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You are not real churches, Pope says to Protestants John Hooper in Rome and Stephen Bates in London July 12, 2007 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/11/1183833598314.html PROTESTANT churches have reacted with dismay to a new declaration approved by the Pope insisting they were mere "ecclesial communities" and their ministers in effect phonies with no right to give communion. Coming just days after the reinstatement of the Latin Mass, Tuesday's document left no doubt about the Pope's eagerness to back traditional Catholic practices and attitudes, even at the expense of causing offence. The view that Protestants cannot have churches was first set out by Pope Benedict seven years ago when, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he headed the Vatican ministry for doctrine. A commentary attached to the latest text acknowledged that his 2000 document, Dominus Iesus, had caused "no little distress". But it added: "It is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to [Protestant communities], given that they do not accept the theological notion of the Church in the Catholic sense and that they lack elements considered essential to the Catholic Church." The Pope's old department, which issued the document, said its aim was to correct "erroneous or ambiguous" interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, which ended in 1965. Quoting a text approved by the council, it said Protestant churches, "because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood", had not "preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery". However, other Christians saw the latest document as another retreat from the spirit of openness generated by the council, which laid the basis for talks on Christian unity. Bishop Wolfgang Huber, head of the Protestant umbrella group Evangelical Church in Germany, said: "The hope for a change in the ecumenical situation has been pushed further away by the document published today." He said the new pronouncement repeated "offensive statements" in the 2000 document and was a "missed opportunity" to improve relations with Protestants. The president of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, Pastor Domenico Maselli, called it a "huge step backwards in relations between the Roman Catholic church and other Christian communities". The Church of England reacted cautiously. A spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said: "This is a serious document, teaching on important ecclesiological matters and of significance to the churches' commitment to the full, visible unity to the one church of Jesus Christ." The Vatican's statement had fewer misgivings about the Orthodox Church, which had "true sacraments" and a genuine priesthood. But its failure to acknowledge the Pope's authority meant it suffered from a "defectus", politely translated from Latin as "a wound". Last Saturday the Pope freed Catholics to ask for Masses to be celebrated according to the Latin rite abolished by the Second Vatican Council. This meant the reinstatement of a Good Friday prayer describing Jews as blind to the Christian truth. Guardian News & Media

But would he pray in one of them?

freediver wrote on Jul 12^th, 2007 at 11:35am:

But would he pray in one of them?

He prayed in a mosque! so he should have no problem in doing it.

they are not churches because they dont believe in the eucharist and transubstansiation, without the eurcharist every catholic church and protestant church would be the same.

note that orthadox are regarded by catholics as having churches.

anyway he would definatly pray in one.

Ah... I didn't understand anything you just said Pender.

What's eucharist and transubstansiation?

I think the eucharist is the wine and bread offered at churches.
I think transsubstantiation might be a transformation catholics believe the wine and bread turn into or are when taken as a spiritual thing.  Or it may be that having the bread and wine changes us, hence the transsubstance wording. I am pretty hazy on that .

Some churches do it in rememberance of His blood spilt (wine) and His broken body (bread).

It's one of these theological points that I feel is pretty overrated either way.
Sure, "we" might be "wrong", or "they" might be "wrong".
A theological variation either way is insignificant in the big picture.

I've had some very good services in catholic churches.
Shared eucharist (if I am right on that word) with them.

The Holy Ghost is as present be it Eucharist, wine and crackers or grape juice and crackers.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jul 13^th, 2007 at 8:02pm:

I think the eucharist is the wine and bread offered at churches. I think transsubstantiation might be a transformation catholics believe the wine and bread turn into or are when taken as a spiritual thing.  Or it may be that having the bread and wine changes us, hence the transsubstance wording. I am pretty hazy on that . Some churches do it in rememberance of His blood spilt (wine) and His broken body (bread). It's one of these theological points that I feel is pretty overrated either way. Sure, "we" might be "wrong", or "they" might be "wrong". A theological variation either way is insignificant in the big picture. I've had some very good services in catholic churches. Shared eucharist (if I am right on that word) with them. The Holy Ghost is as present be it Eucharist, wine and crackers or grape juice and crackers.

it just means alot to catholics.

yeh its the transformation of the bread and wine to body and blood, just a theological point.

catholics service is called a mass.

transubstansiation is the major reason why the churches moves to unite have failed time and time again.

Thanks for clearing that up Pender.

I have attended a few good catholic masses.

i have attended hillsong and liked it lol

Classic Liberal wrote on Jul 16^th, 2007 at 4:56pm:

i have attended hillsong and liked it lol

Bloody cult that is. ;D

Good on you pender.
There would be something seriously wrong if we could not go to "each others" church.
Some of the happy clappers get ridiculously too loud for me, last one was not too bad.

hillsong is not a cult, their teachings are similar to every other christian faith...

Pope gets warm welcome in NY synagogue

http://news.smh.com.au/pope-gets-warm-welcome-in-ny-synagogue/20080419-277s.html

A New York synagogue gave Pope Benedict a warm welcome, with the chief rabbi hailing his work for inter-faith dialogue and congregants playing down recent tensions between Catholics and Jews.

"A heartfelt shalom. Willkommen," said Arthur Schneier, chief rabbi of the Park East Synagogue, using the Hebrew word for "peace" and German word for "welcome".

The visit on the eve of Passover, the holy day marking the exodus from Egypt, was only the third by a pope to a Jewish house of worship. Benedict visited one in Cologne, Germany in 2005, and his predecessor Pope John Paul visited the Rome synagogue in 1986.

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This is a little weird:

Body to be sent for World Youth Day

http://news.smh.com.au/body-to-be-sent-for-world-youth-day/20080419-276x.html

The body of an inspirational Catholic who died in 1925 will be flown to Sydney for World Youth Day.

Pier Giorgio Frassati will play an important role in the huge Catholic festival despite being dead for more than 80 years, Fairfax Media reports.

Mr Frassati was only 24 when, after a one-week illness, polio killed him, but he has become a role model for young Catholics because of his fervent faith, not to mention his good looks, robust physique and sunny nature.

Frassati was noted for his charity, and at his funeral the poor turned out in force, beginning a devotion that has spread around the world.

The idea of bringing his body to Sydney seems to derive from personal contacts between the Frassati family and the Archdiocese of Sydney, Fairfax Media reports.

Italian sources told Fairfax Media his body would be flown to Sydney in June, and would be displayed in St Mary's Cathedral during the World Youth Day period in July.

A possible road to sainthood has been propelled by a vigorous campaign by his sister, Luciana, who wrote books about him.

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Pope champions human rights in UN address

http://news.smh.com.au/pope-champions-human-rights-in-un-address/20080418-26y4.html

Pope Benedict XVI turned to diplomacy Friday with a scheduled speech at the United Nations to champion human rights, as the highlight of a US visit marked so far by his unprecedented attention to the pedophile priest scandal.

After celebrating Mass with some 48,000 people in Washington Thursday, Benedict held an unprecedented private encounter with five people who said they had been sexually abused by priests, offering them his support after he acknowledged the pain and damage caused by the scandal.

The group prayed together and the pontiff then listened to the stories of the victims, and "offered them words of encouragement and hope," the Vatican said in a statement.

DILLIGAF wrote on Jul 16^th, 2007 at 7:47pm:

Classic Liberal wrote on Jul 16th, 2007 at 4:56pm: i have attended hillsong and liked it lol Bloody cult that is. ;D

True. More of a Jesus cult than anything like a Christian church.

On the topic of American style evangelism, what I like is when the pastor/minister 'interprets' scripture (similar to televangelists) in any way that makes sense to him. Each pastor can have a different take and reinterpret it in whatever way he sees fit. I particularly like the interpretations where the pastor, via twisted logic and lyrical rhetoric, convinces the congregation that God wants you to be rich... no not spiritually... materially. Hilarious stuff... but everyone buys cos... they all would rather acquire material wealth than practice for spiritual growth.