Family Rosary Rally

The gathering is a call to parishioners in the Dayton Deanery and all throughout the archdiocese who support bringing families and their clergy together in a public place to praise God and honor the Virgin Mary, say organizers Joe Beyerle and Bob O'Connor.  Both are members of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Kettering, and are being assisted by a planning committee, comprised of parish representatives, and supported by parishes and individuals.  Contributions in excess of expenses will be sent to the retirement fund for priests and religious.

The program will consist of music, recitation of the rosary and benediction.  Ample parking is available for an event that organizers hope will attract thousands of worshippers.  For more information, call Jim Paxson, 937-293-2258; Beyerle, 937-434-4139; O'Connor, 937-434-9587; or Tony Staub, 937-438-9673.

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The director and editors of Mary Page under the auspices of the International Marian Research Institute do not necessarily endorse or agree with the events and ideas expressed in this feature. Our sole purpose is to report on items about Mary gleaned from a myriad of papers representing the secular press.

A Long Fall for the Little Pebble
[Source: The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia), July 15, 2005]

WILLIAM Kamm founded the Order of Saint Charbel near Nowra on the South Coast in 1985, after he convinced followers the Virgin Mary spoke to him there on the 13th of each month at 3pm.

Two decades on, Kamm--who calls himself the Little Pebble--faces a lengthy jail term after he was found guilty last week of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old former follower called Gabrielle in 1993.

The Daily Telegraph visited the Cambewarra community this week and found its 140 residents disappointed by the verdict but defiant.

The order's spokeswoman, who only wanted to be known as Natalie, said: "We don't follow him like some guru. We have our own lives. We certainly don't kiss the feet of the Little Pebble.

"His role is the founder of the order; there is no leader as such. If he dies tomorrow, it continues."

She said Mary would continue to communicate with members--who she claimed covered the globe -- but refused to disclose to whom she would now appear.

"Mystics and seers are very common. Apparitions happen not just in our community but everywhere," she said.

During Kamm's three-week trial, the court heard he had told Gabrielle that Mary had chosen her as one of his 12 "queens" who would spawn him 17 children for the new holy race.

Gabrielle accepted the proposal to enter into a "mystical marriage"--which she did not believe included sex.

But when Kamm kissed and fondled her, she started to have doubts and in 2002 reported him to police.

Natalie said Kamm's "plea remains innocent."

She labeled Gabrielle a "liar."

"We produced evidence that proved what Gabby said was a lie. It never happened and yet her evidence was believed. It was laughable that she didn't know about sex at 15," she said.

"We survive no different to anyone else. We are not brainwashed and we do not believe you get pregnant through hugging. That is hogwash."

Kamm's legal wife Bettina refused to comment, other than to say the community supported Kamm "100 per cent."

When asked whether community members would follow Kamm to prison, another resident said: "William is our leader. We will follow him to there."

But Natalie conceded it was unlikely many members would visit him in jail, if he is sentenced to full-time custody on September 16.

University of Sydney new religious movements expert Chris Hartney said he believed the claim that the order would go on and Mary would appear to others was a "self preservation" mechanism.

However, he suspected Kamm would continue to be the one who received apparitions from Mary, possibly even in prison, because that was how he maintained his authority over the group.

"This would make him a martyr and increase his renown," Dr Hartney said.

He believed that the group was "an extreme side of the Catholic Church that needs to be heavily monitored."

The Cambewarra community, which hides behind huge steel gates boasting large padlocks and a "Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted" sign, is located in remote bushland accessible only by a dirt track.

Resembling a caravan park, it is self-sufficient with its own church, school, first aid centre and convenience store. But the spokeswoman denied it was a commune saying there were no restrictions on the residents coming and going.

Although the order refers to itself as a Catholic religion, the Vatican has outlawed Kamm after a canonical investigation rejected his claims of supernatural visions and repudiated his false teachings.

The NSW Board of Studies is investigating safety at his St Joseph's school in the wake of his conviction.

'Hail Mary' is More Than a Football Play
[Source: Newsweek (U.S. Edition), August 29, 2005]

Marc Sayre looks like a typical college student: baggy jeans, unbuttoned plaid shirt over a grungy tee and a knit black cap. He lives off campus with friends who favor Coldplay, cold beer, pool tournaments--and the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Their frat-like group, called the Knights of the Holy Queen, consists of nearly 40 male students at Franciscan University. They pray together daily and convene once a week to share the long, ritualistic prayer of the rosary, which is more commonly performed by folks their grandmothers' age. "This is what we long for in our faith," says Sayre, 21, referring to a level of devotion that goes far beyond attending Sunday mass. "There was an emptiness before. Now our lives--my life--are full."

For decades, America's 67 million Roman Catholics have had a reputation as a wayward flock. While evangelical Protestants built mega-churches and rose in membership, Catholics migrated toward a less dogmatic form of faith. Some of the transformation has been formal, such as the 1965 Vatican II reforms that ended Latin mass. But much has been informal, as "cafeteria Catholics" have played pick-and-choose, rejecting some church rituals (such as confession) or teachings (on subjects like birth control). But now, as the generation raised under the more orthodox Pope John Paul II comes of age, some young Catholics are searching for a more rigorous form of faith. They're reviving old rituals and hewing to strict doctrine. Franciscan University, with 2,300 students in the old steel town of Steubenville, Ohio, is a haven for these faithful. This is one of the few colleges in America where a "Hail Mary" isn't just a last-minute football play.

To spend time among them is to explore the boundary where normal college life intersects with ultra-devout Catholicism. Many of the students here drink, but they generally don't get trashed. They date, but remain fully clothed and often pray as couples. And as befits their age, sometimes they feel torn between the secular and the spiritual. "Sure, there are some nights I'd rather be watching 'Punk'd' than joining the group in prayer," says Audry Raines, 20, a member of the Little Flowers, a sorority-like worship house. "[But] there is beauty in prayer, in contemplation, in doing small things."

Although most of these students were born Catholic, many speak of "converting" to this deeper immersion as teenagers. They'd grown dispirited with routine Sunday masses and wanted a more personal connection with Christ. Some are unapologetically judgmental of the unconverted. "A lot of these kids have a problem with so-called sociological Catholics," says Boston College theologian Stephen Pope. But Franciscan University's president, Father Terence Henry, says conversion is a deeply personal choice, not something by which to measure others. "It's an ongoing experience, a handing over of life more and more to the Lord."

Even under John Paul II's conservative successor, it is a stretch to say that young Catholics like these--whose numbers nationally are impossible to determine--represent the future of the church. Soon they will graduate into a more secular world, but they promise to stay devoted. "God is just more than somebody you visit on Sunday," says Liz Danik, 21. For those who've chosen this stronger flavor of Catholicism, the nourishment comes daily.

Anatolian Icons as Collectable Works of Art
[Source: Turkish Daily News, July 31, 2005]

An icon, by definition, is an artistic visual representation or symbol of anything considered holy and divine. In Eastern Orthodoxy, the icon is generally a flat panel painting depicting a holy being or object such as Christ, Mary, saints, angels or the cross. Icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, done in mosaic, printed on paper or metal, etc. Accordingly, a seal ring with a religious image can be considered an icon

The birth of icons:

It is believed that icons emerged from primitive traditions and are similar to other types of religious art. Legend has it that Luke, one of the contributors to the New Testament, made three icons for the Virgin Mary and that when Mary saw them and blessed them, her belief in her faith deepened. The three icons were duplicated with the blessing of the Virgin Mary and it was assumed the original icons transferred their blessed status to the duplicates. It is said that a Byzantine emperor's wife later sent the duplicate icons to Istanbul, then known as Constantinople.

There were, however, those who abhorred the worship of icons and considered those who believed in idolatry to be idolaters. In dealings the Byzantines had with Arabs and Jews, who eschewed idol worship, those with idols were disdained by the latter two groups. The significant number of Jewish communities present in Anatolia during Byzantine Emperor Leo III's reign, combined with the emperor's own dislike of idolatry partly due to his Arab descent, added to the growing hostility against religious pictures

Subsequently, a decree was issued by Leo on Jan. 17, 730 ordering the destruction of all religious pictures, resulting in many icons being destroyed.

Icons and rituals:

Starting in the second half of the 6th century, rituals were made to include icons. Respected religious leaders would bless icons and hold ceremonies with these newly holy pieces

People who lived in cultures that embraced icons started seeking remedies for their illnesses and forgiveness for their sins from them. People would bow before icons, kiss them and beg for solutions to their troubles and problems. The icons were elevated to talismans, beyond being symbols

Icons collectable works of art: The oldest icons in existence today were made between the sixth and eighth centuries and found in St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai. After the 20th century, icon experts, art historians, art lovers, antique dealers and museums in Europe started showing an interest in these items. Since the icons were considered to be art, they were evaluated by their color, shape, aesthetic value and subject matter.

It is only in the last 40 years that icons began to be considered works of art in Turkey. Up until 1960 they were handled as religious or historic relics and only after 1960 did they gain importance, becoming collectable works of art.

Many icons were left behind during mass population exchanges during the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries. Many old Orthodox churches in Anatolia were sources of valuable icons

During the post-1960s icon-trading period in Turkey, many were either sold and/or smuggled abroad.

How icons came to Anatolia:

Regions in Anatolia that were hosts of many ancient civilizations of the Orthodox faith, among other religions, had remnants of icons in their churches and other holy sites

Many icons brought from Eastern bloc countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, as well as the Balkans, brought color to the Istanbul art market. These icons have become collectables over the last decade and the number of people showing keen interest in them has increased. Today, icons are found in Istanbul, Izmir, Urgup, Trabzon and southeastern Anatolia. Antique dealers sell at prices varying from YTL 1,000 to YTL 10,000.

Mythology and Science
[Source: Africa News, July 18, 2005]

Mahoro a young man from Butare province of Rwanda has become a house-hold name in Rwanda due to his claims that through the appearance of the Virgin Mary, he was shown drugs that can cure HIV /Aids and ever-since, he has been administering those drugs to HIV /Aids patients, not until a couple of weeks ago when the Ministry of Health ordered him not to continue administering such drugs any more.

Mahoro's case is controversial in that it includes everything that is of controversial nature in our time, more so in the field of traditions, religion and HIV/Aids.

A critical analysis of Amahoro's case will immediately confirm the poor man's technical knock-out in the area of HIV/Aids cure. However, Mahoro is not only the first person to claim the discovery of HIV/Aids cure. Many other people including, outstanding professional medical experts have undergone the same persecution as Amahoro of Rwanda.

I can remember very well KEMRIs renowned Professor of medicine and a leading researcher in HIV/Aids cure since the first HIV/Aids case in Kenya was reported. He found himself into the drama of HIV/Aids cure in the name of Kemron and Pearl Omega. Professor Obel has been the pioneer and master mind of the research which led to the discovery of those drugs under the auspices of the Kenya Institute of Medical Research (KEMRI) and the Kenyan government.

Professor Obel, his team from KEMRI and HIV/Aids patient who used Kemron claimed that it was "the drug" regardless of none of its entire scientifically exhausted procedure as HIV/Aids drug. The persecution that ensued came from the government officials, medical experts including some of Obel's own peers in the medical circles. The drug was eventually banned by the government and ever since has remained in mystery to all those people who are related to it in Kenya and probably Africa at large. Here though the ban was implemented the formula of the drug's manufacture was stolen by some European company and it is now been manufactured under the different name and different combination then supplied to us in exorbitant prices in the name of ARVs! Nobody had justified this and so I am innocent of what I am saying.

The drug was followed a few years by Obel's discovery of Pearl Omega, which at this time was Obel's personal initiative even though supported by the government due to Obel's affiliation to the government as the state scientist.

Pearl Omega's appearance to members of the public was applauded. Like Kemron, Pearl Omega did not last much before it faced the knife of political and anti-herbal medical persecutors. In his book, "Power and Intrigue" Professor Obel who to date is ever around the table struggling to discover HIV/AIDS cure, laments an ignorance that should be upheld while research continues in this area.

"Professor Obel's efforts should not be discouraged", remarked a European medical doctor who reminded Obel's own colleagues and African stakeholders to take things gradually just as the gradual process which HIV/Aids takes before it wipes off a person's life.

Mahoro's plight is evidently understood in the context of the fact that he is not a trained medical expert in the first place and he is treading upon the path of traditions. If Professor Obel from Kenya and many others with astute scientific and empirical techniques can be dismissed in this area, how much more could a poor man like Amahoro be persecuted?

Mahoro's case is made much more complicated by another element. That is religion. The chap claims that the Virgin Mary appeared to him and showed him HIV/Aids cure. A cure for which he set out to administer without charging any fees. At the core of any religion, there is an element of service without a return for payment. In line with this, Mahoro's claim is well understood.

The peculiar aspect of Mahoro's cure is also found within the element of the Virgin Mary. In the Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to people and instructed them for healing services. Major shrines have been erected in these places. Many more of these shrines are wide spread in Europe. I have had of one place in the North Eastern province of Kenya. I am sorry that I have not gone there neither can I testify of any healing from that place.

People are convinced that God heals in these places, people with various types of ailments. On this ground the eyes of the gateway to knowledge as man's five senses will not entertain Mahoro's mythological postulates. I am sorry for the poor man.

HIV/Aids is the most catastrophic ailments of our time. The world's population that has died of it and those who have it is overwhelming. Major global pharmaceutical firms are ever working around the clock to come up with a cure. It is true that HIV/Aids will take a great toll of the world's population before a cure is found.

The process of research that leads into HIV/Aids cure is very gradual. This is in line with the empirically stipulated statutes that are involved into the empirical method. I value this method for it has surely enhanced the quality of human life in this World.

However, the world should at the same time be sensitive about the non empirical method of HIV/Aids-for we are in two worlds; a world of metaphysics and a world of physics or a world of the mind and a world of the body. To the persecutors of HIV/Aids healers, remember one thing, empirical method and ontological methods are in the process of reconciliation-the International Scientific Prayer Research Organization is my witness.

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