Catholic News 2

Pakistan’s Islamic parties are preventing the revision of school curricula and are spreading hatred and stereotypes against religious minorities, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, this according to a study carried out by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan.

The research, which covers the last five years, found that Islamic religious parties have become a pressure group strong enough to prevent education authorities from revising school programmes for fear of retaliation and protests.

The study notes that Urdu-language history, social studies and Islamic studies are full of biased ideas about minorities.

In the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, hateful content is ten per cent higher than in other provinces. The responsibility for this lies mostly with the Ministry of Education, which is led by a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Although the party portrays itself as liberal, it has failed to set priorities and show political will according to the NCJP. In fact, the provincial government itself is afraid of the opposition and backlash from religious parties.

School material tends to promote a sense of deprivation and an inferiority complex among minority students, increasing school dropout. Texts with hateful content also promote the radicalisation of young people, who end up embracing extremism.

"Khyber Pakhtunkhwa education is in the hands of the extreme right," said Aila Gill, an activist and NCJP researcher.

By contrast, changes have been implemented in other provinces, like Punjab and Sindh. For example, in one textbook, “there is a chapter dedicated to Abdul Sattar Edhi;” a humanitarian described as Pakistan’s Mother Teresa who died last July;  in another, there are “short stories about terrorism and anti-terrorism”.

NCJP has been determined to focus on the issue of biased curriculum & reforms in education policy since 2006 when the education policy was framed and then approved in September 2009.

The Commission is deeply concerned on the issue of religious biases in education system of Pakistan. The whole arrangement of curriculum in textbooks is visibly discriminatory against religious minorities which is contradictory to Article 20, 22 and 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973, hampering religious freedom and equality of citizens.

While the campaign has achieved some success, the commission continues to work with government and other stakeholders with an aim to build a more tolerant and peaceful Nation.

Although “the provinces are still reluctant to remove existing biases, they have at least included new material, like a chapter on the role played by women in the development of the country in the Pakistan movement.”

In these provinces, “Governments have also added a section devoted to the social status of women and their role as citizens, presenting prominent figures like (Nobel laureate) Malala Yousafzai.”

Amelia Tariq, a Christian student at Punjab University, said that when she was a child she "was mocked by students from the Muslim majority, who questioned my identity. Belonging to a minority makes you feel isolated ".

In her view, it is the government’s responsibility "to eliminate discriminatory elements from textbooks and ensure the protection of minority students. Programmes should promote harmony, tolerance, unity and nationalism, as the Fathers of the Nation did."

(Source: AsiaNews) 

Full Article

Vatican Weekend for November 19, 2016 features a segment on the consistory November 19th and some of the men whom Pope Francis raises to the rank of cardinal: among them, men from "the ends of the earth" and countries in conflict.  The Jubilee Year of Mercy comes to an end with the closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s basilica by Pope Francis.  We bring you a special report on the artists who crafted the door's bronze panels and a reflection for the occasion from American Mgr. William Millea.

Listen to the programme produced and presented by Tracey McClure:

Full Article

(Vatican Radio) As the Year of Mercy draws to a close, a group of Australian artists on Thursday came together in Rome to perform a work dedicated to the theme of this Jubilee Year.

‘The Faces of Mercy’ combines music by composer George Palmer, poetry by author Keven Brophy and artwork by Sydney born artist Niké Arrighi Borghese. It also draws on the writings, preaching and speeches of Pope Francis reflecting on the theme of God’s mercy for all of humanity.

Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report: 

The idea for this project originated with the former Australian ambassador to the Holy See John McCarthy. Over the centuries, he noted, Jubilee Years "have inspired sacred works" by many great artists and writers. In a similar way, 'The Faces of Mercy' offers a reflection on this year proclaimed by Pope Francis, through some of the best music, poetry and art that Australia has to offer.

Supported by the archdiocese of Sydney, Australian Catholic University and the Catholic Super pension fund, the performance premiered in St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, in October, before coming to Rome to mark the end of the Holy Year.

The multi-sensory work moves from the themes of despair and desolation, through pardon and hope, to the final meditations on mercy and love. The poetry, the music and oil paintings can all stand alone, yet woven together they form a powerful triptych of differing perspectives on our human dialogue with the divine.

As well as drawing on papal teachings about mercy, the texts are also inspired by the psalms and other Old Testament writings, reflecting on the timeless search of humanity for hope, joy and meaning in our lives.

As Pope Francis prepares to close the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, the performance offers a fitting response to his call for bold and creative ways of witnessing to God’s mercy in the world.  

Full Article

Vatican Weekend for November 20, 2016 features our weekly reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading, “There’s More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye” and EWTN’s Rome bureau chief, Joan Lewis looks back at recent events in the Vatican.

Listen to the programme produced and presented by Tracey McClure:

Full Article

(Vatican Radio) Despite public opposition, Ferdinand Marcos, the late president of the Philippines, has been buried in a heroes' cemetery in the capital on Friday, in a ceremony shrouded in secrecy. The move has once again triggered protests across the country.

He is accused to have cheated his way to power and of torturing, abducting and killing thousands of opponents, as well as looting billions of dollars from the country.

Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila described the late dictator's burial in the Philippines' cemetery for heroes as "dishonorable." Fr Jerome Secillano, of the public affairs office of the bishops' conference, said it "desecrated the meaning of honor, nobility, and heroism."

Marcos was president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, when he was overthrown by a revolt - dubbed the People Power revolution - and forced to flee into exile to Hawaii, where he died in 1989. His body was returned to the Philippines in 1993 and has since been kept in a refrigerated crypt in a mausoleum in his hometown of Batac, Ilocos Norte, 470km north of Manila.

In 2004, Transparency International, the anti-corruption watchdog, named Marcos the second most corrupt leader of all time, behind Indonesian authoritarian ruler Suharto. The Philippines' foreign debt went from $2.67bn in 1972, when Marcos declared martial law, to $28.2bn in 1986, according to the World Bank.

Despite claims by the police that it was not an official state funeral, the ceremony began at noon on Friday, with a 21-gun salute as soldiers in parade dress and ceremonial rifles stood to attention at the Cemetery of Heroes in Manila, after his body was secretly flown to the venue in an apparent effort to avoid protests.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who was supported by members of the Marcos family in his presidential campaign, gave permission for the burial in August, calling Marcos a "Filipino soldier", and the Supreme Court ruled last week that Marcos could be entombed in the cemetery, where former presidents, soldiers and national artists have been interred.

The burial is an emotive issue in the Philippines, where a large part of the country views Ferdinand Marcos' 20-year rule as emblematic of the worst abuses of power.

So the funeral shocked many pro-democracy advocates and human-rights victims who planned several protests nationwide on Friday to oppose the burial.

The country's vice-president, human rights lawyer Leni Robredo, was among the critics, flatly declaring "Marcos is no hero" on Twitter.

Activist Bonifacio Ilagan, who was tortured under Marcos, told the Associated Press news agency the former leader was being buried "like a thief in the night".

But the late leader's eldest daughter, Imee Marcos, governor of the family's home state Ilocos Norte, thanked the country's president on social media for allowing the burial to happen.

Earklier, Philippine Catholic bishops had denounced a court decision allowing a hero's burial for the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, president of the Philippine bishops' conference, had said “It mocks our fight to restore democracy. I am puzzled and hurt, and in great grief.”

The prelate, a protege of the late Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila who helped oust Marcos through the so-called "People Power Revolution" of 1986, had said he was "very sad" with the court decision.

(Source: Al Jazeera; BBC; UCANews) 

Full Article

Nairobi, Kenya, Nov 18, 2016 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Ahead of Kenya’s 2017 elections, the country’s Catholic bishops warned about the potential for inflammatory language and politician-driven ethnic tensions to add to violence and endanger the country.

“The well-being and prosperity of our country depends on all of us,” the bishops said in a Nov. 11 statement. “This is the only Kenya we have and we must guard our liberties jealously so that those who come after us will find a country where there is peace and harmony. We should never allow few individuals to spoil the peace in Kenya and interfere with our inheritance.”

“Together we can build a country that is just and free from corruption, a country that is orderly and respects the rule of law and a country where the dignity of every person is respected and valued,” they added.

The statement, titled “For Love of our country, work for peace and unity,” was signed by Bishop Philip Anyolo of Homa Bay, chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, according to the Catholic News Agency for Africa.

The bishops stressed the need for peaceful elections, voicing concern about “the resurgence of violence, confrontational languages and hate speeches.” They warned such habits could return the country to the period of 2007-2008 when civil conflict became a real concern.

Kenyans should avoid a tribalistic mentality where voters decide to elect “one of our own” at the expense of other communities, they advised.

“We wish to caution, again and again, our politicians to avoid inflammatory language, and the tendency to set one community against the other,” the bishops continued, asking leaders to promote harmony and peace.

“Politicians are tearing into one another and making dangerous statements capable of whipping up ethnic tensions, clashes and violent political rivalry,” the bishops said. “Accusations and counter accusations are being traded at the expense of the truth.”

“The lives of Kenyans are very precious and anybody threatening or attacking them has no place in any decent and civilized society. We condemn these acts of violence in the strongest terms and we call for the arrest of any person inflicting violence and continuous suffering to others.”

Among the topics the bishops’ letter addressed was the issue of politics in church.

“The Church is called to be the conscience of the society. Consequently those working in the Church must be seen to be above party politics,” they said. “We call upon the clergy not to use the Church or the pulpit to promote any political candidate.”

The bishops would not allow churches and church functions to be used as campaign platforms and “forums of hate speech.”

“As much as politicians and those aspiring to elective positions are free to worship and pray where they want, they should not use such opportunities to make their campaign statements,” said the bishops.

Another topic of concern was terrorist attacks in regions that border Somalia and efforts to radicalize or recruit youth.

“The intention of these evil people is clear – to create animosity between Christians and Muslims in this country,” the bishops said. “We should never succumb to this temptation for evil can only be overcome by good.”

The bishops lamented “perpetual infighting” among elected leaders and the “disease” of corruption, an evil “that seems to be perpetrated without shame or fear.”

They spoke as Kenya’s Ministry of Health faces allegations of mismanagement.

“Tolerating corruption and letting those considered ‘untouchable’ free to loot the taxpayers’ money for the sake of political expediency shows weak leadership in the fight against corruption,” the bishops said.

On the topic of education, the bishops said children should receive a religious education from the time they start school so that they become “respectful, God-fearing, hardworking, honest and orderly people.”

“We must reject outside interference from those who are bent to derail our young people from our God given values that are at the heart of our moral fabric,” they said, rejecting the exclusion of religious education and sex education that lacks the context of good values.

“We call upon all our Catholics and all people of good will to pray for Kenya so that we can have peace and build a one united nation,” their statement concluded. “God bless Kenya!”

Full Article

Vatican City, Nov 18, 2016 / 06:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a lengthy new interview, Pope Francis opened up about his thoughts on the Jubilee of Mercy as well as progress made in the field of ecumenism, both of which he said have roots in the Second Vatican Council.

Asked what the Year of Mercy has meant to him, the Pope said that he hopes “many people have discovered themselves to be very loved by Jesus and have allowed themselves to be embraced by him.”

“His mercy always leads him to forgive, to forget our sins,” he said. “I like to think that the Omnipotent has a bad memory. Once he forgives you, he forgets. Because he is happy to forgive. For me this is enough. All of Christianity is here.”

The Pope’s interview with Italian paper Avvenire, the official publication of the Italian Bishops Conference, was published Nov. 18 and took place just days before the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is set come to a close. Pope Francis will close the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s Basilica this Sunday, Nov. 20, on the feast of Christ the King.

In the interview, Pope Francis said that he “didn’t make a plan” for the Jubilee, but simply let himself be “led by the Holy Spirit.”

The fact that the Jubilee took place now “was a process that matured in time,” he said. Pointing to various documents the Church has published throughout the last century, Francis explained that the Church’s emphasis on mercy is not something new, but has unfolded gradually.

In the lead up to the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII’s “Gaudet mater Ecclesia,” indicating the “path to follow” to the opening of the Council, then there were the teachings of Paul VI, John Paul II’s encyclical “Dives in Misericordia” and the institution of Divine Mercy Sunday, he said.

In the lead up to the Second Vatican Council St. John XXIII published his 1962 document “Gaudet mater Ecclesia,” which Pope Francis said indicated the “path to follow” to the opening of the Council. After, there were the teachings of Bl. Pope Paul VI, which in turn were followed by St. John Paul II’s 1980 encyclical “Dives in Misericordia” and the institution of Divine Mercy Sunday.

When it came to Benedict XVI, he is the one who said “the name of God is mercy,” Francis observed, affirming that his predecessors and their own teachings on mercy “are all pillars.”

“In this way the Holy Spirit carried forward processes in the Church until their completion,” he said.

The fact that the Jubilee happened when it did is part of this natural progression, Francis said. In fact, just last year Benedict XVI himself spoke of mercy as a “sign of the times.”

In a lengthy interview given to German priest Fr. Jacques Servais, SJ in October 2015, the retired pontiff said that there continues to exist “the perception that we are in need of grace and forgiveness.”

“For me,” he said, “it is a ‘sign of the times’ the fact that the idea of the mercy of God should become more and more central and dominant.”


Asked if the Jubilee was, in a sense, the “Jubilee of the Council ‘hic et nunc’ (here and now),” Pope Francis said “the Church exists as an instrument to communicate to men the design of the mercy of God.”

“To make the experience of forgiveness which embraces the entire human family lived is the grace that the apostolic ministry announces,” he said.

During the Council “the Church felt the responsibility of being in the world as a living sign of the Father’s love.” This, Francis said, is what moves “the axis of Christian conscience” from legalism, which can be “ideological,” to the Person of God who “became mercy” in the incarnation.

Responding to criticisms he’s received regarding certain passages of his post-synodal exhortation “Amoria Laetitia,” the Pope said that some “still do not understand” the point, and want to make everything “black or white,” when in life “you have to discern.”

The Council “told us this,” he said, pointing to the fact that it hasn’t been that long since the Council was held: “historians say that a Council, in order to be absorbed well into the body of the Church, needs a century...We are in the middle.”

Conversation then shifted to the topic of ecumenism, specifically the many ecumenical visits which took place between Pope Francis and various Christian and religious leaders during the Jubilee.

When asked whether these meetings could be seen as a special result of the Jubilee, the Pope stressed that they are not “the fruit of the Year of Mercy,” but rather began a long time ago.

“It’s not something new,” he said, explaining that he is merely following the path begun by the conciliar decree, “Unitatis redintegratio,” promulgated more than 50 years ago and which initiated the journey toward unity among Christians.

Since then, he said, the path toward full Christian unity has gone forward with both “small and large steps.” Francis emphasized that this path is not moving as a result of his own work, but is “the path of the Council which moves forward, intensifies.”

Despite having participated in a number of significant ecumenical visits during his pontificate, and especially during the Year of Mercy, Francis denied that any sense of “acceleration” in the process was due to him.

The first of these visits during the Jubilee took place in February when Pope Francis met with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, the first-ever meeting between a Pope and a Patriarch of Moscow.

Just a few months later, the Pope traveled to Lesbos in April where he met with Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and Orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece.The Pope and Patriarch Bartholomew have met on several other occasions this year, including during an international interreligious gathering held in Assisi Sept. 20 for the World Day of Prayer for Peace.

During his visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan at the end of September, the Pope met with Ilia II, Catholicos and Patriarch of All Georgia, as part of a special ecumenical event.

In addition to these meetings, the Pope added another first to his ecumenical list when in October he traveled to Lund, Sweden to participate in a joint-commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, meeting with Lutheran leaders and signing a joint declaration with the Lutheran World Federation.

“I have met the primates and those responsible, it’s true,” he said in the interview, “but my predecessors have also had their encounters. In the measure in which we go forward the path seems to go faster...”

Asked to respond to criticisms that the Bishop of Rome should focus more on the Catholic Church than on making so many ecumenical efforts, the Pope pointed to the Gospel, noting that even Jesus himself prayed to the Father that “they may all be one…that the world may believe.”

“The Bishop of Rome has always been called to cherish, seek and serve this unity,” he said. “We also know that the wounds of our divisions, which lacerate the body of Christ, we can’t heal them ourselves. So we can’t impose projects or systems to return to unity.”

Responding to the arguments of some that he wants to “sell out” the Church’s doctrine or “protestantize” the Church with his ecumenical initiatives, Francis simply said “I don’t lose sleep” over it.

“I continue on the path of those who have preceded me, I follow the Council,” he said. “As for opinions, one needs to distinguish the spirit with which they are said. When there is no bad spirit, they even help the journey.”

“Other times you see right away that the criticisms are done here and there to justify a position already taken,” he said, noting that in these cases “they are not honest, they are done with a bad spirit to stir up division.”

“You see right away that certain rigors stem from a lack, from wanting hide inside the armor of their own sad dissatisfaction.”

In working toward unity, though, the Pope said that at this point in history there are three roads to be taken: journeying together with the works of charity, praying together and recognizing the common confession “as expressed in the common martyrdom received in the name of Christ.”  

Speaking of what he has coined “the ecumenism of blood,” Pope Francis said that “here you see that the enemy himself recognizes our unity, the unity of the baptized. The enemy, in this, makes no mistakes.”

In following this journey, he reflected, we do not put aside theological and sacramental questions, which are necessary, but instead focus on serving the poor because they represent Christ. Serving the poor together, he said, is a means of being united in touching his “wounds.”

The Pope stressed that it is not our own “projects or systems” that bring about unity, but that it is the Holy Spirit who “brings things to fulfillment, with the times that he establishes.”

“For this we cannot be impatient, discouraged or anxious,” he said. “The journey requires patience in preserving and improving what already exists, with is much more than what divides. And to bear witness to his love for all men, so the world may believe.”

Full Article

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholics will forgive their priests for almost any weakness, but not for an exaggerated attachment to money or for mistreating parishioners, Pope Francis told 160 priests who work in Vatican nunciatures around the world.

"The people of God have a great nose" for sniffing out priests who serve the god of money more than God the father, he told the priests Nov. 18.

Celebrating Mass with them in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Pope Francis focused on the day's Gospel reading, which was St. Luke's account of Jesus throwing the money-changers out of the temple.

In the reading, Jesus accuses the merchants of turning the Lord's house into a "den of thieves."

"The Lord helps us understand what is the seed of the Antichrist, the seed of the enemy, the seed that ruins his kingdom" -- an attachment to money, the pope said.

"A heart attached to money is an idolatrous heart," he said.

A church, like the temple, is supposed to be a house of prayer, a place to encounter the God of love, the pope said. But "the lord-money" constantly tries to enter even there.

The merchants and money-changers did not just make themselves at home in the temple, Pope Francis said. "Who rented them places, huh? The priests. The priests rented them and money entered" into the house of God.

The devil tempts people, including priests, to make money an idol, leading to a life that is "without the happiness, without the joy of serving the true Lord who is the only one who can give us true joy," the pope said.

"It's a personal choice," he told the priests. "What is your attitude toward money? Are you attached to money?"

The Catholic faithful, he said, are pretty sharp "in canonizing as well as condemning" their priests. "They will forgive many weaknesses, many of their priests' sins. But there are two they cannot forgive: an attachment to money -- that they cannot forgive -- and the mistreatment of people, which is something the people of God cannot digest."

With other weaknesses, he said, people will say, "'Yes, but he is not well' or 'poor man, he's lonely.' They try to justify" his behavior.

Pope Francis told the nunciature staff members that "it is sad to see a priest arrive at the end of his life -- in agony, in a coma -- and his nephews and nieces are gathered, looking around to see what they can take."

Priests should have "sufficient money, that of an honest worker, and sufficient savings like an honest worker would have," but not wealth. He prayed that God would give him and all priests the grace of being content with what is enough "and not seek more."

- - -

Copyright © 2016 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.

Full Article

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The church is not a prop for one's ego, a soapbox for ideas or a suit of armor protecting a sad life, Pope Francis said.

"The church exists only as an instrument for communicating God's merciful plan to the people," he said in an interview published in the Nov. 18 edition of Avvenire, an Italian Catholic newspaper.

God doesn't ask for grand gestures, just for the trustful abandon of a child in a father's arms and for sharing that divine love and mercy with others, he said.

"Those who discover they are loved very much begin to emerge from terrible solitude, from the separation that leads to hating others and oneself," he added.

While most of the lengthy interview's questions touched on ecumenism and the meaning of the Year of Mercy, the pope's responses revealed his vision of the church and the "bad spirit" or psychological defects that foster division.

For example, he said, some reactions to his apostolic exhortation, "Amoris Laetitia," continue to reflect a lack of understanding about how the Holy Spirit has been working in the church since the Second Vatican Council.

With "Lumen Gentium," its dogmatic constitution on the church, he said, the church "returned to the source of her nature -- the Gospel. This shifted the axis of Christian understanding from a kind of legalism, which can be ideological, to the person of God, who became mercy in the incarnation of the son."

"Think about certain reactions to 'Amoris Laetitia' -- some continue to not understand, (seeing) either white or black, even if it is in the flow of life that one must discern."

Historians, however, say it takes a century for a council's teachings to fully sink in, which means "we are at the halfway mark," Pope Francis said.

The church and its members are asked to be docile to the Holy Spirit, he said, and to let the Spirit do the work because the Spirit knows when "the time is ripe" for things.

Calling the Year of Mercy was an example of that, he said. It was not "a plan" of his own, but something inspired by the Spirit and built on the cornerstones of his predecessors.

"The church is the Gospel, it is the work of Jesus Christ," the pope said. "It is not a course of ideas, a tool for asserting them."

"The cancer in the church is giving glory to one another," he said in response to an observation made by Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who said a worldly mentality within the church was at the root of divisions among Christians.

Someone who has never heard of or encountered Christ can always come to know him someday, Pope Francis said.

But, he said, if someone is already "in the church and moves within it because precisely in the world of the church they cultivate and feed their hunger for domination and self-affirmation, (then) they have a spiritual disease; they believe the church is a self-sufficient human reality where everything proceeds according to the logic of ambition and power."

There is a "sinful habit of the church to look too much at itself as if it believed it had its own light" -- what Bartholomew called an "ecclesial introversion," the pope said. Divisions are born when the church looks too much too itself and not to the real light of Christ, which the church reflects like the moon does sunlight.

"Looking at Christ frees us from this habit and also from the temptation of triumphalism and rigidity," the pope said.

The guide for knowing the right path to take is always understanding the importance of following the Holy Spirit, he said when asked about criticisms that his outreach to other Christian communities was a sign of "selling out" Catholic doctrine or "Protestant-izing" the church.

He said he doesn't "lose sleep" over such critiques because it's important to see what kind of "spirit" is motivating such opinions.

"When there is no bad spirit" behind the remarks, differing opinions can be helpful for walking the way of the Lord, he said.

Other times, it is immediately obvious when criticism is driven by wanting to "justify a position that's already been taken," he said. Such criticisms "are not honest, they are made with a bad spirit to foment division."

One sees right away that certain forms of strictness "arise from a shortcoming, from the desire to hide one's own sad discontent within a suit of armor," he said, adding that the film Babette's Feast offered a good example of "this rigid behavior."

As long as the church and its members keep their focus on Christ, they will avoid many of these errors and temptations, he said.

It is walking behind Christ and doing his will by praying together, helping the needy and dying as martyrs together that will unite all Christians who already share the same baptism.

Ecumenism is a process, a walking together, not carving out or "occupying spaces," or setting aside and ignoring theological differences, he said.

The "grave sin" of proselytism, too, goes against the "dynamic" of authentically becoming and being Christian. "The church is not a soccer team seeking fans," he said.

- - -

Copyright © 2016 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.

Full Article

Full Article