THE HOLY ROMAN ...
[WAR: Well, I knew it was going to be a historic trip - just wasn't expecting this angering-the-Muslims angle. And the verbal shot was fired in Regensburg - the city where the Holy Roman Empire parliament sat, and where it officially ceased to exist. How ironic, huh. So I'm going to do a recap and give some important quotes that might have been overlooked.]
B16:
* "James speaks of the social order as a necessary expression of our faith."
* "The Catholic Church in Germany is outstanding for its social activities, for its readiness to help wherever help is needed. Yet hearts must be converted if progress is to be made on social issues ... Social issues and the Gospel are inseperable."
Others:
* "Edmund Stoiber, a leader of the Christian Social Union: a political party closely aligned with Catholic social teaching."
* "Stoiber emphasized that 'the Christian roots of Bavaria are strong and full of energy.' He thanked the pope for raising his voice 'in warning when Christian values and human dignity threatened to be overcome by the spirit of the times.'"
* Stoiber said he hoped the visit would reinforce moves to include a reference to God in the stalled EU constitution."
* "Bavaria is the most heavily Catholic section of Germany, with a cultural connection to the Church that stretches back across more than 1,000 years."
* "Bavaria, a former kingdom ... that is still fiercely loyal to the Roman Catholic faith."
* "At decisive moments in their history, the Bavarian people have always confirmed their sincere devotion to the See of Peter and their firm attachment to the Catholic faith."
* "On April 26, 1916, the Pope (B15) changed the Kingdom of Bavaria to the "Kingdom of Mary" and established a proper feast in honor of the Patroness."
Regensburg speech:
* "In a provocative speech ... Benedict sends the world a signal that it's time for hard questions - not hugs and handshakes."
* "In a riveting and provocative university lecture, he explored the philosophical and historical differnces between Islam and Christianity - a speech that would become the surprise centerpiece of a 5-day visit that many had expected would be mostly just a walk down memory lane."
* "In a sense, explicitly including the Muslim prophet by name, and citing the concept of jihad, was a flashing neon signal to the world that the soft-spoken Pope intends to make himself heard clearly on this defining tension of our times."
On Vatican overhaul:
* "The beginning of the Benedict era back at the Roman Curia begins in earnest this fall."
* "The pope isn't afraid to take on the Vatican status quo."
* "A longtime trusted confidante was handpicked to be Secretary of State in order to usher in a virtual revolution in the way the Catholic Church headquarters operates. ... (B16) is said to want Church headquarters to be both a more holy and a more efficient entity."
* "By choosing Levada (to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith) it was also evident that the Vatican's theologian-in-chief would remain the former Cardinal Ratzinger."
* "A power struggle is said to be on over control over the Vatican bank. (And) Italian magazine Panorama last week reported that Benedict would like to put former German Central Bank chief Hans Tietmeyer to run the Church's operation. That would shake things up almost as much as a German pope." (Wikipedia: "Dr Hans Tietmeyer is a German/European economist and regarded as one of the foremost experts on international financial matters. He was president of Deutsche Bundesbank (1993-99) and remains one of the most important figures in finance of the European Union.")
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Italian media reported that security around Pope Benedict XVI has been beefed up following the harsh responses to his remarks on Islam.
A hardline cleric linked to Somalia's powerful Islamist movement has called for Muslims to "hunt down" and kill Pope Benedict XVI. "Whoever offends our Prophet Mohammed should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim."
Pakistan’s foreign ministry yesterday summoned the Vatican ambassador over the remarks by Pope Benedict XVI.
So Benedict XVI didn’t intend to offend Muslims. But he did! Any pope must realize that outside the realm of ecclesiastical dogma, his pronouncements, whether casual or formal, are always taken by people around the world, other than Catholic theologians, as if made ex cathedra.
The recent remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI on Islam are threatening to ignite the entire Muslim world.
"We call on all those who love God's prophets not to carry out actions that will harm our Christian brothers here."
The head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church became the first top Christian leader to join the Muslim world in denouncing comments made by Pope Benedict XVI's about Islam and jihad, as religious and political leaders warned of impending sectarian violence despite the Vatican's insistence that the Roman Catholic leader's words were misinterpreted and he didn't intend to be offensive.
Pope Benedict XVI said he was "deeply sorry" Sunday for outrage triggered across the Muslim world by remarks he made about Islam and stressed they had not reflected his personal opinion.
(BBC: Text of B16's Sunday apology)
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said Pope Benedict had apologized sufficiently on Sunday for remarks on Islam that angered many in the Muslim world.
Pope Benedict XVI’s return to his old university at Regensburg in Germany for a speech entitled Faith, Reason and the University: Memories and Reflections was not the most obvious trigger for a new front in the clash of civilisations.
The present pope is not a successor to the great and wise John Paul II. He is heir to predecessors like Pope Nicholas V who issued “The Bull Romanus Pontifex” in January 1455. This was the philosophy that created the Inquisition in which Muslims and Jews were killed and driven out of Catholic kingdoms in Spain and Portugal after the Christian reconquests.
After years of study and debate, the question of whether an individual declared brain-dead is really dead has been resuscitated once again.
[WAR: Yes, brain death = dead. The spirit given to us at birth (not conception) is "merged" with the brain, so when the brain dies, then the spirit returns - and is "filed away" until the resurrection.]
A book published this summer offers a summary of the Church's view on globalization. In the past the social encyclicals dealt with universal social principles regarding economic activity.
As Benedict's makeover of the Vatican bureaucracy gathers pace, sources say that the Pope has sounded out the former head of Germany's central bank for the key post as head of the Institute for Religious Works, better known as the Vatican Bank. The Times Online reports that Hans Tietmeyer, who headed the Bundesbank (1993-99), studied theology before switching to economics and is a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Vatican finances have moved healthily into the black, with the Holy See marketing images from its rich art collection and recording a profit from property and commercial investments.
... EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
Munich has opened its doors to thousands of beer drinking merrymakers on Saturday (September 16) as the world`s biggest folk festival, the Oktoberfest, got under way in celebrations which this year last two days longer than usual.
Uh-oh...
A recent report confirms the stereotype of Germany as a nation of pessimists. Increasingly, citizens are discontent with their living standards, and their form of government as well.
Spurred by concern about China’s growing economic might, Germany is considering a plan for a free-trade zone between Europe and the US.
EUROPE/RUSSIA
After a good summer, Romano Prodi's government faces harder economic times.
Immigration is a Europe-wide concern. It is not clear, though, that it needs a European solution.
U.N.-brokered talks on the future status of Kosovo are in jeopardy, the deputy United Nations envoy warned Friday. "We're approaching a moment where by talking alone we won't accomplish the goal."
MIDEAST/AFRICA/ASIA
Lebanon's Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh on Saturday criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel's comments about German participation in the peacekeeping efforts and urged Berlin to be an "unbiased" contributor to the UN mission in Lebanon.
Hoaxes and pretexts are the tactical tools of the United States and Israel to alter by wars of aggression the geostrategic, demographic, religious, cultural, and political realities of the Middle East. The undeclared target is the direct or indirect colonialist conquest of the region by stages.
(Part 2)
National leaders of the 118-state Non-Aligned Movement concluding their Havana summit approved a statement on Iran that "reaffirmed the basic and inalienable right of all states, to develop research, production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes."
Iranian officials have been hinting at the country’s intention to open an Iranian Oil Bourse that will challenge NYMEX and IPE. If Venezuela and Iran managed to create global flight of foreign-exchange reserves away from the dollar and into the Euro, the move could cause the value of the U.S. currency to collapse.
Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir issued a defiant statement yesterday saying he did not want a United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur. "We don't want the UN back no matter the conditions. We have met with Kofi Annan and we have clarified in detail that we reject the decision of the Security Council."
Of course...
Diplomatic pressure on Sudan to allow 20,000 UN peacekeepers into the Darfur region was mounting last night, with President George Bush threatening to ignore Khartoum's refusal to allow the force in.
Japan is about to get its most nationalistic prime minister since the 1950s and ardent patriots are celebrating in advance, sensing that their sun is rising after decades of shame.
HOUSE OF ISRAEL
The new al-Qaida field commander in Afghanistan is calling for Muslims to leave the U.S. – particularly Washington and New York – in anticipation of a major terror attack to rival Sept. 11.
The world is watching a frightening reality show, as both the US and Israel threaten to mutually freak out, and, in the process, destroy much of what passes for civilization. They work in tandem to strangle Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, calling their murderous assaults democracy. This, while they feverishly depict Iran as the mirror of themselves: a menace to the human race.
ECONOMY
Iran has vowed to take legal action to challenge US sanctions on Iranian lender Bank Saderat and has said it is considering shifting some of its foreign exchange reserves out of US dollars. Iran could place its oil-generated revenues into "neighbors' banks," such as those in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, and added: "We also have very good relations with European banks."
Oil halted a run of heavy losses, shrugging off rising U.S. fuel stocks as world powers differed over whether to punish Iran for its atomic work and oil workers in Nigeria began a 3-day strike.
There’s growing concern among economists and market-savvy pundits that the global financial system is hanging by a few well-worn threads that could snap at any time. Twenty years of deregulation has created an economic monster which is increasingly unmanageable and threatens to bring down the whole system in a heap.
MISC
Thanks, but no thanks...
This movie follows a group of young children to (a camp) where kids are taught to become dedicated Christian soldiers in God's army and are schooled in how to take back America for Christ.
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts.
[WAR: Actually, in the beginning man was given the fruits and animals were given the vegetables. Then we were cursed and it's been all downhill ever since.]
