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Indonesia’s Catholic bishops ended their 11-day annual meeting on Thursday with a pastoral call urging Catholics to unite to fight deep-rooted corruption that has infiltrated all levels of society, including the Church.  "Corruption can be found everywhere.  It can be found in the business world as well as in state institutions. It even can be found in religious institutions including the church," the bishops said in a letter after their Oct. 31-Nov. 10 meeting in Jakarta.  They noted that “the pattern of corruption within the Church is usually similar to that found in other institutions.” “Expenditure on unclear budgets, marking-up budgets needed for various projects, and the use of fictitious receipts," the bishops added. Corruption has destroyed human dignity and been difficult to fight because it takes place on a large scale, they said.  "Fighting corruption must be done through a joint movement and carried out in a transparent, accountable and credible way," the letter said.

The Indonesian Bishops’ Conference chairman, Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo of Jakarta, said this could be achieved through self-renewal.  "It’s impossible to completely get rid of corruption. But at least, it can be reduced to the smallest possible amount within the church through a joint movement," he said. 

The Bhumiksara Foundation, a Catholic non-profit association, initiated the anti-corruption drive in 2012 with the aim of instilling in young Catholics greater intellectuality, morality and integrity.  The foundation, together with the bishops, has initiated several schemes among Catholic communities in various parts of the country parts of the country. 

Indonesia was ranked 88th out of 168 countries on the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index in 2015 compared with 107th out of 175 countries in 2014.   "It shows that the situation hasn’t changed much. What change there was, wasn’t significant. It means that many targets couldn’t be met," Adnan Topan Husodo, coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said.  Weak law enforcement and weak laws means corruption will continue to happen everywhere, he said.  In 2014, the group recorded 479 graft convictions of which 372 people received less than four years in prison, with the average punishment being 2-year eight month jail sentence.  (Source: UCAN)

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met a group of young men who have left the priesthood during the past years to show his closeness and affection towards them. His surprise visit to an apartment in the outskirts of Rome to meet with the group made up of five  Italians, a Spaniard and a man from Latin America, came as part of his traditional gestures of Mercy on one Friday a month during this Jubilee Year.

A Vatican statement said the young men in question took the difficult decision to leave the priesthood despite opposition in many cases from their fellow priests or their families after serving for several years in parishes where loneliness, misunderstanding, fatigue arising from their many responsibilities prompted them to rethink their choice. It said the men spent months and years wrestling with uncertainty and doubts before coming to the decision they had made a mistake by becoming priests and therefore decided to leave and form a family.  

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Washington D.C., Nov 11, 2016 / 06:02 am (CNA).- While Donald Trump has unequivocally won the U.S. presidency, the 2016 election race remains one of the most divisive in recent history.

Polls throughout the election process showed nearly unprecedented disapproval ratings for both Trump and former Secretary Hillary Clinton.

Due in part to these historic levels of unpopularity, many individuals cast their support – or at the very least, public appreciation – for parody candidates such as Harambe the Gorilla and wrestling star Stone Cold Steve Austin.

CNA spoke to one such candidate – Sweet Meteor O'Death, or SMOD – a sharp-witted, scathingly funny asteroid who claims to offer the world “a better alternative in the form of the end of human civilization.”

Over the course of the campaign SMOD gained a large following – including a sizable Catholic contingent – on Twitter. (SMOD also claims to have been raised Catholic itself – though Church teaching states that only persons made in the image and likeness of God can be baptized.)

SMOD also gained attention when placed up against the major and third-party candidates: in a July poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, SMOD gained the support of 13 percent of millennial voters – more than the third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein.

CNA spoke with SMOD about the election results, and its plans to “probably destroy all Earthly life,” now that the campaign is over. (This interview has been edited for clarity).

CNA: How do you feel about election results?

Sweet Meteor O'Death: I lost the popular vote and I lost the electoral vote. Nevertheless, I feel great about the results and look forward to rendering Earth devoid of human life.

CNA: What are your plans for what comes next? Do you plan on running in the future?

SMOD: Yes. Like Sisyphus, my work is never finished. An extinction-level asteroid impact is next.

CNA: A big focus of the discourse looking forward after the election is national unity. What will you do to unify the country, and how will you continue to work for unity as a concerned citizen of the galaxy?

SMOD: I will unify the carbon molecules in every human body, joining them together in one contiguous layer of coal.

CNA: Many voters are filled with regret. Do you have any regrets as a candidate?

SMOD: No.

CNA: Many saw you running as much against the system as against Cthulhu, who also promised destruction. What do you think set your two campaigns apart this year?

SMOD: Two things. First, I promise natural, scientifically-premised destruction. Second, I don't have face tentacles.

CNA: This election has brought out a lot of divides from within the religious community – what can you offer religious voters at the polls or watching election results?

SMOD: In many ways, this election helps illustrate the philosophy Søren Kierkegaard. The world (especially the political world) is absurd, and when faced with such absurdity sometimes the best move is to a make a leap of faith.

CNA: How is your relationship with the Catholic Church? What do you think of Pope Francis?

SMOD: Some of the Earth's earliest radio broadcasts were from Italy, so I guess you could say I had a Catholic upbringing. Francis is a great Pontiff from everything I've read about him. I'm also a big fan of St. Francis of Assisi.

CNA: You are an unabashedly pro-death candidate. What do you have to say to pro-life voters. Will you combat the Culture of Death and if so, how?

SMOD: Death is a part of life. It is inevitable. Tragically, not everyone dies at the same time, thus those who pass away will still leave others behind to mourn their absence. I offer the opportunity for natural, worldwide simultaneous death; death without grief or suffering. The only life to remain, small colonies of bacteria, will feel neither pain nor sadness.

CNA: Much of your campaign focused on preparing for the demise of humanity. It is also November- the month where the Church remembers the dead. Do you have any advice for preparing for a happy death and for remembering those who died before your arrival?

SMOD: Life is short. Make your emotional investments wisely – i.e. not in politics or professional sports.

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Vatican City, Nov 11, 2016 / 07:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When asked in a new interview what he thinks of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Pope Francis said he doesn’t judge politicians, but noted that main concern is for migrants and refugees.

“I don’t make judgments on people and on political men, I only want to understand what the sufferings are that their way of proceeding causes to the poor and excluded,” the Pope told Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari in an interview published Nov. 11

Scalfari, 92 and an atheist, is the founder of Italy’s leftist paper “La Repubblica,” and has spoken to the Pope on several occasions, however, he doesn’t not record his conversations with the Pope, and the Vatican has on numerous occasions had to issue statements urging readers to be cautious of things Sclafari has written.

According to Scalfari, he met with the Pope the day before the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election that climaxed with the nomination of Republican Donald Trump as the next president-elect.

While Francis was clear that he doesn’t judge politicians, he said his primary concern given the current global climate is “that of refugees and of migrants.”

“A small part of them are Christians, but this doesn’t change the situation for what regards their suffering and their hardship,” he said. “The causes are many and we’re doing what is possible to remove them.”

However, the Pope said that many times the measures proposed are then opposed by people who fear losing their jobs or having their salaries lowered.

“Money is against the poor besides being against immigrants and refugees,” he said, but noted that “there are also the poor from rich countries who fear welcoming those who are similar coming from poor countries. It’s a perverse circle and it must be interrupted.”

Francis stressed that we must “bring down the walls of division,” but cautioned that in order to do this, we must “build bridges” that seek to decrease inequalities and increase “freedom and rights.”

Scalfari then referred to a previous conversation in which the Pope had allegedly suggested that the saying one must “love your neighbor as yourself” be modified to “more than yourself.”

The journalist insinuated that this comment must mean the Pope prefers a society “dominated by equality,” which is the same program adopted by Marxist socialism and communism.

When asked by Scalfari if he thinks “of a type of Marxist society,” Pope Francis, who has repeatedly referred to the Gospel when accused of being communist, responded that if anything, “it’s the communists who think like Christians.”

“Christ spoke of a society where the poor, weak, excluded, have the right to decide. Not the demagogues, not Barabbas, but the people, the poor, who have faith in the transcendent God or not, it is they who must be helped to achieve equality and liberty,” he said.

The two then shifted their discussion to Francis’ Nov. 5 encounter with representatives of popular movements, which he closed with a lengthy, wide-ranging 6-page speech in which he quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Francis said he quoted King “because I admire him.”

On the uniqueness of his pontificate and the “adversaries” he has in the Church opposing his reforms, the Pope said he wouldn’t use the word adversary because “faith unites us all.”

“Naturally each one of us individuals sees the same things in a different way; the framework is objectively the same, but is subjectively different,” he said.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Aprille Hanson, Arkansas Catholic

By Aprille Hanson

CABOT, Ark. (CNS) -- U.S. Navy veteran Dave King's whole world changed when Zack came into his life.

The young Catahoula mix plucked from a shelter already has all the love in the world for his new companion. But when Zack is wearing his vest he has a higher purpose -- he is a service dog in training to help King cope with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

Before King got Zack three months ago, he almost became a statistic -- about 20 American vets a day commit suicide, according to 2014 data from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"I tried to commit suicide. I stepped out in front of a speeding vehicle and he just happened to stop short and it was a sheriff," he said, adding he was taken to the hospital for help.

King, who was homeless, found A Veteran's Best Friend, a volunteer nonprofit organization and Christian ministry that helps veterans by training service dogs for free through community and church donations and sponsorships of veterans. Volunteers keep the cost down to about $6,000 to $7,000 per dog.

Individuals or groups can pledge $25 a month to sponsor 12- to 18-months of training for a service dog and veteran. For many veterans like King, purchasing a service dog to help him cope with his PTSD and his brain injury, which can cost $20,000 or more, was out of the question.

"Somehow they found the absolute perfect dog for me," said King, who has found housing through the VA Homeless Veterans program. "I have bad nightmares; I'll talk and make noises. From the first night I had him, he'll wake me up from a nightmare. He'll stand there and poke me with his paw."

The organization, based in Cabot, was founded in 2012 and has about 25 volunteers who assist with training and serve on the board of directors. There are currently nine veterans enrolled in the classes that meet once or twice a week depending on the stage in training to prepare the dogs with the necessary skills to serve their owners

All veterans accepted into the class must have doctor-diagnosed PTSD and go through an application and orientation process and home check. While most veterans are hands-on in the training sessions, some dogs are trained solely by volunteers.

Instead of buying from breeders, the volunteers search out shelter dogs or rescues from the Paws in Prison program, primarily Labrador and Retriever mixes, and put them through a series of preliminary tests to see if they have the demeanor and skills to make a good service dog. If a dog is adopted and does not work out as a service dog, the volunteers work to adopt them to a loving family.

At its core, the nonprofit exists to help veterans. But Frances Kirk, a U.S. Army veteran and parishioner at St. Jude Church in Jacksonville, will be the first to say that these dogs, including her lab mix Domino, are more than just working dogs. They are lifesavers and almost every volunteer within the organization has a story to tell about their four-legged companions.

"What the dogs do is give us hope," Kirk told the Arkansas Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock. "They just give us hope and a chance at life again."

Before the afternoon training session Oct. 28, veterans Kirk, Tyler Naramore, director of operations, Carrie Riley, director of logistics, and David Grimm, dog trainer and past principal at the former St. Patrick School in North Little Rock, shared their after-war stories about struggles with PTSD, everything from not wanting to leave the house for years to always finding the "PTSD seat" wherever they go -- a seat with their back to the wall that has a full view of the exits.

Frances explained PTSD as a traumatic event or a series of events that have happened to a person and "their body and mind is stuck in that trauma. ... They're hyper-vigilant, scanning rooftops, hands" and are often forgetful, Kirk said.

Grimm, who served in Vietnam and Iraq for the U.S. Marines and Air Force, had stopped leaving the house and isolated himself so he wouldn't have to hear "I understand" from those who couldn't possibly understand.

"I've had people ask, 'Why don't you talk about your experiences?' And my statement to them is I don't want to put them through what I went through," he said. "But since I have had Ringo, I get out. A year ago, you wouldn't see me in a class like this, the room would be too confining. I've gone to some of my grandkids' games, plays at school. I'm getting out more."

Ringo, a 2-year-old Goldendoodle who was surrendered by his owner, is crucial to calming his fears out in public.

"I'd get really emotionally upset if somebody was behind me," something he and other veterans in the program often struggle with, Grimm said. "So he's trained to, if I'm standing some place, he's looking behind me. I can be talking to you, but I still see him and he will move or alert and then I can see what is behind me."

The dogs are trained to detect stress and will nuzzle, paw, cuddle or actually lead a person out of a place or situation if an anxiety attack is happening. Following Assistance Dogs International standards, the dogs must pass the Canine Good Citizens test, Public Access Test and specific training for PTSD tasks before certification.

"We admit pheromones when we're stressed. They pick up on our stress pheromones and are like, 'Hey, quit stressing,'" said Army veteran Chris Wilson, who does not yet have a dog.

Volunteers like Mardy and Audrey Jones, members of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, help foster and train dogs while they wait to be placed with a veteran. Much of the training revolves around putting the dogs in a variety of situations, locations and with various people and animals to get them accustomed to proper behavior. Although the Joneses are not veterans, they view this volunteer work as a service to God.

"The Bible can be confusing. But I can understand that I am to love. I am to love others and to love is to serve. And to be a service dog trainer, is to serve my fellow man and my dogs too," Audrey Jones said. "One morning I was on my knees saying my prayer and I had one dog cuddled up over here and one dog cuddled up over here and it's like, this is God telling me 'good job.' And then it's like these dogs are God's love with skin on."

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Editors: More information about A Veteran's Best Friend can be found online at servicedog4ptsd.org.

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Hanson is associate editor at the Arkansas Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Orestis Panagiotou, EPA

By Cindy Wooden

ROME (CNS) -- The day before Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, Pope Francis said he would make no judgments about the candidate and was interested only in the impact his policies would have on the poor.

Eugenio Scalfari, co-founder and former editor of La Repubblica, an Italian daily, said he met with Pope Francis Nov. 7 and asked him what he thought of Trump.

"I don't give judgments about persons and politicians; I only want to understand what sufferings their way of proceeding will cause the poor and excluded," the pope said, according to Scalfari.

The journalist has explained on more than one occasion that he does not take notes or record his conversations with the pope; he re-creates them afterward from memory, including the material he puts in quotation marks.

Scalfari, in an article published Nov. 11, said Pope Francis said his greatest concern today is for refugees and immigrants.

"Only a small portion of them are Christian, but that does not change the situation in terms of their suffering and neediness," the pope said. "The causes are many," and Christians must do what they can to solve the underlying problems forcing so many to flee.

Unfortunately, Pope Francis said, too many times the measures adopted in the face of migration are those taken by "populations that fear seeing their jobs taken away and their salaries reduced."

"There are poor people in wealthy countries who are afraid of welcoming those like them from poor countries," the pope said. "It's a perverse cycle that must be interrupted. We must tear down the walls that divide, try to increase well-being and make it more widespread. But to do that, we must tear down walls and build bridges that diminish inequalities and increase freedom and rights."

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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.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Alessandro Di Meo, EPA

By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Looking directly at thousands of homeless and marginalized persons, Pope Francis asked for their forgiveness for failures to recognize their dignity and alleviate their suffering.

"I ask your forgiveness if I have ever offended you with my words or for not having said something that I should have," the pope said Nov. 11 during an audience with pilgrims attending special Year of Mercy events for people who are homeless or otherwise socially excluded.

Pope Francis, speaking in the name of all Christians, asked their forgiveness for times when they were not treated with the dignity the Gospel says they have.

"I ask your forgiveness for all the times that we Christians stand before a poor person or a situation of poverty and look the other way," the pope said.

The forgiveness of those who have felt unloved and unwanted by men and women of the church "purifies us and helps us to believe once again that at the heart of the Gospel is the great message of poverty and that we -- Catholics, Christians, all of us -- must form a church that is poor for the poor."

"All men and women from any religion must see in the poor the message of God who comes close to us and made himself poor to accompany us in life," he said.

The audience kicked off the final jubilee celebration before the conclusion of the Holy Year of Mercy Nov. 20. The pilgrimage was organized by "Fratello" ("Brother"), a French association which organizes and hosts events for people in situations of exclusion.

Francois Le Forestier, spokesperson for "Fratello," told Catholic News Service Nov. 8 that over 4,000 homeless and socially excluded persons from 22 different European countries were expected to attend the jubilee celebration in Rome. Three days later, the association's website said the number of pilgrims had risen to 6,000.

While donors from across Europe contributed to help pay the costs of travel and accommodations, Le Forestier said pilgrims were also asked to give a small contribution as "a way for them to participate and a way for them to be responsible for their decision to attend this jubilee."

Le Forrestier told CNS that the idea for the jubilee celebration for the homeless and excluded became a reality when Etienne Villemain, founder of Lazare -- an association that assists the homeless -- wrote to Pope Francis asking for a jubilee celebration for homeless people.

"At the very beginning, I thought the idea of a jubilee for homeless people was a bit mad" because it would be too complicated to organize, Le Forrestier said. Due to logistical challenges, the event was organized solely for European countries in the hopes that it would lead to an annual worldwide pilgrimage to Rome for the homeless.

"We're going to pray and maybe the Holy Spirit will tell us what to do for the future," Le Forrestier told CNS.

Before addressing the pilgrims, the pope heard the experiences of homeless men from France and Poland, and he diligently took notes as they spoke.

Pope Francis welcomed them and encouraged them to "not give up on dreaming" despite the sufferings they face daily.

"You dreamed that one day you could come to Rome, and that dream came true. You dream that the world can change and that is a seedling that grows in your hearts," the pope said.

Like the sick and the poor who followed Jesus, he said, "only those who feel they are missing something can look up and dream. Those who have everything are incapable of dreaming."

Recalling the experience of one of the homeless persons, the pope said he was moved by the man's belief that "life becomes beautiful even in the worst situations." That ability to find beauty "can only happen to a man or woman with dignity."

"It is the same dignity that belonged to Jesus had, who was born poor and lived poor. It is the same dignity that the word of the Gospel has. It is the same dignity that a man or woman has in their work. Poor, yes; dominated, no; exploited, no!" he said.

By living with dignity, he continued, the poor and homeless easily sympathize with the suffering of others and teach the beauty of solidarity to a world in conflict.

"'The greatest poverty is war; it is a poverty that destroys.' And to hear this from the lips of a man who has suffered material poverty and the poverty of health is a call to work for peace," the pope said while quoting the experience of the homeless man from France.

"War is made among the rich in order to have more, to possess more territory, more power, more money. It is very sad when war occurs among the poor because it is very rare," the pope said. "The poor -- from their poverty -- are prone to be artisans of peace, they make peace, they create peace, they give an example of peace."

With hands clasped tightly around a microphone and his head bowed, Pope Francis ad-libbed a prayer asking God to "give us strength, give us joy, teach us to dream (and) to look forward."

"Teach us solidarity because we are brothers and sisters and you help us defend our dignity. You are our father. Bless us," he prayed.

After his address, Pope Francis asked that the poor pray for him. He took off his glasses as the homeless people seated near him on the stage surrounded him, gently placing their hands on his shoulders and arms, praying with him and for him.

Then, with his head still bowed, the pope recited the "Our Father" with them.

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Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju.

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