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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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The Vatican press office issued a communiqué today with the conclusions of the meeting of the Special Council for Africa of the Synod of Bishops' General Secretariat, held in Rome on Feb. 15-16.
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The musical composition, "The Passion According to Matthew," will be presented in Rome on March 29 in an auditorium next to the Vatican.
It was composed by Bishop Hilarion Alfeev of Vienna and Austria, representative of the Russian Orthodox Church of Moscow to the European Community.
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Encourage Members to Respect Parishes and Liturgies
JERUSALEM, FEB. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Catholic bishops of the Holy Land wrote a letter welcoming the Neocatechumenal Way, giving indications for its work in the area.
"Brothers and sisters of the Way: You are welcome in our dioceses," the bishops wrote in their letter released Sunday. "We thank God for the grace the Lord has given you and for the charism that the Holy Spirit has infused in the Church through your ministry of post-baptismal formation.
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English translation by Igor Radev
Beijing - At the Orthodox parish of the Dormition of Most Holy Mother of God on the grounds of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in PRC in the city of Beijing during the entire first week of Great Lent, Divine Services were celebrated in the Red Fangzi building. On an invitation from the parishioners, priest Alexy Kiselevich from Shanghai arrived.
February 19-22—on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the first week, the evening service was celebrated accompanied with the reading of the Great Canon of Repentance by St Andrew of Crete. The services were attended by the employees of the Russian Embassy in the People's Republic of China as well as by the Orthodox believers living in Beijing.
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Aid to the Church in Need Is Marking 60th Anniversary
MOSCOW, FEB. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II congratulated Aid to the Church in Need and its president, Hans Peter Röthlin, on its 60th anniversary.The Germany-based international Catholic charity reported the letter from the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia today.
The "selfless help for the Church in difficult material situations has gained the charity high respect and recognition in the whole Christian world," the Orthodox patriarch wrote. "I myself remember with joy the personal encounters, in 1992 and 1994, with the founder of the international charity, Father Werenfried van Straaten."
Aid to the Church in Need, which has national offices in 17 countries, is under the authority of the Holy See.
In his letter, Alexy II expresses his gratitude for the "inestimable help" with which Father van Straaten assisted the Russian Orthodox Church "to find a normal life after so many years of persecution under an atheist regime."
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"Problems and Prospects"
ROME, FEB. 24, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the speech delivered in English by the theologian for the Pontifical Household, Dominican Father Wojciech Giertych, at the conclusion of the international congress on natural law organized by the Pontifical Lateran University.The congress was entitled "The Moral Natural Law: Problems and Prospects," and took place Feb. 12-14.
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New Prospects for the Application of the Natural Moral Law
1) Difficulty with question
I have been asked to speak today about new prospects for the application of the natural moral law. I have some difficulty with this question as it was proposed to me.
What is it that the organizers of today's conference are hoping for? Does the question maybe suggest a hidden deception caused by the widespread rejection of the concept of the natural moral law in the ethical culture of the Western world? Is the invitation to speak on this topic a desperate call to hope that the theory of the natural moral law will once more be universally recognized as valid and useful? Are we really seeing signs of a new renaissance in which the theory of the natural law is being excavated not as a mere archaeological artifact of a past metaphysical period of history, but as a useful tool enabling us to explain and justify the needed foundations of morality, and is it really my task to announce this rediscovery with joy?