They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the words of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen have been known to launch a thousand images in one's mind, one of the ways this late luminary did so much to evangelize the faith. Because of the urgency of the times and because few there are today who possess the wisdom, simplicity and insight than the late Archbishop who touched millions, we are bringing you daily gems from his writings. The good bishop makes it so simple that we have dubbed this daily series: "SIMPLY SHEEN".

"What is the psychology of those who will never touch their capital for charity? They keep piling up more and more reserves, each new addition becoming as sacred as the one before. The answer is that every man is made for the infinite, which is God. But his reason becomes blinded through prejudice or sin, so he substitutes another infinite which is money. He then wants more and more of having, instead of more and more of being which is life in God."

    The following day, when Rome received the original text transmitted on German public radio station "Deutschlandfunk," the Vatican did not respond. It simply translated into Italian the official statements, which helped to shed light on the press' distortion of news.

    One of the most interesting reactions was that of theologian Hans Küng, who has never dissimulated his opposition to the line followed by this pontificate. "I am against Karol Wojtyla's retirement," the former Tübingen professor said, as he does not think it wise to have a conclave while a Pope is still alive. When this Pope dies, he explained, the Cardinals will feel freer to choose his successor.

    Vittorio Messori, who interviewed the Pope for the book "Crossing the Threshold of Hope," said that the Pontiff "is doing much more than he should during this Jubilee: he wants to preside over all the most important events, including those that his predecessors delegated to eminent Cardinals... It demonstrates that John Paul II wants to carry his cross during this Jubilee. And afterwards? God will provide."

    "For the time being, his closest collaborators and all who meet him affirm that the Pope is totally lucid, in spite of his physical limitations. Therefore, no resignation should be expected during this Jubilee Year," Messori said.

    Cardinal Ersilio Tonini, Archbishop Emeritus of Ravenna, said: "I, who know him, can say that the Pope is fully aware of the affairs of the world. He feels his responsibility profoundly and believes it is right to continue while he has the strength to stand up, without conserving his energies."

    The Cardinal Vicar of Rome, Camillo Ruini, who is president of the Italian Episcopal Conference and also a close collaborator of the Holy Father, said that the Pope shows "that he is perfectly able to carry out with full personal responsibility his ministry of Universal Pastor of the Church. More than that, I can say that the Pope undertakes tasks, at the price of exhaustion and sacrifice, that he is not obliged to carry out personally." One proof of this was the recent Synod for Europe, held in Rome in October, when the Holy Father did not miss a single session. Much younger bishops had difficulty following him on that marathon.

    For a long time, this text of the New Testament was attributed to St. Paul, but because its Greek style is much more refined than the rest of the Pauline corpus, Biblical experts today see another hand behind this letter.

    The papyrus arrived in Austria at the end of the 19th century, along with many others bought in a Cairo market in 1883 by a Viennese antique collector. Amphilochios Papathomas, a Greek scholarship holder, found the document accidentally in the Vienna Library; it has a total of 16 lines.

    The text includes two passages from the Letter's second chapter. "To date the Letter to the Hebrews was only known by some passages from Medieval Codices, while this goes back to the 5th or 6th centuries after Christ, as confirmed by scientific investigations to which the papyrus was subjected," Papathomas said. It is quite probable that the fragment is part of a manuscript produced in a Coptic-Christian convent in southern Egypt.

    Professor Hermann Harrauer, director of Vienna's National Library, is far more optimistic. According to him, the fragment found by Papathomas dates back to the end of the 1st century after Christ.

    Vatican officials have been discussing various possible dates for a papal trip to Egypt. To date, most plans have revolved around the Pope's March trip to the Holy Land and Jordan; he might extend that trip for a visit to Egypt. However, if that plan does not prove practical, the most likely alternative would be a special trip to Egypt alone during the final week in February.

    In a two-day visit, the Holy Father could realize his desire to travel to Mount Sinai, as well as to meet with Egyptian leaders in Cairo and representatives of the country's Coptic Catholic community, which boasts about 200,000 faithful.

    Father Roberto Tucci, the Jesuit priest who does advance work for papal trips, will travel to Egypt on January 13, to discuss plans for the Pope's trip with government officials there.

    When Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon and married his mistress Anne Boleyn, he defied the Pope and changed the laws of the land. In standing against the King, St. Thomas, Henry's Chancellor and chief political adviser, was sent to the Tower on a charge of high treason. He remained in a cell in the lower part of the Bell Tower until he was beheaded on Tower Hill in 1535.

    Father Agustinus Ulahayanan said these groups are responsible for fomenting conflict between Christians and Muslims which broke out a year ago in this far eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago and has left nearly 2,000 people dead. Father Ulahayanan, head of the Crisis Centre in Ambon diocese, said he seeks with every means to mediate between the Protestant and Muslim communities involved in the conflicts.

    Father Ulahayanan said Catholics have also suffered in the Malukus with more than 140 killed, and at least 18 Catholic churches damaged or burned. The violence has also produced thousands of refugees. In Buru, five nuns are missing and have not been heard from for days. They are thought to have fled to the hills after many Christians were massacred by Muslims.

    The priest said, "There seems to be an intentional effort to expel Christians from the islands, particularly in the north, east, and west." Nevertheless, he said, the fighting cannot be described as "a horizontal conflict between Christians and Muslims." He implicated high-ranking army officers in the fighting, including Col. Irwan Kusnadi, former Indonesian army commander in East Timor, "where he betrayed commitments made with local leaders." He said tension in the Malukus is also being exploited by some political leaders to attack adversaries.

    A solution for the crisis, according to Father Ulahayanan, must be found locally first of all, with the intervention of "the police force, instead of the army", equally composed of Christians and Muslims, impartial and supporting neither side. At the international level, the Ambon priest called for a UN Human Rights Mission or at least a UN Observer, to gather facts and information independent of the state media. "The Islamic daily Republika and SCTV television station, in the capital of Jakarta always report as if only Christians slaughter Muslims, while we see both parties slaughtering each other," he said.

    The government had planned the ordination of 12 bishops, to take place on January 6, to mimic the ordination of 12 bishops by Pope John Paul II which took place at the Vatican on that same day. But only 5 Chinese clergymen accepted episcopal ordination. And the ceremony which took place at Immaculate Conception Church in Nantang, Beijing-- at 7 o'clock in the morning-- has widened the gap between the "underground" Catholics who remain loyal to Rome and the government-approved leadership of the Patriotic Association.

    Without exception, the 130 seminarians enrolled in the national seminary in Beijing refused to attend the episcopal ordinations, Fides reported. After attending compulsory rehearsals, the students voted to boycott the ceremony. They issued a statement saying that "the so-called ordination is against the principles of the faith and against the Catholic Church."

    After relaying that statement to the leaders of the Patriotic Association, the seminary students confided to a Fides source that they now fear "pressure and even persecution" from the government. They issued an appeal to the West: "Please pray for us and for the universal Church in solidarity with us."

2) Sources in Beijing say that no more than 200 people attended the ceremony at the Nantang cathedral, whereas an ordinary Sunday Mass in the same building regularly draws at least 400 people. At other times, priestly ordinations have been attended by thousands of Catholic faithful. One Fides source who attended the ceremony said that the atmosphere was somber-- like that of a funeral rather than an ordination.

    The tension surrounding the ceremony was made manifest in the behavior of the participants, which the Fides source described as "remote and passive." Just before the consecration, one cleric tripped, spilling the chalice of wine.

3) Seven bishops of the Patriotic Church ordained the new episcopal candidates. They were Bishops Liu Yliu Yuanren of Nanjing, Fu Tieshan of Beijing, Tu Shihua of Hanyang, Jian Taoran of Shijiazhuang, Yu Chengcai of Haimen, Luo Juan of Shuoxian, and Jinghe of Tangshan. None of those bishops have any relations with the Holy See. Other bishops, who had been under pressure to participate in the ceremony, did not appear.

4) The five newly ordained bishops were all reportedly under heavy pressure to accept episcopal ordination-- pressure which seven other nominees had resisted. One of the younger candidates admitted to an acquaintance, "the pressure was strong, and I am weak."

    Archbishop Cordes will visit Taiwan from January 11-18. While there, he will also go to areas devastated by the earthquake that struck on September 21 of last year, principally the zone of Taichung. The work of the entire Church in China, and of local Churches worldwide to reconstruct the country has the profound gratitude of the government and people of Taiwan.

    According to an official statement distributed by the Vatican Press Office, Archbishop Cordes will express John Paul II's closeness to those who were affected by the earthquake and to the 300,000 Catholics of the Island.