The Weekly News In
Review
Newsletter is a
compilation of the news articles that have appeared
on the Understand The Times website during the
previous week.
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August 17 - Papal Q-and-A Session With Priests, Part 2
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Here is the
second part of a Vatican
translation of Benedict XVI's July 24
question-and-answer session
with priests from the dioceses of
Belluno-Feltre and Treviso,
Italy, during the Pope's vacation.
MEETING OF THE HOLY FATHER
BENEDICT XVI WITH THE
CLERGY OF THE DIOCESES
OF BELLUNO-FELTRE AND TREVISO
I am Fr Francesco. Holy
Father, one sentence you wrote in your book made
a deep impression on me:
"[But] what did Jesus actually bring if not
world peace, universal
prosperity and a better world? What has he
brought? The answer is very
simple: "God. He has brought God'" (Jesus
of
Nazareth, English edition, p.
44); I find the clarity and truth of this
citation disarming. This is my
question: there is talk about the new
evangelization, the new
proclamation of the Gospel -- this was also the
main theme of the Synod of
our Diocese, Belluno-Feltre -- but
what
should we do so that this God, the one
treasure brought by Jesus and
who all too often appears hazy to many,
shines forth anew in our
homes and becomes the water that quenches even
the thirst of the many who
seem no longer to be thirsting? Thank
you.
Benedict XVI: Thank you. Yours
is a fundamental question. The
fundamental question of our
pastoral work is how to bring God to the
world, to our contemporaries.
Of course, bringing God is a
multi-dimensional task:
already in Jesus' preaching, in his life and his
death we see how this One
develops in so many dimensions. I think that
we should always be mindful
of two things: on the one hand, the
Christian proclamation.
Christianity is not a highly complicated
collection of so many dogmas
that it is impossible for anyone to know
them all; it is not something
exclusively for academicians who can study
these things, but it is
something simple: God exists and God is close in
Jesus Christ. Thus, to sum up,
Jesus Christ himself said that the
Kingdom of God had arrived.
Basically, what we preach is one, simple
thing. All the dimensions
subsequently revealed are dimensions of this
one thing and all people do not
have to know everything but must
certainly enter into the depths
and into the essential. In this way, the
different dimensions also
unfold with ever increasing joy. But in
practice what should be done?
I think, speaking of pastoral work today,
that we have already touched
on the essential points. But to continue in
this direction, bringing God
implies above all, on the one hand, love,
and on the other, hope and
faith. Thus, the dimension of life lived,
bearing the best witness for
Christ, the best proclamation, is always
the life of true Christians. If we
see that families nourished by faith
live in joy, that they also
experience suffering in profound and
fundamental joy, that they help
others, loving God and their neighbour,
in my opinion this is the most
beautiful proclamation today. For me too,
the most comforting
proclamation is always that of seeing Catholic
families or personalities who
are penetrated by faith: the presence of
God truly shines out in them
and they bring the "living water" that you
mentioned. The fundamental
proclamation is, therefore, precisely that of
the actual life of Christians. Of
course, there is also the proclamation
of the Word. We must spare no
effort to ensure that the Word is listened
to and known. Today, there are
numerous schools of the Word and of the
conversation with God in
Sacred Scripture, a conversation which
necessarily also becomes
prayer, because the purely theoretical study of
Sacred Scripture is a form of
listening that is merely intellectual and
would not be a real or
satisfactory encounter with the Word of God. If
it is true that in Scripture and in
the Word of God it is the Living
Lord God who speaks to us,
who elicits our response and our prayers,
then schools of Scripture must
also be schools of prayer, of dialogue
with God, of drawing intimately
close to God: consequently, the whole
proclamation. Then, of course,
I would say the sacraments. All the
Saints also always come with
God. It is important -- Sacred Scripture
tell us from the very outset --
that God never comes by himself but
comes accompanied and
surrounded by the Angels and Saints. In the great
stained glass window in St
Peter's which portrays the Holy Spirit, what
I like so much is the fact that
God is surrounded by a throng of Angels
and living beings who are an
expression, an emanation, so to speak, of
God's love. And with God, with Christ, with the
man who is God and with God
who is man, Our Lady arrives. This is very
important. God, the Lord, has a
Mother and in his Mother we truly
recognize God's motherly
goodness. Our Lady, Mother of God, is the Help
of Christians, she is our
permanent comfort, our great help. I see this
too in the dialogue with the
Bishops of the world, of Africa and lately
also of Latin America; I see
that love for Our Lady is the driving force
of catholicity. In Our Lady we
recognize all God's tenderness, so,
fostering and living out Our
Lady's, Mary's, joyful love is a very great
gift of catholicity. Then there
are the Saints. Every place has its own
Saint. This is good because in
this way we see the range of colours of
God's one light and of his love
which comes close to us. It means
discovering the Saints in their
beauty, in their drawing close to me in
the Word, so that in a specific
Saint I may find expressed precisely for
me the inexhaustible Word of
God, and then all the aspects of parochial
life, even the human
ones. We must not always be in the clouds,
in the loftiest clouds of Mystery.
We must have our feet firmly planted
on the ground and together live
the joy of being a great family: the
great little family of the parish;
the great family of the diocese,
the great
family of the universal Church.
In Rome I can see all this, I
can see how people from every part of the
world who do not know one
another are actually acquainted because they
all belong to the family of God.
They are close to one another because
they all possess the love of the
Lord, the love of Our Lady, the love of
the Saints, Apostolic
Succession and the Successor of Peter and the
Bishops. I would say that this
joy of catholicity with its many
different hues is also the joy of
beauty. We have here the beauty of a
beautiful organ; the beauty of a
very beautiful church, the beauty that
has developed in the Church. I
think this is a marvellous testimony of
God's presence and of the
truth of God. Truth is expressed in beauty,
and we must be grateful for
this beauty and seek to do our utmost to
ensure that it is ever present,
that it develops and continues to grow.
In this way, I believe that God
will be very concretely in our midst.
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August 20 - Artificial life likely in 3 to 10 years
Article: Cloning And Genetic Engineering
WASHINGTON - Around the
world, a handful of scientists are
trying to create life
from scratch and they're getting
closer.
Experts expect
an announcement
within three to 10 years from
someone in the now little-known field of
"wet artificial
life."
"It's going to be a big deal and
everybody's going to know about it,"
said Mark Bedau, chief operating
officer of ProtoLife of Venice, Italy, one of
those in the race.
"We're talking
about a technology that could change
our world in pretty fundamental ways - in
fact, in ways that are impossible
to predict."
"Creating protocells has the potential to
shed new light on our place in the
universe," Bedau said. "This will remove
one of the few fundamental mysteries
about creation in the universe and our
role."
One of the leaders in
the field, Jack Szostak at
Harvard Medical School, predicts
that within
the next six months, scientists will report
evidence that the first step -
creating a cell membrane - is "not a
big problem." Scientists are
using fatty acids in that effort.
His idea is that once
the container is made, if scientists
add nucleotides in the right proportions,
then
Darwinian evolution could simply take
over.
"We aren't smart enough to
design
things, we just let evolution do the hard
work and then we figure out what
happened," Szostak
said.
"When these
things are created, they're going to be so
weak, it'll be a huge achievement if you
can keep them alive for an hour in
the lab," he said. "But them getting out and taking
over, never in our imagination could this
happen."
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August 20 - 'US pushing Israel to attack Syria'
Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars
Washington is preventing
Israel from making peace with Syria and instead is
pushing it to wage war,
the Arab country's government-owned daily
Tishrin read on Monday.
The paper said
that recent moves made
by the US including supplying
Israel with weapons and agreeing to a $30
billion
aid-package are methods the country was
implementing to push
the Jewish state to wage war on
Damascus.
It
also accused Israel of threatening the
region by holding large-scale
army exercises. Israel's
recent
military maneuvers not only pointed to the
fact that the country refused to
make peace with Syria, but also proved
that the Jewish state was
preparing for war,
claimed Tishrin.
Israel, claimed the paper, is working
"around
the clock and stages exercises
as preparation for the next round of war.
Further, the paper stated that
"even if Israel
is not the direct cause of the
tragedies, murders and crimes in our
area, [Israel] is
indirectly [responsible for
them]."
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August 19 - Pressure Russia
Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars
At the same moment when even Arab states
are
trying
to reassure Israel that Syria has no plans to attack,
Damascus is taking delivery of advanced
Russian SA-22 E anti-aircraft missiles and
artillery. According
to Arab
press reports, this arms deal, which cost some $900
million,
is being financed by Iran.
This
news came on the heals of
reports last month
that Russia would sell
250 advanced long-range
Sukhoi-30 fighter
jets to Teheran. Russia has
already supplied
Iran with sophisticated air defense
systems.
Russia is doubly
responsible for this
international failure: first, by using its veto
threat to block
effective sanctions against Iran and Syria,
and second with its
bilateral arms deals that would violate the
minimal sanctions
that
should long ago have been imposed to punish these
nations'
international aggression. There is no sign
that Russian behavior
is
improving in this sphere. The
idea that
Russia
is now competing with the US in pumping arms into
the
region
is not an excuse, but an indictment.
International peace and
security demands that
the
radical Islamist alliance of Iran, Syria, Hizbullah,
Hamas
and al-
Qaida be isolated and defeated. In
this
global battle, Russia has been weighing in on the
wrong
side.
Rather than being held
hostage by Russia and
China
in the UN Security Council, the US and Europe need to
use
the
authority of already-passed resolutions to impose
much
tougher sanctions on Teheran and
Damascus. In addition, Russia
needs
to know that it cannot remain a member in good
standing of
the G-
8 - the international community's most exclusive club -
while it
is selling advanced weaponry to and running
diplomatic
interference for some of the world's most
dangerous rogue
states.
Western willingness to
impose consequences on
Russia
for its open support of rogue
regimes will be a key litmus test for
all nations that
are
making judgments regarding which side is serious
enough to
win. It
is not the US that should fear jeopardizing its
"friendship" with Russia, but
Russia that
should
be concerned about losing the benefits of its current
membership in the West.
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August 19 - On the Peace Christ Brought
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 19,
2007 - Here is a translation of the address Benedict
XVI delivered today before
reciting the midday Angelus in the courtyard of the
papal summer residence at
Castel Gandolfo.
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Those who desire to resist this enemy, remaining
faithful to God and the good,
must necessarily deal with misunderstandings and
sometimes very real
persecution. Thus, those who intend to follow Jesus
and commit themselves
without compromises to the truth must know that they
will face opposition and
will become, despite themselves, a sign of division
among persons, even within
their own families.
Love of one's parents is indeed a sacred
commandment, but for it to be lived
authentically it cannot be set in opposition to the love
of God and Christ. In
such a way, in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus,
Christians must become
"instruments of his peace," according to
the celebrated expression of St.
Francis of Assisi. This is not an inconsistent and
superficial peace but a real
one, pursued with courage and tenacity in the daily
commitment to defeat evil
with good (cf. Romans 12:21), paying in person the
price that this carries with
it.
The Virgin Mary, Queen of
Peace, shared the struggle of
her son Jesus against the evil one, to the point of
spiritual martyrdom, and she
continues to share this struggle until the end of time.
Let us invoke her
maternal intercession, that she may help us always to
be faithful witnesses to
Christ's peace, never giving in to compromises with
evil.
In these days our thoughts and our prayers are
turned constantly to the
people of Peru, who have been stricken by a
devastating earthquake. For the many
who have died, I invoke the peace of the Lord, for
those who have been injured,
I ask for quick recovery, and for those thrown into
miserable circumstances I
assure you that the Church is with you, in spiritual and
material solidarity. My
secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who for
some time had planned a
visit to Peru, in the next few days, will, in person, bring
the testimony of my
sentiments and the concrete help of the Holy See.
I am pleased to greet the English-speaking visitors
gathered for this Angelus
prayer. The readings from today's Mass invite us to lift
our eyes to Jesus, who
inspires and perfects our faith. May you and your
families experience the Lord's
closeness during these summer holidays and
respond to his love through deeper
prayer and more generous acts of charity. Upon all of
you I invoke Christ's
blessings of joy and peace!
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August 21 - Friars spread papal message of love during march
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
BALTIMORE, Md. (The Catholic Review) -
Wearing
hooded grey robes
cinched at the waist with ropes, nearly a dozen
Franciscan Friars
of the Renewal marched through the streets of
downtown
Baltimore carrying a large
crucifix,
an image of Our
Lady of Guadalupe and a papal flag.
The priests visited Baltimore as one of
the stops on
a first-of-its-kind
spiritual pilgrimage
called "The
Future Depends on Love" tour Aug. 3-11.
The New
York-based friars,
who were joined by several seminarians from
across the country,
started their journey in Philadelphia - making
stops in
Wilmington, Del., and Baltimore before ending in
Washington, D.C.,
on Aug. 11.
They celebrated Mass and toured the
restored
Basilica of the
National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary and
also made a prayerful stop at Holy Rosary in Fells
Point. Holy hours
and talks were given at St. Joseph in Cockeysville
and St. Philip Neri
in Linthicum.
Father Lawrence Joseph Schroedel,
C.F.R., one of the
pilgrims, said the
name of the tour came from the last line of the
play "The
Jeweler's Shop," written by Pope John Paul II as
a young
man. The purpose
of the event was to promote
the sanctity of life,
encourage eucharistic devotion, help people
live out the spiritual
and corporal works of mercy and to raise
awareness about
vocations and marriage, he said.
"Seeing
them says to me that
the Lord is
coming," said Ms. Robinson, a non-Catholic who
clutched
a Marian prayer
card the friar gave her. "It's important to
believe."
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August 22 - Mega-church ripped for inviting Jimmy Carter to address leadership conference
Article: Apostasy
The head of pro-
Israel ministry is baffled as to why a
mega-church would invite
former President Jimmy Carter to address its
recent leadership
conference.The former
president was among those
invited to speak at the 2007 Leadership Summit
hosted by Willow Creek
Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois,
which is pastored by Bill
Hybels. Other speakers included former
Secretary of State Colin
Powell, author John Ortberg, and British
management guru Marcus
Buckingham. The conference
saw 80,000 in attendance, and
was beamed into 176 sites via audiovisual
technology.
Jan Markell of Olive Tree
Ministries tales issue with that assessment,
noting that Carter has roamed
the world delivering negative messages
about America.
"He stands up for dictators. He has
not been pro-American in his
diplomacy. He failed the Shah of Iran in
1979, which allowed Ayatollah
Khomeini in, which resulted in our war on
terror," she
says.
Markell
says she cannot help but question the judgment
of Hybels and Willow Creek for
inviting someone like Carter to address
the leadership
conference.
"Here we have a supposedly
evangelical church, that being
Willow Creek, bringing in somebody who
really does not like the
Jews," Markell remarks.
"Well, I'm sorry, [but] Jesus was
a Jew. Our Bible
-- from Genesis [chapter] 12
through Revelation -- is all about the
Jews. And yet this man is one
of the featured speakers at the leadership
forum."
The ministry
leader says the decision to feature
Carter as a speaker makes no
sense to her.
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August 22 - Pontiff Invites Youth: Let Mary Protect You
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
VATICAN CITY,
AUG. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict
XVI invited young people to put
themselves under the
protection of Mary.
The Pope said this today at the end of the general
audience in Paul VI Hall, on
the memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin
Mary.
"We raise our gaze to
heaven to contemplate the splendor
of the Holy Mother of God, who the liturgy invites us to
invoke today as our
queen," the Pontiff said.
"Dear young people," added the Holy
Father, "put your
lives and each of your projects under the maternal
protection of the one who
gave to the world a savior."
Speaking to the sick, Benedict XVI continued: "As you wait
to regain your health, ask her each day for the strength
to confront with
patience the trials of suffering."
To the newlyweds present, the Pope said:
"Cultivate a sincere devotion to her so that she
will be at your side in your
daily life."
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August 21 - Pope Sends Greeting to Buddhist Leader
Article: Ecumenical Movement - Other Religions Uniting With Roman Catholics
VATICAN CITY,
AUG. 21, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Peace is as
much a gift of God as a duty of each and every person,
says Benedict XVI in a
message to the Religious Summit Meeting on Mount
Hiei, Japan.
The Pope's message, sent to
Kahjun Handa, supreme head of
the Tendai Buddhist Denomination, commemorates
20 years of the summit meetings,
held this year on Aug. 4. The letter was signed June
23.
The Holy Father recalled in the letter that the
encounters were previously
convoked by Etai Yamada, the former supreme head
Tendai, after he participated
in the Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi called by Pope
John Paul II in 1986.
Benedict XVI said the Religous Summit on Mount Hiei,
in Kyoto,
seeks "to keep the flame
of the spirit of Assisi burning."
"From the supernatural
perspective we come to understand
that peace is both a gift from God and an obligation for
every individual," he
added.
The Holy Father continued: "Indeed the
world's cry for peace, echoed by
families and communities throughout the globe, is at
once both a prayer to God
and an appeal to every brother and sister of our
human family.
As you assemble on the sacred
Mount Hiei, representing
different religions, I assure you of my spiritual
closeness.
The Pope said he was "happy that Cardinal
Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue,
is able to take part in this
meeting."
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August 18 - President: Roots of discord in Islamic world are "external"
Article: Islam
Division among
Islamic world has external roots and is
created as a result of enemies
presence and interference in regional
affairs, President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said Saturday.
Addressing
the opening ceremony of the Fourth
Ahl-ul-Bait General Assembly,
he said: "Islam is a
complete truth which is partly
seen in Judaism, in Christianity and in
other divine faiths."
Criticizing the present division among different
divine religions, the president
said: "The present world is going
through one of its most
sensitive historic periods as we are witnessing
massive, quick and various
changes.
"The international equations are
rapidly changing in favor of
justice and against falsehood,"
stressed the president.
President
Ahmadinejad said the
US invasion of Iraq and its
occupation as well as massacre of
defenseless people of
Palestine and Lebanon were clear examples of US
and the Zionists crimes
against humanity.
Noting that
Zionism was the pioneer of Western-style
liberal democracy and the
vanguard of occupation and aggression
worldwide, he said, "The Zionist regime is the
flag of Satan." The
Fourth Ahl-ul-Bait General Assembly started
work here Saturday in the
presence of President Ahmadinejad.
Religious
and political figures from 110 countries are
taking part in the two-day
gathering.
The Ahl-ul-
Bait World Assembly is a non-profit and
non- governmental
organization based in Tehran which was established
in
1990 aimed at promoting
Islamic teachings and culture.
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August 23 - The Mailbag: Reports Claim A 'Bleeding' Host In Outback Of Africa, Statue In India
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
From Sematiko Stephen
in Kampala,
Uganda:
It started from Kibeho
Rwanda
-- a
Church-approved apparition place in Rwanda South
West of
Uganda, in May 2007.
A group of Ugandans
made a
pilgrim
to this place, and while there, Our Lady requested the
pilgrims on their return to Uganda
to go to
the Queen of Peace shrine in
Uganda to
celebrate a thanksgiving
Mass.
The chairman of Dove
Tours and
the
Director of the Peace Medjugroje Center Father Peter
Bakka
organized a day for the thanksgiving Mass,
which was June 2,
2007.
The visionary Jean
Marie,
accompanied by two friends, Caritas and
Sylvester, came to
Uganda to
celebrate with us according to how the
Lord had told them in
Kibeho.
Father Bakka told us that we were going now
in
the
Way of the Cross and everybody had to remove his or
her
shoes,
meaning we had to move barefooted. We started the
Way at
3.00
p.m. exactly, reciting the chaplet of the Divine
Mercy.
As
soon
as we
reached the fifth station, a loud voice from
Father
Bakka
was heard saying, "All of
you look
at Jean
Marie; he has a message for us." Jean Marie
rose up his
hands
and the Host was turning into blood, flowing
down.
The visionary started
moving
around rising up his hand with the Host in the palm;
blood
was flowing from the Host; it couldn't fall down, though
it was
changing it in many different
directions.
After Jean Marie had finished all that the Lord
[allegedly] was telling him, we knelt down
on the sharp stones
that are
at the shrine. He prayed to the Lord and
at that time his translator told us to
look up
at the sun. I personally looked at the sun, and it was
blue in
color and rolling and the Host was in the middle of it.
Everybody saw that.
I had never cried much,
but it
was
my first time to do so because the
Lord
was appearing physically through
signs.
The sun
started
following us up to Calvary, and when we
reached
Calvary, the visionary was
giving
us another [alleged] message from the Lord: My
children,
I love
you so much, thank you for this, I am with you all the
time
with my mother. I cannot give my church to Judas
Iscariot;
he is a
traitor. (Meaning the devil.).
Now
appearing
in the
sun, He told us, I have given you all what you have
asked
for and
registered all your names in the book of heaven.
The sun started moving
closer
down
and going up again.
All
people
were
shouting and waving to the Lord up in the sky. The
clouds
started
changing colors from yellow blue white and brown.
More
shouting was heard from the congregation
as people were so
excited.
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News Alert - August 24 - Pope Benedict XVI elevates "Mary" to a place of Diety.
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Here is a portion of the
pope's message given August 15, 2007
(Feast of the Assumption):
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
Today, we are celebrating the Solemnity of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. This is an ancient feast
deeply rooted in Sacred Scripture: indeed,
it presents the Virgin Mary
closely united to her divine Son and ever
supportive of him.
Mother and Son appear closely bound in
the fight against the infernal enemy
until they completely defeat him. This
victory is expressed in particular in
overcoming sin and death, that is, in
triumphing over the enemies which St
Paul always presents as connected (cf.
Rom 5: 12, 15-21; I Cor 15: 21-26).
Therefore, just as
Christ's glorious Resurrection was
the definitive sign of this victory,
so Mary's glorification in her
virginal body is the ultimate confirmation of
her total solidarity with the
Son, both in the conflict and in
victory.
The Servant of God Pope Pius XII interpreted the deep
theological meaning of this mystery on 1
November 1950 when he pronounced
the solemn Dogmatic Definition of this
Marian privilege.
He declared: "Hence, the revered
Mother of God, from all eternity joined in
a hidden way with Jesus Christ in one and
the same decree of predestination,
immaculate in her conception, a most
perfect virgin in her divine
motherhood, the noble associate of the
divine Redeemer who has won a
complete triumph over sin and its
consequences, finally obtained, as
the supreme culmination of her privileges,
that she should be preserved
free from the
corruption of the tomb and that, like
her own Son, having overcome death, she
might be taken up body and soul to
the glory of Heaven where, as Queen, she
sits in splendour at the right hand
of her Son, the immortal King of the
Ages" (Apostolic Constitution
"Munificentissimus
Deus": AAS 42, [1 November
1950]).
Dear brothers and sisters, after being
taken up into Heaven, Mary did not
distance herself from us but continues to
be even closer to us and her light
shines on our lives and on the history of all
humanity. Attracted by the
heavenly brightness of the Mother of the
Redeemer,
let us turn with trust to the
One who looks upon us
and protects us from on high.
We all need her help and comfort to face
the trials and challenges of daily
life; we need to feel that she is our mother
and sister in the concrete
situations of our lives.
And so that we too may one day be able to
share in her same destiny, let us
imitate her now in her meek following of
Christ and her generous service to
the brethren. This is the only way to have a
foretaste, already on our
earthly pilgrimage, of the joy and peace
which those who reach the immortal
destination of Paradise live to the full.
After the Angelus:
I offer a warm welcome to the English-
speaking visitors gathered for this
Angelus prayer on the Solemnity of the
Assumption of Our Lady.
May the example
and prayers of Mary, Queen of Heaven,
inspire and sustain us on our pilgrimage
of faith, that we too may attain
the glory of the Resurrection and the
fulfilment of our hope in her Son's
promises. Upon you and your
families I invoke the Lord's richest
blessings.
I wish you all a good Feast of the
Assumption!
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August 24 - Out-of-body experience recreated
Article: Rising Interest In The Supernatural
The
experiments, described in the Science journal, offer
a scientific explanation for a
phenomenon experienced by one in 10
people.
Two teams used virtual reality
goggles to con the brain into thinking
the body was located
elsewhere.
The visual illusion plus the feel
of their real bodies being touched
made volunteers sense that
they had moved outside of their physical
bodies.
The researchers say their
findings could have practical applications,
such as helping take video games to the next
level
of virtuality so the players feel
as if they are actually inside the
game.
Clinically, surgeons might also
be able to perform operations on
patients thousands of miles
away by controlling a robotic virtual self.
Teleported
For some, out-of-body
experiences or OBEs occurs spontaneously, while
for others it is linked to
dangerous circumstances, a near-death
experience, a dream-like state
or use of alcohol or drugs.
One theory is that it is down to
how people perceive their own body -
those unhappy or less in touch
with their body are more likely to have
an OBE.
But the two teams, from
University College London, UK, and the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology
in Lausanne, believe there is
a
neurological explanation.
Dr Susan Blackmore,
psychologist and visiting lecturer at the University
of the West of England, said:
"This has at last
brought OBEs into the lab and
tested one of the main theories of how
they occur.
"Scientists have long
suspected that the clue to these extraordinary,
and sometimes life-changing,
experiences lies in disrupting our normal
illusion of being a self behind
our eyes, and replacing it with a new
viewpoint from above or
behind."
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August 24 - Euro Parliament Criticized for Hosting UN 'Israel-Bashing' Forum
Article: Israel And The Last Days
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com)
- Israel is unhappy that the European Parliament will
play host to a meeting
next week of a United Nations committee known for
taking strong anti-Israel
positions. By agreeing to host the conference next
week at its Brussels
headquarters, the EP is legitimizing what is sure to be an
"Israel-bashing" exercise, an Israeli
official said on Thursday.
For critics such as Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman
Mark Regev, however,
the committee's track record gives little hope that the
meeting will be as
innocuous as it sounds.
Regev told Cybercast News Service that in the three
decades of the committee's
existence, it had done nothing to
help the cause of peace.
It was, rather, an "old-fashioned, Israel-
bashing" body, he added.
The U.N. committee has issued a statement denying
that next week's event will be
"anti-Israeli," and saying that some people
appear to have misunderstood the
committee's role and mandate.
The committee "has a consistent record of
support for the Middle East peace
process," it said.
However, a delegation of Polish Euro-lawmakers
already has
pulled out of the event, after getting a look at material
prepared by the
organizers for use during the meeting.
Bronislaw Geremek, a member of the EP who is also
president emeritus of the
Polish national parliament, was quoted in the
Jerusalem Post as saying the
material made it clear the meeting would be "a biased,
conflict-generating conference."
Hillel Neuer, executive director of U.N. Watch, a
Geneva-based organization that
monitors the U.N., said nothing
constructive ever comes
out of the committee's frequent meetings.
They are usually a platform for those who want to
delegitimize Israel by pushing the "Soviet-
era" line that Zionism is racism, he
said.
Neuer said the outcome of the conference is pre-
determined since
no Israeli government
representatives have been invited,
and the only Israelis who are to attend are
"specially-approved" because they
hold radical pro-Palestinian views.
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August 25 - President: Humanity Thirsty For Justice
Article: Islam
President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said on Saturday
that propagation of aspirations of Imam Mahdi (May God
Hasten His Reappearance)
accounts for justice and promoting commands
of prophets (Peace Be Upon Them).
He said in his statement to the Third
International Conference on 'Mahdaviat'
that the humanity is
thirsty for monotheism and
justice and that by grace of the God
Almighty justice will prevail in the
world soon.
"Since the prophets (PBUH) have
heralded appearance
of the Savior of Time, followers of all divine
religions, are waiting for
his eminence."
He said that under the current situation,
the nations are fed up with
oppression prevailing in the world, so,
the ground is
well-prepared for rule of Lord of the
Time,
Imam Mahdi (May God Hasten
His Reappearance).
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August 24 - US school ordered to halt Hebrew classes
Article: Israerl And The Last Days
A charter school has been
ordered
to temporarily suspend Hebrew classes
while officials try to determine
whether teachers are advocating the
Jewish faith.
Broward Schools Superintendent
James Notter sent a letter to officials at
the Ben Gamla Charter School in
Hollywood on Wednesday advising them to halt
Hebrew classes until the school board
could further examine the curriculum.
"If it comes up in the course of
conversation, that
is one thing but if it comes to promoting
religion or proselytizing, we
don't want it to happen," said
Keith Bromery, a spokesman for the
Broward schools.
Ben Gamla is in its first week of
operation as the country's first
Hebrew-language charter school, but
school founder Peter Deutsch, a former
Democratic congressman, said he told
teachers Thursday to halt the classes.
He said he shared Notter's aim to ensure religion
doesn't enter a publicly funded school.
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We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
In Jesus,
Roger Oakland
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