A daily news service

October 17

Pope John Paul II celebrates 22 anniversary of his election

Vatican City, 17 (NE) Pope John Paul II celebrated yesterday, together with six thousand Polish pilgrims, the 22nd anniversary of his election as Successor to the Apostle Peter. In his message during the audience, the Pope thanked all the people from Poland and from the world that have accompanied him with their prayers during his pontificate. At the Pope Paul VI Hall in the Vatican, the Holy Father said thanks to "everyone who in my homeland or abroad has accompanied me with prayer in these 22 years. I feel these prayers as a great strength, a precious gift and a support".

Throughout his 22 years as Pontiff, Pope John Paul II has visited 123 countries, many of them more than once, in 92 Apostolic trips outside Italy. He has made 138 pastoral trips within Italy and 291 visits to Roman parishes. He has created 157 Cardinals, including 86 of the 98 which are today still under eighty years old. The Pope has also written 13 encyclical and more than 80 apostolic documents, including apostolic exhortations, constitutions and letters.

He has beatified 994 persons (756 martyrs and 238 confessors), and has proclaimed 447 saints, most of them martyrs (exactly 401 martyrs and 46 confessors). Finally, it is esteemed that, during the 966 general audiences which he has attended, approximately 15.600.000 faithful from all the world have participated.

Dominican Cardinal denounces abortionist agenda of international organizations

Santo Domingo, 17 (NE) Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, Archbishop of Santo Domingo, manifested on Sunday his concern for the fight in favor of abortion developed by a big number of institutions and organizations all over the world. The Dominican Cardinal specially criticized the role that the United Nations Organization has been performing over the last years, promoting through several ways the recourse to abortion.

The Archbishop warned as well how a process is taking places in several countries that prohibit abortion. First, he said, abortion is ceased to be punished, then it is legalized, and soon it "is converted into a new human right universally admitted."

He also pointed out the existence of several abortionist and feminist Non Profit Organizations, which protest against the presence of the Holy See in the United Nations and command the self-called group "Catholic for a Free Choice," an institution not recognized by the Catholic Church that fights for the promotion of abortion among Catholics.

Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez affirmed that the Catholic Church will continue rising her voice because "she wants to help the entire human race." "Her voice could seem the only one, separated from other voices, but interprets the feeling of millions of people," recalled the Cardinal.

US Cardinal calls for peace in the Middle East

Philadelphia, 16 (NE) "We cannot give up hope for a lasting peace in the Middle East", affirmed Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, in a recent communique issued by the Office of communications of the Archdiocese, in relation to the political crisis taking place in the Middle East. The Cardinal called faithful in Philadelphia to persevere in prayer so that the "Palestinian and Israeli people call an immediate cease-fire and return to the negotiating table, so that their differences can be addressed and resolved." "The renewed tension and fighting on both sides", Cardinal Bevilacqua stressed, "is cause for genuine concern for the entire world." "I am particularly distressed for the loss of innocent life and the victims of senseless violence." In his message, the Cardinal called "all people of good will to pray for peace and a quick termination to the bloodshed and killing throughout this part of the world."

Vietnam: Church launches aid program to help victims of disasters

Rome, 17 (NE) The Catholic Church in Vietnam, after the last meeting of Bishops held during the first week of October, have decided to establish an emergency fund to help respond to disasters in the country. Through a pastoral letter issued on October 6, the Bishops informed their decision to make a Churchwide fund-raising day for the emergency relief fund, that will take place on Good Friday.

Attending the meeting of the Vietnam Bishops' Conference Oct. 2-7 in Ha Noi were 28 bishops, three diocesan administrators and three priest-secretaries. Also during the meeting, new episcopal commissions were created, among them episcopal commissions for catechetics, culture and evangelization. The Bishops also discussed the need to improve the education level of people in rural areas, as well as the need to improve the formation of priests and laity.

The Assembly of Bishops commemorated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnamese hierarchy and the 20th anniversary of the landmark 1980 pastoral letter that called on Vietnamese to "live out the Gospel amid the nation."

October 16

Pope presided great jubilee feast with families

Vatican City, 16 (NE) Over 200 thousand people, despite the heavy rain, celebrated yesterday with Pope John Paul II the Jubilee of Families. Filling St. Peter's Square and the Via della Conciliazione, thousands of families from all over the world witnessed their faith during the Eucharist celebration and the meeting with the Holy Father, while 8 couples received the sacrament of marriage. The Pope was greeted with great joy, while Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, thanked the Holy Father for his permanent dedication and service to the Church, on occasion of his 22nd anniversary of his election, celebrated today.

During his homily, the Pope recalled to families that "purely functional relationships are not enough for human beings." Stressing the need for rich interpersonal relations, he said this is specially lived in families, "in the relationship between the couples, as well as in the relationship between parents and sons" and vice versa.

"God's blessing is not only in the origin of the conjugal communion, but also in the responsible and generous openness to life. Children are truly the 'springtime of family and society', as the theme of this Jubilee says". Regarding this, the Pope emphasized that "children are not an 'accessory' in the project of conjugal life. They are not something 'optional', but a precious gift, inscribed in the structure of the conjugal union".

In closing, the Pope invited families to accept the "jubilee grace". "Accept it", he stressed, "taking as model the family of Nazareth, who, called to an incomparable mission, walked your same path, amid joys and sorrows, prayer and work, hope and anguishing trials, always founded in the adhesion to God's will".

Without families, there is no "future worthy of man", says Pope

Vatican City, 16 (NE) On Saturday afternoon, during the vigil to the Jubilee of families, Pope John Paul II called families to be faithful to their mission in society. As night fell and St. Peter's Square became illuminated by the thousands of candles held in the hands of families from all over the world, the Pope shared his great love for families, highlighting their responsibility in today's world.

During his address, the Holy Father invited those present to live the "spiritual environment of the House of Nazareth". Warning about the dangers that families must face today, the Pope specially expressed his concern for a mentality in which "children are seen as a threat instead of a gift". Nevertheless, he pointed out, "you are here, this afternoon, to give witness with your condition that it is possible to revert this condition, based on confidence in God".

An "absurd mentality of the 'right to children' has taken the place of the just recognition of the 'children's right' to born and grow", the Pope warned. "Let us commit ourselves, with all our strength, to defend family and respect for human life, from the moment of conception".

"I tell all of you, mothers and fathers: you have been called to the highest mission of collaborating with the Creator in transmitting life. Do not be afraid of life! Proclaim together the value of family and life. Without these values, there is no future worthy of man".

Istanbul names street in honor of Pope John XXIII

Rome, 16 (NE) As from last week, people in Istanbul, capital city of Turkey, may walk at the "John XXIII Street". The street in honor of the recently beatified Pontiff was inaugurated last week by the authorities of the district of Sisli. It is a new expression of affection and recognition to the work of Pope Roncalli, who from 1934 to 1944 was Apostolic Delegate in Turkey and Greece. During this time at the service of the Holy See, the future Pope John XXIII established cordial relationships with the members of the Turkish government, collaborating later during the difficult years of World War II in the works that the Holy See developed through the Nuncios with the aim of helping refugees and those persecuted during the war.

Jubilee of Missions celebrates 2000 years of "birth of the mission"

Vatican City, 16 (NE) "Celebrating the birth of Jesus 2000 years ago also means celebrating the birth of mission" recalled Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples, while presiding over the conference of presentation of the Jubilee of the Missions, to be celebrated on Sunday, October 22, World Mission Meeting.

"Why does the Church dedicate so much energy to the mission 'ad gentes'? -asked the Cardinal- For the spirit of territorial conquest or a taste of adventure, or for a mania of greatness or easy proselytism? It is simply because she received, as the last task from her Founder the great mandate: 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. "This," he stressed, "is the secret of so many heroic actions which mission stimulates even today and is also the explanation of so many sacrifices, right up to martyrdom, in the past and today in ever growing measures."

Cardinal Tomko also affirmed that Christians must be sensitive to values such as peace, justice, respect for human rights, "but the missionary effort, never refusing its social, cultural and political dimension, must communicate to men the divine life about which faith tells us that must flourish the new culture of justice, peace, truth and love."

In the same way, the Cardinal Prefect highlighted the importance of incarnation in the evangelizing mission. "It's not a matter of accommodating the Gospel and make it more acceptable not to strike against the various cultural sensibilities. It's a matter of incarnating the Gospel in daily life, announcing it with the signs and language of each people," in order to open all cultures "to truth that shines in Christ."

October 14

Pope recalls presence of Mary during his youth

Vatican City, 14 (NE) Pope John Paul II received yesterday the participants in the Eighth International Mariological Colloquium, held in Rome with the theme: "St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort: Trinitarian spirituality in communion with Mary." "St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort", the Pope said, "constitutes for me a meaningful figure of reference, one who has enlightened me at important moments of my life".

The Holy Father recalled that when he was a clandestine seminarian in Krakow and worked at a factory, his spiritual director had encouraged him to read Montfort's book on Marian devotion. "Making the link between the Mother of Christ and the trinitarian mystery, de Montfort helped me to understand that, by the will of the Father, the Virgin is part of the plan of salvation as Mother of the Word Incarnate, conceived by her through the action of the Holy Spirit."

The Holy Father indicated that "Mary's action in the plan of salvation is always centered on Christ, in other words it makes direct reference to a mediation that comes from Christ. I understood then that I could not exclude the Mother of the Lord from my life without being inattentive to the will of the Triune God."

Pope John Paul II's pontificate, sixth longest in history

Vatican City, 14 (NE) On October 16, a new anniversary of the election of Pope John Paul II as Successor of St. Peter will be commemorated. As the Vatican Information Service reported yesterday, on October 17, 2000, his pontificate - at 22 years and 1 day - will become the sixth longest in history, not including St. Peter. The five longest pontificates are: Blessed Pius IX (31 years, 8 months); Leo XIII (25 years, 4 months); Pius VI (24 years, 6 months); Adrian I (24 years) and Pius VII (23 years, 5 months). Pope John Paul II, then Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, Poland, was elected on October 16, 1978, becoming the 263rd Successor to St. Peter.

Three new perpetually consecrated laymen in the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae

Lima, 14 (NE) In an intense celebration of the Feast of the Virgen of Pilar, three members of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae made their perpetual profession this week. The Mass, presided over by Bishop Francisco Simon Piorno of Cajamarca gathered a great number of the faithful that filled the church of Our Lady of Reconciliation, one of the largest temples in the Peruvian capital. Nine members of the Society of Apostolic Life, approved by Pope John Paul II in 1997, have already made their perpetual profession this year.

In his homily, Bishop Simon Piorno emphasized the meaning of the witness, amidst an unbelieving world, of these men who consecrate their whole lives to the Lord. He noted the great number of young men and women in the temple, stating that this was a clear sign of the action of the Holy Spirit who touched the hearts of the young. With intensity he expressed the contrast between this vital reality and some of the realities of the absence of Christian life that he had seen in the European countries he had recently visited.

He also addressed those making their profession, urging them to live obedience, chastity and poverty intensely during their lives. He stressed the main evangelizing accents of the Sodalitium to which they would commit their lives; that is, apostolic action with young people, solidarity with those most poor and needy, and the evangelization of culture, among other pastoral aims of this new apostolic society.

The Bishop of Cajamarca stated that the path to which they had been called and to which they had generously responded was that of "following Jesus Christ." It was only possible to live this with a "personal love of the Lord" that is the foundation of the commitment to the consecrated life. Pointing out the relation that the celebration of the Feast of the Virgin of Pilar had with America and with the Society of Apostolic Life, originated in Latin America, he encouraged those consecrated to always live an intense filial devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

Cardinal Rivera encourages use of mass media for evangelization

Mexico City, 14 (NE) The Archbishop of Mexico, Cardinal Norberto Rivera, called this week upon the means of communication to cooperate in evangelization. In the framework of a Congress about role of Bishops, that took place this week in Rome, Cardinal Rivera affirmed that "the Church should make an effort to evangelize men in the third millennium proposing faith in a language appropriate for modern times." The Christian message, he added, must be spread by the means of communication and to achieve this aim the Catholic Church has to make herself present in the secular media with Christian journalists that spread the Gospel. In a special manner, the Mexican Archbishop recommended the Bishops to "establish the most positive relations possible with the secular media". "The presence of the life of the Church in the means of communication is not something optional, but is a true necessity and exigency, because the means are today the creators of culture, even more of a true revolution in the culture," he pointed out.

October 13

Holy Land must be "a land of forgiveness and redemption", says Patriarch Sabbah

Rome, 13 (NE) Holy Land must be "a land of forgiveness and Redemption", stressed the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, during a peace prayer held yesterday. In the face of the growing situation of violence, that yesterday reached new limits, more than 500 people, religious and lay, took part in this prayer for peace, reconciliation and justice. "This is why we have come to pray; not for more hatred and more troubles, but for more justice and more love, in the munificence of God Almighty", he said.

In his words during the prayer meeting, Patriarch Sabbah recalled the need for freedom of the Palestinian people, calling all the inhabitants of Holy Land to listen the words of Jesus. "Our destiny is the freedom in our land, and hence tranquility and security in it for all, Palestinians and Israelis alike. Before that, amidst the hatred and the bloodshed, the word of God should dwell in our hearts; we have to listen to it, to meditate it".

Patriarch Sabbah especially invited those present to pray for "the political leaders, Israelis and Palestinians". "May God inspire them with the light to see the core of the problem and the right ways to deal with it. May He give them courage and strength to implement what God inspires them." "This is a holy land, a land of faith and prayer. It is written nowhere that it should remain a land of hatred and blood", Patriarch Sabbah said in closing. "On the contrary, in the mercy of God, this land is determined to be a land of redemption and love".

Vatican Cardinal denounces anti-life ideological project

Vatican City, 13 (NE) "An entire ideological project pretending to theoretically justify the division between family and life is being encouraged", warned this week Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, during the opening session of the theological pastoral congress being held in the Vatican. The congress, a preparatory activity for the Jubilee of Families, is taking place with the theme "Children, springtime of the Church" and has gathered hundreds of experts from all over the world.

Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, pointed out during his conference that "family languishes because, in the end, people are not believing in man or in human love". He also stressed that in the frame of a world "distanced from truth, there is an effort to substitute and change the crime for a right", as with abortion. This reveals a preoccupying "anthropological vacuum, the vacuum of the a dehumanized man".

Nevertheless, the Vatican Cardinal encourage to work with hope for a culture of life that defends family and is founded in the dignity of the human being. "It is springtime", he stressed, "when the Church proclaims with strength the sacred dignity of every child and the duties and rights of families. When people, presidents and legislators, decide to believe in the truth of man, defend him and protect him".

Cardinal Rouco calls "Dominus Iesus" "precise and illuminating"

Madrid, 13 (NE) During a recent radio address, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco, Archbishop of Madrid, reflected on the declaration "Dominus Iesus", stressing that it is a "precise and illuminating" document. In his address, the Cardinal criticized the "distastefully bitter and so clearly manipulated manner with which the means of communication, in some cases supported from inside and specially from outside the Catholic Church, have reacted against this Declaration so precise and illuminating, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, and desired and ordered by the Holy Father."

The Cardinal also stated that the declaration urges "the acknowledgment of the presence and the saving action of the Lord Jesus through His Church in the world and in history." The Church is "One and only, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic," he recalled, and in the Church Christ "subsists and can be truly met."

He also affirmed that the "Dominus Iesus" stresses the fact that "to fully profess the faith in Jesus Christ means to recognize in Him the Person of the Son of God become man, who has saved us with His life, death and resurrection. It means, in a word, to recognize him as the Savior of man". He is neither another "figure, however genial, in the history of religions, nor a religion made by men as the historical product of some determined culture in a specific time and place of our world", he emphasized.

Over 1 million pilgrims have visited the Holy Shroud

Rome, 13 (NE) Throughout the weekend, a record number of pilgrims visited the Duomo of Turin to pray before the Holy Shroud, regarded as the shroud that covered the body of Jesus inside the Sepulcher. The number or reservations to see the Sindone made for the last weekend reached 88 thousand, including 6 thousand people from 48 different countries.

It is estimated that during these days, the reservations to pray before the Sindone, on exhibit since August this year on occasion of the Great Jubilee, will surpass 1 million. This Holy Year, faithful of 156 countries, of the 182 that are members of the United Nations, have visited the Holy Shroud. Unlike previous exhibitions in 1978 and 1998, this year a larger number of pilgrims from West Europe, Africa and America have visited the Duomo of Turin, where the shroud is kept.

Since 1998 the relic has been kept in a new urn, whose weight surpasses 2.000 kg and which keeps the shroud for the first time in an extended form. Previously the shroud was kept in a silver box, that almost burned during a fire in the Cathedral in 1997. The modern urn, 4.64 long and 1,38 meters wide, is protected by a bullet-proof, bombproof and impenetrable glass that as well the maintenance inside of a constant artificial environment.

October 12

Pope calls to end "spiral o violence" in the Mid East

Vatican City, 12 (NE) During yesterday's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul II dedicated his reflection to "The Eucharist, 'sacrificium laudis'." In his weekly catechesis, the Pope recalled that in the Eucharist, "above all, the sacrifice of Christ is made present. Jesus is truly present under the species of bread and wine". After the audience, the Pope referred to the situation in the Middle East and urged to peace.

During his catechesis, the Pope stressed that the Eucharist "is a sacrifice of praise. It is essentially oriented towards full communion between God and man." It is "'thanksgiving' wherein the Son of God unites redeemed humanity to Himself in a hymn of thanksgiving and praise."

The Pope concluded his catechesis by indicating that "in the Eucharist, uniting herself to Christ's sacrifice, the Church gives voice to the praise of the whole of creation. Each of the faithful must correspond, committing himself to offer his existence, his 'body' - as St. Paul says - in 'a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God'."

Speaking after the audience, the Holy Father referred to the situation in the Middle East and exhorted an end to the violence there. "Faced by this dramatic situation", he said, "I cannot but call on everyone to put an immediate end to this spiral of violence. At the same time, I invite all believers to pray to God that the people and leaders of that region may return to the path of dialogue and rediscover the joy of feeling themselves to be children of God, their common Father."

Theological Pastoral congress on families begins in Rome

Rome, 12 (NE) With the theme "Children, springtime of family and society", the theological pastoral international congress that precedes the Jubilee of Families began yesterday in the Vatican. The three-day congress, encouraged by the Pontifical Council for Families presided by Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, will gather 6 thousand participants from all continents. Bishops, priests, married couples in charge of Family pastoral activities in different countries, as well as delegations from movements and organizations involved in work in favor of family and life are attending the event. The opening ceremony was presided yesterday afternoon by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Pope John Paul II's State Secretary. The Jubilee of Families, which will take place on October 14 and 15, will include a meeting with Pope John Paul II.

Former nuncio to encourage canonization of Blessed Juan Diego

Mexico City, 12 (NE) Soon to return to Rome, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, recently named Substitute of the State Secretary, showed last Tuesday his joy for his time in Mexico, which he considered "a real honor". The Prelate, who has been Apostolic Nuncio in Mexico for the last five months, said during a Eucharist in the Basilica of Guadalupe that he goes "with an enriching experience. I have come to Mexico not to give, but to receive and I take this wealth with me with pride and full satisfaction as a contribution for my humble service to the Holy Father and the Universal Church."

Before the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Nuncio said he will put "this beloved nation" in the hands of the Virgin, because "I have felt the devotion and have touched with my hands the faith and the adhesion of the Bishops of Mexico and of this Catholic people, faithful to the Holy Father, who is especially united to Mexico". He also highlighted the "spiritual and magisterial unity" of the Bishops with the Holy Father, "and I know that all the Bishops of Mexico have this adhesion to 'the rock of Peter', precisely as a guarantee of faith in Jesus Christ."

Colombia: Archbishop highlights importance of Dominus Iesus

Medellin, 12 (NE) "In the Jubilee Year our fundamental attitude is to proclaim our faith in the adorable presence of the Incarnated Verb, born of Saint Mary Virgin, 'the same yesterday, today and ever", affirmed the Archbishop of Medellin, Alberto Giraldo, in the last editorial of the Archdiocese's newspaper, dedicated to the declaration "Dominus Iesus". This declaration, said the Prelate, "must be welcomed as a means of confirming our faith and expressing our hope in a convenient and effective way. At the same time it is a secure orientation in the face of the insecurities and doubts that have been sown relating to Jesus' person, his saving work and his presence today in the Church."

After a brief summary of the key points of the declaration, Archbishop Giraldo recalled the fact that not few times "the dialogue ends up understood as opposed to conversion and the mission: it consists of an exchange of opinions to reach conclusions. Tolerance and pluralism misunderstood are easy roads to error". "The Declaration reaffirms the certainties of our faith; it strengthens the truth of our convictions; it reaffirms the happiness of our Christian being."

"With a great sense of humility and responsibility, let us wake up our missionary conscience; we want Christ to be known and loved; let us give testimony of Him with our lives that have become more human, more coherent, when we have personally met Him", concluded the Archbishop of Medellin.

Children's Mass gathers 20.000 in Argentina

Buenos Aires, 12 (NE) The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, encouraged last weekend thousands of children to come closer to Jesus and pray to Him, in a crowded celebration in the frame of the Archdiocesan Children's Mass. The Mass presided by the Archbishop gathered 20.000 children who participated with great joy. During the celebration, the Prelate called the children "to listen to Jesus through His word", also inviting them to prayer and remembering that "this time the celebration is special because we celebrate the 2.000 years of Christ's birth". "We should not let the Word of God to fall", he also pointed out. "For it not to happen we ask specially to his Mother, the Virgin Mary, for us to listen Jesus, to be near Him ". Archbishop Bergoglio also remembered the great importance of childhood for society and for the Church. As in previous years, the children carried out a solidarity campaign which consisted on preparing little money boxes to raise funds for the construction of soup kitchens in the archdiocese. The fund collection's motto was "We share your mercifulness and we give your love". The Children's Mass takes place every year in the archdiocese as a "sign of hope" for today's world.

October 11

Spain: Bishops condemn terrorist violence and call to repentance

Madrid, 11 (NE) The Bishops in Spain condemned yesterday "the blind violence, unjustifiable from any point of view" carried out in the last months by the terrorist Basque group ETA. After ETA's recent murder in Andalucia, the Spanish Bishop's Conference issued a communique expressing its sadness for the violation of "the sacred dignity of man's life". "In the name of God", the Bishops wrote, "we ask the terrorists to cease spilling the blood of their brothers and repent, to listen the cries of families that suffer the lose of their beloved and the united cry of Spanish society, that demands the immediate stop of homicide violence".

In their message, the Bishops also called Spanish faithful to raise "to the Lord public and private prayers for the conversion of those who, in one way or another, are authors or collaborators of these crimes, and for the peace and freedom endangered in the Basque country and in all Spain". Before these acts of terrorism, "nobody can feel exonerated of the duty to work for the end of terrorism and in favor of peace, based in the truth that makes us free, based in the respect for human life as the supreme good, based in union and loyalty without ambiguity, and based in civic gestures of rejection of the attempts against our people's life, freedom and peace"

Brazilian shrine prepares for massive pilgrimages

Sao Paulo, 11 (NE) The Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, in Brazil, is getting prepared for the thousands of faithful that are expected to pilgrim during the next few days, and specially on October 12, when Brazil will honor her Patroness. Estimates consider that approximately 300 thousand pilgrims will visit the Basilica during the weekend, and about 40 thousand will attend the main Eucharist celebration. Almost 800 thousand visitors are expected in the most important Marian shrine in Brazil during October.

Devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida dates back to October 1717, when three fishermen went out to fish at the Paraiba river in São Paulo. After long hours without catch, they reached the João Alves port, where an image of the body of the Virgin Mary was caught up in their net. Impressed by this strange incident, they threw their net again into the water, catching then the head of the small image. After this they caught so many fishes, that they hurried to reach the shore for fear of sinking.

One of the fishermen kept the image, and the devotion begun. In 1888 the church now known as the "Ancient Basilica" was solemnly blessed. On September 8, 1900, the first "romeria" (pilgrimage) was organized. Hundreds of persons participated.

In 1929, as part of the closing activities for a Marian Congress, "Our Lady" was proclaimed Queen of Brazil, giving her the name of "Aparecida" (appeared). Thus the name "Our Lady of Aparecida" was defined. In 1931 in Rio de Janeiro, in a celebration attended by the Brazilian President, Our Lady of Aparecida was acclaimed by Brazilian faithful as "Queen and Patroness of Brazil."

Archdiocese of St. Louis holds Pro-Life Convention

St. Louis, 11 (NE) The Archdiocese of St. Louis will celebrated next October 15 the 24th annual Pro-Life Convention in the Marriott Pavilion Hotel in Downtown St. Louis, reported this week the St. Louis Review. The event includes a variety of exhibits and videos, as well as addresses, including words from Archbishop Justin Rigali, who will welcome convention participants to the pro-life event. The theme of this year's event is "Say Yes." As the St. Louis Review informed, Father Vincent Bommarito, priest moderator of the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Committee, explained the theme in a recent letter to pastors, saying it highlights "the Yes with which Mary consented to bring Jesus into this world, as an example of all the ways we too can say yes to life." The Archdiocesan Pro-Life Convention is one of several events planned locally for October, which is Respect Life Month. The annual Life Chain, a peaceful, public, pro-life witness, was held Oct. 1 in several area locations. This year's Life Chain focused on areas near Planned Parenthood facilities, as well as Barnes Hospital.

The greatness of a culture depends on its values, recalls Dominican Archbishop

Santo Domingo, 11 (NE) 'The greatness and misery of any culture depends on the greatness or misery of its values", said this weekend Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, Archbishop of Santo Domingo, while speaking to the people of the Dominican Republic through his weekly TV program "Fe y Acontecer". "If today we are not able to keep effective certain values -he said-, it means that we have a very poor culture, a culture of death". The Dominican Cardinal also expressed his concern for a society that today has "progressively suffocated the spiritual dimension and concentrated its attention on the material dimension to the point of causing a spiritual crisis of values". Regarding this, the Archbishop of Santo Domingo recalled, however, that freedom does not have its bases in those "falsehoods and vulgar lies", but in the truth and the value of the life founded in the dignity of the human person.

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