Catholic News 2

(Vatican Radio) A planned evacuation of rebel-held areas of eastern Aleppo has been delayed. Opposition officials said they had expected a first group of wounded people to leave on Tuesday evening.

The evacuations which were brokered by Turkey and Russia, had been due to start a 5 am local time.

On Tuesday the United Nations said Syrian pro-government forces had been shooting civilians in Aleppo "on the spot", describing the situation there as a "complete meltdown of humanity".

Forces loyal to Syria's leader Bashar al Assad, backed by Russia, have recaptured large areas on the besieged city of Aleppo in recent days.

It's understood thousands of civilians are trapped inside buildings in the last remaining rebel-held areas .

Despite the announcement of a ceasefire witnesses heard explosions ring out on Wednesday morning.

Middle East Manager of Catholic relief agency Malteser International, Janine Lietmeyer  spoke to Lydia O’Kane about the dire situation in the city.

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Asked what the most urgent need is, she said, “really, it’s a safe passage out; I mean if you imagine those people have been under besiegement since the middle of last year.”

Ms Lietmeyer added that “fundamentally it’s desperation, I mean their sitting there, there’s nothing really to do, people can’t move on the streets because there’s constant shelling and bombardment, there’s people dying all over the place for many different reasons and they just feel so helpless…”

She said that, they have been hearing reports that, “men face detention even execution, there are rumours about people being shot on the spot, families get torn apart because they separate men and women.”

For those who can’t get that safe passage out, “nothing is getting in” in the way of aid, she said, adding that “the level of destruction is incredible”. 

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the theme of 'Christian hope' at his Wednesday General Audience. His reflection centered on the words of the prophet Isaiah: "How beautiful upon the mountains, are the feet of the one bringing good news" (Is 52:7).

Here is the full text of the English summary of Pope Francis’ catechesis for the General Audience of 14 December 2016:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:  The words we have heard this morning from the prophet Isaiah help us prepare for the coming feast of Christmas.  The prophet calls God’s people to rejoice, for the Lord is near, bringing freedom from exile and the promise of renewal and redemption for the faithful “remnant” who continued to hope in his word.  “How beautiful on the mountains”, he says, “are the feet of the messenger” who brings glad tidings of peace and salvation, proclaiming: “Your God reigns” (Is 52:7).  This great prophecy was fulfilled in the kingdom brought by Jesus, that kingdom whose dawning we celebrate at Christmas.  Strengthened by this promise, we can face difficulties in the confident knowledge that God’s reign has begun, and that we ourselves are called to be its joyful heralds in a world that yearns for justice, truth and peace.  This Christmas, may we open our hearts to the message of salvation brought by the Christ Child, the Son of God who shows his great power by embracing smallness, weakness and poverty, in order to draw near to each of us.

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The Indonesian Bishops have officially asked the government for a moratorium on the death penalty. As reported to Fides by Fr. Paulus Christian Siswantoko, executive secretary of the Commission for Justice, Peace and Pastoral Care of Migrants of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Indonesia, the letter sent to the executive states that "it is appropriate for the government to carefully assess the implementation of the death penalty in order to know the impact of capital punishment, and to ensure that executions have actually had the deterrent effects, discouraging crime". In an interview with Agenzia Fides, Fr. Siswantoko reiterated that the Catholic Church has repeatedly asked for a moratorium "but so far the government has not listened to the voices who reject capital punishment".

At a recent conference on the theme "Right to life and the death penalty in the theology of religions", Fr. Siswantoko said that "the Catholic Church still harbors hopes for a moratorium on the death penalty", citing religious but also civilian reasons.

In fact, according to the priest, Catholics reject the death penalty for the fundamental respect for life, as explained by the encyclical Evangelium Vitae of 1995, of Pope John Paul II. On the other hand "the death penalty is contrary to the Pancasila (the paper of the five underlying principles of the state, ed) and to the Indonesian Constitution, claiming the protection of life and fundamental human rights". "It was later shown that the death penalty does not reduce crime", he said.

Since 2015 dozens of prisoners for drug offenses have been executed in Indonesia: "Has there been a significant impact and real deterrent effects?" asked the priest, noting that the spread and drug trafficking is a phenomenon at a national and international level.

Among the other speakers who intervened, Gomar Gultom, representative of the "Communion of Churches in Indonesia" confirmed the vision that "the death penalty has no deterrent effect and it is not an ethical tool". Muslim professor Siti Musdah Mulia, at the Islamic University "Syarif Hidayatullah" and secretary general of the Indonesian Conference on "Religions for Peace" recalled that Islam teaches human respect and protection from acts of discrimination, exploitation and violence. "The death penalty is inconsistent with religious teachings and faiths that revere the importance of life, preserving it as the greatest blessing of God the Creator. Islam teaches the dignity of human beings, defining them as the most perfect creatures of God. The death penalty is an affront to the greatness and omnipotence of God. "Finally, he said, "the death penalty is inconsistent with the values of democracy and the principles of human rights".

(Source: Fides News Agency)

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(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the theme of 'Christian hope' at his Wednesday General Audience, saying the Kingdom brought by Jesus at his birth calls us to be joyful heralds in a world that “yearns for justice, truth, and peace”.

Listen to Devin Watkins' report:

Pope Francis focused his reflection on the words of the prophet Isaiah: "How beautiful upon the mountains, are the feet of the one bringing good news" (Is 52:7,9-10).

He said these words help us prepare for the coming feast of Christmas by opening ourselves to the hope of salvation.

The prophet calls God’s people to rejoice, for the Lord is near, bringing freedom from exile and the promise of renewal and redemption for the faithful “remnant” who continued to hope in his word. 

Pope Francis noted how the prophet speaks “not of the messenger but of the messenger’s feet”.

Comparing this to the spouse in the Song of Songs (Sg 2:8), he said, “So also the messenger of peace races to bring the proclamation of liberation, of salvation, and declaring that God reigns.”

The Pope said God’s kingdom means that “God has not abandoned His people and has not let them be overcome by evil, because He is faithful and His grace is greater than sin… And the fulfillment of so much love will be exactly the Kingdom established by Jesus, that Kingdom of pardon and peace, which we celebrate at Christmas and which is manifested conclusively in Easter.”

“These,” he said, “are the reasons for our hope. When all seems over, when in the face of so many negative realities faith grows weary and the temptation to say that all has lost meaning comes, rather, [look to] the good news brought by those quick feet: God is coming to make something new, to establish a kingdom of peace. God has ‘extended His arm’ and brings liberty and consolation.”

Pope Francis went on to say that, strengthened by this promise, we can face difficulties in the confident knowledge that God’s reign has begun, and that we ourselves are called to be its joyful heralds in a world that “yearns for justice, truth, and peace”. 

This Christmas, he said, may we open our hearts to the message of salvation brought by the Christ Child, the Son of God who shows his great power by embracing smallness, weakness, and poverty.

“This,” he concluded, “is the surprise of a child God, of a poor God, of a weak God, of a God who abandons His greatness in order to draw near to each of us.”

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis offered thanks for the many well-wishes he has received ahead of his 80th birthday this coming Saturday.

Speaking to Italian pilgrims after the main catechetical portion of the weekly General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis departed from his prepared greetings to say, “I thank you all for your well-wishes for my upcoming birthday,” he said, adding again, “many thanks!” The Holy Father went on to tease the crowd, saying, “Those, who offer birthday congratulations ahead of time, are jinxes!”

The Holy Father in his greetings also  offered thanks to the pilgrims representing participants in the “Oeration Safe Roads” initiative during the recently concluded Jubilee Year of Mercy, as well as a group of faithful from Petrignano d’Assisi, who brought the Pope a gift of an artistic Christmas crèche.

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Yambio, South Sudan, Dec 14, 2016 / 03:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Jubilee Year of Mercy was observed throughout the world but one bishop in South Sudan, suffering from war and famine, said it was especially needed in his country.

“That was so timely for us in South Sudan, that a people have to learn to forgive one another,” Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of the Diocese of Tombura-Yambio told CNA of Pope Francis’ proclamation of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which lasted Dec. 8, 2015 to Nov. 20, 2016.

“And we find that forgiveness to be the key to solving much of the problems in our country,” he added. “It’s not easy for serious crimes, for individuals or for families to forgive. This is a process,” and one that the Church is “continually talking to people” about.

Bishop Kussala’s diocese is in the West Equatoria State, where he works with the Sudan Relief Fund to bring needed supplies those in his local Church.

In December 2013, violence erupted in the capital city of Juba and it quickly spread throughout the country. A civil war ensued between forces loyal to the country’s president and those loyal to the vice president. Peace agreements have been short-lived, with violence quickly resuming.

More than 1 million refugees have fled the country since the war broke out, the United Nations has said, and over 2 million within the country have been displaced from their homes. Starvation and hunger, lack of clean drinking water, and lack of education are among the most pressing problems.

The World Health Organization in 2015 called the situation there one of the worst health emergencies in the world.

An announcement from the U.S. State Department on Monday noted that, according to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, there was “ethnic cleansing in multiple parts of the country, with people driven from their homes through murder, starvation, gang rape, and the burning of villages. This situation is intolerable, will worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis.”

“To the best of my knowledge, the whole country is in a war,” Bishop Kussala said. “There’s no part which is peaceful.” He noted that “if the war that is on now is not stopped, then it can fester, it can develop into a very serious conflict.”

The South Sudanese people “need immediate support to stop this war,” the bishop appealed.

“We’d like to ask the Catholic community here to pray for us. This is a very difficult time of temptation,” he said.

For the people to forgive one another, there also needs to be “an authority” to provide a secure environment, he insisted.

“At the moment we have difficulties with our security personnel” and the “structure of government,” he noted, adding that “the program for reconciliation is paramount for us, and all the churches.”

“But to do so, we need to dialogue person-to-person, community to community. And this lead us to a national dialogue and to healing. But all this needs time, and is a process. And needs support in order to do it,” he explained, “financial support and moral support.”

It is here where the Sudan Relief Fund is providing much-needed aid to the country, he said, providing for the material needs of the people, like basic services, medicine and medical personnel, and education.

The fund is also providing for the country’s spiritual needs, contributing to the formation of priests and religious, he said.

“We have a lot of young people who’d like to be priests. The formation of these young people is a challenge,” Bishop Kussala noted. “And our religious sisters … they are doing tremendous work in these health centers and schools, and these women deserve support,” he added.

“So we would love to request a closeness and being in touch with us,” he asked of Catholics in the U.S.

Another problem in the country is the recruitment of child soldiers. According to UNICEF estimates, 16,000 child soldiers have been recruited by government and opposition forces since the war began in 2013.

Bishop Kussala noted his diocese’s new policy on protecting children and said UNICEF “has encouraged the government and all the armed groups to make sure that children are safe.”

“So we have always tried to keep contact with these groups” they have access to, he said, “requesting them to give back the young children.” He noted Pope Francis’ December prayer intention, for an end to child soldiers, and said he is “still holding on this call of the Holy Father to make sure that children are safe.”

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Vatican City, Dec 14, 2016 / 04:54 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis Wednesday spoke about the hope that the Child Jesus brings at Christmastime, saying it is our duty to be the messengers that bring his message to the world – a world that is thirsting for goodness.

“The message of the Good News entrusted to us is urgent,” he said Dec. 14. “We must also run like the messenger of the mountains, because the world cannot wait, humanity is hungry and thirsty for justice, for truth and for peace.”

The Pope spoke during his general audience for the third week of Advent, continuing the series of catechesis he began last week on Christian hope.

Focusing on a passage from Book of Isaiah recounting how the messenger was “announcing peace” and “bringing good news,” the Pope said that we are also urged “to wake up, like Jerusalem.”

“We are called to become men and women of hope, collaborating in the coming of this kingdom made of light and intended for all.”

The most beautiful of all the Christmas joys is the joy of inner peace, the knowledge that “the Lord has blotted out my sins, the Lord has forgiven me, the Lord has had mercy on me, he came to my rescue,” Pope Francis said. “This is the joy of Christmas!”

There are so many negative things in the world, we can often become tired and tempted to say that nothing makes sense, Francis said.

However, these are “the reasons for our hope. When everything seems to be over… here was the good news brought by those fast feet: God is coming to do something new, to establish a kingdom of peace.”

In light of all that is wrong in the world, we are called to remember God’s promise to us, namely, that he would never abandon his people or let them be defeated by evil, the Pope said.

The answer to the questions: “who is greatest, God or sin?” and “what wins in the end? God or sin?” is something we must learn, he said, noting that the answer to both is God, since he is capable of conquering even “the biggest sin, the most shameful, the most terrible, the worst,” he continued.

“His weapon? Love!” The Pope said, explaining that this love is specifically God’s love made Incarnate when he came to us as a child, with all of the same needs as any newborn.

“And seeing the little child of Bethlehem, the little ones of the world will know that the promise was fulfilled, the message has come true,” he said. “In a newborn baby, in need of everything, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, it is enclosed all the power of the God who saves.”

Christmas is a day to open your heart to the smallness and wonder evoked by that child, he said.

“It is the wonder of Christmas, which we are preparing, with hope, in this Advent season. It is the wonder of a God child, a poor God, a weak God, a God who abandons his greatness to get close to each of us.”Pope Francis Wednesday spoke about the hope that the Child Jesus brings at Christmastime, saying it is our duty to be the messengers that bring his message to the world – a world that is thirsting for goodness.

“The message of the Good News entrusted to us is urgent,” he said Dec. 14. “We must also run like the messenger of the mountains, because the world cannot wait, humanity is hungry and thirsty for justice, for truth and for peace.”

The Pope spoke during his general audience for the third week of Advent, continuing the series of catechesis he began last week on Christian hope.

Focusing on a passage from Book of Isaiah recounting how the messenger was “announcing peace” and “bringing good news,” the Pope said that we are also urged “to wake up, like Jerusalem.”

“We are called to become men and women of hope, collaborating in the coming of this kingdom made of light and intended for all.”

The most beautiful of all the Christmas joys is the joy of inner peace, the knowledge that “the Lord has blotted out my sins, the Lord has forgiven me, the Lord has had mercy on me, he came to my rescue,” Pope Francis said. “This is the joy of Christmas!”

There are so many negative things in the world, we can often become tired and tempted to say that nothing makes sense, Francis said.

However, these are “the reasons for our hope. When everything seems to be over… here was the good news brought by those fast feet: God is coming to do something new, to establish a kingdom of peace.”

In light of all that is wrong in the world, we are called to remember God’s promise to us, namely, that he would never abandon his people or let them be defeated by evil, the Pope said.

The answer to the questions: “who is greatest, God or sin?” and “what wins in the end? God or sin?” is something we must learn, he said, noting that the answer to both is God, since he is capable of conquering even “the biggest sin, the most shameful, the most terrible, the worst,” he continued.

“His weapon? Love!” The Pope said, explaining that this love is specifically God’s love made Incarnate when he came to us as a child, with all of the same needs as any newborn.

“And seeing the little child of Bethlehem, the little ones of the world will know that the promise was fulfilled, the message has come true,” he said. “In a newborn baby, in need of everything, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, it is enclosed all the power of the God who saves.”

Christmas is a day to open your heart to the smallness and wonder evoked by that child, he said.

“It is the wonder of Christmas, which we are preparing, with hope, in this Advent season. It is the wonder of a God child, a poor God, a weak God, a God who abandons his greatness to get close to each of us.”

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