Sumatra earthquake rescue operation scaled back

Rescue workers have started scaling down their efforts in the Indonesian port city of Padang as hopes of finding any more survivors from last week's earthquake faded.


Padang Alai four days after the earthquake

Telegraph UK
By Peter Foster in Padang
Published: 1:42PM BST 04 Oct 2009

Indonesia's health minister estimated the death toll from the 7.6 magnitude quake would reach 3,000 when those listed as 'missing' were included among the dead. The confirmed total now stands at 1,300.

As relief efforts began to concentrate on delivering food, medicine and shelter to survivors, many of whom are living outside in remote villages in the Sumatran jungle, heavy machinery was moved in to clear fallen buildings in the city. MORE...

Five Die in Philippines Typhoon

Sunday, October 4, 2009, 08:20

Reuters

A powerful typhoon moved out to sea this morning after slamming into the remote northeastern Philippines and killing five people, but damage and flooding, while extensive, was less than feared.

Typhoon Parma, the strongest typhoon to hit the country since 2006, was north of the main Luzon island and moving northwest at 9 km per hour (6 mph), the weather bureau said.

It had weakened, with maximum sustained winds of 120 kph and gusts of up to 150 kph, but authorities in Taiwan have issued a warning to sailors as Parma was likely to enter its southern waters in the next day or two.

"The destruction in our infrastructure and agriculture is huge," said Alvaro Antonio, the governor of the northern Cagayan province that bore the brunt of the storm. "Wide areas are still under water, including ricelands about to be harvested."

The system brought rain across Luzon on Saturday but not as heavily as feared, especially along the densely populated west coast where floods in and around Manila from Typhoon Ketsana eight days ago killed nearly 300 people.

Officials had feared rain would spark fresh floods in Manila since reservoirs and dams around the capital are full and the sewage system is inundated with mud and rubbish brought by last week's deluge.

Fallen trees and floods cut off roads in Cagayan and neighbouring Isabela province. Soldiers, in rubber boats and armed with chain saws, started to clear roads and rescue marooned communities, officials said.

Mr Antonio said many areas remained inaccessible due to power outages and disruption in communications. "Winds are still strong, but no more rains. Our relief works are ongoing," he said.

About 5,000 people remained in temporary shelter areas. More than 130,000 people in the country's eastern seaboard had fled their homes ahead of typhoon Parma.

At least three people were killed in Isabela and two in the central Bicol region, where Parma had swept through earlier in the week.

Local government officials reported more than 100 million pesos ($2.1 million) in crop damage, particularly in rice and corn farms in Isabela and Cagayan.

Arroyo declared a nationwide calamity on Friday to allow local governments to access emergency funds and cap the prices of essential goods. She also ordered troops to evacuate more than 100,000 people from areas at risk from the typhoon.

Why some conservative Catholics want to stop Pope John Paul II being made a saint

By Damian Thompson
UK Telegraph
August 18th, 2009

For a long time now, some conservative Catholics – most of them hard-line traditionalists – have been discreetly slagging off the late Pope John Paul II. One priest I know grimaces every time his name is mentioned. “Oh, you mean, ‘John Paul the Great’,” he says,” rolling his eyes. He does not want him to be made a saint – not because he thinks he was a bad man, but because he thinks that, despite his heroic witness against Communism, he damaged the Church.

The charge sheet against JPII goes something like this:

1. He allowed truly terrible appointments to be made in Rome and to diocesan sees around the world. England and Wales was bad enough, but some bishops in Germany and France are what you might call “Vatican II protestants”. These bishops are now intent on wrecking the pontificate of Benedict XVI.

2. As a result of bad appointments, especially in America, the scandal of clerical sex abuse gathered pace, and for one reason or another – perhaps because he was so busy traveling – John Paul II failed to act swiftly (or at all, in the early days). He allowed guilty priests to be moved to parishes where they carried on abusing minors.

3. He tried to improve the liturgy, but in practice allowed bishops and priests to do their own thing, turning the sanctuary into a sort of talent show for women “eucharistic ministers”. And the papal MC, Archbishop Piero Marini, set a terrible example by dressing the Pope in Star Trek outfits and adding a touch of Butlins to international jamborees.

4. John Paul’s attempts to reach out to other faiths effectively celebrated and validated non-Christian religions. Conservative Catholics still feel outrage at the memory of the Pope praying with the Dalai Lama et al at Assisi, and kissing the Koran on a visit to Syria (see photo above).

Until now, most anti-JPII sentiment has been expressed privately. But take a look at this post on the website RenewAmerica, from Eric Giunta, a conservative law student.

Once again, the Catholic world has been rocked by yet more allegations of sexual impropriety by Legionnaires of Christ founder, the late Fr. Marcial Maciel. It seems the now-disgraced founder-cum-pervert fathered more children than previously suspected; the latest claimants to his paternity purport to have evidence that the late Pope John Paul II knew of Maciel’s sexual dalliances, and turned a blind eye to them …

The allegations highlight what for all too many Catholics is the elephant-in-the-room when discussing the ills which beset the modern Church: the extent to which the late Pope John Paul II was an enabler of these perversions, from sexual and liturgical abuse to theological dissent and the scandal of Catholic politicians who support the most immoral of social policies with the tacit or express blessings of their Church.

One does not need to deny or disparage the personal sanctity, thoughtful conservatism, or religious orthodoxy of the late Pontiff in order to acknowledge that his Pontificate, by all accounts, was a glorious failure. Yes, he aided in the fall of Eastern European Communism, but the Pope of Rome is not primarily a mover and shaker of state politics, but a Christian pastor whose mission it is to save souls, convert the lost, and govern his church in such a way that it resembles, as best as possible, the city on a hill, the light of the world …

Giunta does not want to see the feast day of Pope St John Paul II added the calendar:

Though Catholics and others are loathe to admit it of an otherwise beloved Pope, John Paul II oversaw a church which deteriorated in both its inner and outer life. His callous indifference toward the victims of priestly sexual abuse in refusing to meet personally with a single one of them, and his stubborn refusal to compel the resignation from office of any of the bishops who aided, abetted, and covered-up the abuse, are testamentary to his utter failure: not as a Catholic or a theologian, but as a Pope.

And this is precisely why he should not be canonized. For in the Catholic (and popular) understanding, canonization is not simply a technical decree indicating one’s everlasting abode in Paradise; it is, in addition, the Church’s solemn endorsement of a Christian’s heroic virtue. The question the Catholic Church must ask herself is: Was John Paul II a model of “heroic” papal virtue?

Contrary to leftist media reportage, the late Pope was not an authoritarian despot, bent on enforcing Catholic orthodoxy on an unwilling church. Quite the contrary: theological liberals and dissenters flourished in all of the Church’s structures, from lay politics and Catholic universities, to the ranks of priests and bishops. Not a single pro-abortion Catholic politician has been excommunicated from the church; only a handful of openly heretical priests were asked to stop teaching theology, but were otherwise permitted to exercise their priestly ministry unhindered. The Church in Austria openly dissents from orthodox Catholicism with papal impunity. Fr. Richard McBrien, Sr. Joan Chittiser, Roger Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angeles, Hans Kung, Charles Curran, Notre Dame University, dissenters galore: the overwhelming majority of prominent far-leftist, theologically modernist Catholic organizations, speakers, and theologians are Catholics in good standing with their church, and are frequently given an official platform at church-sponsored institutions and events. To give just two more examples, several Catholic parishes and universities flaunt themselves as “gay-friendly” in a directory published by the Conference of Catholic Lesbians. These speakers and institutions are in just as good standing with the Church as so-called “orthodox” Catholic pundits and writers.

I don’t endorse these views: in fact, it seems perfectly obvious that the reign of John Paul II was one of slowly growing orthodoxy in the Church, nurtured by his Catechism and a series of magnificent encyclicals. And those Catholics who want to draw a sharp distinction between the agendas of John Paul and Benedict are overlooking the fact that the theological direction of the last pontificate owed an enormous amount to the current Holy Father, who would be horrified by Giunta’s article.

Yet this debate is clearly gathering pace. JPII loyalists are also on the warpath. (George Weigel is using the Maciel scandal as a stick with which to beat this administration, not the last one.) So I’d be interested in your views.

Editor's NOTE:

The current "Holy Father" and John Paul II are in large part responsible for the deplorable condition of the Roman Catholic Church. Contrary to the claims of Damian Thompson, there is no evidence whatsoever that "the reign of John Paul II was one of slowly growing orthodoxy in the Church." Quite the opposite is actually the case. In virtually every quantifiable category, the Church deteriorated markedly during the "reign" of John Paul II. He was singularly guilty of a most reprehensible degree of malfeasance. Without question, he neglected to "protect the sheep from ravenous wolves" failing Christ's threefold interrogatory to St. Peter: "DO YOU LOVE ME"?

A few encyclicals--which in certain admittedly orthodox areas e.g. his largely Thomistic teaching on moral philosophy in Veritatis splendor--are not enough to excuse his complete failure to protect the faith and shield the faithful from Heretics and Apostates. Millions of souls were no doubt lost due to his unwillingness or inability to uphold the orthodox Roman Catholic faith in its entirety--in the fashion of a Pope St. Pius V or Pope St. Pius X. The fact that we have had four heterodox (neo-Modernist) Popes since Pope Pius XII no doubt makes it difficult to appreciate just how great some of the Popes were throughout the latter part of the nineteenth and first part of the twentieth centuries.

These highly critical remarks regarding the notoriously poor governance of the Roman Catholic Church which John Paul II oversaw are not meant in any way to cast aspersions on him as a man or as a presumably dedicated Christian. Only God knows of course what was truly in his heart and soul. Nevertheless, it remains inexplicable to this writer how he could have failed so miserably as Pope if he was devoutly committed to Christianity as is alleged of him.

In any case, there is no role on earth which is equivalent to serving as the Vicar of Christ. Few men apparently possess the personal piety, intellectual and spiritual capacity including the will/moral courage to discharge the position wisely and effectively. John Paul II clearly lacked the willpower necessary to be a great Pope even if one grants that he possessed the personal piety, the intellect and the spirituality. That being the case, it would be a tragedy if he were to be canonized a Saint in the Catholic Church. The Church Militant suffered horrendously under his watch and continues to do so--"By their fruits you shall know them." That alone should be enough to disqualify him.


--Dr. J. P. Hubert

Somoans Tell of Indescribable Waves

Somoan's who survived the Tsunami there tell of wave which reached the top of power poles. Everything in the path of the wave has been destroyed.

"Hundreds are feared dead as at least 15 quakes hit two areas along the 'Pacific ring of fire' in three days." MORE...

More Natural Disasters as Second Powerful Earthquake Rocks Indonesia

...Thousands of people are trapped under the rubble in Padang, a city of 900,000, a senior Indonesian health ministry official said.

Rustam Pakaya, the head of the health ministry's disaster centre, said via a telephone text message that a hospital in Padang in the area near the epicentre of the quake had also collapsed.

'Jamil hospital collapsed and thousands of people are trapped in the rubble of buildings,' Pakaya said.

A resident called Adi told Indonesia's Metro Television there was devastation around him. 'For now I can't see dead bodies, just collapsed houses. Some half destroyed, others completely. People are standing around too scared to go back inside. They fear a tsunami.

'No help has arrived yet. I can see small children standing around carrying blankets. Some people are looking for relatives but all the lights have gone out completely.'

In Samoa, signs of devastation from the tsunami were everywhere, with a giant boat washed ashore lying on the edge of a highway and flood waters swallowing up cars and homes.

It struck about 120 miles (190 kilometres) from neighbouring American Samoa, a U.S. territory that is home to 65,000 people.The waves reached as far as Japan, although Hawaii and Australia were spared any severe damage.

In Washington, President Barack Obama declared a disaster for American Samoa. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was deploying teams to provide support and assess damage.

Samoan Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi looked shaken today on board a flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to the Samoan capital of Apia.

'So much has gone. So many people are gone,' he told reporters on board. 'I'm so shocked, so saddened by all the loss.'

Malielegaoi said his own village of Lepa was destroyed. President Thomas Lapua, who lives in the Western Samoan capital of Apia, said: 'These are places that exist because people depend on the sea to fish - now the sea is threatening their lives. It may be some time before we find out the full extent of this.'

The quake hit at 6:48 am local time (17:48 GMT) midway between the two island groups. At least one entire village in American Samoa was reported to have been flattened by the tsunami, later reports said, but confirmation of the destruction was difficult because communications were cut to many areas.

A Samoan resident, Mr Keni Lesa was preparing to take his family to higher ground as the tsunami warning went out. 'We've done a lot of training for this, but it still a shock when it actually happens and you hear the warnings going out on the radio.'

'There are a considerable number of people who've been swept out to sea and are unaccounted for,' New Zealand's acting Prime Minister Bill English said.


New earthquake rattles Sumatra, Indonesia again
BBC, CNN, Reuters
Posted by: Sean Ecker on 1 October 2009 at 9:27

A second earthquake in under 24 hours, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, shook southern Sumatra in Indonesia Thursday morning 1 October. Sumatrans were still recovering from the earlier, stronger earthquake in the port of Padang which has left at least 400 dead and many people trapped under collapsed buildings. The death toll could climb into the thousands, officials fear.

The earthquakes come days after a strong tremor shook the Pacific islands of Samoa, leaving many villages flattened and over 100 people dead. Experts say that the earthquakes are all on the edge of the Australian tectonic plate where it comes into contact with the Eurasian plate, in the case of the Sumatra earthquakes, and where it bumps up against the Pacific plate in the case of the Samoan earthquake.


Death Toll Mounts as Second Earthquake Strikes Indonesia


Quakes Wreak Destruction in Indonesia, the Samoas
Hundreds of people were killed in a 7.6-magnitude earthquake that originated in the sea off Indonesia's Sumatra island on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The day before, a tsunami hit islands in the South Pacific after a morning quake, leaving more than 150 people dead or missing.

By Andrew Higgins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 1, 2009; 9:19 AM

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 1 -- A major earthquake that killed hundreds and possibly thousands of people on the Indonesian island of Sumatra follows an unusual period of seismic turmoil that scientists say likely heralds a catastrophic quake on a scale not seen in the area for more than 150 years.

A 7.6 magnitude quake Wednesday leveled hundreds of buildings, including hospitals, in Padang, a boisterous port city of 900,000 people on the west coast of Sumatra. It also shook buildings in Singapore and Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. A second, less severe quake hit another part of Sumatra Thursday.

Officials put the death toll in Padang at more than 500 but noted that the figure will likely rise. They said many residents remain trapped in the rubble.

Kerry Sieh, an American seismologist at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, said Sumatra's current seismic spasms began in 2000 and have since produced about 30 quakes. Far worse is yet to come, he said, though not immediately.

"If you have a time-lapse picture of the Challenger space shuttle disaster, the first thing you see is a little flame, a tear, and then the whole thing blows apart," said Sieh, an authority on the area's geology and director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore. "This is what is happening in Sumatra but in slow motion. The biggest explosion is yet to happen."

As rescue workers scrambled Thursday to dig survivors out of wrecked buildings in Padang, power cuts and heavy rain hampered their efforts. Severed phone lines made communication with Padang difficult. Indonesia's health minister said thousands may have been killed but cautioned that information is still scant.

The Sumatra quakes do not appear to be directly connected to an earthquake roughly 6,000 miles away that triggered a tsunami Wednesday on the Pacific islands of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, scientists said. But Sumatra and the Pacific islands all lie within the so-called "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic turbulence noted for volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Along a fault line that stretches from Burma to Australia, two tectonic plates meet and grind against each other. A rupture along this line caused the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, in which around 230,000 people perished, many of them in the northern Sumatra region of Aceh.

Earthquakes in and around Sumatra are "becoming more frequent and of higher intensity," said Haryadi Permana, a geologist at the Indonesia Science and Technology Agency. A massive quake will likely occur in coming decades, he said, but "it is impossible to predict when." He said scientists have long warned that Padang and other towns were under threat, but "the government never cared about that."

Some buildings in the city were reinforced before this week's disaster, but many still crumpled. Fearing more tremors, residents left their homes and prepared to sleep outside. Some hospitals have moved patients onto streets. Outside Padang's partially collapsed Jamil Hospital, at least 40 corpses were lying on the ground, Reuters news agency reported.

Before flying to Padang Thursday from Jakarta, Indonesia's health minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, said that thousands had probably died, but she added, "We don't really know yet."

Sumatra is the center of Indonesia's oil and gas industry and home to endangered animals such as the Sumatran tiger and wild orangutan. Their habitat has been steadily reduced by illegal logging and the growth of Indonesia's powerful pulp and paper combines. Building regulations are often ignored, and Indonesia's relatively vibrant economy has left Padang and other towns on Sumatra scattered with flimsy, hastily built structures.

Sieh, the American expert in Singapore, said Wednesday's Padang quake occurred along the Mentawai patch, a 435-mile section of what is known as the Sunda megathrust, a 3,400-mile fault line that cuts across Southeast Asia. The megathrust runs south from Bangladesh, curves around the western and southern flanks of Sumatra, Java, Bali and eastern Indonesia and stretches to northwestern Australia.

Over the centuries, he said, this section has had long periods of calm followed by several decades of intense and dangerous activity. By using coral to measure changes in sealevel and other factors, he and fellow scientists have identified three distinct periods of activity, each roughly 200 years apart, since the early 14th century.

Sumatra's current seismic turmoil, he said, marks the fourth such episode and, like previous ones, will likely end with a massive quake. The last one was in 1833.

"There is no place in the world that has more wake-up calls than Padang," Sieh said. But getting governments to focus on catastrophes out of immediate view is difficult. "When it comes to things that only happen every few hundreds years . . . we are not geared to think about it."

Washington, Sieh said, has far more experts who worry about political conflict in Kashmir than "about a fault line [in Kashmir] that could kill all of them."

"There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven." (Luke 21: 11)

Another Massive Natural Disaster:

Massive Earthquake Triggers Tsunami Near Samoa
AFP



Sept. 29, 2009 -- A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of up to 8.3 struck off the South Pacific island nation of Samoa on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami as coastal residents fled to higher ground.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves 1.57 meters (five feet) tall hit American Samoa, while 0.7 meter waves were recorded in Samoa.

The center had earlier issued a tsunami warning for a large swathe of the South Pacific including Fiji, New Zealand and Tonga after the U.S. Geological Survey reported a 7.9 magnitude quake.

The center later said an 8.3 magnitude quake had been recorded at a depth of 33 kilometers (21 miles). It was not immediately clear if this was the same quake and the USGS's website did not provide exact details of its location.

"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," said a statement from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

"It may have been destructive along coasts neat the earthquake epicenter and could alo be a threat to more distant coasts. Authorities should take appropriate action in response to this possibility."

Samoa resident Keni Lesa told AFP in the capital Apia that people were moving inland.

"I'm taking my family to a safe place. Everyone's getting out of coastal areas," he said.

But Lesa said there was no panic as "we have done a lot of training for this," living on a low lying island in an earthquake prone area.

There were no immediate reports of damage from the earthquake, apart from a few landslips.

In its preliminary earthquake report, the USGS put the epicenter 204 kilometers (126.8 miles) south-southwest of Samoa's capital Apia and at a depth of 85 kilometers (52.8 miles).

The tsunami warning was also in effect for American Samoa, Samoa, Niue Island, the Wallis and Futuna Islands, the Tokelau atolls, the Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Kermadec Islands, the Baker and Howland Islands, Jarvis Island, French Polynesia and the Palmyra Islands.

A tsunami watch was issued for Vanuatu, Nauru, the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Kosrae Island, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, Pohnpei in Micronesia, the Wake Islands, Pitcairn and the Midway Islands.

The USGS said the region was struck by a 5.6 magnitude quake around 20 minutes after the first.


Tsunami Wipes Out Villages in South Pacific
Disaster Highlights Challenge of Establishing Effective Warning Systems

Wallstreet Journal
SEPTEMBER 30, 2009, 9:52 A.M. ET
By PATRICK BARTA

Victims of the tsunami that swept across the South Pacific had only minutes to escape the deadly waves and in some cases didn't receive alerts of danger, despite years of work to upgrade early-warning systems across the region.

At least 99 people were killed and dozens left missing by the tsunami, which inundated tourist resorts and local villages after a massive 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Samoa early Tuesday morning local time. Disaster authorities warned the death toll could rise significantly over the next few days as the full scale of the disaster – much of which occurred in remote areas – is assessed.

A boat from Malaloa Marina is seen on the edge of the main highway in the village of Fagatogo in American Samoa.

Reporting from Wellington, New Zealand, Dow Jones Newswires' Simon Louisson tells The News Hub at least one village in Samoa was wiped out by a tsunami wave. The wave followed a massive earthquake that struck close to the Pacific Island group.

Fears of further waves generally abated late in the day as relief workers set about treating victims and recovering bodies that were washing up along the shores. Although small waves were measured as far away as Japan, that country withdrew its tsunami warnings by afternoon and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, which monitors possible tsunami threats in the region and issued its own temporary warnings earlier, didn't raise fresh alerts.

The warnings appeared to help prevent injury in some areas. Residents in the Samoan capital of Apia said emergency officials fanned out across the city to warn of the Tsunami Warning Center's first alerts, while staff at Aggie Grey's, a historic hotel along the waterfront, said they quickly moved guests to upper levels to escape danger.

"There were sirens and emergency workers all over the place, pestering people to walk up the hill," said Cherelle Jackson, a resident. But much of the worst danger "was on the other side of the island," she said, and informing residents in those areas, which are less densely populated, was much harder. In some places, she and others said, the messages didn't get through.MORE...

NOTE:

The Tsunami wave was measured at up to 20 feet high. The latest death toll has risen to over 100. After-shocks continue to be a problem. This event comes very closely on the heals of the catastrophic flooding in the Philippines.

--Dr. J. P. Hubert

"There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven." (Luke 21: 11)

"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world." (Luke 21: 25-26)

Wars, Rumors of Wars

U.S., NATO Poised For Most Massive War In Afghanistan's History

By Rick Rozoff
Global Research,
September 24, 2009

Over the past week U.S. newspapers and television networks have been abuzz with reports that Washington and its NATO allies are planning an unprecedented increase of troops for the war in Afghanistan, even in addition to the 17,000 new American and several thousand NATO forces that have been committed to the war so far this year.

The number, based on as yet unsubstantiated reports of what U.S. and NATO commander Stanley McChrystal and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen have demanded of the White House, range from 10,000 to 45,000.

Fox News has cited figures as high as 45,000 more American soldiers and ABC News as many as 40,000. On September 15 the Christian Science Monitor wrote of "perhaps as many as 45,000."

The similarity of the estimates indicate that a number has been agreed upon and America's obedient media is preparing domestic audiences for the possibility of the largest escalation of foreign armed forces in Afghanistan's history. Only seven years ago the United States had 5,000 troops in the country, but was scheduled to have 68,000 by December even before the reports of new deployments surfaced.

An additional 45,000 troops would bring the U.S. total to 113,000. There are also 35,000 troops from some 50 other nations serving under NATO's International Security Assistance Force in the nation, which would raise combined troop strength under McChrystal's command to 148,000 if the larger number of rumored increases materializes. MORE...

Editor's Comment:

It has become painfully obvious that despite the election of Barack Obama who was billed as a "peace (albeit weak) candidate", there is no evidence that the United States intends to end its empire any time soon. Despite a massive national debt, record breaking budget deficit, shrinking middle class, and almost non-existent manufacturing base, the elites who control foreign and domestic policy are currently positioning the country for a full-scale conflagration in the Middle East and Eurasia.

This is extremely dangerous especially in light of the Obama administration's reaction to the latest disclosure that Iran has proceeded with the development of another nuclear facility. While Iran's nuclear capabilities in no way threaten the American continent now or any time soon, it is clear that Iran has become the new threat by which an increasingly belligerent military posture will be justified. In addition to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the possibility of military action against Iran grows ever larger by the day.

This is an exceedingly dangerous time. Pakistan has functional nuclear weapons which could be detonated even if by mistake given the instability which now exists as a result of US bombing in that country. For Roman Catholics who are aware that Our Lady of Fatima predicted the annihilation of many nations if Russia was not consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart (which has yet to be done), all of these developments are indeed sobering.

--Dr. J. P. Hubert

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; See that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet." (Matt. 24: 6)

6-year-old Beaten to Death in Roseland

September 25, 2009 11:23 PM
Chicago Tribune

The Agape Community Center in Roseland has long been a sanctuary, a refuge for students who want to finish their homework, take Bible study courses or simply escape the chaotic streets in their Far South Side community.

But this place of refuge became the scene of a deadly melee Thursday when dozens of teenage boys converged in a vacant lot next to the community center, beating one another with fists, feet and 2-by-4s.

When it was all over, 16-year-old Derrion Albert lay on the gravel, his body dented and damaged from the pummeling. A youth worker at the center dragged Derrion's slight frame into the center, but it was too late. He died a short time later.

Witnesses and police said Friday that the Fenger High School junior was not a target but simply passed by the community center and was swept into the violent altercation. Walking from school, he fell victim to the violence plaguing some of Chicago's most dangerous neighborhoods.

The honor roll student known for his love of computers became the third Chicago teenager killed this month. At least seven more have been shot.

Police and witnesses say the melee was a culmination of a simmering rivalry between two groups of Fenger students, one that lived near the school and the other from the Altgeld Gardens housing development. Neighbors said the feud has been building since August, spilling across Roseland streets and, some say, into Fenger.

Shots were fired in front of Fenger earlier Thursday. No one was injured. Police said the two incidents don't appear to be related, but they were still looking for suspects in Derrion's slaying.

"This gang violence is escalating beyond control," said T'Awannda Piper, the youth worker who pulled Derrion into the building. "He was caught in it. The kids directly involved walked away healthy, and this kid didn't walk away at all."

The Fenger school principal declined to comment.

As friends propped teddy bears at the site of the beating -- creating the sort of street-side memorial that has become commonplace on the city's West and South Sides -- Derrion's family began planning a funeral for a young man who had dreams of going to college.

Derrion was small, only 5-foot-7. He was a "ladies' man" and a homebody, family members said.

Derrion's grandfather Joseph Walker sat in his living room, tearfully recounting his grandson's life. Displayed on the table in front of him was the honor roll report card and certificate for outstanding attendance.

"Derrion put his key in that door every day at 3:15," said Walker, who was taking care of the teenager. "He would get something to eat and get on the computer, where he would stay most of the night."

Walker said his grandson asked if he could hang out with some friends Thursday after school. Walker said OK, but insisted Derrion be back by 7 p.m.

He never made it. Witnesses said Derrion was near the community center, 342 W. 111th St., when a group of teenagers walking east met up with a group coming from the west. The fight began, they said, with about 10 teenagers. By the time it was finished, witnesses and police said, more than 50 youths were involved.

Milton Massie, executive director of Agape, said video from a surveillance camera atop the community center shows Derrion being struck in the back of the head and moving away from the crowd.

He fell to the gravel, next door to Agape, a Greek word for love.

Derrion's community of Roseland has been one of the city's most treacherous areas since the late 1980s, when the economic decline of the area led to urban decay and gang violence. In the mid-1990s, it gained notoriety as the stamping ground of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, the 11-year old who was executed by fellow gang members.

These days, too many of the community's youngsters end up in the police blotter or obituaries.

Diane Latiker has become so incensed by the violence in her community, and what she views as the city's seeming "indifference" to it, that she turned her Roseland home into an after-school community center for teenagers.

On Friday afternoon, dozens of area teens gathered there to cry about the death of a schoolmate and voice concerns that they might be next.

But after an hour, they went about their business of planning a Thanksgiving dinner for hungry families in the Roseland area.

"First they cry," she said. "But then they shake their heads and continue with their day, because it's become so commonplace to them. It's like, 'Oh well, another bump on the road.' They go on because it's the only way they can deal with it."

Now, Latiker wonders how she can possibly make room for Derrion's headstone. Latiker created a memorial two years ago to honor the young people killed in Chicago. Each time a child is shot, stabbed or beaten to death, she adds a stone to the memorial wall.

"We have 163 stones right now, but we are 20, now 21, behind," she said. "I thought, well, I hoped, I dreamed that there'd be more space on the wall than kids being killed."

Tribune reporters Annie Sweeney, Carlos Sadovi, Liam Ford and William Lee contributed to this report.

"...and because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold." (Matt. 24: 12)

Phillipines Flood: Homeless Count Exceeds 150,000

Philippine Floods Test Rescuers

10:33 GMT, Monday, 28 September 2009 11:33 UK
BBC NEWS


Many people have been left with nothing but what they are wearing

Rescue workers are being overwhelmed by the scale of floods in the Philippines that are estimated to have killed at least 140 people, officials say.

The head of the National Disaster Co-ordinating Council, Anthony Golez, said resources were being spread too thinly.

Torrential rains from Tropical Storm Ketsana flooded the capital, Manila, and 25 nearby provinces on Saturday.

Some 80% of Manila was submerged, displacing 450,000 people. More than 115,000 are now in makeshift shelters. MORE...

"There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven." (Luke 21: 11)

More Natural Disasters

Philippines flood death toll rises to 140
Last Updated: Monday, September 28, 2009 | 9:12 AM ET
CBC News


People swim through flood water Sunday in suburban Pasig City, east of Manila, after a tropical storm tore through the northern Philippines. (Rey Bruna/Philippine Air Force/Associated Press)

The death toll in the massive flooding that swept the Philippine capital of Manila and nearby provinces has reached 140, officials said Monday.

Army troops, police and civilian volunteers backed by U.S. troops continue the search and rescue effort in the country, according to Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

He said 32 villagers remain missing following the flooding, which was set off after tropical storm Ketsana hit the northern portion of the country on Saturday.

Teodoro said welfare agencies have begun to provide food, shelter and medicine to more than 115,000 people since the storm hit.

The government has declared a "state of calamity" in 25 provinces and in metropolitan Manila, which has a population of about 20 million.

It's estimated that more than 430,000 people were affected by the storm.

Flood waters were fast receding, but many areas of the capital remained under water, particularly in the eastern suburbs of Manila.

The 42.4 centimetres of rain that swamped metropolitan Manila in just 12 hours on Saturday exceeded the 39.2-centimetre average for all of September, chief government weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said.

Teodoro said government forecasters are concerned more bad weather might be on its way. They have been monitoring a low pressure area over the Pacific Ocean that could develop into a storm, possibly hitting the country later this week.

The Devil's Final Battle: How the Current Rejection of the Message of Fatima Causes the Present Crisis in the Church and the World

BOOK REVIEW:

I have just finished reading The Devil's Final Battle: How the Current Rejection of the Message of Fatima Causes the Present Crisis in the Church and the World edited and compiled by Father Paul Kramer. It is an excellent resource on the subject of the Fatima Apparitions and the history of intrigue which has surrounded them. I wholeheartedly recommend that readers obtain copies of this book and study everything which is contained therein very carefully. The book's major conclusions can be cross-checked with other published sources especially those which are listed in the "Recommended Works" section of this site which refer to prophecy and Apostasy in the Catholic Church.

I found it quite remarkable that there is a real consistency to all of the "Recommended Works" in which it is predicted that a universal Apostasy will be experienced in the Church which shall begin at the top. Vatican II and its tragic aftermath have certainly been a disaster from the perspective of liturgy, theology and practice, one which was predicted in advance in multiple prophesies as well as in Sacred Scripture e.g. (Matt 24: 4-5, 11). [It seems apparent that until the Roman Catholic Church returns to the Traditional faith and praxis including the Tridentine Latin Mass of St. Pius V, the problems in the Church and the World will not abate]. I was literally amazed that Pope Pius XII made a statement (prior to his becoming Pope while still serving as Vatican Secretary of State and before Sister Lucy had committed the third secret to paper) that is almost identical in its description of a situation we currently find ourselves in. In the book the following quote from Pope Pius XII appears:

"I am worried by the Blessed Virgin's messages to Lucy of Fatima. The persistence of Mary about the dangers which menace the Church is a divine warning against the suicide of altering the Faith, in Her liturgy, Her theology and her soul....I hear all around me innovators who wish to dismantle the Sacred Chapel destroy the universal flame of the Church, reject Her ornaments and make Her feel remorse for Her historical past."

"A day will come when the civilized world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted. She will be tempted to believe that man has become God. In our churches, Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where god awaits them. Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, they will ask, 'Where have they taken Him?'" (The Devil's Final Battle, Kramer p. 34)

Kramer and others convincingly establish that the most tragic developments which have befallen Our Lady's Fatima Messages have occurred since the death of Pope Pius XII after which Sister Lucy (the last remaining living Fatima seer) was effectively gagged by the Vatican hierarchies of multiple conciliar popes. This began under John XXIII who did so almost immediately upon assuming the Papacy. After reading the third secret (which after having been written on a single sheet of paper and inserted into a sealed envelope by Sister Lucy in 1944, was hand-carried to the Vatican in 1957 and placed in the Papal apartment of Pope Pius XII) John XXIII refused to disclose the message; maintaining that it did not refer to his pontificate. This was despite the fact that Our Lady specifically directed Sister Lucy to reveal the message no later than 1960 when its contents would become more clear. Note, John XXIII announced the Second Vatican Council in 1959 and that it did not actually begin until late 1962. Had he done as directed by Our Lady, the Council might never have occurred and the trouble of the past 50 years might have been avoided.

Another extremely interesting fact of which I was not aware is that in 1967 Paul VI (who followed John XXIII) directed a known free-mason (Cardinal Jean Villot) to radically alter the structure and function of the Roman Curia so as to lessen the power of the Pope while placing the administration of the Curia under the control of the Vatican Secretary of State. The re-organization included placing the CDF (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, [the former Holy Office] which in the past had been reportable to the Pope alone)--under the direct control of the Secretary of State while also giving the CDF it own Cardinal Prefect.

In a highly controversial decision, the Second Vatican Council decided not to confront communism directly--in exchange for Moscow agreeing to send Orthodox prelates to the Council. This arrangement was at the behest of John XXIII. Almost immediately after the Curial re-organization of 1967, a drastic change was made in policy whereby the Vatican began to engage in dialogue with Communist dictator's/nations rather than continuing to oppose them as they had in the past. This was per order of the Vatican Secretary of State who had assumed a level of power which exceeded that of the Pope. In addition, the Fatima message was from that time on either suppressed or falsified. The new Vatican Ostpolitik in force from that point on found the Fatima message which called for the consecration of Russia to be politically unpalatable.

Since the inception of the Second Vatican Council the conciliar Vatican has evinced no intention of abiding by the wishes of Our Lady of Fatima which included a Papal consecration of Russia specifically (not the entire world which has been done on more than one occassion) to her Immaculate Heart in conjunction with all the Bishops of the world on the same day. This has never been done despite the fact that the Holy See claims that it has. Moreover, the messages of Fatima are completely orthodox, verified by the "Miracle of the Sun" and accepted by multiple Popes as genuine while many of the teachings of Vatican II are heterodox including its failure to forcefully oppose Communism.

As of June 26, 2000, the Conciliar Vatican in a special Communiqué announced that it was finally disclosing the remaining information on the Third Secret of Fatima--stating that the secret referred only to the attempted assassination of John Paul II (in the Fatima vision however, the Pope was actually murdered by soldiers) and that everything in the Fatima Apparitions belonged to the past (that which was not the figment of Sister Lucy's imagination according to Cardinal Ratzinger).

The figures who appeared prominently in the falsification of June 2000 Communiqué were then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Prefect of the CDF (now Benedict XVI), Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Cardinal Sodano, Archbishop Bertone (Secretary of the CDF) and Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy. Their disclosures contradicted virtually everything that Sister Lucy has said in the past about the Messages of Fatima including the allegation that the consecration of Russia was accomplished in 1984 which prior to June 2000 she had always denied.

Cardinal Bertone apparently had a 2 hour closed meeting with Sister Lucy prior to the Communiqué for which no tape recording or other written record apparently exists. He failed to ask--if such a meeting occurred at all--any of the pertinent questions which continued to be outstanding at the time. The entire circumstances are highly suspect. The Cardinal claimed that Sister Lucy as of the year 2000 in a complete reversal of all prior statements agreed that heaven had accepted the Consecration of the World in 1984 rather than the specific consecration of Russia which was requested by Our Lady. This idea is patently ridiculous since Russia was never mentioned by name and the world's Bishops did not participate in the consecration of 1984.

Unfortunately, it has become apparent that Cardinal Bertone and the others involved have attempted to foist a lie upon the Catholic faithful. If the consecration really occurred in 1984 the conversion of Russia to Catholicism has not occurred as would have been expected. Furthermore, there has been nothing but war ever since, not the period of peace which Our Lady promised would follow the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.

There are many other interesting and persuasive pieces of information which can be gleaned from reading this book which shed light on the current crisis in the Church and the world. Please consider buying a copy.

Dr. J. P. Hubert

Cable News Talking Heads: Why Such Horrendous Crimes?

By: Dr. J. P. Hubert

I noticed that the former Headline News "HLN" a sister network to CNN has reformatted its content recently. The latest iteration is called "HLN News and Issues." At night the network presents 2 similar shows in succession, hosted by 2 women respectively each of whom have hour long programs.

The first is Jane Velez Mitchell a self-professed recovering alcoholic attorney and former Celebrity Justice personality who spends most evenings railing against the unending parade of domestic violence and murder cases which she showcases each night. She is routinely assisted by a panel of guests including lawyers, mental health professionals and law enforcement officers. Understandably, Velez-Mitchell is particularly bothered by all of the violence which is currently being perpetrated against women and children. There seems to be a very feminist bias to her commentary however.

The second woman is Nancy Grace, a former Prosecutor turned talk-show host who nightly delivers a steady diet of murder, violence and kidnapping cases which usually follow the current news quite closely. Grace also employs a panel of experts heavily represented by Prosecuting and Defense attorneys and other Law Enforcement and Mental Health Professionals. In many ways the programs are similar in content and topics although Grace seems to be a bit more theatrical and caustic to her own guests and experts. Velez-Mitchell who is more polite to guests is quite dramatic in expressing her outrage over the horrendous nature of much of what she covers.

The interesting thing to me has been the fact that both women especially Velez-Mitchell seem truly perplexed about how to explain what appears to be a marked increase in terrible crimes especially those involving spouses, children and families. The various psychological/psychiatric experts all attempt to offer explanations but none to date have tumbled to what is decidedly a spiritual aspect or component of the rising crime problem they are witnessing. Rather, they look completely to naturalistic/secular explanations for what is transpiring. Not once to my knowledge have either of the hosts included a religious "expert" among their panelists.

Traditional Roman Catholics have no difficulty understanding the likely cause of the steadily increasing and horrendous family violence problem which is occurring. It is part of the overall process of an almost total falling away (Apostasy) from the True Faith (Traditional Roman Catholicism) which has since the close of the Second Vatican Council been increasing at an impressive rate. This must be added to the Apostasy which was already underway due to the Protestant Reformation, the loss of much of Christendom to Islam and the rise of Atheism in the wake of the French and Russian Revolutions. As I have written elsewhere all of these have contributed to the progressive loss of the social Kingship of Christ. The result of losing

"the social Kingship of Christ--and with it Christendom's hindering effect over evil--has been the creation of a plethora of civil laws throughout the formerly Christian world which are antithetical to the Divine Law of Christ (abortion, contraception, in-vitro fertilization, surrogate pregnancy, physician assisted suicide, destructive embryo research, legalized sodomy, gay 'marriage' etc). Is it any wonder then that there exists almost complete moral anarchy where once there was the great Judeo-Christian ethic? Unfortunately, the conciliar popes through their embrace of neo-modernism have facilitated rather than help retard the emergence of global evil and the eventual appearance of Antichrist."
MORE...

Some readers may be outraged to hear that the conciliar popes and Vatican hierarchy have (whether purposely or through malfeasance) helped bring about increasing amounts of global evil. As I have written elsewhere the conclusion seems unavoidable that the traditional restraining or hindering effect of the Roman Catholic Church over evil has largely been removed.

Man Allegedly Murders Wife and 5 Children: Flees to Haiti

"In No Uncertain Terms this is the Most Horrific and Violent Event this Community has ever Experienced"

CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press Writer

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) -- The husband of a woman found dead in a Florida apartment along with her five young children boarded a flight for Haiti, and police said Sunday the couple had a history of domestic violence calls to their homes over the past decade.

Mesac Damas, 33, who has family in Haiti, left Miami International Airport on Friday, said Collier County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Michelle Batten. Sheriff's officials said they want to talk to Damas, who is a person of interest. They were not calling him a suspect.

The victims found Saturday were Guerline Damas, 32, and her children: Michzach, 9; Marven, 6; Maven, 5; Megan, 3; and 11-month-old Morgan. Batten would not say how they died.

Family members contacted authorities Friday saying they hadn't heard from the mother. A deputy went to the home and knocked on the front door, but got no answer, said Capt. Chris Roberts of the sheriff's special investigations division.

He did not look through any of the apartment's windows.

"With the information the deputy had, I think what he did was reasonable," Roberts said.

A missing person report was filed Saturday, and the sheriff's office later entered the home in a gated community in Naples in southwest Florida and found the bodies, Batten said.

"In no uncertain terms, this is the most horrific and violent event this community has ever experienced," Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said.

Roberts said the couple had been married two years but together for about 10. Police had been called a handful of times to their homes since 2000 for domestic disturbances, he said.

"...and because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold." Matt. 24: 12

More Natural Disasters: Catastrophic Flooding in Georgia

Southeast Floods Block Highways; Death Toll Rises To 8
Southeast Creeks Turning Into Rivers

KATE BRUMBACK, Associated Press Writer

Posted: 5:46 am EDT September 22, 2009 Updated: 9:26 am EDT September 22, 2009

AUSTELL, Ga. -- Washed-out roads and flooded interstate highways around Atlanta added to the misery Tuesday after days of torrential rain in the Southeast that claimed at least eight lives, including a 15-year-old boy whose body was found in the Chattooga River.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency also reported a new death in Douglas County west of Atlanta, bringing the toll in that county to four people. No more details were immediately available.

The victims included a toddler swept away from his family when a swollen creek ripped apart their trailer home in west Georgia on Monday. Many others were drivers whose vehicles were pushed off roads by rapidly rising waters. One man in Chattanooga, Tenn., was missing two days after betting onlookers he could swim across a flooded ditch next to his house.

Authorities urged people who don't need to drive to stay home, a day after Gov. Sonny Purdue declared a state of emergency in 17 counties.

"It's going to be a long morning. We're asking people to be patient," DOT spokeswoman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan said.

The good news was that the rain was tapering off in many areas. The National Weather Service said there was more rain to come, but the likelihood and severity will decline in the coming days.

Days of downpours and thunderstorms saturated the ground from Alabama through Georgia into eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, just months after an epic two-year drought in the region ended after winter rains.

As Tuesday rush-hour began in the Atlanta area, Interstate 20 west of the city was closed in two spots by water spilling over the major artery for commuter traffic from the sprawling western suburbs. Portions of at least two other interstates in the metro area were also closed, as was I-75 in Houston County in central Georgia.

Hundreds of roads and bridges were under water or washed out in the Atlanta area and other parts of the state, including 17 bridges on state and interstate highways.

Dozens of roads remained closed in western North Carolina and several small landslides were reported. Officials said the flooding there was the worst since remnants of hurricanes Frances and Ivan came through in 2004.

As much as a foot of rain fell over parts of the Atlanta area Monday. The town of Dallas northwest of Atlanta had 16 inches in a 48-hour period, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency said.

Aerial shots showed schools, football fields, used car lots and even entire neighborhoods submerged by the deluge, sending some unlucky residents scurrying for higher ground.

"It's a mess all over," said Lisa Janak of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

As the storm front rumbled through west Georgia, it turned a normally sleepy creek into a surging headwater that tore apart 2-year-old Preston Slade Crawford's mobile home around 2 a.m. Monday. The body of the drowned boy nicknamed "Scooter" wasn't found until hours later. His parents had been rescued from the raging waters as another son, Cooper, age 1, clung to his mother's arms in Carroll County, west of Atlanta.

Pat Crawford, the boy's grandmother, watched helplessly as the family's mobile home was whisked away.

"Y'all gotta help us! Y'all gotta save us!" Crawford remembers Bridgett Lawrence and Craig Crawford shouting above the roaring water. She said she was on higher ground, but couldn't get to them because the current was so bad.

About 12,000 Georgia Power customers were without power late Monday.

Crews in the tiny Georgia town of Trion worked to shore up a levee breached by the Chattooga River and in danger of failing. The town evacuated more than 1,500 residents, and Red Cross workers set up an emergency shelter.

Emergency officials were often forced to improvise to rescue dozens of people stranded in their homes and cars.

"We're using everything we can get our hands on," Douglas County spokesman Wes Tallon said. "Everything from boats to Jet Skis to ropes to ladders."

Other southeastern states were hit less severely.

In Kentucky, rescue crews went on more than a dozen runs to help stranded people after 4 inches of rain fell on parts of Louisville on Sunday, said city fire department spokesman Sgt. Salvador Melendez.

Water rose as high as window-level on some houses in North Carolina's Polk County, forcing emergency officials to evacuate homes along a seven-mile stretch of road. Flooding in more than 20 counties in western North Carolina closed roads, delayed school and forced evacuations.

___

Will the "Third Rome" Reunite With the "First Rome"?

Editor's NOTE:

This Zenit article if true would represent the exact opposite of what Our Lady called for at Fatima in which she indicated that if Russia were consecrated to her Immaculate Heart by the Pope and all of the Bishops of the world on the same day, Russia would be converted to Roman Catholicism and would cease perpetrating its errors throughout the world--the worst of which is atheism.

There is no evidence that Benedict XVI intends to consecrate Russia according to the wishes of Our Lady. Moreover, there is evidence that he has participated in falsifying and de-legitimizing the Fatima apparitions. It is extremely unlikely barring a complete change of mind and heart that Benedict would push the Russian Orthodox (Moscow) Patriarch (Kirill) to return the Orthodox church to the one True Faith of Roman Catholicism, accept the Filioque clause of the Nicene Creed and accept the papal primacy of the Bishop of Rome.

What is being described here is a false ecumenism the same as what the conciliar church has advocated since the close of the Second Vatican Council. Russian Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev is certainly correct about the Novus Ordo liturgy being Protestant. It would be completely ridiculous for the Russian Orthodox to reject their liturgy in favor of the conciliar Novus Ordo Missae. It is much closer to the Traditional Roman Catholic Latin Liturgy which must be reinstated (by order of Quo Primum it has never been abrogated) than it is to the Novus Ordo which should be promptly discarded.

Until the current Vatican hierarchy is willing to reinstate the Tridentine Latin Mass as the one and only Latin rite and until it is willing to either radically correct or totally reject the Second Vatican Council, the Russian Orthodox should have nothing to do with the conciliar church based in Rome.

--Dr. J. P. Hubert

Will the "Third Rome" Reunite With the "First Rome"?
Recent Meeting Could Mark Turning Point

By Robert Moynihan

WASHINGTON, D.C., SEPT. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org)- Sometimes there are no fireworks. Turning points can pass in silence, almost unobserved.

It may be that way with the "Great Schism," the most serious division in the history of the Church. The end of the schism may come more quickly and more unexpectedly than most imagine.

On Sept. 18, inside Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer palace about 30 miles outside Rome, a Russian Orthodox Archbishop named Hilarion Alfeyev, 43 (a scholar, theologian, expert on the liturgy, composer and lover of music), met with Benedict XVI, 82 (also a scholar, theologian, expert on the liturgy and lover of music), for almost two hours, according to informed sources. (There are as yet no "official" sources about this meeting -- the Holy See has still not released an official communiqué about the meeting.)

The silence suggests that what transpired was important -- perhaps so important that the Holy See thinks it isn't yet prudent to reveal publicly what was discussed.

But there are numerous "signs" that the meeting was remarkably harmonious.

If so, this Sept. 18 meeting may have marked a turning point in relations between the "Third Rome" (Moscow) and the "First Rome" (Rome) -- divided since 1054.

Archbishop Hilarion was in Rome for five days last week as the representative of the new Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

One key person Archbishop Hilarion met with was Cardinal Walter Kasper. On Sept. 17, the cardinal told Vatican Radio that he and Archbishop Hilarion had a "very calm conversation."

Cardinal Kasper also revealed something astonishing: that he had suggested to the archbishop that the Orthodox Churches form some kind of "bishops' conference at the European level" that would constitute a "direct partner of cooperation" in future meetings.

This would be a revolutionary step in the organization of the Orthodox Churches.

Papal-Patriarch encounter?

Cardinal Kasper said a Pope-Patriarch meeting was not on the immediate agenda, and would probably not take place in Moscow or Rome, but in some "neutral" place (Hungary, Austria and Belarus are possibilities).

Archbishop Hilarion himself revealed much about how his Rome visit was proceeding when he met on the evening of Sept. 17 (before his meeting with the Pope) with the Community of Sant'Egidio, an Italian Catholic group known for its work with the poor in Rome.

"We live in a de-Christianized world, in a time that some define -- mistakenly -- as post-Christian," Archbishop Hilarion said. "Contemporary society, with its practical materialism and moral relativism, is a challenge to us all. The future of humanity depends on our response… More than ever before, we Christians must stand together."

A report from Interfax, the news service of the Moscow Patriarchate, on Sept. 18 revealed that Archbishop Hilarion spoke to the Pope about "cooperation between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches in the area of moral values and of culture" -- in particular during the "Days of Russian Spiritual Culture," a type of exhibit with lectures scheduled for spring 2010 in Rome. (One might imagine that the Pope himself could attend such an exhibition).

In memory of the visit, Archbishop Hilarion gave the Pope a pectoral cross, made in workshops of Russian Orthodox Church, the report said, Interfax reported.

Today, an Interfax report supplied details of Hilarion's remarks this morning in the catacombs of St. Callixtus.

"Denied by the world, far from human eyes, deep under ground in caves, the first Roman Christians performed the feat of prayer," Hilarion said. "Their life brought the fruit of holiness and martyr heroism. The Holy Church was built on their blood shed for Christ."

Then the Church came out of the catacombs, but Christian unity was lost, the archbishop said.

Archbishop Hilarion said that human sin is the cause of all divisions, while Christian unity can be restored only in the way of sanctity.

"Each of us, conscientiously fulfilling a task the Church has given him or her, is called to personally contribute to the treasury of Christian sanctity and work to achieve God-commanded Christian unity," the archbishop said.

A second Interfax report today added further information about the meeting with the Pope.

Growing influence

"During a talk with Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk pointed out the status of Orthodox believers in Western Ukraine where three Orthodox dioceses had been almost eliminated as a result of coercive actions of Greek Catholics in late 1980s and early 1990s," Interfax reported.

Archbishop Hilarion "stated the need to take practical steps to improve the situation in Western Ukraine," within the territories of Lvov, Ternopol and Invano-Frankovsk Dioceses, the report said.

Meanwhile, in Russia itself, the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Patriarch Kirill, seems to be growing, though not without opposition.

The rise in Russia of Kirill and his increasing influence in legislative matters seems to be arousing opposition from the "siloviki," forces connected with the old KGB.

In an article in the current issue of Argumenty Nedeli, Andrey Uglanov says that Kirill's extraordinary activity has attracted attention from some who do not like to have their positions questioned, let alone challenged. And that has become Kirill's "big problem."

These "siloviki," Uglanov says, have been offended by Kirill's "anti-Stalinist and anti-Bolshevik actions," including his appearance at the Solovetsky stone in Moscow's Lubyanka Square on the very Day of the Memory of the Victims of Political Repression.

In this context, Hilarion's visit to Rome takes on even more importance.

The Russian Orthodox Church is a power in Russia, but it faces opposition and needs allies.

What is occurring in Hilarion's visit to Rome, then, may have ramifications not only for the overcoming of the "Great Schism," but also for the cultural, religious and political future of Russia, and of Europe as a whole.

It is especially significant, in this context, that Hilarion, Kirill's "Foreign Minister," has some of the same deep interests as Benedict XVI: the liturgy, and music.

"As a 15-year-old boy I first entered the sanctuary of the Lord, the Holy of Holies of the Orthodox Church,” Hilarion once wrote about the Orthodox liturgy. “But it was only after my entrance into the altar that the 'theourgia,' the mystery, and 'feast of faith' began, which continues to this very day.

"After my ordination, I saw my destiny and main calling in serving the Divine Liturgy. Indeed, everything else, such as sermons, pastoral care and theological scholarship were centered around the main focal point of my life -- the liturgy."

Liturgy

These words seem to echo the feelings and experiences of Benedict XVI, who has written that the liturgies of Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday in Bavaria when he was a child were formative for his entire being, and that his writing on the liturgy (one of his books is entitled "Feast of Faith") is the most important to him of all his scholarly endeavors.

"Orthodox divine services are a priceless treasure that we must carefully guard," Hilarion has written. "I have had the opportunity to be present at both Protestant and Catholic services, which were, with rare exceptions, quite disappointing… Since the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, services in some Catholic churches have become little different from Protestant ones."

Again, these words of Hilarion seem to echo Benedict XVI's own concerns. The Pope has made it clear that he wishes to reform the Catholic Church's liturgy, and preserve what was contained in the old liturgy and now risks being lost.

Hilarion has cited the Orthodox St. John of Kronstadt approvingly. St. John of Kronstadt wrote: "The Church and its divine services are an embodiment and realization of everything in Christianity... It is the divine wisdom, accessible to simple, loving hearts."

These words echo words written by Cardinal Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, who often said that the liturgy is a "school" for the simple Christian, imparting the deep truths of the faith even to the unlearned through its prayers, gestures and hymns.

Hilarion in recent years has become known for his musical compositions, especially for Christmas and for Good Friday, celebrating the birth and the Passion of Jesus Christ. These works have been performed in Moscow and in the West, in Rome in March 2007 and in Washington DC in December 2007.

Closer relations between Rome and Moscow, then, could have profound implications also for the cultural and liturgical life of the Church in the West. There could be a renewal of Christian art and culture, as well as of faith.

All of this was at stake in the quiet meeting between Archbishop Hilarion and Benedict XVI on Friday afternoon, in the castle overlooking Lake Albano.