- Exchange Religious Houses
Call it hands across the religious borders. Temple, Emanuel in Broward County, Florida, the oldest Jewish congregation founded in 1926 will share its house of worship with a Caribbean Christian congregation only 8 years old. Pastor Hylton and Rabbi Maline will give sermons at each other's services, among exchange programs.
- Pope John Paul II's New Cardinals
Because of his serious health problems and signs that his end is near, he created 31 new cardinals. There are195 cardinals but only 135 with the right to vote. Only cardinals below the age of 80 may do so. There are 66 European and 14 North American cardinals and 24 Latin Americans, 18 from Asia and Oceania and 13 Africans.
- Berlin and Vienna Synagogues
Although the Jewish communities are small in Berlin and Vienna, many programs and religious services have developed over the Holocaust years.
Walking tours are possible if you visit these cities. Both cities have experienced an influx of Jews from the former Soviet states, but the cultural comeback has been slower. Even the unique bagel has only recently become popular.
The famous synagogue in Berlin set on fire on Kristallnacht (night of broken glass) in 1938 when the official Nazi terror began and finally wrecked by a British bombing in 1942 was restored in 1995. Many tourists pack the synagogue services.
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Mel Gibson's Film Controversy
The National director, Abraham Foxman, Anti-Defamation League, New York, expressed concerns about Gibson's film. He said, "the ADL would like to be assured that the film will not give rise to the old canard charging Jews with deicide and to Anti-Semitism."
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Vatican City Website
After eight years on line, the Vatican's vast website has established itself as the most popular Catholic site on the Internet and its offerings are in continual expansion. The website- www.vatican.va receives donations and grants to run the website.
The website has been averaging about 2 million daily hits. Officials expect this year to exceed 4 million requests. The Vatican's Internet Office has moved to spacious new quarters in a Vatican building outside the Vatican Walls.
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The Burial Box of Jesus' Brother
The ossuary or burial box recently discovered in Israel holds an inscription once though to refer to the remains of James, brother of Jesus has been declared a hoax by some archaelogists.
There is much controversy about this problem. Our Dialogue Today magazine will discuss this subject in great details in our next issue.
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Argentine Jews
Argentina is still a struggle for thousands of Jews in what was once South America's most prosperous nation.
Unfortunately 35 percent of the country's 200,000 Jews live below the poverty line. Unemployment is well over 20 percent. Argentine Jews have appealed to American Jews for financial assistance.
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Ancient Convent Discovered
Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a monastic complex believed to be a convent used from the fifth to eighth centuries.
Archaeologists believe that some 20 nuns and novices lived in the convent. They found coins, medallions, earthenware, small glass bottles and clay oil lamps. Several pieces of an altar and lectern-were discovered. The complex included a kitchen, dining room, two watch towers, an olive press, two underground wells and an underground storage area.
The skeletons of the nuns were found in the underground crypt. The excavations were discovered during military exercises in the Jerusalem area.
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Anti-Catholicism in America
Fr. Mark Massa, S.J. wrote a book on anti-catholocism in the United States from World War II to the present. He speaks of problems such as Planned Parenthood to anti-catholic movies like Dogma and Stigmata. Areas like Jack Chick (ant-catholic cartoon publishing empire) to certain academic circles are explored and documented.
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Prayer and the Medical Profession
Newsweek (11/10/03) speaks of the power of prayer. It records that 84% of Americans think that praying for the sick improves their chances of recovery; 28% think religion and medicine should be separate. Harvard Medical School will hold a conference on spirituality and health, focusing on the healing effects of forgiveness. There is a tremendous shift and openness to the power of religion and the sick.
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Israel Bashing at Large
Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Mohatir sent shivers down the spine of world Jewry when he made a direct anti-Semitic remark.
Many Jews said that his remarks caused an entire religion and people to be condemned and therefore shows a disguised hatred for all Jews.
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A New Memorial In Vienna
A memorial was erected in the Main Synagogue in the Seitenstetten Temple. This memorial is for the 65,000 Viennese Jews deported to Poland who perished in the Holocaust.
