Gloria TV News on the Feast of Blessed Joachima.

The Mountains Are Awaiting the Pope

Vatican

In July, Pope Benedict XVI will spend two weeks vacationing in the Italian Alps at Les Combes in the Valle d'Aosta region. It is the same cabin he used for his summer vacation in 2005 and 2006. The Holy Father will be in the mountains from July 13 to July 29. The remainder of the summer he will spend at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. During his time at Les Combes the Pope will only hold brief Angelus audiences at midday on Sundays.

Almost anti-Catholic

Canada

Lawyers for Loyola High School in Montreal have argued that Quebec’s new mandatory Ethics and Religious Cultures course constitutes “normative pluralism”. Therefore the lawyers are asking that the school be exempt from the requirement to offer the course. Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, has described the program as “almost anti-Catholic.”

Bishop Fellay in Rome

Vatican

Bishop Bernard Fellay had last week an appointment in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome. Fellay is the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X. Roman sources take this as a sign that the discussions between the Vatican and the Priestly Society continue.

The American Civil Liberties Union Fights Against the Cross

USA

The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking to have the eight-foot War Memorial Cross in California’s Mojave Desert removed. The Cross was erected in 1934 by Veterans “in Memory of the Dead of All Wars,” as the plaque reads. The Civil Liberties Union is arguing that the Cross violates the First Amendment, breaching the separation of Church and state. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed. Opposing organizations argue that a monument should be permissible if it, first, “comports with history,” and second, “does not objectively coerce participation in a religious exercise or activity.” Now, is to the US Supreme Court to decide the fate of the Cross.

Another saying for the soul by Nicolas Gomez

“Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference to the unique values which created it.”