Annual retreat of priests concluded in the Holy Land

The annual retreat for priests of all rites concluded in the Holy Land on Friday. “ Lectio Divina” or spiritual reading for the priest today” was the theme of the retreat that began July 2^nd Saturday . This practice goes back to 1993, when as a fruit of the local pastoral synod, Bishops and Priests felt the need of strengthening ecclesial communion by sharing certain pastoral initiatives. Among the retreatants were Patiarch Fouad Twal, Bishops Elias Shacour, Paul Sayyah, Giacinto Boulos Marcuzzo, Kamal Bathish and 45 priests from various religious communities. Fr.Najib Ibrahim, was the recource person for Scripture, assisted by other priests, biblical scholars. Each day opened with a conference on the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, followed by reflections on the spiritual reading of the bible, in the life of the Church and of priests, and in inspiring vocations. The retreatants were taken on excusrsions to the Mount of the Beatitudes, to Caphernaum, Tiberias, and to the lakes of Genesareth and Galilee.

Nomination of Papal legate to Jubilee of Our Lady of the Angels

The Vatican announced Saturday that Pope Benedict XVI has nominated Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega , as his special legate to the closing celebration of the 375^th anniversary of the finding of the image of Our Lady of the Angels, patroness of Costa Rica. The image of Our Lady of the Angels is only about three inches high, and is carved in a simple fashion on dark stone. She has a round, sweet face, slanted eyes and a delicate mouth. Her coloring is leaden, with scattered golden sparkles. She carries the Christ Child on her left arm. Only the faces of Mary and the Child are visible; the rest is covered by a cloak that is gathered in pleats. The closing jubilee ceremony will take place at Cartago, Costa Rica, on August 2^nd 2011. The story goes that while searching for firewood on 2^nd August 1635, the feast of the Holy Angels, a poor mestizo woman named Juana Pereira discovered this small image of the Virgin sitting beside the footpath near Cartago, Costa Rica. Juana took it home. The next morning she found that the statue was not there but back at the rock, so she took it to the priest and he locked it in a small box. The next morning the statue was back at the rock. During the construction of the church to house the image, the site was destroyed by earthquakes so many times, it was finally decided to move it to the location where the statue was originally found and they were able to finish construction. Many people think that the earthquakes were signs that the Lady of Los Ángeles wanted the basilica built there. The original statue is kept in a golden shell inside the basilica. An official decree declared the Virgin of the Angels the official patroness of Costa Rica.

Egyptian Court rules in favour of Christian Converts

Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court recently ruled in favour of anyone wanting their religious registration officially changed back to “Christian”, according to Middle East Concern.

The new ruling affects those who were registered as “Christian,” but whose registration was changed to “Muslim”; this change can happen when an adult converts to Islam, or when a parent changes their children’s registration, or because of clerical error.

The court also criticized the Ministry of the Interior for not implementing its previous rulings and instructed government officials to implement the new ruling without further delay.

Back in 2008, some Christians were permitted to change their religious registration from “Muslim” to “Christian,” but Egyptian authorities refused to cooperate on the grounds that it was impractical to implement. However, after the court affirmed its initial ruling, the State Council of fatwas blocked it, claiming each individual had to file a separate case. But now, all citizens with the appropriate documentation have the right to officially change their religious registration.

House Hearing: Hizballah Threat Looms in U.S. Backyard

Hizballah has established a vast network of operatives throughout Latin America, and even in North America, which could be used to wage terrorist attacks against American interests if the group or its Iranian patrons see fit, witnesses told a House Homeland Security subcommittee on Thursday.
The threat is not imminent, panelists said, as the Lebanese-based Shiite group focuses on money-making criminal enterprises like narco-trafficking.
More than 80 Hizballah operatives have been identified in at least a dozen South American countries, said Roger Noriega, former assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs.
"If our government and responsible partners in Latin America fail to act, I believe there will be an attack on U.S. personnel, installations or interests in the Americas as soon as Hizballah operatives believe that they are capable of such an operation without implicating their Iranian sponsors in the crime," Noriega told the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., said the testimony was unnerving. "I am getting the sense that we are sitting ducks here," she said.
It would take significant developments, like an attack on Iran by the United States or Israel, to prompt Hizballah operatives to forfeit their business interests and start waging attacks on American interests, said Doug Farah, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center. Hizballah is currently in a defensive mode, he testified, but could switch to an offensive mode if provoked.
"Hizballah can be described as a potential insurance policy of sorts for the Iranian regime," explained Ilan Berman, Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council, in written testimony.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., considered the indictment of several Hizballah members for their roles in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and the outcome of the collapsing regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as other factors that could escalate Hizballah tensions in the near future and put the United States at risk.
Assad's Syrian regime is known to have provided financial and logistical support to Hizballah. Syria is one of Hizballah's biggest state sponsors, second only to Iran. Compounding the threat, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has formed alliances with Latin American government leaders, including Venezuela's Hugo Chávez.
"They [Hizballah] have the motivation," said Noriega, "and they have been steadily increasing their capacity to act."
Even if Hizballah operatives in South America don't directly attack the United States, the money they send abroad could strengthen the group, and by extension, Iran. During questioning, Hochul asked the witnesses where the estimated $20 million per year raised by Hizballah in Latin America ends up.
"I'm sure the bulk of the money if I could just guess, goes to weapons and military related activities, but also social programs in Lebanon," said Dr. Melani Cammett, a hearing witness and Brown University political scientist.
The other witnesses agreed. "The bulk of the proceeds end up being funneled back to the Middle East," said Berman.
Cammett, who has interviewed Hizballah leaders in Lebanon, disagreed with the three other witnesses in her assessment of the threat from the terrorist group. The idea that Hizballah would launch attacks against the United States at this time from Latin America, she said, "is not based on firm evidence."
She emphasized that Hizballah is mostly concerned with launching violent attacks against Israel. Hizballah has not attacked an American target since the 1980s, she said, and has not called on its members to target the United States.
In response to Cammett's argument, other witnesses and committee members questioned why Hizballah would chose to grow support in another hemisphere.

"You don't infiltrate an area unless you have an intent," said Rep. Brian Higgins, D.-N.Y. And Hizballah's intent is "not benevolent," he said. Farah suggested that law enforcement and law makers spend more time asking, "What are they doing here?" Hizballah's resources are squeezed, he said, but the group is spending a large percentage of those resources on positioning itself in South America.

Some Hizballah infiltration south of the border is already reaching the United States and its southern border, witnesses and committee members said.
"In July of last year, we had the first IED explode in this hemisphere," Rep. Jeff Duncan, R.-S.C., said, referring to a sophisticated car bomb that exploded in the U.S.-Mexico border town of Ciudad Juarez.
In written testimony, Farah cited an increase of tattoos with Hizballah symbols and Farsi phrases among prison inmates. Tucson, Ariz.'s police department released last fall a security memo which featured pictures of U.S. prison inmates' tattoos indicating Hizballah support or membership. A Hizballah flag, two crossed AK-47's (a Hizballah symbol) and the word "Hizballah" in Arabic were among the tattoos pictured.
The hearing isn't the first time government officials have asked whether pockets of Hizballah members operating in South America threaten U.S. security. In June 2010, Rep. Sue Myrick, R.-NC, asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to investigate Hizballah's presence operating in Mexico and along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Hizballah continues to concern American policy makers, but witnesses argued the current approach, which treats the Hizballah in South America as a drug problem, rather than a terrorism problem, must change.
The U.S. needs to develop a more comprehensive plan to tackle the Hizballah threat in the Western Hemisphere, Berman recommended.
"Such attention is long overdue," he said, "and the most immediate way the United States can begin to address the danger posed by Hizballah is by acknowledging that the organization uses our Hemisphere as a significant staging ground, fundraising hub and operational base."

Read more at: http://www.investigativeproject.org/3028/house-hearing-hizballah-threat-looms-in-us

Pope: No to RH, divorce

The Catholic Church’s campaign against the Reproductive Health (RH) and divorce bills got a big boost after Pope Benedict XVI rallied behind the efforts of bishops to defend the value of human life and sacredness of marriage.

“His Holiness prays that this time for reflection and renewed dedication in the service of the Gospel will bear abundant fruit for the Church and the society,” read the message of the Pontiff to Philippine bishops currently attending their 103rd Plenary Assembly in Paco, Manila.

“He encourages the bishops in their efforts in defense of the value of each human life, of the sacredness of marriage, and of the family,” it further read.

The Pontiff’s letter addressed to CBCP President Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar was signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Odchimar had earlier said that the issue of the RH bill will be included in their bi-annual gathering.

“We will be discussing that because that is the present burning issue and we have to speak out on that,” he said in an interview with reporters.

“We are the last bastion standing against the RH bill, divorce, and now there is also the possibility of same-sex marriage and we won’t be surprised if after that would come euthanasia,” added Odchimar.

The Catholic Church has been opposing the RH bill convinced that it is anti-life and family due to its promotion of artificial contraceptives as a family planning method.

The Church is also against the introduction of divorce in the country for it destroys the marriage bond.

As of Saturday morning, 89 bishops, out of the 138 members of the CBCP, were present during the Plenary Assembly.

Among them are the bishops allegedly involved in the so-called “PCSO fund mess” namely; Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, Butuan Bishop Juan De Dios Pueblos, Bangued Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian, Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad, and Bontoc Bishop Rodolfo Beltran.

The PCSO had earlier accused some bishops of receiving donations and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) from then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo allegedly for political patronage.

Expect greater opposition from the Catholic Church when it comes to the issue of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill and divorce bill when Congress resumes its session on July 25.

This after the fight of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) against the said bills got a boost from no less than Pope Benedict XVI himself.