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February 19 - March 11, 2007 
 Weekly News In Review
 Vol 2, Issue 6
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The Weekly News In Review Newsletter is a compilation of the news articles that have appeared on the Understand The Times website during the previous week.

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 February 19 - Churches back plan to unite under Pope
 Article: Ecumenical Movement - Other Religions Uniting With Roman Catholics

Radical proposals to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope are to be published this year, The Times has learnt.

The proposals have been agreed by senior bishops of both churches.

In a 42-page statement prepared by an international commission of both churches, Anglicans and Roman Catholics are urged to explore how they might reunite under the Pope.

The statement, leaked to The Times, is being considered by the Vatican, where Catholic bishops are preparing a formal response.

The document leaked to The Times is the commission's first statement, Growing Together in Unity and Mission. The report acknowledges the "imperfect communion" between the two churches but says that there is enough common ground to make its "call for action" about the Pope and other issues.

In one significant passage the report notes: "The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the ministry of the Bishop of Rome [the Pope] as universal primate is in accordance with Christ's will for the Church and an essential element of maintaining it in unity and truth." Anglicans rejected the Bishop of Rome as universal primate in the 16th century. Today, however, some Anglicans are beginning to see the potential value of a ministry of universal primacy, which would be exercised by the Bishop of Rome, as a sign and focus of unity within a reunited Church.

In another paragraph the report goes even further: "We urge Anglicans and Roman Catholics to explore together how the ministry of the Bishop of Rome might be offered and received in order to assist our Communions to grow towards full, ecclesial communion."



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 February 14, 2007 - Author Tim Fleming Offers a Free Download of a New Version of the Bible for the Gay Community
 Article: Apostasy

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) February 14, 2007 -- This is a new version of the Holy Bible that includes the New Testament, along with a new book entitled God's New Law, which was introduced in the year 2000. This book contains testimony of prophecy fulfilled, prophecy to be, and the decommissioning of traditional religion so that God may dwell with all those who believe. God's New Law is meant to be the last book of the Bible and to herald the birth of God's religion without doctrine.

Starting with the witnessing of Christ, the author, Tim Fleming, claims that, in the year 2000, God tested one of his begotten and realized the value of forgiving those who are willing to forgive, and He has therefore offered salvation to the homosexual community for the sacrifices they have made through mental anguish.

Fleming acknowledges that no man is to add to the book of life but the Father, but that God heard the cry for help from the submissive, and sent another son and prophet to lead the gay community to freedom. Fleming contends this new Bible contains scripture that has been prescribed by God, and that, while the Bible has been validated through the generations, only now does man have the chaperone of the Father in Heaven to add new testimony to its pages.

The first book of God's New Law, "The Journal," is a description of the re-creation of man beyond Revelations that attempts to illustrate what the enlightened students of God's kingdoms prescribe. The second book, "The Victory," describes how an act of vengeance by the Father's left hand delivers poetic justice to those who did not heed his warning to forgive thy neighbor. The third book, "Peace through Suffering," is a testament purportedly written by the Father in Heaven and one of his adopted.
Leaving the last book entitled the "The Journey" offering to lead mankind away from serving doctrine into living in the spirit with God and his kingdom.



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 February 17, 2007 - Wind shifts devastate ocean life
 Article: Signs Of The Last Times

By Jonathan Fildes
 
The delicate interplay between the oceans and atmosphere is changing with catastrophic consequences.

Entire marine ecosystems have been wiped out, devastating populations of sea birds and larger marine mammals.

These "dead zones" occur where there are disturbances to the nutrient- rich ocean currents, which are driven by coastal winds.

Extreme marine suffocations have occurred off the west coast of the US every year for the last five years.

The most intense event, which left the ocean floor littered with the carcasses of crabs, happened in 2006.

It was unlike anything that we've measured along the Oregon coast in the past five decades," said Dr Francis Chan, of Oregon State University (OSU).



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 February 17, 2007 - Action plan for killer asteroids
 Article: Signs Of The Last Times

By Jonathan Fildes
 
A draft UN treaty to determine what would have to be done if a giant asteroid was on a collision course with Earth is to be drawn up this year.

The document would set out global policies including who should be in charge of plans to deflect any object.

...At the moment, Nasa is monitoring 127 near-Earth objects (NEO) that have a possibility of hitting the Earth.

...The threat of an asteroid hitting the Earth is being taken more and more seriously as more and more NEOs are found.



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 February 19, 2007 - Hezbollah growing more powerful, says Israeli general
 Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Hezbollah is militarily stronger today than before the 34-day war Israel waged against the group in Lebanon last summer, according to a warning from a senior Israeli officer.
 
"Hezbollah has reinforced and it is stronger today than it was before the war in Lebanon," General Yossi Beidatz, a senior military intelligence officer, reportedly told Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.
 
Syria, accused along with Iran of supplying arms to Hezbollah, is similarly reinforcing its military to prepare for the possibility of a new armed conflict in the region, Beidatza added Monday.

Israel sought to destroy the Shiite militia in a 34-day bombardment of Lebanon last July and August, but the Jewish state failed to achieve many of its war aims, leading to an official inquiry into the war's conduct.



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 February 21 - Iran prepares people for 'messiah miracles'
 Article: Islam

Iran is abuzzz in expectation of the imminent arrival of the Muslim messiah - known as the 12th Imam or Mahdi.

This "Savior" will come soon, together with Jesus Christ, whi will be his "lieutenant," according to a radio series that just came to an end in Iran.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been foretelling the Mahdi's coming and vowing that his arrival will spell the end of Israel and the United States.

According to reports, Ahmadinejad understands that mayhem and global chaos will precede this coming.

Fears have been expressed that the Iranian's frenetic pursuit of nuclear power could be in readiness to tip the region into a maelstrom.



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 February 21, 2007 - KFC Appeals to Higher Authority by Asking for Papal Blessing for New KFC(R) Fish Snacker Sandwich
 Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

New Fish Snacker Offers Modern Take on 'Loaves and Fishes' for Today's Lenten Observers
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's most popular chicken restaurant chain is offering fish for the first time nationally with the introduction of the new KFC® Fish Snacker. The company has asked the Pope himself for his blessing, with KFC President Gregg Dedrick sending a personal letter to the Vatican.
 
C's new Fish Snacker Sandwich, a tender, flaky filet of 100 percent Alaskan Pollack topped with tangy tartar sauce and served on a warm sesame bun, extends KFC's popular Snacker line-up and is ideal for American Catholics who want to observe Lenten season traditions while still leading their busy, modern lifestyles. The company has turned to Pope Benedict XVI, beseeching him to bestow his Papal blessing for this innovative new menu item. Vatican officials confirmed they received KFC's request, and the company is hopeful to get the Pope's blessing this Lenten season.
 
"People can enjoy the flavor of the new Fish Snacker any day of the week, but we believe it will be especially popular on Fridays," said James O'Reilly, Chief Marketing Officer for KFC.


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 February 19, 2007 - Cardinal's permission for gays' Mass dismays Catholic traditionalists
 Article: Roman Catholics Church And The Last Days

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Sunday Telegraph

Homosexual rights campaigners have gained permission from the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales to hold Mass for gay parishioners.

While the Church has allowed celibate gays to receive holy communion, traditionalist Catholics believe that practising homosexuals should be barred from the sacramental rite because their way of life defies Church teaching.

Now, however, Cardinal Cormac Murphy- O'Connor has taken the controversial step of allowing fortnightly Masses in his Westminster diocese specifically for homosexuals.

A statement from the diocese stressed that the move did not represent a shift in Church teaching, which says that homosexual practice is a sin and that non-celibate gay people should not be given communion.

However, traditionalists fear that by endorsing these services the Cardinal has implicitly sanctioned "sacrilegious" Masses and that it may make it far easier for practising homosexuals to take communion in church. It is also thought that the move could act as a blueprint for other dioceses to follow.



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 NEW ALERT February 24 - Let the Fire Fall: Gifts of Charismatic Prayer
 Article: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.

Concurrent to the rise of secularism and cultural deformation in the 1960s was an outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit within the Catholic Church giving birth to what is known as the Charismatic Renewal. The movement within the Church is often associated with many of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit such as praying in tongues, prophecy and healing. Although the renewal is characterized with the inclusion of these gifts, it does not necessarily define the movement.

The stirring up of the Holy Spirit, which directly initiated the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church, occurred on the campus of Duquesne University in 1967. Students and faculty who were on retreat one weekend, simultaneously felt called in the middle of the night to enter the chapel and they began praising and worshiping. The Holy Spirit unleashed His gifts that night in a profound way. The greater awareness of the Holy Spirit and the new movement quickly spread throughout the nation and to different countries around the world.
 
Due to the fact that those who experience the gifts are not in full control, people must constantly discern the gifts. It must always "flow from God's love. Love must be the motivating thing," said Riggins. Another important factor is that it must not ever be contrary to the teachings of the Church. The Holy Spirit will never oppose its Church, nor will the gifts of the Holy Spirit ever divide the Church. "The Holy Spirit is a spirit of unity," said Riggins. Also included in the discernment process is looking at the fruits, which the gifts bear. Among peace and joy, the movement should bring one to a deeper relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist, a greater devotion to the Blessed Mother and a more profound love for the Church and the Holy Father.


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 February 25, 2007 - Uganda: Catholics Flock to Shrine for Virgin Mary Vision
 Article: Signs And Wonders

Tabu Butagira

"The Virgin Mary is there, that one in a sparkling white cloak holding her hands together," 9-year-old Bella Priscilla Pirwoth called out as she pointed to the top of a pine tree near Nyapea Catholic Chapel.

A flock of children joined her chorus as bewildered adults perched on the apron of the church building craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the apparition. Such scenes have been common since early January at the chapel known locally as Awedoke and sandwiched between the residence of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate and the quarters of the five diocesan priests.

...Father Emile Onegwa, an elderly priest, says the vision of the Virgin first appeared to him inside the chapel on July 21, 2005, then again on February 4 last year. This year, he said, the vision has appeared around January 9 on a pine tree a short distance from the old building where the maiden batch of aspirants, or candidates to be nuns at Mary Immaculate, professed decades ago.

..."She appeared in white and blue gown with a crown on her head surrounded by bright shining stars," he said. During an outdoor mass Thursday in front of the chapel, Fr. Onegwa told the crowd of hundreds that now was the right time for them to look deeply into themselves.

"The Virgin Mary has come to grant us salvation. Let us pray hard so that she helps us to overcome all difficulties and we start our journey to heaven peacefully," he said. The crowd remained quiet, then burst into deafening ululation and clapping.

...Stephen Ocopcan, who is compiling a list of the progressive events of the apparition, said some of those individuals who have failed to see it are so distressed they are claiming to have seen the divine sight for self-fulfilment.

"I know it (apparition) is a miracle that happens to different people at different time and for different purposes. People are not seeing it because they are unhappy, ever longing for material possession without much time to renew their faith," said Ocopcan, who claimed to have seen it. "Apparition requires and brings change in people's lives. It is not a fashion."



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 February 26, 2007 - Scholars Dismiss Jesus Documentary
 Article: Apostasy

(CBS/AP)  An Oscar-winning director is about to challenge the most elemental tenets of Christianity, claiming the bones of Jesus Christ were found in a Jerusalem tomb, but many archaeologists and clergymen have been quick to cast doubt on the movie's assertions.

James Cameron's "The Lost Tomb of Christ," which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4, argues that 10 ancient ossuaries - small caskets used to store bones - discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.
 
One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven.
 
...Another researcher whose work has focused on the Middle East, biblical anthropologist Joe Zias, has dismissed Cameron's claims as "dishonest".

"It has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus, he was known as Jesus of Nazareth, not Jesus of Jerusalem, and if the family was wealthy enough to afford a tomb, which they probably weren't, it would have been in Nazareth, not here in Jerusalem," he said.
 


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 February 25, 2007 - Enthusiastic Catholics clamor for Mass of past
 Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

Sun reporter
Originally published February 25, 2007
 
Dozens of people gather every Sunday morning in the Gothic sanctuary of St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church to pray for the future of a tradition that's deeply rooted in the past.

Before the Latin prayers begin, they seek God's intercession for the future of the Tridentine Mass - a form of liturgy established in the 16th century but now celebrated only in churches with special permission.
 
If the speculation around the Vatican is right, their prayers might be answered. Rumors have swirled for months that Pope Benedict XVI will formally grant permission to all Catholic churches to perform what's commonly - though incorrectly - known as the Latin Mass.
 
...The move - if it happens - is seen as a way of reaching out to traditionalists who were alienated after the Second Vatican Council produced a new missal, or prayer book, in the late 1960s that streamlined the Mass.

"Identifying with the Tridentine Mass is a kind of a mild form of protest," says Mathew N. Schmalz, a professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross. "A lot of it has to do with a more aggressive assertion of Catholic identity and a feeling that that has been lost."
 


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 February 28, 2007 - Present-day Sanhedrin court seeks to revive ancient Temple rituals
 Article: Israel And The Last Days

By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent
 
The present-day Sanhedrin Court decided Tuesday to purchase a herd of sheep for ritual sacrifice at the site of the Temple on the eve of Passover, conditions on the Temple Mount permitting.

The modern Sanhedrin was established several years ago and is headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. It claims to be renewing the ancient Jewish high court, which existed until roughly 1600 years ago, and meets once a week.

Professor Hillel Weiss, a member of the Sanhedrin, told Haaretz on Tuesday that the action, even if merely symbolic, is designed to demonstrate in a way that is obvious to all that the expectation of Temple rituals will resume is real, and not just talk.


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 March 6 - Rediscovering Eucharistic Adoration
 Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

Let's look at a new phenomenon you may know very little about. It is the remarkable rise of Eucharistic Adoration in Catholic parishes and institutions in every part of the world. Why is it happening? And what is it?

"The Catholic Church," says the Catechism, "offers to the - Eucharist - adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts - exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession" (No. 1378).

But why do we do this? "In the - Eucharist, the body and blood, - soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really and substantially contained. This presence is called real, by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence - but because it is presence in the fullest sense - it is substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present" (Catechism, no. 1374).
 
You are in the real presence of Christ every time you step into a Catholic church with the lighted lamp or candle indicating that the Blessed Sacrament is in the tabernacle. At any such time one can be with Christ in adoration. The term Eucharistic Adoration, however, is usually applied to the Exposition of the Sacrament to view. Christ is as fully present in the closed tabernacle as he is in the monstrance during Exposition. It is conducive to devotion for us to be able also to look upon him in the host in which "the whole Christ is truly, really and substantially contained."

 



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 March 9 - Scientists create robot to study how sea creatures may have started walking
 Article: Creation / Evolution - Misc.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The first animal to crawl onto land from the ocean probably looked a bit like today's salamander, and researchers have wondered how it was able to switch from swimming to walking.

Now, European scientists have built a robot with a primitive electric nervous system that they say mimics that change in motion.

The robot doesn't look much like a salamander - it's nearly a yard long and made of nine bright yellow plastic segments each containing a battery and microcontroller - but it does seem to move like one.

The point was to understand how a spinal cord developed to direct a swimming motion that could handle the different coordination needed between a body and its limbs for walking, according to the team led by Auke Jan Ijspeert of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne, Switzerland.

So they first designed a basic nervous system modeled on that of the lamprey, a long, primitive eel-like fish. Then that design was modified to show how it could evolve into a nervous system that also could control walking.



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 NEWS ALERT March 10 - Feeling the beat: The spiritual side of drum circles
 Article: Emerging Church

Offer an odd assortment of drums to 21 enthusiastic novices, and meditative tranquillity would seem an unlikely possibility.

The quiet path to inner peace looks more like a parade route.

With the skill of a seasoned grand marshal, Cory Blake takes the discordant pieces and leads the group into an amazingly alluring beat.

Listen for a few minutes and you understand why shamans use drums to lure themselves into trances.

"It's a contemplative tradition," Blake says of the drum circle he's leading. "It speaks directly to the intelligence of the body."

It also speaks to the simplicity of a good beat -- and the way something as simple as a hand brushed against the skin of a conga drum can transcend denominational and cultural boundaries.

This group enjoying the nuances of ancient African music amid just a touch of New Age quirkiness is pure middle class. The sounds resonate in the comfy confines of the parish hall at the Church of the Holy Comforter, home to an Episcopal congregation in Richmond's West End.

"A drum circle really is what it says it is," says Regena Stith. "It's a gathering of people in a circle with drums."

It's all congas and bongos and frame drums. Most are played with hands, though a few require the pound of a mallet. When the mood's right, Blake accentuates the sounds with the subtle infusion of an African kalimba, an Australian didgeridoo or an agogo bell. The tings, twangs and occasional chant give the evening the full world-music experience.

"It's really a very ancient form of expression," Stith says of the drum circle she started. "You move out of your head."

Drum circles have been used to instill a sense of community in groups for decades. There are workshops, seminars and organized retreats throughout the country. You can spend thousands of dollars in a weekend learning to lead a formal gathering and buying your own drums. Or you can drop a dollar or two into a basket, borrow a drum and play along at a place such as Holy Comforter.

"There's an interesting meditative quality," church member Bruce MacAlister says of the drum circle. Once the music starts spreading through the room, "you don't have a chance to have your head full of other stuff."

"It's a lot of people coalescing around an idea," said his wife, Kathy.

The idea, Blake says, is learning to find yourself in the music. "People talk about altered states. I think the one we walk around in is altered. I think wonder is the original state."



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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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