BBC prepares for extensive coverage of Benedict XVI’s visit to UK

 
Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United Kingdom in September, will mark the first papal visit to the U.K since John Paul II was there in 1982.

A historic event the director general of the largest public broadcaster in England, was a part of.

Mark Thompson - BBC, Director-General
“I was part to the team that covered the last time a pope visited the U.K  it was John Paul II in 1982, it was an enormous event.”

During a speaking engagement at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Mark Thompson of the BBC said his team is gearing up to cover the pope’s visit from all angles and on all media platforms.

Mark Thompson
 “The BBC will try to make sure that across TV, radio and the web we’re there to cover everything the pope does in the U.K and give the audience a sense of being there and being part of this historic event.”
But the BBC’s history of covering religious topics is quite irregular. Several stories on Jesus Christ or Christianity have been widely considered offensive and even anti-Christian.

Some viewers have accused the public broadcaster of ignoring its Christian audience and dedicating more of its coverage to minority religions.

80 percent of the population in the U.K is made up of Christians. About 5 million are Catholic.

Mark Thompson“We have been broadcasting religious programs for many decades we still have every week many things on the air about Christianity, but there maybe some who believe we should do more than what we do.”
Thompson says over the past couple of years they’ve been taking a more creative approach to covering religion.

Mark Thompson“We had sort of a reality show a couple of years ago, called Monastery, we took a group of ordinary guys putting them in a monastery together to get a sense of what monastic life maybe like and how they can learn about their own spiritual growth.”
That was in 2006, now in 2010 the BBC is pulling out all the stops to cover the pope’s visit including producing a documentary on Cardinal John Henry Newman.

The pope will beatify Newman during the first papal visit to the U.K in more than 2 decades.

Operation Beautiful: spreading positivity one note at a time

Recently a post-it note popped up on a high school bathroom mirror. In simple script it read “When the world says ‘Give In’ stay strong. You are a fighter. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. Have a great day.” This is just one of thousands such notes working to spread positivity around the world through Operation Beautiful.  

The tenets of the mini-movement are simple: Post a note in a public place that will help build others up. Stop putting yourself and others down about appearances. Believe and spread the word that everyone is beautiful; no change is required.

Joan of Arc 'Relics' Confirmed to Be Fake

How did the bones of two ancient Egyptian mummies -- one human, the other feline -- end up in a bottle that supposedly contained the remains of Joan of Arc?

The so-called "relics of Joan of Arc," overseen by the Archbishop of Tours in Chinon, France, do not contain the charred remains of the Catholic saint. Rather, the artifacts consist of a mummified cat leg bone and human rib, both dating to the 6th-3rd century B.C., according to a new study. READ MORE

Vatican Preparing Marriage Preparation Handbook

Pope Benedict XVI revealed that the Vatican is preparing a handbook of preparation for marriage inspired by the ideas of John Paul II.

Addressing members of the Pontifical Council for the Family currently taking part in their annual plenary assembly, the Pope said the document will be based around three main preparation stages: “remote, proximate and immediate” (more detail on these below).

Elsewhere in his speech, the Pope praised other initiatives of the Council which seek to raise awareness of the benefits the family brings to society. He also recalled the World Meeting of Families in Mexico last year and looked forward to the next one, in Milan, Italy, in 2012. READ MORE

Chinese Catholic Named a Top Person of 2009

(Zenit.org).- A 71-year old Catholic farmer, who has spent 23 taking care of the elderly, sick, abandoned and handicapped, has been named one of the "Top 10 People of 2009" in China.

The list is compiled based on votes cast by major Chinese national media and by the general population through online voting, reports the Fides news agency. The award ceremony will take place on Chinese New Year, which falls this year on Feb. 14.

The story of Wang Ping An, who has accompanied 63 dying people during their last days, has caught the attention of the nation. He also took out a loan in 2000 to build a 50-room shelter for the homeless.

The poor farmer is known for often saying: "Jesus taught us 'Whenever you did to this to the least of these my brethren, you did unto me.'" 


Wang Ping (which means peace) said that the highlight of his life was when he visited Rome in 2007 and attended a general audience with Benedict XVI.

Fides news agency called the award an "eloquent testimony of how Chinese Catholics today are valued and recognized by society and by the Chinese media in general."

Daily Reading & Meditation Tuesday (2/9)

"You have a fine way of rejecting the commandments of God"- Mark 7:1-13

Meditation: What makes a person unclean or unfit to offer God acceptable worship? The Jews went to great pains to ensure that their worship would conform to the instructions which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. God's call to his people was a call to holiness: "be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44; 19:2). In theirzeal for holiness many elders developed elaborate traditions which became a burden for the people to carry out in their everyday lives. 

The Scribes and Pharisees were upset with Jesus because he allowed his disciples to break with their ritual traditions by eating with unclean hands. They sent a delegation all the way from Jerusalem to Galilee to bring their accusation in a face-to-face confrontation with Jesus. Jesus dealt with their accusation by going to the heart of the matter – by looking at God's intention and purpose for the commandments. Jesus gave an example of how their use of ritual tradition excused them from fulfilling the commandment to honor one's father and mother. If someone wanted to avoid the duty of financially providing for their parents in old age or sickness they could say that their money or goods were an offering "given over to God" and thus exempt from any claim of charity or duty to help others. They broke God's law to fulfull a law of their own making. Jesus explained that they void God's command because they allowed their hearts and minds to be clouded by their own notions of religion. 

Jesus accused them specifically of two things. First of hypocrisy. Like actors, who put on a show, they appear to obey God's word in their external practices while they inwardly harbor evil desires and intentions. Secondly, he accused them of abandoning God's word by substituting their own arguments and ingenious interpretations for what God requires. They listened to clever arguments rather than to God's word. Jesus refers them to the prophecy of Isaiah (29:31) where the prophet accuses the people of his day for honoring God with their lips while their hearts went astray because of disobedience to God's laws. 

If we listen to God's word with faith and reverence, it will both enlighten our mind ands purify the hearts – thus enabling us to better understand how he wants us to love and obey him. The Lord invites us to draw near to him and to feast at his banquet table. Do you approach with a clean heart and mind? Ask the Lord to cleanse and renew you with the purifying fire of his Holy Spirit. 

"Lord Jesus, let the fire of your Holy Spirit cleanse my mind and my heart that I may love you purely and serve you worthily."