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Events Today in Church History

     For events throughout the centuries that are memorable in Church history today, click on TIME CAPSULES: ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME

Historical Events in Church Annals for August 3:

415 A.D.


The relics of Saint Stephen are discovered in Rome and would be taken to Jerusalem twenty-four years later before being transferred back to Rome permanently a century later where today they are enshrined in the Church of St. Lawrence-Outside-the-Walls.

1492 A.D.


Christopher Columbus, having received a blessing from Queen Isabella leads the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and Nina following course as they set out from Spain in search of the Indies.

1868 A.D.


Death of Saint Peter Julian Eymard, priest and founder of the Priest's Eucharistic League. He had a deep love for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament and devoted his life to fostering reverence among his fellow priests and the laity.

1881 A.D.


Pope Leo XIII ushers his eighth encyclical to the bishops of Belgium on the Catholics of that land in with Licet multa.

Flap over Hollywood Walk of Fame stirs controversy whether Jesus is truly a Star!

      In Hollywood He is called "Jesus Christ, Superstar" but evidently not star quality enough to merit a star on the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Oasis Christian Center thought better and placed three stars in various places honoring our Lord. Now come the repercussions, but Hollywood are handling this carefully since they've already dealt with too much controversy over religious issues. For more, click on Jesus' star

      LOS ANGELES (CWNews.com) - The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said on Thursday that a local church should have asked permission before installing a star honoring Jesus Christ near the "Walk of Fame" which places star-shaped plaques honoring stage and screen entertainers on the city's sidewalks.

      The Oasis Christian Center placed a star -- similar to the distinctive pink terrazo stars in the "Walk of Fame" -- in front of the church, bearing the words "Jesus Christ" and "Son of God." The Chamber said the church should have asked permission first because the "Walk of Fame" and the stars are legally trademarked. "There is nothing wrong with creating a Walk of Faith or with the church honoring Jesus," the statement said. "The question is whether they should have created a star similar to ours without first checking with us."

      The Chamber said it had not threatened legal action. "We are currently evaluating the issue and will be talking with the Oasis Christian Centre," the statement said. "We feel confident that this can be brought to an amicable conclusion. Pastor Philip Wagner of Oasis Christian Center told the Los Angeles Times that he wants to resolve the dispute and believes that issue is a sensitivity in Hollywood to God and religion.

Funeral of three nuns verifies it was true martyrdom




     Like the pagan emperors of ancient Rome, the confessed killer of three nuns in Yemen admitted he shot the nuns because they were dedicated to preaching the word of God and he couldn't stand it. Like the early Christians who were slaughtered for their faith, the three nuns from Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity achieved the crown of martyrdom and were eulogized late last week in Yemen with the order's head Sister Nirmala in attendance. For more, click on Martyred nuns

      ADEN, Yemen (CWNews.com) - Three nuns of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity order were buried in Yemen on Thursday, three days after they were gunned down by a suspected Muslim extremist.

      The bodies of Sisters Zilia, 35, and Elita, 40 -- both from India -- and Michaela, 36, from the Philippines were buried in a Christian cemetery following a funeral Mass attended by Sister Nirmala, the head of the order, as well as government officials, diplomats, and some Muslim Yemeni who acknowledged the sisters' contributions to their community.

      The three nuns were shot on Monday as they made their way to the clinic where they worked in the city of Hoedeida. The gunman was immediately seized by residents who witnessed the shooting. An official said the suspect confessed to his crime and said he killed the nuns because they were "preaching Christianity." On Thursday, soldiers were posted outside the Catholic church in Aden where the funeral Mass was held, and also along the procession route to the cemetery.

Senate passes bill to tackle religious persecution and forced abortions world-wide

     Picking up the ball dropped by Bill Clinton on his recent trip to China, the United States Senate passed a bill that will block visas to anyone representing countries that promote religious persecution or forced abortions or sterilizations. The bill was sponsored by Baptist minister Tim Hutchinson from Northwest Arkansas. For more, click on Religious persecution bill.

      WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - The US Senate on Thursday approved a measure to block travel visas for foreign officials who engage in religious persecution or promote forced abortions and sterilizations.

      The measure, an amendment to the $252 billion defense spending bill, was originally sponsored by Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Arkansas, and was targeted at officials of the Chinese Communist government. Facing defeat, the bill was changed to apply to all officials of foreign governments and added the practice of genital mutilation to the list of offenses. The practice is generally done in some Muslim countries as a means of control of young women, but is condemned by most governments and Islamic religious leaders.

      Supporters of the measures said Clinton's trip to China earlier this month had failed to stem human rights abuses by the Chinese government, noting the detention of more than 20 Chinese dissidents since the summit. The House has already approved a $250 billion defense spending bill, and the differences will be worked out in a House-Senate conference committee.

First drugs, now further moral decay threatens to sink Columbia

     Despite vociferous opposition from the Bishops of Columbia, the Columbian government is intent on plunging their citizens further into moral decay by legitimizing the unthinkable - incest. They have already gone down this road before by legitimizing euthanasia, now they are discussing ways to make sex between family members legal, something that is diametrically opposed to God's Law. For more, click on Columbia decay.

      BOGOTA (CWNews.com) - Colombia's Constitutional Court, the nation's highest, may legalize incest as it considers a request to eliminate the criminal penalty for sexual intercourse between brothers and sisters or parents and children.

      The Constitutional Court, which last year made Colombia the first Latin American country to legalize euthanasia and the personal possession of drugs, on Tuesday began considering a request made by lawyer Alberto Franco. At present, incest is punishable by 6 months to 4 years in prison. Franco has argued that incest "is a moral problem and not a legal one, because it is related to freedom and personal autonomy." Franco also said that most of the children would be protected by the existing laws against rape.

      The group opposed to the legalization of incest, led by the Catholic Church and the Office of the Attorney General, said: "Considering and punishing incest as a crime is a way to protect the family, protect minors, and provide legal support to a human principle based on common sense." Both the Church and the Attorney General oppose also the "intermediate" formula proposed by Presidential Counselor for Human Rights Affairs Argelia Londono, who has proposed legalizing incest between adults but keeping it a crime in the case of minors.

      "Even this formula would establish a divorce between morality and law, opening the door wide" to removing common sense from the law and making it arbitrary, said the statement from the Colombian bishops' conference.

For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site. CWN is not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provides this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

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August 3, 1998 volume 9, no. 150   DAILY CATHOLIC