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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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Ohio-Born Benedictine Appointed Vice President
VATICAN CITY, MAY 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI named U.S.-born Benedictine Father Christopher Zielinski to the commission which oversees the protection of the Church's artistic and cultural patrimony.
Father Zielinski was named vice president of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church and vice president of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology.
Since 2003, he has been the abbot at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Pecos, New Mexico.
The president of the two commissions, Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, was named secretary of the Congregation for Clergy on Monday. He will maintain "ad interim" his presidencies.
Michael John Zielinski was born in 1953 in Lakewood, Ohio. He entered the Benedictine monastery and after his novitiate in Florence, Italy, he made his temporary vows in 1972, taking the name Christopher Mary. He made his final vows in 1975 and was ordained a priest two years later.
Father Zielinski dedicated himself to the study of monastic spirituality, as well as Gregorian, symphonic, and modern music, medieval and Renaissance history, and art history.
In 1993, he founded the Genesis Center -- an intercultural, interdisciplinary and interreligious center for a new humanism -- to study cultural and social themes of a religious nature and the phenomena of new religious expressions.
The Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church presides over the guardianship of the historical and artistic patrimony of the entire Church (works of art, historical documents, books and everything kept in museums, libraries and archives); and collaborates in the conservation of this patrimony with the individual Churches and their respective episcopal organizations.
Code: ZE07050801
Date: 2007-05-08
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VATICAN CITY, MAY 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican secretary of state says Africa and Latin America are two areas where the Church is especially directing its attention.
In an interview on Vatican Radio on Monday, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the Holy See looks with great interest at the problems in Africa and "will continue to voice their concerns so that Europe and the great powers of the North will not abandon it."
About Benedict XVI's upcoming trip to Brazil, Cardinal Bertone said, "A lot of attention is being paid by the Church to Latin America and the situations that are already being widely analyzed, as well by the press and the media, on the occasion of the Pope's first intercontinental trip."
"We will see results," he affirmed. "We will also see the fruits of this trip, we will hear strong messages from the Pope and we hope that they will be heard, especially by the local communities and Churches, but also by politicians of every nation."
Code: ZE07040816
Date: 2007-05-08
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Vatican Secretary of State Launched Course at the Gregorian
ROME, MAY 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Diplomats of Muslim countries in the Mediterranean and the Middle East are taking a course on the Catholic Church and the Holy See's international politics.
The three-week course was inaugurated Monday at the Pontifical Gregorian University by Cardinals Tarcisio Bertone and Renato Martino -- Vatican secretary of state and president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, respectively.
The course, entitled "The Catholic Church and the International Politics of the Holy See," features morning lectures and afternoon visits to key Church offices.
The course will continue through May 20 in Rome and May 21-27 in Turin, Italy.
Participants will learn about "the organization and functioning of diverse organizations of the Holy See, the diplomatic activities of nunciatures and the humanitarian activities of the Church that promote peace," Cardinal Bertone told Vatican Radio.
Vital necessity
The Vatican secretary of state said the theme is "interreligious dialogue as a path for peace," understood as "an educational instrument for peace used to build a peace that is true and lasting."
He added: "It is an affirmation that responds to a deep need, because interreligious dialogue is not optional.
"Dialogue is a vital necessity. We cannot pass up the opportunity to engage in it. No. We must all take part. It is a commitment to build peace and promote human rights."
Cardinal Bertone continued: "We must defend the right to life and religious freedom against every form of violence, above all if violence is invoked in God's name and in the name of religion."
The 72-year-old cardinal said the Vatican is concerned about "the situation of countries in the Middle East and this conflict that cannot seem to be solved in the land of Jesus."
"The Holy See is active in this regard," Cardinal Bertone continued, "using all of its strength and in many ways, above all through prayer and interreligious dialogue, diplomatic meetings and meetings with heads of state in the Middle East and with all those who are active in the promotion of peace in that region and eliminating the causes of this conflict."
Among those sponsoring the program are the Gregorian Foundation and the Jacques Maritain International Institute.
It is being promoted in collaboration with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.; LUMSA University in Rome; the University of St. Joseph in Beirut, Lebanon; and the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local offices of the Latium and Piedmont regions in Italy; and by the Italian offices of the European Union.
Code: ZE07050804
Date: 2007-05-08- Details
08.05.2007, [19:06] // Church-state relations // RISU.ORG.UA
Kyiv – The pilot introduction of the subject Christian ethics for 1st-graders in Kyiv has turned out to be a success. All 106 schools that signed up for the experiment last year have agreed to continue the course in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades, and more schools are interested. So said Kyiv Assistant Mayor Vitalii Zhuravskyi. 5tv.com.ua posted the news on 7 May 2007.
According to Zhuravskyi, the number of schools interested in the subject has grown by 15 to 20%. The Board of Education continues to receive requests from schools which would like to have the subject Christian ethics start with the next academic year.
“I think soon this subject will be taught all over Ukraine,” said Zhuravskyi.
A new part of the course will have the title “The Way of Mercy.” Textbooks are ready to be published.
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08.05.2007, [18:55] // UGCC // RISU.ORG.UA
Kyiv – On 3-5 May 2007 in Sibiu, Romania, a meeting was conducted of members of the Pontifical Council for Culture and the heads of the committees for culture of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences. The Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) was represented by Bishop Hlib Lonchyna at the conference, entitled “Proclamation, dialogue and witness regarding the challenges of secularization in Europe.”
Bishop Lonchyna presented the participants with the initiatives of the UGCC on the foundations and mechanisms of doing missionary work as an adequate response to the spiritual needs of the Ukrainian people.
“It was useful to exchange ideas regarding preaching Christ in society,” said Bishop Lonchyna. “Those who gave reports and those who participated in discussions analyzed the situation in Europe and tried to find ways to spread the Gospel in post-modern society which, on the one hand, lives as if ignoring the existence of God but, on the other hand, is looking for spiritual principles of existence. In a situation of such existing contrasts, the church should acknowledge the importance of a search for adequate language and not just speak in pious phrases.”
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07.05.2007, [18:34] // UGCC // RISU.ORG.UA
Lviv – Mayor Andrii Sadovyi awarded a “Certificate of Honorary Citizenship” of western Ukrainian Lviv to Fr. Dr. Borys Gudziak, rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), on 5 May 2007.
Note: on 31 March 2007 in the Lviv Opera and Ballet House during a ceremony honoring the “Knight of Halychyna 2006,” Fr. Gudziak was named “Person of the Year” for his contribution to the development of UCU and the creation of an intellectual environment.