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Belief in unique role of Christ and the Church leads to dialogue , Cardinal Schonhorn says By Kamille Nixon atholics can engage in genuine inter-religious dialogue while still maintaining their belief in the unique role of Jesus Christ and the CCatholic Church , Chrisop h Cardinal Schonborn , Archbishop of Vienna, said in an address in Berkeley. "My primary and most serious objection to the 'disarmamen t of Christology ' demanded by pluralistic theologies of religion is just this, that it does not allow Jesus to be who he understood himself to be; it does not allow Jesus to be the one whom his followers thought, him to be, " Cardinal Schonborn said during a ceremony Feb. 8 in which he received an honorary doctorate from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology at Berkeley 's Graduate Theological Union. "If Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah of Israel , as the Son of God , then it is clear that in his understanding and that of the other discip les this confession of faith has meaning for all peoples, for all humankind, precisely as it stems from the Jewish notion of Messiah "The answer of Jesus to Peter 's confession opens up another universal horizon: 'And I tell you , you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church , and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it' (Mt. 16, 18). The ' ekklesia ' which Christ himself will Cardinal Schoaborn build upon this rock and which will withthis church stand all the powers of death, , is not just some small special group, but from the beginning she was seen in universal perspective, directed towards all peoples, intended as a home for all humankind." In his address, the Dominican theologian discussed the urgent need for people in the West to understand Islam , including its faith , its peop les and its traditions. Cardinal Schonborn said the most difficult point of inter-religious dialogue is that both Christianity and Islam "understand themselves as universal and missionary religions not meant just for one people or for one particular country, but for all peoples and all human beings. " Following a lecture in Tehran, Cardinal Schonborn said , he was asked by an Iranian student: "Can there be two absolute religions? And did God wish or at least allow this to be the case?" The cardinal's reply: "If Jesus of Nazareth actually is the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God, then his person, being and work actually are unique and beyond comparison , then, too, his word and instruction are true and valid for all human beings in a way which cannot be superceded. And then, further, the church, that community gathered by him and around him , actually is universal in its mission." CARDINAL SCHONBORN, page 8
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I 1 St. Mary's of Nicasio.
Daffodi ls m Mann keep alive memory of Sept 11 By Kamille Nixon In the days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. landmarks that killed thousands, people around the world seemed to be sifting through life in a collective haze, trying to make sense of images of an airliner plowing into a skyscraper, and of missing persons fliers papering Manhattan streets. Shaken and shocked, people flocked to churches and donated millions of dollars to relief efforts. One Marin man conceived of a living memorial of 6500 single yellow daffodils, one for each person then believed to have perished, to be planted at one of his favorite spots , a tiny mission church in the bucolic West Marin town of Nicasio. "Like everybody, I was wanting to do something but I was not sure what," explained Woodacre resident Jim Normandy. "I wanted to put into human terms the number of people missing, to relate each flower to a person." He chose daffodils because they are "a real strong little life force , " said the former landscapes Daffodil bulbs are hardy, associated with rebirth, and unwanted by deer and gophers. They don ' t even need watering, he said. "It's a reminder that the forces of growth and life are always the lasting DAFFODILS, page 7
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