Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today when he received in audience Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, and his entourage.
"Peace becomes even more fragile because of injustices, old and new. Thus it is extinguished altogether and gives way to violence which often degenerates into more or less open war until it ends up, as in our own time, as an urgent international problem. I appeal to the hearts of those who have specific responsibilities, that they may accept the vital duty of guaranteeing peace for everyone, without distinction, freeing [peace] from the mortal illness of religious, cultural, historical or geographical discrimination."
"Continuing with our catechetical series on the great teachers of the ancient Church, today we turn our attention to St. Athanasius of Alexandria. He was also the most important and tenacious adversary of the Arian heresy, which at that time was threatening faith in Christ by reducing him to a creature between God and man."
The Bundestag approved a 1-year extension of the country's military presence in Kosovo as part of a NATO-led peacekeeping force in the Serbian province. The Bundeswehr's 2,200-strong German contingent is the biggest component in the Kosovo force KFOR.
Top German Cardinal:
Germany's highest-ranking cardinal has warned against indifference and uncritical tolerance which he says could lead to Islam enjoying equal standing with Christianity in the country.
European leaders were confronting a bruising battle Thursday over the EU's direction at a summit meeting that threatens to exacerbate divisions and plunge the bloc into crisis.
Opening Pandora's Box!...
Germany's Nazi past has returned to haunt the EU summit. A vitriolic outburst by Poland's prime minister revealed the WW2 bitterness that still strains the heart of Europe. He accused the Germans of "incomprehensible crimes" against his country, turning what was already set to be an acrimonious meeting into a confrontation between historical enemies. He breached one of the great taboos of the EU - Don't Mention the War. Mr Kaczynski stunned other EU leaders by claiming that Poland has 28million fewer people than it should have as a result of the slaughter inflicted by Germany. "We are only demanding one thing, that we get back what was taken from us."
If Germany had never invaded Poland, there would be no need to talk about EU voting rights today, says Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski. In Brussels there is irritation that Poland is playing the "history card" once again. But Germans in particular should be wary of being too quick to judge.
Fears are growing that Europe could drop its 50-year commitment to a level playing field for business in a new treaty to reform the EU. A reference to "free and undistorted competition" was pulled from the draft after French pressure late on Thursday. The new text talks of a "social market economy aiming at full employment". If approved, the treaty could undermine the European Commission's efforts to break up monopolies in the name of consumer protection.
All for one and one for all?
First it was the Euro-skeptics. Now, those in favor of a more integrated EU are threatening to veto the new draft treaty - if the UK and other nay-sayers get their way. With leaders assembling in Brussels, time is running out.
Benjamin Netanyahu called for the deployment of Jordanian troops in the West Bank in order to help impose order. Netanyahu told reporters during a visit to Washington that he believes that Jordan and Egypt are the key to stabilizing the Palestinian government in the territories.
Not so long ago, Sudan struck oil and struck it rich - much of it nicked from the south, but no matter. It became a country to court rather than condemn. Khartoum now has enough money to pursue its designs, so it is happy. The world, with a new source of oil, is happy too. As I have said before, but it bears repeating: how powerful oil has become as a dissolvent of international morality.
(Economist: Sudan: The oil factor)
It's becoming a regular routine on Hannity & Colmes. Whatever the day's events, figure a way to work in a discussion about Iran, usually with a hawk waxing enthusiastic about starting a war. Wednesday night, Benjamin Netanyahu offered the same rhetoric we heard before the Iraq war, only this time with Iran, and pretended otherwise.
Vice President Dick Cheney has asserted his office is not a part of the executive branch of the US government, and therefore not bound by a presidential order governing the protection of classified information by government agencies.
Multiculturalism destroys the cultural integrity of a free and democratic society, and that is why the Bush immigration policy is bad news. Unfortunately, liberals would prefer to call people names rather than deal with the facts.
Tony Blair is planning to announce that he will convert to Roman Catholicism soon after he meets the Pope at the Vatican tomorrow, according to Church sources and friends of the Prime Minister.
The latest negotiations to try to secure a new global trade deal have collapsed without agreement. Trade leaders from the EU, US, India and Brazil had been meeting in Germany to find a breakthrough on the long-delayed Doha round of talks. Brazil and India blamed the latest failure on the EU and US not offering enough concessions on agriculture. The EU and US countered that Brazil and India were not opening up their markets to Western manufactured goods.
The jump in 30-year mortgage rates by more than a half a percentage point to 6.74% in the past 5 weeks is putting a crimp on borrowers with the best credit just as a crackdown in subprime lending standards limits the pool of qualified buyers. The national median home price is poised for its first annual decline since the Great Depression. "It's a blood bath. We're talking about a 2-3 year downturn that will take a whole host of characters with it, from job creation to consumer confidence. Eventually it will take the stock market and corporate profit."
A prominent hedge fund's implosion revives fears about the poisonous influence in America's subprime-mortgage market. But perhaps the most worrying thing for financial institutions holding mortgage-backed paper is not the subprime market itself, but the unnerving parallels with an even bigger one to which they are also exposed: leveraged loans to companies. Subprime might well be "a dress rehearsal for something bigger and scarier."
Film experts have again declared Citizen Kane the best American movie ever made.
Today in Scripture
"And YAHWEH said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the 3rd day, because on that day YAHWEH will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people..." (Exo 19:10-15)
Day after tomorrow in Scripture
* "On the morning of the 3rd day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled..." (Exo 19:16-24:4)
* "Count off 50 days up to the day after the 7th Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to YAHWEH." (Lev 23:16 / Exo 34:22 / Deu 16:10)
* "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place..." (Acts 2:1-41)
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