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Angeline Fimognari, 80, shot in church parking lot, RIP

Haitian Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, 63, RIP

Haitian Vicar General Charles Benoit, RIP

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The Church Heritage Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania, in Saint Michael the Archangel Church, is located at Sv. Mykolo Street 9.  The museum's collection of monstrances, paintings, and sculptures was supposed to be sent to Moscow during  communism but was hidden instead.  Saint Michael's was used as the Museum of Architecture during the Soviet era. 

Notre Dame Alliance for Catholic Education Academy Schools, a five-year partnership between the Diocese of Tucson [Arizona] and the University of Notre Dame, will begin with  three parish schools in Tucson during the 2010-2011 school year.  "This is an exciting moment.  It's a great joy to have this new partnership to enhance and foster the formation of our young people...to strengthen our schools and community involvement," said Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas.

Iowa's Catholic bishops are urging the state legislature not to reduce the 65% tax credit for contributions to the Catholic scholarship fund.  "The money does go to the families that really need it.  It’s been a real boon for kids and for education," said Davenport Bishop Martin Amos.

L'Invisible, a free Catholic magazine, has been launched in France. "At a time when religion is more than ever relegated to the private sphere, we hope to give the Christian faith a new visibility," said Jean-Baptiste Fourtane, the magazine's director.  L'Invisible's mission is to "allow spiritual questions to exist in the public space."  France has 26 million Catholics who are 64% of the French population. 

Attributed to Juan Martinez Montañés
Immaculate Conception (la Purisma), about 1628
polychromed wood
University of Seville

The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture, 1600-1799 at the Smithsonian's National Gallery of Art's East Building in Washington D. C. from February 28 to May 31 displays Spain's religious sculptures and examines the sculptures' influence on Spanish painters including Diego Velàzquez, Francisco Pacheco, and Francisco de Zurbaràn.  Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue, N. W. 202-737-4215

In his Sunday, January 31, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI said, "For now, while we are in this world, charity is the badge of a Christian.  It is the synthesis of his whole life for what he believes and what he does."

Father Grzegorz Sowa in Gryfow Slaski, Poland, scans children's fingerprints after Mass to take attendance.

The French Catholic Church is against proposed legislation banning Muslims from wearing full-face veils in public buildings.

The Yorkshire terrier is New York City's favorite dog followed by the Labrador retriever, Dachshund, Shih tzu and German shepherd.

Down but Not Out in Catholic Suburbia

Bill Ackerman

Catholic Schools Week
January 31 -  February 6
Saint John of the Cross, Western Springs, Illinois

BBC television show, Focus Magazine, has named Australia the most sinful country on earth scoring high in the seven deadly sins.  Father Bob Maguire responded, "I think the people who did this survey are just jealous of we Aussies, and rightly so.  Australians like to indulge and enjoy the good things in life - we are open about that.  But people forget that the mirror image of the sins are the seven virtues, and Australians also have a lot of virtues on balance. We're just too laconic to talk about the things we do right."  The United States was named the most gluttonous and greedy, South Africa was filled with wrath, and South Korea and Japan the most lustful.

Aiming at the United States, Pope Benedict XVI advised the Roman Rota, the Vatican tribunal which decides marriage annulments, not to be taken with "pastoral charity" but to be guided by Canon Law.  Wanting to receive the sacraments is not enough of a reason for an annulment.  In 2006 the United States had more annulments then the rest of the world combined.

Joselyn Cabrera, a Filipino Catholic nurse working at Riyadh Hospital in Saudi Arabia, said Catholics are under duress to convert to Islam. "After some months, employers give you an ultimatum, telling you to become Muslim to keep your job.  For us, it is hard to make such a choice, but if we don’t, we become the victims of abuse.  Even I have been subjected to pressures from my Muslim co-workers, but I have always refused saying that I’d rather remain Catholic.  Until now, nothing has happened to me, yet,” she said.

Who will Anoint the Sick?

AP

Ena Zizi was attending a prayer meeting at Notre-Dame de l'Assomption in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, when the cathedral collapsed on her.  Madame Zizi said she prayed constantly for the week she was under rubble.  Madame Zizi, 69, was dehydrated and suffered a broken leg and dislocated hip.  For the first few days Madame Zizi was able to speak to Vicar General Charles Benoit, but he eventually fell silent.

Escapee Mehmet Ali Ağca has been released from a Turkish prison after finishing his life sentence for the 1979 murder of  journalist Abdi İpekçi.  Mr. Ağca, now 52, tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981 and was released from an Italian prison after being pardoned in 2000.  Pope John Paul II visited Mr. Ağca in prison and forgave him.  A statement distributed upon Mr. Ağca's release read, "I proclaim the end of the world.  All the world will be destroyed in this century.  Every human being will die in this century."

Israel permitted 300 of the 3,000 Gazan Catholics to travel to Bethlehem to attend Christmas services.  Permit recipients were required to be under 16 or over 35 years of age.

Pope Benedict XVI, admitting that he was not web-savy, urged clergy to use the new media:  "Priests stand at the threshold of a new era.  As new technologies create deeper forms of relationships across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word.  The world of digital communication, with its almost limitless expressive capacity, makes us appreciate all the more St. Paul's exclamation, 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.'"

Pope Benedict XVI granted Swiss-Italian Susan Maiolo and her family a private audience.  Ms. Maiolo, who lunged at the pope during Christmas Eve Mass, has been treated at a psychiatric clinic in Subiaco, Italy.  Although the incident is still under investigation, the Vatican doesn't think it likely that it will press charges.

In his Wednesday, January 13, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the earthquake in Haiti, "to the people hit hard a few hours ago by a devastating earthquake, which caused heavy losses of human lives, a great number of homeless and missing and enormous damage, I invite everyone to join me in prayer to the Lord for the victims of this disaster and for those who mourn their loss. I assure my spiritual closeness to those who lost their homes and all those who are suffering in various ways from this major disaster, and I ask God for comfort and solace in their suffering. I appeal to the generosity of all to not abandon these brothers and sisters in a time of need and grief, and that the concrete solidarity and active support of the international community is not lacking. The Catholic Church will not fail to take immediate action through its charitable organizations to meet the most immediate needs of the population."

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, said of the earthquake in Port-au-Prince: "All the great churches, all the seminaries have been reduced to rubble."

Italian bishops will dedicate the Sunday, January 24, collection to Haiti relief.

Bishop Vincent Nguyen escaped from Vietnam by sea to become bishop in the Archdiocese of Toronto.  Full Story

Statue of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Saint Mother Theodore Guerin founded the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and is Indiana's first canonized saint.

Archdiocese of Karachi [Pakistan] has begun Good News TV, a cable and satellite TV station visible in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Europe.  Programming will include Mass, Rosary, Lives of the Saints, Current Affairs and entertainment.  "A historic day for the Catholic Church in Pakistan," said Archbishop Evaristo Pinto.

A security guard and six Catholics were sprayed with bullets from two passing cars and killed as they left Mass. Three others were wounded. "I was the one intended to be assassinated by this plot; and when it failed, the criminals turned round and started shooting and finishing off the young ones," said Coptic Bishop Anba Kirollos of the Diocese of Nag Hammadi in Egypt who had left the church moments before.  "People are angry and worried.  Some Copts point out that for years TV, radio, and newspapers have preached intolerance towards Copts," said Bishop Kirollos. The Vatican responded, "All Christians must stand united in the face of oppression and seek together the peace that only Christ can give."

UN Human Rights Commission found that the Sri Lankan government carried out extra-judicial executions in the separatist rebel Tamil Tigers Catholic part of Sri Lanka.

Archdiocese of Hanoi [Vietnam] expressed outrage at the sacrilegious bombing of a crucifix by police in Dong Chiem parish cemetery.  Protesting prior to the destruction of the crucifix, "At least a dozen people have been badly beaten, two of them were seriously injured and taken to a clinic in Te Tieu, where, however, they did not receive treatment. Later, the priests and the faithful found them and they took them to Viet Duc hospital, where doctors intervened,” said Father John Le Trong Cung.  Vietnam has been confiscating Church property.

Update 2:  A Molotov cocktail was thrown onto the grounds of Assumption Catholic church in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.  No one was hurt.  Father Andrew said churches have hired security guards. "There is no immediate danger, but the situation is still worrying," said Father Andrew.  Update 1:  The government has obtained a stay of the High Court's decision pending appeal.  Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said, "I made the request for a stay as it is a matter of national interest."  Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew responded, "We believe these actions are to create a climate of fear and a perceived threat to national security so as to pressure the court in reversing its decision."  Backstory:  The Malaysian High Court overturned a three-year government ban disallowing the Catholic diocesan newspaper The Herald from printing the word Allah. Following the court's decision, The Herald was hacked.  Editor Father Lawrence Andrew Prime said the Church has been referring to God as Allah for centuries and is the word for God used in the Malay language.  Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak referred to Muslim unrest with the decision stating, "The government is very much aware and concerned of various reactions that it has received after the recent High Court decision.  The issue is very sensitive and touches on the feelings of Muslims.  We need to be calm now and let the matter be resolved through the courts."  The government plans to appeal stating that the word Allah should be reserved for Muslim-use only.

AP

Rock to Bethlehem concert in West Bank, Palestine, is the first rock concert in Bethlehem

The Iowa Catholic Bishops' Conference wants the state legislature to cap payday loans at 36% rather than the current average payday interest rate of 400%. “The stated purpose of payday loans is to offer a solution to families who face a short-term crisis.  But only one percent of these loans are made to one-time borrowers. On the average, Iowans who take out one payday loan end up with 12 loans.”

Americans who have the highest level of life satisfaction live in Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee, and Arizona according to Science Magazine.  New Yorkers enjoy the least life satisfaction.

Catholic Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, is not running for reelection to a seventh Senate term in 2010.  Senator Dodd succeeded his father, Thomas J. Dodd, who was first elected to the Senate in 1958.

Pope Benedict XVI New Year's message:  "Respect others regardless of their skin color, nationality, language or religion."

Israel is refusing to return to the Catholic Church the room on Mount Zion in which the Last Supper was held

During 2009 Pope Benedict XVI granted 200 private audiences, met with 300 bishops, and celebrated 50 major liturgies.

Pope Benedict XVI is encouraged with the direction Cuba is going concerning religious freedom by allowing Mass to be celebrated in prisons and by tolerating Catholic feast day processions.

Church of Saint Albert in Bekasi Regency, Indonesia, was stormed by Muslims causing fear amongst Catholics. “Suddenly, a bunch of bikers arrived in the area where the church stands.  We don’t know why we were attacked. The mob had about a thousand people including women and children from Tarumajaya and Babelan,” said onlookers. The night of the attack was the start of the Islamic New Year, and it is customary for Muslims to ride motorcycles in celebration.

CNS/Debbie Hill

Palestine Sesame Street, Ramallah, West Bank

In his Sunday, December 6, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI said, "...the Church is in constant need of purification because sin undermines all its members."

Jack Rhodes, 47, was convicted of mugging Rose M. Morat, 101, Solange Elizee, 87, and Angela Kahn, 51, in New York City in 2007, for a total of $78.  Ms. Morat and Ms. Elizee were using a walker when they were mugged.  After sentencing Mr. Rhodes to 75 years in prison in upstate New York near the Canadian border, Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasak said, "Your actions were reprehensible.  It shocks the senses.  I've never seen anything like it.  You're not a man because a man doesn't act like that.  A man doesn't throw a left hook and a right hook into the face of a 101-year-old woman.  You're going to get lonely and old up there.  You're going to become an old man.  I wonder if the young inmates will show you the same respect that you showed Rose Morat, Solange Elizee, and Angela Khan."  Rose Morat, now 103, said after the sentencing, "That's a long time to be in prison.  The man up there - which is God - will take care of him.  I've been looking around my shoulder to see if anyone was going to mug me.  I just want to go on with my life and be happy."  Rose Morat was on her way to Mass at Immaculate Conception Monastery, where she competes in canasta tournaments, when she was mugged.  Rose  picked Jack Rhodes out of a police lineup.

A statue of the Blessed Virgin was stolen from the yard of a Penacook, New Hampshire, home.  The homeowners, Cat and Hobart Jones, located the statue and decided to let the thieves keep it.  No explanation was given.

Ind. boy has wish for papal audience granted

Thousands of East Jerusalem Palestinians lose their residency permit

Israel arrested Bethlehem University student Berlanty Azzam and is holding her in jail three months before her graduation because her legal address is in Gaza and she was attending Bethlehem University in the West Bank as Israel prevents freedom of movement by the Palestinians. Azzam is not allowed to attend her court hearing because it is being held in Israel not Gaza.

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Explosives leveled the Church of Saint Ephrem and the Mother House of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine in Mosul, Iraq, after gunmen ordered everyone out of the buildings. “There is a lot of fear among the people because those who carried out the attack acted unimpeded and without opposition,” said one of the faithful who didn't want his named used.

Catholic schools an oasis in Bosnia's ethnic strife

Vietnam: thousands attend opening of Jubilee Year

Update 2:  Father Sinott has been released.  Update 1:  A $2MM random has been demanded for the release of Father Sinnott which the Philippine Government and the Catholic Church have refused to pay. In an October 22 video,, Father Sinnott said, "The kidnappers are led by Abu Jayadeva.  We are living outdoors and in difficult conditions. I am still in good health even though I don’t have all my medicine with me."  Backstory:  Irish missionary Father Michael Sinnott was kidnapped in Pagadian City in the Philippines by six heavily armed gunmen on October 11. 

ÞAHÝKA TEMÜR/Hürriyet Daily News

La Paix Catholic Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey

Pope Benedict XVI:  "The world in which we live runs the risk of being altered beyond recognition because of unwise human actions which instead of cultivating its beauty unscrupulously exploit its resources for the advantage of a few and not infrequently disfigure the marvels of nature."

Pope Benedict XVI urged Iran to allow Iranian Catholics to freely practice their religion and allow priests and churches to multiply as needed by the faithful.

Australian Rodney James Payne, 20, told the court he broke into several Catholic schools and stole holy items and electronics because he was jobless and bored.

Pope Benedict XVI's Christmas CD

In his Sunday, November 8, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI said the path to heaven is to lead a good life animated by charity.

My Lost Life

Vatican's letter to Chinese priests

South Carolina's I believe license plate was ruled unconstitutional.  "Whether motivated by sincerely held Christian beliefs or an effort to purchase political capital with religious coin, the result is the same," ruled Judge Cameron Currie.

Father Patrick Dunne pled guilty to stealing $432,000 from Our Lady of Sorrows in White Plains, New York, to spend on gambling in Atlantic City. The stolen funds came from money collected for Hurricane Katrina victims, church maintenance, and general operation.  At his January sentencing, Father Dunne will be required to repay Our Lady of Sorrows' insurance company and possibly spend six months in prison and five years probation.

An electronic holy water dispenser - wave your hand under the dispenser to receive holy water - was invented in Italy and is being used by a church in Fornaci di Briosco, Italy.  "It has been a bit of a novelty.  People initially were a bit shocked by this technological innovation, but then they welcomed it with great enthusiasm and joy," said Father Pierangelo Motta.  The dispenser is a defense against swine flu.

Jesuit Father Jose Funes of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Vatican Observatory at the Vatican's Conference on Astrobiology held at the Vatican's Observatory at the University of Arizona:  "Although astrobiology is an emerging field and still a developing subject, the questions of life's origins and of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe are very interesting and deserve serious consideration. These questions offer many philosophical and theological implications."

Update:  According to a poll taken by the newspaper Corriere della Sera, 84% of Italians want the crucifixes to stay, 14% want the crucifixes taken down, and 2% have no opinion. Background:  The European Court of Human Rights ruled that crucifixes in Italian public school classrooms are "a violation of the freedom of parents to educate their children according to their own convictions and of the religious freedom of the students."  The Vatican responded:  "The crucifix has always been a sign of God's offer of love and a sign of union and welcome for all humanity. It is sad that it is being considered a sign of division, exclusion, or limitation of freedom. That is not what it is and that is not the common feeling of our people. It also is surprising that a European court is intervening so heavily in a matter that is deeply tied to the historic, cultural. and spiritual identity of the Italian people." 

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India:  “The statement by the Bharatiya Janata Party's national president that conversions corrupt Indian culture is damaging for the religious harmony that has been the trademark of ours civilization for years.”

The Diocese of Harrisburg [Pennsylvania] is reaching out to autistic Catholics to help them become more involved in the sacraments and parish life.

"The most tragic thing I have seen is the miles-long wall that separates Jerusalem from Bethlehem and separates families and keeps farmers from the land that has been in their families for generations. It is humiliating and distressing," said Cardinal John P. Foley.

Israel denied visas to two African priests and restricted visas to one year for priests from Europe.  This is in violation of the The Fundamental Agreement of '93.

Christian Palestinian Jala Basil Andoni from Bethlehem:  "Ending the occupation ...will not be possible unless we get the support of the American people and the American government."

On May 2, Pope Benedict XVI will visit northern Italy to see the Shroud of Turin.

Aid worker Sharon Commins has returned safely to Ireland after spending 107 days in the captivity of Sudanese militiamen.  ''You could die in there of sadness,'' said Sharon of her captivity.  ''They forced us to kneel and would shoot around us.  Their actions were random and unpredictable.'' 

The District of Purwakarta, West Java, Indonesia, has revoked the two-year-old building permit for Saint Mary Church in the Village of Cinangka.  Bishop Johannes Pujasumarta Pr said, "Dialogue with people of good will should be the basis for addressing any social issue including the recent revocation of the permit to build the church of Saint Mary.  All procedures were performed according to the law, and legal action will be taken.”  There were protests against the building of a Catholic Church.

Bella English/Boston Globe

Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, Massachusetts

In his Wednesday, October 21, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI:  "We too must recognize that man looks for and finds God better and more easily in prayer than in discussion.”

Bishop Pierre Morissette of Saint-Jerome, Quebec, has been elected president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.  His two-year term begins October 23.

The U. S. Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of Father Gerald Robinson who was convicted in 2006 of killing Mercy Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in 1980 at Mercy Hospital in Toledo, Ohio.  Sister Pahl was stabbed 31 times, strangled from behind, and her neck broken in two places.  Father Robinson was hospital chaplain and Sister Pahl was preparing the altar for Mass when she died.  Father Robinson was sentenced to 15-years-to-life in prison.  Father Robinson was 68 when convicted.

Police in Hue seizes last bit of land belonging to Loan Ly Parish
On October 11, Belgian Father Damien of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who tended to the care of lepers in Hawaii, and who subsequently contracted and died from leprosy/Hansen's disease at the age of 49, was made a saint. "Today is a special day of joy.  He's a hero for all who have a human heart," said Father Marc Alexander of Hawaii's Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.  As a seminarian in Belgium, Father Alexander visited the church were Father Damien is entombed.

Greg Vaughn/CNS

Saint Philomena Church, built by Blessed Damien de Veuster on the Island of Molokai in Hawaii, the former site of a leper colony, is now part of the Kalaupapa National Historical Park

Catholic U. S. Supreme Court Associate Justice:  "There has been so much talk lately about the number of Catholics serving on the Supreme Court. This is one of those questions that does not die."

Vatican is reaching out to disaffected Anglicans/Episcopalians and welcoming them into the Roman Catholic Church.

During the Red Mass homily at Saint Mathew's, celebrant Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston said, "Even sophisticated knowledgeable human lawyers need reminding, need a divine fire.. both in their personal lives and in their profession itself."  The annual Red Mass is said for lawyers and others in the legal profession. In attendance were Interior Secretary Ken Salazar,  Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.

Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit Fatima, Portugal, on May 13, 2010, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima.

John Orlando has pleaded guilty to stealing $432,000 from his cousin, Father James D'Amato, who had given Mr. Orlando power of attorney to pay his medical bills.  Mr. Orlando, once a trustee of the Village of Bellport on Long Island in New York,   used the money for his Patchogue, Long Island,  funeral home.  Mr. Orlando's plea deal calls for him to serve 4-12 years in prison.  Mr. Orlando would have inherited the money.

Diocese of Hawaii

Blessed Damien de Veuster mosaic by Karen Lucas at Immaculate Conception Church in Lihue, Hawaii.  Blessed Damien will be canonized on October 11.

Catholic university student Anup Rodrigues was attacked by four men while sitting in Farmgate Park in Dhaka, Bangladesh. “They started beating me with iron rods and bamboo sticks  without letting say a word. As they were pounding away at me, I prayed to Our Lady to save me. When they relented for a moment I was able to get away. After the attack I stopped to think about what had happened and why they attacked me. I remembered then that a week before I was in the park with friends where we talked about prophets in the various religions. One of the men who attacked me was sitting across from us. He told us that he belonged to Hizbut Tawhid and that they had a duty to carry out jihad to punish people like us.”

Bishop Ratko Peric on Our Lady of Medjugorje: "Brothers and sisters, let us not act as if these 'apparitions' were recognized and worthy of faith.  If as Catholics, devoted sons and daughters of the Church, we want to live according to the norms and the teaching of the Church, glorifying the Holy Trinity, venerating Blessed Mary...and professing all the Church has established in the creed, we do not turn to certain alternative apparitions or messages to which the Church has not attributed any supernatural character."

Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit Cyprus in June, 2010.

Update 9:   1,000 students participated in the Save School Choice rally at the U. S. Capitol on September 30 in support of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program which provides school choice for 1,700 students.  Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio was one of the speakers.  Update 8:  Jay P. Greene, Ph.D. Endowed Chair and Head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas is for school vouchers.  Dr. Greene did not attend Catholic schools.  Update 7:   President Obama has somewhat mitigated his position of not continuing to provide vouchers for Washington's students in failing public schools so that they can attend the school of their choice by saying that he is now in favor of allowing those students who are already in the program to graduate.  President Obama still wants to do away with the program.  Update 6:  The headmaster at President Obama's children's private school, Bruce Stewart of Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D. C., is for the D. C. Opportunity Scholarship Program used by some children at his school.  "There is little question that society benefits immensely when opportunities are offered to all, not simply to some."  Update 5:  Catholic United States Senator Ted Kennedy (Democrat - Massachusetts), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee, is against school vouchers.  Most school vouchers are used by Catholic school children.  Senator Kennedy and his three children attended non-public schools.  Update 4:  Jewish Senator Joe Lieberman (Independent -Connecticut) is a strong supporter of school vouchers and will hold hearings. Contact your three legislators to voice your opinion.  Update 3: The only students eligible for school vouchers in D. C. were low-income students in failing public schools. Update 2:  It cost $14,000 to educate a pupil in the D. C. public schools, and $8,000 to educate a pupil in the Archdiocese of Washington.  Update 1:  The Ensign Amendment, sponsored by Senator John Ensign, a Republican from Nevada, to reauthorize D. C.'s voucher program, half of which is used by students in the Archdiocese of Washington, was defeated in the upcoming budget.  Leading the defeat was Irish Catholic Senator Dick J. Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois who was graduated from Assumption High School in East Saint Louis, Illinois, and received a bachelor's degree and a law degree from Jesuit Georgetown University in Washington, D. C.  The public school teachers' unions are against voucher programs.  Backstory: The District of Columbia's school voucher program, the D. C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, is in danger of not being reauthorized after next year.  President Obama is against school vouchers, but he and his  two children attended non-public schools.  1,700 Washington, D. C. schoolchildren receive up to a $7,500 grant to attend non-public schools.  Since the District of Columbia doesn't have voting representation in Congress, contact your Congressional representatives, both House and Senate, if you want this program reauthorized and phone the White House at (202) 456-1414.

Pope Benedict XVI said that the wrist he broke while vacationing in the Alps this summer has not yet fully healed, but he can write again.  "My thoughts mostly develop through writing, so for me it was truly a test of patience to not be able to write for six weeks."

In his Wednesday, September 23, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI taught Saint Anselm: “Anyone who wants to do theology must not count on intelligence alone but on a deep experience of faith as well.”

Pope Benedict XVI will visit Britain in September, 2010.

The Archbishop of Charm by Robert Kolker in the September 28 issue of New York Magazine is an article about Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York.  In the article, Archbishop Dolan tells how Pope Paul VI gave him a rosary to give to his parents "to thank them for giving their son to the Church."  Archbishop Dolan said his mother keeps the rosary safe in her purse, "...right next to the lottery ticket."  Archbishop Dolan:  "God made me with a particular soft spot for a martini."

A casket containing bones of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, will spend October 12 in Wormwood Scrubs a maximum security prison in London with about 300 Catholic prisoners out of a population of 1,300.  Tour organizer Monsignor Keith Baltrop said, "We are taking her to the big Church of England chapel and the relics are going there for approximately three and a half hours. They will be left there and it will be left for the prison authorities to enable as many people as possible to come and venerate them.  Many people have experienced healing or a sense of putting things right after praying before the relics."

Update: Two priests visited Father Ly who expressed his appreciation for the visit.  Father Ly refused to be admitted to the hospital because he said other inmates were sicker than he was and said he would do with a weekly visit from the prison doctor and drugs supplied by his family and the doctor.  On behalf of the diocese, the two visiting priests demanded that the Public Security Ministry allow Father Ly to perform his priestly duties.  The Public Security Ministry agreed. Backstory: Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, 63, of the Archdiocese of Hue has been jailed three times for a total of 14 years and is currently being held by the Vietnamese government.  Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly's sister, Nguyen Thi Hieu, said, "The state of my brother's health has deteriorated since mid-July  after a fall in his cell in May.  His arm and his right foot are slightly paralyzed.  He is walking with difficulty and needs people at his side to help him move around the room."  Le The Tiem, Vice Minister of Public Security said, “Nguyen Van Ly this time is not granted amnesty because... amnesty is only granted to persons who make progress in their rehabilitation."

Benedictine monks have started a monastery in Kerens, Texas, on 300 acres of what used to be an ostrich farm.  "Right now  we do manual labor, mostly cleaning, and we are preparing a place on which to grow a garden," said Father Dominic Hanh. Neighbor Charlie Jock said, "More power to 'em. The Good Lord never overlooks anything."

Archdiocese of Boston has petitioned the court to exhume Cardinal William H. O’Connell's body because the archdiocese wants to sell the property to Boston College to build a garage, and Boston College has made Cardinal O'Connell's removal a condition of sale. Ironically, Cardinal O'Connell exhumed the priests who were buried on the property to make the property the headquarters in Boston's Brighton neighborhood of the Archdiocese of Boston.  "It is no longer possible to honor the late cardinal's wishes relative to his burial," said the court filing by the current cardinal for the Archdiocese of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, and Boston College.  The archdiocese said, "The issue for the archdiocese is about making sure that we appropriately provide a permanent resting place befitting a cardinal and priest of the Church and to fulfill the conditions of the sale to Boston College." An alumnae of Boston College, Cardinal O'Connell served the Archdiocese of Boston from 1907 to 1944 as Boston's first cardinal.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Vietnam will not honor the Vatican's petition to return property confiscated from the Catholic Church as all Vietnamese land belongs to the Vietnamese government.

In his Sunday, September 20, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI:  “Recently, news about a major attack in Afghanistan against Italian soldiers has caused deep sorrow. I join in prayer the suffering of family members and civilian and military communities. In addition, with the same sentiments of participation, my thoughts go to the other international contingents who recently lost members as well; they work to promote peace and build institutions that are so necessary to enable humans to live together. To all I say I shall remember them before the Lord with a special thought for the dear civilian populations. I urge one and all to raise their prayer to God on behalf of everyone.”

Pope Benedict XVI will visit the Czech Republic from September 26-28.

L'Osservatore Romano

Pope Benedict XVI holds a meteorite from Mars at the Vatican Observatory

In his Sunday, September 13, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI said that the Blessed Mother teaches us to "bear witness to our faith with a life of humble service ready to pay in first person in order to remain faithful to the Gospel of charity and truth confident that nothing we do is lost."

A Texan is claiming paternity of a baby boy abandoned by his mother at a church in Florence, Italy, while on vacation, and found by Carmelite nuns.  A DNA test will be performed.

73-year-old Sister Patricia Buckley bent down in her Manawatu, New Zealand, kitchen to pick up an onion skin from the floor and slipped and fell on the kitchen mat breaking both her arms above the elbow.  Sister Patricia is a retired Saint James School teacher.  "There are no more mats on the floor in my house," said Sister Patricia.

Lifelong bachelor Clair Adams, 95, who was buried in his favorite red-fleece jacket purchased at Wal-Mart, bequeathed $1.4MM to Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace in Clinton, Iowa.  "No one would have thought that he would have that much money to leave the parish," said Father Tony Herold.

After a decade of legal trials, Saint Joseph Church in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, has been returned to the Catholic Church after being confiscated by the communists 60 years ago.

Letter written in French by Mary Queen of Scots to Henry III of France at 2:00 A. M. before her execution at Fotheringhay Castle in Northampshire near Oundle, England, at 8:00 A.M. on February 8, 1587, will be on display at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh for one week beginning September 15.  "Tonight, after dinner, I have been advised of my sentence: I am to be executed like a criminal at eight in the morning. I have not had time to give you a full account of everything that has happened, but if you will listen to my doctor and my other unfortunate servants, you will learn the truth, and how, thanks be to God, I scorn death and vow that I meet it innocent of any crime."

Pope Benedict XVI in his Sunday, September 6, general audience:  "We cannot forget the major events that took place during one of the most terrible conflicts in history that left tens of millions dead and provoked so much suffering for our beloved Polish people.  It was conflict that saw the tragedy of the Holocaust and the extermination of so many other innocents.”

South Indian Kerala Catholic Bishops Council:  "Women should be given responsible positions and made part of decision making bodies of the Church.  The policy should be implemented in all Church-run organisations including educational institutions, universities, and colleges."

Follow up:  On 4 September, Bishop Paul Mary Cao Dinh said,  "The 19 faithful arrested in Tam Toa have all been released. The belongings of the church and the faithful have not yet been returned in full. Our brothers and sisters, beaten and arrested, and especially the two priests savagely attacked in Dong Hoi have been deeply traumatized in body and spirit and still require treatment. We will continue to pray for the priests and faithful of Tam Toa, so they may recover and return quickly to normal life."  

Tam Toa Church in Dong Hoi, Quang Binh, Vietnam

Tam Toa Church near Hanoi, was bombed by America during the Vietnam war, confiscated by the People's Committee of Quang Binh Province in 1996 from the Archiocese of Hua, and given to the Diocese of Vinh in May, 2006.  Vietnam wants to reconfiscate Tam Toa Church as a "memorial site" to the Vietnam War.  When the Diocese of Vinh placed a cross and an altar outside Tam Toa Church, Father Thanh Hong reported, "The police, who far outnumbered parishioners of Tam Toa and neighboring parishes, launched tear gas canisters on people before kicking and beating them with sticks and stun guns.  Many priests and faithful were injured.  Some were forced to lie on the ground where they were again beaten by groups of young thugs hired by the police.  Dozens more were loaded onto police vans, and we still do not know where they have been taken.”  Tam Toa Parish has over 1,000 parishioners.

Pope Benedict XVI installed 580 square feet of donated solar panels on his home in Regensburg, Germany, a home he designed.  No Church funds were used.  The solar panels are expected to generate 6 megawatts of electricity saving 11 barrels of oil and resulting in $3,500 of excess energy being sold to the German grid annually.  Any profit from the sale of excess energy to the German grid will be used for vocational training for at-risk youth.

On Sunday, September 6, Pope Benedict XVI made a pastoral visit to the town of Viterbo and Bagnoregio in Italy's Lazio Region visiting the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of the Oak, the Shrine of Santa Rosa, and the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas to venerate the relics of Saint Bonaventure.

Catholic Damien Fleming, 46, who was recently released from the hospital after sustaining head injuries in an attack by Protestants in Northern Ireland last May in which Kevin McDaid, 49, was killed, was again attacked by Protestants in Coleraine, County Derry.

During July and August, 16 Christians have been killed in Pakistan and 100 Christian homes burned.  Vatican Radio states that the Taliban is responsible.  No arrests have been made.

The Catholic Church in India wants Catholics to increase their 1.5 birthrate and is offering tuition-assistance for the fourth child.  

In his Wednesday, September 2, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI said, "May we be able to find the source of joy that comes from God's goodness by saying no to the vices of the world and basing our life on humility, austerity, and detachment from ephemeral things and participation with the eternal."

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:  "On this Labor Day, let us remember those without work and without hope. Too often in our public discourse anger trumps wisdom, myth outweighs fact, and slogans replace solutions.  We can work together and rebuild our economy on the moral principles and ethical values outlined by Pope Benedict XVI."

According to the Associated Press, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Nebraska ban teachers from wearing religious clothing.

Catholics for Housing, Inc. in Manassas, Virginia, received $1.5MM from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development/HUD to purchase and rehab foreclosed homes and then resell the homes to low and middle income families.

In his Sunday, August 27, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI asked us to protect the environment.  “The Church is not only committed to promoting the defense of land, water and sky, given by the Creator to all, but above all, she does so to protect man against self destruction.”

Siblings Father Krzyaztof Grzybowski and Father Robert Grzybowski celebrated what is believed to be the first Mass on Mt. McKinley at it's 20,300 foot peak.  Their childhood friend, Adrian Przyluski, attended the Mass.  All three grew up in Bielsk Podlaski, Poland.

Catholic under-15-years-old football team was attacked at Victoria Park and their bus' windows broken after a game in East Belfast, Northern Ireland.

A Moscow court in Russia convicted Mikhail Orekhov for the intoxicated murder of Jesuit Father Victor Betancourt and acquitted Mikhail Orekhov of the murder of Jesuit Father Otto Messmer both of whom were found dead at the same time and both of whom were priests at the Church of Saint Louis of France.  Mr. Orekhov received a sentence of 14 years.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias of the Archdiocese of Mumbai: "It was a terrible year marked by so many serious incidents of religious intolerance.  The killings that took place in Kandhamal are one of the saddest moments in the history of India.  Now, a year later, we ask God to bless our nation with peace and harmony and to take care of the painful memories and wounds caused by this horrific anti-Christian violence."

USB's survey revealed that New York City is the most expensive in the world followed by Oslo, Geneva, Tokyo, Zurich, Copenhagen, Dubai, Caracas, Paris and Dublin.

Archbishop Ruben Salazar said two bishops, 67 priests, 8 monks and nuns, and 3 seminarians were killed in Colombia between 1984 and June of 2009.

 USCCB:  Health Care Reform

The Sisters of Saint Francis of Oldenburg was awarded the  Rural Preservation Award from Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and the Indiana Farm Bureau.  The nun's 300-acre Michaela Farm near Indianapolis has a 100-year-old barn with solar power and two 140-year-old brick farmhouses and a brick pump station all of which are being used for farm animals and offices.

Sister Catrina looked out the window of the Sisters at Saint Francis of Holy Eucharist Convent in Independence, Missouri, and saw a man carrying a gun in the convent's bean field. "I thought it was someone hunting.  He was dragging something with him.  He kept coming across the field...I saw he had a gun in hands, what I thought was a rifle, and he dropped it in the field."  Wearing flip-flops, Sister Catrina chased the trespasser while Sister Connie telephoned police.  Sister Catrina caught the man who at first got away; but Sister Catrina caught the man a second time and held him until police arrived.  The intruder is suspected in area burglaries.

Bishop Maroun Lahham of the Diocese of Tunis states that although Catholics are only 1% of the Tunisian population, relationship between Catholics and Muslims at all levels, from the top down to the grass roots is comfortable.  "I would say it's the quality of our presence.  There are many mothers and fathers who say, 'I want to put my children in Catholic schools because I was taught by the sisters, by the brothers.'"

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U. S. civilian award, was given to the following four Catholics:  U. S. Senator Ted Kennedy, Dr. Pedro Jose Greer Jr., who ministers to the poor and homeless, Actress Chita Rivera, and Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland.

A statue of the Blessed Mother was stolen from Saint Albert the Great in Calgary, Canada.  "Most people are feeling hurt and insulted and violated.  We hold Mary very dear with us.  Why would anyone do something insulting to her memory?" asked Father Kevin Tumback. "It's a very hurtful thing."

As of July 29, under the Charities Act 2009, Mass cards can only be sold in Ireland under the authority of a bishop or provincial of an order.  "The sale of pre-signed Mass cards in shops as opposed to directly from the Catholic Church has been a matter of public concern for some time.  The concerns are twofold.  One, will a Mass actually be offered in respect of the specific intentions offered?  Two, is there an element of profit behind the sale of such cards?  A Mass card is purchased in good faith, and often at times of great sorrow, to demonstrate a person's empathy and concern for others.  It is an inherently decent act.  I believe people in such circumstances should have no doubt whatsoever that a Mass will be offered for their intentions.  It is not my intention to stymie the sale of genuine Mass cards but to enhance public confidence and to ensure that people's good faith is not taken advantage of," said Minister of State John Curran.

From rugs to riches: Vatican storage, repair department has it all

Lone priest shepherds tiny flock of Catholics in Afghanistan

Polish Sister Anastazja Pustelnik has best-selling cookbook

Priest robbed and terrorised in road rage attack

When journalist Cokie Roberts was asked about her birth name, “Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs,” Cokie answered,  “Southern and Catholic.” She was given the nickname "Cokie" as a child by her brother trying to pronounce Corinne.

Spain: Bishops apologise for Church silence over Civil War killings

U. S. President Barack Obama has nominated Catholic Dr. Regina Benjamin to be Surgeon General.  Sister Carol Keehan, President and CEO of the Catholic Health Association of the United States said the CHA "...rejoices for our nation.... Dr. Benjamin will enrich the nation because she brings competence and integrity to this very important role. This is coupled with the daily experience of trying to meet the health care needs of a very vulnerable community.” More

25% of Brits bring their laptops or other mobile devices to bed with them.

Catholic U. S. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs expresses President Obama's Catholic outlook:  "...the question as it relates to the influence of Catholic social teaching on the President, I would say something that I've been quite impacted by myself, I would offer. The President, in both his words and in his deeds, expresses many things that many Catholics recognize as fundamental to our teaching. One is that the President often refers to the fundamental belief that each person is endowed with dignity...."

OliveAid, an organization affiliated with the Friends of Bethlehem University and started by three Catholics, Roy Putt, Robert Benson and Stephen Ballard, is replacing olive trees destroyed by Israel to build settlements and a wall on Catholic Palestinian land.  "The response we have had from the UK Catholic community particularly in the Southwark diocese has been fantastic and has enabled us to plant over 1,225 last season. We are now negotiating for additional saplings thanks to the generosity of OliveAid supporters, and we need to attract additional funds quickly. We are already negotiating for a further three sites in non-conflict areas which will give us the capacity to plant up to 5,000 this season," said OliveAid Trustee Stephen Ballard.

Mum defends diamonds Communion dress

Pope Benedict XVI and other Vatican priests will record a Christmas album on the recording label Geffen UK which is part of Universal.  "Everyone thought it was a wind-up when we got a call from the Vatican.  But it was the Pope's representative inviting us to Rome.  Two senior managers flew out.  The Pope wasn't there in person, sadly.  But we didn't hesitate to offer His Holiness a deal."

Associated Press reported that foreign diplomats in Britain owe $44MM in vehicle fines with the United States owing the most, $4.9MM.

2009 World Refugee Survey:  Egypt, Gaza, Kenya, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, and South Africa were the worst places to be a refugee.  Brazil, Costa Rica, and Ecuador were the best.  The survey was conducted by the U. S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

Cara Pastore/GDECD

Savannah, once the capital of Georgia, was begun by Englishman James Oglethorpe and a 1732 Royal Charter as a U. S. colony which did not accept Catholics, rum, or slaves

Vietnam confiscated another of the Church's property, this time evicting Sisters of the Cross who have lived in the Thu Thiem convent for 170 years.  The sisters run a clinic and nursery school and serve the poor.

Catholic Vietnamese commercial lawyer, Paul Le Cong Dinh, who obtained his law degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, was arrested by Vietnam for "compiling papers distorting the government's economic and social policies, slandering high ranking officials, and causing division among people."  Paul Le Cong Dinh represented parishioners arrested for peacefully protesting Vietnam's confiscation of parish property.

Note from an Australian Catholic school principal to 5-year-old Matt's parents:  ". . . we have a uniform policy which we all need to enforce.  If Matthew doesn't have non-ankle socks, just send me a note letting me know when you think he will have them."

Father Chris Terhes' Letter to U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Father Terhes is President of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Association and is protesting the destruction of Catholic churches in Romania.  These churches were confiscated by the communists in 1948 and are being destroyed rather than returned to the Greek Catholic Church. 

Saint Thomas Syro-Malamar Catholic Church was consecrated in Doha, Qatar, by Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil.

Tickets to climb into the Statue of Liberty's crown are on sale for the first time since 9/11 for the July 4, 2009 opening of the crown.  Crown tickets are $3.00 after first paying $12.00 to visit Ellis Island and to enter the Statue of Liberty up to the crown.  A maximum of four tickets can be purchased through the website statue-cruises.com or by telephoning 877-523-9849.

Vatican has excommunicated Zambian Father Luciano Anzanga Mbewe.

Vietnam is destroying Catholic monasteries to make room for hotels: Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres’ monastery in Vinh Long and Congregation of the Brothers of the Holy Family in Long Xuyen, Vietnam.

Dan Lieberman/The Palestine Chronicle

Jerusalem

Vatican reminds us that Confession/Sacrament of Reconciliation is not a counseling session or a psychiatrist's couch.  40% of Italians go to Confession at least once a year while 55% of American Catholics confess annually.

Catholics are 22% of the U. S. population.  In the last year, the U. S. Catholic population grew by 1MM.

Archbishop John Saldanha, of the Archdiocese of Lahore in Pakistan wants the Jizya - the tax on non-Muslims - to be eliminated because Catholics and others “hand over their hard earned bread and butter to the extremists.”

Sister Marge Stein, the Barber

How are the French raising money during the recession?  By pawning their wine bottles.  "In the wine cellars of Paris...there are veritable treasures, " said Robert Gorreteau, a wine expert at Credit Municipal de Paris.

On visiting Bethlehem's al-Aida refugee camp, Pope Benedict XVI said, “I have seen, adjoining the camp and overshadowing much of Bethlehem, the wall that intrudes into your territories, separating neighbors and dividing families. Be sure to support your children in their studies and to nurture their gifts so that there will be no shortage of well-qualified personnel to occupy leadership positions in the Palestinian community in the future. I know that many of your families are divided through imprisonment of family members or restrictions on freedom of movement and many of you have experienced bereavement in the course of the hostilities. My heart goes out to all who suffer in this way. Please be assured that all Palestinian refugees across the world, especially those who lost homes and loved ones during the recent conflict in Gaza, are constantly remembered in my prayers.”  Pope Benedict XVI praised the work of the Caritas Baby Hospital.

During his visit to Bethlehem, Pope Benedict XVI said, "The Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers secure and at peace with its neighbors within internationally recognized borders. In particular I call on the international community to bring its influence to bear in favor of a solution. I know how much you have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of the turmoil that has afflicted this land for decades."

Nun races for the Tracasset Vehicles World Championship in Epesses, Switzerland

In his Sunday, May 3, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI asked us to pray for the Palestinians who have endured "great hardship and suffering."

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Doctrine in their Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy stated that Reiki is inappropriate for use in Catholic institutions.  Reiki is a form of touch therapy  developed in Japan and derived from Buddhism.

Referring to the 150,000 Canadian aborginal children who were forcibly removed from their homes through the 1970s and sent to Catholic boarding schools for aculturation and then abused, the Vatican issued this statement:  "Given the suffering that some indigenous children experienced in the Canadian residential school system, the Holy Father expressed his sorrow at the anguish caused by the deplorable conduct of some members of the Church, and he offered his sympathy and prayerful solidarity.  His Holiness emphasized that acts of abuse cannot be tolerated in society."

Father George Kaoma is missing from Kitwe, Zambia, and is feared abducted.  No one has claimed responsibility.

Dan Balilty/AP

Their Catholic village destroyed during the 1948 war in Palestine, former residents of Biram celebrate Easter.  Catholics want to rebuild Biram, but Israel will not permit Palestinian Catholics to return to their homes in what is now Israel.  The Vatican said it was aware of the issue, but a Vatican spokesperson said he was not sure whether this issue was on the agenda in the pope's upcoming May trip to the Holy Land.

Father Andrew Greeley, noted University of Chicago sociologist and author of over 50 published novels and over 100 works of nonfiction, fractured his skull last November while getting out of a taxicab.  Father Greeley's coat caught on the taxicab's door as the cab was pulling away causing Father Greeley to fall and fracture his skull resulting in traumatic brain injury.  Father Greeley is now at home being cared for by his family and undergoing physical therapy which he described as hard; but, he is determined to recover.

Australian Eastern Rite bishops complain that Eastern Rite children are being indoctrinated into the Latin Rite in Catholic schools in Australia.  Australia has four Eastern Rite bishops representing the Ukrainian, Maronite, Melchite and Chaldean Catholic Churches.

Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, 74, was arrested by five police officers and taken to an undisclosed location in China.

Christopher Cowdray, the president of London's Dorchester Collection, which owns the New York Palace Hotel, flew to New York from London to personally fire New York Palace Hotel Manager Niklaus Leuenberger after Mr. Leuenberger, on Ash Wednesday, ordered Bell Captain Mike Murray to "wipe that ******* **** off your face."  The New York Palace Hotel leases its land from the Catholic Church.

Jianli, from the Diocese of Fengxiang in China, was lured to the mayor's office and beaten until being hospitalized for attending a meeting discussing China's confiscation of Church property which was turned into a factory.  The Church property is valued at $17B.

China blocks websites, including the website for the Diocese of Hong Kong, and censors other websites, including the Vatican's website.

Israeli soldiers break rank over Gaza war

Daughters of Mary Mother of Our Savior in Top Round, New York, is suing Mark Zaplin for purchasing from the nuns a donated 1889 William-Adolphe Bouguereau painting, Our Lady of Angels, for $450,000 and reselling the painting for $2.2MM.  The suit charges that art appraiser Mark Lasalle conspired with Mark Zaplin to cheat the nuns by appraising the painting at between $350,000 to $450,000 when the actual appraisal should have been closer to $2MM.  "A buyer owes no duty to advise a seller that the seller should raise its price," said Mr. Zaplin's court filing.

The Obama administration is giving Israel $30 billion in military aid.  The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights counted 1,434 Gazans killed by Israel during the recent 22-day offensive including 960 civilians, 239 police officers and 235 fighters. Included as civilians were 288 children and 121 women.  "The Ministry of Health have also confirmed that a total of 5,303 Palestinians were injured in the assault including 1,606 children and 828 women," The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said.

According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, Catholics are the largest religious denomination in the United States. The states with the most Catholics were California with 10.1 million, Texas with 5.8 million, New York with 5.4 million, Florida with 3.7 million, Illinois with 3.1 million, Pennsylvania with 2.9 million, New Jersey with 2.7 million, Massachusetts with 1.9 million, Ohio with 1.7 million, Michigan with 1.5 million, Arizona with 1.4 million, Wisconsin with 1.2 million, and Maryland with 1.1 million Catholics.

Holy Land: Christian campaigners arrested

The Finns borrow more books from the library than any other nationality.

Galbe.Com

Saint Therese of Mvolye School in Yaounde, Cameroon

In 2007, the latest statistics available, there were 1.147 billion Catholics, an increase of 1.4% over 2006.

Romania is proposing a law giving Catholic Church property confiscated during communism "to the majority religion," which in Romania is Orthodox.  Bishop Virgil Bercea said, "It will be a disaster," and asked for outside help.

Catholics in Kosovo

President Jimmy Carter said the United States gives Israel $10MM a day.

20 missionaries were martyred in 2008:  Eight in Asia including Iraq, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and Nepal; five in the Americas including Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil; five in Africa including Kenya, Guinea Conakry, Nigeria, and Congo; and two in Europe, specifically, Russia. Full Story

Catholic Parish in the Heart of The Bronx

The 111^th United States Congress, sworn in on January 6, 2009, has 162 Catholic members, up from 155 in the 110^th Congress two years ago, and up from 153 Catholics in the 109^th Congress in 2005.  The U. S. Congress has 535 members:  100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives.

Cardinal Edward Egan of the Archdiocese of New York rededicated the renovated Father Duffy Square within Times Square.  Father Francis P. Duffy, one of the most decorated chaplains, was a New York priest who served in France as a military chaplain to New York's 69^th Regiment and Rainbow Division during World War I.  Father Duffy Square is where the discounted Broadway theater tickets booth, TKTS, is located.

Retired Italian Bishop Bassano Staffieri said parents should stop giving children "ridiculous, exotic, or strange names of which their children will later be ashamed. A name is not just a sound, it has a profound meaning.  The problem is they do not think about what they are doing."  Bishop Staffieri wants a return to saints names especially Maria for girls.  An Italian court recently prevented parents from naming their son Venerdi/Friday which the court said "could expose the boy to ridicule."

Palestinian families juggle to keep children in Catholic schools

The grave of Catholic priest and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who first said the sun was the center of our universe, was discovered in Frombork, Poland.

Sarah Corscadden, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's grandmother, grabbed his hand as she lay dying and said, "Whatever you do, don't marry a Catholic."  Mr. Blair didn't tell her that he was dating Cherie, a Catholic, whom he eventually married and had four Catholic children.  After leaving office, Mr. Blair, himself, converted to Catholicism.

Although not Catholic, Reverend Rachel Bickford of Pilgrim Congregational Church in Massachusetts prays, "Dear Lord, please make me the person my dog thinks I am."

Want a private tour of the Vatican Museums?

Holy Land:  Israeli military fails to protect Palestinian children from attacks

Hadi Mizban/AP

Praying to Our Lady at the grotto at Mar Yousif/Saint Joseph Church in the Karada neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq

Amnesty International:  “The Vietnamese government must end its intimidation and attacks against Catholics and ensure protection against violence by state-sponsored groups.”

The Church of Saint Mary in the Town of Cricklade in North Wiltshire, England, is celebrating its 1,000 year anniversary.

St. Mary's Bank in Manchester, New Hampshire, is celebrating its 100^th anniversary.  St. Mary's Bank is a credit union which was started by new French Canadian immigrants who were denied credit by existing financial institutions.

An automobile has 237 bacteria per square inch.  The gear shift has the most germs.

China's Ministry of Culture has banned public performances of Western religious works such as Handel's Messiah and Mozart's Requiem.

A study conducted by toxicologist Alfred Bernard at Catholic University of Louvain in Brussels and published in the European Respiratory Journal shows a link between chlorine and asthma.  Asthma affects over 300 million people worldwide.  "The more you swim, the higher the risk," of contracting asthma said Dr. Bernard referring to indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile is petitioning Syria for the release of Father Albert Cherfan and Father Sleiman Abi-Khalil who were last seen in October 1990 at their Beit Mery, Lebanon, Marionite monastery drinking coffee with a Syrian officer the day after Syria's entry into Lebanon.

Pope Benedict XVI on prejudice: "Tragically, cultural and ethnic differences throughout history have not infrequently been a source of misunderstanding and friction.  The family home is where children learn the essential values of responsibility and harmonious coexistence. It is here too that prejudices are either born or broken. Every parent therefore has the grave duty to instill in their children, through example, respect for the dignity that marks every person regardless of ethnicity, religion, or social grouping."

Father Luciano Mainini, Secretary-General of the Italian Pilgrimages Secretariat complained to French President Nicolas Sarkozy about poor service to Our Lady of Lourdes by the French National Railway Company:  "For several years we have faced many difficulties, notably in transporting sick people.  We can no longer accept being placed behind freight trains.  Nor can we accept that this is tolerated in the country where modern civil rights originated."  Father Mainini also complained of sudden timetable changes and 10% to 15% railway tax hikes.

Tal Asquf, Iraq

Tired of paying jizya/protection money and being the object of violence at the hands of al-Qaeda, Sunnis, and Shiites, the 8,000 Catholics in the Iraqi village of Tal Asquf have armed themselves with the help of the Kurds who supply the rifles and ammunition and pay the 200 local militia $200/month.  The Kurds protect the area surrounding Tal Asquf, and the villagers guard the entrances to town.  So far, the arrangement has secured the safety of the Tal Asquf residents.  The downside - merchants in Tal Asquf have raised prices knowing residents can't safely travel to Mosul.

Holy Land: Campaign calls to boycott goods from illegal Israeli settlements

Holy Land: Jim Crow is alive and well in Hebron

Syrians who lived in Golan Heights still hope to return home

Syrian monastery gives visitors taste of ancient spiritual life

Dr. Abraham Terian discovered a manuscript at Saint James Armenian Monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem suggesting that Jesus played cricket as a boy in Tiberias, Palestine.  "The most amazing part of the story of the nine year old Jesus playing a form of cricket with the boys at the sea shore is that he would go on playing the game on water, over the sea waves.''

Turkmenistan:  Everyday religious repression

"Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish I realized, 'I am killing him all for the passing pleasure it brings me,' and something inside me clicked.  I realized as I watched him fight for breath that his life was as important to him as mine was to me," said Sir Paul McCartney as he explained why he became a vegetarian.

Caritas Jerusalem appeals to the public for help for two teenage girls removed from their homes by the Israeli Army under Administrative Detention/without cause

Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust reported an increase in violence against Christians in Nigeria and an abduction of youth with the intention of converting them to Islam.  Saint Mary Roman Catholic Church in Ningi, Bauchi State, Nigeria, and Christ The King Catholic Church in the Naibawa District of Kano City, Nigeria, were destroyed.

In the Syrian desert, the language of Jesus lives on

Because of the housing slump, sales of Saint Joseph's statues are booming.  It is said that if you bury a statue of Saint Joseph upside down in your yard, a sale will follow. 

Thieves on Postiguet Beach in Alicante, Spain, are burying stolen wallets, credit cards, passports, etc. in plastic bags in the sand instead of running away after the theft.

Vatican City State has the highest per capita crime rate in the world:  472 criminal trials for 492 residents in 2006.    However, 18 million pilgrims visit the Vatican each year and most crimes are pickpocketing.  The criminal justice system in the Vatican is based on Canon Law, but the Vatican has the option of turning defendants over to the Italian courts.

The Holy See, which includes the Vatican Secretariat of State, Vatican congregations and pontifical councils, investment portfolio (earnings of $2.2MM in 2007 vs. $21.5MM in 2006), real estate, newspaper, radio, publishing, and television, reported a $14MM deficit for 2007 due to the falling U. S. dollar and lower stock market performance.   Vatican City State, which includes the Vatican Museums and Post Office, reported a surplus of $10.5MM.

Catholic California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stressed the importance of health-care reform, "Even if it takes praying 20 rosaries a day every day, I will be on my knees praying the 20 rosaries, and we are going to get the job done."

Iraqi Dominican details life in war-torn country

AFP

Fencing at Corpus Christi Catholic Home for the Elderly in Sydney, Australia

Dominic Spadaro, 77, retired after 47 years as a barber at the Theological College of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C.  "Every haircut is a challenge. And you never really get used to it even though you do the same person over and over again. It's always a new experience. You feel it's something that you approach as for the first time. It's a matter of getting to the point where I think it's right. My aim is to make them happy. I'm a very painstaking worker."

Vatican Congregation for Clergy, on counsel from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has directed parishes not to give the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints/Mormons, Catholic parish records for microfilming and digitizing.  The Mormons use the records to posthumously baptize the ancestors of converts from Catholicism to the LDS.

Caritas Jerusalem celebrated Mother's Day by taking seniors from The Ramallah Elderly Day Care Centre on a day trip to Jericho.  More

Polish Catholic Church has warned its 28,000 priests not to plagiarize their homilies; for example, from other clergy's postings on the internet.  "Unfortunately the practice has become more usual than not. But if a priest takes another priest's words and presents them as his own without saying where he got them from, this is unethical and against the rules of authorship," said Father Wieslaw Przyczyna of the Pontifical Academy of Theology who co-authored the 150-page guide, To Plagiarize or Not to Plagiarize, available for £6.  Plagiarizing priests face a fine and three years in a Polish prison.

J.  M.  Eddins Jr./The Washington Times

Stephen Higgins helps his son, altar server James Higgins, 8, with his vestments at Saint Mary Mother of Good Church for a Tridentine Latin Mass in Washington, D. C.   James wants to be a professional baseball player and then pope.