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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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Rome, Mar. 29, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican has turned down a request from Greek Orthodox Christodoulos for the restoration of pieces of the ancient Greek Parthenon, according to Italy's ANSA news service.
The fragments of sculptures from the Parthenon are now displayed in the Vatican Museums. Other pieces are located in 10 museums around the world, including the Louvre and the British Museum. Greek leaders argues that the artifacts should be recognized as part of their country's national heritage.
Last December, during a visit to the Vatican, Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens lodged a request for the return of the Parthenon fragments. That request has now been politely declined, ANSA reports.
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Mar. 29, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Washington-DC based human rights group International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that Ethiopian Christian evangelist named Tedase was beaten to death by militant Muslims on Monday, March 26th, as he and two young women preached on the streets in the town of Jimma.
This marks the second time in six months that Christians residing in southeast Ethiopia have been attacked and killed by extremist (Wahabbi) Muslims. ?
The attack came as Tedase and his companions were preaching on a street near a Wahhabi Islamic mosque. As the Christians passed by, a group of Muslims rushed from the mosque, catched Tedase and pulling him inside, where he was beaten to death.
The killing of the Protestant evangelist took place in an area where public authorities are almost exclusively Muslim, and have shown little sensitivity to the concerns of the Christian minority. Just six months ago, in September 2006, a mob of Islamic zealots burned down Christian churches and homes, leaving about 2,000 people homeless in the same region.
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Scottish Archbishop Says Leaders Have to Earn Respect
EDINBURGH, Scotland, MARCH 28, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow has urged politicians and law officers to consider their responsibility to respect the natural law.
The prelate made this appeal during a Mass on Sunday in St. Mary's Cathedral of Edinburgh. The Mass commemorated the forthcoming second anniversary of Benedict XVI's election.
Archbishop Conti said: "The respect due to lawgivers and law administrators must be merited by the respect which they have for truth, and for that wisdom which has been handed down, secured by revelation and tempered by experience."
In recent weeks the Catholic bishops of Scotland have sharply criticized plans by the United Kingdom government to oblige adoption agencies to place children with same-sex couples.
"Recent conflicts between Church and state are disturbing," the prelate said. "Despite good intentions on the part of lawgivers to remove all forms of discrimination, the outcome is the establishing of other discriminations, most seriously the practical denial of the right -- indeed the duty of citizens -- to act according to their conscience in matters which go beyond opinion and ideology to touch the very grounds of moral truth."
Denied or deconstructed
Archbishop Conti delivered his homily in the presence of the apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz, the bishops of Scotland, and members of the Scottish and United Kingdom Parliaments.
He said: "Moral truth is by its nature a reality which cannot be denied or deconstructed without serious consequences for the well-being of society. Indeed Pope Benedict insists on this in his new apostolic exhortation, 'Sacramentum Caritatis.'
"Recognizing the truth about humanity is, he writes, 'especially incumbent upon those who, by virtue of their social or political position, must make decisions regarding fundamental values, such as respect for human life, its defense from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms.'
"'These values,' the Pope said, 'are not negotiable.'"
Archbishop Conti added: "This must be another way of saying that these values form the bedrock of society.
"A society which, on the other hand, builds itself on the untested ground of new ideologies or the shifting sands of liberal -- or perhaps I should say illiberal -- opinion is doomed to failure."
Code: ZE07032828
Date: 2007-03-28
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Diocesan Phase Ends on 2-Year Anniversary of Death
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 28, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The postulator for Pope John Paul II's cause of beatification, Monsignor Slawomir Oder, said many people have already attributed miracles to the Pontiff's intercession.
In a press conference on Tuesday, the postulator announced that the diocesan phase of John Paul II's beatification process would close on April 2. It will be the two-year anniversary of the Polish Pope's death.
Among the supposed miracles attributed to the intercession of this Pope, Monsignor Oder mentioned many reported healings from tumors. However, he clarified, these were not considered for the beatification, since time is needed to validate the cures.
One of the cases that is being considered is that of a French nun who was cured of Parkinson's disease two months after the Pope's death.
The postulator said the name of the sister "cannot be revealed at this time." He said that on Palm Sunday, April 1, the bishop of the diocese where the presumed miracle occurred will address a letter to the diocese, explaining what happened.
There are other reported healings as well, Monsignor Oder said. He mentioned two dealing with
"One of the first ones presented to me was that of a Polish couple" who presented their little daughter "on the day of the closing of the diocesan process in Krakow." The postulator explained that she was born after the parents suffered for years with fertility treatments.
Monsignor Oder spoke of another case, that of a "difficult pregnancy with loss of amniotic fluid. … After a few months of prayer asking for John Paul II's help, the fluid returned and the mother bore a healthy baby naturally."
During the diocesan process approximately 130 testimonies were heard.
Code: ZE07032705
Date: 2007-03-28
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VATICAN CITY, MARCH 28, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See expressed its regret that the Israeli delegation will not attend the plenary meeting of the Permanent Bilateral Working Commission between the Holy See and the state of Israel.
The meeting was scheduled for Thursday, to consider questions associated with negotiations concerning the Fundamental Agreement signed in 1993.
The Vatican press office said: "On March 26, the Israeli delegation made known the impossibility of its participating in the meeting, due to the international political situation.
"The Holy See, while understanding the reasons, notes the circumstance with disappointment and hopes as soon as possible to be able to agree with the Israeli side a new date for calling the plenary."
Code: ZE07032807
Date: 2007-03-28
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VATICAN CITY, MAR 28, 2007 (VIS) - During the general audience today, the Pope dedicated his catechesis to St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon and "the first great theologian of the Church," who was born in Smyrna in the second century. The audience was held in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 20,000 people.
Irenaeus was a disciple of Bishop Polycarp who had known St. John the Evangelist. Moving to Gaul, he became one of the priests of the young Christian community of Lyon and, having been sent on a mission to Rome, managed to escape the persecution of Marcus Aurelius in which his predecessor, Bishop Pothinus, was martyred.
Irenaeus, said the Pope, was above all a pastor "who defended true doctrine," in particular against the gnostic heresy "which considered the faith taught by the Church as a form of symbolism for simple people, ... while initiates and intellectuals, understanding what lay behind the symbols, would be able to create an elitist and intellectualist form of Christianity."
Another feature of gnosticism was its dualism. "In order to explain the existence of evil in the world they held that alongside the good God was a negative force which produced material things."
However Irenaeus, "solidly rooted in the biblical doctrine of creation ... defended the divine origin of matter, of the body ... no less than that of the Spirit." And "the heart of his doctrine is the 'rule of faith' and its transmission, ... which coincides with the Apostles' Creed."
"Thus, authentic teaching is not that invented by intellectuals over and above the simple faith of the Church. The true Gospel is the one imparted by the bishops who received it from the Apostles in an uninterrupted chain. They taught no more than this simple faith, which is also the real profundity of God's revelation. ... There is no secret doctrine behind the shared creed of the Church, there is no superior form of Christianity for intellectuals."
"In adhering to the faith publicly transmitted by the Apostles to their successors, Christians must follow what bishops say, they must especially consider the teaching of the Church of Rome ... which because of her antiquity has the greatest degree of apostolicity ... and has her origins in the columns of the apostolic college, Peter and Paul.
According to Irenaeus, "apostolic tradition is 'public,' not private or secret. ... The contents of the faith transmitted by the Church were received from the Apostles and Jesus. ... The apostolic tradition is 'unique,' ... despite the diversity of languages and cultures." The transmission of apostolic tradition "does not depend upon the capacity of more or less learned men." It is "pneumatic," guided by the Holy Spirit "which makes the Church alive and young, rich in her many charisms."
In his Italian-language greetings at the end of the audience, the Pope addressed bishops and faithful from dioceses in Sicily. The Sicilian bishops are currently undertaking their "ad limina" visit to Rome.
"Through your example, support priests, consecrated people and the lay faithful of Sicily that they may continue to bear witness to Christ and His Gospel with renewed enthusiasm and zeal," the Holy Father told the prelates. "May no fear ever enter your hearts to agitate you. ... Those who follow Christ are not afraid of difficulties, those who trust in Him move forward confidently. Be builders of peace in legality and love, offering light to the men and women of our time who, though oppressed by the cares of everyday life, hear the call of the eternal truths."
AG/ST. IRENAEUS/...VIS 070328 (600)