WORLDWIDE NEWS & VIEWS with a Catholic slant
HEADLINES:
Ecumenical festivities at Basilica of the Nativity begin Jubilee Celebrations in Bethlehem
A celebration unprecedented in the annals of history took place last week when Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox came together along with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat at the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem to kick off the Jubilee Year 2000 at this historic site where Our Lord was born 2000 years ago. The earlier date was chosen in order to accommodate Christmas celebrations by all. The Holy Father lauded the event as a great way to inaugurate the Jubilee, giving great hope and promise for the new millennium. For more, click on O little town of Bethlehem
Another vital voice joins call to cease construction of mosque in Nazareth: the Mayor of Jerusalem
Following up the call from the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the highest ranking Muslim leader in Egypt, the Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert added his voice to the fray in stopping construction of the controversial mosque in Nazareth next to the Basilica of the Annunciation. In a special interview with Fides news service, the Jewish mayor spoke out against the minister's decision to allow the construction, citing it will do nothing but cause turmoil. For more, click on Mayor of Jerusalem
Papal itinerary released for Christmas and New Years, some surprises in store
When it comes to "firsts" John Paul II has proven over his twenty year pontificate that he's not afraid to try new things and the inaugural events for Jubilee Year 2000 should feature some surprises and some unusual ceremonies unprecedented in Papal annals. This includes being the first Pontiff to personally open the Holy Doors of all four major basilicas as well as a special Urbi et Orbi message at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve Rome time. For more, click on Full menu ahead for Holy Father.
Disgruntled former abbot of Guadalupe trying to throw a wet tilma on the canonization plans of Blessed Juan Diego
Poor Blessed Juan Diego, the Bishop first doubted him when he approached his excellency with news of the Virgin, and today some four hundred and sixty years later another cleric Father Guillermo Schulenberg, the former abbot of the Basilica of Guadalupe, is doubting him, so much that he has thrown a monkey wrench into his canonization process. But Father Oscar Sanchez, the postulator for Blessed Juan's cause believes the former abbot as no credibility and it only delays it. He is confident his canonization will not be derailed for the Mexican faithful are praying for him becoming Saint Juan Diego next year during Jubilee 2000. For more, click on Blessed Juan Diego.
For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site at the
CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and the features, dossiers and Daily Dispatches at ZENIT International News Agency. CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.
Coming Tomorrow and Thursday:
Special IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Issue
The 6th selection of the TOP 100 CATHOLICS OF THE CENTURY
A layman's perspective on the Church today in Pat Ludwa's column VIEW FROM THE PEW
The sixty-seventh installment in our daily series on the treasures of the great Deposit of Faith in APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH.
The thirtieth installment of our weekly abridged series on the 2000 YEAR VOYAGE ON THE BARQUE OF PETER
Biography on Cardinal Alfons Stickler, S.D.B., the 132nd Prince of the Church we feature in COLLEGE OF CARDINALS COLLECTION
Time Capsules in Church History with MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES focusing on December 8th and 9th.
More words of wisdom from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen in SIMPLY SHEEN
DAILY LITURGY for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Wednesday, the Second Thursday of Advent and Feast of Blessed Juan Diego on Thursday, and the Second Friday of Advent.
...and more in our 233rd and 234th issues for 1999!
To review past articles in textonly format, click on Archives.
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TOP 100 CATHOLICS OF THE CENTURY
Number 7: Mother Angelica Dynamic Franciscan nun who overcame all adversity and, with Heavenly help, became the guiding light for millions of Catholics through the orthodox, inspiring and powerful Eternal Word Catholic network
Today as we continue to narrow down the TOP TEN CATHOLICS OF THE CENTURY we bring you the 7th person selected out of the TOP 100 CATHOLICS OF THE CENTURY. The voters chose Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, better known as Mother Angelica, the 76 year-old dynamic, no-nonsense nun of Italian descent who has turned the empire of the Eternal Word Network, which includes EWTN, WEWN and the all-encompassing www.ewtn.com web site, into a triumph for the Church. Since 1981 Mother's network has been the single greatest force in America for spreading and upholding all the Church and the Holy Father teach. For more on the 7th selection, click on MOTHER ANGELICA
The Blessed Virgin Mary has always been the right person in the right place at the right time!
In today's editorial, we relate the God-incidence of three TOP 100 CATHOLICS OF THE CENTURY selections this week, and the fact that there is no mistaking these great defenders of the Faith. They are all worthy of their position on the list. Speaking of worthy, there is no one more worthy than Blessed Mary for in order to fulfill her fiat to God, she had to be the perfect tabernacle for the Son of God, her Divine Son Jesus. In order for this to be, she had to be conceived immaculately as Pope Pius IX declared this Dogma 145 years ago tomorrow. We bring up the point that when it comes to Mary and the Protestants, we cannot play down her role in order to appease them, but extoll and honor her just as God wants us to. For the editorial, When it comes to purpose, it's no accident; we do it on purpose! see CATHOLIC PewPOINT
Appreciation of the Perfection of God
Today we continue with our new series in the search to uncover the wonderful treasures of the Church contained in the great Deposit of Faith. How appropriate on the eve of the celebration of the only perfect human - the Blessed Virgin Mary, we feature today the ultimate Perfection: Almighty God - the Alpha and the Omega. For He is all-perfect in every way. Today's installment is appropriately entitled Perfections of God. For the sixty-sixth installment, click on APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH
DAILY LITURGY
Today is the Feast of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church while tomorrow we celebrate the glorious Feast of the Solemnity of the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. For the readings, meditations and vignettes on these feasts, click on DAILY LITURGY
Events Today in Church History
On this date thirty four years ago, on the eve of closing the Second Vatican Council, His Holiness Pope Paul VI met with Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras and the two agreed to both lift the mutual excommunication interdicts placed on each back in 1054 when the Great Schism of East and West broke wide open, estranging the two for nearly a millennium. Recently, through his papal visits and overtures to all branches of the Orthodox Church, Pope John Paul II has improved relations in hopes of one day once again becoming one. For other pertinent events throughout the centuries that are memorable in Church history today, click on MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES
SIMPLY SHEEN:God rested on the seventh day. So should we!
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".
"Once a week, man, reposing from work, does well to come before his God to admit how much of what he did during the week was the work of his Creator; he can remind himself, then, that the material on which he labored came from Other hands, that the ideas he employed entered his mind from a Higher Source, that the very energy which he employed was a gift of God."
The DAILY WORD
"If a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them stray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go in search of the one that has strayed? And if he happens to find it, amen I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety nine that did not go astray. Even so, it is not the will of your Father in Heaven that a single one of these little ones should perish." Matthew 18: 12-14
Retroactive articles on Church history available from 33 to 1515 A.D. for review
To allow all readers to catch up on our popular on-going series, we present a review of the period from the time of Christ when He founded the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church to the time of the Reformation and Pope Leo X, the 217th in the Petrus line early in the sixteenth century. These are installments 1 through 106. Until we are back to full strength we will continue the archives, giving readers the opportunity to catch up To read any of the 105 installments presently available in this long on-going series, click on the Archives of THE HISTORY OF THE MASS AND HOLY MOTHER CHURCH.
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