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CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (Catholic Online) – After returning from Madrid where Two  Million young people gathered with him to be instructed in the faith and enlisted into the mission of the Church, Pope  Benedict XVI gathered his former doctoral students together in Castel Gandolfo to reflect on the theme of the New Evangelization.

The first meeting of the “Schulerkreis” or “student circle” of doctoral candidates advised by Professor Joseph Ratzinger occurred in 1977. Back then, Fr. Joseph Ratzinger was still a professor in Regensburg. Once he was appointed Archbishop of Munich his students asked him to continue. The  Ratzinger Students’ Circle includes many of the theologians and servant/leaders of the increasingly resurgent Catholic Church.

When Archbishop Ratzinger became the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome he continued the circle every year. The students were delighted when their Professor was elected to assume the Chair of Peter as Pope Benedict XVI in the spring of 2005. They were equally delighted, when the Pope continued the circle.

Forty students are meeting with Professor/Pope Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo through Sunday. The theme of all of the lectures and discussions will be the New Evangelization. This is being held in anticipation of an October meeting which the Pope will hold in Rome with the leaders of the New Evangelization in the West. That will be followed by an October Synod on the same theme. Clearly, the School of the new Evangelization is in session.

Throughout the pontificate of Blessed John Paul II he called for such a “New Evangelization.” Pope Benedict XVI has made this New Evangelization a central pillar of his pontificate. He erected a Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization tasked with evangelizing countries where the Gospel was announced centuries ago, but where its presence in peoples’ daily life seems to be all but lost.

The call to a New Evangelization invites each of us to live our baptismal vocation, no matter what our state in life, completely given over to the work of the Lord in this crucial hour. We do that when we choose to live at the heart of the Church for the sake of the world.

Since the Second Vatican Council in the Catholic Church we have been constantly reminded that the Church is by nature missionary and that every baptized Christian participates in her missionary activity. The New Evangelization means taking this truth to heart and living differently. It requires an authentic renewal of the Church so that she can undertake a new missionary outreach.

I believe that we are at the beginning of a great resurgence in the Catholic Church precisely for this mission. Just when her opponents are ready to count the Catholic Church out, the sleeping giant is rising. The Church is Christ’s plan for the entire world.

The early Fathers called her the “world reconciled.” There is no “plan B” through which He will save this world. She is a universal sign, sacrament and seed of the kingdom of God. The early Christians would have never understood the notion in some contemporary Christian circles that anyone could follow Jesus and not “need” the Church.

Saint Cyprian (A.D. 258) wrote, “He who has turned his back on the Church of Christ shall not come to the rewards of Christ; he is an alien, a worldling, an enemy. You cannot have God for your Father if you have not the Church for your mother. Our Lord warns us when He says: `he that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.’ Whosoever breaks the peace and harmony of Christ acts against Christ; whoever gathers elsewhere than in the Church scatters the Church of Christ.” (On The Unity of the Catholic Church)

We are called to love the Church with the affection of sons and daughters; she is our “mother.” We were reborn in the fount of Baptism as through a second womb. We live our Christian life now always as a part of the Church. To belong to the Head means to be a member of His Body. The Church is not some-thing, but Some-One, in whom we now live and breathe and have our being.

As members of the Church we are passing through a time of purification and preparation. Hopefully, it is bringing us to our knees in repentance and leading us back to the heart of the Church. It is only there we will find what we truly need, the fullness of Jesus Christ. The Church has undergone similar purifications and reform many times over two thousand years. Her hull may be battered but she is still the Ark of Salvation.

Church history demonstrates that such seasons of purification are followed by times of great restoration and revival for the Church. So it will be in our day. This Church called Catholic is not a mere human institution. If it were, it would have shipwrecked long ago. The contemporary culture has lost its way, throwing off almost every …

TRIPOLI, LIBYA (Catholic Online) – Earlier reports have also claimed the capture of two of Moamar Gadhafi’s sons. 

Just a few days ago, rebels reported that they were making progress on their plan to isolate the city. The isolation was an expected prelude to the main assault on Tripoli, but the assault proceeded much more quickly than anyone anticipated. Even the rebels appeared surprised at how quickly the city has been captured. 

Libyan government officials have not signaled defeat. While conceding that the rebels had taken key portions of the capital, they insisted that the contest was far from over and that Gadhafi was still very much in control. That measure of control is up for dispute, but the fighting is not. Gunfire is still being reported as clashes continue between the rebels and loyalists. 

Despite Gadhafi’s defiance and the pockets of resistance, the rebel government has taken immediate steps to rule the country. Guma El-Gamtay, a coordinator for the rebels in Britain, issued a statement saying, “It will take 18 to 20 months to create a political framework for a new Libyan government,” indicating that a plan was in the works for turning Libya into a democracy from a dictatorship, welcome news for the United States and the NATO allies.

Rebel forces have been helped in large part by precision NATO airstrikes, many flown by US pilots. Those airstrikes have been decisive, destroying government armor and military installations and preventing Gadhafi’s forces from flying aircraft to bomb the rebels. Without this support, the rebels would not have been successful in the conflict.

Obama’s remarks on the situation were very optimistic. On Sunday he said, “Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Moamar Gadhafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end. Whether or not that realization is forthcoming, is the question the world is waiting to find the answer to.

© 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – While there was no official word from Israel, a spokeswoman for the Israeli military confirmed that the air force had not attacked Gaza since Sunday evening.

“There is no agreement. Our policy is that if we see someone getting ready to fire a rocket, we will act. [But] if they don’t attack us, the border will remain quiet,” another Israeli spokesman said.

The most recent wave of violence began last week, after a deadly attack near the southern Israeli resort of Eilat. A group of 15-20 gunmen entered Israel from the Egyptian Sinai peninsula and fired upon buses and cars travelling near the Egyptian border. Eight Israelis were killed in the incident, described as one of the worst attacks in Israel in recent years.

The Israeli government blamed the attack on Gaza-based militants called the Popular Resistance Committees. In response, Israeli war planes flew a series of attacks on Gaza, killing 15 and injuring 61. Among the dead was the leader of the PRC, which later denied that its fighters carried out the attack near Eilat.

The PRC, working with other militant groups, launched a barrage of rockets and missiles on nearby Israeli towns and villages, killing one man in the city of Beersheva, and injuring many more.

The raid also sparked a diplomatic standoff between Egypt and Israel, after the death of at least three Egyptian security officers caught in crossfire between Israeli soldiers and the attackers. Cairo was also reportedly offended by a series of disparaging remarks by senior Israeli officials over the lack of Egyptian control in the Sinai.

Sunday night was the first night of calm in Gaza in four evenings of Israeli air strikes.

“We are looking to de-escalate the violence and to restore calm but at the same time we have no knowledge of any commitment or obligation by Hamas [to this ceasefire]. It is not clear what is happening on the ground,” Yigal Palmor, a spokesperson from the Foreign Ministry said told newspaper reporters.

“We consider Hamas globally responsible for what happens from Gaza, whether it’s the firing of rockets or terror attacks,” he added.

© 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – Discovered near the Lajas Reef, where Morgan lost five ships in 1671, including his flagship “Satisfaction,” archaeologists uncovered a portion of the starboard side of a wooden ship’s hull along with a series of unopened cargo boxes and chests encrusted in coral.

While he cargo has yet to be opened, Captain Morgan USA. The company that sells the spiced rum is clearly hoping there’s liquor in the holds.

“There’s definitely an irony in the situation,” Fritz Hanselmann, an archaeologist with the River Systems Institute and the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University and head of the dive team says.

The Captain Morgan rum group assisted the quest for Captain Morgan after the team ran out of funds before they could narrow down the quest.

The new funding let the team run a magnetometer survey, which looks for metal by finding any deviation in the earth’s magnetic field.

“When the opportunity arose for us to help make this discovery mission possible, it was a natural fit for us to get involved. The artifacts uncovered during this mission will help bring Henry Morgan and his adventures to life in a way never thought possible,” Tom Herbst, brand director of Captain Morgan USA says.

Captain Henry Morgan sailed as a privateer on behalf of England in the 17th Century. Morgan defended the Crown’s interests and pioneering expeditions to the New World. In 1671, in an effort to capture Panama City and loosen the stronghold of Spain in the Caribbean, Morgan set out to take the Castillo de San Lorenzo, a Spanish fort on the cliff overlooking the entrance to the Chagres River, the only water passageway between the Caribbean and the capital city.

While victorious, Morgan lost five ships to the rough seas and shallow reef surrounding the fort.

The research team includes archaeologists and divers from Texas State University, volunteers from the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center and NOAA/UNC-Wilmington’s Aquarius Reef Base.

“To us, the ship is the treasure — the story is the treasure,” Hanselman told MSNBC’s Alan Boyle. “And you don’t have a much better story than Captain Henry Morgan’s sack of Panama City and the loss of his five ships.”

© 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – “As of today, over 2,200 people have been killed since mass protests began in mid-March, with more than 350 people reportedly killed across Syria since the beginning of Ramadan,” Navi Pillay, the human rights chief, told the U.N. council this week.

More importantly, an anonymous Western diplomat has told Al Jazeera that the United Nations presence here is provoking the Syrian government to act violently once its back is turned – turning an ostensible mission to further the cause of peace into one of bloodshed.

He cited a recent example where hundreds of protesters gathered in a square in the city as the U.N. mission arrived. The people began chanting slogans for the toppling of the government.

“When the delegation left, security forces opened fire on civilians,” the Local Co-ordination Committees said.

The diplomat says that there were “grave misgivings” in the delegation about continuing the mission “when the Syrian authorities move in after they leave a location and shoot dead those attempting to testify.

“Far from uncovering crimes against humanity, this U.N. mission is provoking the regime into committing them. A whitewash became a fiasco and that fiasco has now turned into a murderous road show.”

U.N. investigators declared last week that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad could be guilty of crimes against humanity, citing claims of summary executions and mass torture.

Other Arab nations have reportedly agreed to demand that Syria allow an international probe within its borders to see whether crimes against humanity have been committed.

Jean Ziegler, a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council’s advisory committee, told The Associated Press that Kuwait will make the demand on behalf of Arab nations during the council’s special session on Monday.

The 47-nation council is expected to agree to an investigation in Syria with the Arab nations backing it, Ziegler said.

The international community has beseeched President Assad in recent weeks, with the U.S. and E.U. explicitly calling on him to step down.

Assad warned against foreign military intervention in his country in an address on state-sponsored TV, in which he said “Any action against Syria will have greater consequences [on those who carry it out], greater than they can tolerate.”

© 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

BALTIMORE, MD (Catholic Online) – Archbishop  Edwin F. O’Brien of Baltimore has been selected by Pope Benedict as the Pro – Grand Master  to  the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He will replace the retired Cardinal John P. Foley. He began the announcement Monday with a prayer to the Holy Spirit and read his letter of acceptance to the Holy Father.

“With deep gratitude do I accept your nomination of me to serve as Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. I pray that I will carry out the will of God and that of Your Holiness in preserving the Faith and defending the sacred places in the Holy Land…”

He told those gathered at the August 29th news conference, “News of this appointment came as a shock to me and I am still adjusting to the reality that effective today I am no longer the Archbishop of Baltimore.”  After thanking many who had assisted him in his leadership of the Archdiocese of Baltimore he concluded his prepared remarks and answered questions.

In one response he noted “To remove a resident bishop of a major archdiocese to a task such as this shows the priority that the Holy Father has, and I better have in my life.”  He indicated he had learned of the appointment by way of a phone call and was surprised, “Anyone I spoke to here on the staff would know that I wasn’t myself, it really took some getting used to.”

The Archbishop noted it “show(s) the importance that the Holy Father (assigns) to the presence of the church in the Holy Land.We’re diminishing in numbers every year, there are some misunderstandings among various faith groups there, and the Holy Father wants to assure everyone in the Holy Land of his support and his desire that peace will be brought about and to see that the good work that can be done will be done.”

Since the appointment as Grand Master of the Equestrian Order usually falls to a Cardinal of the Church there is little doubt that this Archbishop will receive the honor of the Cardinal’s red hat at the next consistory. Archbishop O’Brien is 72 years old and has led a life of exemplary service to the Lord and His Church.

Prior to his appointment to the Archdiocese Baltimore in 2007, Archbishop O’Brien served for ten years as the head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. He also served as a chaplain at the United States Military Academy in West Point and in Vietnam. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1965 and  had a distinguished record of academic service as the rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York and the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

This is a courageous man who defends the fullness of the Gospel and the teaching office of the Catholic Church. He is a strong defender of true marriage and the family and society founded upon it. He does not hesitate to contend with those in public office when their positions violate the Natural Law and do not serve the common good. The most recent example was his defense marriage against Gov. Martin J. O’Malley, a Catholic, who sponsored legislation which purports to call what can never be a marriage, homosexual partnerships, to be a marriage.

He is a strong proponent of the New Evangelization, as evidenced by his promotion of solid evangelistic and apologetic efforts within the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland. He is defender of the fundamental human right to life and has participated in every effort he can to protect our youngest neighbors in the womb against the horrors of legal abortion.

His courage and pastoral concern have been evident in his dealing with the challenges he faced in Baltimore over the last few years. They were also evident beyond Maryland. For example, his early expression of concern and stalwart defense of human freedom against the abuses later revealed to be at work in the founding of the Legionaries of Christ show the mettle of the man.

Replacing him in this important Archdiocese will be a challenge. Baltimore was erected in 1789 as the first Catholic diocese in the United States. The Archbishop said in the news Conference that he has been appointed the Administrator of the Archdiocese and will continue to provide oversight until such a replacement is named by the Holy Father.

As Editor in Chief of Catholic Online, I regularly write concerning the challenges faced by Christians in the Holy Land. The pronouncements of the Holy Father increase as persecution of Christians in the Holy Land intensifiesref. The irreplaceable significance of the Holy Sites of Christianity in the land where the Lord Himself walked is clear. The Archbishop’s service in this new post requires the combination of courage and holiness that he has shown in his past assignments.

I had the honor of being invested as a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre in 1998 by another holy …

DENVER, CO (Catholic Online) – Denver pilgrims got front row seats to the riots that took place in Madrid to protest World Youth Day.  They broke out just outside of our hotel.  Thankfully, no one was hurt. 

The incident was spun by many mainstream news outlets around the world with the same choice words.  Google “lavish party for the Pope” and you’ll be amazed at the lack of originality in reporting. 

To cite one outlet, the Denver Post posited that “Thousands of protesters.took to Madrid’s streets to decry the expense of a rock festival-style, million-strong youth party for Pope Benedict XVI at a time of economic crisis.in time for lavish World Youth Day celebrations.” 

The spin accomplished by this reporting gave me media induced vertigo.  To set the record straight, in case you were successfully spun: World Youth Days is not a luxurious party for a megalomaniacal octogenarian which drains a different nation’s economy every three years.

Anyone who has been to a World Youth Day would chuckle at the choice of the word “lavish” to describe the experience.  Have you ever waited 90-minutes to use a port-a-potty?  I have, but only at World Youth Day!  It’s a pilgrimage in the truest sense.  While vacations are for rest and luxury (if you can afford the latter), pilgrimages tend to be packed with redemptive suffering.  This can be especially true at a World Youth Day. 

Even if pilgrims attempt to avoid austerity, it has a way of finding you when you’re in a crowd one million strong.  There’s simply no way for a city to gracefully accommodate such numbers.  World Youth Day pilgrims are often hungry, thirsty, tired, and without access to bathrooms, among other basic necessities.  Though miraculously they’re usually smiling!  

As for World Youth Day being a “party for the Pope,” you’d be hard-pressed to find a single pilgrim who would describe the purpose of his trip in those terms-the Pope included.  Labeling it a “party for the Pope” is like labeling the Democratic National Convention that took place in Denver a “party for Obama.” 

World Youth Day is a celebration of Catholic youth with the Pope.  Are they excited about the Pope?  You bet!  But that’s a far cry from the occasion being a party “for” him. 

And as far as World Youth Days hurting the economies of host cities, nothing could be further from the truth.  According to the executive director of World Youth Day Madrid, Yago de la Cierva, not a dime of the event’s expenses came from the taxpayers of Madrid.  30% was from donations and 70% from fees the pilgrims paid. 

But the irony is that even if protestors were correct about the source of the funding, some basic math would reveal that they still have no good reason to protest.  World Youth Day brings in about one million visitors who spend at least $20 per day for at least six days. 

That’s a minimum of $120 million-though event organizers estimate that World Youth Day will pump $144 million into the local economy.  Even if the city had put $70 million into the event, it would have doubled on the investment for its people.  Perhaps the rioters should turn their anger toward math illiteracy. 

Only a people steeped in the dogmas of the “culture of death”-wherein humans are always seen as a “drain”-would overlook the obvious financial blessings of a crowd over one million strong. 

The good news is that even if a riot is thousands strong and reaches a violent pitch, if it happens in a crowd of a million most of those present won’t even notice it!  This was the case in Madrid. 

While our Denver pilgrims had the unfortunate experience of getting a bird’s-eye view of the riots, most pilgrims weren’t even aware it was happening.  The culture of death was muted by the sheer multitude of joyful Catholic young people celebrating the beauty and universality of their faith.  

Along those lines, it could well be that this article is your first wind of any bad press at all about World Youth Day.  That’s understandable.  If you Google “World Youth Day,” there’s so much Catholic news, positive press, and so many youth group websites that it takes several pages to find a negative story from mainstream media. 

Maybe what constitutes “mainstream” is changing.  The over one million young people who just returned home from Spain probably think so.  Alive in the Holy Spirit and enlisted for mission, they will do what they can to make sure of it.

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Speaker and author Chris Stefanick is Director of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministry for the Archdiocese of Denver.  Visit him at chris-stefanick.com.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – Palestinian refugees came pouring into neighboring Arab nations with the state of Israel’s creation in 1948. This mass exodus was then repeated in 1967 when Israel’s military occupied the West bank and Gaza Strip.  

The Bashar regime, provides support to a number of Palestinian and Lebanese resistance groups. A longtime antagonist of Israel, Syria lifted “emergency laws” in April.

In May and June of this year, Palestinian refugees joined the wave of Arab uprisings when they marched to Israel’s boundaries demanding an end to occupation and their right to return.

In Syria, Palestinian and Syrian refugees marched to the ceasefire line at the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel in 1967. The first march was held on May 15, called Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”) Day, when Palestinians annually commemorate the loss of their homeland.

Protest marches along the border with Israel proved to be far too emotion for many protestors, and thousands broke off and marched through land covered with landmines to face Israeli soldiers. In Lebanon, 10 were killed, and in Syria, four.

The journalist, speaking on condition of anonymity, had originally supported the call to protest for Nakba Day, but as the Syrian regime brutally suppressed growing protests against it in March, he and others decided not to take part.

“[Many of us in Yarmouk] believed the regime was trying to use the movement to go to the Golan,” the journalist said.

“We refused to go and we told other people that they also shouldn’t. We asked them: ‘why would [the regime] let you reach [the ceasefire line to protest] at this time?’”

Displaced Syrian refugees from the Golan Heights living in other parts of the country often go to the area to communicate with family members on the other side by using a bullhorn to carry their voice across the valley.

Dramatic video of the event uploaded to YouTube showed hundreds of protesters break through the fence to meet Palestinian and Syrian protesters on the other side in Israeli-occupied territory. At least four people were killed by Israeli fire.

© 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – “This march will end in La Paz, so that the government understands and thinks about changing its attitude and changing the route of the highway project,” Fernando Vargas, one of the leaders of the protest.

The $420 million proposed road is being largely financed by Brazil. The roadway will ultimately link the plains of Beni to the Chapare, a sparsely populated region where Bolivian President Evo Morales began his political career as a coca farmer.

The national park, called TIPNIS is home to endangered fresh-water dolphins and blue macaws, along with other wildlife. Environmentalists estimate that the road would erase more than 2,300 square miles of rain forest over two decades.

Three separate indigenous groups who live in the TIPNIS are prepared to use “bows and arrows” against any interlopers.

Bolivian President Evo Morales has gained notoriety as an environmentally friendly leader and Bolivia’s first indigenous-identified president, which is significant for many locals because the country has a higher per capita indigenous population than any other Latin American country.

Less than a year ago, Evo Morales told Al Jazeera news that he is opposed to environmentally destructive development practices that are common in “industrialized” countries.

“[Those practices are] leaving the world without ecology. I called it ecolocide, which will lead to genocide,” he said.

Organizers of the march have said that they are reacting Morales’ hypocritical stance on climate change and environmentalism, pointing to his promoting of natural gas development and oil exploration.

“Morales isn’t a defender of Mother Earth. His rhetoric is empty,” Rafael Quispe, leader of the main indigenous organization in Bolivia’s highlands says.

© 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – “All the way up to the top floor, there are shattered windows,” Voice of America journalist Josephine Kamara reported at the scene. “There is debris. There are mangled iron rods all over the place. I see a lot of the U.N. staff’s family members are standing out here. Also, it looks like the entire Abuja police force has actually come to the U.N. building. They are trying to get casualties out. Those that are badly hurt have been taken to the hospital.”

The building is located in the same neighborhood as the U.S. embassy and other diplomatic posts in Abuja.
 
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon condemned the attack in a statement. “Around 11 a.m. this morning local time, the U.N. house in the Nigeria capital Abuja was struck by a car bomb. These buildings house 26 humanitarian and development agencies of the U.N. family. This was an assault on those who devote their lives to helping others,” he said.

“We condemn this terrible act utterly. We do not yet have precise casualty figures, but they are likely to be considerable. A number of people are dead, many more are wounded. Nigerian and international search teams have mobilized and are moving wounded to hospitals and providing emergency aid.

“Let me say it clearly: these acts of terrorism are unacceptable. They will not deter us from our vital work for the people of Nigeria and the world,” he added.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan called the attack “barbaric, senseless and cowardly” and said his government remains committed to fighting terrorism.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Nigeria as a nation faces multiple security threats, including radical Islamists in the country’s North and violent militants in the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Nigeria has suffered such terrorist attacks before, from the nation’s radical Islamic sect Boko Haram. The group’s name in the Hausa language means “Western education is a sin.” The sect is attempting to undermine state authority, and calls for the stricter application of sharia Islamic law in Nigeria.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a car bombing attack at police headquarters in the capital last June. The group has also been blamed for a series of assassinations and bombings in the country’s northeast this year.

In addition, Boko Haram has professed links to al-Qaida terrorists in Somalia.

© 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.