Category Archives: World Organisations

Pope Francis and the Dirty War

Photograph: AFP/Getty.

The new Pope, Francis the Humble, as he perhaps would like to be known, is an Argentine with a cloudy past. Continue reading Pope Francis and the Dirty War

New pope’s role during Argentina’s military era disputed

A~ young Jorge Mario Bergoglio pictured in Buenos Aires. Photograph: Argen press/Rex Features

By Jonathan Watts and Uki Goni in Buenos Aires

Friday 15 March 2013 08.17 GMT

Accusers draw ties between Catholic church and 70s junta, saying Jorge Bergoglio failed to shield two priests Continue reading New pope’s role during Argentina’s military era disputed

EU calls on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes

A Palestinian woman sits next to the remains of her home after it was demolished by Israeli bulldozers in a disputed military zone in the area of Musafir Jenbah, which includes several villages, south of the West Bank town of Hebron on February 2, 2016. (Hazem Bader/AFP)

Diplomatic wrangling ratchets up over European-funded prefab homes given to Palestinians in West Bank which Israel says are illegal

By AFP and Sue Surkes February 7, 2016, 4:03 am

BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Union on Saturday called on Israel to halt the demolition of Palestinian housing, some of which was EU-funded, and reiterated its opposition to expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Continue reading EU calls on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes

UN chief ‘ashamed’ over stalled Mideast peace process

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks at press conference in the village of Gabcikovo near the border with Hungary and Slovakia, October 19, 2015. (AFP/Samuel Kubani)

Ban Ki-moon says Jerusalem, Ramallah ultimately responsible for ending conflict; stresses that ‘nothing can excuse terrorism’

By AFP and Times of Israel staff February 5, 2016, 7:21 pm

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday he was “ashamed” at a lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“I feel guilty, ashamed of the lack of progress,” he told an event organized by foreign affairs think-tank Chatham House in London.“ Continue reading UN chief ‘ashamed’ over stalled Mideast peace process

Are genetically engineered mosquitoes realistic solution to Zika?

Arvind Suresh | February 5, 2016

Earlier this week the Director of the World Health Organization Dr. Margaret Chan declared that the ongoing Zika outbreak was a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern.’ This was a significant move by the international body as it is the fourth time that the declaration has been made since such a designation was formally defined as a response to a public health crisis by the WHO in 2005, with the most recent one being for the Ebola outbreak. Continue reading Are genetically engineered mosquitoes realistic solution to Zika?

No, GM Mosquitoes Didn’t Start The Zika Outbreak

By Christie Wilcox | January 31, 2016 9:56 pm

A new ridiculous rumor is spreading around the Internets. According to conspiracy theorists, the recent outbreak of Zika can be blamed on the British biotech company Oxitec, which some are saying even intentionally caused the disease as a form of ethnic cleansing or population control. The articles all cite a lone Redditor who proposed the connection on January 25th to the Conspiracy subreddit. “There are no biological free lunches,” says one commenter on the idea. “Releasing genetically altered species into the environment could have disastrous consequences” another added. “Maybe that’s what some entities want to happen…?” Continue reading No, GM Mosquitoes Didn’t Start The Zika Outbreak

Pope Francis to release much anticipated Synod on the Family exhortation in March

by Pete Baklinski Thu Jan 28, 2016 – 12:41 pm

(LifeSiteNews) — A much anticipated document written by Pope Francis that some think could chart the future course of the barque of Peter through the waters of sexuality, marriage, and family is set to be released this coming March. Continue reading Pope Francis to release much anticipated Synod on the Family exhortation in March

Vatican newspaper reviews Star Wars: The Force Awakens

A scene from the latest installation of the Star Wars movie franchise. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has offered its take on the blockbuster film. – AP

21/12/2015 15:57 (Vatican Radio)

The newest edition of the Star Wars franchise has broken box office records, and made over $517 million after its first weekend of release. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the first movie in the series since Disney bought the franchise, and the first made without the oversight of George Lucas. Continue reading Vatican newspaper reviews Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Jubilee Rituals: of holy doors and holy hammers

Pope Francis pushing open the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s – ANSA

09/12/2015 10:14 (Vatican Radio)

On the 8th of December, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis pushed open the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica. A symbolic gesture to mark the opening of the Extraordinary Holy Year dedicated to Mercy.

This Holy Year came as a surprise when the Pope first called for it on the 13th of March during a Penitential service in Saint Peter’s Basilica. Continue reading Jubilee Rituals: of holy doors and holy hammers

Pope Francis: educate openness to transcendence, practice of mercy

Pope Francis, Nov 21, 2015 – AP

21/11/2015 14:48 (Vatican Radio)

Pope Francis received the participants in a major international congress under the sponsorship of the Congregation for Catholic Education on Saturday morning. For four days this week, more than 2 thousand educators, administrators, students and teachers from around the world have been examining the challenges facing the mission of Catholic education in the 21st century, under the umbrella of Educating today and tomorrow: a passion renewed. Continue reading Pope Francis: educate openness to transcendence, practice of mercy

Pope Francis: Priests should not often be sad or nervous

Pope Francis meets participants of a conference on the Vatican II documents on the priesthood – OSS_ROM

20/11/2015 14:47 (Vatican Radio)

Pope Francis on Friday said a good priest “creates serenity,” and a priest “that is often sad, nervous, or has a hard character” is not good for himself or his people.

The Holy Father was addressing a Conference sponsored by the Congregation for the Clergy marking the fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the Vatican II decrees Presbyterorum ordinis [Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests] and Optatam Totius [Decree on Priestly Training]. Continue reading Pope Francis: Priests should not often be sad or nervous

Pope Francis to German Bishops: Use Jubilee to revive Church

Pope Francis meets with German bishops in Rome on their ad limina visit. – REUTERS

2015-11-20 11:07 (Vatican Radio)

Pope Francis on Friday told the bishops of Germany the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy offers the opportunity to “rediscover the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist.”

The bishops were meeting with the Holy Father during their ad limina visit to Rome.

In a speech handed to the bishops at the meeting,  Pope Francis noted a sharp decline in sacramental participation among the Catholics in Germany. Continue reading Pope Francis to German Bishops: Use Jubilee to revive Church

Pope Francis: the Lord weeps for the sins of a world at war

Pope Francis at Mass, Nov 19, 2015 – OSS_ROM

19/11/2015 13:08 (Vatican Radio)

“The whole world is at war,” and the rejection of the “path of peace” means that God Himself, that Jesus Himself, weeps. This was the message of Pope Francis to the faithful following the readings of the day at Mass on Thursday morning in the Casa Santa Marta.

“Jesus wept.”

Continue reading Pope Francis: the Lord weeps for the sins of a world at war

Climate

“Since I am no longer affiliated with any organization nor receiving any funding, I can speak quite frankly….As a scientist I remain skeptical.”

-Atmospheric Scientist Dr. Joanne Simpson, the first woman in the world to receive a PhD in meteorology and formerly of NASA who has authored more than 190 studies and has been called “among the most pre-eminent scientists of the last 100 years.”


“Inevitably in climate science, when data conflicts with models, a small coterie of scientists can be counted upon to modify the data…That the data should always need correcting to agree with models is totally implausible and indicative of a certain corruption within the climate science community.”

-Dr.Richard Lindzen, MIT


Warming fears are the “worst scientific scandal in the history…When people come to know what the truth is, they will feel deceived by science and scientists.”

-UNIPCC Japanese Scientist Dr.Kiminori Itoh, an award-winning PhD environmental physical chemist.


“The IPCC has actually become a closed circuit; it doesn’t listen to others. It doesn’t have open minds… I am really amazed that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given on scientifically incorrect conclusions by people who are not geologists,”

-Indian geologist Dr. Arun D. Ahluwalia at Punjab University and a board member of the UN-supported International Year of the Planet.


“Creating an ideology pegged to carbon dioxide is a dangerous nonsense…The present alarm on climate change is an instrument of social control, a pretext for major businesses and political battle. It became an ideology, which is concerning.”

– Environmental Scientist Professor Delgado Domingos of Portugal, the founder of the Numerical Weather Forecast group, has more than 150 published articles.


“The models and forecasts of the UN IPCC “are incorrect because they only are based on mathematical models and presented results at scenarios that do not include, for example, solar activity.”

– Victor Manuel Velasco Herrera, a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico


“It is a blatant lie put forth in the media that makes it seem there is only a fringe of scientists who don’t buy into anthropogenic global warming.”

– U.S Government Atmospheric Scientist Stanley B. Goldenberg of the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA.


“Even doubling or tripling the amount of carbon dioxide will virtually have little impact, as water vapour and water condensed on particles as clouds dominate the worldwide scene and always will.”

– Geoffrey G. Duffy, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering of the University of Auckland, NZ.


“After reading [UN IPCC chairman] Pachauri’s asinine comment [comparing skeptics to] Flat Earthers, it’s hard to remain quiet.”

– Climate statistician Dr. William M. Briggs, who specializes in the statistics of forecast evaluation, serves on the American Meteorological Society’s Probability and Statistics Committee and is an Associate Editor of Monthly Weather Review.

(Note: there really IS a Flat Earth Society, at http://www.theflatearthsociety…, whose president Daniel Shenton, thinks “the evidence suggests fossil fuel usage is contributing to global warming.” (See www.tinyurl.com/ozn2wfe. So much for Obama’s comment that “We don’t have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society.”


“For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming? For how many years must cooling go on?”

– Geologist Dr. David Gee the chairman of the science committee of the 2008 International Geological Congress who has authored 130 plus peer reviewed papers, and is currently at Uppsala University in Sweden.


“Gore prompted me to start delving into the science again and I quickly found myself solidly in the skeptic camp…Climate models can at best be useful for explaining climate changes after the fact.”

– Meteorologist Hajo Smit of Holland, who reversed his belief in man-made warming to become a skeptic, is a former member of the Dutch UN IPCC committee.


“Many [scientists] are now searching for a way to back out quietly (from promoting warming fears), without having their professional careers ruined.”

– Atmospheric physicist James A. Peden, formerly of the Space Research and Coordination Center in Pittsburgh.


“Creating an ideology pegged to carbon dioxide is a dangerous nonsense…The present alarm on climate change is an instrument of social control, a pretext for major businesses and political battle. It became an ideology, which is concerning.”

– Environmental Scientist Professor Delgado Domingos of Portugal, the founder of the Numerical Weather Forecast group, has more than 150 published articles.


“CO2 emissions make absolutely no difference one way or another….Every scientist knows this, but it doesn’t pay to say so…Global warming, as a political vehicle, keeps Europeans in the driver’s seat and developing nations walking barefoot.”

– Dr. Takeda Kunihiko, vice-chancellor of the Institute of Science and Technology Research at Chubu University in Japan.


“The [global warming] scaremongering has its justification in the fact that it is something that
generates funds.”

-Award-winning Paleontologist Dr. Eduardo Tonni, of the Committee for Scientific Research in Buenos Aires and head of the Paleontology Department at the University of La Plata.


“Climate is not responding to greenhouse gases in the way we thought it might. If increasing carbon dioxide is in fact increasing climate change, its impact is smaller than natural variation.”

-Prof Christopher de Freitas, of the University of Auckland, NZ said there was no evidence to suggest carbon dioxide was the major driver of climate change (see http://canadafreepress.com/ind…

(In 2003, Dr. de Freitas, who edits the journal Climate Research, had published a peer-reviewed article saying the recent warming is not unusual, relative to previous historical climate changes in the past 1,000 years. As you might suspect, Dr. de Freitas had to withstand multiple demands he be fired from his editorial job, as well as his university position.


“We’re not scientifically there yet. Despite what you may have heard in the media, there is nothing like a consensus of scientific opinion that this is a problem. Because there is natural variability in the weather, you cannot statistically know for another 150 years.”

— UN IPCC’s Tom Tripp, a member of the UN IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] since 2004 and listed as one of the lead authors and serves as the Director of Technical Services & Development for U.S. Magnesium.


“The dysfunctional nature of the climate sciences is nothing short of a scandal. Science is too important for our society to be misused in the way it has been done within the Climate Science Community.” The global warming establishment “has actively suppressed research results presented by researchers that do not comply with the dogma of the [UN] IPCC.”

-Swedish Climatologist Dr. Hans Jelbring of the Paleogeophysics & Geodynamics Unit at Stockholm University.


“The whole idea of anthropogenic global warming is completely unfounded. There appears to have been money gained by Michael Mann, Al Gore and UN IPCC’s Rajendra Pachauri as a consequence of this deception, so it’s fraud.”

-South African astrophysicist Hilton Ratcliffe, a member of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa (ASSA) and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and a Fellow of the British Institute of Physics


“Please remain calm: The Earth will heal itself -Climate is beyond our power to control…Earth doesn’t care about governments or their legislation. You can’t find much actual global warming in present-day weather observations. Climate change is a matter of geologic time, something that the earth routinely does on its own without asking anyone’s permission or explaining itself.”

-Nobel Prize-Winning Stanford University Physicist Dr. Robert B. Laughlin, who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1998, and was formerly a research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.


“I appreciate the opportunity to add my name to those who disagree that global warming is man made,” John Theon wrote to the Minority Office at the Environment and Public Works Committee on January 15, 2009. “I was, in effect, Hansen’s supervisor because I had to justify his funding, allocate his resources, and evaluate his results,”

-John Theon is former Chief of the Climate Processes Research Program at NASA


“Over the years, the IPCC has changed from a scientific institution that tries to be policy relevant to a political institution that pretends to be scientific. I regret that. There are already more than enough climate activists, while there are too few solid and neutral bodies that make down-to-earth and well-founded statements about climate change and climate policy.”

-Economist Richard Tol, in a prepared statement for the Dutch parliament examining climate-related controversies http://nofrakkingconsensus.blo…, or www.Climategate.nl


Sir Fred Hoyle –said about the climate modeling that keeps failing: “Understanding the Earth’s greenhouse effect does not require complex computer models in order to calculate useful numbers for debating the issue… To raise a delicate point, it is not very sensible to make approximations… and then perform a highly complicated computer calculation, while claiming arithmetical accuracy of the computer as the standard for the whole investigation.” [1] (In fact the famed W.C. Rontgen wrote in 1894 about models, noting “It is almost always possible to compare the results of thought processes with reality to provide the experimental scientist with the proof he needs. If the result does not agree with reality, the former in necessarily incorrect, even if the speculation that led to the result was ever so ingenious or fanciful.” – cited from A.N. Tschaeche of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, in Chemical Health and Safety, July/Aug. 1996)

David Legates of the University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean, & Environment, who is skeptical of climate change predictions of catastrophe, realized years ago that his independent position means that he should not accept corporate money for research or speaking fees. “There’s a lot more money to be made by saying the world is coming to an end than to say that this is a bunch of hooey.”

[2]Professor Emeritus Friedrich Karl Ewert a geologist from Paderborn University noted the “evaluation of long-term temperature readings . . . disprove that we have man-made global warming,” and presented the results of his analysis at a CFACT meeting in 2011 that of over 1,100 temperature curves from around the world, concluding, “the final result is that in 74% of all stations of the world we had no warming.” While the UN has often been told there will be terrible consequences if the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere remains at or increases from the current 390 parts per million (ppm), Dr. Ewert pointed out that “in the geological past, we had the greatest glaciation of the earth (the glacier went down to 35 degrees north) when we have carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere of 1400 [ppm]. That means it was several times higher than today.” In other words, the historical evidence proves CO2 does not control earth’s climate. Dr. Ewert summarizes “It is necessary to conclude that the particular effect of man-made carbon dioxide production is not recognizable, in other words, does not exist.” [3]


“I am a skeptic on climate change. I know the climate is changing, and it always has been. I’ve studied this intensively over many years. I started what I call the Carbon Project here in British Columbia back in 1989 in order to bring everybody together to discuss this subject and figure out the facts behind it.

Since then, I have watched as hysteria has grown, as if the whole world is going to come to an end and civilization is going to die because of humans causing this climate change. I don’t buy that, and I certainly know we don’t have any proof of it. I’m not denying that we might be playing some role, but the natural factors that have always caused climate change have not suddenly disappeared. I’m very skeptical of the alarmist nature of climate campaigning.”

–Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace, http://www.theenergyreport.com…


“…hard data from ice cores, dripstones, tree rings and ocean or lake sediment cores reveal significant temperature changes of more than 1°C, with warm and cold phases alternating in a 1,000-year cycle. These include the Minoan Warm Period 3,000 years ago and the Roman Warm Period 2,000 years ago. During the Medieval Warm Phase around 1,000 years ago, Greenland was colonised and grapes for wine grew in England. The Little Ice Age lasted from the 15th to the 19th century.

All these fluctuations occurred before man-made CO2. Based on climate reconstructions from North Atlantic deep-sea sediment cores, Professor Gerard Bond discovered that the millennial-scale climate cycles ran largely parallel to solar cycles, including the Eddy Cycle which is – guess what – 1,000 years long. So it is really the Sun that shaped the temperature roller-coaster of the past 10,000 years… Furthermore, what is little known is that CO2 also requires a strong amplifier if it were to aggressively shape future climate as envisaged by the IPCC. CO2 alone, without so-called feedbacks, would only generate a moderate warming of 1.1°C per CO2 doubling”

–Fritz Vahrenholt, one of Germany’s earliest green energy investors and global warming supporters. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/com…


“On May 1, 2009, the American Physical Society (APS) Council decided to review its current climate statement via a high-level subcommittee of respected senior scientists. The decision was prompted after a group of over 80 prominent physicists petitioned the APS [to] revise its global warming position and more than 250 scientists urged a change in the group’s climate statement in 2010. The physicists wrote to APS governing board: “Measured or reconstructed temperature records indicate that 20th – 21st century changes are neither exceptional nor persistent, and the historical and geological records show many periods warmer than today.”

A former high-ranking Obama administration official, Dr. Steven Koonin, who served as Obama’s undersecretary for science in the Energy Department, and is the director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress at New York University says climate science and the implications of global warming are not “settled,” and has insisted such claims are “misguided” and stifle debate on the matter. Koonin also stated that group think among experts has been inhibiting “the scientific and policy discussions that we need to have about our climate future.” Story at http://www.Newsmax.com/Newsfro…


Dr. Caleb Rossiter, Adjunct professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the School of International Service, American University, is a liberal Democrat, but accepts that science – as opposed to Al Gore’s conception – is science — no matter what your political persuasion. Says Rossiter about AGW:

“My blood simply boils too hot when I read the blather, daily, about climate catastrophe”and “Obama has long been delusional on this issue” and “Anyone who believes we are in a climate catastrophe I think is deluding themselves.”

Of course, for having the temerity to present his findings about the climate, Professor Rossiter was booted out of a 23 year association with the Institute for Policy Studies. This is the kind of retaliation academics who speak honestly about the climate have come to expect. More details on this at http://www.climatedepot.com/20…


“During the past 17 years global temperatures have not been rising, temperatures have stabilized. There has been no warming since 1997. The power of solar irradiance has decreased consistently since 1990 and is still rapidly declining. Since 1990, the Sun has not been warming the Earth as in the past,”

-Habibullo Abdussamatov, astrophysicist and head of space research at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory. According to Abdussamatov, our planet may enter what he calls “a mini-ice age” at the beginning of next year.  “The ‘mini-ice age’ is associated with a change in the power of solar output and has a quasi-period of some 200 years. Roughly speaking, two centuries, plus-minus 70 years,” as reported by RIA Novosti.


At one Congressional hearing, distinguished climatologist and professor Judith Curry testified that recent data

“calls into question the conclusion that humans are the dominant cause of recent climate change.”


“This is not about the weather. It’s not about climate. It’s not about science. Those things are being used to further another agenda.”

“And as someone who has loved (weather) all his life, it’s really disheartening to see this going on in my country.”

“It’s about destroying capitalism, destroying freedom as we know it,”

–Joe Bastardi, Accuweather meteorology, then WeatherBell Chief Forecaster. He also suggested climate science was “prostituted” by global warming activists. (see http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/wea…


[1] The Great Greenhouse Controversy. In: Emsley J (ed) The Global Warming Debate. European
Science and Environment Forum, London, 1996, pp 179-189

[2] http://townhall.com/columnists…

[3] Cited from CFACT email of June 8, 2011; video at http://unfccc2.meta-fusion.com…
Dr. Ewart’s credentials found at http://www.uni-paderborn.de/mi…

‘Truly alarming’: Sydney archbishop decries gvmt investigation of bishop for defending marriage

Archbishop Anthony Fisher, Archdiocese of Sydney / Facebook

November 17, 2015

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney has decried as “astonishing and truly alarming” the threat of legal action being brought against a brother bishop for distributing a pamphlet to local Catholic schools that supported Catholic teaching on marriage being between a man and woman. Continue reading ‘Truly alarming’: Sydney archbishop decries gvmt investigation of bishop for defending marriage

Pope warns against temptations of leading a double life

Pope Francis at the Casa Santa Marta -RV

17/11/2015 12:59 (Vatican Radio)

The importance of safeguarding our Christian identity and not living double lives: that was the theme at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at the Santa Marta Mass on Tuesday morning. The Pope based his words on the daily readings which focus on the need for coherence between our spiritual and our temporal lives. Continue reading Pope warns against temptations of leading a double life

Papal confidant signals Pope Francis will allow Communion for the ‘remarried’

Pope Francis with close friend and advisor Fr. Antonio Spadaro, SJ

November 16, 2015

Two European bishops’ conferences and prominent Vatican observers are highlighting the significance of a recent article by one of Pope Francis’ closest confidants interpreting the Synod’s final report to allow Communion to “remarried” divorcees. They say the author’s interpretation signals the path Pope Francis will adopt himself.

In a recent article, papal friend and adviser Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, declares that the recent Synod of Bishops on the Family opened the door for the “remarried” divorcees to possibly have access to Holy Communion. Continue reading Papal confidant signals Pope Francis will allow Communion for the ‘remarried’

Israeli punitive demolitions of Palestinian homes violates international law

Israeli authorities demolished this residential structure in the Palestinian community of Al Jiftlik Abu Al Ajaj in Area C of the Occupied West Bank in April 2015. Photo: OCHA (file)

16 November 2015

While recognizing Israel’s “serious security challenges,” a senior United Nations official today called its punitive demolition of the homes of alleged attackers “inherently unjust” and against international law, noting that 20 Palestinians, eight of them children, were made homeless in the past three days. Continue reading Israeli punitive demolitions of Palestinian homes violates international law

Door to communion for divorced & remarried officially kicked open

His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider, one of the most visible prelates working on the restoration of the traditional Latin Mass and faith, has penned a nearly 5,000-word response to the Synod exclusively for our readers.

RORATE EXCLUSIVE: Bishop Athanasius Schneider reaction to Synod

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to His Excellency for taking the time to analyze and express his views on one of the most critical events in Church history — one that he too sees as a “back door” to Holy Communion for adulterers, a rejection of Christ’s teaching and a Final Report full of “time bombs.”

In the coming days, we will also publish an interview with His Excellency, on a wide range of topics. For now, we bring you this important work, exclusively for our readers.

A back door to a Neo-Mosaic practice in the Final Report of the Synod Continue reading Door to communion for divorced & remarried officially kicked open

On visit to East Jerusalem, UN officials call for respect of health premises, right to health care

Robert Piper. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

2 November 2015

Officials from a number of United Nations agencies have stressed the need to ensure respect for health premises as well as the right to health, following recent actions by the Israeli security forces at a hospital in East Jerusalem.

“Actions that undermine the ability of health workers to provide care to those in need are violations of international law. The conduct by the Israeli security forces during several entries into Makassed hospital this past week is unacceptable and must not be repeated,” said the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper.

Continue reading On visit to East Jerusalem, UN officials call for respect of health premises, right to health care

‘Fear must be eclipsed by wisdom’ to end violence between Israelis and Palestinians

High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein (right) and Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, at a Special Meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

28 October 2015

At a special meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council today, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that Israeli-Palestinian violence will draw “closer to a catastrophe” if not stopped immediately, while President Mahmoud Abbas called for creation of a “special protection” regime for the Palestinian people, amid roiling tensions in the region. Continue reading ‘Fear must be eclipsed by wisdom’ to end violence between Israelis and Palestinians

Can the Vatican evolve before it dissolves?

The centre panel Education from the Chittenden Memorial Window at Yale University depicting Science (left) and Religion (right). Courtesy Wikimedia

The Vatican still refuses to endorse evolutionary theory – setting a billion believers at odds with modern science

By John Farrell 8 May 2015

There was a moment in the recent history of the Roman Catholic Church when an influential Jesuit tried to forge a deep synthesis between religion and modern science. But he was muzzled by the Vatican, and Catholics have been paying for it ever since. Continue reading Can the Vatican evolve before it dissolves?

A generational shift near completion

incaelo's avatarIn Caelo et in Terra

With yesterday’s retirement of Bishop Joachim Reinelt the Berlin Church Province is close to completing a significant generational shift. For the first time since the province, which consists of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Berlin and the Dioceses of Görlitz and Dresden-Meiβen, was established in its modern form in 1994*, a new generation of bishops is set to take over.

In July 2010, the bishop of Görlitz, Konrad Zdarsa, was moved to Augsburg, and he can be considered something of a transitional bishop, having helmed Görlitz for only three years. His predecessor, Bishop Rudolf Müller, had been Görlitz’s chief shepherd for almost 20 years. In June of last year, Bishop Wolfgang Ipolt became the new bishop.

In February of last year, Georg Cardinal Sterzinsky retired as Archbishop of Berlin, making way for Rainer Maria Woelki to become the youngest member of the College of Cardinals as of three days ago.

And…

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Berlin’s big day as Archbishop Koch arrives

incaelo's avatarIn Caelo et in Terra

Pressegespräch mit Erzbischof Dr. Heiner KochBig day in Berlin today, as Archbishop Heiner Koch is installed as its third archbishop and tenth bishop overall. The installation, starting at 11 o’clock local time, will be streamed live via www.katholisch.de and www.domradio.de.

Opening the ceremony is Bishop Wolfgang Ipolt, bishop of Görlitz, as he is the senior bishop of the province composed of Berlin and its two suffragan dioceses, Görlitz and Dresden-Meißen. With that latter see vacant, he is also the only bishop available to do that job. Bishop Görlitz will lead the archbishop to his cathedra, after which the latter officially take possession of it.

Archbishop Koch will also be receiving his pallium from the Apostolic Nuncio during the installation Mass. It had already been granted and collected by him on 29 June, but as the woollen band denoting his office of metropolitan archbishop is now officially bestowed in the home dioceses, each of these…

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For Berlin, a Synod Father

incaelo's avatarIn Caelo et in Terra

kochWith the appointment of Bishop Heiner Koch to Berlin, the German capital has an archbishop again after an almost eleven-month vacancy. He leaves the Diocese of Dresden-Meißen, a suffragan of Berlin, vacant after less than two-and-a-half years, making it on of two empty sees in Germany, the other being Limburg.

Who is Archbishop-elect Heiner Koch? Like his predecessor in Berlin, Cardinal Woelki, he was born in the Archdiocese of Cologne, in Düsseldorf. He is less than a week away from his 61st birthday, has been a priest for 35 years (he was ordained on his 26th birthday in 1980) and a bishop for nine years. He is the third archbishop of Berlin, but the tenth ordinary since Berlin became a diocese in 1930. Six of his predecessors were made cardinals.

heiner kochThe new archbishop studied Catholic theology, philosophy and pedagogy at the University of Bonn and is a Doctor of Theology. After his…

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No waiting – Cardinal Marx on the Synod

incaelo's avatarIn Caelo et in Terra

101020marx250The president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has made some comments about the upcoming second session of the Synod on the family, as the bishops of Germany are discussing the topic in their spring plenary in Hildesheim. While the full text of his words has not been published, we have to make do with interpretations, which is always risky business. Cardinal Marx, speaking for the conference as a whole, has rightly said that we should not reduce the Synod to the question of divorced and remarried Catholics, but of course that does happen, especially when the bishops explain their own intentions on this topic.

About the role of Rome in the pastoral realities of the local churches, Cardinal Marx said the following:

“We are not a subsidiary of Rome. Every  bishops’ conference is responsible for the pastoral care in their area and has to proclaim the Gospel in…

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The tension between doctrine and reality – Cardinal Marx’s intervention

incaelo's avatarIn Caelo et in Terra

Earlier today we had a short Synod intervention from Cardinal Danneels, and now one of the longest, from Cardinal Reinhard Marx. It’s also one of the most fearless, as the German cardinal talks about some of the topics that he has been criticised heavily for: Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics and graduality.

Like the intervention of Bishop Bode, Cardinal Marx’s text is based heavily on the life experiences of the faithful concerned. And while it is essential for the Church to meet people where they are, I do miss the essential aspect of our faith: that is a revelation faith. Its foundation is objective truth, and while the way we relate to that truth, communicate it and help people achieve it (acknowledged by Cardinal Marx as he discusses our call to holiness) can and should vary according to circumstances, that truth does and can not. In the debate about…

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Bishop Hendriks looks back at the Synod and the question of Communion

incaelo's avatarIn Caelo et in Terra

In his blog, Bishop Jan Hendriks speaks about the headline topic of the Synod of Bishops that was concluded this weekend. Rather than limiting the question to whether divorced and remarried Catholics should receive Communion, Bishop Hendriks identifies the greater problem of receiving without due preparation or even awareness. Communion, he says, has become a social event:

hendriks-s“In the media and the discussions outside the Synod much emphasis was given to divorced people who had remarried and the conditions under which they could perhaps receive Holy Communion. Beforehand, the Pope had already repeatedly stated that this was not the most important issue and certainly not the panacea for all problems. There is, however, a problem to such an extent that, certainly in our western society, everyone goes to receive Communion, without the necessary preparation: without faith in the Eucharist, without remorse over sins, without Confession, without the desire to follow Christ and…

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Pope Francis addresses Synod of Bishops at conclusion

Pope Francis waves as he leaves the Synod hall at the end of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family – AP

24/10/2015 19:27 (Vatican Radio)

On Saturday evening the Synod on the Family came to a close when the Synod Fathers voted paragraph by paragraph on the final text. At the end of the vote the text was presented to the Holy Father. Continue reading Pope Francis addresses Synod of Bishops at conclusion