Paco's Blog

QUITO, Ecuador - Ecuador on Monday broke off diplomatic ties with Colombia and Venezuela says it will expel Colombia's ambassador after that country conducted a strike against leftist rebels inside Ecuador.

The Colombian commando raid on Saturday that killed Raul Reyes infuriated Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and his ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Chavez has called Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe a "mob boss" and a "liar." Both countries have mobilized troops toward their borders with Colombia.

"The government of Ecuador has decided to break off diplomatic relations with the government of Colombia starting today," a statement from Ecuador's foreign ministry said.

The Venezuelan foreign ministry later announced its decision in a statement, saying it was acting "in defense of the sovereignty of the fatherland and the dignity of the Venezuelan people."

It said the government "has decided to order the immediate expulsion... of the ambassador of the Republic of Colombia in Venezuela, and the diplomatic personnel of the Colombian Embassy in Caracas."

Colombia said military commandos first bombed a camp on its side of the border. It said the troops came under fire from across the border in Ecuador and encountered Reyes' body when they overran that camp.

Correa called that version an outright lie — "It was a massacre," he said.

Correa denied allegations from a Colombian official that a computer seized Reyes was killed suggested Correa is deepening relations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Colombia's largest rebel group.

The seized computer also contained documents that suggest Venezuela recently paid $300 million to FARC and that the rebels had appeared interested in buying uranium, Colombia's police chief said Monday. Another document suggests that rebels have had financial ties with Chavez since 1992, when he was jailed for leading a coup attempt.


Ecuadorean soldiers arrive to Angostura, next to the Colombian border, in Ecuador, Monday, March 3, 2008. Ecuador President Rafel Correa ordered the expulsion of Colombia's ambassador in Ecuador as Venezuela and Ecuador ordered troops to their borders with Colombia, denouncing the killing of a rebel leader and 16 other Colombian guerrillas at a camp across the border in Ecuador.
(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa).

Holy Name Cathedral closed after wood falls from ceiling
Tribune report
12:23 PM CST, February 13, 2008

A fist-size piece of the wooden ceiling inside Holy Name Cathedral reportedly plummeted 70 feet and damaged a pew on Tuesday, prompting staff to close the cathedral until Saturday.

Rev. Daniel Mayall, pastor and rector of Holy Name, assured callers in a recorded message that the cathedral at State and Superior Streets would maintain its regular schedule of masses and other events. The events will be held in the cathedral's basement while workers construct a protective canopy above the pews and assess the damage, he said.

"Throughout Lent the ceiling will be carefully inspected for structural weaknesses," Mayall said. "Let's pray the problem with the beautiful ceiling is not more expensive. Thanks be to God that no one was injured."



Rites and Revelations

Tribune religion page
Church officials did not immediately return other calls.

The 19th Century vaulted ceiling of Holy Name was restored in 1968. It features the coat of arms of Cardinal John Cody, Chicago's Roman Catholic archbishop during the renovation, surrounded by smaller seals of the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, the United States and the Papal See.

*Special Thanks to Mike Courtney for sharing this news

Check out:
http://jeffreydestaciodepictions.blogspot.com

There is not a recent video, but I came accross this one from over a year ago:

-Taken from the Saint Meinrad Archabbey website:
The dedication of the new chapel nurtured local piety. When an epidemic of smallpox threatened the area in the winter of 1871, the community was quick to turn to Our Lady of Monte Cassino. The first cases of smallpox broke out before Christmas. Several in the village had died and, during the holidays, four persons became infected at Saint Meinrad. As more cases of the disease were discovered, the worst was feared.
On January 5, all the students who could walk went on a pilgrimage to Monte Cassino, where a solemn votive Mass was offered. The pilgrimage was repeated on the last day of the novena (January 13). Since the novena was begun, not a single case of smallpox broke out. In thanksgiving, Saint Meinrad students make a pilgrimage to Monte Cassino each year around January 13. [This year the pilgrimage took place on Saturday, January 12th].

-Pictures will be posted soon