Poland: “Templeton” award to cosmologist priest Michael Heller, a 72-year-old Polish priest and expert in cosmology, is the winner of the 2008 Templeton Awards. This was announced today, at a press conference in New York, by the John Templeton Foundation that created the award (820 thousand pounds) in 1973. Born in 1936 in Tarnow (Poland), ordained priest in 1959, teacher at the Academy of Theology in Cracow and an astrophysicist at the Catholic University of Louvain, Heller, reads a note from the Foundation, “has developed, for over 40 years, despite the repression of the Communist regime, some brilliant and original theories about the origin and the cause of the universe” and “is rightly considered the pioneer of the ‘theology of science'”. “The processes of the universe – explains Heller, who began his research at the Vatican Observatory – can be explained as a sequence of conditions, in which the previous one is the cause of the next one”. “The dynamic laws that rule this process are expressed as mathematic equations”, which however do not account for “the ultimate causality” which gets back to “the great project of God, the root of all causes”. The prize will be given to Heller, who will use it to build the “Copernicus research centre” in Cracow, by Prince Philip tomorrow.England: bishops for immigrants”Not legalising immigrants living in Great Britain without papers” is “unfair and disgraceful”. It was said in London yesterday by rev. Thomas McMahon, bishop of Brentwood, in his homily for “Mass for the Migrants”, officiated in the Westminster Cathedral by card. Cormac Murphy-O’Connor. Mass was attended by 2 thousand Catholic immigrants from over 40 countries across the word who live and work in London; the apostolic nuncio, mgr. Faustino Sainz Munoz; and the Lord Mayor of Westminster. “Many immigrants – commented the bishop, McMahon – have lived and worked in the United Kingdom for many years, often paying tax and contributing to economy and society, but, according to their status, they are living here illegally and many of them might be expelled”. “A government that decides not to do anything to legalise them is irresponsible”, because “it leaves thousands of people exposed to exploitation and insecurity”. Hence his appeal: “If the strategy of part of the government is a ‘hardcore approach’, we must be determined” and “raise our voices to ask citizenship for the immigrants who have been living year for years and who have settled in our country”.Ukraine: communicating hopeThe tenth Conference of Ukraine’s Major Superiors of Women Religious was held a few days ago in Kamianets-Podilsky. The meeting, whose title quotes the words of Saint Paul “In hope we were saved”, was attended by over forty consecrated women, actively committed in the Country. His very revered Msgr. Vitalij Skomarowski, coadjutor bishop of the diocese of Kiev-Zytomyr acted as chairman ensuring also the spiritual care of the meeting. “With the words Spe salvi facti sumus which introduce his second encyclical, the Holy Father explained that salvation according to Christian faith isn’t a mere fact, since redemption’s donation means that we were given hope, a reliable hope enabling us to face our present”. “For this reason – bishop Skomarowski continued – Christians’ peculiar trait consists in the fact that they have a future, they know that their lives will not end with a void”. “The Pope highlights the fact that the Gospel isn’t just communication of news but also a communication that bears fruits and changes lives” since “those who have hope live differently” and were “donated a new life”, the prelate declared. Krzysztof Zanussi, famous Polish film director renown especially for being one of the authors of “moral-anxiety movies” and member of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in the past few days visited the “Catholic Media Centre” in Kiev, sharing with those present his impressions on the Polish-Ukranian co-production “the heart in the hand”, filmed these past days in Kiev with Ukranian actor Bohdan Stupka playing the main role. “I never worked just for entertainment”, he said. “I have always tried to stimulate reflection in those who come to see my movies”.
