The intimate connection between the Eucharist and the right to life has been reinforced in the minds of Christians after Pope Benedict XVI and Quebec City Cardinal Marc Ouellet both addressed the issue at the 2008 Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City.In a TV homily, Pope Benedict XVI connected the right to life, the state of […]

QUEBEC,QC,CA — Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl used these words as he ended an engaging story during his catechesis on the first full day of proceedings at the 49th International Eucharistic Congress (IEC).  Archbishop Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., along with the other opening speakers, have thus far used the congress as a call to the […]

I had a great weekend at a training event in Hollywood, California! It was incredible! The personal development I received put me on top of the world! I became a new person and nothing could topple my resolve.
And so came the tests.
First, my cell phone dropped on the escalator out of the building. It stopped […]

On Monday afternoon, the Holy Father began his pastoral visit to the Italian cities of Savona and Genoa, departing from Rome’s Ciampino airport at 3.30 p.m. and landing at Christopher Columbus airport in Genoa at 4.20 p.m. From there he travelled by helicopter to Savona and thence to the nearby shrine of Our Lady of Mercy.On […]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. The phenomenon of migration with its complex problems challenges the international community and individual States today more than ever. The latter generally tend to intervene by tightening migration laws and reinforcing border control systems. Thus migration loses that dimension of economic, social and cultural development which it had in the past. […]

The U.S. Catholic bishops in the U.S. have designated the third Sunday of May as the national date for the Collection for the Catholic Communication Campaign to coincide with World Communications Day.  The collection will take place in parishes across the country the weekend of May 18-19.
Pope Benedict XVI has chosen “The Media: At the […]

The Archbishop of the Canadian capital city of Ottawa addressed the convocation of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Barrys Bay Ontario last week, leaving attendees awestruck.  The speech focused on Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae. Faithful Catholics leaving the event told LifeSiteNews.com “I’ve been waiting 35 years to hear that from a […]

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann has directed Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to refrain from presenting herself for Holy Communion until she takes “the necessary steps for amendment of her life which would include a public repudiation of her previous efforts and actions in support of laws and policies sanctioning abortion.”
The Archbishop made the directive public by […]

In a 2004 address on care for patients diagnosed as being in a “vegetative state,” Pope John Paul II affirmed the human dignity of these patients and the obligation to provide them with ordinary care, including food and water, even with artificial assistance. On Sept. 14, 2007, through its “Responses to Certain Questions of the […]

“One of the most evil uses of the Internet is the ready availability of pornography,” warn the Bishops of Australia in a new pastoral letter on Internet safety which appropriately has a youtube video promoting it. 
The letter explains that “the relative anonymity of the Internet and its private nature means that there is a real […]

Mr President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As I begin my address to this Assembly, I would like first of all to express to you, Mr President, my sincere gratitude for your kind words.  My thanks go also to the Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, for inviting me to visit the headquarters of this Organization and for the welcome that […]

This past Saturday Pope Benedict XVI outlined appropriate pastoral responses to what he called the "wounds of abortion and divorce," which he said "involve so much suffering in the lives of individuals, families and society."

The Holy Father was addressing a group of scholars from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family at the Lateran University. The Institute was holding a several day long conference entitled "Oil on the Wounds: A Response to the Aftermath of Abortion and Divorce."

Benedict opened his remarks by congratulating the participants on their pertinent choice of topic, and said that when it comes to matters of abortion and divorce, and the wounds which they cause, there is a "conspiracy of silence" that often leaves victims "stripped and wounded" and "often without anyone to listen to their cry for help." Both abortion and divorce, he said, arise out of a civilization that is increasingly individualistic and hedonistic and that often fails to offer solidarity and support to those who are facing the difficult circumstances that lead people to choose abortion or divorce as a solution.

Here follows the communique provided by the Press Office of the Holy See on the publication of the new "Oremus et pro Iudaeis" for the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal.

"Following the publication of the new Prayer for the Jews for the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, some groups within the Jewish community have expressed disappointment that it is not in harmony with the official declarations and statements of the Holy See regarding the Jewish people and their faith which have marked the progress of friendly relations between the Jews and the Catholic Church over the last forty years".

The relationship between Muslims and Christians received added attention this past Easter when Pope Benedict XVI publicly baptized Magdi Allam, the most prominent Muslim journalist in Italy.  Allam knew that publicly renouncing his Islamic faith would bring attempts on his life from angered Muslims, but expressed conviction that his newfound faith would sustain him through any difficulties.

"You asked me whether I fear for my life, in the awareness that conversion to Christianity will certainly procure for me yet another and much more grave death sentence for apostasy. You are perfectly right. I know what I am headed for but I face my destiny with my head held high, standing upright and with the interior solidity of one who has the certainty of his faith." Allam stated.

"And I will be more so after the courageous and historical gesture of the Pope, who, as soon as he knew of my desire, immediately agreed to personally impart the Christian sacraments of initiation to me. His Holiness has sent an explicit and revolutionary message to a Church that until now has been too prudent in the conversion of Muslims."

Pope Benedict XVI's action in St. Peter's on Easter Vigil shows that the Catholic Church's increased emphasis over the last decades on dialogue and mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims does not exclude efforts to bring Muslims to faith in Jesus Christ. 

In December, Catholic author Frank M. Rega released Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims; With Concise Biography of the Saint, a book that has received much praise for its biographical portrait of the renowned saint and its highly pertinent focus on St. Francis's relationship with Muslims of the time. 

"If you're tired of portraits of St. Francis as little more than a Birkenstock-clad hippie, a Peace Corps social worker, or an effeminate tofu-eating Green Party activist, read this book," wrote Dr. Philip Blosser on his blog.

During the Fifth Crusade to Egypt, St. Francis of Assisi walked into a Muslim camp in order to preach Christianity and convert the sultan.  Rega's new book recounts St. Francis's bold encounter with the sultan and other important events from the life of the man from Assisi some claim more closely imitated Jesus Christ than any other saint in history. 

In line with its reporting on major cultural issues, LifeSiteNews interviewed Frank M. Rega about his new book and his perspective about the lessons St. Francis has for the world and Catholic-Muslim relations.

LifeSiteNews: Could you summarize the history of the Fifth Crusade?

Frank Rega: Michael, thank you and LifeSiteNews for inviting me to talk about my book on St. Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims.  Your first question is very appropriate since it is important to set the stage for this historic encounter.
 
The Fifth Crusade was first called for by Pope Innocent III in 1215 at the Lateran Council.  Innocent personally knew Francis and had approved his Rule in 1209 when Francis and his first followers went to Rome to seek Papal acceptance for his new Order. The crusade got underway in 1217 under Pope Honorius III.  It lasted for four years, and was lost by the crusaders. 

The goal was to first take Egypt before attempting to reach the Holy Land.  In 1219 Francis was present in Egypt at the city of Damietta on the Nile, with some of his friars.  That port city was eventually captured by the crusaders and held for over a year. But it was returned to the Muslims in 1221 after a crusader march on Cairo failed miserably, and the Christians gave up the crusade.

It was during a period of truce during the battle over Damietta in September 1219 that Francis preached to the Muslims, crossing over to the Muslim camp with Brother Illuminato, who was probably the interpreter. 

LifeSiteNews: Why did St. Francis of Assisi support the Fifth Crusade?

Frank Rega: Francis understood that the Fifth Crusade was part of an ongoing just war in response to Muslim invasions of Christian lands, which included many attacks against Italian city-states all along the peninsula over the course of centuries.  For example, in the year 846, Rome itself was sacked by 11,000 Muslims, who desecrated the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul.  

Further, the crusade was called for by the Holy Father, and it is well-known that Francis had perfect loyalty to the Catholic Church, and showed devout respect for priests and all the hierarchy.  Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he felt the crusade was justified on spiritual grounds.  As mentioned in the book, Francis told the Sultan "It is just that Christians invade the land you inhabit, for you blaspheme the name of Christ and alienate everyone you can from His worship." 

LifeSiteNews: What did St. Francis say and do when he entered the Muslim camp?

During the past month, the nation of Brazil has experienced a seemingly miraculous transformation.

The Catholic hierarchy in Brazil has long been famous for its laxity regarding human life issues, and its disproportionate emphasis on economic issues that seems to equate Catholicism with socialist politics. 

The bishops have even maintained a loose but very real relationship with "Catholics for the Right to Decide", which is the South American version of "Catholics for a Free Choice", a phony "Catholic" pro-abortion group designed to confuse the faithful about the Church's teachings on the sanctity of human life.

Until recently, the Catholic leadership seemed to be "hiding in the upper room" with regard to abortion and other human life issues, shamefully avoiding the topic and even colluding with the "culture of death".

In St. Peter's Square at 9.30 a.m. Sunday, the Holy Father presided at a solemn liturgical celebration for Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord, which marks the beginning of Holy Week. The Pope blessed the palms and the olives, then walked in procession with cardinals, bishops and 270 young people from the obelisk […]

Sunday marked the official end of Lent and the beginning of the high holy days of our faith. Holy Week is not just any week of the year: it is the hinge upon which our Christian faith and life hangs. If we wish to benefit spiritually from the week, we must decide to get under […]

Friday in the Vatican, the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of Mary Ann Glendon, the new ambassador of the United States to the Holy See and former president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Addressing the new ambassador in English, the Pope expressed his conviction "that the knowledge and experience born of your distinguished association with the work of the Holy See will prove beneficial in the fulfilment of your duties and enrich the activity of the diplomatic community to which you now belong".

"From the dawn of the Republic, America has been … a nation which values the role of religious belief in ensuring a vibrant and ethically sound democratic order", said the Holy Father, noting the American characteristic "of uniting people of good will, regardless of race, nationality or creed, in a shared vision and a disciplined pursuit of the common good.

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, spoke with LifeSiteNews.com Tuesday on the subject of the use of the morning after pill in cases of rape.  Catholic hospitals in several dioceses in North America are currently administering the pill (Plan B) to patients who claim to be victims of rape. 

According to Bishop Sgreccia, however, the morning after pill may not be administered by Catholic physicians.  The only Vatican opinion on the subject, absolutely prohibiting the use of the pill, was released by the Pontifical Academy for Life in 2000.  Since then, however, the Catholic Health Association, advisor to many bishops conferences, has suggested that there is no moral impediment to using the pill in cases of rape.  Several bishops conferences have followed the advice and permitted administration of the drugs in Catholic hospitals in cases where rape is asserted.

In his general audience, held Wednesday morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope concluded his series of catecheses on the figure of St. Augustine. Before the audience, the Holy Father went to the Vatican Basilica to greet pilgrims who had been unable to find a place in the hall.

St. Augustine "is one of the great converts of Christian history" said Benedict XVI. Reading the "Confessions", he went on, "it is easy to see that Augustine's conversion was neither sudden nor fully achieved right from the start. Rather it may be defined as a … journey, and remains as a model for each one of us".

Cardinal Franc Rode is no stranger to controversy. As the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, which oversees those in religious life, he has made many statements that call attention to the plight of modern day Catholic priests who are, in many cases, caught between their vocation […]

Catholics cannot vote for a political candidate that takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion, unless there is a morally grave reason to do so, the Kentucky bishops have instructed the faithful in a pastoral letter released this past January 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
As one would expect, […]

The Catholic Bishops of Brazil have a long record of lukewarmness - or even apparent opposition - to the Church's teaching regarding human life issues.  However, at the Shrine of Our Lady of (the Immaculate) Conception in Aparecida last week, they made what appears to be a declaration of war against abortion and other offenses […]

Last April the USCCB Subcommittee on Marriage and the Family Life commissioned a poll on marriage and family issues, to be conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. The final product, a poll of 1,008 self-identified Catholics, shows, as put by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, the Chairman of the subcommittee, a "mixed picture." […]

The timing of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes beginning on February 11, 1858 was not only providential in the sense of God's loving kindness to us sinners but was absolutely exquisite in terms of what was going on in European intellectual circles at that time.
The sex scandals involving priests and bishops, […]

 Speaking before a plenary assembly of the Columbian Episcopal Conference on the topic of "the role of women in the Church and society", the group's president, Luis Agusto Castro Quiroga, defended the traditional family and denounced forms of feminism that denigrate women's traditional roles.
"The world expects the Christian woman, with the courage that is instilled […]

 Speaking before a plenary assembly of the Colombian Episcopal Conference on the topic of "the role of women in the Church and society", the group's president, Luis Agusto Castro Quiroga, defended the traditional family and denounced forms of feminism that denigrate women's traditional roles.

"The world expects the Christian woman, with the courage that is instilled in her by the Spirit, to have the audacity of the apostle himself to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ, to show the firm decision to defend life, the family, marriage, and motherhood," said Castro Quiroga, Archbishop of Tunja.

[Yesterday] morning, Benedict XVI received participants in the plenary session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is being held this week in the Vatican.
The Pope recalled how last year the congregation published "two important documents presenting … certain clarifications necessary for the correct functioning of ecumenical dialogue, and of dialogue with the […]

Made public [yesterday] was the 2008 Lenten Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI. The text, dated 30 October 2007, has as its title a verse from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians: "Christ made Himself poor for you".
Extracts from the Message are given below:
"Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to […]

A report just released by the European bishops calls on the European Union (EU) to focus on what they consider to be the real needs of families in Europe and further calls on the EU to respect national marriage laws of the member states. The report by the Commission of the European Bishops' Conference (COMECE) […]

The Vatican has announced that it will begin a global campaign to institute a United Nations moratorium on a abortion, which will begin in Latin America.
The plan was announced Thursday by Columbian cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica.
Trujillo will […]

[Monday] morning in the Vatican, the Pope received participants in the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education, to whom he said: "It is highly appropriate that, in our own day, we should reflect on how to render this apostolic task of the ecclesial community incisive and effective", a task "entrusted to Catholic universities […]

In a letter to the Jesuits, gathered at their 35th General Congregation dated January 10, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI has called on the ancient order which has been rocked by scandal to reaffirm their "total adhesion to Catholic doctrine" mentioning specifically the Church's teachings on "sexual morality". 
The letter comes in the wake of the […]

Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., yesterday sent a letter to the rector of Rome's "La Sapienza" University, explaining the reasons for which the Pope will not participate in today's ceremony for the inauguration of that institution's academic year.
In his letter the Cardinal writes: "As, unfortunately, the prerequisites for a dignified and tranquil welcome […]

Metropolitan Kirill, Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, has made a strong statement condemning societal acceptance of homosexuality and reaffirming the task of the Church to proclaim the truth, in an interview published on Thursday by the German magazine Spiegel.
Metropolitan Kirill said that if society stops considering homosexuality a sin, the […]

On January 9th, in the Vatican, the Pope received Piero Marrazzo, president of the Region of Lazio, Italy; Walter Veltroni, mayor of the City of Rome; and Enrico Gasbarra, president of the Province of Rome, each accompanied by an entourage, for the traditional exchange of New Year greetings.
As is customary during these annual meetings, the Holy […]

It has been a busy Advent and Christmas season for the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. He has, in a space of a few months, outraged, shocked and disgusted a surprisingly broad cross section of his flock. Polish immigrants, noted for the vibrancy of their Catholic faith; Catholic pro-lifers who have held the line for decades […]

The latest news from Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) is nothing short of gravely misguided.  Their theme is "Prevention not Prohibition" and the subject is, of course, abortion.
CFFC claims to speak for Catholics throughout the country who apparently do not accept Church teaching, do not believe that abortion is an act of murder and do […]

December 28, 2007
FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS
Archbishop Luigi Ventura,Apostolic Nuncio to Canada724 Manor AvenueOttawa, ON KIM OE3
Your Grace,
For the past five years, I have been involved as a Catholic activist in the Ottawa area. In this time, I have represented and acted on behalf of thousands of people in Ottawa and around the country.  For […]

Two high-ranking Catholic clergymen ushered in the New Year by separately denouncing the currently most fashionable doomsday theory-the theory of man-driven global-warming-and radical environmentalism, as both unscientific and disturbingly quasi-religious.
Cardinal George Pell, the notoriously outspoken Australian clergy-man, and Bishop Crepaldi, the Vatican secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, published their comments in […]

At the end of December 1772, an Anglican priest in the poor parish of Olney worked by candlelight on his New Year's Day sermon. He would preach on the text of 1 Chronicles 17, verses 16 and 17. That passage was David's response to God after Nathan informed him that his descendants would be enthroned […]

I've got to hand it to the new wave of militant atheists like Christopher Hitchens and arch-Darwinist Richard Dawkins. They are getting their message out, in best-selling books and in page-one articles in major newspapers like the Washington Post. Their message is simple: There is no God, and people who believe there is a God […]

In his book, The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins argues that religious belief is-what else?-delusional. He mocks the irrationality of believing in something that you cannot subject to scientific scrutiny; he rails against the so-called "immorality" of the Bible, like the sanctioning of slavery-untrue-and the alleged way that religion, especially Christianity, stands in the way of […]

What image does the mention of Christmas typically conjure up? For most of us, it is a babe lying in a manger while Mary and Joseph, angels, and assorted animals look on.
Heartwarming picture, but Christmas is about far more than a Child's birth-even the Savior's birth. It is about the Incarnation: God Himself, Creator […]

In the drama of the incarnation, Jesus is, of course, the star.  That's the way it is at every birth.  All eyes are on the baby.  The co-star, though, is definitely mom.  Without her love and labor, the event could not have happened.  In this case, without mom's faith it couldn't have happened either.  According […]

Today in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received a group of young people from Italian Catholic Action (ACI), for a traditional exchange of Christmas good wishes.
The Pope greeted Luigi Alici, national president of ACI, and Bishop Domenico Sigalini of Palestrina, Italy, recently appointed as the group's general ecclesiastical assistant, then began his remarks by mentioning the […]

In today's general audience, the last of 2007, celebrated in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope spoke on the subject of Christmas.
"If, on the one hand, Christmas is a commemoration of the incredible prodigy of the birth of the only-begotten Son of God from the Virgin Mary in the grotto of Bethlehem," said the Pope, […]

Croatia has experienced a very dramatic drop in the abortion rate from 1989 when the nation's 51,289 abortions were nearly equal to the number of live births. The latest statistics, from 2005, indicate there were 4,563 abortions - a drop of nearly 90% since 1989.  Significantly the law on abortion has not changed.
The main […]

The first leg of the Journey of the World Youth Day Cross and Icon of Our Lady around Australia has been completed.
Organisers today thanked the team of five volunteers who visited 200 communities and directly engaged over 250,000 people since 1 July 2007.
Considered the "Olympic torch" of World Youth Day, the Journey is a […]

Friday morning in the Holy See Press Office, the presentation took place of a "Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelization" prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Participating in the press conference were Cardinals William Joseph Levada, Francis Arinze and Ivan Dias, respectively prefects of the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith, […]