August 2 - Pope writes to Muslims about mutual respect
 Article: Ecumenical Movement - Other Religions Uniting With Roman Catholics

With the end of the month of Ramadan approaching, Pope Francis decided to personally write to all Muslims as a sign of friendship and to promote greater respect between the two faiths.  "This year, the first of my Pontificate, I have decided to sign this traditional message myself and to send it to you, dear friends, as an expression of esteem and friendship for all Muslims, especially those who are religious leaders," Pope Francis wrote in the letter, which was signed on July 10.  
 

"I am aware that family and social dimensions enjoy a particular prominence for Muslims during this period, and it is worth noting that there are certain parallels in each of these areas with Christian faith and practice," he said.

For the theme of this year's message the Holy Father chose: "Promoting Mutual Respect through Education."  By "respect," Pope Francis said he means "an attitude of kindness towards people for whom we have consideration and esteem," while his emphasis on mutuality was to underscore that "this is not a one-way process, but something shared by both sides."

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 July 30 - Woolly mammoth DNA may lead to a resurrection of the ancient beast
 Article: Cloning And Genetic Engineering

The pioneering scientist who created Dolly the sheep has outlined how cells plucked from frozen woolly mammoth  carcasses might one day help resurrect the ancient beasts.  The notional procedure - bringing with it echoes of the Jurassic Park films - was spelled out by Sir Ian Wilmut, the Edinburgh-based stem-cell scientist, whose team unveiled Dolly as the world's first cloned mammal in 1996.

Though it is unlikely that a mammoth could be cloned in the same way as Dolly, more modern techniques that convert tissue cells into stem cells could potentially achieve the feat, Wilmut says in an article today for the academic journalism website, The Conversation.

"I've always been very sceptical about the whole idea, but it dawned on me that if you could clear the first hurdle of getting viable cells from mammoths, you might be able to do something useful and interesting," Wilmut told the Guardian. "I think it should be done as long as we can provide great care for the animal. If there are reasonable prospects of them being healthy, we should do it. We can learn a lot about them," he added.

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 July 2 - Friar lauds indulgence as a way to connect with St. Francis
 Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

Today's feast of Our Lady of the Angels of Porziuncola and its associated indulgence is a way to focus on the importance of Mary and the Franciscan tradition in the Church, a friar explained. The Aug. 2 feast is found in the Franciscan tradition, and marks the dedication of the parish church, called Porziuncola or "little portion," which is one of those Italy's St. Francis of Assisi rebuilt in obedience to Christ's command to "rebuild my church."

The Catholic Church teaches that after a sin is forgiven, an unhealthy attachment to created things still remains. Indulgences remove that unhealthy attachment, purifying the soul so that it is more fit to enter heaven. Indulgences are either plenary - full - or partial.

A plenary indulgence also requires that the individual be in the state of grace and have complete detachment from sin. The person must also sacramentally confess their sins and receive Communion up to about twenty days before or after the indulgenced act.

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 August 2 - Mexico archdiocese investigating possible Eucharistic miracle
 Article:Signs And Wonders

Msgr. Ramiro Valdes Sanchez, vicar general of Guadalajara, Mexico, has announced that the archdiocese is investigating a possible Eucharistic miracle that reportedly took place last week.  Msgr. Valdes Sanchez said he has received instructions from the archbishop of Guadalajara, Cardinal Jose Francisco Robles Ortega, to direct the investigation.

The pastor of Mary Mother of the Church, Father Jose Dolores Castellanos Gudino, said that on July 24, while he was kneeling in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, he saw a flash of light and heard a voice.

"Ring the bells so that everyone comes," the voice allegedly instructed. "I will pour blessings upon those present and the entire day. Take your small tabernacle for private adoration to the parish altar and put the large monstrance next to the small tabernacle. Don't open the tabernacle until three in the afternoon, not before." 

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 August 2 - Indian migrants in Holy Land prepare for Marian feast
 Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

Preparations for the Feast of the Nativity of Mary this September are already underway in the Holy Land, particularly among Indian migrant workers.

"Mother Mary is revered with great devotion by the Indian community as a mother and a spiritual figure of maternal protection," said Friar Jayaseellan Pitchaimuthu OFM, head of the Indian Chaplaincy in Holy Land.

She is acknowledged as the "protector and patroness" of the Indian Chaplaincy in Holy Land because she is a "model" for the migrants, he told EWTN News. Many Indian Catholic migrant workers "seek grace and invoke (Mary's) motherly protection," he said

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 August 2 - Ahmadinejad: Israel will be uprooted
 Article: Israel And The Last Days

Iran's outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that a regional storm was on the way to "uproot" Israel.

Speaking at what is thought to be his last public address on Friday in Tehran, he addressed crowds in the lead-up to Hassan Rouhani's inauguration on Sunday. "I will inform you with God as my witness, a devastating storm is on the way that will uproot the basis of Zionism," Ahmadinejad said at annual Quds Day rallies. Israel "has no place in this region", he said.

"Ahmadinejad hasn't changed his stance or rhetoric against Israel one bit" since he took office, said Al Jazeera's Soraya Lennie, reporting from Tehran. She added that elsewhere in his speech, he "accused medical companies run by Zioinsts of creating viruses and spreading them all over the world so they can drive up drug prices."

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 August 2 - FBI can remotely activate microphones in Android smartphones, source says
 Article: Miscellaneous

Law-enforcement officials in the U.S. are expanding the use of tools routinely used by computer hackers to gather information on suspects, bringing the criminal wiretap into the cyber age.

Federal agencies have largely kept quiet about these capabilities, but court documents and interviews with people involved in the programs provide new details about the hacking tools, including spyware delivered to computers and phones through email or Web links-techniques more commonly associated with attacks by criminals.

People familiar with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's programs say that the use of hacking tools under court orders has grown as agents seek to keep up with suspects who use new communications technology, including some types of online chat and encryption tools. The use of such communications, which can't be wiretapped like a phone, is called "going dark" among law enforcement.

A spokeswoman for the FBI declined to comment.

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