Catholic News 2
NEW YORK (AP) -- Sally Buzbee, a veteran journalist with deep experience leading both international and U.S. news coverage, has been named executive editor and senior vice president of The Associated Press....
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) -- Cloudy skies neutralized air power in Mosul on Thursday, Iraqi forces said, hampering their advance into the northern city, although they still faced deadly attacks by Islamic State militants that killed seven civilians and two soldiers....
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) -- Layers of hastily erected barricades built from rubble and twisted metal trace Mosul's eastern frontline where Iraqi forces and Islamic State group fighters are facing off in the dense neighborhoods and narrow alleyways of the country's second largest city....
BERLIN (AP) -- Meeting one last time as peers on the world stage, President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday reaffirmed a message of solidarity and trans-Atlantic cooperation between top trading partners and key NATO allies as Donald Trump prepares to take office....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe becomes the first world leader to meet President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday, seeking reassurances over the future of the U.S.-Japan security and trade relations....
NEW YORK (AP) -- President-elect Donald Trump, a foreign policy novice, was deepening his focus on national security Thursday, meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as a former secretary of state and a possible contender to be his top diplomat....
(Vatican Radio) Business executives and Church leaders are meeting in the Vatican for a conference on social and economic inclusion in business environs.The conference carries the title: ‘Business Leaders as Agents of Economic and Social Inclusion’ and is hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and UNIAPAC.Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Felix Pole, Chairman of mining conglomerate CMI, spoke to Devin Watkins to express their desire that the conference promote social inclusion among business leaders.Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the conference.Listen to the full interview: Archbishop Tomasi: 'Conference emphasizes dialogue and dignity of work'Archbishop Tomasi said the conference is a follow-up to a previous one in 2014 on the topic of the Common Good, which saw the participation of Pope Francis. He said the conference focuses on two aspects. First, it "puts a lot of em...
(Vatican Radio) Business executives and Church leaders are meeting in the Vatican for a conference on social and economic inclusion in business environs.
The conference carries the title: ‘Business Leaders as Agents of Economic and Social Inclusion’ and is hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and UNIAPAC.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Felix Pole, Chairman of mining conglomerate CMI, spoke to Devin Watkins to express their desire that the conference promote social inclusion among business leaders.
Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the conference.
Listen to the full interview:
Archbishop Tomasi: 'Conference emphasizes dialogue and dignity of work'
Archbishop Tomasi said the conference is a follow-up to a previous one in 2014 on the topic of the Common Good, which saw the participation of Pope Francis.
He said the conference focuses on two aspects. First, it "puts a lot of emphasis on the dignity of work and on the dialogue between employers, workers, bureaucrats."
"The second track, so to say, is the teaching of Pope Francis, who insists very often on the need to build and develop an inclusive economy in which nobody is left out or considered a useless addition in the social network of production and consumption."
Archbishop Tomasi went on to say the UNIAPAC conference hopes to build a better balance in society.
"In order to achieve a better balance in society and, therefore, greater respect for the dignity of every person, we need to dialogue and to carry on a constant exchange of views in a cooperative context, in a cooperative way, between production managers, production owners, and people who live employed in this context. The journey is long because sometimes the common good is not appreciated by political leaders who put the emphasis on 'profit no matter what'."
Felix Pole: 'Action shops over talking shops'
Mr. Felix Pole is a business executive participating in the conference. He is the Chairman of CMI, a nickel mining conglomerate which, among other things, operates a nickel mine in Zambia.
Mr. Pole said his presence at the Vatican conference is two-fold.
"Our concern is really to demonstrate or to be part of a dialogue which shows that mining can have such a big social impact, both positive and negative... What we are interested in being able to demonstrate that mining can play such an important part in the development of any country, but that it has to be thought through."
"To a certain extent we're sending a message and to a certain extent we want to listen to see what other people's views are about how they see social inclusion and the role of the business leader."
Mr. Pole also gave an example of how the Church in Zambia has successful mediated dialogue between mining companies, government, and local people.
"Through the Pontifical Council [for Justice and Peace] and others, we arranged a conference in Zambia... That led to the idea of the Church itself providing space where civil society, government, and the mining companies can speak to each other without tearing each other apart."
As an executive, Mr. Pole said he is "really concerned more about the practical effects on the ground and seeing how the churches and civil society and the government can work together to solve some of the problems which occur."
He concluded with the quip: "What we're interested is not so much 'talking shops' but 'action shops'.
(Vatican Radio) The diocese of Ferns located on the South East coast of Ireland is one of the many dioceses in the country that has been celebrating the Extraordinary Year of Mercy.The Bishop of Ferns, Denis Brennan was in Rome recently and spoke to Lydia O’Kane about how they have been celebrating the Jubilee.Listen: “We have opened five or six Holy Doors”, the Bishop explained, “for different reasons in different parts of the diocese. We took Pope Francis at his word when he said, you don’t have to come to Rome, you can have your own door in your own place…”Bishop Brennan said that everywhere that there was a Holy Door large numbers turned up, adding that the message of the Year of Mercy has really filtered out.So will the Holy Year have a legacy in Ferns? The Bishop hopes that it will. He said, “it struck a chord; the way that Pope Francis talks about it and the way he exemplifies it in his own life. I think peo...
(Vatican Radio) The diocese of Ferns located on the South East coast of Ireland is one of the many dioceses in the country that has been celebrating the Extraordinary Year of Mercy.
The Bishop of Ferns, Denis Brennan was in Rome recently and spoke to Lydia O’Kane about how they have been celebrating the Jubilee.
Listen:
“We have opened five or six Holy Doors”, the Bishop explained, “for different reasons in different parts of the diocese. We took Pope Francis at his word when he said, you don’t have to come to Rome, you can have your own door in your own place…”
Bishop Brennan said that everywhere that there was a Holy Door large numbers turned up, adding that the message of the Year of Mercy has really filtered out.
So will the Holy Year have a legacy in Ferns? The Bishop hopes that it will. He said, “it struck a chord; the way that Pope Francis talks about it and the way he exemplifies it in his own life. I think people are struck by that and they are attracted by it so, I think it will live on, maybe not structurally, but it will live on I think in peoples’ lives and hearts.
The Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy concludes on November 20th the feast of Christ the King.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the participants in a Vatican conference promoting business leaders as agents in social and economic inclusion, reflecting with them on three challenges of business: the proper use of money, honesty, and solidarity.The conference carries the title: ‘Business Leaders as Agents of Economic and Social Inclusion’ and is hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and UNIAPAC on 17-18 November.Listen to Devin Watkins’ report: Addressing business executives participating in the Vatican conference in his native Spanish, Pope Francis called on them to be aware of what he said are three challenges of doing business, namely, “the good use of money, honesty, and solidarity”.Good use of moneyThe Holy Father said money is “one of the most difficult topics of moral perception” and repeated his characteristic phrase with emphasis: “money is the dung of the devil”.He said the ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the participants in a Vatican conference promoting business leaders as agents in social and economic inclusion, reflecting with them on three challenges of business: the proper use of money, honesty, and solidarity.
The conference carries the title: ‘Business Leaders as Agents of Economic and Social Inclusion’ and is hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and UNIAPAC on 17-18 November.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
Addressing business executives participating in the Vatican conference in his native Spanish, Pope Francis called on them to be aware of what he said are three challenges of doing business, namely, “the good use of money, honesty, and solidarity”.
Good use of money
The Holy Father said money is “one of the most difficult topics of moral perception” and repeated his characteristic phrase with emphasis: “money is the dung of the devil”.
He said the function of money is to serve and not govern.
“Money does not have a neutral value; rather, it acquires value according to the end and circumstances for which it is used. When one affirms the neutrality of money, they fall into its power. Businesses should not exist to make money, even if money serves to mediate its functioning. Businesses exist to serve.”
The Pope then denounced a “murky logic” of the market, in which “credit is more readily available and cheaper for those who possess more means and is more expensive and difficult to obtain for those who possess less, to the point of leaving the poorest fringes of a population in the hands of its creditors without scruples”. He said the same process occurs at the international level.
Honesty
Pope Francis then addressed the second challenge for business people: honesty.
“Corruption”, he said, “is the worst social plague.” He decried it as “the law of the jungle stripped of any social reason” and “an idol”.
The Holy Father went on to say “any attempt at corruption, active or passive, is to begin to adore the god of money”.
Referring to the Paul VI Hall in which the audience took place, Pope Francis said, “This room, this building is where the circus of the Roman Emperor Nero once stood, where St. Peter and many of the first Christians were martyred, exactly for having refused to adore idols.”
Solidarity
The third challenge of business, the Pope said, was solidarity, of which an important part is an element of gratuity.
“The just relationship between managers and workers,” he said, “should be respected and required by all parties. However, at the same time, a business is a community of work, in which all merit respect and fraternal appreciation from their superiors, colleagues, and subordinates.” A respect, he said, which should “extend also to the local community”.
The Holy Father also tied the theme of immigration and refugees into solidarity in business, reminding those business leaders present that many of their ancestors were themselves immigrants who started businesses of their own.
He invited them to collaborate “to create sources of dignified, stable, and abundant work, both in those places from which migrants originate and those in which they arrive… It is important to continue making immigration an important factor of development.”
Pope Francis concluded with a mention of the vocation of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), the chief tax collector who climbed a tree to see Jesus pass by and was converted by his efforts.
“May this conference by like the Sycamore of Jericho – a tree upon which all can climb – so that, through the scientific discussion of the aspects of business activities, they may encounter the sight of Jesus and from here they may obtain efficacious orientations to make their business activities always promote the common good.”
Young Christian Workers (YCW) Malawi, a religious movement within the Catholic Church comprising young Christians from the age of between 15 to 40 years at the weekend celebrated their 60-year anniversary at Mua Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Dedza.As part of the celebration, Malawi YCW members from all the eight dioceses of Malawi celebrated with the Holy Mass led by the Bishop of Chikwawa Diocese, Peter Musikuwa. The Bishop is also the Episcopal Conference of Malawi Bishop-Chair for the Pastoral Commission. YCW used the occasion to donate Mattresses to nearby Mua School for the Deaf.During the Holy Mass, Bishop Musikuwa challenged young people to be agents of change in the Church and the country at large. “Let us utilise the strength that we have as young people to contribute positively to our society. We should not be the ones causing problems in the country rather we should be agents of change by ensuring that we do the right thing at all times,” said Bisho...
Young Christian Workers (YCW) Malawi, a religious movement within the Catholic Church comprising young Christians from the age of between 15 to 40 years at the weekend celebrated their 60-year anniversary at Mua Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Dedza.
As part of the celebration, Malawi YCW members from all the eight dioceses of Malawi celebrated with the Holy Mass led by the Bishop of Chikwawa Diocese, Peter Musikuwa. The Bishop is also the Episcopal Conference of Malawi Bishop-Chair for the Pastoral Commission. YCW used the occasion to donate Mattresses to nearby Mua School for the Deaf.
During the Holy Mass, Bishop Musikuwa challenged young people to be agents of change in the Church and the country at large.
“Let us utilise the strength that we have as young people to contribute positively to our society. We should not be the ones causing problems in the country rather we should be agents of change by ensuring that we do the right thing at all times,” said Bishop Musikuwa.
The Bishop made a passionate appeal to young people in Malawi to refrain from corrupt practices, mismanagement of public resources and the perpetration of politically instigated violence.
Bishop Musikuwa also called for more stable marriages among the adult youth of Malawi. He praised YCW for their generous donation to Mua School.
“Let me thank you for thinking about the students who are facing various challenges here at Mua School for the Deaf. Such generosity is what is needed from productive young people in Malawi. Being the year of Mercy, it is right and just to share our love with the needy,” said Bishop Musikuwa.
Malawi’s National President for YCW, Augustine Mulomole said the donation was the start of an ongoing process of several donations the movement intends to make. The organisation intends to donate at least 2,000 Mattresses in Malawi by the end of this year.
“It is our mission that we assist the school which has been facing a lot of problems especially when it comes to the issue of Mattresses. We managed to raise funds through fundraising activities and of course, other well-wishers, both individuals and institutions came in to assist us,” said Mulomole.
Mulomole said the YCW in Malawi would strive to go out and preach the word of God through actions and as such they plan to build a strong financial base for member associations starting at the parish, deanery and diocesan levels.
Fr. Sam Safroy established the YCW movement in Malawi at Mua Parish in 1956. YCW Malawi is a member of the International Coordination of Young Christian Workers (ICYCW), an international body which comprises some YCW National Movements across the globe. Every four years ICYCW has an International Council, and YCW Malawi sends its representatives to the gathering.
(Prince Henderson in Malawi)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va
