Living Water Launched: H2onews.org now on-line

H2onews, the much-anticipated and much discussed multimedia news service, once erroneously dubbed the "CNN of the Pope", can now be viewed by all at www.h2onews.org.

Yours truly is serving as the English edition editor and my husband Tony is the Arabic editor (there are 8 language editions, including Chinese).

Happy Birthday, H2o!

Christmas gifts for Catholic Coffee Lovers (ahem)

http://www.mysticmonkcoffee.com/Christmas.html

This unabashed advertising and marketing of their image by "real" monks cracks me up. I just can't resist it so if any generous souls out there want to feed my coffee addiction and send me a Christmas basket from the entrepreneurial monks in California, I won't turn it away. And it's fair trade coffee so it's for a good cause, too! :)

I'll let you know if the product lives up to its promise, or if you really just have to be a Capuchin to brew good beans.

Viva Italia!

For an insightful assesment of Italy's current malaise read this article in the NYT.

Picture: Creative Commons

La Bella Figura

Film-maker Zeffirelli vows to help Pope with image

Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:43am EST

ROME (Reuters) - Italian film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli is offering his services to Pope Benedict as an image consultant, saying the German pontiff comes across as cold and needs to review his wardrobe.

Zeffirelli, acclaimed for movies such as "Romeo and Juliet" and "Jesus of Nazareth," said in an interview with la Stampa daily on Saturday the 80-year-old pope did not have "a happy image."

"Coming after a media-savvy pope like John Paul II is a difficult task ... Benedict XVI still communicates coldly, in a way that is not suited with what is happening around him," Zeffirelli said.

"It's an issue I have been discussing with people who have key roles in the Vatican," said Zeffirelli, who has directed some Vatican television events.

"The Pope does not smile much, but he is an intellectual. He has a very rigid Bavarian structure," he said.

Zeffirelli, 84, added that papal robes were "too sumptuous and flashy." "What is needed is the simplicity and sobriety seen in the other echelons of the Church," he said.

Zeffirelli said he was in regular contact with the Pope's closest aides and had also made proposals to "defend the image of faith in cinema, the image of the sacred."

"The Holy See intends to pay a lot more attention to this," he said.

He said today's religious films were "a horror that the Holy See does not know how to stop.

"I am a Christian down to the depths of my spirit. I can't stand by while this disaster unfolds. I am available to put myself at the service of the Church," he said.

"If they officially give me a supervisory role, I will do it full-time."

The Vatican was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Photo: Creative Commons

The Baabda Bombing

The assasination of General El-Hajj by bombing took place in my in-law's town, just down the road from their home, but are all well, thanks be to God. Baabda is usually spared such violence, though the President's palace (currently vacant!) is located here, and several other VIPs reside here as well.

Holy Father Hoping for Solution in Lebanon
Expresses Sorrow at Death of General Hajj

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says he is praying that Lebanese leaders have the strength and courage to seek the common good for their nation, above personal interests.

The Pope affirmed this in a message sent on his behalf by his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, president of the assembly of the patriarchs and Catholic bishops of Lebanon and patriarch of Antioch. The papal message was sent to offer condolences at the death of a 54-year-old Maronite general who was killed Wednesday in a car bomb explosion.

General François el-Hajj and his chauffer died when a vehicle loaded with bombs exploded in the path of the general's car. Hajj was set to succeed General Michel Sleiman, the leader of Lebanon's army, who is a candidate for the presidency. Lebanon has not had a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down on Nov. 23 and the country has not been able to agree on a successor.

In the message to Cardinal Sfeir, the Pope expressed his "deepest condolences and affectionate solicitude and his deep communion in the test which once more strikes Lebanon in these difficult and delicate times for the future of the country.The Holy Father entrusts the deceased to divine mercy and implores the Almighty to offer his consolation to their families, the wounded and everyone touched by this act of unjustified violence."

Likewise, the message added, the Pope"asks the Lord to give those responsible for public life and the Lebanese people the interior strength and courage to find, beyond particular interests, the path of unity and reconciliation so the country can progress in peace and stability and that it may be for everyone a 'message' fraternity and coexistence."

photo: creative commons

Sanity prevails in Sudan...

...but what became of the teddy bear?

photo: creative commons

The latest happenings at the Vatican

In a place where history is made quite literally every day, some historic developments have been happening at the Vatican lately, even by Vatican standards.

The latest consistory elevated several fascinating clergymen to the "rank" of Cardinal, including Iraqi Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly.

Delly is an ideal example of someone who has earned the status of a "prince of the Church" on account of his sacrifice and service. Delly has stayed in Iraq throughout the war, despite continual risk to his life, and has endured witnessing the flight, persecution, and slaughter of the flock he serves, and of course his fellow countrymen in general. It was a particularly poignant act when Benedict placed the red birreta on Delly's head, symbolic of the offering of the honoree's life for the Church- even unto death. Delly has lost several of his bravest priests, all of whom he would have been very close to. Let us pray he will be spared this ultimate "martyrdom"- in the true sense of the word.

Here is an article on the consistory and Delly by Phil Pullela.

Also this week, Benedict issued a much anticipated response, through Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone, to the "Common Word" statement by 138 Muslim leaders. Notably, he refers to it as a common commitment, rather than word, which could be theologically problematic. Here is the response in full:

* RISPOSTA DEL SANTO PADRE** *

His Royal Highness
Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal
The Royal Palace
Amman
Jordan

From the Vatican, November 19, 2007

Your Royal Highness,

On 13 October 2007 an open letter addressed to His Holiness Pope Benedict
XVI and to other Christian leaders was signed by one hundred and
thirty-eight Muslim religious leaders, including Your Royal Highness. You,
in turn, were kind enough to present it to Bishop Salim Sayegh, Vicar of the
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in Jordan, with the request that it be
forwarded to His Holiness.

The Pope has asked me to convey his gratitude to Your Royal Highness and to
all who signed the letter. He also wishes to express his deep appreciation
for this gesture, for the positive spirit which inspired the text and for
the call for a common commitment to promoting peace in the world.

Without ignoring or downplaying our differences as Christians and Muslims,
we can and therefore should look to what unites us, namely, belief in the
one God, the provident Creator and universal Judge who at the end of time
will deal with each person according to his or her actions. We are all
called to commit ourselves totally to him and to obey his sacred will.

Mindful of the content of his Encyclical Letter *Deus Caritas Est* ("God is
Love"), His Holiness was particularly impressed by the attention given in
the letter to the twofold commandment to love God and one's neighbour.

As you may know, at the beginning of his Pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI
stated: "I am profoundly convinced that we must not yield to the negative
pressures in our midst, but must affirm the values of mutual respect,
solidarity and peace. The life of every human being is sacred, both for
Christians and for Muslims. There is plenty of scope for us to act together
in the service of fundamental moral values" (*Address to Representatives of
Some Muslim Communities*, Cologne, 20 August 2005). Such common ground
allows us to base dialogue on effective respect for the dignity of every
human person, on objective knowledge of the religion of the other, on the
sharing of religious experience and, finally, on common commitment to
promoting mutual respect and acceptance among the younger generation. The
Pope is confident that, once this is achieved, it will be possible to
cooperate in a productive way in the areas of culture and society, and for
the promotion of justice and peace in society and throughout the world.

With a view to encouraging your praiseworthy initiative, I am pleased to
communicate that His Holiness would be most willing to receive Your Royal
Highness and a restricted group of signatories of the open letter, chosen by
you. At the same time, a working meeting could be organized between your
delegation and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, with the
cooperation of some specialized Pontifical Institutes (such as the
Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies and the Pontifical
Gregorian University). The precise details of these meetings could be
decided later, should this proposal prove acceptable to you in principle.

I avail myself of the occasion to renew to Your Royal Highness the assurance
of my highest consideration.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
Secretary of State

Pray for Lebanon

The news out of Lebanon is that, by midnight tonight, the rival political factions must choose a new president, who must be a Maronite in accordance with the constitution (long story). This could be the event to set off renewed civil warfare, which is why it has been repeatedly postponed, so Lebanon needs lots of prayers today.

photo: flickr.com

In honor of Thanksgiving...

...here's something I am really thankful for, the gift of the life and witness of John Paul II, captured in a new video documentary: http://www.youtube.com/user/officialsantosubito

The First Snowfall...And All is New

What is it about the first snowfall of the season that makes us as giddy as children, inspiring us to run out in the cold in our pajamas (or, in Maya's case, in a Hawaian print catsuit and checkered apron)? I suppose it's the beauty of seeing the old and the ordinary instantly made new and extraordinary, blanketed in an undisturbed, unmuddied shroud of clean white. The expression "as pure as snow" reflects a view of the first snowfall as a purification of the bleak and brown late Autumn landscape. Snow announces the departure of the last season and the arrival of another. The first sight of the world in white provokes an awed silence, and a feeling akin to being in love, in love with nature and the world in general. As the new snow melts into mush and the car exhaust creates small mountains of shoveled up black sludge along the streets, the love affairs can often turn bitter, along with the cold. In honor of this love/hate relationship so many of us have with winter, here's a link to some poetic comments I heard on New Hampshire Public Radio recently by a local writer, entitled "The Plows".

"...and the world becomes like a new sculpture of itself..."