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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Another crisis looms in an already shook-up European Union. Italian voters rocked Europe's boat more this weekend than Austrian voters were able to steady it. With its shaky banks and massive economy, Italy is now in the throes of energized populists who are no friends of EU leaders in Brussels....
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) -- A judge on Monday sentenced a Georgia man to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury found that he intentionally left his toddler son in a hot SUV to die....
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Teenagers, the son of a sheriff's deputy and young artists who loved music were among the dozens of people killed when a fire tore through a converted Oakland warehouse during a dance party....
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The death toll in the Oakland warehouse fire climbed to 36 Monday with more bodies still feared buried in the blackened ruins, and families anxiously awaited word of their missing loved ones....
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The Latest on a deadly fire in an Oakland warehouse (all times local):...
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- A South Carolina judge has declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked in the murder trial of a white police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist....
The Bishop Emeritus of Torit in South Sudan says South Sudanese need to learn 20 words and eight phrases if lasting peace is to be restored in the country. “The words are: Love, joy, peace, patience, compassion, sympathy, kindness, truthfulness, gentleness, self-control, humility, poverty, forgiveness, mercy, friendship, trust, unity, purity, faith and hope. These are 20, and the eight phrases are: I love you, I miss you, I thank you, I forgive, we forget, together, I am wrong, I am sorry, ” Bishop Taban said. Only by internalising these words can permanent peace return to South Sudan, the Bishop insists. He observed that all things of the world like emperors would pass away, but love would remain forever.Bishop Taban was speaking to Jieng Council of Elders in Juba recently. He told senior citizens to remind the younger generation how they once lived in peace and harmony regardless of tribe.“South Sudanese were never so much tribalistic during my youth...
The Bishop Emeritus of Torit in South Sudan says South Sudanese need to learn 20 words and eight phrases if lasting peace is to be restored in the country.
“The words are: Love, joy, peace, patience, compassion, sympathy, kindness, truthfulness, gentleness, self-control, humility, poverty, forgiveness, mercy, friendship, trust, unity, purity, faith and hope. These are 20, and the eight phrases are: I love you, I miss you, I thank you, I forgive, we forget, together, I am wrong, I am sorry, ” Bishop Taban said. Only by internalising these words can permanent peace return to South Sudan, the Bishop insists. He observed that all things of the world like emperors would pass away, but love would remain forever.
Bishop Taban was speaking to Jieng Council of Elders in Juba recently. He told senior citizens to remind the younger generation how they once lived in peace and harmony regardless of tribe.
“South Sudanese were never so much tribalistic during my youth. We are dying because we are not sincere with each other,” the Bishop said in an echo of a message he has been preaching since the internal conflict began in 2013.
The South Sudanese Bishop is winner of the 2013 UN’s Sergio Vieira de Mello Prize in recognition of his efforts to promote peace.
In 1999, Bishop Emeritus Taban started the Holy Trinity Peace Village in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state. The project, which initially began as a demonstration farm later expanded in 2004, to become a village where people from different tribes, nations and religions live and work together.
(Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va)
Vatican City, Dec 5, 2016 / 07:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Upon accepting the resignation of Bishop Denis Madden, Pope Francis has appointed two priests to be the next auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Vatican announced Monday.“With gratitude to our Holy Father, Pope Francis, I warmly welcome the appointment of Monsignors Mark Brennan and Adam Parker as auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Baltimore,” Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore expressed in a statement published Dec. 5.“This is a joyous and blessed day for our Archdiocese.”In addition to the position of auxiliary bishop, Msgr. Adam J. Parker will also be given the titular see of Tasaccora, and Msgr. Mark E. Brennan the titular see of Rusubisir, the Dec. 5 communique said.Msgr. Parker, a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, currently serves as Vicar general and Moderator of the Curia for the archdiocese and Msgr. Brennan is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington (DC).In a s...
Vatican City, Dec 5, 2016 / 07:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Upon accepting the resignation of Bishop Denis Madden, Pope Francis has appointed two priests to be the next auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Vatican announced Monday.
“With gratitude to our Holy Father, Pope Francis, I warmly welcome the appointment of Monsignors Mark Brennan and Adam Parker as auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Baltimore,” Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore expressed in a statement published Dec. 5.
“This is a joyous and blessed day for our Archdiocese.”
In addition to the position of auxiliary bishop, Msgr. Adam J. Parker will also be given the titular see of Tasaccora, and Msgr. Mark E. Brennan the titular see of Rusubisir, the Dec. 5 communique said.
Msgr. Parker, a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, currently serves as Vicar general and Moderator of the Curia for the archdiocese and Msgr. Brennan is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington (DC).
In a statement released Dec. 5, Msgr. Parker said that from the beginning of his priesthood, he has “consistently prayed the words, ‘Thy will be done.’”
“Now that I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve God’s people as a bishop, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will continue to lead and guide me to do God’s will and in so doing, that I may be a faithful shepherd and an instrument of God’s love and mercy.”
In a statement on his own appointment, Msgr. Brennan said “I am humbled that, at this stage in my life and being simply a parish priest, I have been asked by Pope Francis to serve the good people of Baltimore as an auxiliary bishop. It is something I never expected but I will trust in God and do my best.”
“I have found that God never lets us down. As He has promised, His grace is always there for us, so I will take up my responsibilities in the Archdiocese of Baltimore with gratitude and openness to both God and the people.”
Msgr. Parker, 44, was born in Cleveland, Ohio Jan. 13, 1972. After graduating from the University of Maryland in 1994 with a degree in Communication, he attended St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore and the North American College in Rome.
He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore on May 27, 2000. While in Rome, he also attended the Pontifical Gregorian University, obtaining a licentiate in sacramental theology.
In his statement, Archbishop Lori said that Msgr. Parker is “widely regarded by his co-workers and fellow priests and is well-prepared to assume the duties of Auxiliary Bishop.”
Since his ordination, Msgr. Parker has been both assistant pastor and pastor at several parishes, as well as Vice Chancellor and private secretary to the Archbishop. During 2012-2013 he was secretary to Cardinal Edwin O’Brien in Rome. He then returned to Baltimore where he has served as Vicar general and Moderator of the Curia since 2014.
He was given the title of Monsignor in 2011. In addition to English, Msgr. Parker speaks both Italian and Spanish.
One thing he is looking forward to in his new role, Msgr. Parker said, is celebrating the “gifts of the Holy Spirit” in the Sacrament of Confirmation, “especially with our young people.”
“I am very much looking forward to continuing to walk the path of personal conversion alongside the faithful of the Archdiocese of Baltimore as we strive to be missionary disciples and to live out our baptismal call each day.”
Msgr. Brennan, 69, was born Feb. 6, 1947 in Boston, Mass. He obtained a bachelor’s degree at Brown University and attended Christ the King Seminary in New York and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome where he received a bachelor’s and master’s in theology.
He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington May 15, 1976, and from 1985-1986 spent a year in the Dominican Republic doing “Hispanic Immersion Studies.” He has been assistant pastor and pastor at several parishes, specifically providing pastoral ministry to the Hispanic community at St. Bartholomew parish from 1988-1989.
The bishop-elect has also held the position of director of priestly vocations and priestly programs for the Archdiocese of Washington and has been a member of the Priests’ Council and the College of Consultors. He was Vicar Forane of “Northwest Deanery West” from 2002-2005 and Advocate of the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Washington in 2006.
In 2005 he was given the title of Monsignor. In addition to English, he speaks Spanish and knows French and Italian.
In his statement, Archbishop Lori highlighted Msgr. Brennan’s four decades of experience as a priest, pointing specifically to his recent service as pastor of a parish with a significant Spanish-speaking population.
“His pastoral leadership and experience working with Spanish-speaking Catholics suits him well for the duties of Auxiliary Bishop, which include helping to oversee our efforts to grow and care for the spiritual needs of Spanish-speaking Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore,” Lori said.
“I reiterate my gratitude to the Holy Father for this early Christmas gift, and join my prayers to those of the many priests and lay faithful of this Archdiocese on behalf of Bishops-elect Brennan and Parker.”
IMAGE: CNS/L'Osservatore RomanoBy Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis pleaded with a group ofbillionaires to take seriously their personal obligation to share theirresources and make a real commitment to doing business in a way that helpsother people realize their potential, too.The global economic system, he said Dec. 3, needs a"fundamental renewal" that "does not have to do simply withmarket economics, figures to be balanced, the development of raw materials andimprovements made to infrastructure.""What we are speaking about is the common good ofhumanity, of the right of each person to share in the resources of this worldand to have the same opportunities to realize his or her potential, a potentialthat is ultimately based on the dignity of the children of God, created in hisimage and likeness," the pope told CEOs and other leaders taking part inthe Fortune-Time Global Forum.Business leaders like Virgin's Richard Branson, LRN's Dov Seidman, Siemens' Joe Kaeser and IBM'...
IMAGE: CNS/L'Osservatore Romano
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis pleaded with a group of billionaires to take seriously their personal obligation to share their resources and make a real commitment to doing business in a way that helps other people realize their potential, too.
The global economic system, he said Dec. 3, needs a "fundamental renewal" that "does not have to do simply with market economics, figures to be balanced, the development of raw materials and improvements made to infrastructure."
"What we are speaking about is the common good of humanity, of the right of each person to share in the resources of this world and to have the same opportunities to realize his or her potential, a potential that is ultimately based on the dignity of the children of God, created in his image and likeness," the pope told CEOs and other leaders taking part in the Fortune-Time Global Forum.
Business leaders like Virgin's Richard Branson, LRN's Dov Seidman, Siemens' Joe Kaeser and IBM's Ginni Rometty met in Rome for two days to respond to what they described as Pope Francis' "passionate pleas for broader prosperity and lasting ways to lift the poor." They also spoke with concern of growing popular discontent with the way big business and governments operate.
"Populism and protectionism are rearing their heads around the world, and trust in business -- as well as other institutions -- has plummeted," the leaders said in their report to the pope.
After public sessions focused on what Branson defined as "moral leadership" -- "leadership that accepts that the long-term sustainability of our actions is more important than short-term gain" -- the CEOs and heads of major nongovernmental organizations participated in working groups to develop practical commitments aimed at increasing people's access to finance, health care, the internet, energy, food, clean water, education and job training.
"Our great challenge," Pope Francis told them, "is to respond to global levels of injustice by promoting a local and even personal sense of responsibility so that no one is excluded from participating in society."
"The centrality and dignity of the human person," especially the poor and refugees, must be the key factor in strategizing sustainable development, the pope said.
"When we ignore the cries of so many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, we not only deny them their God-given rights and worth, but we also reject their wisdom and prevent them from offering their talents, traditions and cultures to the world," he told the CEOs. "In so doing, the poor and marginalized are made to suffer even more, and we ourselves grow impoverished, not only materially, but morally and spiritually."
While the CEOs recognized that globalization and digitization "have created unprecedented growth and lifted billions of people out of poverty," both they and Pope Francis also acknowledged that the growth has been uneven and "inequality within nations is on the rise."
"People want to make their voices heard and express their concerns and fears," Pope Francis told the leaders. They want to contribute and "to benefit from the resources and development too often reserved for the few."
"While this may create conflict and lay bare the many sorrows of our world, it also makes us realize that we are living in a moment of hope. For when we finally recognize the evil in our midst, we can seek healing by applying the remedy," the pope said.
"Institutional and personal conversion" is the only way forward, he said. "Seek ever more creative ways to transform our institutions and economic structures so that they may be able to respond to the needs of our day and be in service of the human person, especially those marginalized and discarded."
And that cannot be done from the boardroom, he said. "Involve in your efforts those whom you seek to help; give them a voice, listen to their stories, learn from their experiences and understand their needs. See in them a brother and a sister, a son and a daughter, a mother and a father. Amid the challenges of our day, see the human face of those you earnestly seek to help."
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Monday seemed concerned that race may have played too large a role in the drawing of electoral districts in Virginia, to the detriment of black voters....
