Wednesday, April 2, 2003



Join the Pope in Praying for Peace!



"Let us pray to Mary, with both grief and trust, to intercede for peace in Iraq and in all the world's conflicts."

Prayer of Pope John Paul II
And Diocese will turn against Diocese



A first...

FromBoston Globe Online:



Calif. diocese sues Boston Archdiocese



The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino, Calif., sued the Archdiocese of Boston yesterday, alleging that Boston officials hid the history of sexual molestation by former priest Paul Shanley when he moved to California.


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From Pravda (of all places)!



Pravda.RU Vatican Discovery Proves to be Apostle Peter’s Burial Ground



An important archaeological discovery was made in the Vatican when a site for construction of car parking was being cleared. Archaeologists discovered an ancient necropolis of the times of St. Apostle Peter, the same that is mentioned in the Gospel. Now this version is studied by historians; if it proves true, this in its turn will confirm another hypothesis suggested by historian Magrherita Guarducci. She supposes that an entombment of St. Apostle Peter was found under the altar that is situated under the St.Peter’s basilica dome.

Tuesday, April 1, 2003

A Tale of Two Wars



Two wars are being fought in the Middle East right now. Ostensibly the coalition forces are winning the ground and air war against the Iraqis but are losing the "image" war that in the long run may be more important. One has only to look to Israel and the continued terrorist attacks suffered by that nation to understand what I mean.



It was widely reported after 9/11 that one of prime goals of Bin Laden was to drag the United States government into attacking the Arab world and unleashing the mother of all battles (for Bin Laden this would lead to the destruction of the "infidels," i.e. "us"). The attack on Afghanistan failed to have any real repurcussions in the Arab world because it was understood to be an attack on the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks on the United States. Unfortunately the attack on Iraq is not as clear and the battle for public opinion (outside of the United States) is being lost. Now reports of Iraqis living in exile, people who fled Iraq to escape the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein are loading up in buses in Jordan to return to Iraq to fight for their country which they see as under attack from an invading force. To accomplish this conversion is no small task and may be an indication that we unwittingly have stepped into the mouse trap set by Bin Laden on 9/11.



I have little doubt that the United States will win the war and have control of the Iraqi government soon, but I also have little doubt that we have already loss the war of opinion. It seems that almost no one outside of Americans sees us as a "liberator." Take this quote from CNN.World:



Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says the U.S.-led war on Iraq would produce "one hundred new bin Ladens," driving more Muslims to anti-Western militancy.



"When it is over, if it is over, this war will have horrible consequences," Mubarak told Egyptian soldiers in the city of Suez on Monday.



"Instead of having one (Osama) bin Laden, we will have 100 bin Ladens," he said.








Disatisfied Catholics in NH Set-up Website



Calling for bishop's resignation. I think this site has been up for a day so far and has about 112 names so far.



See it at NH Catholics for Moral Leadership







Captured Kenyans Prayer Answered Quickly in Iraq



From BBC NEWS:



"I remember seeing a man with his finger on the pin of a grenade as they argued about whether they would kill us or not.



"David and I are both Christians and this morning I said 'We must pray together for a miracle.'



"So we prayed and 30 minutes later the door swung open and there were two British soldiers standing there.



"God must have given them the power to save us. It really was a miracle that they came."
The Weapon of "MASS" Instruction!



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In short this is the book that will destroy any ignorance you might have when it comes to the Mass!




Image of Virgin Owned by Iraqi Woman in Detroit



Found at Visions of Jesus Christ.com:







The mother told me, that when she saw the oil-drenched icon, she felt a message in her heart - that it had to do with peace with Iraq. (the oil has kept coming up until a number of months ago, when it became just a trickle, and now has stopped...!) The lady grew up an orphan, and Jesus and His Mother became her constant companions in prayer, talking to Them as though they were physically present in the rooms with her. At the time of the miraculous flowing of oil, America was already at odds with Iraq, and she hesitated to even use the word Iraq to tell me where she was from, and said instead that she was from "Babylonia". I feel the oil was a sign of Mercy from God regarding our dealings with Iraq, but now the time of Mercy has "run out"...

Monday, March 31, 2003

Murder in Michigan Church



Neither the victim nor the murderer were members of the church.



From Guardian Unlimited:



The priest at St. Paul's Albanian Church was preparing to distribute the sacrament when the attacker stood up, yelled, ``Yes, I am here'' and shot the victim in the back of the head and several more times after that, said witness Luigi Gjokaj, 42. He then fired into the air and yelled, ``I done what I was supposed to do.''



Some of the approximately 1,000 churchgoers fled after the shots, most running for the doors while a few leapt through windows, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. The suspect was wrestled to the ground by nearby worshippers, one of whom was injured as he sought to subdue him.




Update (4/1/03):



From The Detroit News:



St. Paul's Rev. Anton Kqira said Monday he had spent the last 24 hours talking to police, parishioners and relatives of the men involved who called from as far away as Europe to offer apologies for what happened Sunday.



"We can't have any services until (Cardinal Adam) Maida or someone blesses the church," said Kqira. "Blood has been spilled inside it."



Kqira had finished his sermon when witnesses said Pepaj shouted "I am here behind you" at the surprised Isufaj. Eight shots rang out in the pews, and enraged parishioners disarmed Pepaj and pummeled him to the floor. At least seven of 1,400 worshippers suffered minor injuries diving through plate glass windows to escape.



"We were fortunate no one else was injured," said Kqira.



The church opened its Rochester Hills doors in September after more than 20 years at Twelve Mile Road in Warren, where it had similar problems with serious gunplay.