Black magic has been big business for years in Indonesia.
People seek help of witch doctors to fulfil their goals and dreams and remedy their problems – be it personal, financial or political.
But now there is growing fear that sorcery has gone out of control and some believe the government should regulate it.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, where she met Ki Joko Bodo, the most successful witch doctor in the country.
Rome, Italy (CNN) — Pope Benedict XVI said Friday the church must promise « to do everything possible » to ensure that the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests « will never occur again. »
He was addressing thousands of priests who had gathered at the Vatican for a three-day conference to mark the end of the « Year of the Priest. »
« So it happened that, in this very year of joy for the sacrament of the priesthood, the sins of priests came to light — particularly the abuse of the little ones, in which the priesthood, whose task is to manifest God’s concern for our good, turns into its very opposite, » the pope said.
Pope Benedict XVI said the church must « insistently beg forgiveness from God » and from victims for the sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests. He also said priests must be more thoroughly vetted before joining the ministry.
« In admitting men to priestly ministry and in their formation, we will do everything we can to weigh the authenticity of their vocation and make every effort to accompany priests along their journey, so that the Lord will protect them and watch over them in troubled situations and amid life’s dangers, » the pope said in his homily.
Some victims of sexual abuse said the pope’s words weren’t enough.
« Forgiveness comes after, not during, a crisis, » said Barbara Blaine, president of the U.S.-based Survivor Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), « Right now, kids are being assaulted by priests and bishops are concealing the crimes. And the pope continues taking no action to stop this. »
She said the pope still ignores the main problem, « the ongoing recklessness, deceit, and callousness of bishops who, even now, protect predators instead of children. »
The pope’s promise to « do everything possible » is a vague pledge that won’t change the behavior of abusive priests, Blaine said.
She called for independent investigations into the extent of cover-ups wherever the abuse occurred, and criminal prosecution of abusive priests and their colleagues and supervisors.
Thousands of people have come forward in the United States, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria and the pope’s native Germany, saying they were abused as children by Catholic clergy.
The crisis has particularly shocked deeply Catholic Ireland, where three government-backed investigations have uncovered physical and sexual abuse stretching back decades.
The pope referred to « currents which lead the flock astray » in his homily Friday.
« Today, we can see that it has nothing to do with love when conduct unworthy of the priestly life is tolerated, » he said.
Critics charge that the Vatican systematically covered up abuse around the world by shuffling abusive priests from one parish to another or quietly pushing them to retire.
The pope has met with victims in the United States and in Malta, and vowed that the church will seek justice for the victims.
But some victims say justice is not enough, and that the priesthood must be reformed.
Tuesday, activists campaigned for the Catholic Church to ordain women. They argued that women in the priesthood could have helped lessen the impact of the child abuse scandal sweeping the church.
« We believe that if women had a say in the church, if there was more accountability and more transparency, that the men would have been held more accountable, » said Erin Saiz Hanna, executive director of the U.S.-based Women’s Ordination Conference.
the CNN Wire Staff
CNN World
Un regroupement de citoyens demande au premier ministre Jean Charest d’agir d’urgence pour empêcher la perte d’une part importante du patrimoine religieux québécois.
Ce regroupement a présenté, aujourd’hui, un manifeste signé par 55 personnes, dont le ténor Marc Hervieux, l’ancien maire de Québec Jean-Paul L’Allier et, surtout, de nombreux organistes, musicologues et facteurs d’orgues.
Ils réclament notamment un moratoire sur la vente, le changement de vocation ou toute autre disposition des lieux de culte pour une période d’un an et la réalisation d’un inventaire complet du patrimoine religieux bâti et des orgues qu’il contient afin d’identifier ce qui doit être préservé.
«Ça s’impose, a indiqué l’un des signataires, l’ex-député Daniel Turp. Il ne suffit pas de déposer une loi sur le patrimoine culturel (…) nous voulons une politique parce qu’une loi sans politique qui l’accompagne ou plan d’action ou une stratégie d’action, ça ne va pas loin. Là, il y a une urgence.»
Le manifeste demande aux Églises des différentes confessions de privilégier les plus beaux monuments pour le culte, et au gouvernement du Québec de nationaliser ceux dont elles ne peuvent plus assumer l’entretien.
Les signataires font valoir que ce sont les citoyens québécois qui ont financé ce patrimoine par la dîme, par des campagnes de financement et par des avantages fiscaux consentis par les gouvernements.
Les citoyens ont leur mot à dire
L’un des initiateurs du manifeste, l’organiste et ancien secrétaire de la Fédération québécoise des amis de l’orgue, Antoine Leduc, a soutenu que l’Église ne devrait pas pouvoir vendre ce patrimoine sans que les citoyens aient leur mot à dire.
«Je ne pense pas que les autorités religieuses devraient avoir ce droit, a-t-il fait valoir. Je parle d’un détournement de patrimoine si les autorités religieuses font cela. Ce n’est pas pour isoler l’Église, mais l’Église a des comptes à rendre. Elle a des responsabilités envers la collectivité et on lui demande de les assumer aujourd’hui.»
Ils ont lancé cet appel pressant devant l’église du Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus, dans l’est de Montréal, fermée et laissée à l’abandon. En plus de sa valeur architecturale, cette église contient un orgue Casavant datant du début du XXe siècle qui a pu être restauré grâce notamment à une collecte de fonds de 50 000 $ amassés auprès des citoyens du quartier Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
«L’église du Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus et son orgue, restauré à grand frais avec des fonds publics doivent être sauvés. S’ils ne le sont pas, aucune église et aucun orgue n’échappera plus aux menaces de fermeture et au pic des démolisseurs», a lancé Gaston Arel, président et fondateur de la Fédération québécoise des amis de l’orgue et des Amis de l’orgue de Montréal.
La Presse canadienne
Le Devoir
À lire aussi sur le sujet : ‘Église du Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus – Le symptôme d’un manque de vision‘, Le Devoir, 2 juin 2010.
The Alchemy of Things Unknown (and a Visual Meditation on Transformation) at Khastoo Gallery (7556 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046 / (323) 472 6498 )
June 10 – July 31, 2010
Opening reception: Thursday, June 10th, 6pm – 8pm
With a film performance by Raha Raissnia, sound by Charles Curtis.
“After the cursing comes laughter, so that the soul is saved from the dead.”
– Carl Gustav Jung, The Red Book
This exhibition intends to examine and expose individual works of art in relation to theosophy, sacred tradition and devotional practice. From William Blake’s illuminated works of divine imagination to Carl Gustav Jung’s drawings of collective symbolic unconscious, the visual is undoubtedly an integral creative tool for reaching, exploring, animating and pervading the indefinable spaces beyond body and mind.
The artists in this exhibition, some more explicitly than others, sought after or seek spiritual truths through art making and employ an almost fervent and reverent experimentation to their practice, one that is both ritualistic and against the grain. This mystic behavior is what defines the show; the persistence on new and unorthodox visual experimentation reaches beyond the worldly sphere to heightened states of consciousness.
This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the generous contributions of William Breeze, Ordo Templi Orientis, Richard Metzger, John Contreras, Scott Hobbs, David Brafman, William Swofford Cameron, Hetty Maclise, and The Estate of Alfred Jensen.
More info : khastoo.com
On June 6th, Hessians worldwide come together to do something upon which we can all agree – listening to Slayer! Finally, one of the most dismissed cultural groups in the world has a holiday to call its own. Join us in our cause to stand unified in our celebration of metal music and let us prove to the rest of society that we too have a voice.
Who is Slayer
Slayer is a band from California. Their music has come to epitomize Satanic speed metal music in the latter half of the 20th century. Their 1986 album, « Reign in Blood » is one of the single most influential metal albums of all time, typified by the modern classic « Angel of Death ».
How to Celebrate
