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Some
are more ecumenical than others
Salvador,
Brazil. March 2nd, 2005
(ACPress.net).
A Catholic bishop
refused Communion to non-Catholics at a Mass held at the opening
of the Ecumenical Fellowship Campaign 2005 in Bahia
State, Brazil.
The Mass was held in Salvador Cathedral by the Cardinal and
Archbishop, Geraldo Majella, who is also the Director of the
Catholic Episcopate in Brazil. Eight church groups participated
in the launch of the Campaign, but only four – Anglican, Syrian
Orthodox, Nazareth Baptist and Lutheran – attended the Mass
afterwards. Bishop Majella invited the pastors of these denominations
to sit in a place of honour next to the altar. When the wafers
were about to be dispensed, the pastors lined up in the queue
only to be told by the Bishop that he could not give one to
them.
The National Council of Churches in Brazil (CONIC) lamented
the fact that the pastors had had to go through such an unpleasant
experience, but many Protestants were asking why the pastors
were there in the first place, when the Catholic view of the
Mass is one of the main doctrinal differences which separates
them from Protestants. The Ecumenical Service Coordinator said
“We are surprised at this action by the Cardinal, especially
given that the pastors were invited...to participate together
in the Ecumenical Fellowship Campaign 2005.”
CONIC pointed out that the incident could have been avoided
if the pastors had been warned that the Archbishop could not
give them Communion, due to an edict issued by the Vatican last
year. In fact, the Catholic Church has repeatedly stated that
non-Catholics should not be allowed to take Communion in their
churches.
Source: ALC. Editing: ACPress.net
Eight more languages
got the Bible in 2004
Bonn,
March 2nd, 2005 (ACPress.net).
The Bible was
translated into eight more languages last year, according to
a Bible Society report given in Stuttgart.
Among the languages to get the Bible for the first time is Iraqw,
one of the languages spoken in Tanzania, Sgaw, spoken in Burma,
and Gumuz, from Ethiopia. Experts estimate there are about 6,500
languages in the world. The complete Bible is now translated
into 422 languages, which makes it the book available in the
greatest number of languages. And at least part of the Bible
has been translated into 2,377 different languages.
Source: Bibelgesellschaft. Editing: ACPress.net
Luther on the History Channel
Madrid,
March 2nd, 2005 (ACPress.net).
The History Channel
broadcast a special documentary on the life of Martin Luther
on February 27th. ‘Born into a world dominated by the laws of
the Catholic Church, for the love of God he gave himself to
them body and soul. He became a priest and studied the Bible
eagerly; but in his search for the truth...the truth condemned
him.’
‘Luther was excommunicated but he did not ask for an indulgence
nor paid for one; he took up his cross, got married and took
to Europe a new message of a relationship with God based on
faith and not on works.’ The programme told the life of one
of the greatest figures in the history of Christendom, precursor
of what would later be known as the Protestant
Church.
Source: Cadena Global. Editing: ACPress.net
Anglicans
unhappy over Prince Charles’ wedding
London,
March 3rd, 2005 (ACPress.net).
One of the issues
currently bubbling just beneath the surface in the Church of
England is the forthcoming wedding of Prince Charles to Mrs
Parker-Bowles.
Delegates wanted to raise the subject at a recent meeting of
the National Synod, but Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
indicated that the order of business was already full with such
topics as the possible ordination of women bishops, and the
question of homosexuality and the clergy.
Some members of the Synod are unhappy about the wedding. They
consider that although Prince Charles is divorced, he may re-marry
because his first wife, Diana, is dead. However, in the case
of Mrs Parker-Bowles, she cannot re-marry because her ex-husband
is still alive.
Source: E.PRESS. Editing: ACPress.net
The apostle Paul’s
remains found...in his coffin
Rome, March 3rd, 2005 (ACPress.net).
A sarcophagus
which just might contain the remains of the apostle Paul has
been identified, though not, apparently, through the expedient
of reading the writing on the coffin. This says ‘Here lieth
the apostle Paul’, or words to that effect.
The coffin, which has long been visible at the foot of the altar
in the St Paul-outside-the-walls Basilica in Rome,
has been studied recently by a team of archaeologists led by
Giorgio Filippi. In wonderful Vatican-speak, he said: “We have
discovered a sarcophagus, or container of relics. In the year
390 AD it was known that the remains were those of the apostle
Paul, that is, at the time of the extension of the Constantine
Basilica by the Emperors Theodosius, Valentinian II and Arcadium.”
The coffin has a hole which allows the relics “to communicate”
with the altar (don’t ask). If the cover were removed from the
hole, a micro-camera could be passed into the coffin. Perhaps
not surprisingly, Filippi says that “the discovery is enough.”
One wonders why. Quite frankly, what relics could be expected
to have survived until now?
Filippi had to dig a tunnel a metre long having opened a small
cavity between the high altar and a piece of furniture dedicated
to Timothy. He discovered the sarcophagus via the tunnel. When
Peter’s remains were ‘found’ in 1941, also in the church which
bears his name, the Catholic Church took 35 years to declare
that they were indeed the bones of the apostle. It is to be
expected that a similar period of time will pass by before any
declaration is made as to whether these latest bones are apostolic
and Pauline.
Evangelicals will not be losing any sleep over it (nor, come
to that, will the apostle Paul), but such ‘discoveries’ get
the Vatican all a-flutter, as it is so given to relics and worshipping
the dead.
Source: ACI. Editing: ACPress.net
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