Pope Benedictus XVI received yesterday Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati who was on a visit to the Vatican for the first time. Prime Minister Mikati communicated to the Pope an official invitation from President Michel Sleiman to visit Lebanon. The Vatican did not say whether the pope would accept the invitation but […]
Maronite Patriarch Bechara el-Rai delivered a very important speech on Sunday on the government’s obligations towards the international community and especially regarding the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He said during his Sunday sermon: "We warn against failing to respect international obligations and we hold the officials responsible for the dangerous repercussions […]
MEA Pilots are delaying outgoing flight to protest a decision taken by MEA’s administratiojn to fire a pilot who wa diagnosed with cancer. The pilots union said in a statement on Friday that all Middle East Airlines flights departing between 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm to the Gulf will be delayed by two hours […]
Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Monday the importance of launching dialogue with Muslims amid the developments in the region. “We are looking forward to cooperate and launch dialogue with the Muslims … We are reaching for them to overcome challenges and difficulties in the East,” al-Rahi said at the opening of the […]
By Michael Terheyden
In a shocking turn of events on November 11, 2011, Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois announced that it intends to split from the Belleville diocese and offer adoptions and foster-care services to homosexuals and unmarried heterosexual couples in direct opposition to Church teaching.
NOXVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) – In a previous article titled "Catholic Charities Forced to Shut Down Services around the Country," I informed readers about the state of Illinois using the homosexual agenda to attack Catholic Charities. Now, one of the worst developments that could happen has happened: Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois has succumbed to the pressure of the secular state and its homosexual agenda and intends to split from the Diocese of Belleville.
It began with the implementation of the "Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act," which went into effect this past summer in Illinois. This law allows homosexuals and unmarried heterosexual couples to adopt children and become foster parents under the guise of tolerance. However, the law has absolutely nothing to do with tolerance or religious freedom. We know this because the state could easily allow secular and religious adoption and foster-care programs to coexist, but it does not want to. Instead, the state is forcing all adoption agencies operating in Illinois to place children into these promiscuous relationships or shut down.
Consequently, Catholic Charities from three Illinois dioceses–Springfield, Joliet and Peoria–filed a lawsuit against the state. Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois in the Belleville diocese later joined the suit. However, state officials found a way to thwart the lawsuit by cancelling Catholic Charities’ 40-year contract to provide services in Illinois, thus rendering the suit moot. This forced Bishops in three of the Illinois dioceses to drop their lawsuit against the state and shut down their adoption and foster-care programs.
The Catholic Church supports adult stem cell research and opposes embryonic stem cell research. Human embryonic stem cell research is always deadly. A human embryo is not distinct in kind from a human being, but a human being at an early stage of development. "Extracting" their stem cells is a form of embryonic execution. Efforts to promote the tired old "Catholic Church is against science" argument is perpetuated by those who do not like the Catholic Church’s uncompromising defense of the dignity of all human life, at every age and stage.
VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) – Last week the Pontifical Council for Culture – in collaboration with NeoStem, Inc. and its educational foundation – cosponsored an important conference entitled "Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture." The Pontifical Council is involved in a 5-year, $1 million partnership with NeoStem, Inc. to promote research involving adult stem cells and their potential use in medical treatments.
Adult Stem Cell research is fully supported by the Catholic Church. Vatican Information Services reported last June that " international biopharmaceutical company NeoStem Inc. and the Pontifical Council for Culture have announced a joint initiative between their charitable organizations to expand research and raise awareness of adult stem cell therapies.
"NeoStem’s Stem for Life Foundation, formed to create awareness about the promise of adult stem cells to treat disease, and the pontifical council’s STOQ Foundation (Science Theology and the Ontological Quest), will work to advance research on adult stem cells, to explore their clinical applicability in the field of regenerative medicine, and the cultural relevance of such research especially with its impact on theological and ethical issues".
The Pontifical Council for Culture through its charitable foundation STOQ International made an economic commitment of one million dollars to this collaboration with NeoStem, an international biopharmaceutical company with operations in the US and China.
اكد البطريرك الماروني مار بشارة بطرس الراعي في افتتاح المؤتمر العشرين لمجلس بطاركة الشرق الكاثوليك ان موضوع هذا المؤتمر هو أن نجعل الكنيسة الكاثوليكيّة في هذا الشرق شركة ومحبة، ويقتضي ان نتناول فيه تباعا 3 مواضيع: اولا الوجود المسيحي في هذا الشرق لان الوجود هو الأساس وهذا الوجود يتجزأ الى اثنين: الحضور الحسي يعني […]
Change and Reform bloc MP Farid Khazen said on Friday that “the situation in Syria entered a dangerous and complicated phase, especially after the Arab League’s decision to suspend its membership.” Khazen also told the Voice of Lebanon (93.3) radio that “Lebanon is the country affected the most by the developments in […]
"The InterContinental Phoenicia was IHG’s first hotel in the MENA region, it opened in December 1961. It was designed by the American architect Edward Durell Stone, with Levantine influences evident in its high ceilings, sweeping staircases and palatial pillars." Check more pictures by visiting this [Link].
Despite having lost the voting for becoming one of the new 7 wonders, Jeita Grotto was able to unite all Lebanese, regardless of their political affiliation, religion or differences in a remarkable manner. No matter how minor this voting was, the campaign for recognition of the national icon crossed sectarian lines and brought people […]