1-22-08
Recently, Pope Benedict was scheduled to speak at an Italian University. A few days before the scheduled address, around 50-60 students occupied the University Rector's office attempting to get the speech cancelled. They charged the pope with being against science and reason. The pope, citing the unfavorable environment, cancelled his visit there—but nonetheless sent his prepared text.
At the previously scheduled speaking time, the Rector had the following to say, shortly before reading the Pope's address:
"Guarini said, "I will offer a new invitation to the Pope, Benedict XVI." He said the invitation would "be in accord with the desire of the majority of Sapienza's academic community."
During the inauguration ceremony, a professor read the discourse the Holy Father had prepared for the occasion. A standing ovation and students' shouts of "Long live the Pope" followed the reading."
Source: zenit.org 1-17-08
On top of that, a number of people called for a "Pope Day" in Rome for this past Sunday. In response, some 200,000 people showed up for the Pope's Noon Angelus Address. A very nice response to "the tyranny of the minority."
More info can be found in an article below.
Todd M. Agliarloro recently wrote a column for www.insidecatholic.com titled "Good Hymns, Bad Hymns." There has been an explosion in the quantity of hymns produced the last 30 years—and as you know, quantity does not always = quality. With the experimentation and creativity that was so prevalent in the Liturgy following Vatican II, music was just one more victim. I've often found myself, when hearing a hymn containing questionable or even incorrect theology, looking at the copyright date. Agliarloro has experienced some of the same things and in response, posits 4 criteria for acceptable hymns to be sung in Church.
- Good hymns focus on God; bad hymns focus on self. Compare "Holy, Holy, Holy" to "Here I am Lord".
- Good hymns use words and themes from Scripture or Tradition; bad hymns use words and themes from 1960s psychobabble. He contrasts "Holy is the Lord"-drawn from Revelation 7 to "We come to share our story; we come to break the bread…See in this space, our fears and our dreamings…give us the courage to enter the song.
- Good hymns treat transcendent concepts; bad hymns treat immanent concepts. i.e. good hymns draw us upwards toward God; bad hymns keep us focused on the material world.
- Good hymns employ sacred diction; bad hymns employ vulgar diction. i.e. using Sacred language versus the common "street" language—not 'swear' words. He writes the verses of one "vulgar" song "We turn to you, God, with our thanks and our tears;…the intimate networks on whom [sic] we depend, of parent and partner and roommate and friend."
The whole article can be found at this website on pages 13-15. http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/images/insidedigest16.pdf
Archbishop Burke-St. Louis—one of the holiest men I've ever met—is frequently lambasted in the media. Let's see where they find fault with this news. The St. Louis seminary now has 111 seminarians in residence, a 50% increase over last year alone. In fact, the seminary is growing so rapidly they're planning an expansion.
Priest Murdered in Philippines
54-Year-Old Missionary Shot by Kidnappers
TABAWAN, Philippines, JAN. 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father Reynaldo Roda was shot and killed Tuesday in what appears to be an attempted kidnapping.
The 54-year-old priest spent the last 10 years as a missionary in the area where he was slain. He was the parish priest of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Tabawan, in the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo.
An Oblate associate of the slain priest told AsiaNews that Father Roda was praying in a chapel in the village of Likud Tabawan when about 10 men attacked him. He resisted until one of the men took out a handgun and shot the priest in the head.
A teacher who was with Father Roda was captured by the gunmen.
Reynaldo Roda was born in 1954. He made his first vows with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1975 and was ordained a priest in 1980.
200,000 Gather in Vatican on "Pope Day"
Benedict XVI Urges Students to Seek Truth
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Seek the truth and the good, Benedict XVI urged some 200,000 people who flooded the Vatican to support the Pope, days after protests led him to cancel a visit to a Roman university.
The Pontiff's visit to La Sapienza University for the inauguration of the academic year was planned for Thursday, but a group of 67 professors signed a letter that objected to the visit by the Holy Father, whom they claimed is "hostile to science."
The Vatican press office reported Monday that "it has been considered opportune to postpone the event."
At the behest of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar for Rome, throngs of professors, students, families and politicians gathered in St. Peter's Square today for the weekly Angelus to show their affection for the Holy Father, in what the Italian media tagged "Pope Day."
Those gathered in St. Peter's Square held up banners with slogans such as "Holy Father We Love You" and "The Truth Sets Us Free," while tens of thousands more supporters watched video links of the event outside the Milan cathedral and in Verona, Italian media reported.
Amid shouts of "Long live the Pope," Benedict XVI recounted how his visit to the 700-year-old university, the largest in Europe, had been postponed. "Unfortunately, as is known, the climate that was created rendered my presence at the ceremony inopportune."
"I love the search for truth," the Holy Father added, "the comparison, the frank and respectful dialogue between reciprocal positions of the university environment, which for many years was my world. All of that is also the mission of the Church, committed to faithfully following Jesus, master of life, truth and love."
Be respectful
The Pope then encouraged the students "to be respectful of the opinions of others and to seek, with a free and responsible spirit, the truth and the good."
The rector of Rome's La Sapienza University, Renato Guarini, announced Thursday that he will re-invite Benedict XVI to visit the institution.
He said the invitation would "be in accord with the desire of the majority of La Sapienza's academic community." There are 4,500 professors and 130,000 students at the university.
The protest letter mentioned a 1990 speech at La Sapienza University that then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger gave about the Church's 17th-century condemnation of Galileo.
The note said the future Pope quoted Austrian philosopher Paul Feyerabend, who said the trial was "rational and just," but did not mention that Cardinal Ratzinger went on to say that he was not in agreement with the philosopher.
God bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
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