Tag: May 4, 2005

EVEN before he was elected Pope last April 19, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany has already been widely considered as a conservative. After all, Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, was the Church’s leading hardliner when he headed the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for more than 20 years.

Time seemed to have stopped in the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral. Perhaps it’s the way the sun washes over the gray stone edifice or how bells toll to mark the first mass of the day. After four centuries, the Manila Cathedral still stands in quiet stupor, like an avatar of time, reminding Filipinos the strength of their faith and richness of their culture.

THE ELECTION of German Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as the new Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church has been welcomed by the UST community.

Vice-Rector for Religious Affairs Fr. Rodel Aligan, O.P. said the Dominican community is glad to receive the new pope.

“Whoever is leading the church, we accept,” he told the Varsitarian.

College of Fine Arts and Design Regent Fr. Regino Cortes, O.P., who was in Rome at the time of John Paul II’s death, said he was not surprised Cardinal Ratzinger was elected as pope.

TAKE a deep breath for this one.

A study revealed that the stairs in the Beato Angelico Building are the toughest to climb in the entire University.

Physical Therapy interns of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences (CRS) pointed out that the difficulty of climbing the Beato Angelico’s main staircase owes to the length of its steps.

The oxygen intake and physical exhaustion of 23 test subjects were more severe when climbing staircases with longer steps than those with steep ones, said John Clemente de Leon, one of the researchers.

THE SUMMER heat is on—and up a few degrees.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has confirmed a heat wave in some Luzon and Visayas provinces, prompting the Department of Health (DOH) to issue warnings of possible health-related disorders breaking out.

According to Pagasa, temperature in Manila has reached 35 degrees centigrade in the past weeks and is expected to go beyond that. However, Pagasa officials expect the heat to last only until early May.

THE EARTH can now breathe better.

The Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 international agreement which addresses issues on global warming, finally came into force after Russia’s signing. Russia contributes 17 per cent to the world’s toxic emissions. The Kyoto Protocol needed the signatures of countries contributing to at least 55 per cent of the world’s toxic emissions to come into force.

THE DEBATE on human cloning is finally over.

The U.N. General Assembly on March 8 called on all governments to prohibit human cloning in all forms, which as such are “incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life.”

Four years of debate ended with the body voting 84 against and 34 for cloning, with 37 abstentions.

CATHOLIC.

That’s what comes to mind at the mention of the name “UST.” But there is a significant number of Thomasians who aren’t. Some people think they are different, even weird, especially since they can be more vocal of their religious convictions.

Incoming Nursing senior Katherine van Koesveld and incoming B.S. Economics seniors Alvin Rosales and Bryan Balao seem like ordinary Thomasians. The only thing that makes them “different” is that they’re non-Catholics.

As early as 50 A.D., the shroud of Turin has been revered as the actual burial cloth of Christ found by Peter after Jesus’ Resurrection. But like any other Church relics, the Shroud has been subject to endless investigations and qualms as old as its history.

Last March 8, chemist Raymond Rogers, director of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (Sturp), died after spending lifetime examining the shroud. And together with his death, the question of the Shroud’s authenticity remains unsolved.

“Science without religion is lame,” Einstein once said. “And religion without science is blind.” But has science already acknowledged Einstein’s advice for the sake of humanity?

Modern medicine is now slowly taking a walk down memory lane as it travels back to a time when priests and shamans cured the sick by studying the link between faith and healing.

Based on a 2002 survey from the U.S.-based National Institutes of Health, the most popular form of alternative medicine in America is prayer, followed by acupuncture, chiropractic care, and yoga.