Orthodixie

Catholic bishops say no to married priests

On the tough questions of priestly celibacy and communion for divorced and remarried Catholics, 256 bishops from all over the world voted to maintain the status quo. In one of the 50 “propositions” submitted to Pope Benedict XVI to help him write an encyclical on the Eucharist, the bishops “affirmed the importance of the inestimable gift of priestly celibacy in the Latin church.” The bishops further said that the proposal to appoint Catholic married men of good reputation — described in the Latin debates as “viri probati” — was “not a path to follow.”

Prelates in favor of rethinking the disciplinary rule of barring priests from marrying argued that it might encourage more young men to enter the priesthood. The Orthodox Church allows priests to marry, but those who do are not eligible to become bishops. Defenders of priestly celibacy concentrated on its symbolic nature. Speaking in the synod during one of its sessions, Cardinal Pell called it “the witness to loving sacrifice, and to the reality of the Last Things, and the rewards of Heaven.” Pope Benedict XVI endorsed the majority view Sunday when he called on priests to remain “faithful” to their vow of celibacy, which he said was “a precious gift.”

MORE.

Winking Jesus
“The message of the statue is, he’s telling the people I’m here for you,” explains Dones. “This ain’t about the statue. It’s about the word of God, and he wants the people together. It was a sign for the people. It was broken, both eyes were closed, then one eye opened. This happened by fate, to show the right way.”

Julio “Sly” Dones has always been a deeply religious man. He’s dedicated his life to maintaining his shrine of artificial flowers, photographs and statues of the Virgin Mother, Saint Anthony and Jesus Christ. The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue is about a year old; Dones salvaged it from a Dumpster in Jersey City.

Born legally blind, Dones sees very little out of his right eye and even less out of the left one, which stays mostly shut – just like the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue.

Glimpse more HERE.

Father-like, God tends and spares us,

Well our feeble frame he knows;

Mother-like, God gently bears us,

Rescues us from all our foes.

Alleluia, alleluia! Widely yet God’s mercy flows.

Go HERE for more (e.g., On Turkey’s Wings: “I will raise you up on turkey’s wings, la de da and la de da”).

Et cetera.

Gorbachev becomes Archon of the Patriarchate of Constantinople

According to Anthony Limberakis, National Commander of the Order of St.Andrew the Apostle, the ex-president was given the honorary title as ‘a baptized Russian Orthodox Christian’ who played a key role in ‘adopting the law that guaranteed religious freedom in the former USSR’.

Each archon has to make a sworn oath at his investiture ‘to defend and promote the Greek Orthodox faith and tradition’ and, in particular, ‘to protect and promote the Holy Patriarchate and its mission’. The statute says that this honour is bestowed upon individuals of ‘proven Christian character’, who ‘conform faithfully to the teachings of Christ, and the doctrines, canons, worship, discipline, and encyclicals of the Church’.

The STORY.

The Orange Peel, Asheville’s “Social Aid & Pleasure Club,” is also a church.

ASHEVILLE – It’s not the church your mother took you to. Highland Christian Church is a nondenominational organization of Christ followers that encourages celebration of life through love, loyalty and friendship. And it’s making its presence known in new and innovative ways.

The Orange Peel nightclub serves as the locale. A typical Sunday morning service may include music, dance, theater, film and always lots of humor. Children receive a kid’s pack contains items such as crayons, paper and other materials related to the service of the day. The services are interactive, and people are encouraged to participate in a variety of ways.

Their mission is to encourage people to remember what really matters in life – sitting on the front-porch swing and talking with family, pulling on some favorite slippers and settling down with a good book, or sharing thoughts and ideas while gathered around the dinner table.

More Pics HERE.

Full S T O R Y.

The Russian Government is planning to remove Lenin’s embalmed body from Moscow’s Red Square and give it a decent burial in some cemetery. It is time the ideologue, after lying for 80 years in Red Square, following in the footsteps of the ideology was given a grave, too. Mikhail Gorbachev, who presided over the demise of Lenin’s USSR in 1991, has cautioned Kremlin against undue haste in burying Lenin. But President Vladimir Putin feels Russia is already late. His predecessor Boris Yeltsin had also brought such a proposal during his tenure but could not persuade the Russians.

Lenin’s corpse lies encased in a glass box for public viewing. He is perhaps the world’s only dead man for whom suits are still tailored. But his embalmed body occasionally sprouts fungi and needs medical attention. His admirers say he is resting in peace, but others find him ghastly. Mikhalov,no doubt, is a Russian Orthodox who wants Lenin to be buried beside his mother’s grave in St Petersburg ‘as Lenin had wanted it’. No one is sure whether Lenin wanted a Christian burial or cremation.

This story is worth reading … lest we forget.

Russia is literally dying. From a population peak in 1992 of 148 million, it will be down to below 130 million by 2015 and thereafter dropping to perhaps 50 or 60 million by the end of the century, a third of what it was at the fall of the Soviet Union. It needn’t decline at a consistent rate, of course. But I’d say it’s more likely to be even lower than 50 million than it is to be over 100 million. The longer Russia goes without arresting the death spiral, the harder it is to pull out of it, and when it comes to the future most Russian women are voting with their foetus: 70 per cent of pregnancies are aborted. …

Scoop.