|
|
The News In Review newsletter is a service
provided
by Understand The Times that
is a compilation of the news articles
previously posted
on our site .
 |
|
|
September 6 - Pontiff's Prayer at Madonna della Quercia Shrine
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last days
Here is a
translation of the greeting Benedict
XVI gave today to the cloistered nuns who
gathered at the shrine of the
Madonna della Quercia (the Madonna of
the Oak) in Viterbo, and the text of a
prayer he offered during his pastoral visit
to that city. I ask you now to
join with me in invoking the maternal protection of
Mary for this diocesan community and the
inhabitants of this land rich with
religious and cultural traditions.
Holy Virgin,
Madonna della Quercia, Patroness
of the Diocese of Viterbo,
gathered in
this sanctuary
consecrated to
you, we
address a suppliant and confident prayer
to you: watch over the
successor of Peter and the Church
entrusted to his care; watch over this
diocesan community and her pastors,
over Italy, over Europe and the other
continents.
Queen of peace,
obtain the gift of
concord and peace for the nations and for
the whole of humanity.
Obedient Virgin, Mother of Christ, Who,
with your docile "yes" to the
Angel's announcement, became the
Mother of the Almighty,
help everyone of your children to ratify the
designs that the Heavenly
Father has for everyone, to cooperate in
the universal plan of redemption,
that Christ accomplished dying on the
cross.
Virgin of
Nazareth, Queen of the Family,
Make our
Christian families forges of
evangelical life, enriched by the gift of
many vocations to the priesthood
and the consecrated life. Keep firm the
unity of our families, which are
today threatened from every side, and
make them hearths of serenity and
concord, where patient dialogue
dissipates the difficulties and oppositions.
above all watch over those who are
divided and in crisis,
Mother of
forgiveness and reconciliation.
Clement
Virgin, Mother of Humanity,
Turn your
gaze upon the men and women of our
time, upon peoples and those who govern
them, upon nations and continents;
console those who weep, who suffer, who
struggle because of human injustice,
sustain those who waver under the weight
of toil and look to the future
without hope; encourage those who labor
to
build a better world where
justice triumphs and brotherhood
reigns, where egoism, hatred and
violence cease. May every form and
manifestation of violence be defeated by
the peaceful power of Christ!
Virgin of
Listening, Star of Hope, Mother of
Mercy,
source
through whom Jesus came into the
world, our life and our joy, we thank you and we renew
to you the offer of our life, certain that you
will never abandon us, especially in
the dark and difficult moments
of existence. Be with us always: now and
at the hour of our death. Amen!
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
September 7 - Church Leaders, Climate Experts to Urge World Leaders to Focus on Poor
Article: Social Gospel
Two networks of
faith-based humanitarian and
development groups will be sending a
delegation to this month's
high-level U.N. event on climate change to
ask world leaders to give the
highest political priority to a new
climate deal.
Alongside representatives
from CIDSE and Caritas Internationalis,
church
leaders and climate experts from the
developed and developing
world will personally urge world leaders to
think about the world's poorest
people as they believe "bold action is
needed to protect them from
the devastating impacts of climate
change."
"Wealthy countries have an
unequivocal moral duty
to reduce their own emissions
and help developing countries who are
already suffering the
consequences of our profligate use of fossil fuels
for economic gain,"
commented delegation head Keith O'Brien, a
cardinal from the United
Kingdom.
According to the
United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change,
2009 is
a crucial year in the international effort
to address climate change.
In December, national government
delegations who agreed to
shape an ambitious international response to
climate change in 2007 will be
meeting for the end-of-the-year summit in
Copenhagen to finalize the details of a new
climate change agreement
that will replace the current one, which runs
until 2012.
According to some
scientists, industrialized
nations must cut
emissions by 25 to 40 percent
from 1990 levels by 2020 to prevent
climate disasters, such as
coastal flooding from rising sea levels,
severe weather events, and
variations in rainfall and temperatures that
will affect agriculture and wipe
out species of plants and animals.
CIDSE, meanwhile, is
a network of 16 member
organizations in Europe and North America
that share a common strategy
in their
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
September 7 - Ahmadinejad: Iran 'Will Never Negotiate' Over Nuclear 'Rights'
Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars
TEHRAN,
Iran - President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday
Iran will neither halt uranium
enrichment nor negotiate over its nuclear
rights but is ready to sit
and talk with world powers over
"global
challenges."
Ahmadinejad also said Iran
will present a package of proposals for talks
to the five permanent
members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany
but rejected any deadline for
such talks.
He said the package would
"identify challenges facing humanity ... and
resolve global
concerns."
But he
said that "from our point of view, Iran's
nuclear
issue is over. We continue our
work within the framework of global
regulations and in close
interaction with the International Atomic
Energy Agency." But
"we will never negotiate over obvious rights of
the
Iranian nation," he
said.
Iran has
repeatedly vowed it will never suspend enrichment
work, saying it has every right
under the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty to enrich uranium and
produce nuclear fuel. The enrichment
process can produce either
fuel for a reactor or the material for a
warhead.
"It
is very clear that this (deadline) is
incompatible with the Iranian
nation's needs and direction today,"
Ahmadinejad told a
press conference Monday. "Resolving global
issues requires constructive
interaction on the basis of justice and
respect."
Ahmadinejad said Iran will
continue to cooperate with the IAEA over
regulations on safeguards on
its nuclear sites,
"but we will resist if the
agency is influenced by political
pressures."
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
September 7 - UN wants new global currency to replace dollar
Artilce: One World Goverment
In a radical report, the
UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) has said
the system of currencies and
capital rules which binds the world economy
is not working properly, and
was largely responsible for the financial
and economic crises.
It added that the
present system, under which
the dollar acts as the world's reserve
currency, should be subject to a wholesale
reconsideration.
Although a number of
countries, including
China
and Russia, have suggested replacing the
dollar
as
the world's reserve
currency,
the UNCTAD report
is the first
time a
major multinational institution
has posited such a suggestion.
In essence, the
report calls for a new Bretton Woods-style system
of managed international
exchange rates, meaning central banks would be
forced to intervene and either
support or push down their currencies
depending on how the rest of
the world economy is behaving.
"Replacing the dollar
with an
artificial currency
would solve some of the
problems related to the potential of countries
running large deficits and
would help stability," said Detlef
Kotte, one of the report's
authors. "But you
will
also need a system of
managed exchange rates. Countries should keep
real
exchange rates [adjusted for
inflation] stable. Central banks would have
to intervene and if not they
would have to be told to do so by a
multilateral institution such as
the International Monetary Fund."
The proposals, included
in UNCTAD's annual
Trade and
Development
Report , amount to
the most radical suggestions
for redesigning the global monetary system.
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
September 7 - Engage with the faithful by Tony Blair
Article: One World Religion
In many developing countries
religion is one of the most powerful
sources of personal identity - for good
and ill. Understanding these identities is
critical to
tackling conflict and understanding
politics. Equally,
the role of religion in
forming attitudes and
behaviour can be profoundly important in
addressing the causes and effects
of poverty.
At the turn of the millennium government
understood that the churches could
deliver powerful and effective advocacy
messages in favour of development
objectives: on aid, trade and debt. With
Gordon Brown and myself, they were
mainly knocking on an open door. We
valued that commitment to making poverty
history. The great
London multi-faith march by
religious leaders this year to promote the
Millennium Development Goals was
further evidence of the power wielded by
faith communities when they work
together.
The answer is
providing help to
enable faith communities to develop
their capabilities. It doesn't make sense
for them to do this separately.
This is a core part of the vision of my Faith
Foundation. When faith
communities collaborate for justice and
human development there is a double
payoff: things get done and respect and
understanding between them
grows.
The role of faith in development is
complex and not well enough understood.
The seminar series we're running with
Dfid, Islamic Relief, World Vision and
Oxfam is designed to be an open, and if
necessary,
critical discussion about the role that faith
can play in development.
It's timely.
Government is
taking an increasing interest in faith
and development, and the faith community
increasingly has a viable role
alongside major development
organisations in working to achieve the
MDGs.
We
live in a global community. The
contest for scarce resources, water
and oil, will be intense by mid-century.
Our
interdependence is manifest whether at
the level of climate change or global
financial markets. The daunting
task of bringing 1.4 billion people
out of dire poverty, feeding the 900 million
who go to bed hungry every day,
faces religious
communities and secular humanists
alike. We need the inter-religious
and inter-cultural dialogue that turns
neighbours into friends able to work
together to confront the threats to our
common security.
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
September 9 - Worldwide Children's Eucharistic Holy Hour to be observed at National Shrine
Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last days
Archbishop of New Orleans Gregory
Aymond
will lead the annual Worldwide Children's
Eucharistic Holy Hour
on Friday, October 2 at the Basilica of the
National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The
Holy Hour, to begin at 10 a.m.
Eastern Time, will
be broadcast live to over 40
nations on Eternal Word Television Network
(EWTN). It is sponsored by
Children of the Eucharist, the children's
program of the World
Apostolate of Fatima.
More than 4,000 school children will
gather at the basilica,
according to the St. Paul/ Minneapolis division
of the World Apostolate of
Fatima.
Children around the world will
join them to pray the Rosary before the
Blessed
Sacrament in their own parishes,
dioceses and
schools. They will also
pray the Entrustment to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary,
prayers of reparation taught by the Angel of
Fatima,
and the Benediction.
"Then Jesus does what no
one else can do;
he fans the flame of faith in the hearts of
the children. This is the door
that will initiate the new times in the
families of the
world."
According to the World Apostolate of
Fatima, the Worldwide
Children's Holy Hour
responds to the requests of Our Lady
of Fatima in
1917 for prayers and
sacrifices, and for the particular requests of the
"Angel of Peace" to the three
shepherd children visionaries for prayer
and reparation before the
Eucharistic Lord.
Marlon De La Torre, Superintendent of
Schools of the Catholic
Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, said that the
Children of the Eucharist
program has
helped foster deeper
appreciation for the true presence of Christ in the
Holy
Eucharist.
"Hopefully we can start to see this in
more and more dioceses," he
continued. "As human persons,
we are
made for the Eucharist and our children in
particular have a receptivity for
the Eucharist that is only waiting for
an invitation. That's our job as
adults to make that invitation to help
them come to love and serve
Christ."
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
September 8 - Businesswoman to Church: Financial Crisis Golden Opportunity for Economic Justice
Article: Social Gospel
The global financial crisis is a
golden opportunity for an economic
justice movement, said
a South African businesswoman at a
Reformed Church conference
in Johannesburg. What the crisis shows is a
"spectacular failure" of the
current global economic system and
the need for a radical
reconstruction of it,
asserted Mohau Pheko,
coordinator of the African Gender and Trade
Network.Pheko,
who
serves as an advisor to governments and trade
organizations, presented her
ideas to participants of an event focused
on what churches
can do to address inequalities in the global
economic
system.
The event, organized
by the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches,
convened theologians,
advocates, economists and senior church officials
from 23 countries, and
focused on economic justice and concern for the
earth's
ecology.
On the second day of
the Sept. 3-7 gathering, Pheko
told attendees that
a new
economic model is urgent,
especially when looking at
Africa, where people do not have money saved
up to weather the effects of the
crisis. In South Africa, protests are
already taking place regarding
problems with service delivery and food.
"We have to smash the current
paradigm
so that it does not have roots
and legs to rise again,"
she
added.
In addition to
presentations, the recently
concluded conference also discussed the
Accra Confession - a
statement issued in 2004 by WARC that declares the
current policy of unlimited
growth among industrialized countries and
their drive for profit have
plundered the earth and severely damaged the
environment. With the Accra
Confession in mind, attendees debated
how
churches can interpret and respond to the
impact of the current global
economic model.
Read More ....
|
|
|
|
|
September 9 - U.S.: Iran Nearing Ability to Build Atomic Bomb
Artcile: Wars And Rumors Of Wars
The United States said
Wednesday that Iran
was moving closer to being able to
produce a nuclear bomb by stockpiling
enriched uranium and, along
with European allies, urged Tehran to
engage in talks over its atomic
program.
"Iran
is now either very near or in possession
already of sufficient low-enriched
uranium to produce one nuclear weapon if
the decision were made to further
enrich it to weapons-grade,"
Glyn Davies, Washington's chief envoy to
the International Atomic Energy Agency
said. "This
ongoing enrichment activity ... moves Iran
closer to a dangerous and
destabilizing possible breakout
capacity," he said.
The latest agency report
says Iran now has, at a minimum, 3,153
pounds of low-enriched uranium
hexafluoride, he added.
"Taken in connection with
Iran's refusal to engage with the IAEA
regarding its past nuclear
warhead-related work, we have serious concerns that
Iran is deliberately attempting, at a
minimum, to preserve a nuclear weapons
option," Davies told a meeting
of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's
35-nation governing
board.
Read More ....
|
|
We hope the Weekly News In Review has been a
blessing to you.
Sincerely,
Ron Pierotti
|
|
