"The WAR on error"
Ecumenism is certainly a slow process, at times perhaps even discouraging when one gives in to the temptation to "hear" and not to "listen," to say half-truths, instead of having the courage to proclaim them. It is not easy to emerge from "comfortable deafness," as if the unaltered Gospel did not have the capacity to re-flower, reaffirming itself as providential leaven of conversion and spiritual renewal for each one of us.
Here is Part 2 of a homily delivered by the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It came at the opening of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Benedict XVI received as a gift to the Holy See one of the most ancient manuscripts of the Gospels, an artifact that demonstrates Scripture's historical actuality. The Pope was given the 14-15 Bodmer Papyrus (P75), dated between A.D. 175 and 225, by Frank Hanna and his family, of the US. "The papyrus contains about half of each of the Gospels of Luke and John. It was written in Egypt and perhaps used as a liturgical book."
German papers
Foreign Minister Steinmeier is in the firing line over whether he blocked the release of a German-born Guantánamo prisoner. The affair could turn ugly for him and the German government, write German media commentars. Meanwhile the German papers wonder what is to be done in Lebanon to stop Beirut burning.
In a wide-ranging speech at the World Economic Forum, Chancellor Merkel staunchly rejected protectionism as a solution to the economic and social challenges of globalization.
Chancellor Merkel opened the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland saying she wanted dialogue with emerging powers and that the Doha trade talks must succeed.
"The European mantra after WW2 was not much more complicated than, "Use the French-led EU to keep the Germans boxed up economically and the American-led NATO to keep them down militarily." (Stratfor article "The Belarusian Crisis: An opportunity for Germany")
President Hu Jintao of China will visit Sudan in early February and press for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in that country’s western Darfur region. Sudan will be one of eight African countries Mr. Hu is to visit on the trip, the latest of a string of high-level visits to the continent by Chinese officials. China has played a leading role in building a thriving oil industry in Sudan, and now buys almost two-thirds of the oil that Sudan exports.
There has been a glaring omission in the U.S. media presentation of the Darfur tragedy. The compassion demonstrated, mostly in words, until recently, has not been accompanied by a recognition of U.S. complicity, or at least involvement, in the war which has led to the enormous suffering and loss of life that has been taking place in Darfur for many years. In 1978 oil was discovered in Southern Sudan. Rebellious war began 5 years later and was led by John Garang, who had taken military training at infamous Fort Benning, Georgia.
Hashemi Rafsanjani here on Thursday said that the Iranian nation will "once again give a crushing and decisive response to the enemies."
Israeli Prime Minister Olmert dramatically raised the stakes in the international showdown with Iran last night, with a clear warning that his country was prepared to use military force to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
A former head of the CIA, speaking in Israel, said that he expects diplomacy alone will not force Iran to stop developing nuclear weapons. "There is a very substantial likelihood that if the diplomatic approach failed - and I think it will - and non-violent regime change won't work (in Iran), there is no alternative except for the U.S. to use force."
The threat of a U.S. attack on Iran is very serious and would risk spreading sectarian violence throughout the Middle East, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said. "If there were to be a war, other genies will get out of the bottle. You cannot imagine the impact on the Gulf countries, on the Mediterranean."
The probability of a US aggression against Iran is extremely high. It does remain unclear, though, whether the US Congress is going to authorize the war. It may take a provocation to eliminate this obstacle (an attack on Israel or the US targets including military bases). The scale of the provocation may be comparable to the 9-11 attack in NY. Then the Congress will certainly say “Yes” to the US President.
For weeks now the Israeli lobby has hurled its legions into battle against Carter. But the assault on Carter is all to no avail. With each gust of abuse, Carter’s book soars higher and higher on the bestseller lists. The lobby may have made a mess of its war against Carter’s book, but as a ferryman across the Styx toward Armageddon the lobby is doing a competent job.
UPI analysis
President Bush's State of the Union Address neglected the European security and foreign policy approach for Iraq and the greater Middle East, observers say.
Bush made his sixth State of the Union address at the weakest point of his presidency - low approval ratings, a Democratic majority in Congress, and the risk of revolt in his own party. Not surpisingly, he talked of compromise instead of confrontation.
In his State of the Union address, President Bush repeated his pledge to stay the course in Iraq -- despite warning of a "nightmare scenario" if violence spreads to the country's neighbors. But he was wrong to ignore the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group.
There is a decent chance that within the next month or two the New Mexico State Legislature will ask the U.S. House of Representatives to begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
The US has drafted a UN resolution condemning the denial of the Holocaust. According to a copy of the draft made available to the AP, the proposed resolution urges all member states to "reject any denial of the Holocaust," saying that "ignoring the historical fact of these terrible events increases the risk they will be repeated."
British historian David Irving, who was jailed for questioning the Holocaust in a book published in Austria, said recently that the Auschwitz death camp was a tourist attraction, and added that there was no proof that it ever had gas chambers.
Far from some kind of conspiracy of the global elite plotting the future as they whisk down the Alpine slopes, Davos is in fact a back-end barometer of their evolving worldview. This year's theme at the World Economic Forum annual meeting here — "the shifting power equation" — confirms the view of many participants that power is draining away from the US to multiple centers as countries move beyond "emerging" market status to establish themselves as major players on the world scene.
A leading scholar has said that the end-times rapture theology propagated by many fundamentalist Christian groups, and said to be an influence within the Bush White House, is unbiblical and basically “nuts”.
Mysterious lights in the sky witnessed and photographed by an Air Force colonel who described them as "not of this world" apparently have an explanation of this Earth after all, WND can reveal. The colorful illuminations seen Jan. 9 over western Arkansas came from special military flares that slowly parachuted to the ground as part of an Air Force training mission involving A-10 aircraft pilots at nearby Fort Chaffee, a base used by the military for testing weaponry.
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