Thirsty

The issue of justification, simply put, what Christians must do to get to Heaven -- was the central dispute in the Reformation that split western Christianity and plunged Europe into the Thirty Years' War. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict played a key role in drawing up the Catholic-Lutheran declaration that revoked heresy charges against reformer Martin Luther and said disputes that led to the Reformation over four centuries ago were null and void. Luther, a German monk who posted his famous 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg in 1517, held people could be saved not by faith and good works, but by faith alone. Luther was angered by the Catholic Church's teaching that good works could also lead to salvation, a view that was corrupted into the practice of selling indulgences to those seeking absolution for their sins. The 1999 statement satisfied both Lutherans and Catholics, saying that salvation is achieved through God's grace and this i...

True development cannot consist in the simple accumulation of wealth and in the greater availability of goods and services, if this is gained at the expense of the development of the masses, and without due consideration for the social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the human being. and As the Letter of Saint James pointedly reminds us: 'What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and you do not have' (James 4:1-2) On the contrary, in a different world, ruled by concern for the common good of all humanity, or by concern for the 'spiritual and human development of all' instead of by the quest for individual profit, peace would be possible as the result of a 'more perfect justice among people'. - Pope John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (On Social Concern), 1987

One of many true stories from this book... Ah Kei telephoned me urgently one night begging me to look for Tony who was in desparate trouble. It was around Chinese New Year and the coldest time of year so I buttoned up tightly in order to pay a nocturnal visit to Diamond Village, the headquarters of his territory. He was sitting in a tea house with his coat collar turned up against the cold and he was shivering. Flanking him were two henchmen, obviously addicts too judging from their gaunt bodies. But as I looked at Tony's face it was not its drug-induced degeneration which shocked me but another expression altogether. He was going to die. He was resigned to it. I did not know then how he intended it to occur, but it was appalling to realize that he had it planned. He began to tell me what was going on and as I listened I looked around at the congealed spittons in the tea house. The scene was a reflection of the sordid kingdom he was preparing to relinquish. He told a st...