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VATICAN AGENCY AWARDS CHINESE FILM DIRECTOR
Archbishop John Foley, President of the Pontifical Council for
Social Communications merits the Robert Bresson Awards to Chinese
Film Director Zhang Yuan in the context of the Venice Film Festival.
Archbishop Foley said on Vatican Radio that the award is "a
cultural bridge" and hopes "it will be very important
for the film industry in China." When reporting the award,
The Vatican radio said that Zhang Yuan is a sincere spokesman of
this great artistic and human lesson that Chinese cinema gives the
West.
The awardee, Zhang Yuan was born in Nanjing in 1963. He was honored
in Venice in 1999 when he received a Silver Lion for his film "Seventeen
Years," a story of redemption and forgiveness. For his part,
Zhang commented: "It is a particularly happy day for me. Archbishop
Foley came from Rome especially to give me this Vatican award, an
award that not only honors me personally, but which I believe has
universal value. "The Vatican is a state, which has a very
influential culture on the whole of humanity, and China has more
than 1 billion inhabitants," the director added. "Despite
this factual data, the two states do not have diplomatic relations.
I hope I will be the first brick of a bridge that unites both cultures.
This is the greatest meaning I see in the award."
The Robert Bresson Award, in its seventh edition, is conferred
by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and for Social Communications,
Italy's Entertainment Entity and the Italian magazine " Il
Cinematografo." |
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| LIVES
OF THE SAINTS |
May
12
ST. NEREUS, ST. ACHILLEUS AND ST. PANCRAS
Sts. Nereus and Achilleus were Roman soldiers who died around
304. They were probably Praetorian guards under Emperor Trajan.
We know little else about them.
May
13
ST. ANDREW FOURNET
St. Andrew Fournet was born on December 6, 1752.
He was from Maille, a little town near Poitiers, in France.
Andrew's parents were religious people. Mrs. Fournet had her
heart set on Andrew becoming a priest.
May
14
ST. MATTHIAS
St. Matthias was one of Our Lord's seventy-two disciples.
He had been a follower of Jesus during his public life. St.
Peter asked the 120 people gathered in prayer to choose an
apostle to replace Judas.
May
15
ST.
ISIDORE THE FARMER
Saint Isidore was born in 1070, in Madrid, Spain. His parents
were deeply religious. They named their son after the great
St. Isidore, archbishop of Seville, Spain.
May
16
ST. UBALD
St. Ubald lived in twelfth-century Italy. He was
an orphan raised by his uncle, a bishop. Ubald was given a
good education. When he finished his schooling, he had the
chance to marry. But he became a priest instead. Eventually,
the pope made him bishop of Gubbio, the city of his birth.
May
17
ST. PASCHAL
BAYLON
St. Paschal, a Spanish saint, was born in 1540. From
the time he was seven, he worked as a shepherd. He never had
the opportunity to go to school. Yet he taught himself to
read and write.
May
18
ST. JOHN
I
St. John I was a priest of Rome. He became pope after
the death of Pope St. Hormisdas in 523. At that time, Italy's
ruler, Theodoric the Goth, was an Arian. (The Arians did not
believe that Jesus is God.) Theodoric let Catholics alone
at the beginning of his reign. Later, however, he changed
and became arrogant and suspicious of everyone.
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PHOTO OF THE MONTH |
Tour
of the Relics of the Passion
(International Center
for Holy Relics)
www.HolyRelics.org
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| REFLECTIONS |
 “Jesus’
Baptism”
Why did Jesus, the sinless one sent from the Father in heaven,
submit himself to John’s baptism? John preached a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke
3:3). In this humble submission we see a foreshadowing of
the “baptism” of Jesus bloody death upon the
cross. Jesus’ baptism is the acceptance and the beginning
of his mission as God’s suffering Servant (Isaiah
52:13-15; 53:1-12). He allowed himself to be numbered among
sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father’s
will. Out of love he consented to this baptism of death
for the remission of our sins. Do you know the joy of trust
and submission to God?
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