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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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To Be Canonized on Sunday
VATICAN CITY, MAY 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is an adapted version of a biography of Blessed Marie-Eugénie of Jesus (1817-1898), which was published by the Holy See. Benedict XVI will canonize the woman religious on Sunday.
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BLESSED MARIE EUGENIE OF JESUS (1817-1898)
Anne-Eugénie Milleret was born in 1817 in Metz after Napoleon's complete defeat and the restoration of the monarchy. She belonged to a nonbelieving and financially comfortable family and it seemed unlikely that she would trace a new spiritual path across the Church of France.
Her father, a follower of Voltaire and a liberal, was making his fortune in the banking world and in politics. Anne-Eugénie's mother provided the sensitive daughter with an education, which strengthened her character and gave her a strong sense of duty. Family life developed her intellectual curiosity and a romantic spirit, an interest in social questions and a broad worldview.
Like her contemporary, George Sand, Anne-Eugénie went to Mass on feast days and received the sacraments of initiation, as was the custom, but without any real commitment. However, her first Communion was a great mystical experience that foretold the secret of her future. She did not grasp its prophetic meaning until much later, when she recognized it as her path toward total belonging to Jesus Christ and the Church.
Her youth was happy but not without suffering. She was affected when still a child by the death of an elder brother and a baby sister. Her health was delicate and a fall from a horse left serious consequences. Anne-Eugénie was mature for her age and learned how to hide her feelings and to face up to events.
Later, after a prosperous period for her father, she experienced the failure of his banks, the misunderstanding and eventual separation of her parents and the loss of all security. She had to leave her family home and go to Paris while Louis, closest to her in age and faithful companion, went to live with their father. Anne-Eugénie went to Paris with the mother she adored, only to see her die from cholera after a few hours of illness, leaving her alone at the age of 15 in a society that was worldly and superficial. Searching in anguish and almost desperate for the truth, she arrived at her conversion thirsty for the Absolute and open to the Transcendent.
When she was 19, Anne-Eugénie attended the Lenten Conferences at Notre Dame in Paris, preached by the young Abbé Lacordaire, already well-known for his talent as orator.
Lacordaire was a former disciple of Lamennais -- haunted by the vision of a renewed Church with a special place in the world. He understood his time and wanted to change it. He understood young people, their questions and their desires, their idealism and their ignorance of both Christ and the Church.
His words touched Anne-Eugénie's heart, answered her many questions, and aroused her generosity. Anne-Eugénie envisaged Christ as the universal liberator and his kingdom on earth established as a peaceful and just society.
"I was truly converted," she wrote, "and I was seized by a longing to devote all my strength or rather all my weakness to the Church which, from that moment, I saw as alone holding the key to the knowledge and achievement of all that is good."
Just at this time, another preacher, also a former disciple of Lamennais, appeared on the scene. In the confessional, Father Combalot recognized that he had encountered a chosen soul who was designated to be the foundress of the congregation he had dreamed of for a long time. He persuaded Anne-Eugénie to undertake his work by insisting that this congregation was willed by God who had chosen her to establish it. He convinced her that only by education could she evangelize minds, make families truly Christian, and thus transform the society of her time. Anne-Eugénie accepted the project as God's will for her and allowed herself to be guided by the Abbé Combalot.
At 22, Marie Anne-Eugénie became foundress of the Religious of the Assumption, dedicated to consecrate their whole life and strength to extending the Kingdom of Christ in themselves and in the world. In 1839, Anne-Eugénie, with two other young women, began a life of prayer and study in a flat at rue Ferou near the church of St. Sulpice in Paris. In 1841, under the patronage of Madame de Chateaubriand, Lacordaire, Montalembert and their friends, the sisters opened their first school. In a relatively short time there were 16 sisters of four nationalities in the community.
Marie Anne-Eugénie and the first sisters wanted to link the ancient and the new -- to unite the past treasures of the Church's spirituality and wisdom with a type of religious life and education able to satisfy the demands of modern minds. It was a matter of respecting the values of the period and at the same time, making the Gospel values penetrate the rising culture of a new industrial and scientific era. The spirituality of the congregation, centered on Christ and the incarnation, was both deeply contemplative and dedicated to apostolic action. It was a life given to the search for God and the love and service of others.
Marie Anne-Eugénie's long life covered almost the whole of the 19th century. She loved her times passionately and took an active part in their history. Progressively, she channeled all her energy and gifts in tending and extending the congregation, which became her life work.
God gave her sisters and many friends. One of the first sisters was Irish, a mystic and her intimate friend whom she called at the end of her life, "half of myself." Kate O'Neill, called Mother Thérèse Emmanuel in religion, is considered as a co-foundress.
Father Emmanuel d'Alzon, who became Marie Anne-Eugénie's spiritual director soon after the foundation, was a father, brother or friend according to the seasons. In 1845, he founded the Augustinians of the Assumption and the two founders helped each other in a multitude of ways over a period of 40 years. Both had a gift for friendship and they inspired many lay people to work with them and the Church. Together, as they followed Christ and labored with him, the religious and laity traced the path of the Assumption and took their place in the great cloud of witnesses.
In the last years of her life, Mother Marie Anne-Eugénie experienced a progressive physical weakening, which she lived in silence and humility -- a life totally centered on Christ. She received the Eucharist for the last time on March 9, 1898, and on March 10, she passed over to the Lord. She was beatified by Pope Paul VI on Feb. 9, 1975, in Rome.
Today, the Religious of the Assumption are present in 34 countries -- eight in Europe, five in Asia, 10 in America and 11 in Africa. Almost 1,200 sisters form 170 communities throughout the world.
The Lay Assumption -- Assumption Together -- made up of Friends of the Assumption and Communities or Fraternities of the Assumption, are numerous: Thousands of Friends and hundreds of Lay Assumption are committed to live according to the Way of Life.
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Code: ZE07053028
Date: 2007-05-30
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Asks Government for Solutions, not Useless Talk
BAKAVU, Congo, MAY 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Church is asking for troops to be send to the eastern region of Congo, following the slaying of 18 people in Kaniola last weekend.
Archbishop François-Xavier Maroy of Bukavu appealed to the French ambassador in Congo, asking the government to "treat the security problem in the east of the country as a priority and stop trying to distract public opinion with proposed plans for negotiations, dialogue and a round table which leads to nothing," Aid to the Church in Need reported.
Saturday night and Sunday morning, two villages were attacked in the region of South-Kivu. Besides the 18 killed in their sleep, another 27 were wounded and 18 others kidnapped.
"The massacre in Kaniola was carried out almost in the presence of the major of the regular army," the archbishop continued. "The cries of the people clearly did not disturb his sleep, even though the massacre took place not far from the place where he is stationed. ... As in 1996, our army ... was incapable of protecting the people."
"How are we to interpret the silence of the institutions of the republic, of the head of state, the Parliament, the central government and the military, in the face of these repeated massacres in Kaniola?" Archbishop Maroy said. "In other countries the taking of a hostage, even if it is only a matter of a single person, immediately prompts the state apparatus to react.
"So far as the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is concerned, all they can offer us, in the face of the threat of a new war and while massacres are being perpetrated against the civilian population, is an 'inter-communicative' round-table discussion, instead of tackling the real problems, which involve the restoration of military order and security. Is this complicity or ignorance?"
Code: ZE07053014
Date: 2007-05-30
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"Accomplished a Great Step in the Development of the Trinitarian Dogma"
VATICAN CITY, MAY 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today at the general audience in St. Peter's Square. The Pope continued his catechesis on the Apostolic Fathers. Today's reflection focused on Tertullian.* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
With today's catechesis we return to the series that we stopped in honor of the trip to Brazil, and we continue to talk about the great personalities of the ancient Church: They are masters of the faith for us even today and witnesses of the perennial actuality of the Christian faith.
Today we speak about an African, Tertullian, who at the end of the second century and the beginning of the third inaugurated Christian literature in Latin. With him we see the beginning of theology in that language.
His work bore decisive fruits, and it would be unforgivable to undervalue them. His influence is developed on many levels: linguistically and in the recovery of the classic culture, and the singling out of a common "Christian soul" in the world and the formulation of new proposals for living together.
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BRUSSELS, Belgium, MAY 30, 2007 (ZENIT.org).- The interdiocesan youth program of the Church in the Belgian region of Flanders has launched a Web page that includes a weekly podcast and a live radio show.
The www.godpod.be project is interactive and listeners can give their opinions and participate via phone or by sending text messages during the show, according to information on the new Web site.
The objective of the Interdiocesan Youth Service is "to offer a young and Catholic voice in an increasingly cybernetic world."
The service says it is confident it will succeed in taking advantage of the anonymity of the Internet to reach a high number of young people, believers and nonbelievers.
Code: ZE07053009
Date: 2007-05-30
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Honored by Italian Cultural Association
MILAN, Italy, MAY 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Lech Walesa has been awarded the Defensor Fidei Award, given by the Italian Cultural Association, Il Timone.
The former Polish president, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, received the award last Saturday in Milan.
Walesa founded Solidarity, the 1980s Polish labor movement, which stood up to Communism and eventually helped bring democracy to the country.
Archbishop Girolamo Grillo of Civitavecchia and Tarquinia, one of the guests at the event, hailed Walesa as a "champion of freedom."
Walesa, receiving the award, said: "I would like to thank, above all, certain Italians among you who supported me in the '80s, helping to bring to a close the difficult era of divisions and contradictions."
"Today, too, in the age of information and global economy," he continued, "we need political and economic solutions. We live a different time, with a much greater chance for prosperity and peace than 30 years ago.
"I am not here to teach you anything, I have come to thank you. We have a lot in common: We are people of faith.
"I would prefer to speak to the atheists, because they are the sick ones in need of a doctor. It would be constructive to find interesting arguments to discuss with them."
Code: ZE07053012
Date: 2007-05-30
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Archbishop Cites Years of Terror and Brutality
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, MAY 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Though international attention is recently focused on strife in Zimbabwe, the archbishop of Bulawayo says that the terror in that southern African country is nothing new.
Archbishop Pius Ncube, in an interview with the magazine Inside the Vatican, said that President Robert Mugabe has been using the army to inflict brutality for years.
The 60-year-old archbishop, speaking of the years before his episcopal ordination, said: "The 5th Brigade of Mugabe was killing innocent civilians -- this amounted to more than 10,000. Some of these people were my relatives.
"Estimates are that between 10,000 and 20,000 innocent civilians had been killed. Some of these people were over 70 and 80 years old, which shows how merciless the dictator Mugabe is."
In April, the bishops of Zimbabwe published a pastoral letter called "God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed." The letter pointed to Mugabe as the cause of the country's crisis.
Archbishop Ncube said: "It was imperative that such a letter be issued. The situation of the people was becoming worse and worse.
He added that after the letter's publication, the regime increased efforts to frighten priests, though "the intimidation of clergy has been on going for a long time."
"We were told: 'You keep to the Bible, to religious affairs, don't comment on political matters. If you want to come into politics, then give up your religious garb, and be a politician and then we will deal with you properly,'" Archbishop Ncube continued.
Source of hope
The archbishop affirmed that Benedict XVI has offered key support: "In 2005, the bishops of Zimbabwe had their 'ad limina' visits to Rome.
"At that time I spoke with him for a good 25 minutes explaining to him the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and asking him for his prayers and support.
"On Easter Sunday he quoted our current letter and spoke of the need to support African development."
"There is a lot of prayer in Zimbabwe right now," Archbishop Ncube said, "the praying of the rosary, night prayers to Our Lady for the country."
"In Bulawayo, we have no cloistered convents, but in Harare there is a convent of cloistered Carmelite nuns," he added. "They are the powerhouses when it comes to prayer, and I have invited some Carmelites to come over to my diocese to assist in this."
Code: ZE07053006
Date: 2007-05-30