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The new Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium,  Archbishop Augustine Kassujja, who hails from Uganda, is an experienced diplomat who has served the Holy See for many years. Born in 1946, Archbishop Kasujja is the first non-European Nuncio to Belgium.

According to the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Archbishop Kasujja leaves Nigeria for Belgium, “after six years of meritorious service as the representative of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, in Nigeria. During the time of Archbishop Kasujja, at the Apostolic Nunciature, the Catholic Church in Nigeria witnessed tremendous growth in both spiritual and pastoral activities,” reads the Catholic Secretariat statement.

Archbishop Kassujja was ordained priest on 3 January 1973 and was appointed Archbishop of the titular see of Cesarea in Numidia in 1998. He arrived to serve as Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria in 2011.

Apostolic Nuncio Kasujja is a career diplomat who has served as papal envoy in different parts of the world since he entered the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See in 1979. He has served in the Apostolic Nunciatures of Argentina, Haiti, Bangladesh, Portugal, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago. He was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Algeria and Tunisia in 1998. Later, he was transferred in the same capacity to Madagascar, the Seychelles and as Apostolic Delegate to the Comoros and La Reunion. In 2004 he became the Apostolic Nuncio to Mauritius.

(Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va)

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Indonesian bishops holding their annual general body meeting in North Jakarta are focusing their ‎attention on how to help combat corruption as a social and moral evil that plagues the nation and to ‎which religious communities can also contribute greatly.  Thirty-six bishops, as also retired Archbishop ‎of Jakarta Card. Julius Darmaatmadja, Apostolic Nuncio Arch. Guido Filipazzi, the director of the ‎Ministry of Religious Affairs Eusabius Binsasi, and representatives of the Communion of Christian ‎Churches in Indonesia, are participating in the Oct. 31 – Nov 10 meeting.‎

Ignatius Jonan, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, who has led other ministries as well, is the ‎only Catholic minister in the Indonesian government addressing the bishops’ annual assembly.  ‎According to Fr. Benny Susetyo, the secretary of the famous Setara Institute for Democracy and ‎Peace", Indonesian President Joko Widodo chose Jonan because of his moral integrity, discipline, ‎honesty and transparency to head a key ministry where corruption can easily seep in given the tenders ‎involved.  Indonesia’s bishops also listened to the other Catholic, Alexander Marwata, one of the five ‎leaders of the government’s Commission for the eradication of corruption.  Members of the NGO ‎Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Forum "EHEM", anti-corruption initiative launched by the ‎Jesuits in the Philippines, were also called to testify.‎

The Bishops will debate on the input received, reflecting on the theme of corruption in Indonesian ‎society but also in the Church, and then draw conclusions and a final document at the end of the ‎assembly.‎  (Source: Fides)

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ prayer intention for November is for Countries Receiving Refugees: That the countries which take in a great number of displaced persons and refugees may find support for their efforts which show solidarity. 

The Apostleship of Prayer has produced the Pope’s Video on this prayer intention.

The full text of the Pope’s Video is below:

Can one country alone manage the problems of forced migration?

We must move away from indifference and the fear of accepting the other.^[1]

Because that other could be you. Or me…

Join me in this prayer request:

That the countries which take in a great number of displaced persons and refugees may find support for their efforts which show solidarity.  ^[2] 

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(Vatican Radio) The UN charity, UNICEF, says nearly 26,000 people have been displaced since the military operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the control of the so-called Islamic State began in mid-October. It said a further 5,200 arrived in two camps to the south of the city on Friday in the single largest displacement since the offensive began. Altogether there are more than 10,000 displaced children in urgent need of assistance. Peter Hawkins is the country representative in Iraq for UNICEF and spoke to Susy Hodges about their plight.

Listen to the interview with Peter Hawkins of UNICEF: 

Hawkins said it’s not just the displaced people who urgently require aid but also those who have decided to remain in their newly liberated villages and UNICEF is stepping up its relief programme to provide clean drinking water, hygiene kits, immunization and other essentials to both groups.   

Many of the new arrivals come to the camps with only the clothes on their backs and some are even barefoot despite the approach of winter.

Excessive trauma

“A lot of the children have been through excessive trauma,” said Hawkins, saying you can see it in their behaviour and “in their drawings.” The UNICEF representative said some of the girls had been sexually abused and there were plans for them to receive psychological counselling.

Fears of being “overwhelmed”

Asked whether UNICEF fears a potential humanitarian catastrophe, given the size of the population in Mosul, and if huge numbers fled the city all at once, Hawkins said “absolutely” this was a fear. He said as long as people leave Mosul in smaller groups of up to about 10,000 then they would be “able to cope” but if a massive exodus of say 150,000 people were to flee all at once, “we will be overwhelmed,” he warned.

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(Vatican Radio) Did you know the Vatican Apostolic Library uses a system developed for radio astronomy to help preserve its vast collection?

The system is called ‘FITS’ [flexible image transport system format], and it was developed by NASA and the European Space Agency [ESA] in the 1970’s.

The Vatican Library hosted an event on Friday to announce the continuation of a five year collaboration with the ESA to use the FITS system to preserve, manage, and exploit the archived information.

The system not only helps preserve original documents, it also has a special text header with instructions on how to easily decode the data. In the likelihood current technology becomes obsolete in the future, newer computers will still be able to access the information.

“Our collaboration is based on the common intention by our two institutions to promote the long-term preservation of images in electronic format,” – said Monsignor Cesare Pasini, Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library on the ESA website – “Thanks to our cooperation with ESA, the Vatican Library has found the courage to make an innovative choice to use the FITS format for long-term storage.”

“The Vatican Apostolic Library and ESA are two examples that attest to the approach of collaboration for global benefit,” said Josef Aschbacher, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA.

“While ESA provides global information about the state of our planet through satellite observations, the Vatican Apostolic Library offers a unique source of wisdom that has contributed to the development of our society and culture,” Aschbacher continued.

More information can be found here at the ESA’s website.

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The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Pakistan (CBCP) and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) have been awarded the 2016 Pax Christi International Peace Award.  Pax Christi, a non-profit, non-governmental Catholic peace movement headquartered in Brussels, Belgium,  said in a statement that both organizations were chosen as representatives of the nonviolent struggle of the human rights community in Pakistan.   "In a country where arbitrary detention, torture, deaths occurring while in custody, forced disappearances, institutional injustices against religious minorities, and extrajudicial execution are frequently reported, Pax Christi International honors the clear and courageous stand taken by practitioners of justice and peace against persistent patterns of violence and human rights violations," read the statement.  The two organizations will be honoured at a ceremony in Geneva at the World Council of Churches' Chapel on Nov. 17.

In her letter to the two organizations announcing this year’s choice, Greet Vanaerschot, Secretary General of Pax Christi International wrote, “Your tenacious work, performed in very difficult circumstances and at great personal risk, offers a sign of hope, courage and healing to those in your country who are facing tremendous suffering, violence and trauma in their daily lives.”

The HRCP plays a lead role in providing a highly informed and objective voice in the struggle for the provision of human rights for all and democratic development in Pakistan. They monitor human rights violations and seek redress through public campaigns, lobbying and intervention in the courts, while also organizing seminars, workshops and fact-finding missions. The NCJP‎ provides services in the field of human rights with special focus on issues of the religious minorities in Pakistan. Through its 8 offices across the country, NCJP runs peace programmes while also campaigning for an unbiased education system in order to counter religious intolerance in society.

Established in 1988, the Pax Christi International Peace Award is funded by the Cardinal Bernardus Alfrink Peace Fund and honours contemporary individuals and organizations who make a stand for peace, justice and nonviolence in different parts of the world.   (Source: Pax Christi)

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Boston, Mass., Nov 4, 2016 / 06:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Church in Boston is asking voters in Massachusetts to reject the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state next week.

Question 4 is a ballot initiative that would allow individuals at least 21 years of age to use, grow, and possess recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana has been legal in Massachusetts since 2012.

Last week, the Archdiocese of Boston donated $850,000 to oppose Question 4. According to a report from The Atlantic, the Church’s donation increased the opposition effort’s funding by roughly 40 percent – the other major donor was Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas billionaire who gave $1,000,000 to the opposition last month. The Knights of Columbus also gave $150,000 to fight the initiative.

Archdiocesan spokesman Terrence Donilon told CNA that the donation “was made from unrestricted Central Ministry funds. It does not come from parish collections or the Catholic Appeal nor funds designated for parish support.”

It does, however, show “the fact that the Archdiocese holds this matter as among its highest priorities, with recognition that if passed, this proposed law would have a significant detrimental impact on our social service outreach and ministries,” he said.

Of particular concern is the impact of marijuana on youth.

“We educate nearly 40,000 students in our schools and have a presence in 144 cities and towns through our 289 parishes,” Donilon said in an e-mail.

“We hold our responsibility for the safety and well-being of children and families as paramount in all that we do. Numerous highly credentialed research studies have established the very serious damage to the physical, intellectual and emotional health of youth that is caused by marijuana use and that legalization leads. We feel an obligation to do all that we can to prevent this from occurring,” he added.
 
In a series of videos on the subject, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the Archbishop of Boston, explains various reasons why he opposes the legalization of marijuana.

Working as a priest in the inner cities in Washington for 20 years and in the West Indies for 10 years, Cardinal O’Malley said he has witnessed firsthand the negative impact marijuana can have on a community.

“I saw people’s lives destroyed by this drug,” he said. “So often a person’s first experience of a high is from marijuana, and then they’re often looking for a higher high, so then they’ll go on to heroin or cocaine or some other drug.”

“I saw what devastating effects it had on people’s lives. And the marijuana today is 10 times stronger, more potent,” he added in another video.

Earlier this month, all of the Roman Catholic bishops of Massachusetts signed a joint statement opposing the legalization of recreational marijuana.

“One only has to examine the devastating impact felt in Colorado since 2013, when recreational use of marijuana was legalized, to fully grasp what would be in store in Massachusetts. A comprehensive report issued last month by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area states that, since marijuana has been legalized, traffic deaths have increased by 48 percent.

Recent statistics show that of all traffic deaths in Colorado, 21 percent of those individuals killed tested positive for marijuana. Marijuana related hospitalizations in Colorado have doubled from 2011 to 2014,” the bishops wrote.

“Marijuana use and abuse by the youth of Colorado has increased by 20 percent since legalization. Young people in Colorado rank first in the nation for marijuana use – an illegal activity for anyone under the age of 21. Strikingly, this has negatively affected their family life, social life and school performance where expulsions and drop-out rates have spiked significantly. Do we really want to bring these issues to Massachusetts?” they added.

Father Richard McGowan, a Jesuit priest who studies drug and tobacco legalization at Boston College, told The Atlantic that the legalization of marijuana is going to make it “that much more difficult” for the Church to go about one of its primary tasks – alleviating poverty and building up families.

The Knights of Columbus, also donors in the campaign against legalization, told The Atlantic, “The focus of the state of Massachusetts should be on helping people, not giving them easier access to the false hope inherent in drug use, which does not solve problems but compounds them.”

In his videos, Cardinal O’Malley added that the Catholic Church is not the only institution opposed to the legalization of marijuana. He said he met with other denominations who also “see the consequences of this and are very very opposed to it.”

Medical professionals as well as “the law enforcement community, the mayors, the governor, they all stand with us,” he said, as well as many within the business community who are concerned about addiction to marijuana.

“It’s not just the Church. We’re joining with many other people who are very concerned about this in the commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

 

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Vatican City, Nov 4, 2016 / 06:36 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Reflecting on the faithful work of the bishops and cardinals who have died in the past 12 months, Pope Francis said Friday that death does not separate us, but in fact unites us more closely in the Body of Christ.

“In the light of the Paschal Mystery of Christ, their death is, in fact, the entry into the fullness of life. In this light of faith, we feel even closer to our deceased brothers: death has apparently separated us, but the power of Christ and his Spirit unites us in an even deeper manner,” he said.

Pope Francis offered Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Nov. 4 for the souls of the 126 cardinals and bishops who passed away in 2016.

In his homily, he spoke about the passage from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans which asks, “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?”

The bishops and cardinals “knew that our earthly pilgrimage ends at the house of the heavenly Father, and only there is the finish line, rest and peace,” he said. “At the house we are led to the Lord Jesus, our way, truth and life.”

The beginning of our journey to the Father’s house begins at our baptism, Francis said. For priests and bishops, another important step in this journey takes place during their priestly ordination, when they pronounce the words, “Here I am!”

“From that time we are united to Christ in a special way, associated with his ministerial priesthood,” the Pope said, adding that “in the hour of death, we pronounce the final ‘here I am,’ united with that of Jesus, who died entrusting his spirit into the Father's hands.”

There were five cardinals who died this year: Cardinal Georges-Marie-Martin Cotter, Emeritus of the Prefecture of the Papal Household; Cardinal Giovanni Coppa, Nuncio Emeritus to the Czech Republic; Cardinal Loris Francesco Capovilla, Archbishop-Prelate Emeritus of Loreto and longtime secretary to St. John XXIII; Cardinal Silvano Piovanelli, Archbishop Emeritus of Florence; and Cardinal Granciszek Macharski, Archbishop Emeritus of Krakow.

Among those who died were also Archbishop Francis Thomas Hurley, Archbishop Emeritus of Anchorage; Archbishop Henry Sebastian D'Souza, Archbishop Emeritus of Kolkata; and Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, Archbishop Emeritus of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar.

“The cardinals and bishops who today we remember in prayer for their entire life, especially after having been consecrated to God, were dedicated to testify and give to others the love of Jesus,” the Pope said. “By word and example, they urged the faithful to do the same.”

In imitation of Christ and as shepherds of his flock, they sacrificed for the salvation of those entrusted to them, he said.

“They sanctified through the sacraments and guided people on the way of salvation; full of the Holy Spirit’s power they proclaimed the Gospel; with fatherly love they have striven to love everyone, especially the poor, the vulnerable and those in need of help.”

Pope Francis recalled how some of those being remembered were called to undergo heavy trials, thus bearing witness to the Gospel in a heroic manner. Therefore, in this Mass, he said, we praise God for all the good that he has done through these men both “for us and for his Church.”

“In the name of the God of mercy and forgiveness, their hands have blessed and absolved, their words have comforted and dried tears, their presence testified eloquently that the goodness of God is inexhaustible and his mercy is infinite,” he said.

“We will continue to feel them next to us in the communion of saints. Fed the Bread of Life, we too, together with those who have gone before us, await with firm hope the day we will meet, face-to-face, with the bright and merciful face of the Father.”

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Vatican City, Nov 4, 2016 / 08:37 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his most recent prayer video, Pope Francis focuses on migrants, refugees and countries who assist them, stressing that it's possible for anyone to be placed in a situation forcing them to leave home.

The video, released Nov. 4, shows men and women refugees, law enforcement, media and a doctor walking through a revolving door as the Pope asks the question, “can one country alone manage the problems of forced migration?”

“We must move away from indifference and the fear of accepting others,” he says in the video. “Because that other could be you. Or me...”

“Join me in this prayer request,” Pope Francis says, “that the countries which take in a great number of displaced persons and refugees may find support for their efforts which show solidarity.”

An initiative of the Jesuit-run global prayer network Apostleship of Prayer, the Pope’s prayer videos are filmed in collaboration with the Vatican Television Center and mark the first time the Roman Pontiff’s monthly prayer intentions have been featured on video.



This month’s intention reflects a topic the Pope has spoken about frequently. In April he brought several Syrian families to Rome with him after his day-trip to Lesbos, Greece, and has also supported the ecumenical project “Humanitarian Corridors” to help bring other refugees legally and safely into Italy.

In a news conference aboard the papal plane returning from Sweden Nov. 1, the Pope said that “the prudence of those who administrate must be very open” to receiving refugees, as well as in “making calculations as to how to settle them, because not only must a refugee be received, but he must be integrated.”

“And, if a country has a ‘living capacity’ – let’s call it that – of integration,” Pope Francis said, “do it up to that limit…and if there’s anything more? Do more! But always with an open heart, it’s not human to close doors! It’s not human to close the heart!”

The Apostleship of Prayer, which produces the monthly videos on the Pope’s intentions, was founded by Jesuit seminarians in France in 1884 to encourage Christians to serve God and others through prayer, particularly for the needs of the Church.

Since the late 1800s, the organization has received a monthly, “universal” intention from the Pope. In 1929, an additional missionary intention was added by the Holy Father, aimed at the faithful in particular.

While there are two intentions, the prayer videos are centered on the first, universal intention.

The Pope’s evangelization intention for November, according to the Apostleship of Prayer is for the “Collaboration of Priests and Laity.”

“That within parishes, priests and lay people may collaborate in service to the community without giving in to the temptation of discouragement.”

His intentions this year have so far focused on themes the Pontiff speaks out about frequently, such as interreligious dialogue, care for creation, families in hardship, the elderly and marginalized, and respect for women.

Francis’ prayer intentions for the rest of the year are listed on the organization’s website and center on other themes close to Francis’ heart, such as prayers for an end to child-soldiers.

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By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Praying for cardinals and bishops who died in the past year, Pope Francis urged people to remember the priestly witness they gave.

Some of the bishops, he said, had been "called to witness to the Gospel in a heroic way, enduring heavy tribulation."

The Vatican booklet for the Mass Nov. 4 listed by name the seven cardinals and 136 bishops from around the world who died since Oct. 25, 2015. The deceased included five bishops from mainland China, all of whom had served time in prison or labor camps because of their ministry.

The deceased cardinals and bishops, Pope Francis said, were pastors who dedicated their lives to serving the people entrusted to them. They offered the sacraments, preached the Gospel and, with a father's love, "tried to love everyone, especially the poor, the defenseless and those in need of help."

"In the name of the God of mercy and forgiveness, their hands blessed and absolved," the pope said. "Their words comforted and dried tears; their presence witnessed eloquently that the goodness of God is inexhaustible and his mercy is infinite."

Remembering the deceased cardinals and bishops, he said, Catholics give thanks to God for their gift of their lives and confidently pray that God would welcome them into his kingdom.

The Catholic Church's special emphasis during the month of November on prayers for the dead not only is an encouragement to remember those who have gone before us, he said, but it also is a reminder that earthly life will end in eternity with a definitive encounter with the Lord.

The Christian faith urges believers to trust firmly that God is "a judge whose characteristics are mercy and compassion."

The journey toward God, he said, "begins for each of us on the very day we open our eyes to the light and, through baptism, to grace."

For priests and bishops, an important stage of the journey "is the moment in which we say 'Here I am' during our priestly ordination," he said. "At the hour of our death, we will pronounce our last 'Here I am' united with that of Jesus, who died entrusting his spirit to the hands of the Father."

The cardinals remembered at the Mass were: Cardinals Carlo Furno, former grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; Julio Terrazas Sandoval of Santa Cruz, Bolivia; Georges Cottier, former theologian of the papal household; Giovanni Coppa, a former nuncio; Loris Capovilla, former personal secretary to St. John XXIII; Silvano Piovanelli of Florence, Italy; and Franciszek Macharski of Krakow, Poland.

The five bishops from mainland China named in the Mass booklet were: Bishops Thomas Zeng Jingmu of Yujiang; Thomas Zhang Huaixin of Anyang; Vincent Huang Shoucheng of Mindong; Vincent Zhu Weifang of Wenzhou; and Anthony Xu Jiwei of Taizhou.

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