The Pope held up St. Basil, a bishop and 4th-century Doctor of the Church as an example of a man who was open to God and thus able to discern what is true and good. Drawing further on St. Basil's example, the Pope said virtue is the only inalienable good which remains both during life and after death and that only by being open to God "can we create a just and fraternal world".
Political columnist Cal Thomas, who is an Evangelical Protestant, attempts to do away with Catholic beliefs about the papacy in a stroke or 3 of the pen.
The tension between primacy and collegiality seems to me insufficient to describe the force-fields that bear upon the Church. More profound thinking will reveal the office of Peter as one of several indispensable elements in the ecclesiastical structure, thus freeing it from the pyramid-like isolation to which it consented, partly involuntarily, by permitting itself to be modeled on the pattern of Imperial Rome and, partly voluntarily, in reaction to the encroachments of medieval emperors.
Martin Luther and other Protestant leaders had been asking for a council since 1517. However, when the Pope called for a council, Protestants did everything they could to delay it, because they wanted a different type of council. Some civil authorities made unacceptable demands for control over it. The council finally gathered at the city of Trent in 1545. The council had 2 basic tasks. One was to enact decrees that would end the crimes committed by Church leaders. The other was to define and reaffirm Catholic beliefs, so that Catholics and Protestants would know exactly what the Catholic Church taught about disputed doctrines.
How to categorize or describe Catholic reforming activity in 16th century has been the subject of intense historical debate. The term Counter-Reformation itself presupposes that any reforming activity by the Catholic Church was in response to the ideas and actions of the Reformation. Today most scholars agree that Catholic reforming activity in this era should be viewed through both the Counter-Reformation and Catholic Reformation lenses. While such revision has gained more general acceptance, various figures of the period need to be re-examined under this enhanced perspective. St Ignatius of Loyola is one such individual.
(Also: When Jesuits were giants)
(Also: When Jesuits were giants)
The new EU Treaty poses a threat to Britain's independent foreign policy and relations with the US, a senior adviser to President Bush has warned. John Bolton believes the new Treaty poses a clear choice for Britain as the EU moves to "ever closer union".
While official London fanned a crisis atmosphere around relations with Moscow, with diplomatic expulsions and allegations about near-violations of British air space by the Russian Air Force, and George W. Bush flipped into Dick Cheney's preferred confrontationist posture vis-à-vis Southwest Asia, senior Russian figures during July pushed ahead initiatives to stabilize Russian-American relations. In order to keep focus, the Russians first have to deflect the assault initiated by the British government, which is intent on embroiling the US and Western Europe into a new conflict with Russia.
Russia kick-started the world's last colonial scramble today when a submarine planted a flag under the North Pole to symbolize the Kremlin's claim to the oil-rich Arctic. In an unprecedented and perilous mission, veteran Arctic explorer Artur Chilingarov descended 14,000 feet in a 3-man deep sea submersible and dropped a Russian tricolor cast in titanium onto the seabed.
Saudi Arabia has placed conditions on attending a US-proposed Middle East peace conference. Saudi Arabia, and other members of the Arab League, which met in Cairo on Monday, do not want to attend a Middle East conference that would be little more than a photo opportunity for the Israelis.
The UN Security Council has agreed to deploy a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force to bring an end to the human suffering in Darfur. The international community hopes to stop the bloodletting in the region that has displaced millions.
(Reuters: Sudan gives own interpretation of new force)
(DW op-ed: A timid compromise)
An al-Qaeda commander who escaped from a US prison called on Pakistanis in a new Web video to overthrow President Musharraf as revenge for the killing of a pro-Taliban cleric in the Red Mosque showdown. "O people of jihad (Holy War) in Pakistan ... hurry up and get rid of this corrupt and tyrannical apostate and his secular infidel rule. Destroy the fortifications of his weak army and the nests of his filthy intelligency agency and the core of his infidel rule."
(IHT op-ed: The Pashtun time bomb)
Iran's minister of economy says negotiation with Deutche Bank is underway to persuade them not to limit interaction with Iranian customers. "We believe the Germans are not happy with the course of events and they have been pressured by the US into doing so."
The EU's foreign policy chief is optimistic that Iran and the IAEA will soon resolve the nuclear standoff.
Iran has intensified pressure on the falling dollar by demanding that Japan begin paying for Iranian oil in yen, instead of dollars.
"How close were we to seeing an armed nuclear conflict?" That is the question being asked as Syrian nationals temporarily vacated Beirut, Lebanon and the Jordan Valley during mid July. Many security and intelligence officials believe that this behavior may have been related to the US sinking of a North Korean ship approximately 100 nautical miles from the coast of Iran. All the parties to the incident, the US, NK and Iran, have kept the incident under wraps as the situation in and around the Gulf is inflammable enough to explode into a full-blown Iranian-US clash at the slightest provocation.
Hmmm...
Reports from Russia's Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics are reporting that their Siberian Solar Radio Telescope detected a 'massive' ultra low frequency (ULF) 'blast' at the 'exact' moment, and location, of a catastrophic collapse of a nearly 2,000 foot long bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Russian Military reports state that the total collapse of such a massive bridge, and in the absence of evidence linking its destruction to terrorist activity, could only have been accomplished by an acoustic weapon, of which the US Military is known to possess. These reports further state that one of the US primary research organizations into acoustic weapons research is Augsburg College, and which is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and most importantly less than 1 mile from the Interstate 35W Bridge collapse. To the exact reason of why the US would be targeting Minneapolis with such a massive ULF 'blast' we can find in the neighborhoods that surround the Interstate 35W Bridge, and which are home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the US.
An unlikely celebrity is hitting the talk show circuit, the airwaves and the bookshelves. Normally reclusive Vice President Dick Cheney is everywhere these days, and it seems he may be trying to soften his usually gruff manner.
It is time to think about the "unthinkable." The Bush Administration has both the inclination and the power to cancel the 2008 election. What's also clear is that this administration has a deep, profound and uncompromised contempt for democracy, for the rule of law, and for the US Constitution. When George W. Bush went on the record (twice) as saying he has nothing against dictatorship, as long as he can be dictator, it was a clear and present policy statement. The groundwork for dismissal of both the legislative and judicial branch has been carefully laid.
Uncovered archive video showing CBS News reporting that United Airlines Flight 93 had crashed at Camp David, 90 miles away from its supposed final resting place at Somerset County PA, has led to more charges that the media were reading off a de facto script as the events of 9/11 unfolded. Were high level officials feeding a script to the media about the intended targets of hijacked airliners on 9/11 before they had crashed? If so, how did they have foreknowledge of what the targets would be? Was Flight 93 intended to be crashed in the Camp David area before it was either shot down or crashed into a field by brave passengers?
Economics got off on the wrong foot when some people started believing it's about numbers and statistics and formulas. Economics is about human psychology and human behavior. It's not too much of an oversimplification to say that economies fluctuate between greed and fear. Human greed leads to booms, which in turn lead to busts. Despite all the bullish talk, I think our economy is on the verge of going bust shortly after the leaves change color this year.
Global stock exchanges are gripped by extreme volatility, with wild swings in share prices. The sudden volatility on stock exchanges resembles the fever chart of a delirious patient. It reflects fears that the near-collapse of credit markets linked to subprime US home mortgages is spreading more broadly and leading to a major contraction of credit throughout the economy. This is a scenario for a downward, self-perpetuating spiral into a slump of potentially massive proportions.
The European Central Bank is expected to keep eurozone interest rates on hold at 4% following its latest meeting. The decision comes as stock markets fluctuate wildly amid fears that problems in the US mortgage sector will seep into the eurozone's economy. However, analysts expect that the ECB will raise interest rates in September. The Bank of England is also expected to pause for breath on Thursday and keep interest rates on hold at 5.75% so as not too spook fragile financial markets and excessively curb consumer spending and business sentiment.
The era of Detroit as the centre of the automotive universe has ended officially as the once-dominant Detroit Three captured less than 50% of their home market for the first time. "It's a watershed event."
Ever whacked your thumb with a hammer, or wrenched your back after lifting a heavy box, and blamed the full moon? It's a popular notion, but there's no cosmic connection, Austrian government researchers said. "The full moon does not unfavorably affect the likelihood of an accident." The lunar influence theory dates at least to the 1st century A.D., when the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder wrote that his observations suggested "the moon produces drowsiness and stupor in those who sleep outside beneath her beams."
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