Interesting Update on All Things Vatican



From www.chiesa | The Keys of the Vatican. Nominations Foreseen, Promotions Discussed:



"John Paul II has been at his summer residence at Castelgandolfo since July 10, and has temporarily lightened up on his anti-Parkinson’s medication, as decided by his neurologists. The effects are noticeable: he has more difficulty in breathing and in speaking. But there’s less worry about his health inside the Vatican than outside.



Or rather, there’s really no worry at all. The current idea at the top levels of the Church is that Pope John Paul will last a good while longer. They believe that in March of 2004, he will gain the distinction of the second longest pontificate in history, apart from that of St. Peter, surpassing Leo XIII. They think that even the golden record of Pius IX, whose pontificate lasted 31 years and 7 months, is not beyond his reach.



Moreover, like Leo XIII during his last years, John Paul II doesn’t walk anymore. He gets around only in a wheelchair. For this reason, this year he has foregone his vacation in the mountains. There is a swimming pool at Castelgandolfo that the pope had built during his earlier years of rugged sportsmanship. He spends a few hours a week in it, in a special flotation device, to exercise his arms and legs. He is making only a few day trips to the mountains, the most recent being one to Gran Sasso on Thursday, July 24.



But both he and his supporting clerics continue to do everything according to routine. John Paul II has cancelled his planned visit to Mongolia, but has confirmed the one to Slovakia from September 11-14, his 102nd trip outside of Italy, and in recent days has put France on the list for next year.



Next October will be extremely intense for him. From the 16-18, the twenty-fifth anniversary of his election, the pope will have gathered around him, in Rome, allof the cardinals from around the world. He wants to hear their opinions about what has been accomplished during the past twenty-five years, and on the things still to be done. Immediately after, on the 19th, there will be the blockbuster beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.



Apart from all this, John Paul II is preparing a series of nominations of the highest importance, in the Vatican and beyond, to all appearances as if he intended to govern for a long time. A consistory for the nomination of new cardinals has been planned for next February. And half a dozen of the highest-placed leaders will vanish from the scene, having reached the age limits of their offices.



One of these is the cardinal Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano. He would gladly give up his position to the ambitious and hyperactive prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, Crescenzio Sepe. But his real successor will probably be the current prefect for the Congregation for Bishops, Giovanni Battista Re, whom the pope favors and who has the full support of the pope’s powerful secretary, Stanislaw Dziwisz.



Another major figure about to leave is Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the head of the Holy Office, who should be replaced by his right-hand man, archbishop Angelo Amato, a specialist in Asian religions and one of the principal drafters of the declaration “Dominus Iesus.”



The Vatican foreign minister, Jean-Louis Tauran, is also on his way out, for health reasons. His successor will likely be Claudio Maria Celli, a leading expert on China and the East and the present secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See."

Spread the Wealth!



From my email:



When there is nothing left but God, that is when

you find out that God is all you need. Take 60 seconds

and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the

following small prayer for the person who sent you

this.



Father, God bless all my friends in whatever it is

that You know they may be needing this day! And may

their life be full of your peace, prosperity and power

as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with

you. Amen.



Then send it on to five other people, including the

one who sent it to you. Within hours five people have

prayed for you, and you caused a multitude of people

to pray for other people. Then sit back and watch the

power of God work in your life.



P. S. Five is good, but more is better.

Vote On Gay Bishop Delayed; Allegations Surface



I guess its good to know there are some things that are still considered immoral.



From nbc4.com - News - :



"The spokesman said the postponement came after allegations emerged involving 'touching' and 'pornography.' He declined to elaborate, saying only that Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold is expected to make a statement later in the day Monday.



The church's House of Deputies has voted overwhelmingly to approve Robinson, who faces a final vote in the House of Bishops. "

NASCAR and Race



Article in the Indianapolis Star takes a look at the "whiteness" of the sport. There is only one black owner of a Winston Cup team. There is currently only one black driver and that is in the Craftsman Truck series.



I excerpt the part with a quote from Mike Bianchi the greatest sports writer living today!



From the Indy Star:



"NASCAR points to an ESPN Sports Poll that says its fan base is 8.9 percent black and has made significant gains in recent years.



That would surprise Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi, who, tongue in cheek, calculated the crowd at Daytona International Speedway for last month's Pepsi 400 this way: 174,997 white people and three black people."

Even Spiritual Leaders Don't Get It



There is a huge crisis in the Catholic priesthood that has to be addressed. It relates to what I've written below on sex and the Christian.



For most people there are two ways to view sex. 1). It's great and should be indulged in often whenever the opportunity arises, 2) It's evil and should be avoided at all costs. Both are ways a "fallen" world views.



The Christian view is that sex has a purpose both unitive and procreative. It is a sign of the creative love that God has for us.



Think of the sad state of the church when after a year of non-stop coverage of priestly sex crimes in the press, that priests are still out there doing such things as this priest did last week. It is sad, and I believe further evidence that even our spiritual leaders have forgotten the difference that Christ can make in our lives.



We should pray and expect that things will change as we ourselves allow Our Lord to change us.



From WCPO:



"A Tri-state priest is on leave after pleading no contest to engaging in sexual misconduct in a Dayton, Ohio park.



The incident happened more than a week ago, but the priest continued serving in his Green Township parish until Friday morning.



This is a new kind of scandal to confront the Archdiocese of Cincinnati: it doesn't involve a priest sexually abusing a child, but a priest soliciting sex in a park. "

Sex (All of It Hetero, Homo, and All Variations) and the Christian



Not surprisingly, the recent Vatican statement addressing the growing phenomena of governments giving legal recognition to homosexual relationships has caused quite a stir. Add to it the President speaking out against it and hinting at some law needed to prevent it. Then top it off with the extensive coverage given to the New Hampshire Episcopal candidate for their Episcopacy who is divorced and openly living in a homosexual relationship.



Here is a shocker for some of you more traditionally minded Christians. The world is a fallen place and as such everything that had meaning originally is a little off center. As Jesus said in reference to marriage and divorce “it wasn’t supposed to be that way in the beginning.” We live in a fallen world and as such all activity is rather confused and suffers from a “meaning” gap that was part of the original plan but because something other than God has become the central focus of life is lost on us as much as we make whatever isn’t God, god in our lives.



Of course for Christians, Jesus has made possible the restoration of the Kingdom of God. Christians shouldn’t be like the rest of people living in the “fallen” world, but they should be a “light”, a “leaven”, “salt” that those living in the meaningless, fallen world can look to and say “see how they love one another” (the early amazement recorded in Acts of the Apostles).



For a variety of reasons though modern Christians have become rather indistinguishable from the rest of the world. In some ways like members of an Elks club they still go through the rituals at their weekly meetings but when it comes right down to it there is little that would separate them from the “world” that they live in.



So when it comes to understanding the teaching of the Catholic Church on any of these issues of sexuality, not surprisingly those of us who are very attached to our corner of the fallen world just don’t get it. We want the followers of Christ to burn incense to the emperor just like we are. It bothers us that someone can still think that sex of whatever ilk is disordered in anyway (although even the fallen world still has its standards). But of course for the Christian there is the knowledge that even our “minds” share in this fallen condition so that we do not see clearly what is good and what is bad for us.



The modern world is littered with the psychological baggage of those who have acted on their desires and impulses. Most end up in Twelve Step programs that aim at helping them recover by acknowledging their powerlessness and their need to embrace a “higher power” so that by taking one day at a time they might live a new life.



Many of us act like spectators at a demolition derby wondering who of our acquaintances will survive all of the self-destructive behavior that we witness on the side lines of their lives. We would never think of offering them something better, frankly because we haven’t found it ourselves.



What the world needs now is the witness of a new people restored by the grace of Christ. People who have repented from their way of thinking with a fallen world and have been raised to see the “way” things were meant to be. When all of us witness the life these people live we too will want what they have, but unfortunately they are few in the days in which we live. Mainly because the followers of Christ have forgotten who Christ is and the power that he offers to those who believe “trust” in Him.

Because Football Season is just 4 weeks away...



And the University of Florida is ranked the lowest in preseason since the pre-Spurrier days, FireRonZook.com Home Page