(Vatican Radio) The Year of Mercy may be coming to an end in the next few weeks, but for the past year the faithful of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Australia have been journeying together and heeding Pope Francis’ call to delve more deeply into the mystery of God’s Mercy.The Archdiocese headed by Archbishop Mark Coleridge has been offering a series of initiatives such as pilgrimage walks and visits to seven nominated Mercy Churches in the Archdiocese, an emphasis on prayer and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a focus on welcoming and settling refugees and a Jubilee of Prisoners.Listen to Lydia O'Kane's interview with Archbishop Mark Coleridge Reflecting on this Extraordinary Year, Archbishop Coleridge says, “it certainly has struck a powerful chord in many many hearts here, in a way that’s surprised me a little I confess, but I’m delighted… somehow this year, and I think it’s got to do with Pope Francis, has spoken a kind of idiom...
(Vatican Radio) The Year of Mercy may be coming to an end in the next few weeks, but for the past year the faithful of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Australia have been journeying together and heeding Pope Francis’ call to delve more deeply into the mystery of God’s Mercy.
The Archdiocese headed by Archbishop Mark Coleridge has been offering a series of initiatives such as pilgrimage walks and visits to seven nominated Mercy Churches in the Archdiocese, an emphasis on prayer and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a focus on welcoming and settling refugees and a Jubilee of Prisoners.
Listen to Lydia O'Kane's interview with Archbishop Mark Coleridge
Reflecting on this Extraordinary Year, Archbishop Coleridge says, “it certainly has struck a powerful chord in many many hearts here, in a way that’s surprised me a little I confess, but I’m delighted… somehow this year, and I think it’s got to do with Pope Francis, has spoken a kind of idiom that people understand; all kinds of people, they understand the language and the gestures of mercy…”
Mercy in Action
“Mercy”, underlines the Archbishop, “is a verb, it’s all about doing something and it’s not rocket science and again Pope Francis has shown that.” He adds, just like the Pope’s initiatives for the homeless in Rome, people are putting mercy into action in Brisbane. There are two young guys, Archbishop Coleridge says, from one of the Catholic schools who got a van and they “drive around Brisbane and all they do is wash the clothes of the homeless.”
Repentance and Mercy
During this Jubilee Year the primary focus has been on Mercy. But what about repentance? Asked about the need to repent before being merciful the Archbishop says, “you do, but it’s all a question of good timing, and again I think the Pope understands this when he talks about the need to accompany people… so I think what the Holy Father has been saying, and I agree totally, is you’ve got to, first of all get to know people; meet them; culture of encounter; walk with them on the way; listen to them before you say anything and when the right moment comes and the right relationship has been built, then there can be an appropriate call to repentance…”
Archbishop Coleridge stresses that there have been many practical gestures that have resulted from this Year of Mercy, noting the “idea of a Church that looks outward and not inward and is prepared to go out and start doing some of these very simple and very practical things…” “We need to enact Mercy publicly”, he says, “and therefore be a different kind of presence in society.”
Vatican Weekend for October 29, 2016 features a conversation with the head of the US bishops conference, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz about what US Catholics should be thinking about as they go to the polls this November to elect a new President. This is followed by a focus on Nostra Aetate on the 51st anniversary of this landmark Church document which paved the way for better relations with the Jewish people. The programme concludes with a pilgrimage back in time – through early Christian decorative art in the Vatican Museums.Listen to this programme produced and presented by Tracey McClure:
Vatican Weekend for October 29, 2016 features a conversation with the head of the US bishops conference, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz about what US Catholics should be thinking about as they go to the polls this November to elect a new President. This is followed by a focus on Nostra Aetate on the 51st anniversary of this landmark Church document which paved the way for better relations with the Jewish people. The programme concludes with a pilgrimage back in time – through early Christian decorative art in the Vatican Museums.
Listen to this programme produced and presented by Tracey McClure:
Vatican Weekend for October 30, 2016 features Jill Bevilacqua's reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading in her programme, “There’s More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye” and Dr. Timothy O’Donnel, the president of Christendom college in the U.S. and a Vatican Consultor, gives us his take on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia on the joy of love in the family.Listen to this programme produced and presented by Tracey McClure:
Vatican Weekend for October 30, 2016 features Jill Bevilacqua's reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading in her programme, “There’s More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye” and Dr. Timothy O’Donnel, the president of Christendom college in the U.S. and a Vatican Consultor, gives us his take on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia on the joy of love in the family.
Listen to this programme produced and presented by Tracey McClure:
Erbil, Iraq, Oct 28, 2016 / 12:03 am (Aid to the Church in Need).- Iraqi Christians stranded in Kurdistan have some reason for hope, now that the battle for Mosul and the Nineveh Plane has begun. However, the Chaldean archbishop who, for two years now, has played a pivotal role in taking care of the humanitarian and spiritual needs of the exiled community, urges caution in painting too rosy a picture for Iraq’s embattled minorities.“Iran, Turkey and the Kurds all have a stake in Mosul” and the surrounding area, Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdish capital, told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need; even after Mosul is retaken from Islamic State – and odds are that will happen before the end of the year – a bitter power struggle would likely put Christians seeking to return to their abandoned homes in harm’s way.For now, the prelate stressed, no concrete plan is in place to protect the Christians and other minorit...
Erbil, Iraq, Oct 28, 2016 / 12:03 am (Aid to the Church in Need).- Iraqi Christians stranded in Kurdistan have some reason for hope, now that the battle for Mosul and the Nineveh Plane has begun. However, the Chaldean archbishop who, for two years now, has played a pivotal role in taking care of the humanitarian and spiritual needs of the exiled community, urges caution in painting too rosy a picture for Iraq’s embattled minorities.
“Iran, Turkey and the Kurds all have a stake in Mosul” and the surrounding area, Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdish capital, told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need; even after Mosul is retaken from Islamic State – and odds are that will happen before the end of the year – a bitter power struggle would likely put Christians seeking to return to their abandoned homes in harm’s way.
For now, the prelate stressed, no concrete plan is in place to protect the Christians and other minorities upon their return to Mosul and the Nineveh Plane. He predicted it would at least take close to a year before a significant degree of homecoming would be possible.
Meanwhile, the archbishop, who was in New York as the guest of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, continues to care for the flock in Erbil and surroundings, which means drumming up considerable funding to ensure that families of internally displaced persons can pay their rent, that homes can be heated, that there will be food on the table, and that schools are functioning.
For the past two years, the Chaldean Archeparchy of Erbil has received more than $31 million in funding from Aid to the Church in Need, in addition to support from 16 other Catholic organizations from around the world.
Contrary to some reports, the archbishop insists that 80 percent of the people under his care wish to remain in Iraq. But he adds that “even if the number drops to 10,000 families”, or some 60,000 people, – down from the current estimated total of 250,000 Christians, including those living in Baghdad – “there will always be Christians in Iraq.”
Archbishop Warda stressed that the Christians bound to stay are not just those who cannot afford to leave – on the contrary, he cites a good number of affluent families who are determined to remain in Iraq, be it in Kurdistan or Iraq proper. Several of them have already started successful businesses in Erbil.
A clear sign of confidence in this future for the local Church, the archbishop has established the Catholic University of Erbil and fundraising for the institution brought him to the United States.
Leaving aside the intractable enmity between Shiites and Sunnis – and the growing tensions between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia – Archbishop Warda said the biggest obstacle in the way of long-term security for Christians and other minorities is Islamic radicalism.
“Islam needs reform and, unlike Christian violence that was committed [through] misinterpretation of Scripture, there is a call to violence in the Koran – and that needs addressing,” he said.
It will be a task for courageous Muslim leaders, he continued, and “maybe, just maybe, Christians can lend them a hand.”
Surely, the study of the Quran and Islamic tradition will figure prominently at the new Catholic University of Erbil.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A St. Louis jury on Thursday awarded a California woman more than $70 million in her lawsuit alleging that years of using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused her cancer, the latest case raising concerns about the health ramifications of extended talcum powder use....
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A St. Louis jury on Thursday awarded a California woman more than $70 million in her lawsuit alleging that years of using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused her cancer, the latest case raising concerns about the health ramifications of extended talcum powder use....
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Every day that Dil Agha works at his backbreaking job at a brick kiln on the outskirts of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, from before sunrise to well after sunset, he digs himself deeper into debt. He knows he will never be able to pay back what he owes to the kiln owner who lent him a few thousand dollars for a family emergency, and that when he dies, his children will inherit the burden that will ensure his family remains enslaved for generations....
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Every day that Dil Agha works at his backbreaking job at a brick kiln on the outskirts of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, from before sunrise to well after sunset, he digs himself deeper into debt. He knows he will never be able to pay back what he owes to the kiln owner who lent him a few thousand dollars for a family emergency, and that when he dies, his children will inherit the burden that will ensure his family remains enslaved for generations....
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Shiite rebels in Yemen fired a ballistic missile toward the holy Muslim city of Mecca overnight, Saudi Arabia said Friday, the insurgents' deepest strike yet into the kingdom amid the country's stalemate civil war....
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Shiite rebels in Yemen fired a ballistic missile toward the holy Muslim city of Mecca overnight, Saudi Arabia said Friday, the insurgents' deepest strike yet into the kingdom amid the country's stalemate civil war....
BENTO RODRIGUES, Brazil (AP) -- Spreading below lush mountains, this valley is rich in mineral wealth, including veins of gold and one of the largest iron ore deposits in the planet, discoveries that turned the area into Brazil's mining country and the birthplace of one of the world's top producers of minerals....
BENTO RODRIGUES, Brazil (AP) -- Spreading below lush mountains, this valley is rich in mineral wealth, including veins of gold and one of the largest iron ore deposits in the planet, discoveries that turned the area into Brazil's mining country and the birthplace of one of the world's top producers of minerals....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If North Korea has been a foreign policy headache for Barack Obama's presidency, it threatens to be a migraine for his successor. The next president will likely contend with an adversary able to strike the continental U.S. with a nuclear weapon....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If North Korea has been a foreign policy headache for Barack Obama's presidency, it threatens to be a migraine for his successor. The next president will likely contend with an adversary able to strike the continental U.S. with a nuclear weapon....
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Six months into Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, she met with a group of Black Lives Matter activists in Washington to make her case and seek their support....
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Six months into Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, she met with a group of Black Lives Matter activists in Washington to make her case and seek their support....
