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The Weekly News In
Review newsletter is a service
provided by Understand The Times that is a
compilation of the news articles
posted on our site during the previous
week.
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May 18 - Pope: Mary, Star of the Sea for Genoa and the young
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
He
recalled that his predecessor Benedict
XV, who was from Genoa, was so
devoted to the Virgin of the Guard that he
had a statue of the Virgin placed
in the Vatican gardens (see
photo). "I myself",
the pope
said,
"pray every day in front of that
statue".
Benedict XVI
recalled the words of Mary in her
apparition to a farmer, Benedetto Pareto,
urging him to build the shrine
without fearing the
difficulties: "Trust
in
me! You will not be without the means to
do so. With my help, everything
will be easy for you. Only keep your
will firm".
The
pope continued:
"'Trust in me!' Mary repeats these
words to us today. An ancient
prayer, deeply rooted in the popular
tradition, has us address to Her these
trustful words, which today we make our
own: 'Remember, O most gracious
Virgin Mary, that
never was it known that anyone who
fled to your protection, implored your help,
or sought your intercession,
was left
unaided'. It is with
this certainty that we invoke the maternal
assistance of the Virgin of the
Guard over your diocesan community, over
your pastors, consecrated persons,
lay faithful: the young, the families, the
elderly. We asked her to watch,
in a special way, over the sick and all the
suffering, and to make fruitful
the missionary initiatives that are in
preparation to bring to all the
proclamation of the Gospel.
Together we entrust to Mary the entire city,
with its varied population, its cultural,
social, and economic activities;
the problems and challenges of our times,
and the efforts of those who are
working for the common good".
Before the Marian prayer,
he invoked
the protection of Mary
"Star of the Sea" over
the city and above all over the young
people, "that they may follow,
with her help, the correct
route through the often stormy sea of
life".
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April 24 - Update: Lakeland Revival Intensifies
Article: Experience Based Christianity
Thousands
of people longing for
a physical or spiritual touch
from God are flocking to central Florida
for ongoing revival meetings
that some have dubbed the "Lakeland Healing
Outpouring." The
services, which are being broadcast live daily
on GOD TV to millions of
potential viewers, reveal the excitement
radiating from this area of the
Sunshine State,
prompting some people to
jump on planes and fly in from across the
country and even from
abroad.
The 700-seat
sanctuary of host pastor Stephen Strader's Ignited
Church can no longer contain the crowds.
More
than 1,000
worshipers stood inches apart at Friday night's
service,
jamming every
aisle and altar area. Their bodies rocked
back
and forth, and their
faces wore peace-filled, lovesick and euphoric
expressions.
John Arnott, who
pastored the historic revival ignited at his
Toronto Airport
Christian Fellowship in 1994, wrote in a letter last
week to Bentley:
"Todd, you need
to
keep going in
these meetings as long as the Lord is moving. I feel
that this is a
prophetic sign that another wave of revival is coming
to North
America."
Kilpatrick added
that revival is not something that can be
controlled and that
people hungry for God need to simply ask Him to
touch them. "I feel in my spirit very strongly
that
there's another wave of the Holy Spirit
coming,
a tidal wave of the
glory of God,"
he
said, stifling
his sobs on the phone. "I'm sorry, there's
nothing like the
presence of God. It has ruined me for
life."
"What is
happening is so much bigger than anyone in this
building,"
Bentley said from
the stage where he was kneeling.
"I hear the
angels joining in. . The Holy Spirit is taking
over."
Bentley, who looks
more like a gang leader than the founder of a
Christian ministry,
came to Lakeland on April 2 and has shown no
sign of leaving
since an angel, he said,
visited him the day
after he arrived. Prophetic minister Bob
Jones told
Bentley he believed the angel's
name was
"Winds of Change"--the same angel,
Jones said, that visited
healing evangelist
William Branham in the 1940s.
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May 20 - Buddhists, Christians Consider Point of Union
Article: Ecumenical Movement - Other Religions Uniting With Roman Catholics
ROCCA DI PAPA, Italy, MAY 20, 2008
(Zenit.org).-
Buddhists and Christians can find a
point of
unity and
understanding in the Buddhist concept of compassion
and
the Christian
understanding of love, concluded experts at an
interreligious
dialogue meeting.
The Buddhist and
Christian representatives, gathered April 26-30 in
Rocca di Papa,
near Rome, by the Catholic lay Focolare movement,
considered the unifying elements in
their
respective
traditions.
Focolare Father
Cinto Busquet spoke with ZENIT about the importance
of the meeting:
"The sincere and radical
openness to the
religious experience of the other, on the base of
love and
compassion lived among us, has permitted being
able to have
together a
shared experience of God, who has
illuminated both
us Christians and our Buddhist
brothers."
"Certainly,
and following their tradition, our
Buddhist friends
do not speak of God, but rather of Buddha or Darma,
but both we and
they have been able to speak with full liberty of
the respective faith
experiences, feeling welcomed and profoundly
understood by
each other in the infinite mystery of God,"
he
said.
Ryoko Nishioka,
from Japan, noted how the meeting was the third of
its kind. He said it
"had a special
significance, since as Buddhists
and Christians we have gone
deeper into what
Buddhist compassion and Christian love
mean.
I believe that in the
practice of this love and understanding, we
can find
depth."
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May 22 - Pope Calls Eucharist History's Greatest Revolution
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
VATICAN
CITY, MAY 22, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict
XVI says the Eucharist brought history's
deepest
and most profound
revolution.
The
Eucharist has brought a social revolution,
he affirmed, since believers gather before
it,
leaving aside differences in
economic or social class, political
convictions, sex and even
preferences.
Meditating on the Eucharistic
mystery, the Holy Father cited the phrase
from St. Paul: "There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free
person, there is not male and female;
for you are all one in Christ
Jesus."
"In these words,"
said the Pontiff, "is
perceived
the truth and the strength of
the Christian revolution, the deepest
revolution of human
history, which is experienced precisely
gathered around the
Eucharist. Here people of different ages, sex,
social condition and political
ideas gather."
"The Eucharist can never be a
private event,
reserved to people chosen on
the basis of affinity or friendship,"
he added. "The Eucharist is a public
worship that has nothing of
esotericism or exclusivity.
"We have not decided
with whom we want to gather;
we have come and found
ourselves together with each other, gathered by
faith and called to become one
body, sharing the only Bread that is
Christ.
"We are united beyond our
differences of
nationality, profession, social
class, political ideas: We open
ourselves to each other to
become one in him."
The feast of Corpus Christi, he
concluded, "reminds us above all: To be
Christians means to come together from all parts
to be in the presence of the
only Lord and to be one in him and with
him."
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May 21 - Britain Is 'One Step to Closer to Designer Babies'
Article: Cloning And Genetic Engineering
Great Britain has
passed controversial
legislation that gives
scientists the green light to
pursue research with stem cells
and human-animal hybrid
embryos. Yet
the country is still torn between
supporting science and fearing a
breaching of ethical
boundaries. German commentators on Wednesday
share
this ambivalence.
In a 336 to 176 vote on Monday,
an attempt to ban research using
hybrid human-animal embryos
was defeated. Scientists claim that such
permission is necessary for
them to continue looking for cures for
diseases such as Parkinson's
and multiple sclerosis, and that a shortage
of donated human embryos
forces them to look elsewhere.
Opponents from some religious and
political camps, however,
worry that permitting
such procedures is not only unethical
but
also bound to fail. Lawmakers
tried to dampen such fears by forbidding
scientists from allowing hybrid
embryos to develop for longer than 14
days and from being
implanted in an animal or human for further
development.
The issue of "savior siblings"
concerns cases in which
parents attempt to screen
embryos and thereby "select" a child with
specific characteristics so that
that child might be able to help an
older sibling suffering from a
disease, for example, by donating tissue,
bone marrow or an organ.
Despite intense opposition, lawmakers
authorized this type of screening by a 179-
vote
majority late
Monday.
On Tuesday, lawmakers abolished the
earlier legislation's
requirement that a father be present in order for
a woman to seek fertility
treatment.
This vote is seen as a move to make
such
treatment more readily
available to lesbian couples and single
women.
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May 21 - 5th Dogma a Marian Antidote
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
The text
includes the petition that
asks the Pope to
proclaim Mary as "the Spiritual
Mother of All Humanity, the co-redemptrix
with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix
of all graces with Jesus the one mediator,
and advocate with Jesus Christ on
behalf of the human race."
Q: Why do you think that the time is
opportune for the declaration of a
fifth Marian dogma?
The fifth Marian dogma would certainly improve the
world situation through the prayers of Mary
to her divine Son. Many believe
that the danger of Marxist Communism
was averted by the apparitions of Mary
at Lourdes, Fatima, etc., and the
consequent increase in devotion to Mary.
The greatest threat that the Catholic
Church faces today is
consumerist relativism that has greatly
affected the Western Church and even
the Churches in Asia. I believe that it can be
overcome by honoring Our Lady with the
proposed dogma.
Almighty God is the Lord of history and he
can always overcome the effects
of disunity caused by human weakness.
The Hindu
communities in India are extremely open
to the concept of "Mother," and they
enthusiastically participate in the Marian
devotions of the Catholic Church.
The Orthodox Churches with whom we live
together, already believe in this
doctrine.
It will bring more
peace built on justice in the
world. It will give a new spurt to
evangelization. It will bring about
greater devotion to Mary and confidence in
her intercessory power.
It will make Catholics realize that
just as
Mary, through the merits of Jesus Christ,
has become co-redemptrix,
mediatrix of all graces and advocate for
the whole human race, we too share
in Mary's threefold roles for the salvation of
humankind.
Even though the content of
the proposed definition is clearly
taught by the Fathers and doctors of the
Church, such as St. Alphonsus
Liguori in his work "Glories of Mary,"
an infallible
definition by the Pope will
help deepen the confidence of the people
of God in Mary's role as co-redemptrix,
mediatrix of all graces and
advocate.
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May 23 - Chimpanzee should be a legal person, animal rights activists say
Article: Creation / Evolution - Creation / Evolution Debate
Strausburg,
May 23, 2008 / 02:49 am (CNA)
.-
Animal rights advocates are appealing to
the European Court of Human Rights
to
declare a 26-year-old chimpanzee
named Matthew to be a legal
person.
British teacher
Paula Stibbe and activists with
the Vienna-based Association Against
Animal Factories
want to declare Matthew a person so that
Stibbe may be appointed his legal
guardian if the bankrupt animal sanctuary
where Matthew lives in Vienna
shuts down, the Evening Standard
says.
"Everybody who knows
him personally will see him as a person,"
said the
36-year-old Stibbe, who was born in
England but lives in Vienna.
"Since he has no close
relatives, I am doing this as the person
closest to him,"
she said, according to the
Evening Standard.
Matthew's supporters argue that
only legal
personhood will ensure he is not
sold to someone outside Austria, where
he is protected by the country's
strict animal cruelty laws.
Eberhart Theuer, chief legal adviser
for the Association Against Animal
Factories, advocated on behalf of the
chimpanzee, saying, "His life depends
on this decision. This case is about the
fundamental question: Who is the
bearer of human rights? Who is a person
according to the European Human
Rights Charter?"
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May 22 - RFID scanners coming to border this summer
Article: Technology For A Global Monetary System
Radio
frequency sensors are set to go up at Rio
Grande Valley border
crossings this summer and fall,
preparing the ports of entry for stricter
entry
requirements next year.
Known as RFID, or radio
frequency identification,
the sensors will be able to
detect microchips embedded in new passports,
border crossing cards and
visas. Those with older passports will not be
able to drive or walk through
so easily, though - only passports, border
crossing cards and visas
issued in the past couple of years are equipped
with the microchips.
The microchips will allow
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents
to pull
up a traveler's information moments before
a vehicle or pedestrian
approaches an inspection booth. In many cases,
travelers won't need to remove
the cards from their pockets or purses.
"It'll make crossing the border
easier while
providing more
protection," Mancha said.
Border officials were
adamant the RFID sensors would not compromise
personal information. Passports and other crossing
documents only contain a
serial number, which can be used to access data
in a government-secured
database, Mancha said.
Passport and visa applications do
include personal
information such as Social
Security numbers, though.
The
RFID sensor technology is expected to cost
about $160 million to install
nationwide.
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May 21 - Israel: Russia may be selling Syria arms
Article: Israel And The Last Days
According to
the reports, the
talks will focus on arms sales -
including submarines, anti-aircraft
missiles, the latest model MiG
fighter jets and advanced
surface-to-surface ballistic
missiles. Israel is particularly
concerned with a Syrian
request for long-range
S-300 surface-to-air missiles
that could threaten IAF jets flying on the
Israeli side of the Golan
Heights.
The S-300 is one of the best multi-target
anti-aircraft-missile systems
in the world and reportedly can track 100
targets simultaneously while
engaging 12 at the same time. Syria
recently received 36 Pantsir
S1E air-defense systems from Russia. Iran
is believed to have already
procured several S-300 systems to protect
its nuclear facilities.
Officials said that Israel was working
diplomatically with Moscow to
prevent the sales, but that for the right
amount of money, Russia
would likely approve the sales in any case.
Israel is also extremely
concerned about a possible sale of the
Iskander surface-to-surface
missile system. The Iskander is propelled by
solid fuel and has a range of
300 kilometers, with accuracy of about 20
meters. "This would without a doubt be
a major
threat to Israel,"
one Israeli expert said.
Lastly, Syria is also reportedly interested in
buying two Amur-1650
submarines from Russia. The Amur 1650 is a
diesel-electric operated vessel
and reportedly can strike salvo missile
blows at multiple targets
simultaneously.
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May 25 - Eucharist should make us attentive to needs of the poor, Benedict XVI teaches
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days
Vatican City, May 25,
2008 / 11:03 am (CNA)
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Speaking to pilgrims about the
feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Benedict
XVI said "the Eucharist reveals the true
beauty of
Christianity" and
is "the school of charity and solidarity
that should
make us more attentive to the
many people who struggle to procure their
daily
bread.""One week ago our gaze
was on the mystery of the
Trinity;
today we are invited to fix our gaze on
the holy Host: and thus on
God, the same Love. This is the beauty of
true Christianity: The Creator
and Lord of all things was made a grain
of wheat in order to be sown
on our earth, in the furrows of our
history. He was made bread to
be broken, shared, eaten; he was made our
food to give us live, his own
divine life."
The Eucharist, he said, is
"the school of
charity and solidarity.
He who eats of the bread of Christ cannot
remain indifferent before
those, who also in our day, are deprived of
their daily bread."
"We obtain this grace from the
Virgin Mary,
from whom the Son of God
took flesh and blood, as we repeat in a
celebrated Eucharistic hymn,
set to music by the one of the greatest
composers, Ave verum corpus
natum de Maria Virgine. Mary, who brought
forth from her womb Jesus,
who was the 'tabernacle' of living, imparts
to us her own faith in the holy
mystery of the Body and Blood of her
divine Son, since he is truly the
center of our lives."
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We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
In Jesus,
Roger Oakland
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