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Manaus, Brazil, Jan 10, 2017 / 12:10 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After nearly 100 inmates died in gang-related riots at prisons in northern Brazil through Jan. 8, Church officials in the country have recommitted themselves to assisting in the rehabilitation of prisoners and parolees.

Riots at prisons in the states of Amazonas and Roraima between Jan. 1 and Jan. 8 have left 97 dead.

“There are a number of structural as well as technical problems today (in the prisons). In all this we have negligence of over a decade in the state of Roraima,” Father Gianfranco Graziola, deputy coordinator of prison ministry for the Brazilian bishops' conference, told CNA.

The ministry “has an agenda of disincarceration and restorative justice as commitments for democratization, which gives justice, and for the realization of a world without prisons.”

On Jan. 1, members of the First Capital Command gang were targeted by those of the Red Command at Anisio Jobim prison in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas. The two gangs are Brazil's most powerful, and a truce between them recently broke down.

56 were killed in the Jan. 1 riot, and 112 prisoners escaped; the same day, 72 escaped from the nearby Antonio Trindade prison. The following day, four inmates were killed at Manaus' Puraquequara jail.

On Jan. 6, inmates belonging to the First Capital Command killed 33 at the Monte Cristo penitentiary in Boa Vista, capital of Roraima.

And another four inmates were killed in a Jan. 8 riot at Manaus' Raimundo Vidal Pessoa prison.

The gangs, based in the southeastern cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, are fighting over control of drug trafficking routes. Many of their members have been transferred to jails in the country's north in an attempt to disrupt their ties.

But Brazil's prisons are overcrowded, underfunded, and overwhelmed by gang warfare. According to Brazilian daily Folha de S.Paulo, 372 inmates were killed inside the nation's prisons in 2016.

The Archdiocese of Manaus held a Mass for the victims of the riots Jan. 8, at which Archbishop Sérgio Castriani said, “We want to look at the world and its people as did Jesus. And Jesus looks with mercy. Justice without mercy is vengeance, and vengeance equates us with the violence committed.”

On Jan. 4 the Brazilian bishops' conference expressed their solidarity with the families of the deceased and expressed their readiness“to continue working to establish security that provides peaceful living conditions for the citizens and communities.”

“Prison ministry accompanies prisoners throughout the country and has called attention to, on repeated occasions, the serious problems of the prison system,” they noted.

The bishops also called on the authorities to carry out a thorough investigation of these incidents, and encouraged them to work for “a more just, dignified and humane prison system.”

The governors of Amazonas and Roraima have called on the federal government to restructure the penitentiaries, urging new buildings and increased security guards.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy FOCUS

By Ana Franco-Guzman

SAN ANTONIO (CNS) -- In need of reigniting the fire for his Catholic faith, Jeremy Martins found the flame he needed during SEEK 2017.

"SEEK is the log I was waiting for," said Martins, a junior at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. "It has been two years since a real encounter with Christ."

He told Catholic News Service that the conference, sponsored Jan. 3-7 by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, known as FOCUS, generated a new excitement even though he previously had committed two years of his life to mission work that involved evangelizing young people and help them overcome "the poverty of spirit" in their lives.

Martins was not alone. About 13,000 people, almost exclusively young adults, attended the biennial SEEK conference at San Antonio's Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The five-day event focused on the theme "What Moves You."

"I know that if they are from my university and attended SEEK, we can now bring this experience that we have had together back to campus with us. We can talk about it and show what we learned on our university campus," Martins told Catholic News Service.

Speakers at SEEK included Father Mike Schmitz, director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota; theologian Edward Sri; Sister Bethany Madonna, a member of the Sisters of Life; and Sarah Swafford, founder of Emotional Virtue Ministries.

Father Schmitz reminded his listeners to "not be conformed by this age. But be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Our call is to live like Jesus."

Austin Palen, a junior at Kansas State University, came away with "pages and pages of notes" from the talk.

Kylee Mernagh, a freshman at the school, also appreciated how Father Schmitz urged participants to "strap our boots on" in order to live their faith in the world. She attended the conference with several of her sorority sisters from Pi Beta Phi.

"It was helpful knowing we'd see these people at everyday events," she said afterward. "Knowing when it seems that everyone is thinking differently, you're not the only person with morality. You know others have similar values."

Mernagh said her sorority sister brainstormed about encouraging Catholic members from other fraternities and sororities to not be afraid of living their faith. "If each house took one hour of adoration, how cool would it be?" she said.

It's such reactions that conference organizers hoped would resonate in the future among the college-age participants.

Craig Miller, FOCUS president, told CNS that he hoped that the most important thing participants take from the conference is "the knowledge that Jesus Christ loves them and that they all have a father who loves them and will be with them through everything."

"Knowing what you are made for gives you purpose and knowing that you are born as son or daughter of God brings you in relationship with your creator," he said.

As a team director for FOCUS at Ave Maria University, Nick Smith described FOCUS as important to university campuses because the organization "counteracts the things that distract us in a way that really allows Jesus to enter into this culture of death and change it."

Martins said he was struck by Sri's comments about the importance of people changing their actions to reflect their beliefs in an effort to overcome relativism in the world.

"This stuck with me because I realized that although I was surrounded by Catholics in Benedictine College, I found myself going to Mass less and less," he explained. "I now realize I was changing my actions and justifying them by other Catholic's actions. This conference has helped me realize that I really need to act the faith taking it upon myself to change, so my actions reflect my beliefs."

In another presentation, John H. Carmichael, author of "Drunks and Monks," discussed the freedom of drunkenness and worldliness. "If you build your house on sand, it will wash away," he said. "Young people, you should build it on rock. Go deep into the heart of the Catholic Church."

With such encouragement, SEEK participants could head back to their homes or colleges with what Miller described as a strong relationship with God so that "this relationship allows us to live life at its fullest."

Among those in attendance were more than 200 college students from the Diocese of Salina, Kansas. Among them was Adam Urban, a senior at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. He coordinated a bus from the school.

"(Adoration and reconciliation) were very well done," he said. "They have great music to draw you into prayer and incense -- they engage all of the senses. For our group and myself, the adoration experience is really powerful."

The lines were long for reconciliation the evening of Jan. 5 as thousands of students took advantage of the opportunity to grow a bit closer to God. The experience impressed Tracie Thibault, a junior from Kansas State University.

"I think the moment I knew it was worth all the planning and fundraising was seeing more than 12,000 people on their knees at adoration," said Thibault, who helped coordinate the school's three charter buses. "Sitting in the back watching student after student go to confession, seeing 200-plus priests and knowing God's mercy was present, that's when I knew it was all worth it."

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Contributing to this story was Karen Bonar, editor of The Register, newspaper of the Diocese of Salina, Kansas.

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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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SAN ANTONIO (CNS) -- Retired Archbishop Patrick F. Flores, 87, the first Mexican-American bishop in the United States, died of pneumonia and congestive heart failure Jan. 9 at Padua Place Residence for retired priests in San Antonio.

The bishop, who dropped out of school to be a migrant farmworker, was known for his support for farmworkers, Mexican-American civil rights and his love of his culture and heritage.

Funeral arrangements were pending, but services will be held at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio.

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez described Archbishop Flores as his good friend and mentor and "a pioneer and role model not only for me but also for a generation of Hispanic priests and Latino leaders."

He said the archbishop of San Antonio, who retired in 2004, "knew the struggles of Hispanics in this country, and he was a friend to the farmworker and a voice of conscience for dignity and human rights. He taught all of us to celebrate our heritage and traditions and encouraged us to share our faith and values proudly and to become leaders in our communities."

Archbishop Flores, born in Ganado, was one of nine children and called "Ticho" by his family.

His younger sister, Mary Moreno, told Today's Catholic, newspaper of San Antonio Archdiocese, in 2004 that her brother would often walk up and down the road in front of the family home praying the rosary. "He was always very close to God," she said.

He also had a light side, often winning dance contests with his sister Mary, and played a number of instruments and sang.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1956 in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston and was appointed auxiliary bishop of San Antonio in 1970. Eight years later, he was installed as bishop of El Paso, and in 1979, he was appointed archbishop of San Antonio.

He was a member of the Immigration and Refugee Department of the U.S. Catholic Conference, chairman of the Church in Latin America Committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, and chairman of the Texas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

In 1987, he welcomed Pope John Paul II to the San Antonio Archdiocese as part of the pope's nine-city tour. The pope celebrated Mass for a crowd of 330,000 people in a field that is now the site of John Paul Stephens High School. The Mass still holds the record for the largest gathering in the state.

In an interview with Today's Catholic newspaper in preparation for his retirement, Archbishop Flores said what he remembered most fondly of his time as archbishop was simply his life as a priest.

"I've spent 48 years as a priest, and I have loved it all. If I had the chance to start all over again, I would not hesitate. I might have prepared better academically and in some other ways. But I have literally found great satisfaction in simply being a priest -- being a bishop is simply assuming additional responsibility."

"I have found it very challenging and very satisfying. So I've been happy at it and will continue to be happy," he added.

Following Archbishop Flores' retirement, he resided briefly at Casa de Padres retirement center for priests of the archdiocese, but he spent the past several years at the Padua Place residence for priests needing medical assistance.

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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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