CONTEMPORARY HISTORY-2005:









  • JANUARY:    On Wednesday, January 26, 2005 Pope John Paul II received  in audience a group of visiting seminarians from the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre, New York. The seminarians were in their pastoral year of training and had made a pilgrimage to Rome. The seminarians were, from the Brooklyn Diocese: Jean Delva, Bryan Carney, Thomas Vassalotti, James Kuroly and Vincent Chirichella. From the Diocese of Rockville Centre were:  Lee Descoteaux, Father Robert Kline, Joe Fitzgerald, Monsignor Francis Schneider, the rector of the Immaculate Conception Seminary in  Huntington and Deacon Jamie Calderon.  (SOURCE:  Photograph and Caption, Local Seminarians Meet the Pope   Printed in The Tablet ((Brooklyn)), February 5, 2005, pg. 22).                                                                      

  • FEBRUARY:    On Tuesday, February 1, 2005 in Vatican City Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education releases and reads to members of the Congregation Pope John Paul II's new message regarding the preparation of candidates for the priesthood. The Pope says that a candidate's ability to live a life of celibacy must be "carefully verified" before he is admitted to a seminary. This must be done, the Pope says, so that even before ordination the local bishop and seminary officials have a "moral certainty" concerning the student's "emotional and sexual maturity". At this time Pope John Paul is suffering from flu-like symptoms and is unable to address the Congregation himself.

        In this message the Pope writes, "In light of present-day social and cultural changes, it can be at times useful that educators turn to the work of competent specialists to help seminarians comprehend more thoroughly the requirements of the priesthood, recognizing celibacy as a gift of love to the Lord and to one's brothers."

        The Pope's remarks are a reflection of current discussions within the Vatican about the use of psychological sciences in the admission and formation of seminarians. At this same time, the Education Congregation-which is responsible for overseeing seminaries and Catholic schools-is said to be preparing, along with other Vatican agencies, a document on homosexuality and priesthood candidates. It is also supervising an apostolic visitation of United States seminaries scheduled for later this year.

        The document on homosexuality has been in preparation for more than five years, and was started long before the sex abuse controversy hit the American church in 2002. It is expected to state flatly whether candidates with homosexual tendencies should be admitted into the priesthood. In a report last year, the Education Congregation said that the homosexuality document would be an "instruction on the criteria and norms for the discernment in questions regarding homosexuality in view of the admissions to the seminary and to sacred orders."

        The planned visitation is expected to focus on formation for celibate chastity and on admission criteria to seminaraies, and it comes following the child sex abuse scandals in the United States, and amid concerns that tougher screening measures are needed for future priestly candidates.

        In addition to the discussion of new scrutiny of seminary candidates' sexual and emotional maturity, the Pope's document also stressed the need for religion to be taught in all schools. He said that it "contributes to students' full development" and helps them to "recognize the other in reciprocal respect."  (SOURCE:  Article, Pope: Seminarians Must Be "Verified" for Life of Celibacy-by Carol Glatz-Catholic News Service-Printed in The Tablet ((Brooklyn)), February 5, 2005, pg. 21).

  •     :    On Wednesday, February 2, 2005 Pope John Paul II was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital for treatment to help him overcome a spell of breathing difficulties. Following treatment, his condition stabilized so that he was able to concelebrate Mass from his bed, according to Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls. "The Holy Father was able to rest for several hours during the night, he was able to sleep," Mr. Navarro-Valls said.

        A Vatican official who is close to the Roman Pontiff said that "everything was calm, there was no panic" among Vatican staffers when the Pope experienced his breathing problem. This official explained, "They took him to the hospital just to make him more comfortable. He needs to rest for a few days in order to recover." He added that noone close to the Pope felt that this problem would threaten the Pope's life.  (SOURCE:  Catholic News Service ((CNS)) article printed in The Tablet  ((Brooklyn)), February 5, 2005, pg. 2).

  •     On Saturday, February 5 of this year The Tablet, official newspaper of the Roman Catholic diocese of Brooklyn, New York, publishes a report from the Catholic News Service in Vatican  City about Pope John Paul II's 2005 Lenten Message. The message is dedicated to the gift of longevity and in it the Pope says that advances in science and medicine have allowed people to live longer,but that families and governments must help the elderly to live out those extra years in a full and dignified way. The pope asked people to always "remain open and welcoming" toward older people, especially when those people are weak, sick, or suffering. He said, "The care of the elderly, above all when they pass through difficult moments, must be of great concern to all the faithful," especially in countries of the West, where older people often have to struggle to find a proper place in society. The report said that the pope's message had been released by the Vatican on January 27, 2005.

        The Tablet article went on to quote the pope as saying that, "Human life is a precious gift to be loved and defended in each of its stages."   It said that the mesage also said that the commandment "You shall not kill" applies to life's very beginning at conception and to its natural end.

        The message went on to say that even "in the presence of illness and when physical weakness reduces the person's ability to be self-reliant," the  life of a human being is precious and represents a gift from God.

        Archbishop Paul Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council  "Cor Unum", the Vatican's agency to promote and to coordinate its charitable efforts, at a press conference to release the Lenten Message, said that old people at that time were under threat in several ways. They were threatened, he said, by the seeming  inability of those who must care for them to devote sufficient time to the task, and by those persons' temptation to look the other way and not to  help them deal with the suffering that sometimes afflicts them.  (SOURCE:  Article,  Pope's Lenten Message Stresses Care of Elderly by Carol Glatz in The Tablet, Saturday, February 5, 2005, pg. 2).

  • MARCH:    On Thursday, March 17 of this year the Dow Jones average of 30 "industrial" stocks closed at 10,626.35 points; this was a decline of 6.72 points from the previous day's closing level.  (SOURCE:  Listing in BizNews Section, New York Daily News, Friday, March 18, 2005, page 86).

  • MARCH:    USA TODAY reported on Friday, March 18, 2005 that automobile companies and audio supplirs are teaming up to offer a new style of car stereos which have their own hard drives which can offer "hours of recorded music". It said that the CHEVROLET division of General Motors will begin selling an option for its built-in entertainment system for the Uplander minivan in the spring of this year which can store 40 movies, 10,000 song tracks or simple video games. The same system option will be vailable for GM's other minivans by the end of this  year. The special memory system is made by PHATNOISE, a technology company based in Los Angeles, California. USA TODAY's report said that audio makers had first introduced high-end automotive players with builtin memory in about 2003, but that they were not widely accepted by the public at that time. TOYOTA's LEXUS division was also said to be "seriously looking into" udio systems with memory, though no date for public introduction was given.  (SOURCE:  Article, "Cars get into music downloading craze", by Chris Woodyard, USA Today Section b, "Money", Friday, March 18, 2005, page 1B).

  • MARCH:    USA TODAY reported on Friday, March 18 of this year that Representative Rob Portman was named by President George Bush on Thursday, March 17 to be the U. S.Trade Representative, responsible for trying to reduce the current record U. S. trade deficit, getting a Latin American trade agreement through Congress, and working out the details of a Northrn Hemisphere free-trade area, as well as a new global trade agreement.  (SOURCE:  Report, "Portman named U.S. trade representative" no author given, USA Today Section b, "Money", Friday, March 18, 2005, page 1B).

  • MARCH:    In the same March 18 edition of the paper, USA TODAY reported that "Gasoline hit a record nationwide aveage price of $2.055 a gallon", on Thursday, March 17 of this year and that that was up by 2/10 of a cent overnight, passing last May's previous record price of $2.054. The paper warned its readers  that there would be another $0.20 increaase in the next 75 days, attributing this prediction to Tom Kloza, a senior analyst at Oil Price Information Service. The paper also stated that "(t)he price of crude oil accounts for half the price of gas", and that crude itself has been bid up lately, rising to a record intraday high of $57.69 a barrel on Thursday, March 17 of this year for West Texas Intermediate oil, and finally closing at $56.40 for the  day. Some analysts, according to the paper, see little end in sight for rising crude prices, and expect the price to be over $60.00/barrel "soon".  (SOURCE:  Article, "Gasoline prices hit nationwide record", by James R. Healey and Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA Today, Friday, March 18, 2005, Money Section B, page 1B).

  • MARCH:    In the same Friday, March 18, 2005 edition, USA TODAY reported that MCI  had received what the paper called "a sweetened acquisition offer from QWEST" which was dsigned to top the current oer for MCI from VERIZON. The paper said that MCI would respond to this new offer by March 28.  (SOURCE:  Report, "MCI sets date to respond to Qwet bid" compiled by Joy Thompson, Money section B, Moneyline feature, USA Today, Friday, March 18, 2005, page 1B). 

  • MARCH:   The NEW YORK DAILY NEWS reported that on Friday, March 18, 2005 "oil prices settled at a new 21-year high of $56.72 a barrel" ; the paper also said that this price "raised more inflation fears." The NASDAQ  market fell by 8.63 points to a four-month low on Friday, March 18,2005, and the Dow Jones average finished at 10,629.67 on Friday, March 18, 2005 for a 3.32 point gain over its closing level on Thursday, March 17, 2005, also according to the DAILY NEWS.  (SOURCE: Report, "Stocks drift as oil hits a 1-year high" by the Associated Press news service in the New York Daily News, Biz News section, Saturday, March 19, 2005, page 26).

  • MARCH:    In its edition of Saturday, March 19, 2005 the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS reported that, after Republican leaders in Congress had taken the highly unusual  step of issuing a subpoena for the appearance of Terri Schiavo-who has been in a vegetative state for 15 years-before one of their comittees, Circuit Court Judge George Greer defied them on Friday, March 18, 2005 and ordered the removal from her stomach of a vital feeding tube. The NEWS said that doctors at the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast in Pinellas Park, Florida complied with his order at 1:45 P.M. on the same day, but not before a Catholic priest had administered Communion. Hers was a highly controversial case which pitted strongly pro-life forces against Mrs. Schiavo's husband and legal guardian Michael and those who felt that Mrs. Schiavo had long since passed the point of any hope of resuscitation.  (SOURCE:  Report, "Furor as Terri's taken off tube" by Richard Sisk, Daily News Washington Bureau, in New York Daily News, Saturday, March 19, 2005, page 7).

  • MARCH:    On March 29 of this year the Dow Jones Average of 30 "Industrial" stocks closed at 10,405.70, for a decline of 79.95 points from its close on Monday, March 28, 2005. The Nasdaq composite index also fell on March 29, 2005, down to what the New York Post said was "a level nolt seen in five months": 1,973.88, or off 18.64 points from its close on Monday, March 28, 2005. The Standard & Poor 500 Index completed the trio of declines, closing at 1,165.36, down 8.92 points from its close on Monday, March 28, 2005.  (SOURCE: Report, "Marts fall", no author given, in Business Briefs feature, Business Section, New York Post, Wednesday, March 30, 2005, page 29). 

  • MARCH:    Also on March 29, 2005 Mark Hurd, formerly of NCR CORPORATION, was named the new Chief Executve Officer of HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY, to replace the departed Carly Fiorina.  (SOURCE:  Report, "H-P head", no author given,  in Business Briefs feature, Business Section, New York Post, Wednesday, March 30, 2005, page 29). 

  • MARCH:    On March 30 of this year the NEW YORK POST reported that, according to a recent survey conducted by CHARLES SCHWAB & CO.,  Donald Trump is second only to current Mayor Bloomberg as a trusted financial adviser among celebrities.  (SOURCE: Report:  "N.Y.'ers funny about money" b y Richard Wilner, in Business Section, New York Post, Wednesday, March 30, 2005, page 30).

  • MARCH:    On March 30 of this year an unfurnished 3 bedroom duplex apartment "1 block away from water" in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York was advertised for rent for US$1,650.00 per month.  At the same time, a newly-renovated 2 bedroom apartment with a new eat-in kitchen at Skillman Avenue in Queens, New York was advertised to rent for US$1,165.00. In Ridgewood, Queens, New York a 4 bedroom 1 bath unfurnished apartment was advertised for rent for US$1,350.00 per month. Meanwhile, a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a 2-car garage in the Poinciana Kissimmee area of Florida was advertised for sale for US$190,000.00.(SOURCE: Real Estate listing in New York Post, Wednesday, March 30, 2005, page 51).

  • APRIL:    On April 3 of this year the New York Times reported that "About a dozen bars and restaurants have opened on the two-block stretch of Clinton Street [in Lower Manhattan] between East Houston and Rivington Strets over the last five years, filling storefronts once occupied by businesses with more modest profits." The Times said that not everyone in the neighborhood has been happy to see the transformation, with some residents who have been there for a long time feeling that something is lost when the original mom-and-pop stores give way to bars and restaurants. Also, some residents who live above the recently-opened bars and restaurants which are attracting affluent patrons from other parts of the city, admit that they, themselves, cannot afford to be customers. In a comment on the differing economic levels of facility patrons and building residents, the president of the Clinton Street Block Association, Alice Arnold, said that while customers of these establishments may have no trouble spending $100 for a dinner, some of the area's residents may have trouble getting together $100 for their rent. The newspaper said that an eyeglass store, a wedding dress store and one which sold  paper party supplies have all been replaced by bars or restaurants, with  nine bars or restsurants on the two blocks holding full liquor licenses and six others selling beer or wine. According to the Times, this profusion of licensed establishments is an exception to ordinary rules of the State Liquor Authority, which bars the granting of a liquor license to an establishment if there are already three licensed establishments within 500 feet of the proposed location. Exceptions are usually granted only if the additional licensed premises are deemed to be of benefit to the public.  (SOURCE:  Report, "Where Setting Up Shop Just Got a Little Pricier", by Colin Moynihan, in Job Market Section, New York Times, Sunday, April 3, 2005, page 1). 

  • APRIL:    On Sunday, April 3 of this year the New York Times also reported that the office vacancy rate for Midtown Manhattan space had improved in February of this year  over the rate for the same month last year. In February, 2004 the rate was 11.9%; in February of this year the rate had dropped by 2.1%, to stand at 9.3%. Office space in Downtown Manhattan stood at 12.9% in February of this year. In February, 2004 the rate was 13.4%. In another stastic, the Times reported that the hotel occupancy rate in New York City  for the week ended on March 26 of this year was at 86.7%; for the comparable week last year the rate was 82.9%. In a final sign of an improved local economy, the Times reported that New York City bridge and tunnel traffic for the Hudson River and the Staten Island bridges came to 354,035 vehicles on March 30 of this year, compared to 339,110 vehicles reported on March 31 of last year.  (SOURCE:  Regional Economy report, in Job Market section, New York Times, Sunday, April 3, 2005, page 1).

  • MAY:    On Monday May 30 of this year the New York Post reported that "the median forecast  in a Bloomberg News survey" was that employers in the United States of America had probably added 183,000 jobs this month, following on a strong 274,000 increase in jobs in April of this year. However, according to the Post, "An index of manufacturing [activity] probably fell to the lowest level since July 2003." The Post explained the large jump in new employment in April by saying that it had been inflated by better weather and by the difficulty of adjusting the results for holidays like Easter that fall at different times each year.  (SOURCE:  Report, "Hiring pace slowed in May" b y Bloomberg News Service, in New York Post Business Section, Monday, May 30, 2005, page 21).

  • MAY:    Also on May 30 of this year, the New York Post reported that the NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE had chosen J.P.MORGAN CHASE to be its principal adviser in a bid led by THE BLACKSTONE GROUP to obtain a 20% stake in its organization. The Post quoted "an insider" as saying that the Exchange is going through the process with BLACKSTONE, and that the MERCANTILE EXCHANGE had hired CHASE "a-week-and-a-half ago to be one of its advisers." This "insider" felt that it was now inevitable that the EXCHANGE would have a private equity partner "sooner or later". The newspaper said that there would be "hot opposition" to a move to the public marketplace from "stalwarts of the membership driven exchange" who treasure the tradition of open outcry bidding and of the jobs which go with it.  (SOURCE:  Report, "NYMEX OPENS UP", by Roberta C. Yafie, New York Post Business Section,  Monday, May 30, 2005, page  21).

  • JUNE:    

  • JULY

  • AUGUST:    On August 2 of this year the United States State Department releases a "PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT" entitled "Worldwide Caution" which begins, "This Public Announcement updates information on the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against Americans and interests overseas. This supersedes the Worldwide Caution dated March 8, 2005 and expires on February 2, 2006."  The "Caution" goes on to say that there is an ongoing threat of "terrorist attacks, demonstrations and other violent actions" targeted at United States citizens and U. S. interests overseas. It says that such demonstrations and rioting can happen with "little or no warning."

        The statement goes on to say that there is current information which "suggests that al-Qa'ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East." It claims that such planned attacks could include tactics as extreme as assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings, using conventional or non-conventional weapons.

        United States citizens living or travelling abroad are warned that terrorist targets "may include facilities...[such as] residential areas, business offices, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels and public areas."  (SOURCE:  see: U. S. Department of State notice at:  http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html ). 

  • SEPTEMBER:    On Thursday, September 1,2005 the NEW YORK TIMES reported that MASTERCARD INC., which it called "the world's second-largest credit card brand" had said on August 31 of this year that it planned to go forward with the idea of an initial public offering which could possibly put the company's value at more than $10 billion.  (Source:  Article, "Master Card Pursuing Plan to Offer Shares to Public", by Julie Cresswell and Eric Dash, New York Times Business Day section, Thursday, September 1, 2005, pg. C1).

  • SEPTEMBER:    On Thursday, September 1 of this year the NEW YORK TIMES also reported that U. S. Gulf Coast seaports from Louisiana to Florida remained closed as a result of Hurricane Katrina, and that about 300 barges with grains and other products, managed by CARGILL, INC., a large producer and exporter of agricultural products, were floating on rivers north of New Orleans with no open places to unload their cargoes. The TIMES said that the devastation wrought by the storm was, on August 31 of this year-two days after the storm hit the coast-having serious effects upon the country's distribution system. Consumers, the paper said, "might have to pay more for everything from coffee and bananas to paint and tires" because of the shipping problems, and that people even far from the storm's center would be involved in the resulting shortages.  (Source:  Article, "A Distribution System Brought to Its Knees", by Alexei Barrionuevo and Claudia H. Deutsch, in Business Day section, New York Times, Thursday, September 1, 2005, pg. C1).

  • SEPTEMBER:     On Thursday, September 1 of this year, the NEW YORK TIMES reported that, "Days after Hurricane Katrina dealt a devastating blow to the nation's largest energy hub, ...gasoline prices [were] surging well above $3 a gallon...".  (Source:  Report, "Prices Surge and Spot Shortages Appear As Hurricane's Effects Reach Gas Pumps", no author given, in BUSINESS DIGEST feature, New York Times, Thursday, September 1, 2005, pg. C2).

  • SEPTEMBER:    On Thursday, September 1,2005, the NEW YORK TIMES classified real estate section carried a listing for an unfurnished 1 1/2 bath first-floor apartment near the Long Island Railroad in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York City, renting for $1,200.00 per month. On this same day the TIMES had a listing for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house on "2.7 pvt wooded acres" next to a horse farm and 5 minutes from Roue 17 in Orange County, New York State; the asking price for this house was $384,000.00.  (Source: Listings in CLASSIFIED section, New York Times, Thursday, September1. 2005, pg. C19).     

  • SEPTEMBER:    On Thursday, September 1, 2005 the federal government reported that home prices in the United States of America had increased by 13.4% in the period from April of 2004 to June of this year. According to the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS this was "the biggest increase for a comparable period in more than  quarter-century." The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which regulates the activities of the mortgage-finance agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac called this development the latest confirmation of the housing market boom which has raised American home sales to record heights even as the prices of those homes have risen dramatically.  (SOURCE:  Report: "Fed chief: right or wrong? Sees housing decline" by Lore Croghan Daily News Business Writer, in YOUR MONEY Section, New York Daily News, Friday, September 2, 2005, page 45).

  • SEPTEMBER :    On Friday, September 2, 2005, the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS quoted Doug Kass of SEABREZE PARTNERS as saying that "creative financing" of home purchases "has grown more absurd" recently. He said that the current state of the housing market had the characteristics of a bubble, with debt financing being widely available and cheap, and what he called the "egregious use of leverage". He also cited the presence in the housing market of a "new class of buyers" who are called "flippers": people who buy homes for a cheap price, make minimal improvements, and then quickly resell them for a hoped-for quick profit.  (SOURCE:  Report: "GREENSPAN'S ON TARGET" by yourmoney@nydailynews.com, New York Daily News, Friday, September 2, 2005, page 45).  

  • OCTOBER

  • NOVEMBER    

  • DECEMBER

  • NO SPECIFIC DATE

  • WHOLE YEAR:    For this year as a whole it will be later reported that a total of "[m]ore than 1.4 billion riders" used New York City's subways, and that that was the most riders in a single year in over 50 years. It will also be reported that this number came despite an increase in the fare in February of this year-the second such hike in two years- and a three-day transit strike in December of this year.  (SOURCE:  Report, "'05 subway ridership is highest in 50 years" by Pete Donohue, New York Daily News, Tuesday, May 16, 2006, page 12).

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