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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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Receives Superiors-General in Audience
VATICAN CITY, MAY 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- To be prophets in today's world, women religious must cultivate an intimate friendship with God, Benedict XVI says.
The Pope said that on Monday in an audience with a group of superiors-general of women's religious congregations, gathered in a plenary assembly that ends Thursday.
"The 'prophet' first listens and contemplates, then speaks, letting himself be totally infused with that love for God that fears nothing and is stronger than death," the Holy Father said to the representatives of 794 religious families.
The Pontiff continued: "An authentic prophet, therefore, is not overly worried about doing works, which is undoubtedly important, but not essential. The prophet tries, above all, to be a witness of God's love, trying to live it in today's world, even if his presence is considered 'uncomfortable' to some, because it offers and incarnates alternative values.
"Only union with God can cause and strengthen the 'prophetic' role of your mission, which consists in the 'proclamation of the heavenly kingdom,' an indispensable proclamation in every age and society."
Search for Christ
Benedict XVI encouraged the superiors to make their primary concern that of helping "your fellow sisters to search for Christ and place themselves in generous service to the Gospel."
He added: "Do not give in to the temptation of distancing yourselves from intimacy with your heavenly Spouse by letting yourselves be captured by the concerns and problems of everyday life.
"Do not tire of making every possible effort for the human, cultural and spiritual formation of those entrusted to you, so that they will be able to respond to the modern cultural and social challenges."
In her greeting to Benedict XVI, the president of the International Union of Superiors-General, Sister Therezinha Rasera, said: "We believe that our mission is, above all else, caring for life, wherever it is threatened.
"We are present in places of poverty, conflict, tensions, wars and in the most remote corners of the planet, often experiencing the same conditions and destiny of people who are suffering."
Code: ZE07050802
Date: 2007-05-08
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INDAIATUBA, Brazil, May 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Brazil's bishops want their country to be the host for World Youth Day 2011.
The proposal to bid for the chance to host the youth day was presented to the Brazilian episocpal conference's general assembly by the youth sector of the bishops' laity commission. They approved it Sunday.
According to the conference's Web site, the president of the commission, Bishop Mauro Montagnoli of Ilheus, supported the request citing the benefits that the World Youth Days bring to host countries.
The Brazilian government, through the National Secretariat for Young People, has already expressed support for the initiative.
World Youth Day was begun by Pope John Paul II in 1986 and has already been held in Rome, Argentina, Spain, Poland, the United States, the Philippines, France, Canada and Germany.
The next one will take place in Sydney, Australia, in July 2008.
Code: ZE07050806
Date: 2007-05-08
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BELFAST, Northern Ireland, MAY 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Four Christian leaders issued a statement asking for prayer as a new Northern Ireland government that unites historically opposing sides took control of the territory.
"On this historic day we express appreciation to all politicians who have taken courageous steps towards creating a society of stability and peace," the religious leaders said.
Catholic Archbishop Sean Brady, Presbyterian Moderator Right Reverend David Clarke, Church of Ireland Archbishop Alan Harper and Methodist President Reverend Ivan McElhinney released the statement today.
They said in a written statement: "We recognize that much work still remains if all people in Northern Ireland are to share the future together.
"We are especially aware of those for whom the pain of the past is a constant living reality.
"As Church leaders we invite Christian people to give thanks to God for all that has been accomplished and to pray that guidance and courage might be given to those who lead our community in the days ahead." Likes is the one of the most important reactions that a TikTok creator can get for their videos. You feel much more appreciated, when you notice a dramatic growth of the number of free TikTok likes you get. Obviously, TikTokers of all levels are looking for the opportunities to increase the number of likes they get. In this article we will share this information! Here are some tips: Catchy description; Follow the trends; Post videos daily and Paid Promotion. Paid promotion is one of the most effective ways to get more TikTok likes. However, choose the trusted providers wisely, such as tiktoknito.com.
Code: ZE07050818
Date: 2007-05-08
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Nun's Biography Offers Look at Christian-Muslim Relations
ROME, MAY 4, 2007 (zenit.org).- A new book about the life of Sister Magdeleine of Jesus offers a new look at the relationship between Christians and Muslims.
Presented at Rome's Grand Mosque on April 21, the book, "Magdeleine di Gesu e le Piccole Sorelle nel mondo dell'Islam" (Magdeleine of Jesus and The Little Sisters of the World of Islam), is available in Italian and French.
Sister Magdeleine Hutin (1898-1989) founded the order of the Little Sisters of Jesus in 1939 in the Saharan outpost of Touggourt, Algeria, after feeling a call to follow Charles de Foucauld to northern Africa.
The Little Sisters of Jesus, devoted to the contemplative life while sharing the poverty and social conditions of manual laborers in slums and shantytowns around the world, now number around 1,400 nuns on five continents.
Gabriele Tecchiato, a Muslim and librarian of the Islamic Center in Rome, said the book is a biography of a virtuous person "worthy of being commemorated and admired."
The book's author, Francesca De Lellis, said that Sister Magdeleine's "example of dialogue between Christians and Muslims had a prophetic value that changed the Catholic Church and influenced the Second Vatican Council."
She "overturned the idea that a woman could not live alone in an Islamic culture with a clearly Christian identity," said De Lellis.
Tecchiato commented that "faith is seen in its highest and purest form in living together with others, in giving without the guarantee of receiving anything in return," which is the way Sister Magdeleine lived.
He affirmed: Sister Magdeleine is "an example of living together and of service for all who believe in the one God. [Her witness] should continue today as a sign in the living memory of Muslims."
Code: ZE07050817
Date: 2007-05-08
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Multilingual Service Offers Broad Spectrum
KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, MAY 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A nonprofit organization is aiming to provide a place where producers and networks can present and find Catholic programming.
The Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN) has launched an updated version of its Web site to disseminate programming internationally.
"Catholic networks know that Catholic producers with quality Catholic programming are out there, but they are a bit like stars in the sky -- you can see them but you don't know quite how to reach them," stated CRTN managing director Mark Riedemann.
"This is particularly true in Latin America where now over half of the Catholic networks exist," Riedemann added.
CRTN's updated Web site can now facilitate the presentation, negotiation and distribution of Catholic programming worldwide in a variety of languages.
Spanish services
Riedemann explained, "Interestingly, though not surprising, the strongest growth has come from Latin America. We soon realized that our service, weak in the Spanish language, needed to be updated.
"At first I considered separating the system in two -- an English service for the English and Spanish for the Spanish market -- but through communication with Latin American colleagues it became clear that for them the greatest threat was to be locked into their own markets with little cross-border communication and presentation opportunities."
He continued, "Consequently, we developed a search engine system in which all programs in all languages relating to that topic appear. This will allow Catholic television networks the opportunity to select from a broad spectrum of available programming."
The CRTN Web site, financially supported by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, also provides information on Catholic media funding opportunities, production resources, a Catholic radio and television data bank and an archive image exchange.
Martin Fontanari, director of marketing, information and development for Aid to the Church in Need, said that it "has been supporting the work of CRTN for many years, as we understand the growing urgency for the re-evangelization of the developed and developing world, and that Catholic media is an increasingly fundamental part of this process."
Code: ZE07050812
Date: 2007-05-08
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Cardinal Poupard: Books Prove Church's Interest
VATICAN CITY, MAY 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Paul Poupard presented the first four volumes of the Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest project, an organization founded to integrate theology and science through philosophical reflection.
The Pontifical Council for Culture presented the books from STOQ today. The project involves the work of six pontifical universities in Rome and other European universities.
The STOQ project is a program of teaching, research and cultural exchange coordinated by that dicastery, under the guidance of its president, Cardinal Poupard.
The initiative began with a pontifical commission to study the Galileo case (1981-1992) instituted by Pope John Paul II. The project came to fruition in 2003, also drawing from the year 2000's Jubilee of Scientists.
The project responds to John Paul II's desire to use philosophical reflection to integrate theology and science to promote dialogue.
Stereotypes
Cardinal Poupard underlined the fact that the presentation of the volumes coincides with the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical Council for Culture by John Paul II.
"These publications overcome one of the most common and deeply rooted stereotypes about the Church in today's mentality, which says the Church has a lack of interest in science, and is even averse to science," the cardinal said.
Two of the volumes each had a single author: "Some Mathematical Physics for Philosophers," by Michael Heller, which offers a panoramic view of the mathematical methods used in physics; and "Life and Organisms," by Pietro Ramellini, a collection of historical-critical definitions of living organisms recorded in the last two centuries, since biology became a science.
The other two volumes are a collection of essays by authors who participated in two workshops organized respectively by the Pontifical Gregorian University (on the relationship between science and philosophy) and at the Regina Apostolorum university (on the concepts of life and organism).
Cardinal Poupard said that due to "mutual suspicions between science and faith" that formed four centuries ago, "a new mentality of interdisciplinary research is needed to re-establish a relationship of interaction … a style of research where intuitions that come from faith can be considered a resource and added stimulus for the natural sciences and, vice versa, where scientific data enables us to better understand relevant truths."
Speakers at the book presentation included Cardinal Poupard; Ramellini, a professor in the master's program in Science and Faith at Regina Apostolorum; Gennaro Auletta, scientific director of the STOQ project and professor at the Gregorian University; and Monsignor Melchor Sánchez de Toca y Alameda, director of the STOQ project and undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
Scholarships
The study is financed by the John Templeton Foundation and other sponsors.
It aims to establish exchange programs for professors and students from centers such as the University of Navarre in Spain, the University of Lublin in Poland and the University of Namur in Belgium.
Cardinal Poupard pointed out that, thanks to this project, known as STOQ I and STOQ II, some 650 students from 56 countries participated and 11 doctoral thesis were presented, along with dozens of licentiate theses.
There were 70 public conferences and 12 workshops, together with the international congress in 2005 on "Infinity in Science, Philosophy and Theology," which brought together more than 3,000 people from various countries.
Estimates predict that 1,400 students will participate in the study program offered by STOQ in the next three years, not counting guest participants at the international conference on "Ontogenesis and Human Life" which will be held Nov. 15-17 at Regina Apostolorum.
Code: ZE07050803
Date: 2007-05-08