(Vatican Radio) "Who are we to close the doors " to the Holy Spirit? This was the question that Pope Francis repeated this morning during his homily at Mass at Casa Santa Marta, a homily dedicated to the conversion of the first pagans to Christianity. The Holy Spirit, he reiterated, is what makes the Church to go "beyond the limits, go ever forward."
"If – for example - tomorrow an expedition of Martians came, and some of them came to us, here... Martians, right? Green, with that long nose and big ears, just like children paint them... And one says, 'But I want to be baptized!' What would happen?"
Text from page en.radiovaticana.va/articolo.asp
of the Vatican Radio website

Photo ~ Father Piotr Natanek
The strange case of a young and brilliant priest suspended a divinis by Stanislaw Dziwisz for his millenarian positions and repeated accusations against the hierarchy
Father Stanislaw explained the situation in a letter dated 20 July, reminding Father Natanek, “known for his controversial homilies and messages posted on the web,” that he had not obeyed the disciplinary directives of 28 January 2010; had disregarded the canonic admonishments of 25 May 2007, 23 February 2009, and 9 April 2010; had ignored the invitation to a meeting with his superiors; has continued his damaging utterances - including those that were prohibited; spreads opinions not approved by the Church regarding the regality of Jesus Christ, based on private revelations and inspired by the eschatological seven, which is outside of the teachings of Church doctrine; he has also publicly put into doubt the authority of priests and, not least, invalidly celebrated a marriage, without the required …More

Foto ~ Papa Francisco y el Cardenal Juan Luis Cipriani junto a imagen de Santa Rosa de Lima. Foto: Arzobispado de Lima
VATICANO, 05 May. 14 / 10:53 pm (ACI/EWTN Noticias).- El Papa Francisco recibió esta mañana en audiencia privada al Arzobispo de Lima y Primado del Perú, Cardenal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne.
En la reunión, señala una nota del Arzobispado de Lima, el Cardenal le entregó un cuadro de Santa Rosa de Lima, Patrona del país, que unos sacerdotes de la capital peruana le enviaron como obsequio al Santo Padre.
El viernes pasado el Pontífice se reunió por primera vez con el Consejo de Economía del Vaticano, del cual forma parte el Cardenal Cipriani.
En dicha reunión se inició la redacción del borrador de los estatutos y se presentó el trabajo desempeñado por la Comisión de estudio y guía sobre la organización de la estructura económico-administrativa de la Santa Sede.

GINEBRA, 07 May. 14 / 05:01 pm (ACI/EWTN Noticias).- Diversos organismos criticaron la parcialidad del Comité de las Naciones Unidas contra la Tortura, luego de que en una de sus audiencias se acusara a la Iglesia Católica de estar violando una convención internacional contra la tortura con su enseñanza sobre el aborto.
Ashley McGuire, miembro de la mesa consultiva de Catholic Voices USA, dijo el 6 de mayo que “es escandaloso que el Comité de las Naciones Unidas contra la Tortura desafía los compromisos de la Iglesia Católica con la santidad de la vida en todas sus etapas”.
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Foto ~ Juan Carlos Varela junto a su esposa y sus tres hijos. -- Facebook
PANAMÁ, 07 May. 14 / 02:25 am (ACI).- Los defensores del derecho a la vida en Panamá celebraron la victoria de Juan Carlos Varela en las elecciones presidenciales del 5 de mayo, y saludaron que durante la campaña “nunca rehuyó de sus principios a pesar del ambiente negativo tanto nacional como internacional”.
El ingeniero Juan Carlos Varela logró imponerse con el 39 por ciento de los votos a sus contendientes, y fue proclamado como presidente electo el mismo 5 de mayo.
En declaraciones a ACI Prensa el 6 de mayo, Juan Francisco De la Guardia, presidente de la Alianza por la Vida y la Familia de Panamá, señaló que “para nosotros, los que luchamos por la vida y la familia, un punto de suma importancia es que nunca rehuyó de sus principios a pesar del ambiente negativo tanto nacional como internacional y firmó junto a 5 de los 7 candidatos un pacto por la vida y la Familia promovido por la Alianza Panameña por la …More

MAY 6--Attendees at a wedding Saturday were shocked to spot a 60-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man engaging in sex acts on the church lawn, Utah cops report.
A Salt Lake City Police Department cop was summoned to Sacred Heart Catholic Church around 6 PM by a wedding guest who “ran into the road to stop” a passing police cruiser being driven by Officer Rich Stone.
Stone then approached Sandra Kruser and Wilson Benally, who were laying on the church lawn. “I walked over to the couple and I physically saw the sex act,” Stone reported.
Link

This is odd and surprising. It would seem most likely that the Pope wanted a secretary from the Islamic world to show his favorable view of Islam, and is unaware of Father Yoannis Lahzi Gaido’s previous statements. He will undoubtedly soon find out, however, if he hasn’t already, and what happens then will be interesting.
From an interview that Father Gaido gave on 31 March 2008:
I have always tried to be a friend that respects the different religion of the other, without being afraid to tell the truth or to emphasize that Christianity is a call to freedom.
And when Magdi asked me about the Copts in Egypt, I did not hide the enormous difficulties under which Christians must live in places with a Muslim majority.
These difficulties are not caused by a few Islamists, but by a culture of death and violence that is based on very clear verses [of their scripture] that they quote, calling for violence and jihad, saying they should murder all who are different and killing [those who express] …More

Msgr. Jose Vilaplana, Bishop of Santander, Spain
In answer to questions about the alleged Marian apparitions at Garabandal, Spain, Bishop Jose Vilaplana sends the following response to inquirers.
Diocese of Santander
Some people have been coming directly to the Diocese of Santander (Spain) asking about the "alleged apparitions" of Garabandal, and above all for the position of the hierarchy of the Church concerning these apparitions.
I must communicate that:
1. All the bishops of the diocese from 1961 through 1970 asserted that the supernatural character of the said apparitions, that took place around that time, could not be confirmed. [no constaba].*
2. In the month of December of 1977 Msgr. del Val, Bishop of Santander, in union with his predecessors, affirmed that in the six years of being Bishop of Santander there were no new phenomena.
EWTN.com

Photo ~ A miraculous discovery! An underground room dating from the sixth century holds an image of a young man with curly hair, who appears to be giving a blessing (pictured) and one expert thinks it could be one of the earliest paintings of Jesus Christ. The image, which is seen here, has been protected from the sun with a thin layer of material
His image has been replicated countless times in churches and artwork, but a team of Spanish archaeologists believe they have found one of the earliest images of Jesus.
A mysterious underground room dating from between the sixth and seventh century AD holds an image of a young man with curly hair, who appears to be giving a blessing among other Coptic images.
The Catalan experts who discovered the site in the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus think it was the final resting place for a writer and a number of priests.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Egypt-dig-unear…

Everyone knows by now that Pope Francis likes to call up unsuspecting people on the phone and make their day. This warm and personal pastoral technique also seems to have made quite the day for a number of liberal Catholic commentators and secular media pundits. When he gets around to calling me, I have a list of questions for the Holy Father:
Does the Vatican really have a phone book of all Catholics? Did you get it from that IRS lady who works for Obama?
Do you totally love it when liberal Catholics use you as a tool to cause more division in the Church by pretending that you are an enemy of orthodox, practicing Catholics? Hmm, not really? You think it’s a self-serving and childish perversion of what you are actually preaching?
Can I put that on my Facebook page?
Since you apparently won’t be using the papal apartments, are they for rent? How much? Washer/dryer?
Is it true some of the cardinals were using performance enhancing drugs during the conclave?
Have you ever been tempted to …More

Photo ~ Fr Dwight Longenecker, a former Anglican minister who entered the Roman Catholic Church in 1995. Fr. Dwight is an author, speaker, and parish priest serving at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Greenville, South Carolina.
Con: “We can’t afford married priests! Do you know how much it would cost to support a married man and his family!”
Pro: “Surely the question is not whether we could afford married priests, but whether we should. But let’s stop and consider that we already pay for celibate priests. It varies from diocese to diocese and around the world the situation will vary hugely according to different cultural conditions. Let’s just consider the American scene.
Many Catholics have no idea in the world what a priest is paid. Many imagine that we all take a vow of poverty and that we live day by day on faith. Some think the bishop pays us. He doesn’t the parish pays according to guidelines issued by the diocese.
Most celibate priests in American dioceses do pretty well. Here’s …More

The Vatican investigation of the not recognized Marian Shrine of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina is closed. This was confirmed this Saturday Vatican by spokesman Federico Lombardi. On Friday, the international commission of inquiry chaired by former Roman Cardinal Vicar Camillo Ruini met in its last session. The result will now be sent for further processing by the CDF.
Official pilgrimages to Medjugorje will continue to be prohibited.
Radio Vatikan