Chamish On Pope Francis SJ

www.barrychamish.com

                                                                                                   POPE GOES THE WEASEL
                                                                                                        by Barry Chamish

       It appears the Pope will be arriving in Israel this May to weasel concessions from the government. The first step in the long road to grandeur was taken this month.

Sara Netanyahu: “We can hardly wait for the Pope”
December 4, 2013

The prime minister’s wife, repeated the invitation. “We’re expecting you, we can’t wait”.

Officials in the Vatican made a nod to the pope’s plans to visit the Holy Land, but no official announcement was made. According to Israeli media, an advance team from the Vatican is expected in the near future to prepare for Pope Francis’ expected visit in May.
In April, the pope reportedly accepted an invitation for a visit to Israel extended by visiting President Shimon Peres.  On Monday, Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, repeated the invitation. “We’re expecting you, we can’t wait,” Israeli media quoted her as telling the pontiff after the meeting.

       In the midst of the upcoming show of dignity which Israelis will be swamped by, they will be asked to concede vital chunks of territory. The plan has the nation so caught up in the pageantry that it agrees to anything. There is only one bright spot in the bleakness. One writer is on guard: 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Author.aspx/863

Giulio Meotti

The writer has just published a book about the Vatican and Israel titled "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published by Mantua Books.

Pope Francis has praised Jews for keeping their faith despite the Holocaust and other “terrible trials” throughout history, and reaffirmed Judaism as the “holy root” of Christianity.

In a letter, published on the front page of La Repubblica Italian newspaper, the Pope writes that "since Vatican Council II, we have rediscovered that the Jewish people are still for us the holy root from which Jesus germinated".

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio had celebrated Rosh Hashana in local synagogues, he had voiced solidarity with Jewish victims of Iranian terrorism and co-written a book with a rabbi, Avraham Skorka. He attended a commemoration of Kristallnacht, the wave of Nazi attacks against Jews in November 1938.

But as this new letter shows, one of the grave dangers in the Vatican's dialogue with Judaism is the Church's attempt to drive a wedge between the “good” and docile Jews of the Diaspora and the “bad” and arrogant Jews of Israel.

Pope Francis has never addressed the Israelis in his messages, nor has he openly defended the Jewish State since he was elected by the college of the cardinals. It seems that there is no room for stubborn, faithful Zionists in the Pope's lenient smile. In his speeches, Jewish national aspirations are ignored, if not denigrated.

            Sixteen years ago, when I was an Israeli idealist, I stood on guard alone:

http://www.israelbehindthenews.com/bin/content.cgi?ID=657&q=1

The Vatican's Jerusalem Agenda

By Barry Chamish

Mon Sep 22 1997

Did Shimon Peres make a deal with the Vatican?
Consider the evidence:

• On Sept. 10, '93, just three days before the signing of the Declaration of Principles in Washington, the Italian news magazine La Stampa reported that part of the peace deal was an unwritten understanding that the Vatican would receive political authority over the Old City of Jerusalem by the end of the millenium. The newspaper reported that Shimon Peres had promised the pope to hand over the holy sites of Jerusalem the previous May and that Arafat had accepted the agreement.
• In March '94, the Israeli newsmagazine Shishi published an interview with Mark Halter, a French intellectual and close friend of Shimon Peres. He said he delivered a letter from Peres to the Pope the previous May, within which Peres offered the Vatican hegemony over the Old City of Jerusalem. The article detailed Peres's offer which essentially turned Jerusalem into an international city overseen by the Holy See.
• In March '95, the radio station Arutz Sheva announced that it had seen a cable sent by the Israeli Embassy in Rome to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem outlining the handover of the Old City of Jerusalem to the Vatican. Two days later Haaretz published the cable on its front page. The Foreign Ministry explained that the cable was genuine but someone had whited out the word "not." ie We will not transfer authority to the Vatican. Incredibly, numerous Bnei Brak rabbis who had cancelled Passover meetings with Peres over the issue of the cable accepted the explanation and reinvited him to their homes.

The Foreign Ministry's Legal Affairs Spokesperson, Esther Samilag, publicly complained about "various capitulations" to the Vatican. She was immediately transferred to a post at the Israeli Embassy in Katmandu, Nepal.
MK Avraham Shapira announced in the Knesset that he had information that all Vatican property in Jerusalem was to become tax exempt and that large tracts of real estate on Mount Zion were given to the pope in perpetuity.
Jerusalem's late Deputy Mayor Shmuel Meir announced that he had received "information that properties promised to the Vatican would be granted extra-territorial status."
Beilin was forced to answer the accusations. He admitted, "Included in the Vatican Agreement is the issue of papal properties in Israel that will be resolved by a committee of experts that has already been formed." If so, this committee has not since released any proof of its existence.
With all this in mind, how do we interpret the Vatican's current position on Jerusalem?
The following report, circulated by MSANews may shed some light on that:

Vatican City, Jun 14, 1997 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, apostolic nuncio and Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke June 9 on the status of Jerusalem at the New York headquarters of the Path to Peace Foundation. The archbishop addressed members of this foundation as well as U.S. members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He began by briefly summarizing the "well-known and long-standing position of the Holy See with regard to Jerusalem. He stated that Jerusalem "for us, of course, along with the rest of the Holy Land, is that special link between heaven and earth, that place where God walked and ultimately died among men. And of course we recognize that others revere Jerusalem as the city of David and the prophets and the city known to Mohammed.... It is a spiritual treasure for all of humanity, and it is a city of two peoples, Arabs and Jews, and of the three monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam." Archbishop Martino added that "in recent years it has been increasingly difficult to break through the political and media-imposed stranglehold on the question of Jerusalem." he recounted Jerusalem's recent history, recalling in particular the UN's General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947 calling for Jerusalem to be considered a 'corpus separatum' under the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations," a resolution which Israel accepted. He pointed out that, in addressing the gridlock which has resulted from the 1967 Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, "the Holy See has therefore advocated the granting to Jerusalem of an 'internationally guaranteed special statute. That is the phrase used by Pope John Paul II in his 1984 Apostolic Letter 'Redemption is Anno'."
This statute "asks that regardless of how the problem of sovereignty is resolved and who is called to exercise it, there should be a supra-national and international entity endowed with means adequate to insure the preservation of the special characteristics of the City, its Holy Places, the freedom to visit them, its religious and ethnic communities, a guarantee of their essential liberties, and its city plan'."
The apostolic nuncio recalled the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel in 1993, when both signed the 'Fundamental Agreement." He noted Article 4 of this agreement where "both the Holy See and Israel affirm their continuing commitment to the 'Status quo' in the Christian Holy Places."
He also spoke of the problems sparked by Israel's recent authorization of "a project for the construction of settlements in occupied territory in East Jerusalem" for which "there was wide-spread international condemnation." This issue, he reminded those present, was brought before the UN Security Council on March 7 and March 21 of this year, but without resolution "because the sole country on the Security Council which opposed the Resolution was the United States."
An Emergency Session of the General Assembly, "organized only nine other times in the history of the United Nations" was held on April 24-25. The Holy See delegation was contacted and asked for suggestions for a Resolution, Archbishop Martino said. And he recounted the meetings, rough drafts of proposals and negotiations which followed.
The approved texts of the eventual Resolution, he underlined, contained "those points championed by the Holy See.... The General Assembly has here called for 'internationally guaranteed provisions' - the equivalent of the 'internationally guaranteed special status' called for by Pope John Paul II. This is particularly noteworthy because in this case, the Arab delegations all voted for this Resolution and therefore for this provision."
"The Holy Places within Jerusalem," concluded Archbishop Martino, "are not merely museum relics to be opened and closed by the dominant political authority, no matter who that might be at any given moment. They are living shrines precious to the hearts and faith of believers." DELSS/STATUS JERUSALEM/UN:MARTINO VIS 970616 (640)

Could that supra-national entity which will oversee the international city of Jerusalem be the Vatican just as Peres promised? And how do we react to Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert's recent announcement that he will begin negotiations with the Vatican, but "only over holy sites?"

          Today, I don't believe that Israel will do right by its people. The Pope is coming in May, he is contriving a long list of nefarious demands, and the Israeli government is preparing to be so moved by the moment that it concedes to all of them.

end

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqsuK8B7b4g&feature=em-share_video_in_list_user&list=PLTQSTGefsTgzex6NSuxPf8-N8ZGVv95R7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXxEBXJx2mo

I set up a web blog some time ago with your book "With The Kennedys"

http://withthekenndys.blogspot.co.uk/

Or better, buy it at:

http://www.lulu.com/content/590092

Film producer Steve Stavro sent me a few copies of his powerful 3 hour DVD on Vatican diplomacy, Clear And Present Evil, with me as a core interviewee. A few will get a signed copy for $40. if they write me quickly. Also, write me for my relevant DVD, The Vatican's New Crusade For Jerusalem.

My latest book is The Stinger Not The Stung:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/barry-chamish/the-stinger-not-the-stung-israels-not-so-civil-war/paperback/product-20554733.html?showPreview=trueAnd if you saw and liked then you can start with:
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My Rabin lecture in Hebrew: Some people, I'm told, had to copy and paste this to open it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOYpkCP1WNM

My radio show is found at:

www.libertyarchives.com

 

Pope Francis S.J. TIME Person of the Year 2013

for a masterful job as a PR campaign to make the Vatican appear reformist.

Putin Meets Pope Frances S.J.

From the Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/10474191/Vladimir-Putin-holds-first-meeting-with-Pope-Francis.html



Pope Francis and Russian president Vladimir Putin met on Monday and discussed the Middle East and problems faced by Christians across the world, but did not touch on the strained relationship between the Vatican and the Orthodox Church.

The 35-minute meeting at the Vatican was the first between Pope Francis and Putin, who met the pontiff's two immediate predecessors, Benedict and John Paul II.

"It was quite a cordial and constructive meeting," Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told reporters after the encounter. Putin had arrived around 45 minutes late because of transport problems.

Relations between the Catholic Church and Russia have long been uneasy because of accusations that the Vatican has tried to poach believers from the Orthodox Church, a charge it denies.

Putin brought a greeting to the pope from Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, but did not talk about inter-church matters, Lombardi said. There was also no discussion of a possible visit to Russia by Pope Francis.

Pope Francis S.J. Letter to Putin

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/09/05/pope_francis_writes_letter_to_president_putin_of_russia_ahead_of_g20/en1-725816

Pope Francis writes letter to President Putin of Russia ahead of G20 summit

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written a letter to President Vladimir Putin of Russia as he prepares to host this year's G20 summit in St. Petersburg. Listen to Lydia O'Kane's report

Below is the full text of the Pope's letter to President Putin.

To His Excellency
Mr Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation


"In the course of this year, you have the honour and the responsibility of presiding over the Group of the twenty largest economies in the world. I am aware that the Russian Federation has participated in this group from the moment of its inception and has always had a positive role to play in the promotion of good governance of the world’s finances, which have been deeply affected by the crisis of 2008.

In today’s highly interdependent context, a global financial framework with its own just and clear rules is required in order to achieve a more equitable and fraternal world, in which it is possible to overcome hunger, ensure decent employment and housing for all, as well as essential healthcare. Your presidency of the G20 this year has committed itself to consolidating the reform of the international financial organizations and to achieving a consensus on financial standards suited to today’s circumstances. However, the world economy will only develop if it allows a dignified way of life for all human beings, from the eldest to the unborn child, not just for citizens of the G20 member states but for every inhabitant of the earth, even those in extreme social situations or in the remotest places.
From this standpoint, it is clear that, for the world’s peoples, armed conflicts are always a deliberate negation of international harmony, and create profound divisions and deep wounds which require many years to heal. Wars are a concrete refusal to pursue the great economic and social goals that the international community has set itself, as seen, for example, in the Millennium Development Goals. Unfortunately, the many armed conflicts which continue to afflict the world today present us daily with dramatic images of misery, hunger, illness and death. Without peace, there can be no form of economic development. Violence never begets peace, the necessary condition for development. 

The meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the twenty most powerful economies, with two-thirds of the world’s population and ninety per cent of global GDP, does not have international security as its principal purpose. Nevertheless, the meeting will surely not forget the situation in the Middle East and particularly in Syria. It is regrettable that, from the very beginning of the conflict in Syria, one-sided interests have prevailed and in fact hindered the search for a solution that would have avoided the senseless massacre now unfolding. The leaders of the G20 cannot remain indifferent to the dramatic situation of the beloved Syrian people which has lasted far too long, and even risks bringing greater suffering to a region bitterly tested by strife and needful of peace. To the leaders present, to each and every one, I make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution. Rather, let there be a renewed commitment to seek, with courage and determination, a peaceful solution through dialogue and negotiation of the parties, unanimously supported by the international community. Moreover, all governments have the moral duty to do everything possible to ensure humanitarian assistance to those suffering because of the conflict, both within and beyond the country’s borders. 

Mr President, in the hope that these thoughts may be a valid spiritual contribution to your meeting, I pray for the successful outcome of the G20’s work on this occasion. I invoke an abundance of blessings upon the Summit in Saint Petersburg, upon the participants and the citizens of the member states, and upon the work and efforts of the 2013 Russian Presidency of the G20.
While requesting your prayers, I take this opportunity to assure you, Mr President, of my highest consideration."


From the Vatican, 4 September 2013

(Signed)
Francis

Text from page http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/09/05/pope_francis_writes_letter_to_president_putin_of_russia_ahead_of_g20/en1-725816
of the Vatican Radio website

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 1st Orthodox Head to Visit Papal Inaugural Since Great Scism in 1054

At the papal inaugural of Pope Francis S.J.

http://www.patriarchate.org/patriarch/biography/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/pope-francis-putin-_n_4233062.html

On March 20, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew became the first worldwide spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians to attend a papal inaugural Mass since the Great Schism split western and eastern Christianity in 1054. (Editing by James Mackenzie and Mark Heinrich)

Putin Clings To Ukraine

with Ukraine Clings To Russia-
would be interesting to see a map of the votes of these parliamentarians

From the Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10468003/Yulia-Tymoshenko-calls-for-Ukraine-protests-as-Vladimir-Putin-blasts-Europe-over-trade-pact.html

excerpt

Vladimir Putin has accused European leaders of stoking a revolution in Ukraine as the country's jailed opposition leader called for street protests after the government scrapped a proposed partnership pact with the EU.

Mr Putin declared the "next few days" would show if Kiev would succumb to pressure to turn West or stick to ties with its former Soviet allies.

"We have heard threats from our European partners toward Ukraine, up to and including promoting the holding of mass protests," he said. "This is pressure and this is blackmail. Whether the Ukraine and the Ukrainian leadership will give in to such blackmail will be clear only in the next few days."

However Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister who languishes in jail, urged her supporters to take to the streets against her sworn rival, Viktor Yanukovich, the president. In a letter she implored Mr Yanukovich to reverse the decision to stop accession negotiations on an association agreement with Europe.

"Today, by killing the agreement, you are making the mistake of your life," she wrote. "You think you will be able to further conduct the policy of bluffing and blackmail and play between the two civilisational centres, receiving from them coveted gifts to retain power.

50 Years Ago Today: 11 22 63

An Undeniable Reason for the Vatican to Order JFK's Assassination
 http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-straw-that-broke-camels-back.html

Other 'Why's Behind the JFK Assassination
 http://endrtimes.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-assasination-of-john-f-kennedy.html

George W. Bush- Vatican - Nationals 'W' Stadium
http://wwwfreespeechbeneathushs.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

John F. Kennedy - Vatican
 http://endrtimes.blogspot.com/2013/11/john-f-kennedy-and-vatican.html

From The New York Times

Vladimir Putin - born October 7, 1952

Editorial

Vladimir Putin Clings to the Past

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Published: November 19, 2013 76 Comments

The former republics of the Soviet Union have been sovereign, independent countries for almost 22 years, free to develop economic and political relations with any foreign nation or trading bloc they choose. That point appears to have eluded President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who is doing everything he can to prevent these countries from developing closer ties with Europe — even threatening to cut off the gas that one country needs to get through the winter.

“The Cold War should be over for everyone,” Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said this week. Not, it appears, for Mr. Putin. 

Next week, six former republics — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine — are scheduled to meet with leaders of the European Union in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss enhanced economic, political and diplomatic ties with the union. In 2004, Lithuania, along with Estonia and Latvia, became the first former Soviet republics to join the union. 

To qualify for stronger ties, the six nations will have to demonstrate progress on democratic and judicial reforms required by the European Union. That may prove difficult for some, like Ukraine, which has, so far, refused to allow its imprisoned former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, to travel to Germany for medical treatment. 

Europe’s use of trade leverage to encourage democracy is constructive and reasonable. Russia’s attempts to bludgeon former vassals into continued economic dependence are not. The European Union offers something real and attractive. Russia, which wants them to join the customs union it has formed with Belarus and Kazakhstan, offers threats. 

In September, a Russian deputy prime minister warned Moldova that it might lose access to gas this winter should it strengthen links with Europe. Then it banned imports of Moldovan wine. Next came threats to expel tens of thousands of Moldovans working in Russia. Yet, far from backing down, Moldovan leaders have continued negotiations with Europe and are now working to reduce the country’s economic dependence on Russia. 

Moscow’s bullying has had more success in Armenia, which counts on Russian support in its territorial dispute with Azerbaijan, and has agreed to join the customs union. Even Lithuania, already a member of the union, has been subjected to trade harassment, presumably in retaliation for hosting next week’s Vilnius meeting. 

Similarly, Russia has threatened to slow Ukrainian imports with exacting customs inspections, although the main obstacles to stronger Ukrainian ties with the union involve domestic politics. In any case, Ukraine, which is economically robust, is perfectly entitled to choose its own course, as are the other former Soviet republics. 

In the waning years of the Soviet Union, its last president, Mikhail Gorbachev, talked optimistically about a post-Cold War Europe stretching undivided from the Atlantic to the Urals. Mr. Putin, however, seems to long for a return to the days when an iron curtain divided the Continent, darkening the horizons of the satellites and Soviet republics to the east — nations that now seek the enjoy more fully the fruits of independence. 

Meet The New York Times’s Editorial Board »

Merkel - Ukraine

From The New York Times

 

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/world/europe/german-chancellor-makes-plea-on-behalf-of-former-soviet-republics.html?_r=0

 BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded on Monday that Russia allow its onetime subjects — particularly in Ukraine — to exercise the sovereign right to make alliances as they choos.

“The Cold War should be over for everyone,” Ms. Merkel said, making her first speech to the German Parliament since winning the general election in September. 

Ms. Merkel devoted the bulk of her 15-minute address to throwing Berlin’s considerable political and economic weight behind the European Union’s efforts to forge closer partnerships with six former Soviet republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. 

Those nations have been invited to sign association agreements at a two-day meeting that opens Nov. 28 in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, one of three former Soviet republics that joined the European Union in 2004.

 

 http://www.eu2013.lt/en/vilnius-summit

Ukraine, by far the biggest of the countries invited, has become the object of an East-West tug of war. European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels made clear on Monday that responsibility for Ukraine’s fate lay with its president, Viktor F. Yanukovich, an ally of Moscow who has nonetheless said he wants his country to be closer to Europe. 

Last week, though, the Ukrainian Parliament postponed consideration of a bill to allow the imprisoned former prime minister, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, to leave the country for medical treatment in Germany. The European Union wants the bill to be passed before it declares that Ukraine has met the conditions for entering an enhanced partnership. Diplomats widely see Tuesday as the deadline for the Ukrainian Parliament to act. 

Ms. Merkel and the lawmakers from all parties who followed her to the lectern on Monday emphasized that the proposed agreements with former Soviet republics are “not directed against Russia” and could help Russia integrate with Europe, as the chancellor declared. 

Moldova, Europe’s poorest country, and Georgia, which recently underwent a peaceful transition of power, are sure to sign agreements at the Vilnius meeting, Ms. Merkel said. She lauded the Moldovans, in particular, for ignoring a Russian boycott of its wine exports, the country’s most important source of foreign exchange. 

Armenia, on the other hand, has succumbed to Russian pressure, including a threatened cutoff of energy supplies, and will now join a customs union led by Russia that includes Belarus and Kazakhstan, Ms. Merkel said. 

Ukraine is a cliffhanger, the chancellor said: “It is not yet clear whether Ukraine is willing to create the conditions” to sign the association agreement with the European Union, which would open up trade and other economic benefits and make travel to Western Europe easier. 

The debate over the union’s Eastern Partnership program in the German Parliament was followed by a lively discussion of the recent accusations that Germany’s most important ally, the United States, eavesdropped on millions of Germans, including the chancellor. 

Ms. Merkel, displaying barely a trace of the anger that she voiced when the monitoring of her cellphone became known, seemed intent on tamping down the hard feelings that have developed over the affair. Still, she insisted that the United States had work to do to restore the confidence needed, for example, to negotiate a free trade accord with the European Union. 

The spying accusations “are grave,” the chancellor said. “They must be cleared up. And, more important still: for the future, we must build new trust.”

In the debate, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former foreign minister and member of the Social Democrats, with whom Ms. Merkel is now negotiating a new coalition government, said there was more to the matter than merely the discovery that the United States had spied on Germany.

“People sense that this is not a one-time oversight,” Mr. Steinmeier told the Parliament. “People sense that this is about a very basic question. This is about which moral and political guidelines do we need in this modern, digital 21st century?” 

Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, has disclosed information about the agency’s surveillance operations to various publications — in Germany, primarily to the news weekly Der Spiegel. Several prominent politicians and intellectuals on the left have demanded that Mr. Snowden, who now has temporary asylum in Russia, be given shelter in Germany and be allowed to answer questions before a full-fledged parliamentary inquiry. 

The chancellor’s conservative bloc and the Social Democrats used their combined majority on Monday to reject opposition calls for an inquiry. Still, such an inquiry could be established after Ms. Merkel is sworn in as head of a new government, which is expected to happen on Dec. 17.

Merkel Has A Valid Point

she has been criticized for daring to mention anti-Christian violence, yet comes from a background of some of the least acknowledged Christian victims - the more educated Polish and the eastern German Protestants

Population losses- during the initial 30 Years War 1618-1648

 http://www.st-benno.de/shop/angela-merkel-die-protestantin.html

The first portrait from a Christian perspective

• "The first portrait from a Christian perspective
• "Authentic, sensitive and knowledgeable
• »Interesting backgrounds, unknown details, personal images

Angela Merkel is the Chancellor and not just the most powerful women in the world, she is also a devout Protestant. Volker Resing, journalist and correspondent in Berlin, approaches the head of government in this portrait of an unfamiliar website. No Chancellor in front of her was prefigured such as theologically. Her childhood as a pastor's daughter she coined, as well as the anti-clerical environment in the GDR dictatorship. After the turn she makes an unparalleled career. The personal faith is for the Chancellor rather private matter. But she says that her services are important and how they like to sing old hymns. They examined the debate with the churches, but they do not shy away from the conflict. As Angela Merkel stands for "C" of their party? What are the churches in society care? Where she sees the Christian in politics? This portrait is authentic and surprising answers.

Casimir III+ Poland

after Casmir III ceded Silesia, and turned east

Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth

1658 proposed Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenium Commonwealth

Ruthenian Voivodship

Partitions of Poland

Casmiria

Commonwealth 1569 - 1795
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth

Proposed (1658) Tri-Polish, Lithuanian, Ruthenian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian%E2%80%93Ruthenian_Commonwealth

Proposed Tri-Polish, Lithuanina, Russian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian%E2%80%93Muscovite_Commonwealth

Pilsuski's proposal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi%C4%99dzymorze

Putin 'increasingly emotional' over Ukraine

 

Vladimir Putin born. October 7, 1952

From The New York Times

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/opinion/sunday/waiting-to-see-if-ukraine-tilts-east-or-west.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

Waiting to See If Ukraine Tilts East or West

excerpt

Curiously, the ferocious tug-of-war between Russia and the European Union over Ukraine has come down to whether Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukrainian prime minister who is serving a seven-year prison sentence, is freed in the next few days. Today's Editorials Editorial: China’s New Agenda (November 17, 2013) Editorial: Sentenced to a Slow Death (November 17, 2013) Editorial: Reining in Payday Lenders (November 17, 2013)

 In less than two weeks, Ukraine is supposed to sign an “association agreement” with the European Union at an E.U. summit meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania. The agreement is far short of E.U. membership, or even candidacy for membership, but it includes a free-trade pact and promises of financial aid that Ukraine, in dire straits, desperately needs. The agreement is essentially ready, the Ukrainian Parliament has voted for it, and President Viktor Yanukovich says he is prepared to sign.

But it may not be. President Vladimir Putin of Russia is fiercely opposed to the agreement. While a large majority of Russians seems to accept the idea that Ukraine is a separate country, Mr. Putin has become increasingly emotional in asserting that Ukraine belongs with Russia, and only with Russia.

His pet international project is a Eurasian Union, which he depicts as a sort of eastern E.U. but Western critics view as an incipient Soviet reincarnation. At this fall’s annual meeting with Russia experts and journalists in Valdai, Russia, Mr. Putin spoke of Ukrainians and Russians as one people, and he has threatened Ukraine with severe consequences if it signs the agreement with the E.U. Last August, the Kremlin fired a warning shot, ordering tough customs restrictions against Ukraine and all but halting Ukrainian imports for a week. (This month, Ukraine halted Russian natural gas imports, but that seems to be more of a dispute over payments than tension over the E.U.)

On the E.U. side, East European members like Poland and Lithuania have been particularly keen to pull Ukraine out of Russia’s orbit as a further buffer against Moscow’s ambitions.

Other members farther west, like Germany and France, already suffering from pronounced “expansion fatigue” and the euro crisis, have been less enthusiastic about Ukraine, especially given its rampant corruption and cronyism. (Ukraine ranks a dismal 144th out of 176 nations and territories on the corruption perceptions index compiled by Transparency International, an organization that monitors corruption around the world.) The United States, which in the first years after the breakup of the Soviet Union ardently courted Ukraine, has basically lost interest.

---

 

Viktor F. Yanukovich

 

 

Iran-Vatican

Iran-Vatican Detente

Found via the blog Endr Times

President Hassan Rohani meeting with Archbishop Leo Boccardi

Photo (Courtesy)  http://www.mfa.gov.ir/index.aspx?siteid=3&pageid=2014&newsview=25114

 
Iran’s President Hassan Rohani has informally begun a dialogue between the Islamic and Christian worlds. He expressed hope for an alliance between Iran and the Holy See regarding major issues that shake humanity, like the fight against radicalism, injustice and poverty. Rohani’s appeal was launched on the occasion of his meeting with Archbishop Leo Boccardi, the new apostolic nuncio, on Nov. 2 in Tehran. Rohani published a photo of the meeting on his Twitter account, writing, “Islam and Christianity need to dialogue more than ever today, as the basis of conflicts between religions is mainly ignorance and the lack of mutual understanding.” Rohani remarked that the Vatican and Iran have “common enemies,” like terrorism and extremism, and “similar goals,” like the defeat of injustice and poverty in the world. Archbishop Boccardi called for “closer bilateral relations between the Holy See and the Islamic Republic,” expressing the wish that the two countries can work together to resolve regional crises in the Middle East, particularly the current one in Syria.


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Jesuit Superior General Adolfo Nicholas Looking Forward to 2014

Found via the blog Endr Times

http://endrtimes.blogspot.com/2013/11/jesuit-superior-general-commemorates.html

Jesuit superior general commemorates 200th anniversary of Society’s restoration

The Church of the Gesu, Rome

Photo (Courtesy) http://www.nwjesuits.org/oregon-province-trip-to-rome/

CWN - November 15, 2013

The superior general of the Society of Jesus, the Church’s largest male religious institute, has issued a letter commemorating the upcoming bicentennial of the institute’s restoration by Pope Pius VII.

Founded in 1534, the Church’s largest male religious institute was suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773 under political pressure.

Father Adolfo Nicolás, the superior, proposed five themes for the 2014 bicentennial year: “creative fidelity,” “love for our Institute,” “fraternal companionship,” “universal mission,” and “faith in Providence.”


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