Though God can't be seen with our eyes, we can see his action in the world, says Benedict XVI. The Pope said this at the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass, celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica, with cardinals, bishops and priests present in Rome.
The Pontiff spoke about the apparent contradiction between the Synoptics and the Gospel of John, as to the day of the crucifixion in relation to the sacrifice of the paschal lambs. According to Benedict XVI, a possible solution, though not "yet accepted by everyone," came from the discovery of the Qumran writings: "Jesus did shed his blood the day before Passover at the time of the immolation of the lambs. But he probably celebrated the Passover supper with his disciples according to the Qumran calendar, that is, at least one day earlier."
[WAR: Yes, there is a contradiction between John and the others - and John has it right. The Messiah was crucified at the latter part of the 14th day when the Passover lambs were sacrificed. The night before (between the 13th DAY and 14th DAY), he had his "last supper" with the disciples. They didn't eat the Passover, because Yahshua was the Passover that year.]
The Pope believes Good Friday should focus Christian attention more on the figure of Christ, His suffering and His sacrifice. The Pope's decision may be based on the need to cleanse Christianity of accretions from the ages that tend to distort and, at times, trivialise the central message of sin and redemption. The Pope also had another pressing reason for making a change: the growing temptation of the secular world, and even of some Christians, to invoke the Apocrypha and other noncanonical sources in an attempt to delve further into the historical figure of Jesus and to explain mysteries that surround His life.
To be fair, of all the Easter mysteries we observe this weekend this one may be the hardest to unravel: why we commemorate history's most consequential death and its aftermath through the agency of bunny rabbits that lay chocolate eggs in spring gardens.
A new request by Germany to the US will be made to prosecute 13 CIA agents who abducted a German-Lebanese citizen. "We will submit an application for temporary custody in the United States," Chief Prosecutor August Stern said in Munich. But German prosecutors remain skeptical of any assistance from the US.
The power of Europe's Big Three — Britain, France and Germany — has increased rather than diminished after the expansion of the EU to 27 members, according to an academic analysis of decision-making at the highest level.
Rumors started spreading in the Ukrainian parliament yesterday, saying that President Yushchenko was supposedly going to obtain the exclusive presidential power in the country.
Recent television images of President Putin have shown him lighting candles at the Vatican and praying on the edge of the Jordan River. The president has never disguised his Russian Orthodox beliefs, but are they becoming more conspicuous?
Fresh from his first visit to the conflict-torn nations of the Central African Republic, Chad and Sudan, the UN emergency relief coordinator warned of the threat posed by violence spilling across those countries' borders.
Within the past 24 hours, 2 of the 3 countries President Bush labeled "the axis of evil" - Iran and North Korea - have offered an ever-so-slightly gentler face to the rest of the world.
German press...
Iran's decision to release 15 British soldiers in contested waters my bring relief to families back in Britain, but German papers argue the move is a dramatic PR victory for President Amadinejad. The Iranian leader has been able to save face and embarrass the British at the same time.
"Contrary to western media claims, this was a victory for Iran. From now on the British will think twice before violating Iranian territorial waters again. The losers were the Europeans, among them Germany as the EU president, which sided with the Brits."
Euro press...
"Sophisticated political theater," "perfect British diplomacy," - or both? The international press reacted to the release of 15 British sailors held hostage in Iran.
This entire incident has been extremely odd, alright, but it isn't the Iranians who made it so. The behavior of the captured Brits is what struck me as truly bizarre. After all, two of them went on Iranian television, and, standing in front of a map, pointed out precisely where they were picked up by their captors – in what are clearly Iranian waters. What it all adds up to, given what we know so far, is an incursion into Iranian waters that was in all likelihood deliberate. Far from signaling a let up in the escalation of tensions, we are bound to see more such incidents – one of which will prove to be the tripwire for war.
A leading government official in Teheran charged Thursday that the Bush administration is sponsoring terrorist attacks as a means of ratcheting up its campaign of aggression against Iran. The charge by the speaker of the Iranian parliament followed a report by ABC News that Washington has been covertly aiding and advising a militant Pakistani Islamist group that has carried out a string of terrorist attacks against Iranian targets.
The world is waiting for April 6, when the United States supposedly plans to launch Operation Bite against Iran. Washington has accumulated the required forces in the region: 2 task groups in the Persian Gulf, including 2 aircraft carriers, 4 nuclear submarines, 24 cruisers, and more than 400 sea- and ground-based aircraft, including Stealth planes that will allegedly carry out the greater part of the task.
Iran has air defense systems capable of repelling possible US air strikes, a high-ranking Russian military official said yesterday.
Congressional Democrats say their constituents are clamoring for something even the most liberal lawmakers promise they won't pursue: President Bush's impeachment.
If Bill O'Reilly had a hero other than himself, it would be ADF and its courtroom crusaders lined up to fight the ACLU, Nickelodeon's homosexual agenda, and heathens who are hell-bent on censoring the words "Merry Christmas."
Washington did not launch air strikes against Iran early today despite recent media reports, but expectations of the attack have driven Brent price to $70 per barrel.
The topics grabbing headlines these days leave little room in the news for the plight of an insect. What we fail to appreciate is that without an abundance of bees to pollinate crops, the US could lose as much as 30% of its food supply. The bees are the modern-day counterpart of the canaries that miners used to carry with them as they descended into the mine shafts. If the birds died, it was an early warning of a buildup of toxic gases in the mine. When bees disappear, we are being cautioned that we too are in immediate danger.
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