First Jewish holy man to address Catholic synod: Vatican

An Israeli rabbi will become the first Jewish holy man to address a Roman Catholic synod when it convenes next month to discuss the Bible, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Wednesday.
"It's the first time a rabbi has been invited to speak before the synod," Lombardi told AFP, noting that Shear-Yashuv Cohen, Grand Rabbi of Haifa, Israel, would speak on the second day of the October 5-26 event gathering Catholic bishops from around the world.....

http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=mideast&item=080924144224.osmk2b1h.php

Pope: Faith based on personal encounter with Jesus through the church

By Cindy WoodenCatholic News ServiceVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For St. Paul and for all Christians, faith is not based on a myth, but on a personal encounter with the risen Jesus through the church, Pope Benedict XVI said.At his Sept. 24 weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict focused on St. Paul's relationship with the Twelve Apostles first chosen by Jesus to preach the word of God to the ends of the earth.Because St. Paul never met Jesus during his public, earthly life, he needed to consult with and be confirmed by the first disciples who lived with Jesus and were chosen by him, the pope said.In his writings, the pope said, St. Paul makes it clear that he recognizes the primacy of the first apostles and that the teaching he is handing on is the teaching of the apostles."Before preaching Jesus Christ, his lord, St. Paul met him on the road to Damascus, spent time with him in the church, observing the life of the Twelve and those who followed him along the roads of Galilee," the pope said.......

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0804850.htm

Patriarch-Pope talks possible after rifts overcome - Moscow Patriarchate

Moscow, September 24, Interfax - The Moscow Patriarchate has again said that it is not rejecting talks between Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Benedict XVI, but noted problems dividing the two Churches must be settled first."If we forge joint decisions that will help resolve the problems dividing the two Churches, it will not be difficult to find a time and venue for such talks. Many plans have been proposed, and all of them will be assessed, of course," Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the vice-chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, told Interfax-Religion........

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=5194

Welcome to Catholics Come Home!

Thank you for accepting our invitation to learn more about Catholics Come Home and returning to your Catholic faith.
God, our Father, created a big and loving family in His Church. Jesus prays that we are one (John 17:21-23), as He and His father in heaven are one. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we wish to invite you to learn more about our family in faith: a Church filled with beauty, miracles, heroes, history, love and peace.
Whether you are on a journey into the Catholic Church or returning to the Catholic Church, you have come to a good place. Our goal is to provide you with a very wide array of helpful and thought-provoking resources that will help you understand more clearly the Catholic Church and its teachings.
At Catholics Come Home, we promise to always give you the honest truth, with nothing held back. We won't shy away from difficult subjects, nor will we refrain from pointing out the many beautiful, wonderful, and even miraculous aspects of the Catholic Church........

Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 09-24-08

Reading 1Prv 30:5-9Every word of God is tested;he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.Add nothing to his words,lest he reprove you, and you will be exposed as a deceiver.Two things I ask of you,deny them not to me before I die:Put falsehood and lying far from me,give me neither poverty nor riches;provide me only with the food I need;Lest, being full, I deny you,saying, “Who is the LORD?”Or, being in want, I steal,and profane the name of my God......