passing, and were drawn...

EVER since Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish gunman, shot the late Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981 in St Peter’s Square in Rome, investigators have tried to solve one of the 20th century’s greatest mysteries: did Agca act alone or was he obeying communist orders? This week an Italian parliamentary commission will officially conclude that Agca was part of a huge conspiracy masterminded by the GRU, the Soviet military secret service, on the orders of the politburo and Leonid Brezhnev, general secretary of the Communist party. The findings are already being considered by a Rome prosecutor who may...

by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr Other Articles by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr Christmas Presence, Lenten Gifts 02/25/06 Nine months after his election, Pope Benedict XVI issued his much-anticipated first encyclical letter, entitled "Deus Caritas Est" (“God Is Love”). No doubt it will provide Christ-centered wisdom and encouragement to a world that increasingly looks for true love “in all the wrong places.” In This Article...Papal TransitionThe Church Is Alive!Vatican II Today Papal Transition As we drink in "Deus Caritas Est" and the many other blessings that God desires to give us this year, I'd like to focus our attention on the first...

Poland University Bans “I didn’t cry when the Pope died” T-Shirts By Terry Vanderheyden LUBLIN, Poland, February 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A university in south-eastern Poland has banned a controversial “T-shirt for freedom” campaign expected to occur simultaneously with a campus human rights film festival. The t-shirts, which were to be worn through campus during the campaign by celebrities, boasted such things as “I had an abortion,” “I didn’t cry when the Pope died,” “I have AIDS,” “I don’t go to church,” “I masturbate,” or “I am gay,” according to a Radio Polonia report. The predominantly Catholic student population found...

"JUST" WARS & DOUBLE-TONGUED DEMOCRATS On May 2, 2003 Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Ratzinger, (Head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) stated: “He (John Paul II) did not impose this position ('Iraq War not necessary') as doctrine of the Church but as the appeal of a conscience enlightened by faith” (Zenit News Agency). Unlike many U.S. Democrats, Pope John Paul's thoughts on the Iraq War were not voiced in an arrogant, judgmental manner. He loved America, and praised President George W. Bush's moral leadership (Zenit News - June 4, 2004). Pope John Paul II never praised...

Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot and seriously wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981, was released from a Turkish prison on Thursday.Here are some key facts about the 48-year-old Turkish would-be assassin: * Agca shot and nearly killed Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981 in Rome's St. Peter's Square. He was arrested on the spot and a court gave him a life sentence. * Agca was pardoned at the Pope's request in 2000 after 19 years in an Italian jail. He was then extradited to Turkey to serve a separate sentence for robbery and murder. *...

THE Vatican said today it accepted the decision by a Turkish court to release Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to kill the late pope John Paul II in 1981. "With legal issues, the Holy See leaves it up to the courts with competence in these areas," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said. He said the Vatican had only learned of the court's decision from press agencies and had not been given prior notice. Agca, 48, is expected to be released between Tuesday and Sunday, Turkish officials told the Anatolia news agency. He was a 23-year-old far-right militant on the...

ROME, December 23, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI, in his first Christmas address as Pope, has led the Cardinals of the Curia, the Vatican’s version of a cabinet, in a meditation on the events of the past year for the Church and the world. Starting with a reminiscence of his friend, mentor and predecessor, Pope John Paul II, Benedict asked the rhetorical questions that summarize the thoughts of many in the troubled world. John Paul, the Pope said, asked in his last book if evil were the last word. “Is evil perhaps invincible? Is it really the ultimate power...

You know you're a leftist, if you were more saddened by the death of "Tookie" Williams than by the death of Pope John Paul II.

The inexplicable healing of a French nun could be the miracle that paves the way for beatification of Pope John Paul II. The Roman news agency I Media has learned that a French nun who was dying of cancer experienced a sudden and complete cure in October, after the members of her community prayed for the intercession of the late Pope John Paul. In accordance with Vatican rules, the identity of the nun is not being revealed, as doctors conduct a thorough study of her case. If a miracle is confirmed, it would speed the cause for the Polish Pontiff's...

For better and worse, Italy has long been the political and cultural laboratory of the Western world. From the glory days of Rome, through the Renaissance and the various nation-states, into the experiment at nation building that is still very much a work in progress, Italy has tried out the best and the worst in us. ‘snip’ Like the rest of us, the Italians have a jihadi problem, and they have it for the usual reason: For a long time they refused to acknowledge the problem existed, and now they are trapped in a political and cultural web of political...

TAIZE, France — Brother Roger, the 90-year-old founder of an ecumenical religious community dedicated to peace and reconciliation, was knifed to death by a woman at an evening prayer service attended by 2,500 people, authorities said. The slaying was deplored Wednesday by the pope and the head of the Anglican Church, who called the slain monk "one of the best-loved Christian leaders of our time." < Snip > A Romanian woman wielding a knife killed silver-haired Brother Roger, witnesses said. A community spokesman, Brother Emile, said the monk's throat was cut and he died 15 minutes later. < Snip >...

THE DEMISE OF THE U.S. DEMOCRATIC PARTY (The moral issues discussed below should concern people of all Faiths, and therefore this letter is being sent to members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate, the Federal Executive Branch of the Government, and to officials of governments throughout the world. It briefly covers the critical political and moral issues of abortion, homosexuality, the Iraq war, the death penalty, euthanasia, and stem cell research (see footnotes). For the good of your country, and for the good of your soul, your studied response, based on the Highest Authority (the Word of God),...

The Pope and the Cause of Freedom by Jeffrey Tucker[Posted October 25, 2001]Ten years ago, Pope John Paul II released Centesimus Annus, an encyclical, at once subtle and sweeping, that addressed the future of the post-communist countries of Europe and the general subjects of freedom, society, and faith. The document represented the fullest embrace that the Catholic Church has given in the modern period to classical liberal ideas, particularly as they apply in the economic sphere. In CA, the Pope argues that socialism failed, not just because it was bad economics, but mainly because it rejected the "truth about ...

Commissioner Steve Radack is moving ahead with plans to build an 865-acre park in northwest Harris County that will be called John Paul's Landing in honor of the late pope. The park on Katy Hockley Cutoff will feature a lake up to 500 acres in area and will be designed for boating, fishing, bird-watching and hiking. "I want to make a spectacular park out there," said Radack, commissioner of Precinct 3. "Am I going to do it? Yes, we're going to do it. It's going to be very, very neat." An American Civil Liberties Union official questioned whether a park...

Will the Real News Fabricator Please Stand Up? May 19, 2005 By Debbie Schlussel The Detroit News and its star reporter, David Shepardson, got caught with their pants down. They ran a fake story. But no-one noticed. No-one, except me—which lead to Detroit News Editor and Publisher Mark Silverman and his minions racing to hush the story and bury it, looking for some silent way to cover-up their very large, very exposed rears. They printed Shepardson’s phony story about a terrorist, and I exposed it, last week. Shepardson ran with it, without even a modicum of fact-checking (easily done with...

The Pope starts Wojtyla beatification The Pope has arranged the immediate beginning of the cause of beatification of Pope Wojtyla, dispensing from the wait of the five years from the dead women previewed from the code. Benedict XVI has announced personally the roman clergy, reading, in Latin, a communication in such sense of cardinal Josè Saraiva Martins, prefetto of the Congregation for the causes of knows to you. The communication has been received a longest applause of present clergymen, raised in feet, therefore like the Pope and Ruini cardinal.

TWO POPES, TWO BOOKS -- AND TWO MAJOR INSIGHTS INTO FAMED THIRD FATIMA SECRET In his book God and the World, Pope Benedict XVI not only affirmed his belief in the famed third secret of Fatima but saw in it the ability of men to "change the vision" -- to alter prophesied events -- in a dramatic way.Referring to the secret -- which was granted to two seers in that Portuguese hamlet in 1917 and which involved an image of an angel set to torch the world (as well as a "bishop in white," who, it was prophesied, would be...

Analyst: New pope to reverse course, purge 'gay' leaders from ranksThe reason Catholic Church leadership includes homosexuals is because John Paul II refused to believe reports that potential clergy held that orientation – a mistake that will not be repeated by Pope Benedict XVI, says geopolitical expert Jack Wheeler. In a column on his intelligence website, To the Point, Wheeler explains that a Vatican source disclosed to him why John Paul discounted the charge of homosexuality. "Whenever Vatican investigators brought the results of their vetting process regarding an individual's candidacy for bishop, cardinal or other office, and they revealed he...

Ironically (or perhaps deliberately), one of the more obscure cable stations in my area ran the 1968 film “The Shoes of the Fisherman”, followed closely by the 1986 “Saving Grace” this last weekend. The former, a Cold-War story about a Russian priest who becomes Pope, and the latter, a light humanist satire about a Pope that gets locked out of the Vatican, attempt to depict the leadership of the Roman Catholic church as being out of touch with the masses (sorry, unavoidable pun!), and suggest their own solutions to that problem. While “Shoes of the Fisherman” may have anticipated the...

In the wave of well-deserved adulation and admiration that has swept the world since the death of John Paul II, one observation has continually been made as a characterization of his pontificate. Love him or hate him, agree with or oppose him, one thing is universally accepted as true: John Paul II stood up for “traditional morality.” In a world obsessed with the “culture of death,” John Paul stood resolutely for traditional ethics and for the “culture of life” that made him such a sign of opposition to the prevailing drift of people and governments. But just how traditional was...

Generation X Catholics were asked in their teenage days what it was that the church had failed to give them. The most frequent response was that the church had not challenged teens with “a high and heroic ideal.” Such a challenge, as we’ve been reminded these past few weeks, was made with astounding success by the late pope. The Millennial Generation, born in the days of Reagan and John Paul II, is emerging into the world with a conservatism unexpected and nervously opposed by the liberal elite of American culture. But liberalism cannot erase the moral demand it has provoked....

As the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church cloister themselves to choose a successor to John Paul II, we may ask one more time what it was about the late pope that elicited the love and respect of millions of people, including many not sharing his convictions. And what it was about him that also produced the confusion, as well as the contempt, of many, including some identifying themselves as Christians, and Catholics. I'm convinced that the answer to this question is found in a little book by C.S. Lewis, published in 1944, "The Abolition of Man." It is also...

A prophecy by a 12th-century Catholic saint that predicted characteristics of the last 112 popes appears to have been strengthened by the election of the new pontiff today. The prophecy labels the new pope "the Glory of the Olive." The Benedictine Order is known as the Olivetans and has as its symbol the olive branch. The new pope, though not of that order, chose as his name Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany has been elected as the next pope of the Roman Catholic Church and will take the name Benedict XVI. There are some who may criticize the election of Cardinal Ratzinger, since he joined the Hitler Youth at age 14 as a child growing up in Germany. I think any such criticism is unfounded. How can the decision to join the Hitler Youth corps be the responsibility of a child? The Nazis brilliantly exploited German children with the games and military outfits that most youngsters enjoy. Former New York Times Executive Editor Max Frankel, in the...

During the papal interregnum, divided Catholics await the new Holy Father to guide them in their third millennium, in which clergy in Roman-era headdresses send news releases via e-mail. Can conservatives save the church by sticking to 20 decades of received tradition? Or will liberals energize an embattled global parish only by ending priestly celibacy or seeing condoms as a tool in stopping AIDS? Yet the new pontiff, both his personality and ideas, will affect even those of us who are not Catholics. The pope is not a CEO who serves at the pleasure of his board. Nor like a...

New Zealand viewers turned out in force to watch the funeral of Pope John Paul II, but enthusiasm for the midnight wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla was more subdued. The Pope’s funeral, broadcast live on TV One on Friday night, was watched by more than 400,000 people, according to AGB Nielsen Media research ratings. TVNZ spokeswoman Michele Camilleri said the ratings were strong, especially among older people. "I think that reflects the historical significance of the event." The timing of the nuptials of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, was all wrong for a New Zealand audience. Just...

Wake up America . . . the alarm clock just went off and we keep turning over and going back to sleep. There's an "uprisin' on the horizon" and we refuse to face it. Sleeping through it might make it easier, but the end result will be devastating. We've had a lightning bolt cut through the very core of our foundation forming a crack so deep we could topple by our weight of indifference. This ship is listing badly; so tilted we may never be uprighted again. Our love affair with America is "breaking apart" because our foundation is cracking....

I saw this site : www.candleforpope.com, they want to compile a CD with all messages for John Paul two, and send it to every one wich want it, for the cost of the CD and delivery. They experience that for 1 year. ping your people about that.

"Rogito": the Document Placed in Pope's Coffin -- Tells of His Life and WorksVATICAN CITY, APRIL 8, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the "Rogito," the record of the life and works of John Paul II, read by Archbishop Piero Marini, master of pontifical liturgical celebrations. After being signed by all those present, the document was placed in John Paul II's coffin. * * * OBITUS, DEPOSITO ET TUMULATO IOANNIS PAULI PP II SANCTAE MEMORIAE In the light of Christ risen from the dead, on April 2 of the year of the Lord 2005, at 9:37 p.m., as...

According to some of my tightly wound theological buddies, as a Protestant Christian, I’m not supposed to say anything favorable about a Catholic, especially … a Pope. Oh well, I’ve got to give honor where honor is due, so pardon me, brethren, if I praise the former pontiff’s past achievements. Even though I disagree with Catholicism’s soteriology, and from a fashion and function standpoint I don’t get their funky hats or the Elvis-like papal robes, or their elaborate walking sticks, I’ve got to admit that I appreciate John Paul II’s accomplishments for the human collective and his unwavering moral convictions...

WACO, Texas -- President Bush praised Pope John Paul II on Saturday for facing down totalitarianism throughout his life and showing communist rulers that "moral truth had legions of its own." Just back from the pope's funeral Friday night, Bush paid his final respects to the late leader of the Roman Catholic Church in his weekly radio address. He said the services that brought kings, presidents and pilgrims from across the globe to Rome was a "powerful and moving reminder of the profound impact this pope had on our world." "Everywhere he went, the pope preached that the call of...

Covering a big story, live, is hard, and journalists will make mistakes. When Christiane Amanpour of CNN described John Paul II in the hours after his death as "the first non-Catholic to be elected pope in more than 455 years," she provided some much-needed levity to the day. Nobody will hold it against her. What is more problematic is the media's unconscious tendentiousness in describing the teachings of this pope and his Church. The Pope, nearly everyone said, was a complex man: He was progressive on economics, war, and the death penalty, yet took doctrinaire and divisive positions on moral...

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in paying tribute to the life and legacy of Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II was one of the great religious leaders of modern times, and an eloquent champion of human freedom and dignity. Unlike all-too-many misguided religious leaders, the Pope understood that liberty, both personal and economic, is a necessary condition for the flourishing of human virtue. The Pope’s commitment to human dignity, grounded in the teachings of Christ, led him to become one of the most eloquent spokesmen for the consistent ethic of life, exemplified by his...