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Union of Orthodox Citizens appeals to Alexy II to break all relations with the Vatican and start missionary work in Europe and America Moscow, August 23, Interfax - As the Uniates have become more active in Ukraine the Orthodox public have appealed to Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia to end all relations with the Roman Catholic Church and begin missionary work in Europe and America. ‘It is necessary to accept in the fold of the Orthodox Church all the Old Catholic communities who wish to join it, to establish a Russian Orthodox school for training Latin-rite clergy for...

So, the Icon of Kazan — or one of many copies of it — has been returned to Moscow as an "ecumenical" gesture, and the results for Christian unity, quite predictably, are these: nothing and none. As CWNews reported on August 30, 2004: "As a Vatican delegation restored a precious icon to the Russian Orthodox Church, in a heavily anticipated August 28 ceremony, the Holy See emphasized the importance of the gesture, while the Russian Patriarchate downplayed it." Did this surprise anyone? In his message accompanying the Icon, the Pope insisted that "this sacred icon appears as a symbol of...

Vatican makes gesture to Russia AP Vatican City: Pope John Paul II presided at a special prayer service yesterday for an icon he is returning to Russia, expressing his hopes that the gesture will improve relations between Roman Catholics and Russian Orthodox Christians. John Paul had been hoping to return the Mother of God of Kazan icon himself and become the first pope to visit Russia, but tensions between the churches have prevented such a trip. The 32-by-26-centimetre icon, which has hung in the pope's private chapel since 1993, was carried into a Vatican auditorium in a procession and kissed...

NEWS: August 19, 2004 Bird’s Eye View of the News Atila Sinke Guimarães KAZAN, THE END OF STORY – The holy icon of Our Lady of Kazan, which was being used as a pawn by John Paul II to win a visit to Russia, will be delivered to the Russian Schismatic Church without the visit. The unconditional decision of the Pope was announced June 10 and will become a reality on August 28. Navarro-Valls, spokesman for the Pope, said JPII hopes that this gift will improve the dialogue. A commission is being appointed to deliver the icon to Alexis...

Oscar Honors a Nazi March 1, 2004 Hitler’s favorite propagandist has finally been rehabilitated. At Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, Hollywood gave Leni Riefenstahl its kosher seal of approval. As it does every year, the Oscars ceremony paid homage and tribute to all of the great actors, directors, composers, and other showbiz types who passed on in the previous year. But along with recently deceased legends like Bob Hope, Gregory Peck, Donald O’Connor, Robert Stack, Buddy Hackett -- and even John Ritter, Ms. Riefenstahl was so honored. Incredibly, the Hollywood audience in attendance gave loud applause in response to the televised...

Elia Kazan is dead. The brilliant director and story teller who incurred the hatred of the Hollywood left has passed on to what I hope is a far better place. But for many of us he will not only be remembered for his art but also as a courageous man who fearlessly stood his ground against La-La Land's undercurrent of Stalinism and its mindless support of anti-American causes. Even in death his critics cannot leave well alone. Writing in Murdoch's Australian Rosalie Higson accused him of "extreme measures to avoid being black-listed in the '50s" (Master of the Method 30/9)....

When Elia Kazan was presented a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1999, he closed his speech - and the door to his confounding life - with the words "I think I can just slip away." And now he has. Kazan died Sunday in his Manhattan home at the age of 94. Besides his indelible work as a theater director, Kazan leaves behind conflicting legacies as one of postwar Hollywood's most important filmmakers and one of its biggest finks. A former member of the Communist Party USA, Kazan wilted before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952 and named names. Afterward, he...

A Conflict of Loyalties David C. Stolinsky, M.D. Tuesday, June 10, 2003 What do Linda Tripp, Elia Kazan and G. Gordon Liddy have in common? At first glance, one would say “nothing.” Tripp “betrayed” her friend Monica Lewinsky by taping their phone conversations. Kazan “named names” to a congressional committee investigating Communists in Hollywood. Liddy “hung tough” and refused to talk about his associates in the Watergate burglary and, as a result, served five years in federal prison. The tape-recording friend, the anti-Communist film director and the conservative talk show host seem an unlikely trio. But they have something important...