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Elected Pope in 218; martyred in 223.Saint Callistus was the slave of a prominent Roman statesman  and was put in charge of a bank. When the bank failed, he fled, fearing that he would be held to blame. However, he was caught and sentenced to hard labour in the tin mines. He and other Christians were ransomed from the mines and he was soon placed in charge of the Christian burial grounds in Rome – now known as the Cemetary of Saint Callistus by Pope Zephyrinus, and ordained a deacon.He served as the archdeacon of Rome, which meant that he was the Pope’s closest aid. On the death of Zephyrinus he was elected pope.His most important acts were to decree that grave sinners and lapsed Christians – those who folded in the face of martyrdom – were to be allowed to return to Communion after having repented and performed penance. He also decreed that, contrary to Roman law, there were no barriers to marriage between different social classes, and that where Church law and civil law clash, Church law takes precedence.He is listed as a martyr, though we are not sure how he was martyred.

1: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2: Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3: I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is bound to keep the whole law. 4: You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5: For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. 6: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.

41: Let thy steadfast love come to me, O LORD, thy salvation according to thy promise; 42: then shall I have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in thy word. 43: And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in thy ordinances. 44: I will keep thy law continually, for ever and ever; 45: and I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought thy precepts. 46: I will also speak of thy testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to shame; 47: for I find my delight in thy commandments, which I love. 48: I revere thy commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on thy statutes.

37: While he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at table. 38: The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39: And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness. 40: You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41: But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.

Johnstown, Oct 14, 2008 / 06:15 am (CNA).- Republican vice-presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin, in a speech at a Saturday rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, has attacked what she called Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s “extreme and troubling” stand on abortion. Palin argued that there are few issues more important than who is protected under law and insisted that everyone “belongs in the circle of protection.”

Melbourne, Oct 14, 2008 / 03:07 am (CNA).- Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart on Saturday decried the passage of the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008 in the state of Victoria as “a betrayal of our shared humanity, a betrayal of women, a betrayal of the innocent unborn child that we would ease the way to the destruction of 20,000 unborn children annually.”

Portland, Oct 14, 2008 / 01:01 am (CNA).- The Oregon Court of Appeals in a Wednesday decision denied a father’s appeal to keep his six frozen embryos alive. The court, ruling that the issue is a matter of private property, declared that the embryos be destroyed by thawing, as ordered by his ex-wife.

Mosul, Oct 13, 2008 / 11:54 pm (CNA).- Following planned murders, violence, and threats targeting Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul, the country’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has decided to deploy 1,000 policemen to protect the religious minority. The prime minister also opened an investigation into the attacks.

Born in 1003; died 5 January, 1066; canonized by Pope Alexander III in 1161.Edward, king of England from 1042 until 1066 was the son of the Duke of Normandy and nephew of King Edmund Ironside of England. He grew up in exile in Normandy from the age of 10 when the Danes gained control of England, and the early experience of loss, coupled with his earnest religious piety caused him to renounce worldly ambition and devote himself to the love of God.On the death of the Danish king, Canute, in 1042, he was called to the throne of England, which he accepted dutifully. His saintly bearing made him a popular sovereign, and his actions even more so. He abolished an unjust tax and was known to cure people with his touch.Having made a vow of chastity, he accepted marriage for the sake of his kingdom, but lived with his queen in celibacy, as brother and sister.Unable to fulfill a vow to embark on a pilgrimage to Saint Peter’s tomb without leaving his subjects vulnerable to attack, his vow was commuted by the pope to the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s Abbey in Westminister, where he was buried upon his death a week after it’s dedication.

Vatican City, Oct 13, 2008 / 10:00 pm (CNA).- The prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, explained during his intervention at the Synod of Bishops that priests need good theology and a safe exegetical method in order to make the Word of God known better.

Vatican City, Oct 13, 2008 / 06:38 pm (CNA).- The prefect for the Congregation for Catholic Education, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, warned this week that many priests dedicated to teaching forget or abandon ordinary ministry, in which the Word of God should be at the center.

Lima, Oct 13, 2008 / 06:36 pm (CNA).- Father Fernando Samaniego Orellana, chancellor and press director for the Prelature of Juli in the Andean region of southern Peru, has strongly rejected the “campaign of unjust criticisms and disparagement” launched against Bishop Jose Maria Ortega Trinidad for not renewing an agreement allowing the Maryknoll Missionary Society to continue working in the prelature.

Albany, Oct 13, 2008 / 04:40 pm (CNA).- A new Zogby poll claims that the presidential race between Republican Sen. John McCain and Democrat Sen. Barack Obama is again narrowing, with Monday results showing Obama leading McCain 47.9 percent to 43.6 percent. Obama enjoys a slightly greater lead among Catholics.

Tenerife, Oct 13, 2008 / 03:43 pm (CNA).- Cristobal Jose and his twin brother Diego Jesus Rodriguez were ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Bernardo Alvarez of Tenerife on Saturday at the parish of the Immaculate Conception.

Rome, Oct 13, 2008 / 01:26 pm (CNA).- The director of the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Paolo Mieli, said last week Pope Pius XII was a Pontiff “in line with the history of the Catholic Church of the 20th century,” who during the Nazi persecution did not doubt in extending a hand to the Jews hiding in churches, convents, seminaries, and therefore the black legend surrounding him does not have any historic basis.

Vatican City, Oct 13, 2008 / 10:44 am (CNA).- Speaking to his fellow prelates, Bishop of Wurzburg, Germany Friedhelm Hofmann, remarked that art is a medium that can be used to draw people closer to Christ, especially those not attending church. 

Vatican City, Oct 13, 2008 / 10:00 am (CNA).- At Monday morning’s assembly of bishops on the Word of God, Cardinal George Pell and Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko both spoke about ways to reach the modern world with the Scriptures.

22: For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman. 23: But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise. 24: Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 26: But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27: For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in travail; for the children of the desolate one are many more than the children of her that is married." 31: So, brethren, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. 5:1: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

1: Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! 2: Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore! 3: From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised! 4: The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! 5: Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, 6: who looks far down upon the heavens and the earth? 7: He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

29: When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30: For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nin'eveh, so will the Son of man be to this generation. 31: The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32: The men of Nin'eveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.