First, why not look at things from a new perspective? Second, why not be open to doing things in a new way? And third, why not have a new vision for the church? And what is Francis’ vision for the church? It is to be a joyful community of believers completely unafraid of the modern world, completely unafraid of change…LINK

We’ve heard this before and recently ‘YES, WE CAN’  or “Change We Can Believe In” or “Our Time for Change” or “I’m asking you to believe.” or “A leader who can deliver change” or”  “We must pledge once more to walk into the future.” etc.
“Everyone can share in some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community, nor should the doors of the sacraments be closed for simply any reason,” Francis said. “The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” LINK

LINK

If the U.S. media is not concerned about this yet, the truth is that they should be. Approximately 90 percent of all earthquakes and approximately 80 percent of all volcanic eruptions occur along the Ring of Fire, and it runs directly up the west coast of the United States. LINK

\LINK

When a British couple discovered a concealed, almost lifesize mural of Henry VIII while redecorating their 16th-century Somerset home a couple of years ago, they could not have been more excited, particularly when an expert spoke of its national importance.  But husband-and-wife Angie and Rhodri Powell were unnerved by a further chance discovery. LINK

We are sure it was all planned a long time ago but the irony is not lost on us. A day after the US pisses the Israelis off with a sorta kinda deal with Iran, for the first time in Israel’s history, the Israel Air Force launched the “Blue Flag” training exercise – an international air force exercise with participation by the US, Italian and Greek air forces. LINK

Clusters of heated, magnetic nanoparticles targeted to cell membranes can remotely control ion channels, neurons and even animal behavior, according to a paper published by University at Buffalo physicists in Nature Nanotechnology. LINK

It began with the anchovies, miles and miles of them […] in the waters of Monterey Bay. Then the sea lions came, by the thousands […] the pelicans […] bottlenose dolphins [in groups of 100 or more have been spotted] […] But it was the whales that astounded even longtime residents — more than 200 humpbacks […] LINK

As a part of the security reviews that followed the attacks on our embassy in Benghazi last year, State Department officials are now claiming that the current U.S. Embassy to the Holy See is no longer safe. If their assessement is correct, then why not bolster security or simply move the Embassy to a new location instead of shutting it down? LINK

 Federal contractors have been setting up roadblocks in cities across the country with the purpose of collecting DNA samples from passing motorists. The multi-million dollar federal program has been disturbing drivers and alarming civil libertarians. LINK

Doctors are urgently trying to contain a potentially fatal superbug that has been found in 21 of the state’s most vulnerable babies at Monash Medical Centre and Casey Hospital in Melbourne’s south-east.  LINK

The study indicated that more than 20 percent of 11- and 14-year-old American boys had been diagnosed with ADHD at some point in their lives, that boys were 125 percent more likely than girls to be diagnosed with the disorder, and that boys were 127 percent more likely than girls to be medicated for it. LINK

Besides the Israeli politicians, an array of conservative American voices has been invoking the words “Munich,” “appeasement” and “Chamberlain” as analogies for the Obama administration’s quest for a deal with Iran, while bloggers have been posting side-by-side photos of the Geneva and Munich meetings and photo-shopped images of Obama and Chamberlain. LINK