Have courage to tell truth, Pope tells world media

[emad]

By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in the first formal message to the media of his pontificate, said on Tuesday the media cannot be self-serving or profit-driven but must be accountable for the common good and promote human values.

"Authentic communication demands principled courage and resolve," the Pope said in the message for the Roman Catholic Church's annual World Day of Communications set for May 28.

"It requires a determination of those working in the media not to wilt under the weight of so much information nor even to be content with partial or provisional truths," the Pope said.

"Instead it necessitates both seeking and transmitting what is the ultimate foundation and meaning of human, personal and social existence," he said.

"In this way the media can contribute constructively to the propagation of all that is good and true."

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/1/24/worldupdates/2006-01-24T192149Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-233518-1&sec=Worldupdates

[emad]

1. Maybe these headlines?:

US court won't review Vatican Bank Holocaust suit
17 Jan 2006 15:23:52 GMT

Source: Reuters

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Holocaust survivors on Tuesday to proceed with a lawsuit claiming that the Vatican Bank and a Franciscan religious order profited from property stolen by Croatia's pro-Nazi World War Two government.

The justices declined to review a ruling by a U.S. appeals court that reinstated the suit, which claimed the Order of Friars Minor conspired with the Vatican Bank to facilitate the transfer of gold and other looted valuable assets.

The Holocaust survivors filed the lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco in 1999 accusing the defendants of receiving property stolen from victims of Croatia's brutal Ustasha regime from 1941 to 1945. As many as 700,000 people, mostly Serbs, were killed at death camps run by the regime.

The lawsuit claimed that the stolen property was used after the war to help Nazi war criminals escape from Europe to South America. The class-action lawsuit seeks compensation for the monetary losses suffered by Holocaust survivors.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N09183396.htm

[hlthe2b]

3. Ahh, you've restored my cynisism...

Just when I was going to credit the Ratzinger with something positive. I suspect you are right.

[hlthe2b]

2. Well, on this I can certainly agree with Pope Ratzinger....

(yes, I have major issues with him but I'll give him his due, when appropriate)

[fasttense]

4. Yeah right, like the church tells the truth.

Making abortion out to be a horrible sin so that thousands of girls and women are maimed and die from unsafe and illegal abortions. Like pretending the priests weren't having sex with little boys and girls. Like hiding pedophiles in their ranks so that pedophile clubs encouraged their members to join the priesthood.

He who casts the first stone. I guess he missed that part of the bible.

[crikkett]

5. Tell the truth, but don't violate my copyright.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=214&topic_id=47004
'Vatican invokes papal copyright'

[emad]

6. !*!!!xxxxxxx

Papa Ratzi's "right-hand-woman" Sister Ingrid Stampa (seen here on his right):

has a question or two to answer about his sex 'n' love encyclical.

[Peace Patriot]

7. Well, the Church has a lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ng way to go, to

become a democracy again, as it was in the 1st and 2nd centuries (priests chosen by lots--women, children could preside at Mass; free, open, healthy debate, lots of different views and practices, and a variety of gospels; shared wealth (communism!); and much more--the boot came down in the 5th Century, with the Chalcedon Council*, enforcement of one monolithic doctrine, and the iron wedding of church with state/military power). But I'm glad to hear the Church support at least some progressive views--such as "principled courage and resolve" and promotion of "the common good and human values" in journalism. It was once a very progressive idea, Christianity, believe it or not.

-------------

*(And we no longer need to wonder why Howard Ahmanson--the initial funder of ES&S electronic voting (a spinoff of Diebold, which together control 80% of the vote tabulation in the U.S., with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code) also contributed one million dollars to the modern Chalcedon Foundation. Birds of a feather.) (I'll think I'll do a post on this, connecting 5th Century religious fascism with today's variety. It is no accident that the Chalcdeon Council in 451 AD was followed by one thousand years of ignorance, misery and darkness.)