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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has given Patriarch Kirill of Moscow a relic of St. Francis of Assisi, to mark the Russian Orthodox leader’s 70^th birthday.

The President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, conveyed the present to Patriarch Kirill at an audience granted him at the Patriarchal residence on Tuesday.

A statement from the Moscow Patriarchate on the meeting is below

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On 22 November 2016, at the Patriarchal residence in St Daniel’s Monastery, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Kurt Cardinal Koch.

The Russian Orthodox Church was also represented by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; Archbishop Amvrosy of Peterhof, rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman; and Rev. Alexy Dikarev, a staff member of the DECR Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations.

Cardinal Koch was accompanied by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Apostolic Nuncio to the Russian Federation, and Rev. Hyacinthe Destivelle, a staff member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill greeted the high guests and thanked them for attending the celebrations marking his 70^th birthday. “I regard it as a good gesture of the Roman Catholic Church and as yet another opportunity to exchange opinions on our current agenda,” the Primate of the Russian Church said.

Patriarch Kirill mentioned his meeting with Pope Francis in Havana, saying in particular, “I think, that meeting, held in the atmosphere of sincerity and fraternity, was very meaningful. It is highly important that our common concern over the sufferings of Christians in today’s world, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, was at the core of our meeting.”

As His Holiness noted, the common concern and support to the suffering Christians expressed during that meeting had found a positive response in the world community. “It was after our meeting that the problem of the genocide of Christians in the Middle East was raised at high levels in various countries, and this issue became a major item on the political agenda,” Patriarch Kirill said, “Soon after our meeting, an agreement was reached in Munich, stipulating a ceasefire between the government forces and the opposition in Syria. It also evoked a positive response among those who have a sincere compassion for the suffering and dying people in the Middle East.”

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church noted with regret the aggravation of the situation in Syria and Iraq, caused “not only by the hostilities in Aleppo and Mosul, but also by the ongoing sufferings of people.” As His Holiness said, “The actions of the existing coalitions still lack proper coordination, necessary for combating terrorism successfully. I am convinced that only joint coordinated actions aimed at achieving specific goals can really help defeat terrorism.”

“After that meeting in Havana, our joint Orthodox-Catholic groups made the right steps both in Syria and Lebanon,” His Holiness continued, “It was an important visit that helped representatives of our two Churches form a clear view of the situation in Syria and Lebanon and lay the foundation for our future collaborative work aimed, among other things, at providing aid to people.” Patriarch Kirill noted that, as a result of the joint visit of the Orthodox-Catholic delegation from Russia on 7 April 2016, its members had begun to draw up a list of churches and other religious buildings destroyed during the hostilities. “We hope that the war will end and that people will live in peace again,” His Holiness added, “An issue will be raised of restoring Syria. For us, Christians, it will also be important that churches should be restored and people could return to their normal religious life. We are willing to continue our joint work with the Roman Catholic Church, with its representatives, and to do all within our power to cease sufferings and help people live in peace again.”

The Declaration singed in Havana also revealed the common approach to the Ukrainian issue, the Primate of the Russian Church emphasized. “Not long ago, on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of independence of the Ukrainian state, the Pope of Rome and I sent our respective messages,” His Holiness said and noted the closeness of the two Churches’ positions on this issue. “Both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church are committed to the peacebuilding mission. The Churches must be peacemakers, not the players in a most serious civil conflict,” Patriarch Kirill emphasized.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill also noted the progress in cultural cooperation between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches, saying in particular, “The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity that you head held the 2^nd meeting of the joint working group for cultural cooperation between our Churches, and the both sides have continued to carry out various cultural projects. We hope that on December 11, a joint concert of the Sretensky Monastery Choir, the Synodal Choir of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Choir of the Sistine Chapel will take place at the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs. On November 25, a remarkable exhibition of the Vatican’s masterpieces will open at the Tretyakov Gallery with the participation of Mr. Giuseppe Bertello, Governor of Vatican City. It is a significant cultural event and, at the same time, an important factor for the development of our bilateral relations.”

Speaking on the inter-Christian contacts in the sphere of theological education, the Primate of the Russian Church rated highly the work of the Summer Institute for Representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, organized by Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies. “It is my conviction that the development of our good relations in various spheres will also help promote the relationships between our peoples and overcome conflicts, as well as coordinate our activities aimed at defending people, their right to life and dignity,” His Holiness said in conclusion.

Cardinal Kurt Koch thanked the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church for the warm welcome and read out a message of greetings from Pope Francis on Patriarch Kirill’s 70^th birthday. The letter reads, in particular, “I wish to convey to Your Holiness, my beloved brother in Christ, the assurance of my personal best wishes and fervent prayers on the occasion of your seventieth birthday. I thank the Lord for the abundant blessings that he has bestowed upon you in your life and in your ministry as Pastor of the Russian Orthodox Church. I am especially grateful for your personal contribution to the rapprochement between our Churches and I recall with great emotion our historic meeting in Havana.”

DECR Communication Service

Photo by the Patriarchal Press Service

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The new Cardinal of the Central African Republic (CAR), Dieudonné Nzapalainga has visited Rome’s Mosque Tuesday in a gesture intended to promote interreligious dialogue between Christians and Muslims. The Archbishop of Bangui was welcomed at the Mosque, by the Italian Islamic Federation Vice President Sekekh Taib and Abdellah Redouane, the Director of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Italy. Accompanying the Cardinal were Imam Kobine Layama and the Evangelical Pastor, Philippe Sing-Na, both of the Central African Republic. The latter were in Rome to escort Cardinal Nzapalainga for the consistory where Pope Francis created him Cardinal. 

The visit to Rome’s Mosque, by the Cardinal of CAR, is a sign of the three religious leaders' ongoing commitment to peace and interreligious dialogue. As a result of their efforts, the trio has received various awards commending them for their commitment to reconciliation, dialogue and peace in CAR. Earlier in the week, Cardinal Nzapalainga outlined that as religious leaders in CAR, their motivation for working together was rooted in their faith and belief in the power of dialogue over guns. 

"Our strength is speech, not weapons. We want to use it to empower consciences and create a climate of trust,” the Cardinal said. 
Last year in November 2015, Cardinal Nzapalainga welcomed Pope Francis, to Bangui for the Holy Father’s Apostolic Visit and the opening of the first Holy Door of Mercy. 

(Fr. Paul Samasumo, Vatican Radio)

Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va

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Washington D.C., Nov 23, 2016 / 06:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Some of the greatest challenges to ending hunger worldwide are “fragile states” threatened by instability, conflict, and climate change, a new humanitarian report says.

Yet despite this, one initiative believes poverty-induced hunger can be eliminated in 13 years – and that there's already been movement toward this goal.

“We will never be able to end hunger or extreme poverty unless the United States and the international community focuses attention and resources on the challenges facing fragile states,” Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World Institute, stated on Monday.

“Hunger and poverty in these countries are only going to get worse due to climate change.”

The institute, a non-profit that educates on ending hunger, unveiled the 2017 Hunger Report at the National Press Club on Monday. The annual report is advertised as “the Institute’s largest annual analysis of the state of world hunger.”

Ending world hunger by 2030 is one of the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of goals adopted last year by world leaders at a United Nations summit. The goals are set through the year 2030. Ending hunger is a massive undertaking, Monday’s report admitted, but progress has been made in recent years in fighting poverty.

“From 1990 to 2015, the global poverty rate was cut by more than half. In 1990, 1 in 4 people experienced hunger; today it’s 1 in 9,” a group of religious leaders admitted in a statement at the beginning of the report. “We are humbled by the opportunity God has given us to contribute to this progress.”

Signers of the statement included Carolyn Woo, outgoing CEO of Catholic Relief Services, and Sister Donna Markham, O.P., president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA.

Yet the leaders admitted that “the road to ending hunger and poverty will be far from easy.”

In order to accomplish this massive goal, the countries with the worst situations must be helped first, the report said, noting that “if we continue on the current path, it is estimated that by 2030, two-thirds of the people who experience hunger will live in fragile states.”

What are these “fragile states” and why are their needs so important? They have the worst rates of hunger with three common causes – “civil conflict, poor governance, and vulnerability to climate change,” the report stated.

Since widespread poverty creates more opportunity for conflict and terrorism, these states are “perhaps the greatest challenges on the road to 2030,” the statement by religious leaders said.

These countries “are a national security issue for the United States,” Rev. Beckmann stated. “Extreme poverty and hunger combined with a growing youth population in these countries can provide fertile ground for terrorism and trafficking.”

Some of the worst examples of these states are Syria and South Sudan, the report explained.

For instance, “within two years of the start of the Syrian civil war, the country had lost 35 years of development gains, including 3,000 schools damaged or destroyed, another 2,000 converted to shelters for displaced people, nearly a third of all public health centers destroyed, half the population living in poverty, and half the workforce unemployed.”

And “not all fragile states are low-income,” the report said, noting that “Syria and Iraq are middle-income fragile countries” because of sustained conflicts in those countries. “No amount of humanitarian and development assistance can help if large groups of armed people continue killing one another or sowing terror.”

And the causes of instability, like climate change and conflict, can be interrelated.

“For example, Somalia, one of the most conflict-affected countries in the world, is among the most vulnerable to climate change,” the report noted. “According to one analysis, seven of the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change are also at risk of conflict. The potential for climate change to destabilize countries in some of the most volatile regions of the world is why the U.S. military considers climate change a threat to national security.”

What can be done to solve the problems in these countries, which are either rising or already full-blown crises? The U.S. must focus on not only effectively delivering aid, but empowering the citizens to support themselves, through investment.

The report cited Pope Francis here, noting that a solution “requires participation from people who are living in poverty and enduring hunger.” It quoted from Pope Francis’ Sept. 2015 address to the Sustainable Development Goals summit, “to enable these real men and women to escape from extreme poverty, we must allow them to be dignified agents of their own destiny.”

Some of the other policy recommendations included “allowing for much greater flexibility” in foreign aid, investing in rural agriculture and the creation of jobs to fight poverty and unemployment, and helping other countries “respond to natural disasters.”

“The challenges we see are not new to people of faith. Vulnerable communities are part of the sacred stories highlighted in Scripture,” the statement by religious leaders read, noting Biblical accounts of natural disasters and conflict.

“Floods (Genesis 7:7), drought (1 Kings 17:7-9), famine and vulnerability of women (Ruth 1-5), political instability (1 Samuel 21:10), ethnic struggles (Acts 18:1-2), and religious persecution (Acts 8, 11, 12) have affected peoples throughout the ages,” the leaders stated.

“With abiding faith and courage, we address this challenge called fragility as a barrier to ending hunger—for all people regardless of their faith tradition. We urge the U.S. government and the international community to come together to invest more in fragile countries to promote peace, create stability and opportunity, and build resilience.”

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Vatican City, Nov 23, 2016 / 07:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Synod of Bishops met in Rome this week to finalize the preparatory document and questionnaire that will form the basis of the discussion for the upcoming gathering to discuss youth, faith and discernment.

Pope Francis presided over the Nov. 21-22 meeting, which marked the second time the Ordinary Council of the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops have met since the members were announced.

The Council for the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops is charged with preparing for the Ordinary Synod, which takes place every three years to discuss a specific theme of importance in the Church.

Serving as an advisory body to the Pope, the synod of bishops was established by Pope Paul VI in 1965 by the motu proprio Apostolica sollicitudo to “strengthen (the Pope's) union” with other bishops and to “establish even closer ties” with them.

The Synod Council is composed of a permanent Secretary General (Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri) and Undersecretary (Bishop Fabio Fabene), as well as 15 members – 3 from each continent, with Asia and Oceana (Australia) counted as one – and three appointed by the Pope.

Announced Oct. 6, the theme for the next Ordinary Synod, scheduled to take place in October 2018, will discuss “Young People, the Faith and the Discernment of Vocation.”

According to a Nov. 23 Vatican communique, before getting down to business, the Synod Council’s two-day meeting opened with a speech from the secretary-general, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, who thanked Pope Francis for his presence and congratulated two council members who were made cardinals by the Pope Nov. 19: Cardinal Sergio Da Rocha of Brasilia and Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra of Madrid.

Though they aren’t members of the Synod Council, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; Cardinal Beniamino Stella, Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy and Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, were invited to join the meeting, given their competency surrounding the synod theme.

Discussion focused largely on the “Ordo Synodi Episcoporum,” which is basically the regulations that establish the composition of the synod and how it functions, as well as the preparatory document and questionnaire that will be sent out to bishops’ conferences around the world ahead of the 2018 gathering.

The document was elaborated on by the secretary-general, Baldisseri, with the help of “the competent experts” on the synod theme, according to the communique.

Council members then expressed their appreciation for the document before giving suggestions on how it could be made better.

The document, which includes a questionnaire, will be sent out to Episcopal Conferences and to Synods of Eastern Catholic Churches “sui iuris” (independent) so that it can be distributed to dioceses and other ecclesial institutions throughout the world in order to prepare for the 2018 Ordinary Synod.

During the meeting, members of the Synod Council split up into small groups divided by continent in order to identify specific questions regarding youth “in different geographical and cultural contexts.”

Proposals for the preparatory text and questionnaire were then collected and inserted into the document, which was then “approved unanimously.”

When it came to discussion on the “Ordo Synodi Episcoporum,” members discussed the regulations and listened to a presentation given by Bishop Fabene, undersecretary of the council, who spoke about the work already in progress regarding the revision of the synodal legislation with the help of experts.

Fabene’s presentation, the communique noted, was followed by “a fruitful exchange of views.”

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Vatican City, Nov 23, 2016 / 09:09 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday, it was announced that Pope Francis has named two local priests as auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Detroit, and has chosen a priest from Orange County to become an auxiliary bishop for that diocese.

Fr. Gerard W. Battersby and Fr. Robert J. Fisher are the priests who will be stepping up as the newest auxiliary bishops in Detroit, while Fr. Timothy E. Freyer will become an auxiliary bishop of Orange.

“All of us in the Archdiocese of Detroit are deeply grateful that Pope Francis has named Father Battersby and Father Fisher, two well-loved and respected priests in our archdiocese, to be auxiliary bishops in our local church,” Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit said in a Nov. 23 press release announcing their appointment. 

“Both of these new bishops bring a rich set of gifts and talents to the roles they will play in leading our community in our mission to share the Good News of Jesus,” he said.

The two bishops-elect will be introduced by Archbishop Vigneron at a 10:30 a.m. news conference in the archdiocese’s chancery. They will be ordained Jan. 25, 2017, at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit. 

Fr. Battersby, 56, was born in Detroit as the youngest of nine children, along with his twin brother, and attended St. Benedict Parish and School in Highland Park.

He got a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wayne State and worked in the pharmaceutical and appraisal industries before entering the Sacred Heart Minor Seminary in 1993, earning his Masters of Divinity degree. 

After his1998 priestly ordination, he served in various pastoral roles around the archdiocese, including at St. Thecla Parish in Clinton Township and at St. Gerard, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Presentation-Our Lady of Victory parishes in Detroit. 

The priest was then named director of graduate seminarians at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in 2007, and was later assigned to graduate studies at the University of St. Thomas in Rome.

Since 2011, Fr. Battersby has served as the vice-rector and dean of seminarian formation at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, and since 2015 has also served as pastor of St. Mary of Redford Parish in Detroit.

In the Nov. 23 press release, the bishop-elect thanked God and the Pope “for this inestimable blessing,” saying he accepted the task of being “a co-worker” in the ministry of Jesus Christ with joy and confidence. He also thanked Archbishop Vigneron, “who has been truly a good shepherd and a sterling exemplar to me.”

Fr. Fisher, 57, was also born in Detroit, but was the oldest of four children. He attended Epiphany and St. Bede elementary schools and University of Detroit Jesuit High School, earning a bachelor's degree in management science from University of Detroit.

After graduation, Fisher took charge of the camping services department of the Catholic Youth Organization camps near Port Sanilac before entering Sacred Heart Major Seminary in 1986, where he earned his Masters of Divinity degree. 

He was ordained a priest for Detroit in 1992, after which he went on to serve at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Grosse Pointe Woods, St. Angela Parish in Roseville, and St. Lawrence Parish in Utica, as well as becoming director of priestly vocations for the archdiocese. 

Since March 2014, the bishop-elect has served as rector of the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak.

In the press release, Fr. Fisher said he was “humbled” by the Pope’s decision to name him bishop, and expressed his gratitude for the guidance and support shown him by Archbishop Vigneron. “With the prayers of the community, I will direct all my energy toward sharing Christ in and through the Church,” he said.

Bishops-elect Battersby and Fisher will join fellow Auxiliary Bishops Donald Hanchon and Arturo Cepeda in helping Archbishop Vigneron to serve the 1.3 million Catholics who currently live in the Michigan counties of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Lapeer and St. Clair.

As for the Diocese of Orange, Fr. Freyer, 53, will be stepping up to help Bishop Kevin Vann as the diocese’s new auxiliary bishop.

Born in Los Angeles Oct. 13, 1963, the bishop-elect attended Huntington Beach High School before entering the Saint John Seminary in Camarillo, where he studied from 1981-1989. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Orange June 10, 1989.

After his ordination, Fr. Freyer served the diocese in various capacities, including as Parochial Vicar of Saint Hedwig Parish in Los Alamitos, of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in San Clemente and of Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Laguna Beach. 

He also served as pastor of Saint Mary Parish in Fullerton and of Saint Boniface Parish in Anaheim before being named as the diocese’s Vicar for Clergy in 2012. He speaks both Spanish and English. 
 

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IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Everyone experiences doubts about the faith at times -- "I have" many times, Pope Francis said -- but such doubts can be "a sign that we want to know God better and more deeply."

"We do not need to be afraid of questions and doubts because they are the beginning of a path of knowledge and going deeper; one who does not ask questions cannot progress either in knowledge or in faith," the pope said Nov. 23 at his weekly general audience.

Pope Francis said that although the Year of Mercy has concluded, he still wanted to continue his general audience reflections on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

With fewer than 10,000 pilgrims and visitors present and with rain forecast, the Vatican moved the audience indoors to the Vatican audience hall.

The pope, with a voice that was a bit hoarse, focused on the spiritual works of mercy of "counseling the doubtful" and "instructing the ignorant," which he said was not meant as an insult, but simply as a description of a person who does not know something.

Calling a lack of access to education a "grave injustice," Pope Francis asked those in the audience hall to give a round of applause to teachers and the "long list of saints, who throughout the ages, brought education to the most disadvantaged."

Education, he said, is both a work of evangelization and a work of mercy and justice because it recognizes the dignity of the human person, fights discrimination and, by preparing people for jobs, combats poverty.

The work of mercy of counseling the doubtful involves attempting to "soothe that pain and suffering that come from the fear and anguish that are the consequences of doubt" about the goodness of life and God's love.

"I think someone would ask me, 'Father, I have many doubts about the faith, what should I do? Don't you ever have doubts?" the pope said. "I have many," he said, "there are times when everyone has doubts."

The key, he said, is to see those doubts as a call to deepen one's faith either through study or through seeking the guidance of another believer.

"To do this, it is necessary to listen to the word of God and understand what it teaches us," he said. "But, at the same time, an equally important path is that of living the faith as much as possible."

When faith is seen mainly as "an abstract theory," he said, "doubts multiple."

But when faith is lived and shown in service to others, the pope said, "then many doubts vanish because we feel the presence of God and the truth of the Gospel in the love that, by no merit of ours, lives in us and that we share with others."

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Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden.

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