Tradition and faith count 12 days between the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the Magi, the three kings from the east who bring gifts and adoration to a child whom they call the King of the Jews (Matthew 2:1). Isaiah had foreseen wise men arriving to worship a local kid destined for greatness. It took a while for them to find him, because his family was lying low due to persecution by a tyrant named Herod. In Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964), the script is lifted directly from the New Testament. Pasolini opposed the stalinist cynicism of the communists as well as the corruption of the Christian Democrats following the death of Alcide De Gasperi. Not a believer, Pasolini made a film that is stunning in its portrayal of the faith of ordinary people, despised by political elites of right and left. It depicts a revolutionary spirit that can redeem the world. The Holy Spirit is the force of this redemption. The fruit of the Holy Spirit called the Spirit of the Lord in Torah, includes charity, goodness, and several other qualities. It gives the priest, cop, poet, nurse endurance to help those
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Washington's mayor has asked for increased security around the inauguration of United States President-elect Joe Biden after last week's storming of the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump. Describing last week's assault as an "unprecedented terrorist attack", Mayor Muriel Bowser said that Mr Biden's inauguration on Jan 20 will require a "different approach" compared with past inaugurations. "While I will be reaching out to a broad range of local, regional and federal partners to enhance cooperation among our bodies, I strongly urge the United States Department of Homeland Security to adjust its approach to the inauguration in several specific ways", Ms Bowser wrote in a letter to Mr Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the department. The letter was dated Saturday (Jan 9) and made available on Sunday. The storming of the Capitol building last week by Trump supporters delayed the certification of Mr Biden's election victory. Mr Trump, who has without evidence challenged the validity of Mr Biden's election win, initially praised his supporters but later condemned the violence. Lawmakers were forced to flee, as the building was mobbed by the President's supporters who
The EU's medicines watchdog approved a coronavirus jab by US firm Moderna on Wednesday, giving a shot in the arm for Europe's slow-moving vaccine roll-out. The vaccine is the second to be authorised by the European Medicines Agency for the 27-nation bloc after Pfizer-BioNTech's got the green light in late December.
