What is vital, then, is a union of effort and will to make it possible for political leaders to act decisively in the face of the challenges of a globalized world.
"The Catholic social doctrine has always sustained that the equitable distribution of goods has priority. Profit is naturally legitimate, and, in the right measure, necessary for economic development."
In his homily the Pope commented on the Gospel reading of the dishonest manager, and reflected on the danger of excessive attachment to money and material wealth. "A fundamental decision is, then, necessary - the choice between the logic of profit as the ultimate criteria for our actions and the logic of sharing and solidarity. If the logic of profit prevails, the imbalance between poor and rich increases, as does the ruinous exploitation of the planet. When, on the other hand, the logic of sharing and solidarity prevails it is possible to alter and redirect our course towards equal development and the common good of everyone. Ultimately it is a decision between selfishness and love, between justice and dishonesty, ... between God and Satan."
(Zenit: Full text of homily)
Benedict XVI affirmed that Eastern and Roman Catholics are united in forming one Church. "In the variety of its rites and historical traditions, the one Catholic Church in every corner of the earth announces and bears witness to the one Jesus Christ."
Cardinal Ruini attended the International Congress on the New Evangelization as Benedict XVI's special envoy. In this interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Ruini says that prayer is needed in order to relaunch the evangelization of Europe.
Munich's Oktoberfest opened on Saturday to brilliant sunshine and the sound of Oompah bands, attracting 1 million visitors on the opening weekend, 100,000 more than last year. They drank half a million liters of beer and for some reason devoured more oxen than last year.
Germany developed the Transrapid monorail "magnetic levitation" train decades ago but couldn't decide whether to use it. Until now: Bavaria plans to use it for a link between Munich Airport and the city center. The deal was announced on Tuesday by the Bavarian government and is a parting gift from Bavarian premier Edmund Stoiber, who is retiring on October 9.
The German government has said it will not pursue extradition requests for 13 CIA agents charged with kidnapping a German citizen and taking him to Afghanistan for interrogation and abuse. Relations with the US government, Berlin says, are more important.
Defying Chinese criticism and pressure, Chancellor Merkel met the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, on Sunday in Berlin, becoming the first German chancellor to do so, despite warnings from Beijing that it could damage economic contacts. Unusually, China did not censor Internet postings that insulted Merkel, calling her a "witch" and saying she was "playing with fire."
Germany went into damage control mode after Chancellor Merkel's visit with the Dalai Lama angered China. Beijing cancelled 2 high-level meetings in apparent retaliation.
The European Central Bank chief has attacked France for being Europe's "number one spender". He warned that in comparison to its GDP, the country was well on the way to spending much more than its European neighbours during 2007. The warning came as the French Prime Minister warned that France's finances were in a "critical" state.
The US and the EU will recognize Kosovo if the Balkan province declares independence from Serbia in early December when last-ditch negotiations end, senior US and European officials said Monday. The officials spoke as the Serbs and Kosovo Albanians prepared to sit down this week at the UN for talks that diplomats have billed as part of a final effort to get agreement on the issue.
Israel did not strike a nuclear weapons facility in Syria, instead striking a cache of North Korean missiles, current and former intelligence officials say. By most accounts of intelligence officials, both former and current, Israel and the US both were well aware of the activities of North Korea and Syria and their attempts to chemically weaponize the No-Dong missile. It therefore remains unclear why an intricate story involving evidence of a Syrian nuclear weapons program and/or enriched uranium was put out to press organizations.
(Ha'aretz: After raid, Israel can forget about peace)
President Ahmadinejad said that talk of American military strikes against Iran threatened world security. Greeted in New York by headlines that he was an evil madman, Mr Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran "will not attack any country".
President Ahmadinejad spoke at New York's Columbia University amidst a massive campaign in the US political and media establishment to demonize the government of Iran—the likely next target for a US military attack. His remarks combined statements about the hypocrisy of the American government with a repetition of certain reactionary foundations of the Iranian regime. The greatest danger to the world's population is not the Iranian government, but American imperialism. Having launched the Iraq war on the basis of lies, the political establishment and its media arm are now attempting the same time-tested methods to prepare for the next war.
(IP: Full text of speech)
(WND op-ed: Buchanan: Infantile nation)
President Ahmadinejad Monday afternoon met with a group of Jewish rabbis who gave him a silver grail as a sign of friendship. The rabbis carried a placard which read, "I am Jewish not a Zionist." A senior rabbi of the group said that they considered the visit to New York of President Ahmadinejad as an exceptional opportunity and would never forget it. "You understand us and make a distinction between the violent behavior of Zionists and the religious beliefs of Jews."
Germany's Foreign Minister opposes French calls for EU sanctions against Iran. He will back up his case with data showing that leading French and American companies are conducting large amounts of business with Iran.
One of the few remaining neoconservatives in America was recently granted a private audience in the White House to deliver a 45-minute sales pitch to convince President Bush, accompanied by political deputy Karl Rove, to bomb Iran.
It might start with a minor incident, possibly involving an American Marine patrol operating out of the new base at Badrah near the Iranian border. ... Pakistani militants take over parliament, aided by radical elements in the army and the intelligence service. India launches a preemptive strike against the main Pakistani nuclear centers at Wah and Multan, where the country's arsenal is believed to be concentrated. Pakistan has hidden some of its nukes elsewhere, however, and is able to strike back by bombing New Delhi. World War III has begun.
This year marks an important anniversary. In 1807, the Russian Empire and the young American Republic agreed to establish diplomatic relations. Since this modest beginning, our relations, at their best and worst, have borne out de Tocqueville's prophecy that America and Russia are "marked out by the will of Heaven to sway the destinies of half the globe." Today, with the Cold War and immediate post-Soviet transition behind us, we face a new world in which an effective US-Russian relationship is central to addressing many global challenges.
What most conservatives and all too many libertarians failed to consider in all this condemnation of the welfare state could be summed up in a 3-letter word: war. The warfare state has always been the greatest single threat to American constitutional liberty.
The worldwide Anglican Church is expected to split radically by the end of the year under plans being drawn up by a leading conservative archbishop to "adopt" a breakaway group of American dioceses. Under the unprecedented proposals, the archbishop would allow the conservative dioceses to opt out of the liberal American branch of the Anglican Church and affiliate with his province thousands of miles away.
U.S. oil prices fell near $80 a barrel today as oil companies resumed Gulf of Mexico production but analysts feared tighter US crude supplies.
The world must prepare for a protracted period of turbulence in the financial sector that will have far-reaching consequences for global growth, the International Monetary Fund said. "The potential consequences of this episode should not be underestimated and the adjustment process is likely to be protracted. Credit conditions may not normalise soon."
Naomi Klein goes head to head with Alan Greenspan on the Iraq war, Bush's tax cuts, economic populism, crony capitalism and more.
Crime has been on the rise in Mexico throughout the last decade as drug cartels battle for control of lucrative smuggling routes. But the new findings come at a politically charged time for the Calderon administration, which is also confronting a new threat from an old foe — the shadowy EPR. Its coordinated bombings of natural gas pipelines have exposed government intelligence failures and the vulnerability of the petroleum infrastructure in Mexico, the 2nd largest oil exporter to the US. The attacks have been unexpectedly sophisticated.
Experts predict a run of severe weather in the coming months, with devastating floods striking some parts of the world while severe droughts afflict other regions, as the climate phenomenon known as La Niña gathers momentum.
One may be under the impression that the world just went crazy about antioxidants. Numerous articles describe them as a cure for all ills.
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