Father Michael Manning, whose popular program "The Word in the World" airs every Wednesday morning (8:30 a.m. PST) on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), was honored May 19th by his peers and by Pope Benedict XVI for his many years of compassionate Christian witness.

In a prayer ceremony at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral in San Bernardino, California, Manning was presented with the Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice Cross, a medal which translates, "For the Church and the Holy Father."

Manning launched his nationally syndicated weekly program in 1978 with the goal of presenting Catholic Christian perspectives on important social and religious issues, mending bridges between denominations and religions, and championing the plight of the poor and disenfranchised. The program offers fresh insights from the Bible and features interviews with both celebrities and little known people whose faith and life offer strong inspiration.

Paul Crouch Jr., Vice President of Administration for TBN, noted that Father Manning's broadcast ministry crosses all denominational and cultural lines, making it a perfect fit for TBN. "His relevant and heartfelt teachings have clearly illustrated that 'Christ crucified and then resurrected is the center of what all Christians believe ... the rest is just window dressing.' On behalf of everyone at TBN, I congratulate Father Manning on receiving this prestigious and much deserved award from Pope Benedict XVI."

The American Bible Society an organization that has been around for nearly 200 years, has been respected and trusted by millions. However, it has just been brought to our attention that ABS' online ministry For Ministry is promoting the emerging church and contemplative spirituality, and in no small way. Under the heading authentic-church, For Ministry is offering hundreds of resources that include everything from the Alpha Course, to books by emergent leaders like Doug Pagitt, articles about and by Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, to books and articles by Brian McLaren. The For Ministry authentic church resource database is very extensive and links to many articles and books that not only promote and link to contemplative and emerging but also to New Age references such as an article called the "Future is Now," which discusses futurist and New Age sympathizer Leonard Sweet.

A group of investors led by private equity firm InterMedia Partners VII is buying Thomas Nelson Inc. in a $473 million deal that will take the publishing company private.

InterMedia will pay shareholders of Nashville-based Thomas Nelson (NYSE: TNM) $29.85 per share, which represents a 21 percent premium over the closing price of the stock on Feb. 17.

Thomas Nelson publishes and distributes products that emphasize Christian, inspirational and family value themes.

InterMedia Partners is led by Leo Hindery Jr., the former chairman of The YES Network, a sports TV channel that broadcasts New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets games as well as other sports in the Northeast.

Hindery also is the former president and CEO of AT&T Broadband and cable television distributor TCI. He also led a previous, Nashville-headquartered incarnation of InterMedia Partners during the 1990s. In 1997, that cable company's revenue was $356 million, making it one of the region's largest private companies at the time.

Note from UTT: We feel it is important to point out that a Christian Publishing Co. is being sold to a private (for profit) investment group.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a frenetic set of meetings amid intense Israeli-Hezbollah fighting, said Tuesday the United States wants an "urgent and enduring" peace where problems are solved without war.

Talking to reporters after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Rice said, "We need to get to a sustainable peace, there must be a way for people to reconcile their differences."

Earlier, meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, she said the time has come for a new Middle East. "I have no doubt there are those who wish to strangle a democratic and sovereign Lebanon in its crib," Rice said. "We, of course, also urgently want to end the violence."

Saudi King Abdullah appealed to the world Tuesday to stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon, saying that if peace moves fail, the Middle East could be engulfed in war.

In a statement read out on state television, the king said: "if the option of peace fails as a result of Israeli arrogance, then the only option remaining will be war, and God alone knows what the region would witness in a conflict that would spare no one."

The statement, issued by the royal court, said that the Saudi government had been trying to bring a halt to the violence since it began on July 12, when Hizbullah guerrillas snatched two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid from Lebanon.

"It must be said that patience can't last forever, and if the brutal Israeli military continues to kill and destroy, no one can foresee what may happen," the king said.

DUBLIN, Ireland - Irish archaeologists Tuesday heralded the discovery of an ancient book of psalms by a construction worker who spotted something while driving the shovel of his backhoe into a bog.
The approximately 20-page book has been dated to the years 800-1000. Trinity College manuscripts expert Bernard Meehan said it was the first discovery of an Irish early medieval document in two centuries.

"This is really a miracle find," said Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland, which has the book stored in refrigeration and facing years of painstaking analysis before being put on public display.

...The book was found open to a page describing, in Latin script, Psalm 83, in which God hears complaints of other nations' attempts to wipe out the name of Israel.

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader issued a worldwide call Thursday for Muslims to rise up in a holy war against Israel and join the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza until Islam reigns from "Spain to Iraq."

In a taped message broadcast by Al-Jazeera television, Ayman al-Zawahiri said the terrorist organization would not stand idly by while "these (Israeli) shells burn our brothers.

"All the world is a battlefield open in front of us," said the Egyptian-born al-Zawahiri, second-in-command to Osama bin Laden.

"The war with Israel does not depend on cease- fires ... . It is a Jihad for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq," al-Zawahiri said. "We will attack everywhere." Spain was controlled by Arab Muslims until they were driven from the country at the turn of the 16th century.

Al-Zawahiri declared that Arab regimes were complicit in Israeli fighting against Hezbollah and the Palestinians.

"My fellow Muslims, it is obvious that Arab and Islamic governments are not only impotent but also complicit...and you are alone on the battlefield. Rely on God and fight your enemies...make yourselves martyrs."

MICHAEL HIGGINS

OPINION

King David was fond of dancing. But then again, so was Salome. As you can see, the Scriptures are rather non-committal with regard to the efficacy of dancing. In other words, it can be to a fine end or it can be to a deadly end.

Jesuits are very fond of dancing as well, and presumably it is all to a good end. A Jesuit dance ensemble from Boston College regularly performs and provides instruction in matters pertaining to liturgical dance. They are not entirely unique in this undertaking. As a recent article in The Tablet of London indicated there is a remarkable Indian Jesuit by the name of Saju George who believes in the profound relationship of the sacred with Indian classical dance. He is an expert in Kuchipudi and, more especially, Bharatanatyam.

Bharatanatyam is originally a Hindu temple dance that has undergone some significant change since 1947. When he was asked how it is possible to integrate traditionally Hindu religious practice with Catholic spirituality Father George responded that "we have to go through a rigorous training - physical and mental. The form of dance involves a commitment of the whole person, body and soul. Everything that is danced is in place of God. God may be Shiva, or Krishna - or one of the other gods of the Hindu tradition.

SEOUL, South Korea, JULY 28, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The World Methodist Conference meeting in South Korea signed the joint declaration on justification that the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation had signed in 1999.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, attended the July 20-24 meeting, and said that the gesture is "a gift from God" and "one of the principal successes of ecumenical dialogue," reported Vatican Radio.

...Late last year, Benedict XVI received a delegation of the World Methodist Council, led by its president, Bishop Sunday Mbang of Nigeria.

At the time, the Holy Father said: "Should the World Methodist Council express its intention to associate itself to the joint declaration, it would contribute to the reconciliation that we ardently desire and would be a significant step toward the objective of full and visible unity in the faith."