Pope to Meet with Muslim Leaders

From Vatican Information Services:

At midday today, the Holy See Press Office made it known that in Castelgandolfo at 11.45 a.m. on Monday, September 25, the Holy Father will receive Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, and certain representatives of Muslim communities in Italy. Ambassadors to the Holy See from countries with Muslim majorities have also been invited to the meeting.

Benedict the Brave #2

From Asia News Italy:

“A particularly beautiful experience for me on that day was to give a speech before a large audience of professors and students of the University of Regensburg, where I taught as a professor for many years. With joy, I was able to meet once again the university world which, for a long period of my life, was my spiritual homeland. As a topic, I chose the relationship between faith and reason. To introduce the audience to the drama and actuality of the topic, I cited some words of a Christian-Islamic dialogue from the XIV century, with which the Christian interlocutor, the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel II Paleologos – in a way that is incomprehensible and brusque for us – presented to the Islamic interlocutor the problem of the relationship between religion and violence. This quotation, unfortunately, lent itself to possible misunderstanding. For the careful reader, however, it emerges clearly that I did not want to make my own in any way the negative words pronounced by the medieval emperor in this dialogue and their controversial content did not express my personal conviction. My intention was rather different: starting out from that Manuel II said later in a positive way, using a very beautiful word, about how reason should guide in the transmission of faith, I wished to explain that not religion and violence, but religion and reason, go together. The theme of my conference – in response to the University mission – was the relationship between faith and reason: I wanted to invite the Christian faith to dialogue with the modern world and all religions. I hope that on several occasions of my visit – for example, in Munich, when I underlined how important it is to respect what is sacred to others – my profound respect for world religions and for Muslims, who ‘worship the one God’ and with whom we ‘promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values for the benefit of all humanity’ (Nostra Aetate, 3), is clear.”

Benedict the Brave

From the Wall Street Journal:

This is not an invitation to the usual feel-good interfaith round-tables. It is a request for dialogue with one condition--that everyone at the table reject the irrationality of religiously motivated violence. The pope isn't condemning Islam; he is inviting it to join rather than reject the modern world.
By their reaction to the pope's speech, some Muslim leaders showed again that Islam has a problem with modernity that is going to have to be solved by a debate within Islam. The day Muslims condemn Islamic terror with the same vehemence they condemn those who criticize Islam, an attempt at dialogue--and at improving relations between the Western and Islamic worlds--can begin.

Turkey--A Tale of Two Novels

One Condemned..

From the Times online:

TURKEY’S faltering hopes of European Union membership look set to be dealt a blow this week when Elif Shafak, one of the leading members of a new generation of Turkish female novelists, faces charges under the country’s draconian restrictions on freedom of speech.
Shafak, 34, is being tried under article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which makes it an offence to insult “Turkishness”. Her alleged crime is that a character in her latest bestselling novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, describes the massacres of Armenians in the late Ottoman Empire as a genocide — an interpretation which, although widely accepted internationally, is still vigorously denied by the Turkish state.
Although other Turks have faced charges for referring to the events of 1915-16 as a genocide, Shafak is the first writer to be prosecuted for words spoken by a character in a work of fiction.

The other a bestseller (even before the current controversy)...

From Hot Air:

Benedict XVI is set to visit Turkey in November, for those looking to descry omens, here’s one that’s not terribly encouraging: A potboiler novel currently on bestseller lists in Turkey titled Papa’ya suikast (”Attack on the Pope”) predicts that Benedict will be assassinated.
Written by novelist Yücel Kaya, the book is subtitled, “Who will kill Benedict XVI in Istanbul?”
In a little more than 300 pages, Kaya manages to weave the Turkish Secret Service, the infamous Masonic lodge P2, and (of course) Opus Dei into his plot line. Inevitably, Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, also makes an appearance.
All this might seem comical were it not for the fact that in the last seven months, three Catholic priests have been attacked in Turkey, beginning with the murder of Italian missionary Fr. Andrea Santoro on February 5.

I Support the Pope

Get yours here:

War Against the Cross

From The Conservative Voice:

Now, the Mujahideen Shura Council has issued the statement: “"We shall
break the cross and spill the wine! God will (help) Muslims to conquer Rome.
(May) God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants
the bounty of the mujahedeen!" After Pope Benedict XVI had said he regretted the
[Muslim] reaction to his statements, al Qaeda in Iraq called for a war against
"worshippers of the cross". Burning German, Israeli and US flags and an effigy
of the pope, protestors demonstrated in Basra chanting: "No to aggression! We
gagged the Pope!”

From the Holy Bible (RSV):

"I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them." John 16:1-4

Judging the Pope

With a Muslim mind...

I heard one Muslim expert speaking from Cairo last night who felt that what the pope said would have repercussions for years. In the midst of his reasoning he said something that I think was interesting. He said Muslims felt that the pope was sending a message to Christians...

Like a secret message. In other words, it wasn't what Pope Benedict actually said but rather in what he was secretly saying. To us, this seems crazy.

But in a world where some guy wrapped in swaddling clothes speaks a message where the CIA, FBI and Homeland Security pour over the message for weeks afterwards searching for some encrypted message that might be being communicated to the secret cells out there--I guess its understandable on some level. And of course this was the Pope's message--that Muslims and Christians are speaking the same language, so why should they be expected to understand what we mean?

We believe that Jesus has revealed what God is like--and we believe that God has revealed that we should turn the other cheek when struck--but we also know that when Jesus spoke this message of peace that he angered the religious figures of his day to the point that they joined forces with the hated Romans to seek his death. So why should we be surprised if a message of "there is no holy war" by a modern disciple of Jesus meets with a violent response?

Isn't that the witness of countless martyrs in the Church's history? People who were not attacking violently but people who were attacked violently for speaking God's truth.

Sorry Vol Fans

Florida 21, Vols 20

The Pope Speaks--Apologizes to Muslims

From Asia News Italy:

“The Pastoral Visit which I recently made to Bavaria was a deep spiritual experience, bringing together personal memories linked to places well known to me and pastoral initiatives towards an effective proclamation of the Gospel for today. I thank God for the interior joy which he made possible, and I am also grateful to all those who worked hard for the success of this pastoral visit. As is the custom, I will speak more of this during next Wednesday’s general audience.”

“At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims. These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought. Yesterday, the Cardinal Secretary of State published a statement in this regard in which he explained the true meaning of my words. I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.”

Nun in Somalia Murdered...

The killing of an Italian Catholic nun in Mogadishu on Sunday may well be linked to anger among Muslims about Pope Benedict's recent remarks on Islam, a senior source among Somalia's Islamists said.

"There is a very high possibility the people who killed her were angered by the Catholic Pope's recent comments against Islam," the source told Reuters.

Clarifications on What the Pope Thinks About the Muslims

From the Vatican Secretary of State on the Pope and the Muslims:

As for the opinion of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus which he quoted during his Regensburg talk, the Holy Father did not mean, nor does he mean, to make that opinion his own in any way. He simply used it as a means to undertake - in an academic context, and as is evident from a complete and attentive reading of the text - certain reflections on the theme of the relationship between religion and violence in general, and to conclude with a clear and radical rejection of the religious motivation for violence, from whatever side it may come. On this point, it is worth recalling what Benedict XVI himself recently affirmed in his commemorative Message for the 20th anniversary of the Inter-religious Meeting of Prayer for Peace, initiated by his predecessor John Paul II at Assisi in October 1986: " ... demonstrations of violence cannot be attributed to religion as such but to the cultural limitations with which it is lived and develops in time. ... In fact, attestations of the close bond that exists between the relationship with God and the ethics of love are recorded in all great religious traditions".

- The Holy Father thus sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful, and should have been interpreted in a manner that in no way corresponds to his intentions. Indeed it was he who, before the religious fervor of Muslim believers, warned secularized Western culture to guard against "the contempt for God and the cynicism that considers mockery of the sacred to be an exercise of freedom".

- In reiterating his respect and esteem for those who profess Islam, he hopes they will be helped to understand the correct meaning of his words so that, quickly surmounting this present uneasy moment, witness to the "Creator of heaven and earth, Who has spoken to men" may be reinforced, and collaboration may intensify "to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom" (Nostra Aetate no. 3)

Pakistan Parliament Condemns Pope's Statement

From CNews:

Pakistan's parliament on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning
Pope Benedict for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam, and
seeking an apology from him for hurting Muslims' feelings.

The comments in question?

The measure was adopted a day after the Vatican sought to defuse criticism of the pontiff's remarks, when he quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and an educated Persian on the truths of Christianity and Islam.

"The emperor . . . said, I quote, 'Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,' " he quoted the emperor as saying.

Masonry Unmasked Termed a "Blockbuster" by Spirit Daily

From Spirit Daily:

New blockbuster: secrets of Masonry by Catholic who was major Mason

Priest Arrested for False Imprisonment of Woman

In New Hampshire. One wonders what his homilies were like...

From the Manchester Union Leader:

A Roman Catholic priest who ministers to African refugees and immigrants in
New Hampshire is accused of sexually and physically assaulting a 27-year-old
city woman and holding her against her will over the last 11 months.

The Rev. John O. Lawani, 40, turned himself in to Manchester police
late yesterday afternoon after an investigation that began several days
ago.

Pope "My heart beats Bavarian"

A nice story in the Detroit Free Press on how much Benedict seems to enjoy being pope.

Coincidence? On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross...Tropical Storm Helene

St. Helena found the true cross in Jerusalem, something today's feast commemorates. This storm may bear watching. Is it a sign or a mere coincidence?

Whatever may be the case it is important to remember that the follower of Christ sees the cross differently than the nonbeliever. For the nonbeliever the cross is defeat (this may explain the negative and positive reactions that Mel Gibson's The Passion received). In the midst of the 9/11 damage was the cross at ground zero--something that scandalized some and gave great hope to others. It is the same way today in the Church, on one hand the cross is everywhere and defeat seems to be winning the day--but at the same time a pope who speaks with great clarity is shining light on this darkness and holding the cross aloft as the sign of ultimate victory.

Kidnapped Priest Released in Iraq

From Asia News Italy:

Fr Saad Hanna Sirop, the Chaldean Catholic priest freed Monday evening
after 27 days in captivity, “was threatened and tortured”, another Iraqi priest,
a fellow student, told AsiaNews. “He is really tired and exhausted. He was
threatened and tortured. He’ll be able to talk about his painful and fearful
experiences later.”
Father Saad was preparing to leave for Rome when he was
kidnapped. He was coming to receive his university diploma after he obtained his
theology degree three years ago at the Pontifical Urbaniana University.
“He
is free and now is doing well. This is the only thing that counts,” said
Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel II Delly. In expressing his joy for the “good news”
the patriarch thanked “all those who worked to get Father Hanna released”.
A
vast campaign was organised to get the clergyman freed. In addition to appeals
by Patriarch Delly himself and the Chaldean bishops, Pope Benedict XVI joined
the chorus of voices demanding Father Hanna’s release.

Gas Prices (Update)

In Florida they averaged about $2.53

Here in Indiana...$2.33

In Iowa, Drudge reports ...$2.05 (Iowa caucus preparation?)

Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord

The Official Web Site

The excellent book...

Lessons Learned from a Five Year Old

JB: Don't mow the grass tonight.
Me: Don't worry, I just mowed it yesterday. But why?
JB: Because I have a sunflower growing that I planted.
Me: Really?
JB: Yeah and I didn't even open the seed, but it came out anyway.

This conversation stuck with me all night even becoming the subject of a vivid dream where I was giving an unsuccessful talk and then I used this conversation as an illustration and it worked. Then at Mass yesterday:

I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.
Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything,
but only God, who causes the growth.
He who plants and he who waters are one,

Lesson: Plant the seed and don't mow down the results.

The Miracle Marlins

Two World Series...

Four No-hitters....

Twelve fans (including me)...


From The Chicago Sun-Times:

Anibal Sanchez stood behind the mound when the scoreboard caught his eye, confirming what he already knew: He was one out from a no-hitter.

He froze. For a couple of seconds, the Florida Marlins' rookie didn't move.

''I said, 'Wow. This hitter is the last one,''' Sanchez said.

Then he collected himself and, in this year of sensational rookies, finished the greatest performance yet.