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DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- An admitted drug dealer with a history of mental illness said he killed four young men after he felt cheated or threatened during three transactions and then burned their bodies at his family's farm, a person with firsthand knowledge of his confession said....
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The closing events of the 125th anniversary of Catholic evangelization in Zambia are taking place on Friday and Saturday this week in Lusaka. The highlight of the anniversay will be the Holy Mass on Saturday to be presided over by Archbishop Teresphore Mpundu, President of Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) at the main arena of the Lusaka Show Grounds. Delegates from the country’s 10 dioceses are taking part in the closing events of the anniversary celebrations which began on 6 August last year under the theme: “The Catholic Church in Zambia, 125 years of God’s Love and Mercy, 1891 – 2016”.Fr. CLIFFORD MULASIKWANDA sent us this report:The Zambia Church Celebrates 125 Years of Catholic FaithLusaka, 12 July 2017The Catholic Church in Zambia will hold a two-day closing event to celebrate the 125 years of Catholic Faith in Zambia. The event will take place at Lusaka, Zambia, at the Lusaka Show Grounds Main arena from 14th to 15th Jul...
The closing events of the 125th anniversary of Catholic evangelization in Zambia are taking place on Friday and Saturday this week in Lusaka. The highlight of the anniversay will be the Holy Mass on Saturday to be presided over by Archbishop Teresphore Mpundu, President of Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) at the main arena of the Lusaka Show Grounds. Delegates from the country’s 10 dioceses are taking part in the closing events of the anniversary celebrations which began on 6 August last year under the theme: “The Catholic Church in Zambia, 125 years of God’s Love and Mercy, 1891 – 2016”.
Fr. CLIFFORD MULASIKWANDA sent us this report:
The Zambia Church Celebrates 125 Years of Catholic Faith
Lusaka, 12 July 2017
The Catholic Church in Zambia will hold a two-day closing event to celebrate the 125 years of Catholic Faith in Zambia. The event will take place at Lusaka, Zambia, at the Lusaka Show Grounds Main arena from 14th to 15th July 2017.
As many as 2000 delegates, coming from all the 10 Catholic Dioceses of Zambia, are expected to participate at this great faith event. The National Pastoral Office of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) has lined up a number of activities for the first day; Friday, 14th July 2017, of the event. These include: a Moment of Prayer and Reflection, punctuated by various Exhibitions from Dioceses, Religious Congregations, Lay Movements and Youth Teams. This day has also been left as a Media-interaction day. On the same day, the Catholic Youths will take a leading role in animating special activities, highlighting the different faith activities done in their respective dioceses. Asked about the anticipated participation by the Youth, Fr. Justin Matepa, the ZCCB National Pastoral Coordinator states: “The Zambian Church, though 125 years old, is in essence a young Church. As such, the youth who are the majority in terms of numbers should take center-stage in the forthcoming activities. Their participation is good for posterity ”.
Saturday 15th July 2017 will mark the climax of the closing ceremony at the Show Grounds. His Grace Archbishop Teresphore Mpundu, President of ZCCB will lead the celebration of the Holy Mass that will be concelebrated by all the Catholic Bishops of Zambia. Her Honour Mrs. Inonge Wina, Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, will lead a high-level delegation from the Government of the Republic of Zambia at Holy Eucharist. Fr. Stanley Lubungo, Superior General of the White Fathers will be in attendance too.
Meanwhile, Fr. Justin Matepa has assured the participating delegates of maximum security at the Final Closing celebrations at the Show Grounds. “There is nothing to be worried about. The situation is generally calm. The delegates will be safe, their properties as well. The State Police and the local Church Security will be on hand to provide necessary security”, said Fr. Justin Matepa. This assurance comes in the wake of the declaration of the Threatened state of Public Emergency for 90 days currently prevailing in the country. This came about as a result of the invocation of Article 31 of the Republican Constitution by the President of Zambia, Mr. Edgar Lungu.
Since August 6, 2016 to date, the Catholic Church in Zambia has been celebrating the 125 years of Catholic Faith in Zambia under the theme: “The Catholic Church in Zambia, 125 years of God’s Love and Mercy, 1891 – 2016”.
Fr. CLIFFORD MULASIKWANDA, Parish Priest, St. Kizito’s Catholic Church, Sesheke, Zambia.
Member of the Diocese of Livingstone Exhibition Committee.
Turin, Italy, Jul 14, 2017 / 02:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- New research indicates that the Shroud of Turin shows signs of blood from a torture victim, and undermines arguments that the reputed burial shroud of Jesus Christ was painted.Very small particles attached to the linen fibers of the shroud “have recorded a scenario of great suffering, whose victim was wrapped up in the funeral cloth,” said Elvio Carlino, a researcher at the Institute of Crystallography.These particles, called “nanoparticles,” had a “peculiar structure, size and distribution,” said University of Padua professor Giulio Fanti.And the nanoparticles are not typical of the blood of a healthy person. Rather, they show high levels of substances called creatinine and ferritin, found in patients who suffer forceful multiple traumas like torture.“Hence, the presence of these biological nanoparticles found during our experiments point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the T...
Turin, Italy, Jul 14, 2017 / 02:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- New research indicates that the Shroud of Turin shows signs of blood from a torture victim, and undermines arguments that the reputed burial shroud of Jesus Christ was painted.
Very small particles attached to the linen fibers of the shroud “have recorded a scenario of great suffering, whose victim was wrapped up in the funeral cloth,” said Elvio Carlino, a researcher at the Institute of Crystallography.
These particles, called “nanoparticles,” had a “peculiar structure, size and distribution,” said University of Padua professor Giulio Fanti.
And the nanoparticles are not typical of the blood of a healthy person. Rather, they show high levels of substances called creatinine and ferritin, found in patients who suffer forceful multiple traumas like torture.
“Hence, the presence of these biological nanoparticles found during our experiments point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the Turin Shroud,” Fanti said.
The shroud’s latest researchers published their findings and measurements in the U.S. open-access peer-reviewed journal PlosOne, in an article titled “New Biological Evidence from Atomic Resolution Studies on the Turin Shroud,” the Turin-based newspaper La Stampa’s Vatican Insider reports.
The findings contradict claims that the shroud is a painted object – claims which are common among those who suggest it is a medieval forgery. The characteristics of these particles “cannot be artifacts made over the centuries on the fabric of the Shroud,” Fanti said.
Among the most well-known relics believed to be connected with Jesus Christ’s Passion, the Shroud of Turin has been venerated for centuries by Christians as the burial shroud of Jesus. It has been subject to intense scientific study to ascertain its authenticity, and the origins of the image.
Appearing on the 14-foot long, three-and-a-half foot wide cloth a faintly stained postmortem image of a man – front and back – who has been brutally tortured and crucified. The image becomes clear in a haunting photo negative.
The study of particles took place on the nanoscale – ranging from one to 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth the length of a meter.
“These findings could only be revealed by the methods recently developed in the field of electron microscopy,” said Carlino. He said the research marked the first study of “the nanoscale properties of a pristine fiber taken from the Turin Shroud.”
Researchers drew on experimental evidence of atomic resolution studies and recent medical studies on patients who suffered multiple acts of trauma and torture.
The research was carried out by the Instituo Officia dei Materiali in Trieste and the Institute of Crystallography in Bari, both under Italy’s National Research Council, as well as the University of Padua’s Department of Industrial Engineering.
Vatican Insider said the research confirms the hypotheses of previous investigations, like that of biochemist Alan Adler in the 1990s.
The Catholic Church has not taken an official position on the relic’s authenticity. The shroud is presently housed at Turin’s St. John the Baptist Cathedral. During his June 21, 2015 visit to the cathedral, Pope Francis prayed before it.
“The Shroud attracts (us) toward the martyred face and body of Jesus,” he said in a noontime Angelus address at a Turin plaza. “At the same time, it pushes (us) toward the face of every suffering and unjustly persecuted person. It pushes us in the same direction as the gift of Jesus’ love.”
Mexico City, Mexico, Jul 14, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The recent massacre of over two dozen prisoners in a central penitentiary in the state of Guerrero, Mexico may have been part of a ritual of the Santa Muerte cult.On July 6, in what was thought to be a quarrel between inmates or an attempted riot, 28 prisoners were murdered inside the Las Cruces jail in Acapulco. Some of the dead were beheaded.Citing documents from state and federal officials, the Mexican newspaper Reforma alleged that “the prisoners were executed in the middle of a ritual to Santa Muerte,” lead by drug traffickers of the Independent Cartel of Acapulco.While other federal sources, such as Roberto Alvarez Heredia, security spokesman for Guerrero state, have refused to comment on the cultic ritual aspect of the massacre, state authorities confirm that the killings began because of “constant dispute between rival groups inside the prison,” Alvarez said in a statement. Officials have ...
Mexico City, Mexico, Jul 14, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The recent massacre of over two dozen prisoners in a central penitentiary in the state of Guerrero, Mexico may have been part of a ritual of the Santa Muerte cult.
On July 6, in what was thought to be a quarrel between inmates or an attempted riot, 28 prisoners were murdered inside the Las Cruces jail in Acapulco. Some of the dead were beheaded.
Citing documents from state and federal officials, the Mexican newspaper Reforma alleged that “the prisoners were executed in the middle of a ritual to Santa Muerte,” lead by drug traffickers of the Independent Cartel of Acapulco.
While other federal sources, such as Roberto Alvarez Heredia, security spokesman for Guerrero state, have refused to comment on the cultic ritual aspect of the massacre, state authorities confirm that the killings began because of “constant dispute between rival groups inside the prison,” Alvarez said in a statement. Officials have also confirmed the presence of explosives and firearms inside the prison.
So far, 22 bodies have been returned to families. The prison houses over 2,000 prisoners. Following the killings, state police will still retain control of security in the prison, with addition support coming from National Police and Mexican Army forces.
The Santa Muerte, or “Holy Death,” is a rapidly growing folk devotion in Mexico and Latin America, marked by a skull adorned with various forms of decoration – including imagery traditionally associated with Catholic saints such as veils or hearts.
Beginning in the 1960s, the cult has found great acceptance among drug trafficking cartels and other sub-cultures outside of mainstream Mexican society. The Santa Muerte is also associated with practices of witchcraft and prayers for specific favors, including retribution.
According to the FBI, some variants of the Santa Muerte devotion surrounding the drug culture, cartels and trafficking promotes “extreme” behaviors and criminality, including ritualistic killings.
In 2013, the Vatican condemned devotion to Santa Muerte, equating it to “the celebration of devastation and of hell.”
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