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B369 Rayburn House Office Building, US House of Representatives Welcoming Remarks: Dr.Trita Parsi, President, National Iranian American Council 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm PANEL DISCUSSION, Q&A Alex Arriaga: Deputy Director for Advocacy and Director of Government Relations Amnesty International Joe Stork: Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa Human Rights Watch Laura Secor: The New Yorker magazine David Denehy (Invited) Senior Advisor U.S. Department of State Dr. John Tirman: Executive Director, Center for International Studies Massachusetts Institute of Technology Moderator Trita Parsi: President, National Iranian American Council

by Fr. William Saunders Other Articles by Fr. William Saunders Traveling the Path to Catholicism 04/12/06 Recently I saw a picture showing the Rite of Election at the cathedral. Would you please explain more about the Rite of Election and RCIA? When I was growing up, we did not have such a program. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) is a formal program of catechetical instruction, ascetical practice (prayer and spirituality), and liturgies whereby adults — called catechumens — are formally admitted into the Church and receive the sacraments of initiation — baptism, confirmation, and holy Eucharist. (The sacrament...

Click on the link above the watch and hear the Prayers by the Eastern Churches at the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Deposition, Funeral and Burial Rites of Pope John Paul II Deposition of the Body of the Roman Pontiff in the Coffin Before the Funeral Mass the body will be deposited in a coffin of Cyprus wood. It will the be closed in the presence of the Cardinal Camerlengo, the heads of each Order of Cardinals (Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Priest, Cardinal Deacons), the Cardinal Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, the Cardinal Secretary of State, the Cardinal Vicar of Rome, the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, the Almoner of the Supreme Pontiff, the Vice-Camerlengo,...

For the past several years I have witnessed an ongoing crisis of identity within the Roman Catholic Church, which is evident even on the campus of Franciscan University. Often reduced to the battle between "Conservatives" versus "Progressives" or "Traditionalists" versus "Charismatics," the issues involved are multifaceted and complex. I have tried to make my own contribution to this debate, with varying degrees of success. Now I'd like to address it from a new perspective, i.e. as a kind of outsider, for that is indeed what I have become. I am an Eastern Christian. While gladly submitting to the authority of...

Why do priests use incense at Mass? — A reader in AlexandriaIncense is an aromatic substance which is the resin from certain trees. When burned over charcoal, the incense produces a sweet smelling aroma. To make the smoke thicker and to enhance the fragrance, sometimes other perfumes are blended with the incense.The use of incense in the ancient world was common, especially in religious rites where it was used to keep demons away. Herodotus, the Greek historian, recorded that it was popular among the Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians. In Judaism, incense was included in the thanksgiving offerings of oil, grain,...

It's last rites for Braveheart... at last STUART MacDONALD HE RESTS in the hearts and minds of Scots as an icon of the nation’s fighting spirit yet Braveheart legend William Wallace has never been granted a burial place fit for a national hero. But now, on the 700th anniversary of his gruesome death, Wallace is to finally get a permanent resting place at the Lanarkshire church where he is believed to have married his sweetheart. However, first there will be an extraordinary re-enactment of the last days of Wallace’s life which led up to his horrific death. Wallace author David...

BOSTON -- As millions of Catholics prepare for the traditional midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the Boston Archdiocese is making an unusual plea to parishioners. NewsCenter 5's Jorge Quiroga reported that church leaders are asking anyone with cold or flu symptoms to take certain precautions and avoid some rituals. The announcement comes days after two elderly men on Cape Cod died of flu complications. But public health officials warn against overreactions saying the cases are not unusual considering the ages of the victims, 89 and 90. Parishioners attending Christmas Mass are urged not to shake hands as a sign of...

Christ, having been lifted up from the earth has drawn all men to Himself. Rising from the dead He sent His life-giving Spirit upon His disciples and through Him has established His Body which is the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation. Sitting at the right hand of the Father, He is continually active in the world that He might lead men to the Church and through it join them to Himself and that He might make them partakers of His glorious life by nourishing them with His own Body and Blood. [Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on the...