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The historic Manhattan cathedral that was gutted in a massive fire was one of four Christian Orthodox churches to go up in flames on Orthodox Easter Sunday — sparking fears of a coordinated attack on the religion. While FDNY officials said the blaze at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava on West 25th Street does not appear suspicious, members of the Orthodox community have doubts. They are worried that the blaze — along with church fires in Australia and Russia — were set in retaliation for the religion’s role in blocking the canonization of Croatian Nazi supporter Cardinal Aloysius...

With fears rising that the Islamic State is trying to obtain nuclear weapons, resident Obama will convene a global summit in Washington Thursday hampered by no-show Russia, a key target in the U.S. effort to lock down vulnerable atomic materials. ... Pakistan, another nuclear power causing major proliferation concerns for the U.S., is sending a lower-level representative after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif canceled his attendance to grapple with a horrific terrorist attack targeting Christians on Easter Sunday. Iran, which has challenged the U.S. with a string of missile tests in recent months despite inking last year’s deal designed to curb...

In the spirit of the season, Asad Shah, a Glasgow newsagent and a "devout Muslim"*[see update at the foot of the page], decided to send out an Easter greeting on his Facebook page: GOOD FRIDAY AND VERY HAPPY EASTER, ESPECIALLY TO MY BELOVED CHRISTIAN NATION X! BISMILLAH... Let's Follow The Real Footstep Of Beloved Holy Jesus Christ (PBUH) And Get The Real Success In Both Worlds xxxx Less than four hours after this ecumenical greeting, Mr Shah was savagely murdered outside his shop by his co-religionists: The victim was found seriously injured on Minard Road, Glasgow, and was taken to...

Pope Francis said he supports the idea of setting a fixed date for Easter Sunday, which for centuries has moved back and forth according to the lunar calendar. Easter and the Holy Week that precedes it is rooted in the Jewish Passover and fixed on the first full moon, which falls on the first Sunday after the spring equinox, March 21. […] The Orthodox Churches normally celebrate Easter a week after the Catholics. […] Historians and expert agree that a common date for Easter would encourage “reconciliation between the Christian churches.” …

The Resurrection Appearances “Chronologically” Arranged By: Msgr. Charles PopeToday’s post is a follow-up to yesterday’s blog.When we encounter the resurrection accounts in the New Testament, we face a challenge in putting all the pieces together in such a way that the sequence of events flows in logical order. This is due to the fact that no one Gospel presents all or even most of the information. Some of the accounts seem to conflict. I have opined before (HERE) that these apparent conflicts are usually not in fact true conflicts. Another difficulty with putting all the facts together in a coherent manner is that...

Jesus is real to me! A homily for Easter Sunday By: Msgr. Charles PopeNearly all of the Resurrection accounts in the Gospels present the apostles and disciples on a journey to deeper faith. In stages, they come out of the darkness of despair and of this world into the light of faith. Matthew’s account (28:1-10), which is read at the Easter Vigil this year and can also be read at Masses during the day, is no exception. I have also commented on the Johannine Gospel that is often read on Easter Morning (here: From Fear to Faith).Let’s look at...

Where Is Jesus Between His Death and Resurrection? By: Msgr. Charles PopeWhere is Christ after He dies on Friday afternoon and before He rises on Easter Sunday? Both Scripture and Tradition answer this question. Consider the following excerpt from a second century sermon as well as this meditation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday (ca. 2nd century A.D.):Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up...

The Easter Triduum: Entering into the Paschal MysteryThe Easter Triduum: Entering into the Paschal Mystery | Carl E. Olson The liturgical year is a great and ongoing proclamation by the Church of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a celebration of the Mystery of the Word. Through this yearly cycle, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, "the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery unfold"(CCC 1171). The Easter Triduum holds a special place in the liturgical year because it marks the culmination of the yearly celebration in proclaiming the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Latin word...

Happy Easter! Hallelujah!If you're not the religious type I hope today is still an opportunity to have a good time with loved ones :-D

Elian Gonzalez, the object of a 1999-2000 custody squabble involving Washington, Havana and family members on both sides of the Florida Strait, holds a piece of U.S. legislation directly responsible for what he endured then, Cuban official media said Monday. "They were very sad times for me, which marked me for my whole life. I was never given the chance to have a moment to think about my mother, who as a result of that (U.S.) Cuban Adjustment Act died at sea," the now-19-year-old Gonzalez said last weekend during a Union of Young Communists event. ~snip~ The 1966 Cuban Adjustment...

President Obama, declined to issue any Easter proclamation on Easter Sunday. Was this just sloppy work on part of the White House – or what was really happening? The fact is that President Obama has NEVER given Christianity the respect of issuing an Easter decree, publicly. However, he has dignified Earth Day and Muslim holidays with making special proclamations, to draw attention to these special days and holidays. On Yahoo video, when the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, Press Secretary was asked about the failure to ever make an Easter proclamation, he just laughed it off, he was visibly uncomfortable...

In 33 A.D. the most significant event took place that would forever change human history. This event was the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was significant in that it had multiple purposes. For one, it was the end result of a strategy that would reveal itself as the ultimate and most selfless act of love. Jesus died for us, so that we could be presented as righteous to God the father on the Day of Judgment. One day we will become like Jesus (1 John 3:2) and share in the Kingdom he is preparing for...

Sunday's coming...

Easter Sunday April 15, 2001 Reading I (Acts 10:34a, 37-43),Reading II (Colossians 3:1-4) Gospel (St. John 20:1-9) "Alleluia" - that beautiful word, which we have not heard for six weeks, once again pours forth from our mouths. "Alleluia." It comes from two Hebrew words that mean "Praise Yahweh." In English, it means "Praise God." While we continue to speak the English, the Hebrew we have not spoken. Now, it comes forth again; and we praise God with our whole heart because we celebrate the most important event in human history today. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. When we...

Today, Christians around the world celebrated their Savior's rising from the dead almost 20 centuries ago. In 1996, the leader of the Free World went to an Easter Service at his church in Washington, D.C. dutifly carrying his Bible. What he did later, however, proved that this disgusting piece of human garbage used our White House for his own whore house. He even did it on Easter Sunday. We are all failed human beings to be sure, but we actually endured a perverted sociopath for eight long years. We suffered 9-11 because this man did not pay attention to foreign...

STARVATION: DAY 8 Jeb Bush not likely to ride to rescue Florida governor indicates he won't defy court order Posted: March 25, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Those hoping Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will step forward to save Terri Schiavo from imminent, court-ordered starvation death are likely to be disappointed, based on his comments to a group of reporters following county court Judge George Greer's ruling against the state's effort to take custody of the brain-injured woman at the center of a worldwide euthanasia controversy. While Bush reiterated his motivation to save Schiavo, based on new evidence that...

Part I - The Easter Triduum We have just entered the season of Lent. This has always been an important time in the life of the Catholic Church. It begins very dramatically with the reception of ashes, in a sense, marking us as God's people. Near the end of the season we receive palms which remind us of the people's love for Jesus - a love which turned to hate and indifference quite rapidly. The special practices of Lent….added prayer, fasting, abstinence, almsgiving… remind us that this is no ordinary time. Because Lent is a season with a personality...

The President and his family spent Easter Sunday at the Chapel at Fort Hood and then visited soldiers at the Darnell Community Hospital. President Bush held a joint press conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, at his ranch Monday, April 12, 2004 in Crawford, Texas, discussing Sharon's plans for the Gaza Strip, among other subjects. The President left for the Waco airport shortly after the completion of the press conference, and flew home to the White House. The President announced that he will hold a press conference in the White House, Tuesday night, at 8:20 PM EDT.