Catholic News

Catholic world news daily 

Please scroll past obituaries for Catholic News

University president, Brother Vincent Malham, FSC, RIP

Brother Vincent Malham, FSC, Memorial

Father Julio Cesar Mendoza Acuña, 33, murdered, RIP

Australian Aiden Bott, 9, Catholic school tree, RIP

Eritrean refugee, Musa Bilay, RIP

Otis Townsend, 32, gym teacher, RIP

The Saint Vincent de Paul Society is refusing to bury unclaimed veterans in New York City because New York City's Human Resources Department often refuses claims for reimbursement. "We find HRA to be deadbeats," said Vincent Reilly, Executive Director of Saint Vincent de Paul.   Of the 1,960 claims for reimbursement by all charitable groups last year for burials, half were denied by New York City.  Twelve unclaimed veterans at the morgue are currently awaiting burial.  New York City responded that it helped bury 82 veterans last year.  Funeral directors are also refusing to transport unclaimed deceased because of not being reimbursed by New York City.  Queens Councilman Hiram Monserrate, who chairs the New York City Council Veterans Committee, is holding hearings. [Editor's note:  The federal government's Veterans Administration buries veterans, but doesn't transport veterans to the gravesite.]

At the beginning of Construction Safety Week, bricklayers, ironworkers, and plumbers shed tears at a memorial Mass with bagpipes at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City for the two dozen construction workers who died on the job in the past year.  Said Building Trades Employer's Association President and CEO, Louis Coletti, "We really wanted to focus on the families.  We're going to work in the future to get our reforms, and we won't be satisfied until we have a year when no one gets injured on the job."  The New York City Department of Buildings is offering five days of free public and worker safety construction seminars. 

Sergey Grits/AP

Crescent moon shines between two crosses on a church in Minsk, Belarus

Assumption College in Davao on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines has added a course on Peace to its curriculum.  "If we really want peace, we must involve our young people who will someday become future leaders of our country and city," said Assumption President Sister Marietta Banayo.  The Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Filipino army have been fighting for 40 years in Mindanao.

China Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Opera House Chorus performed Requiem in D Minor by Mozart for Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

Bishop Matthew Clark of the Diocese of Rochester is recovering from hip-replacement surgery.

University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, has received a $10MM gift from an alum to be used for scholarships for minority students, immigrant students, disabled students, and non-legacy students.  "I have been struck during our discussions about the changes in demographics and how it will become increasingly difficult for many students to be able to afford a Saint Thomas education," said Eugene Frey.   When Mr. Frey was graduated from Saint Thomas, tuition was $450.  Next year's tuition will be $27,000.

Fiona Basile/Diocese of Melbourne

Surfers on Bells Beach in Melbourne, Australia, take a moment to pray before a World Youth Day cross.

At his Wednesday, May 7, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI invited the head of the Armenian Church, Catholikos Karekin II, to sit with him, emphasizing "excellent relations" between the two Churches, and saying, "His presence revives within us our hope for the unity of all Christians."

Reuters, May 7, 2008:  "The pope will text daily messages of inspiration and hope during the six-day Sydney event while digital prayer walls will be erected at event sites and the Church will set up a Catholic social networking Web site akin to a Catholic Facebook."

The Italian Catholic Church is decrying a planned nudist festival in Capo Bianco, Sicily, scheduled for May 23 to May 25.

Max Rossi/Reuters

Swiss Guards' swearing-in ceremony May 6.
 Swiss, Catholic, Single, Beardless

After a rash of robberies in the Archdiocese of Sydney, a dozen parishes have hired security firms to pick up Sunday collections.

European Union Justice Court is threatening Spain with legal action if it doesn't start enforcing the 12-minute per hour advertising limit on television within the next two months.

The main building of Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas, housing Human Resources, Cashier Services, Sociology Department and the campus ministry was damaged by fire, but no injuries were reported.

Update 2: Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is calling for an end to child soldiers and is calling on the government to designate the Shrine of our Lady of Madhu a no war zone and a place of refuge for those fleeing war. Update 1:  The Sri Lankan government has returned the Cathedral of Our Lady of Madhu.  Backstory:  Bishop Ravappu Joseph of the Diocese of Mannar and priests protested the Sri Lankan government's confiscation of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Madhu for military and political purposes.  Sri Lanka and the Tamil rebels are in a civil war.

The Church of the Sacred Heart in Sri Lanka was damaged by aerial bombs. The statue of Our Lady of Madhu, a Sri Lankan pilgrimage site near Sacred Heart Church, has been moved to safety, displeasing the Sri Lankan faithful.

Peter Morrison/AP

Cein Quinn, 7, plays football/soccer next to the 40-year-old Peace Wall which separates the Catholic neighborhood from the Protestant neighborhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Vatican Congregation for Clergy, on the counsel of 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.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front forced 1,200 Christian farmers off their land in Mindanao Province in the Philippines.  Said a local farmer named Garcia, "The Islamic Front arrived suddenly and claimed their forefathers owned the land we are farming, and at gunpoint told us to leave.  Police were not allowed entry so they backed off to avoid bloodshed."

Responding to Cyclone Nargis, which killed 15,000 with 30,000 missing in Myanmar, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "heartfelt sympathy" and "invokes God's peace upon the dead and divine strength and comfort upon the homeless and all who are suffering."

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Football champions New York Giants at the White House on April 30.  The Giants are owned by the Catholic Mara family.  Matriarch Ann Mara, widow of Wellington Mara, is in the front row.

Pope Benedict XVI will leave Rome on July 12, arriving in Sydney on July 13 for World Youth Day 2008.  The pope will take three days as private time to adjust to the time difference and to see the flora and fauna of Australia. The pontiff is scheduled to depart Sydney on Monday, July 21.

Four young skateboarders accidentally set fire to Saint Kevin Catholic Primary School in Benowa, Australia, by lighting fires under boxes near Saint Kevin's for the skateboarders to jump over.  Said eleven-year-old Kiana Clarke who was playing in the oval/schoolyard, "We saw the guys riding skateboards, and we smelt the smoke.  They started setting fire to boxes and paper and then they set fire to the bins.  We ran out, and I called the cops."

Condensed version of Pope Benedict XVI's reflections on his pilgrimage to America:  Full Version (at the bottom of the page)

My recent Apostolic Journey to the United Nations and the United States of America was inspired by the theme, "Christ our Hope." I am most grateful to all who helped in any way to make the journey a success.  My visit was meant to encourage the Catholic community in America, especially our young people, to bear consistent witness to the faith and to carry on the Church's mission especially with regard to education and concern for the poor.  American society traditionally values religious freedom and the need for faith to play its part in building a sound civic life.  In my meetings with President Bush and with Christian leaders and representatives of other religions, I reaffirmed the Church's commitment to cooperation in the service of understanding, peace, and spiritual values.  My address to the United Nations stressed the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which grounds respect for human dignity in a universally valid ethical order.  In a particular way, my visit to Ground Zero, charged with sober silence and prayer, was a moving testimony to the hope which is stronger than evil and death.  I ask all of you to join me in praying that this visit will bear abundant spiritual fruit for the growth of the faith in America and for the unity and peace of the whole human family.

Kham/Reuters

Prayer Vigil, Hanoi, Vietnam

Pope Benedict XVI, in his Sunday, May 4, general audience, reflected on the Feast of the Ascension of Christ into heaven, and stated, "...in a Church that faces the relativistic, hedonistic, and consumerist mentality on a daily basis, you must be able to make more room for rationality under the banner of a faith that is the friend of intelligence, both in the area of popular mass culture, and in that of more elaborate and reflective research..."

The Diocese of Orlando [Florida] is sponsoring a Festival of Faith from May 9 - 10.

The Catholic Worker is celebrating its 75^th anniversary.

Jesus in the movie The Passion of the Christ, Jim Caviezel and his wife Kerri have adopted two children, a boy and a girl, with brain tumors

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

USSCB testified before Congress and urged the U. S. to accept more Iraqi refugees to alleviate the border stress on Syria and Jordan thereby averting a pending refugee crisis in the Middle East.  24,000 Iraqi refugees are awaiting U. S. entry permits.

Irish Cardinal Sean Brady was turned away from Jerusalem's Western Wall because he was wearing a crucifix.

Blaming Catholics for bigotry [in the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary] is real bias by Father Andrew Greeley

Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

Maronite Mass in Cairo, Egypt

A Knights of Colomubus poll found that 61% of Americans, both Catholic and non-Catholic, said Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to America met or exceeded their expectations, 58% said they were satisfied with the pope's apologies for the priest scandal, 32% believe that enough steps have been taken to prevent the scandal happening again, and 46% believe more steps need to be taken.

Lee-Ann Chisholm, 15, an honor student at Cardinal Spellman High School, was shot by the stray bullet of two arguing men in the Baychester neighborhood of The Bronx, New York.  One of the men died.  "I was terrified.  I felt like I was about to die.  I was screaming," said Lee-Ann who is in stable condition in the hospital after undergoing surgery.  Marie Watson, Lee-Ann's mother said, "How does it feel to get a call that your child has been shot?"

Canadian Autumn Kelly has renounced her Catholicism and joined the Church of England to marry Peter Phillips, grandson of Queen Elizabeth and heir to the throne.  The British 1701 Act of Settlement bars monarchs and their heirs from becoming or marrying Catholics.

Reinhard Krause/Reuters

Nuns pray for a smooth and successful Olympics in Beijing, China

According to Agenzia Fides, Holy Land Catholic Communications Centre has opened in Jerusalem for the purpose of contributing to the spread of "correct and authentic reports on the situation in the Holy Land in response to the Church’s essential mission of announcing the Truth."  The Holy Land Catholic Communications Centre will report in English, Italian, French, Arabic, and Hebrew, and is headed by Comboni Missionary Father Giuseppe Caramazza who said, "This centre is at the service of the various expressions of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.”

A candle fire caused over $200,000 worth of damage to the Sanctuary at Holy Family Catholic Church in Hooversville, Pennsylvania.  Said church secretary, Jeannie Corden, “It’s just sad.  It’s heartbreaking.  I don’t understand how something happens that quickly.”  In February a fire started in a closet.  Previously a bush outside the church caught fire.

Thought to result from sports' rivalries in Apia, Samoa, "About 50 boys from the Don Bosco school came up to town and started making trouble.  It started from there. They challenged another school to a fight. It is something we have never seen before here.  Don Bosco is a Catholic school. The head of the Catholic Church, the archbishop, apologised last night on national television to all people,'' said Mataafa Keni Lesa, editor of the newspaper, The Samoa Observer.  Molotov cocktails and metal bars were used causing two innocent girl bystanders to be sent to the hospital with burns.  23 Don Bosco Technical Centre students were arrested as were two teachers with more arrests pending.

Update 2:  Rescue efforts have been called off.  Update 1:  Father de Carli cellphoned that he was descending into the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, April 20.  Rescuers have not found Father De Carli.  Backstory below:

Renita Pelissari/Agencia O Globo

Brazilian Father Adelir Antonio de Carli being interviewed prior to his party-balloon flight to try to break a 19-hour record to raise money for a spirtual center for truckers

Agencia O Globo

Party balloonist Father Adelir Antonio de Carli is missing off the Brazilian coast of Paranagua.  The Port Authority lost contact with Father de Carli after 8 hours of flight near the coast of Santa Catarina where they found balloons floating in the Atlantic Ocean.  Father de Carli was trying to break a 19-hour ballooning record to raise money for a spiritual rest stop in Paranagua for truckers.  Paranagua is Brazil's largest grain port, and truckers can spend days waiting to unload especially during soy season.  Father de Carli was strapped to hundreds of green, red, white and yellow helium party balloons and intended to fly 465 miles northwest of his parish in São Cristovao to the City of Dourados but was blown off course 30 miles out to sea.  Father de Carli, an experienced skydiver, was wearing a helmet, thermal suit, and a parachute and had a GPS device, satellite phone, and a buoyant chair.

Father Adelir Antonio de Carli before his flight

Father Adelir Antonio de Carli airborne

Gazeta de Povo-Agencia O Globo

Balloons found on Tuesday, April 22, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florianopolis in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil.  Father De Carli started his flight on Sunday.

Born Michael Yohanna (right) near Mosul, Iraq, Chaldean Catholic Arab and Baath Party member Tariq Aziz, 72, childhood friend and Deputy Prime Minister under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who surrendered to the United States five years ago, is finally being brought to trial.  Mr. Aziz is accused of the 1992 execution of 42 merchants and speculating on food prices which were State fixed.  Archbishop Louis Sako of the Archdiocese of Kirkuk, where the trial is being held, appealed for "Justice, but in respect for human rights and of the dignity of the person, against any capital sentence."  Mr. Aziz was the only Christian in President Saddam Hussein's administration, and he could receive the death penalty.  The judge is the same judge who presided over President Saddam Hussein's trial, Kurdish Judge Rauf Rasheed Abdel.

In his Sunday, April 27, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI was especially concerned about violence in Somalia, Sudan, and Burundi:  "The news arriving from some African countries continues to give reason for deep suffering and intense concern.  I ask you not to forget these tragic circumstances and the brothers and sisters who are affected."

According to the April 28 edition of L'Osservatore Romano, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, responding to Vatican Nuncio Archbishop Jean-Paul Gobel's presenting his credentials to Iran, expressed appreciation to Pope Benedict XVI and the Vatican for speaking out against injustices such as war, poverty, and human rights' violations.  President Ahmadinejad said that since Muslims and Catholics constitute one-third of the world's population, both faiths should feel responsible for humanity.

Assisi, Italy, passed an ordinance banning begging.  Mayor Claudio Ricci said, "The phenomenon was reaching proportions that went far beyond the poor beggar who occasionally asks for charity.  This has become an organized and profitable activity."  Cardinal Renato Martino  of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace responded,  "Asking for charity is not a crime, and I don't see why it should be prohibited by law."

This is the revised first edition of the monthly Sviet Yevangelia/The Light of the Gospel (The Catholic Messenger) in the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, Russia.

Within three days of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York, dozens of men have inquired about the priesthood.

Gravestones were desecrated at Saint John of Jerusalem Cemetery in Levittown on Long Island in New York.

Catholics are 2.2 percent of the population in Pakistan.

To live the lifestyle of the president of the United States would take an income of $50MM to $100MM annually.

El Playa de Bakio

Update:  The Spanish ship El Playa de Bakio is headed home after being released.  Reuters is reporting that $1.2MM/ €766,000 was paid to Somalian pirates but Spain will not confirm that a ransom was paid.   Backstory:  Spanish Basque tuna fishing boat, El Playa de Bakio, and 26 crew have been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia.  NATO has been asked to help with the rescue.

Plinio Lepri/AP

Pope Benedict XVI ordains Jarjis Robert Sayd of Iraq, one of 29 new priests ordained at the Vatican on Sunday, April 27

United Kingdom Catholic schools are refusing the admission of students who were baptized late.  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.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh [Scotland] is recovering at home from the insertion of a pacemaker and shoulder surgery.  Cardinal O'Brien fainted prior to Palm Sunday Mass and said of his shoulder surgery, "I'm not complaining, but it is just slightly inconvenient when celebrating Mass."

Update 1:  President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has failed to win the majority in the election for the first time in 28 years. Members of the Movement for Democratic Change Party (MDC), the winning party, have been arrested, their homes set on fire, and ordered to "go back to the bush." Backstory: Trade unions in several African countries have refused to unload munitions on the Chinese vessel An Yue Jiang which were ordered three days after elections in Zimbabwe in which the polls indicated Catholic President Robert Mugabe might lose.  The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has yet to release results from the March 29 presidential election.   The Zimbabwean Catholic Church said, "Ordinary workers have taken the lead where politicians have failed.  Its very important that these weapons don't reach Zimbabwe. The country is at risk of genocide."  Southern African Bishops Conference's Cardinal Napier OFM, said, "On behalf of the Catholic Community in Southern Africa, I call on the South Africa government not to allow any more arms and munitions to enter Zimbabwe through South Africa until an acceptable solution is found to the present situation. The deepening crisis and escalating violence in Zimbabwe compels us to repeat our call for immediate international intervention by a competent and objective mediator such as Kofi Annan. Failure of the international community to act immediately condemns the Zimbabwean people to ongoing insecurity and suffering." 

Tony Gentile/Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI attends a concert at the Vatican in honor of his third anniversary as pontiff

A Katyusha rocket struck the Apostolic Nunciature in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, damaging the building, but no one was hurt.  There is fighting between the government and rebel forces.

A Mass of Thanksgiving was said at the Cathedral in Dili, East Timor, for President Jose Ramos Horta's recovery from gunshot wounds following fighting between the government and rebel forces.

According to a survey by Maktoob Research, a leading Middle Eastern research firm, Oman has the highest percentage of happy people at 61%, followed by Saudi Arabia at 57%, Qatar at 56%  Bahrain at 54%, Kuwait at 53%, UAE at 52%, Jordan at 47%, Egypt at 46%, Syria at 46% , Morocco at 44% and Lebanon at 35%.

Padre Pio lays in repose at the Pare Pio Sanctuary in a crystal casket in the crypt of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy

The average American reads six books a year.

A new novel by Alexandra Dumas, the author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketters, has been discovered and published.  The 750 page The Last Cavalier romps through the Napoleanic Wars.

Police spent two hours chasing this bear seen near Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey

Ludmila Mitrega/AFP

University of Lublin in Poland

In his Wednesday, April 23, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI: 

After the fall of the Soviet Union, your populations witnessed significant social changes along the road of progress but difficult situations still remain.  There are many poor, unemployed, and refugees whom the wars have driven away from their homes leaving them in a precarious state.  The tormented events of the past century have not, however, extinguished the flame of the Gospel which through the generations has found fertile ground in the Caucusus although violent opposition has not been lacking both inside and from the outside causing many victims among which the Church counts not a few martyrs of the faith.

Your pastoral activity is therefore carried out in a territory where many social and cultural challenges remain and where the Catholic community constitutes a small flock which lives its faith in contact with other Christian faiths and other religions.  There coexist, in fact, Catholics of the Armenian, Latin, and Chaldean rite, together with Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Jews, and Muslims.  In such a multireligious context, it is important that Catholics should continue and increasingly intensify their collaboration with other Churches and also with the followers of other religions as already happens in many places.

Parents have raised $400,000 for repairs and $120,000 toward the purchase price of Villa Augustina School in Goffstown, New Hampshire, which was scheduled to be closed.  The school will be an independent Catholic school for prekindergarden through 8th grade.

Priests

The singing group, Priests, has signed a £1MM contract with Sony BMG's Epic Records.  The priests (from left to right) Father Martin O'Hagan, his brother Father Eugene O'Hagan, and their school chum, Father David Delargy, are priests in the Northern Ireland Diocese of Down and Connor.  The Priests' debut album is due in November.

Although Vietnam ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1982, the U. S. states Vietnam is not living up to its obligations for religious freedom as guaranteed by the Covenant.  Said Commissioner Leonard Leo  of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom:  "We want Vietnam's rhetoric on religious freedom to match reality but it will depend a lot on how the international community responds.  When the international community and the United States are engaged, the government of Vietnam believes they need to implement reforms.  So I think it's going to depend on how much attention we can direct to what is going on in country."

1,000 Catholics demonstrated in Ha Dong, Vietnam, demanding the return of a parish building confiscated by the local government 30 years ago.

The Sisters of the Vinh Son Charity Order are protesting the Vietnamese government's confiscation of their convent on Nguyen Thi Dieu in Ho Chi Minh City with plans to convert the convent into a hotel and night club.

Mr. Dinh Plok's farm and belongings were confiscated by Vietnamese officials for "refusing to sign a document renouncing his Christian faith."

126-year-old Saint John of the Cross Church in Grafton, Australia, burned to the ground due to arson by a 10-year-old boy, and a 13-year-old boy.  Another youngster is being sought.  "I couldn't believe the church could be so damaged by young children. The church is gutted, and I am also gutted," said Father Rex Hackett.

Nine Finnish tourists died in a bus crash on their way to Málaga Airport on Spain's Costa del Sol..

Bishop Christopher Saunders of the Diocese of Broome [Australia] tries to play the traditional didgeridoo, a Gadigal indiginous instrument.  Bishop Saunders said playing the didgeridoo is harder than it looks.

Milanese Silvio Berlusconi has been elected prime minister  of Italy for the third time: 1994, 2001, 2008.  Mr. Berlusconi opposes the proposed merger of Alitalia, Italy's national airline, with Air France/KLM; and, therefore, his candidacy was supported by labor unions.

Former Bishop Fernando Lugo has won the presidential election in Paraguay.  President-elect Fernanco Lugo, formerly known as the "Bishop of the Poor" resigned as bishop to run for the presidency.  He takes office on August 15.

Referencing the new Anti-Discrimination Against and Remedies for Persons With Disabilities Act, Bishop Lucas Kim Un-hoe of the Archdiocese of Seoul [South Korea] said, "The law stipulates that people with disabilities are equal to others in exercising their human rights, breaking from former legal notions that regarded them as objects of social welfare or care.  Now it's time for not only people with disabilities themselves but the government, NGOs, frontline social welfare institutes and the Church to devise concrete plans to empower disabled people to decide their own matters and support themselves."

Britain's National Trust has purchased the only surviving copy of the earliest-known edition of the pre-Reformation Sarum Missal published by William Caxton in Paris in 1487.  Mark Purcell, the National Trust's Libraries Curator, said: "The acquisition of the Sarum Missal is hugely exciting and presents us with a wonderful opportunity to share this intriguing and historic book."  David Morgan who is Property Manager at Lyme Park said: "We plan to have the Missal on display in the Library at Lyme during the 2009 season. We shall also be creating a digital copy of the book with interactive page-turning facility so visitors will be able to see the real thing and to browse the whole volume for themselves. This will be the first time the National Trust has used modern technology in this way allowing visitors to get really close to such an ancient and fragile book."

Londoner Oliver Fallon, 40, pled guilty in Edinburgh Sheriff Court of stealing 288 documents from the Scottish Catholic Archives which houses Scottish Catholic documents dating from the year 1177.  Mr. Fallon said he stole the archival documents to sell for money.  He returned 31 and could face a custodial sentence.

Which countries have the most Catholics?  Brazil, Mexico and the United States.

The United States has more Catholic colleges and universities than any other country:  213.

Alice and Raymond Hudson celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary

Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, urges the twinning of U. K. Catholic schools with schools in the Holy Land to support the 1% Holy Land Christian population.  Without help, Father Pizzaballa states Christianity will vanish from the Holy Land in two generations.

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.

A judge has ruled that 14-year-old Michael Ryan can attend Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, against his atheist's father's wishes because that is where Michael and his mother want him to go.  Michael's father plans to appeal.

Update:   Due to discrimination within the Indian Catholic Church, 1,000 Dalit Christians reconverted to Hinduism in a ceremony marking the 117^th anniversary of the birth of the messiah of the Dalits, Bhimrao Ambedkar. 20,000 more are expected in to reconvert in August.  Pope John Paul II told the Indians bishops, “Any semblance of a caste-based prejudice in relations between Christians is a countersign to authentic human solidarity, a threat to genuine spirituality and a serious hindrance to the Church’s mission of evangelization. Therefore, customs or traditions that perpetuate or reinforce caste division should be sensitively reformed so that they may become an expression of the solidarity of the whole Christian community. As the Apostle Paul teaches us, ‘if one member suffers, all suffer together’ (1 Cor, 12:26).  It is the Church’s obligation to work unceasingly to change hearts, helping all people to see every human being as a child of God, a brother or sister of Christ, and therefore a member of our own family.”  Backstory below:

Dalit Catholics in India

500 Diocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore [India] Vanniyar/upper caste Catholics from Saghaya Madha/Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church attacked Dalit/low caste Catholics from Saint Jabamalais Annai Church torching over 30 huts because the Dalit Catholics of Saint Jabamalais want their own priest and a separate parish due to discrimination.  The Indian Catholic Bishops' Conference said, "Confrontation in the area between Dalit and Vanniyar Catholics goes back quite some time, but the Church does not want to split a parish along caste lines.  For years Dalits have been discriminated within the Church itself.  They cannot sit with upper caste members in the same church; they are buried in separate cemeteries; they cannot use the same roads as upper caste people. When the mother of a Dalit priest died in the 1990s, the upper caste did not allow the funeral procession to use the main road; even the bishop failed to bring about a compromise.”

Alex Grimm/Reuters

Forced Labor and the Catholic Church 1939 - 1945 is a 703 page book documenting the Church's use of 1,075 prisoners of war and 4,829 civilians as slaves in 800 Catholic hospitals, cemeteries, and as domestics, and on the farms and gardens of monasteries during World War II.  German Cardinal Karl Lehmann said, "It's a burden of history that our Church will keep facing up to in the future.  It should not be concealed that the Catholic Church was blind for too long to the fate and suffering of men, women, and children from the whole of Europe who were carted off to Germany as forced laborers."  Most slaves were from Poland and the Ukraine. The main historian on the book, Karl-Joseph Hummel, said the Church used only a small part of Germany's slave labor and has paid EUR 1.5MM as compensation to the victims and spent EUR 2.71MM on 200 reconciliation projects in eastern Europe.  Volkswagen, Siemens and Deutsche Bank have also acknowledged using slaves.  Karl-Joseph Hummel said between 1940 and 1942, 300 monasteries and other Catholic institutions were confiscated by the Nazis and thousands of Catholics were sent to concentration camps, but the Church, "It should have clearly said how its interpretation of loyalty, honor and the fatherland was not the same as the Nazis' view."

Polish bishops want Pope John Paul II's heart exhumed and brought to rest at Wawel Cathedral in Cracow, Poland.

Legislators in Ireland are debating the proposed Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill which would require wedding officiators to check residence permits prior to performing the marriage.  "This would effectively turn priests into immigration police and would not under any circumstances be acceptable to me," said Archdiocese of Dublin's Father Kevin Doran.  The penalty would be $790,000 and five years in prison.

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of the Archdiocese of Hong Kong has canceled a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady Help of Christians in Sheshan, China, at the request of the Chinese government who stated that the pilgrimage would be inconvenient.

Vatican appreciates Muslims coexistence with Catholics in Azerbaijan especially exemplified in the positive public addresses of tolerance by Sheik Allashukur Pashazade, Chair of the Caucasian Muslims Office, "which helps the other religions to express themselves, even publicly.  The esteem that this great Muslim authority shows for the Catholic Church, for the pope, is very high and has not wavered.  Archeological remains are conserved with respect, signs of the remains of the first Christian evangelization."

Father David Ajemian of Saint Mary of the Assumption parish in Brookline, Massachusetts, in the Archdiocese of Boston, has pled guilty to disorderly conduct and fined $95 by a New York City court with a promise from Father Ajemian to stop stalking late night talk show host Conan O'Brien.   "I recognize that what I did was disorderly, and I'm glad the people of New York have accepted that.  I regret that my actions caused concern in the people I was trying to contact.  I hope to return to ministry duties."  Father Ajemian sent letters to Conan O'Brien, phoned Conan's parents, and followed Conan to New York, California, and Italy.  Both Father Ajemian and Conan O'Brien were in the same dormitory at Harvard.

Pope Benedict XVI urged grandparents to “return...to being a living presence in the family, in the Church, and in society.”

A taxi is stuck, suspended at the top of the stairs at Saint Stephen Cathedral in Brisbane, Australia, as the taxi driver tried to get close to the church entrance to pick up a disabled passenger.

Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP

Lighting a candle in Baghdad, Iraq

Monsignor Philip Najim, Chaldean Ambassador to the Vatican, is concerned about Christians leaving Iraq.  "The United States and coalition troops are not showing they have any strategy for the future of this country, and this is another reason Iraqis are emigrating.  I ask myself, 'Where is the money that comes into Iraq for the oil, how are the proceeds handled?' - the people have a right to know. The government can do nothing because it is weak.  It is unable to guarantee security and respect human dignity."

Teachers in the Archdiocese of New York have been without a contract since August. The archdiocese has offered salary increases from $38,107 to $44,585 (17%) and from $45,757 to $54,701 (19.5%) over a three-year period but has increased teachers' contributions to the health plan to which the teachers' union is objecting. 

The Australian Catholic Church has launched a Catholic social networking site for Catholics around the world.  Spokesperson Catherine Smibert of Faithtrip.net said, "It is a one stop point for all the Catholic communities of the world.  It has been constructed to support both the individual and community in a high functioning, safe, and trustworthy environment."

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei said the Tridentine Mass/Latin Mass is bringing Catholics back into the fold.   30 cloistered nuns in Spain have "already been recognized and regularized," and "there are cases of American, German and French groups," who have begun the process.  "There are individual priests and many lay people who contact us, write to us, and call us for a reconciliation; and, on the other side, there are many other faithful who demonstrate their gratitude to the pope," said Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos.

Beginning July 6 and July 13, Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, will hold two Catholic soccer camps for both boys and girls from ages 8 to 17.  Details

Rhode Island's Physicians and Nurses Against Tobacco is asking the pope to make Vatican City the first smoke-free State.  "We hope to convince him to make this gesture as an example to other religious and political leaders and policymakers."  Smoking is banned in offices and public spaces in Vatican City, and Vatican City is reducing sale of tobacco products.  Said one Vatican employee, "If you smoke inside, it's a 30 euro fine."  A Vatican City police office said it is possible to be fired if you smoke in the office. 

Catholic Boston College's The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study after assessing 214,000 fourth grade ten year olds' reading ability in fiction and non-fiction found that Russian students scored highest followed by those in Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, Italy, Hungary, Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands, and Flemish Belgium.  The U. S. ranked 14^th and Britain ranked 15^th.  Those needing the most improvement were from South Africa, Morocco, Kuwait, Qatar, Indonesia, Iran, Trinidad and Tobago, Macedonia, Georgia and Romania.

The Order of Malta will sponsor a free medical clinic for uninsured children and adults at the new Christ the Light Cathedral complex in Oakland, California.  Diocese of Oakland Bishop Allen H. Vigneron said he got the idea after visiting Lourdes and approached the Knights who spent the last two years making it happen.

Rwandan Father Athanase Seromba was convicted of genocide for showing bulldozers which side of the Catholic church in Nyange, Rwanda, refugees were hiding.  Father Seromba was sentenced to life in prison by The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.  More

The Holy Land  2008

"Silent witness to the Savior’s life upon earth"
Pope Benedict XVI

Caritas Jerusalem Report

There was an increase in the number of obstacles restricting freedom of movement in the West Bank

580 as of February 2008.

Prior monthly averages of the number of obstacles:

472 in 2005
518 in 2006
552 in 2007

Between 1 January ­- 11 March 08:

259 Palestinians (43 children) and 14 Israelis (4 children) were killed

767 Palestinians (181 children) and 103 Israelis (5 children) were injured

In the West Bank trends show:

Increases in the number of Palestinian structures demolished

Increasing trends in IDF search operations

Increased use of curfews on Palestinian villages

In the Gaza Strip, sanitation authorities are dumping 60,000 cubic meters of sewage (20,000 cubic meters raw, 40,000 cubic meters partially treated) into the sea as a result of fuel, electrical and spare parts shortages.

Reuters

Lighting candles at Holy Family Church in The Holy Land

Easter Message from the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Christ is Risen. Indeed He is Risen!

I wish you all a Happy Easter full of God's grace. This will be my last Easter with you as I reach the age of 75 and retire. Yet, and as I have said in my last pastoral letter, I shall remain with you in my prayers and shall continue to accompany you in your happy moments and grievances.  I shall work with every seeker of justice and peace until all the inhabitants of this land will live in security and tranquility, in the presence of God Almighty, merciful and full of love to all His creatures.  For the sake of all our faithful in our churches of Jerusalem, and all believers from all religions in this land, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Baha'is, I shall pray, and extend my love to all.

Christ is Risen. Indeed He is risen! I pray and ask God to fill your hearts with the joy and hope of the Resurrection.  We all live in a Holy Land, the land of Revelation, Redemption and reconciliation between the peoples, and reconciliation with God, the compassionate and forgiving.  Unfortunately, this land remains a land of bloodshed, ignoring its own vocation and incapable of accepting it.

We have witnessed in the past few weeks the tragedy of over one million people in the Gaza Strip and over one hundred martyrs who fell there.  We also witnessed the victims of the Jewish religious school in Jerusalem, and we still witness every day Israeli incursions in the Palestinian cities and the killing of many Palestinians despite agreements with the Palestinian Authority.  We can still hear the voices of anger following the killing of the four young men in their homes in Bethlehem a few days ago.  All of these incidents form a chain of inhumane and futile violence regardless of the party behind it.  Facts on the ground prove that violence has failed to achieve the desired security.  It remains an inhumane violence and an aggression against the human dignity of the one who is killed and the one who kills.

Of course this is not the new life that we celebrate with every Easter. The States, the individuals, the Israelis and Palestinians, after more than one century of conflict, must understand that armies don't protect their peoples anymore but expose them to more violence, fear, and insecurity because the weak and the oppressed have also their power that challenges the strong of this world.  It is high time to learn the lessons of history and engage in the path of God.  It is high time for all peoples and individuals to accept the vocation entrusted by God to them which is to build societies and not demolish them.  Violence destroys and never builds. We are all capable of building because God granted us part of his goodness and power so we can uphold human societies that respect individuals and in which they must view each other as brothers and as God's creatures, equal in dignity, rights and duties.  Violence can never be a way towards this.  God created us and urged us to be perfect and holy as He is perfect and Holy. (cf Mt 5:48).

Despite this there are hundreds of thousands in both the Palestinian and Israeli societies who send an outcry: Peace peace.  And they are ready to make 'peace now.'  But we see also extremists on both sides who are prisoners of their own ideologies and call in the name of God to kill their brothers while God tells them all: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  We are in need of leaders who can make peace because this is the sole path to put an end to extremism and to start the true way towards security and tranquility. To say that peace is a risk that we cannot take means to keep all of us in the cycle of death and violence.  The leaders have to choose between two paths: Either peace or increasing extremism and insecurity.  We need leaders who are ready to offer their lives for the sake of peace not leaders who issue orders to kill and assassinate and send others to kill or to get killed.

Christ is Risen. Indeed He is risen! Amidst the difficult conditions which are worsening every day in our land and in the region, we remember the death of the Archbishop of Mosul in Iraq and the lives of all Iraqis who have been living a daily tragedy since the declaration of war on Iraq.  Amidst these difficult times, we celebrate Easter in Jerusalem, and we tell you, brothers and sisters, and all of you, men and women of good will., don't feel weak in front of the death forces working within our ranks. Saint Paul said, You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear (Romans 15:8), but you received the spirit of God to be strong with the same strength of God and His love.

We celebrate the feast of the glorious Resurrection,which is the triumph of Jesus Christ over death and sin.  God grants this power to every human being so that he can prevail over evil within his soul and the evil surrounding him. He grants us all the power to transform hatred and death into trust and love and life that was gifted to us through the Resurrection.

We believe in God and we believe that God is good and His goodness will one day defeat the evil of people who claim that they want to build and maintain security while their actions transform security into a mirage.  It is high time to take new security measures that respect the human being and bring him closer to peace rather than death.

Dear brothers and sisters, this is my last Easter Message as a Patriarch of the Holy Land. I have said earlier, and I repeat, I shall continue to pray and walk with you on the difficult path of peace and justice and on the path of sanctity that God requires from anyone who wants to live and rule this land. 

I wish everyone a Happy and Holy Easter and a new life full of the spirit and grace of God.

Christ is Risen. Indeed He is Risen!

+ Michel Sabbah, Patriarch

Debbie Hill/CNS

Mass at Holy Family Church in The Holy Land

Archbishop Michel Sabbah, Patriarch of Jerusalem: 

Our message to the Israelis and to the Palestinians is this:  'Up to the present time, and for almost 100 years, you have walked in the paths of violence; and despite this, after 100 years, you have not reached peace or security.  Take different paths, find other ways, and you know them: Talks, dialogue, understanding the needs of others, putting oneself in the place of the other to reach an agreement that can find and give everything that is due to each of the parties.'

Israel, the European Union and the international community must speak to the Palestinian Authority and accept that the Palestinian Authority reconciles with Hamas.  But as soon as Hamas enters the Palestinian government, the international community boycotts everything that is Palestinian.  It is a question of recognizing that the Palestinian Authority has the possibility of forming an alliance again because peace cannot be made only with a part of the Palestinian people.

There are more than 1.5 million people in Gaza. That has to be taken into account. Therefore the two groups have to unite and become a single Palestinian entity representing together the Palestinian will so that the international community and Israel can make peace agreements.  But as long as Hamas is subject to a boycott; and, as soon as it enters the government there is a boycott against the whole Palestinian people, we are in a blind alley.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, on the worldwide Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land:  "The Good Friday Collection has a special relevance.  Successive Pontiffs have indicated the appropriateness of this day to attest to our common heritage of that land which, in the course of history, abides as a 'silent witness to the Savior’s life upon earth,' to cite an expression preferred by Pope Benedict XVI.  It is my fervent plea that every local church shall participate in the effort to further our commitment to charity. The Congregation for Eastern Churches, by virtue of papal directive, coordinates this initiative, and does so with exactitude and fairness.  Always, the goal is to assist with the everyday requirements of Christian life."

Father Manuel Musallam, Pastor of Holy Family Parish, in Gaza: "We have no food.  There is a lack of doctors and medicines. The hospitals are full of dead people, and people are treated in the streets under inhumane conditions;  many are mutilated.  Children are a third of the victims of the latest Israeli attacks.  Young people are experiencing incalculable psychological trauma.  There are young schoolchildren who are no longer even able to study."

 Nowhere to Run

World Health Organization on Gaza:  "The denial and delay of permits released by the Israeli authorities for patients who have to leave Gaza for health reasons increased during 2007 causing further problems in addition to the usual access difficulties that have been affecting the Palestinian population particularly during the last eight years."

Joint statement between the Vatican and Israel on Israel's confiscating Church property and taxing the Church:  "The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel met this morning, Monday 17 March 2008 to continue negotiations on the Economic Agreement concerning fiscal and property matters. The delegations met in an atmosphere of great cordiality, carried forward their task, and renewed their shared determination to speed up their work in order to conclude the Agreement as soon as possible. They agreed to meet again on 9 April 2008."

Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem: "We are in need of leaders who can make peace because this is the sole path to put an end to extremism and to start the true way toward security and tranquility."

West Bank Procession Participants Want Freedom of Worship, Movement

Father Manuel Musallam, Pastor of Holy Family Parish, on the Israeli blockade of Gaza: "They have decided to kill us and are doing so slowly, in an indirect way, without weapons, but by depriving us of food and medical care.  If the international authorities are unable to stop Israel's violence against Gaza, we at least ask that they guarantee us a burial fitting for human beings."

During his Sunday, March 2, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI:  "I renew my pressing invitation to Israeli and Palestinian officials that this spiral of violence be stopped, unilaterally, without conditions.  Only by showing an absolute respect for human life, even that of the enemy, can one hope to provide a future of peace and coexistence for the young generations of those peoples who both have their roots in the Holy Land."

In his Sunday, March 9, 2008, general audience, Pope Benedict XVI:  "In recent days, violence and horror have again bloodied the Holy Land fostering a spiral of destruction and death that seems to have no end.  As I call upon you to ask the all-powerful Lord, insistently, for the gift of peace for this region, I desire to entrust to His mercy the many innocent victims and to express solidarity to the families and the wounded.  I encourage, moreover the Israeli and Palestinian authorities in their intention of continuing to build through negotiation a peaceful and just future for their peoples, and I ask all, in the name of God, to leave the tortuous paths of hatred and vengeance and to travel responsibly the paths of dialogue and trust."

Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem on the Holy Land: "The history that human beings make here with blood and hatred or with dialogue and collaboration is made...under the watchful eyes of God, the master of history, who gave this land a particular sanctity.  In a land belonging to God, only the ways of God will lead to a resolution of the conflict."

Christian churches in Gaza offered their condolences “for all the victims who have fallen and are still falling in this wave of violence in Gaza,” and offered hope for "the unity of the Palestinian people."

Caritas Jerusalem has called for an end to the Israeli military incursion into Gaza stating that the killing of innocent people can never be justified citing 118 Gazans killed including 19 children.  “Caritas Jerusalem is communicating as best as we can with other agencies to attempt to coordinate an entry of medicines, gauze, medicinal alcohol for wound dressing, bandages and so on.  We are also coordinating with other agencies concerning the need to provide urgent food provision to vulnerable communities cut off from food supplies and isolated due to the ongoing military actions.”

Bishop William Kenney CP, Archdiocese of Birmingham [England] after his visit to Beit Sahour Parish in Bethlehem:  "It is now impossible to visit the Holy Land without being aware of the 'security wall' as it is called. Many of us find that wall an insult to human dignity."

USCCB: "The split in Palestinian governance between the West Bank and Gaza is incompatible with a durable peace agreement."

Palestinian Father Manawel Musallam on Gaza:  "Children in the Holy Family Catholic School had to walk to school as there was no fuel for transport.  Pupils and teachers arrive dirty because they cannot wash as water has to be pumped into buildings using electricity.  In our school canteen, we have to feed 700 pupils but have only enough food for 30 or 40.  The cook cannot find anything to give them to eat.  With no electricity and no water, there is very little you can cook. You cannot even make a loaf of bread. The situation is critical. Streets are covered with sewage. I see the sick crying and dying.  [The situation is] almost as bad as hell."

Religious leaders in the Holy Land on the situation in Gaza:  "We urge Israel to act responsibly and to immediately end this inhuman siege. To deny children and civilians their necessary basic commodities is not the way to security but rather throws the region into further and more dangerous deteriorations. This siege will not guarantee the end to rocket firing but will only increase the bitterness and suffering and invite more revenge while the innocents keep dying. True peace building is the only way to bring the desired security."

Vatican on Holy See/Israeli negotiations on taxing the Catholic Church and confiscation of Catholic Church property:  “The Holy See is not asking for privileges.  We are asking in the name of the Catholic Church that the rights enjoyed until now by Christian residents in that very special land are implemented. And this is being asked because it is a question of life or death. If the Catholic communities in the Holy Land have to be subject to the obligation of taxes, they will gradually disappear.  An agreement has to be found because we are not at loggerheads. Everybody realizes the importance and the value of the Christian presence including the Israeli authorities. Therefore we have to reach harmony between the different forces in the field. I have to say that there is real collaboration to find solutions that are satisfactory for both.”

Easter message from thirteen Christian leaders in Jerusalem:

Thank you for your prayerful support; but please, we would ask that you recall that your faith in Christ has its origin in this Holy Land. You have to assume your responsibilities here.  You too are responsible with us for restoring in it the joy of the Resurrection so as to lift the burdens of death, hatred, occupation, security walls, and the fear of taking the risk of peace.  Do whatever you can, and please involve your governments, too, to assume their responsibilities for the peace of this land.  Pray for us as well as for a just and comprehensive peace in this land. Pray that fear, the main obstacle for peace, will disappear.  Pray…that this land of the Resurrection may enjoy the new life to which God has called it.

WQXR, a radio station in New York City owned by the New York Times newspaper, has refused to run an American Jewish Committee advertisement criticizing the bombing of Sderot by Palestinians because the advertisement did not mention Israeli incursions into Gaza. "...reasonable people might be troubled by the absence of any acknowledgement of reciprocal Israeli military actions."   Details

Holy Land:  UK watchdog asks Israel to withdraw misleading tourism ad

Christians in Gaza

A child's story from Gaza

Caritas Jerusalem's report on Gaza

Jerusalem mourns with people of Gaza

Holy Land: women forced to give birth in cars

Lack of fuel in Gaza forces teachers to adjust to help hungry pupils

Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem on Islamic extremism: "These religious tendencies will end up by imposing themselves if the policies within the Arab countries do not succeed in creating more just and secure societies, and if Islam does not succeed in renewing itself from within so as to respond to the religious need of the believers and to prevent the extremists from transforming religion into fanaticism and a source of violence.  But it should also be said that relations between Muslims and Christians have not yet reached their perfect equilibrium. This is a matter of a long and slow path that must be perfected every day."

Hatem Moussa/AP

YMCA Library in Gaza City, Palestine, after explosion

Cave Church of Saint Peter/Saint Peter's Grotto, a church dug out by Saint Peter in a cave in Mount Stauris, and the first Christian church in Antioch, Turkey, has been closed by the Turkish government because of structural concerns after the collapse of portions of the cave.  Capuchin Father Egidio Picucci said, “The possibility that further collapses could constitute a serious danger for the security of visitors led the museum directors to take these measures.”  Father Picucci said that although the church/cave walls have ancient Christian symbols, Saint Peter's "is a place dear to all inhabitants of Antioch, including Muslims. On the Feast of Saint Peter everyone comes to get blessed bread and to drink water,” which is brought to the sick.  Father Picucci said Catholic and Orthodox communities celebrate Christmas and Easter together in the stone church.

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.

Pope Benedict XVI stated that a society which is ignorant of history is vulnerable.  "A society which, heedless of its own past, and hence lacking criteria acquired through experience, is no longer capable of harmonious coexistence or joint commitment in realizing future aims.  Such a society is particularly vulnerable to ideological manipulation. This danger is becoming ever greater because of an excessive emphasis given to modern history especially when research in this field is conditioned by a methodology which draws inspiration from positivism and sociology," while overlooking "other important aspects of historical reality, even entire epochs."

According to the Pew Internet Project, 64% of Americans use the internet to search for religious/spiritual websites.