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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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LONDON, APRIL 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Iran's release of British sailors and marines was an act of mercy in accord with the common roots of many religions, said Bishop Thomas Burns.
The bishop of Britain's armed forces made these comments Thursday after the 15-member crew that had been held captive in Iran for 13 days had returned home.
Bishop Burns said: "I am absolutely delighted at the news from Iran today that they intend to release our sailors and marines.
"There will also be a degree of quiet satisfaction among the diplomatic community that they have brought this crisis to a satisfactory end."
The bishop added: "Over the past two weeks, there has been a unity of purpose between Britain and Iran, whereby everyone has sought justice and forgiveness where that is appropriate.
"Repentance has a common root in each religion."
Finally, Bishop Burns concluded with the reminder that "there is a goodness within mankind that can triumph over every difficulty -- as is eminently shown by this Holy Week in which we find ourselves
Code: ZE07040615
Date: 2007-04-06
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April 5, 2007
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, will deliver a Lecture on Religion, Science, and Technology on Tuesday, April 10, 2007, at 6 P.M. in the Horace Mann Auditorium of Columbia University. The lecture, sponsored by the Hellenic Association of Columbia University, is free and open to the public.
A native of Thessaloniki, Greece, Archbishop Demetrios received his licentiate in Orthodox Theology from the University of Athens School of Theology and, after ordination and serving in the church, studied New Testament and Christian Origins at Harvard University receiving a Ph.D. with distinction in 1972. He later earned a Th.D. in Theology with distinction from the University of Athens. He became an abroad-residing member of the Academy of Athens in 2003.
From 1983 to 1993 he served as Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian Origins at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. He also taught at Harvard Divinity School as a Visiting Professor of New Testament during the academic years of 1984 to 1984 and from 1988 to 1989.
In 1967, Archbishop Demetrios was elected Titular Bishop of Vresthena. In August 1999 he was elected Archbishop of America and subsequently was enthroned as primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America and Exarch of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Archbishop Demetrios is the author of many scholarly publications including four major books: Authority and Passion: Christological Aspects of the Gospel According to Mark (1987), The Transcendent God of Eugnostos (1991), Christ, the Pre-Existing God (1992), The Fathers Interpret (1996), and A Call to Faith (2004).
The Columbia University Hellenic Association provides academic and social assistance to the school's incoming Hellenic students. It strives to preserve the Hellenic identity of its members by informing them on important current and past issues pertinent to the Hellenic, American and international reality.
A Reception will be offered at the conclusion of the lecture.
Contact:
Rev. Dr. Frank Marangos
Cell: 617-680-7222
Email:
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In his homily the Pope recalled the moment during a priest's ordination in which he dons the liturgical vestments, saying: "In this exterior gesture the Church wishes to make the interior event clear to us, and the task that arises therefrom: to don Christ, to give oneself to Him as He gave Himself to us. This event, this 'donning of Christ,' is represented ever and anew in each Mass."
The liturgical vestments, then, Benedict XVI commented, "illustrate what it means 'to don Christ,' to speak and to talk 'in persona Christi'."
The amice, he continued, "used to be placed over the head like a kind of hood, thus becoming a symbol of that discipline of the senses and the mind which is necessary for the celebration of Mass."
The texts that interpret the alb and the stole "evoke the festive robes that the father gave to the prodigal son when he returned home dirty and in rags. When we celebrate the liturgy, acting 'in persona Christi,' we are all aware just how far from Him we are, how much dirt there is in our own lives. Only He can give us the festive robes, make us worthy of presiding at His table and of serving Him."
In donning the alb, said the Holy Father, "we must remember that His suffering was for me also. And only because His love is greater than all of my sins can I represent Him and be a witness to His light. ... We ask the Lord to eliminate all hostility from our hearts, to remove all feelings of self- sufficiency and truly to dress us with the robe of love, that we may become people of light and not of the shadows."
The Pope then went on to recall that the chasuble represents "the yoke of the Lord which has been imposed upon us as priests. ... To bear the Lord's yoke means above all learning from Him, being always ready to go to His school. We must learn mildness and humility, the humility of God which was expressed in His becoming man."
At 5.30 p.m. in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Benedict XVI presided at the Mass of the Lord's Supper. During the celebration, imitating the gesture of the Lord towards His Apostles, the Pope washed the feet of 12 men, representatives of lay associations in the diocese of Rome. At the presentation of the gifts, the Holy Father was given an offering to help support a medical center in Baidoa, Somalia.
In his homily, Pope Benedict noted the existence of "an apparent contradiction between the Gospel of St. John on the one hand, and what Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us on the other," concerning the exact date of the Last Supper. "According to John, Jesus died on the Cross at the exact moment in which the Easter lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple. ... This means, however, that He died on the Easter vigil and, therefore, could not have personally celebrated the Easter supper. ... On the other hand, according to the three synoptic Gospels, Jesus' Last Supper was an Easter supper, to the traditional form of which He added the novelty of the gift of His body and His blood. Until a few years ago, this contradiction appeared impossible to resolve."
"The discovery of the manuscripts of Qumran has led us to a possible convincing solution which, though not yet accepted by everyone, still remains highly probable. We can now say that what John wrote was historically accurate. Jesus truly did spill His blood on the Easter vigil at the moment the lambs were being sacrificed. However He probably celebrated Easter with His disciples in accordance with the calendar of Qumran, and therefore at least one day early - and he celebrated without the lamb. ... No, not without the lamb: in place of the lamb he gave Himself, His body and His blood. ... He offered His own life. Only in this way did the ancient Easter find its true meaning."
"The nostalgic, and in some way ineffective, gesture of sacrificing the innocent and immaculate lamb, found its response in Him Who for us became both Lamb and Temple.
"Thus," the Pope added, "at the center of Jesus' new Easter was the Cross. From there came the new gift He brought. And so it always remains in the Blessed Eucharist, in which we are able to celebrate the new Easter with the Apostles over the course of the centuries."
The Pope concluded by asking the Lord "to help us to an ever more profound understanding of this wonderful mystery, to love it ever more deeply and, in it, to love Him ever more deeply. We pray to Him to draw us ever more to Himself in Holy Communion. We pray to Him to help us not to keep our lives for ourselves but to give them to Him and thus to work with Him, so that mankind may discover life, true life that can only come from Him Who is Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life."
BXVI-HOLY WEEK/HOLY THURSDAY/...VIS 070411 (940)
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HARARE, Zimbabwe, APRIL 5, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The nation's crisis can be turned into a moment of grace and new beginning with the hope of the Easter season, say the Catholic bishops of Zimbabwe.
The bishops' conference issued a pastoral letter on the occasion of today's celebrations of Holy Thursday. They consider three elements of the country's current problems: a crisis of governance, leadership and morality.
"Many people in Zimbabwe are angry, and their anger is now erupting into open revolt in one township after another," the statement said. "The reasons for the anger are many, among them, bad governance and corruption."
The prelates noted that Zimbabwe is characterized by the collapse of political, social, educational and economic structures; inflation has soared over 1,600%, while food, medical supplies and jobs are scarce. The bishops say that 80% of the population is without work.
Repentance
The pastoral letter said hope would have to come from a change of heart in the country's leaders and all Christians.
The letter calls on leaders and Christians to repent and "heed the cry of the people and foster a change of heart and mind especially during the imminent Easter Season, so our nation can rise to new life with the Risen Lord."
The bishops explained: "In Zimbabwe today, there are Christians on all sides of the conflict […] Active members of our parish and pastoral councils are prominent officials at all levels of the ruling party.
"Equally distinguished and committed office-bearers of the opposition parties actively support church activities. […] They are all baptized, […] take part in the same celebration of the Eucharist and partake of the same body and blood of Christ.
"While the next day, outside the church, a few steps away, Christian state agents, policemen and soldiers assault and beat peaceful, unarmed demonstrators and torture detainees."
Crisis of leadership
At the center of the downward spiral is President Robert Mugabe. The 83-year-old Mugabe has governed Zimbabwe since 1980. His current term of office is scheduled to end next March, but his ruling party has named him their candidate for another term.
The Zimbabwean bishops' letter looked at particular causes of the problems: "The list of justified grievances is long and could go on for many pages."
"After independence, the power and wealth of the tiny white Rhodesian elite was appropriated by an equally exclusive black elite, some of whom have governed the country for the past 27 years through political patronage," they explained. "Being elected to a position of leadership should not be misconstrued as a license to do as one pleases at the expense of the will and trust of the electorate."
Hope through prayer
The bishops lamented: "As the suffering population becomes more insistent, generating more and more pressure through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the state responds with ever harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and torture.
"In order to avoid further bloodshed and avert a mass uprising the nation needs a new people-driven constitution that will guide a democratic leadership chosen in free and fair elections that will offer a chance for economic recovery under genuinely new policies."
"We conclude our pastoral letter by affirming with a clear and unambiguous 'yes' our support of morally legitimate political authority," the bishops wrote. "At the same time we say an equally clear and unambiguous 'no' to power through violence, oppression and intimidation."
The bishops continue to call for prayer: "Words call for concrete action, for symbols and gestures which keep our hope alive. We therefore invite all the faithful to a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Zimbabwe on April 14."
"God is on your side," they reminded their suffering people. "He always hears the cry of the poor and oppressed and saves them."
Code: ZE07040511
Date: 2007-04-05
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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, APRIL 5, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The local press is calling the death of 35-year-old Sister Anne Thole a martyrdom. She died in a fire, trying to rescue AIDS patients from a burning hospice.
Sister Thole was a novice director for her order.
According to The Mercury, a local newspaper, the Maria Ratschitz Mission, outside of Dundee, caught fire on Saturday night, apparently from a patient's cigarette.
The founder of the hospice, Sister Irmingard Thalmeier, said that five of the eight patients were evacuated from the fire, which started Saturday night. Three died with Sister Thole.
Retired Dundee Bishop Michael Rowland was awakened and called to the scene. "By the time I got there, the building was blazing and we tried to put it out with garden hoses, but the wooden staircase and thatch were a column of fire," he said.
"Sister Anne was so brave," the 78-year-old prelate said. "She gave her life for the patients. She exuded tremendous joy and had a great love of her vocation. She played the guitar well, and ran the choir and sang. All the novices loved her."
Code: ZE07040502
Date: 2007-04-05
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VATICAN CITY, APRIL 5, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The cross and resurrection of Christ is a present reality that attracts us to his love, Benedict XVI said when celebrating the Mass of the Lord's Supper.
During this evening's Mass in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Pope reflected on the way in which the Eucharist makes the sacrifice of the cross present throughout time.
"Let's ask the Lord," the Holy Father said, "that he may help us understand more and more deeply this wonderful mystery, to love it more and more, and in it, to love him more and more."
The Pontiff spoke about the apparent contradiction between the Synoptics and the Gospel of John, as to the day of the crucifixion in relation to the sacrifice of the paschal lambs.
According to Benedict XVI, a possible solution, though not "yet accepted by everyone," came from the discovery of the Qumran writings: "Jesus did shed his blood the day before Passover at the time of the immolation of the lambs. But he probably celebrated the Passover supper with his disciples according to the Qumran calendar, that is, at least one day earlier."
During the liturgy, the Pope performed the washing of the feet, with a dozen representatives of lay associations of the Diocese of Rome.
During the presentation of the gifts, the Pontiff was presented a monetary offering which will be sent to a medical dispensary in Somalia.
Code: ZE07040506
Date: 2007-04-05