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A VATICAN authority on family values spelled out the Roman Catholic Church's uncompromising opposition to same-sex marriages in a newspaper interview published today as a Catholic meeting on the family began in Spain, where such unions are legal. "There are not several models (for marriage), there is only one, which comes from God and is irreplaceable," the Colombian Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, organiser of the fifth Catholic World Meeting of Families, said. "Marriage is not a project of parliament or institutions, which are here today and gone tomorrow," said Mr Trujillo, who is also president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council...

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 30, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered Thursday to members of a delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, led by Metropolitan Ioannis Zizioulas of Pergamum, who came to Rome on the occasion of the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. * * * Dear Brothers in Christ, With great joy and sincere affection in the Lord, I welcome today your eminence, Metropolitan Ioannis, and the other members of the delegation that his holiness Bartholomew I and the Holy Synod of the ecumenical patriarchate have graciously sent for the feast of Sts. Peter and...

Pope Benedict XVI pressed ahead with his appeals for a unified church Thursday as he a celebrated a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica attended by a delegation of Orthodox Christians."We again implore, on this occasion, that such a a gift be granted soon," Benedict said.Benedict has made uniting all Christians and healing the 1,000-year-old rift with the Orthodox a primal goal of his papacy, although he acknowledged key differences.He combined his call for Christian unity with a warning that the Catholic Church was threatened by those seeking to "push it outside the world.""Again the little boat of the church is...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The bishops of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople have expressed concern over Pope Benedict XVI's decision to drop "patriarch of the West" from his official titles in the Vatican yearbook. In a June 8 statement, the chief secretary of the Orthodox bishops' synod said dropping "patriarch of the West" while retaining the titles "vicar of Jesus Christ" and "supreme pontiff of the universal church" is "perceived as implying a universal jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome over the entire church, which is something the Orthodox have never accepted." The statement was issued after synod members...

VIENNA, Austria, MAY 5, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The contribution of Christians is indispensable to restore Europe's soul, Catholics and Orthodox affirmed in an unprecedented meeting on culture in Vienna. "We believe that Christians, preaching the hope brought by Christ's resurrection, united together with people of other faiths and convictions, can help everyone to live in an ethically grounded, just and peaceful society," the participants stated in the final message of the meeting. The three-day meeting ended today. This was the first time that the Holy See organized a symposium such as this with the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow. Cardinal Poupard, president...

Jerusalem, Apr. 13, 2006 (CNA) - The 13 patriarchs and heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem launched in their joint Easter message a powerful appeal for reconciliation between Israel and Palestine and called on the international community not to boycott the Palestinian people by stopping aid, reported AsiaNews. The Christian churches in the Holy Land—Orthodox, Armenian, Latin Catholic, Copt, Syriac, Anglican and Lutheran—will celebrate Easter on April 16 or 23. Their leaders call on their faithful to see the proximity in dates as a sign of the need for greater solidarity and shared witness of the resurrection of Jesus. “It...

"Love Cannot Fail to Be a Short Cut to Full Communion" VATICAN CITY, MARCH 15, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a text of the address Benedict XVI gave Feb. 27 to a group of priests and seminarians from the Theological College of the Apostoliki Diakonia of the Greek Orthodox Church. * * * Consistory Hall Your Excellency, Most Reverend Archimandrites, Priests, Seminarians and all those taking part in the "study visit" to Rome, As I welcome you with joy and gratitude on the occasion of the initiative of this visit to Rome, I would like to recall an exhortation that St....

Archbishop Christodoulos yesterday displayed composure, and even humor, following a bomb hoax that disrupted a session of the Holy Synod in Athens as Church sources revealed that he is preparing for a visit to the Vatican aimed at bridging the divide between the Orthodox and Catholic churches.An anonymous telephone call, warning that a bomb had been planted at the church of Moni Petraki in Kolonaki, where the Synod was in session, initially provoked panic and caused attendant clerics to evacuate the building until police turned up, searched the area and established that the call had been a hoax. Christodoulos subsequently...

POPE Benedict has dropped one of his nine official titles, giving up "Patriarch of the West" in a discreet step apparently intended to help promote closer ties with the Orthodox churches of the East. Benedict will retain titles such as Vicar of Jesus Christ and Servant of the Servants of God, but the patriarch title will not appear in the Vatican's directory, Church officials said yesterday. The Pope has stressed his desire to improve ties with the Orthodox churches, which split from Rome in 1054. "The patriarchate of the West was contrasted with that of the East," Cardinal Achille Silvestrini,...

Relic of St. Andrew Given to Greek Orthodox Church Cardinal Etchegaray Presents the Donation in Rome VATICAN CITY, FEB. 27, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A Vatican official turned over a relic of the Apostle Andrew to a representative of Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens, who had requested it. Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, retired president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, gave the relic to Greek Orthodox Bishop Agathangelos on Sunday during a ceremony at Transfiguration Parish in Rome. The donated relic will be taken to Athens this week and displayed for veneration by the faithful in the Orthodox Church of...

Vatican City, Feb. 27, 2006 (CNA) - At noon today, Pope Benedict XVI met with a group of priests and seminarians visiting as representatives of the Orthodox Church of Greece. He told them that as the culture of Europe and the world become increasingly hostile to the Christian faith, Catholics and Orthodox must work together to spread the Gospel message. The papal visitors came from the Theological College of "Apostoliki Diakonia", as well as the University of Athens.Following a brief personal meeting, the Pope consigned a written message to the group, in which, he laments that "For we Christians of...

TARPON SPRINGS -- The spiritual leader of the world's 200 million-plus Orthodox Christians said Thursday that he is eager to meet with Pope Benedict XVI sometime in the coming year in an effort to heal the long-standing rift between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. Visiting this heavily Greek community northwest of Tampa for the annual Feast of the Epiphany celebration, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I told reporters that the pope plans an official visit sometime this year to his headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey. "We are in very good relationships with the present pope, Benedict XVI, and I'm in the very...

Gun Owners of America has been circulating an article critical of NRA for endorsing PA Senator Arlen Specter. This article starts out with the outrageous line... "...Gun Owners of America makes the National Rifle Association look like Neville Chamberlain at Munich..." This represents hypocrisy on a grand scale. In 1998, GOA and their parent organization, the Gun-Owners of California (GOC existed first) both enthusiastically endorsed then CA Attorney General Republican Dan Lungren for governor over Democrat Gray Davis. In hindsight, most would probably respond "Of course", but the facts need to be examined just a little closer than that. You...

>> ATF NIGHT is pleased to present Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate > Aaron Russo Thursday, April 15, 2004 Cocktail Hour: 6:30 pm Dinner and Presentation: 7:30 pm San Gennaro Cafe 9535 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA >"Many of my friends like to say -- and I tend to agree with them -- that the Second Amendment should have been the First Amendment. It is upon the right to keep and bear arms that all our other rights depend. A right that we're not able or allowed to defend is no right at all." --- Aaron >The 3rd Thursday evening of...

"If you continue to do what you've always done, you'll continue to get what you've always got!" As Patriots and supporters of the Constitution and especially the Second Amendment, aren't we all tired of fighting an uphill battle just attempting to limit the erosion of our rights? We spend our time and treasure burning ourselves out, not working at EXPANDING our Rights, but just trying to stem the damage done by those working to destroy our Rights. Perhaps it's time for us to try a new approach; an aggressive approach in which we go on the OFFENSE, aimed at FULLY...

Tom McClintock Suppots the Liberty Belles Pro-Second Amendment Organization!!!! Liberty Belles' newest Honorary Members, Lori McClintock and Senator Tom McClintock. Also pictured, Liberty-Belles Founders Jennifer Freeman and Anna Zetchus Raetz. Candidate for California Governor Tom McClintock has been awarded an honorary Lifetime Membership in the Liberty Belles, as acknowledgement of his unwavering support of our Second Amendment Rights. Read the entire story and learn more about the Liberty Belles here.

Will He . . . ? Won't He . . . ? Find out for yourself, and meet in person the outstanding pro-Second Amendment State Senator and Candidate for Governor TOM McCLINTOCK at"ATF Night" in Culver City, CA!!!! FREE ADMISSION - PRIZES This is sure to be a Standing Room Only event! Come as early as possible in order to be sure you get a good seat! (Be sure to read "1st Debate" article at end of this post). "ATF Night" (A Pro-Gun Social Event) Thursday, September 18, 2003 6:30 PM No Host Cocktail Hour / 7:30 PM Program Begins...

Don’t Miss this FUN & EXCITING Evening! This is a FREE event! Nationally Renowned Second Amendment Activistand Advocate for Homeless Veterans Ted Hayes Mr. Hayes will speak to us on how we ALL can more effectively communicate our message of Freedom, Rights, and Responsibilities in order to sway Public Opinion to our way of thinking, and make the General Public aware of WHAT the Second Amendment IS, and WHY it is so VERY IMPORTANT to EVERY resident of our state. Thursday, June 19, 2003 "ATF Night" (A Pro-Gun Social Event) 6:30 PM No Host Cocktail Hour / 7:30 PM Program...

ANOTHER Pro2A Org. Bites the Dust! Hear how we can stop this from happening again Th. Eve, May 15With the recent demise of Citizens of America - one of the most honest, sincere and flat-out smart approaches to making the general public aware of just how important our Second Amendment Rights are to EVERY citizen - it is time for us to reconsider what approaches we are using to change the tide of anti-gun, anti-freedom fervor, and ask ourselves (since we're certainly all working "hard" enough) are we working "smart" enough? Please Join Us this Thursday Evening at: "ATF Night"...

Please Join Us this Thursday Evening at: "ATF Night" - a PRO-Gun Social Gathering Thursday, April 17, 2003 The San Gennaro Cafe - Culver City, CA 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM ("Cocktail" hour from 6:30 - 7:30 PM) FREE Admission You've Seen the Movie . . . You've Read the Book . . . Now Hear from One Who Was Actually There . . . LZ Xray . . . In November 1965, 450 U.S. soldiers were dropped into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers . . . LZ Albany...