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By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' recent insistence on "walking ecumenism," the notion that Christians will draw closer to each other as they work together to help the poor, should resonate well with Lutherans and Catholics in Sweden.

"Swedes are known to be people of consensus, pragmatic, so people try to cooperate even if they have different views and backgrounds," said Bishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, the country's only Catholic bishop and the first native Swede to hold the post since the Protestant Reformation.

More than 60 percent of Swedes are baptized members of the Lutheran Church of Sweden and just over 1 percent are registered members of the Catholic Church, although Bishop Arborelius said that with the ever-increasing number of immigrants in the country, the number of Catholics probably is double the official 115,000.

Still, Sweden has become almost famous for being one of the most secular countries in Europe. In surveys, less than a third of Swedes describe themselves as religious and even fewer participate regularly in church services.

However, "even in the secular society, there are certain Christian values that are very much alive -- this wish to help poor people, to protect those who are in danger and to establish equal rights for everyone," Bishop Arborelius told Catholic News Service Oct. 18.

The Rev. Michael Bjerkhagen, official chaplain to the king of Sweden, agreed. "A Christian religious attitude still permeates many 'secular' Swedes," he said in an email interview. "It shows in how they think and speak, what values they have and what they choose to do," marking everything from opening sessions of Parliament with a service in the Lutheran cathedral to local parish celebrations of the end of each school year.

Pope Francis will visit Lund and Malmo on Sweden's southern tip Oct. 31-Nov. 1, mainly to participate in an international, ecumenical launch of commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

The pope has insisted Christians cannot pass all responsibility for building Christian unity onto theologians participating in official bilateral dialogues. The prayer of all Christians is essential, he has said, and so is friendship. "Walk together, pray for each other, and do works of charity together when you can. This is ecumenism," he said in Georgia in early October.

"People are very excited" about the pope's visit, Rev. Bjerkhagen said. "Since the Holy Father is a living symbol for unity for many of us, we expect a lot! And particularly from this pope, who has shown such a strong and brave leadership in so many ways: his solidarity with refugees and poor people; the very honest interest he has shown toward other Christian churches; his open attitude on social-ethical matters; his humble and easygoing way of approaching people."

The Lutheran chaplain and the Catholic bishop both said friendship is something that is plentiful among Lutherans and Catholics in Sweden. In fact, Bishop Arborelius said, his growing diocese does not have enough churches and so many Catholic Masses, especially in rural areas, are celebrated in Lutheran churches.

The bishop said he hopes Pope Francis' popularity among Swedes and his visit will help the nonreligious "see that a Christian person can be very welcoming and very open, even if he sticks to his faith."

"Lately there are more and more voices saying religion brings intolerance, violence, conflict," he said. "Before, they looked upon religious people as, well, very tame, a bit stupid, but now they tend to say religion can make people violent."

While the growth of the Catholic Church in Sweden is due mainly to immigrants, including Chaldean and Maronite Catholics from the Middle East, Bishop Arborelius is part of the smaller, but steadily growing segment of Swedes who have joined the Catholic Church after being baptized Lutheran.

"Not very active" as a Lutheran, he always felt drawn to "the contemplative life or spirituality," the bishop said. "I always had this longing for a life of prayer and silent adoration."

His family's contact with the Bridgettine sisters had a deep influence on him, he said, and eventually he began taking courses in the Catholic faith. Entering the Catholic Church at the age of 20, he said, "I had some longing to be a priest -- many converts have this idea," but the local bishop urged him to wait. He entered the Discalced Carmelite novitiate less than two years after becoming Catholic.

Traditionally in Sweden most converts come from university circles, Bishop Arborelius said, and are attracted by the Catholic Church's embrace of reason, its theological depth and its social doctrine. "Somehow they think the Catholic Church is a bit more serious about these things, so it's quite common that people who are very well educated, if they turn to Christian faith, they go to a Catholic church."

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Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden.

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By Alastair Wanklyn

TOKYO (CNS) -- Heavy damage was reported to homes and farm land in the northern Philippines Oct. 20 after the strongest storm in three years struck overnight.

Typhoon Haima barreled into northern Cagayan and Isabella provinces, ripping the roofs off homes and flattening crops.

Nearly every building in the city of Tuguegarao was damaged, Philippine media quoted officials as saying. The city's communication links were down, and phone calls to the archdiocesan office in Tuguegarao did not connect.

Across the district, many roads were flooded or blocked by fallen trees. Aid groups said the disruption made it difficult to assess the extent of damage, with one aid official calling it "a communications black hole."

Thousands of people in neighboring Isabella province spent the night sheltering in public evacuation centers such as schools and churches.

"Most of the time, the churches serve as evacuation centers if the government evacuation centers cannot accommodate some of the people," April Ann Abello-Bulanadi, a spokeswoman for Catholic aid group Caritas Philippines, said by phone from Manila.

Caritas released a summary of reports from parishes of how they had prepared for the storm.

Some of them reported holding stocks of relief goods. One diocese said it had been giving out disaster advice at Mass. And in one district, a church compound was designated the local relief staging ground for emergency supplies, so that residents and aid groups alike would know where to go.

"The parishes are very important because they are the ones who are already present on the ground," Bulanadi said.

There was no estimate of the total damage to agriculture, but northern Luzon is a center of rice and corn farming, and the storm was feared to have wiped out crops shortly before harvest.

The day after the typhoon, Caritas officials were expected to monitor video from a drone flown over the disaster zone by Philippine aerial imagery startup SkyEye Analytics Inc. Such images can identify communities that are cut off and roads that may be accessible for aid teams.

Haima is the 12th typhoon to strike the Philippines this year. In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan killed at least 6,300 people and forced around 5 million from their homes.

The humanitarian disaster following Haiyan served as a wake-up call for authorities and residents alike. Today, aid workers say, there is a higher alertness by state agencies and greater willingness by residents to follow evacuation advisories.

Caritas said Haiyan also highlighted the importance of community-led disaster risk reduction, such as identifying safe houses and checking on neighbors.

In the three years since that disaster, Caritas has worked to create a more coordinated readiness by the church nationwide.

"Now we are trying to include as many dioceses as possible, not just dioceses from the provinces affected, but we are also capacitating dioceses from the other provinces, so that they would also be prepared when such a typhoon like this would happen again here in the Philippines," Bulanadi said.

In January 2015, Pope Francis paid a short visit to Tacloban, one of the cities badly hit by Typhoon Haiyan.

At Mass in the city, he paid tribute to church and lay workers who helped those left homeless.

"To those of you who housed and fed people seeking safety, in churches, convents, rectories, and who continue to assist those still struggling, I thank you," he said. "You are a credit to the church. You are the pride of your nation.

"For whatever you did for the least of Christ's brothers and sisters, you did for him."

But there was a reminder of the Philippines' storm-prone nature when Pope Francis cut short his visit. He said the pilots of his plane feared worsening conditions would prevent it taking off safely.

 

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NEW YORK (AP) -- Bitter presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have one more face-to-face showdown before Election Day. And they're supposed to make it funny....

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(Vatican Radio) Pilgrimages, being active on social media, sacrament of reconciliation initiatives and visits to the Holy Door. These are just some of the events the Diocese of Paisley in Scotland has been organizing during the Jubilee of Mercy. So what effect has the year had on the faithful there? Lydia O’Kane spoke to the Bishop of Paisley, John Keenan.

Listen: 

As this Extraordinary Year draws to a close, the Bishop observed that, “one of the things I’ve noticed about this Holy Year distinct from perhaps the other ones is that, whereas like the others it started with a bang, the Year of Mercy hasn’t really fizzled out, it seems to be that it has kept this steady pulse going right through the year”.

WYD in the Year of Mercy

One of the highlights of the Jubilee was the World Youth Day celebrations in Krakow, Poland which Bishop Keenan participated at. He says, that the focus on mercy at this event had an “astounding effect on the young people”, and describes how Scottish youth and their leaders were struck to the heart by the Pope’s words over the course of the pilgrimage, adding that many were moved to tears.

The “social media” Jubilee.

Asked about the effect social media has had on this Holy Year, Bishop Keenan said that this has been the “Holy Year of social media”, adding, “I think it’s the first Holy Year in the culture of social media and I think it has had, if anything has had one of the biggest effects.” He also said, that he thought it was important for the Church to invest on resources in social media.

The Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy ends on 20th November, the feast of Christ the King.

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(Vatican Radio) The Holy See reiterated its support for a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wednesday during a United Nations Security Council debate on the situation in the Middle East.

“If Israel and Palestine do not agree to exist side-by-side, reconciled and sovereign within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders, peace will remain a distant dream and security an illusion,” said a statement by Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.

The Vatican diplomat also voiced concern about the ongoing violence in the wider region, such as in Syria and Iraq.

The cradle of civilizations and the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Middle East has become  the  theater of incredible brutality,” Archbishop Auza’s statement said.

The utter disregard of international humanitarian law has reached alarming levels of inhumanity,” – he continued – “Schools, hospitals, humanitarian convoys, humanitarian workers  and journalists, and entire villages and cities are no longer ‘collateral damage’: They themselves have become targets of indiscriminate attacks. The corpses under the ruins and the wandering refugees are a clear witness to this cynical contempt and trampling of international humanitarian law.”

 

The full statement can be found below

 

Statement of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on

The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question

New York, 19 October 2016

 

Mr. President,

My delegation thanks the Presidency of the Russian Federation for bringing this topic of

the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, to the floor of this Chamber and to

the attention of the entire international community.

The gradual movement away from the two-State solution proposed in 1947 by the United

Nations for what was then Palestine under the British Mandate is  cause for very grave

concern. The collapse in April 2014 of the peace negotiations between the two parties has

led  to negative unilateral actions and acts of violence stoked by inflammatory rhetoric from

both parties.

The straying from the Madrid peace process and the Oslo Accords of the 1990’s has served

to increase the level of frustration and desperation among the  Palestinian polity. A unity

government in the West Bank and Gaza is essential to advancing the negotiations and to

bringing peace and prosperity to its people, so heavily dependent on international aid for

basic needs. Regular briefings in this Chamber inform us of the financial woes of UNRWA

(the  United  Nations  Relief  and  Works  Agency  for  Palestine),  as  it  faces  ever-growing

humanitarian needs.

My delegation would like to underline once  again that, for the Holy See, the two-State

solution holds the best promise. If Israel and Palestine do not agree to exist side-by-side,

reconciled and sovereign within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders,

peace will remain a distant dream and security an illusion.

Mr. President,

While  the  focus  of  today’s  debate  is  how  to  urge  Israel  and  Palestine  to  stop  making

unilateral  decisions  and  taking  independent  actions  that  engender  the  resumption  of

meaningful  negotiations,  the  Palestinian  Question  cannot  but  be  viewed  as  part  of  the

Middle East turmoil that impacts the whole region and beyond.

The  cradle  of  civilizations  and  the  birthplace  of  Judaism,  Christianity  and  Islam,  the

Middle  East  has  become  the  theater  of  incredible  brutality.  The  utter  disregard  of

international  humanitarian  law  has  reached  alarming  levels  of  inhumanity.  Schools,

hospitals,  humanitarian  convoys,  humanitarian  workers  and  journalists,  and  entire

villages and cities are no longer “collateral damage”: They themselves have become targets

of indiscriminate attacks. The corpses under the ruins and the wandering refugees are a

clear witness to this cynical contempt and trampling of international humanitarian law.

Pope Francis has reiterated his appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Aleppo and other parts

of Syria, saying, “With a sense of urgency I renew my appeal, pleading with all my strength

to those responsible for an immediate ceasefire, which is imposed and respected at least

for the time necessary to allow the evacuation of civilians, especially children, who are still

trapped under the ferocious bombardments.”

Mr. President,

We  continue  to  debate  in  this  Chamber  and  in  other  United  Nations  fora,  while  the

Christians and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Middle East

are on the verge of total annihilation. The intentions of the terrorist and extremist groups

to banish them from the region have been unmistakably manifest since the start of this

barbaric persecution. Testimonies and traces of the historical rootedness in the region of

Christian  and  other  ethnic  and  religious  groups  are  also  being  wiped  out,  as  churches,

monasteries and cultural monuments and artifacts have been reduced to dust and rubble.

In  this  madness  beyond  comprehension  and  belief,  so  many  members  of  the  majority

groups have also fallen victim.

Mr. President,

Mandated to maintain international peace and security, this Council is called  to lead the

entire international community to stop the bloodshed and destruction. States supporting

client groups must stop the flow of weapons and munitions into the region. Geopolitical

differences  and  the  noise  of  arms  must  not  stop  dialogue  and  negotiations.  Madmen

preaching  hatred  and  inciting  to  violence  in  God’s  name  must  be  stopped.  All  are

summoned  to  do  their  part  in  fostering  in  the  region  respect  for  fundamental  human

rights, including freedom of religion and of expression. All are called to greater solidarity,

so that humanitarian assistance and specific programs for the most vulnerable could be

assured as much as possible in the context of such challenging situations.

My delegation would like to conclude with a thought of Pope Francis on the fundamental

importance of dialogue. “Dialogue,” he said, “is what creates peace. It is impossible for

peace to exist without dialogue. All the wars, all the strife, all the unsolved problems over

which we clash are due to a lack of dialogue. When there is a  problem, talk: This makes

peace.”

This dialogue is still possible and must be pursued with urgency, for the sake of the people

of Syria and all the inhabitants of the region.

Thank you, Mr. President.

PS: Statement delivered in arabic by Msgr. Simon Kassas, First Secretary

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(Vatican Radio) Earlier this week the Islamic extremist group in Nigeria, Boko Haram, released from captivity 21 students, who are known collectively as the Chibok schoolgirls. They were abducted in April 2014 from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State.

The Nigerian government is currently negotiating the release of an additional 83 girls, but some appear unwilling to leave their captors, reportedly fearing stigmatization and possible rejection on their return. Meanwhile, aid agencies are warning that the girls who have been released will require extensive support to help them recover from the physical and mental trauma they have endured while in captivity.

Doune Porter, the Chief of Communications for UNICEF in Nigeria spoke to Vatican Radio’s Hayley Susino about the challenges facing these girls and about the need to remember the many other people still being held hostage in the region.

Listen: 

Doune Porter explains that although the news of the recent release of 21 Chibok girls is wonderful, it is just the beginning:

“The girls who were kidnapped from Chibok more than two and a half years ago represent the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands of children, especially women and girls, who have been held by Boko Haram and have been severely maltreated.”

Porter says that the girls are often raped and forced into marriages with their captors. They are also beaten, intimidated, and starved in many cases.

After being released, the girls need extensive medical and psychological attention and care. Some have given birth or return pregnant and are very ill and malnourished. Although UNICEF has not yet been in contact with the 21 Chibok girls released earlier this week, they have spoken to hundreds of other girls who were held by Boko Haram.

Porter details the kinds of support the girls need:

“In the short, medium, and long term, they need psycho-social support and psychological support so they can begin to come to terms with the experiences that they had and also so they can begin to reintegrate with their families and their communities. The trauma they have been through is something that makes it very difficult for them to return and to pick up life with the people that they haven’t seen for months and in some cases years.”

Because the Chibok girls have received so much international and media attention, they have been heavily and closely guarded by Boko Haram, making their chances of escape much more difficult.

Recently, the government has regained a lot of territory that was held by Boko Haram. UNICEF is hopeful that this will result in more women and children being released.

Once the girls are released from captivity, the reintegration process is extremely difficult. There is a lot of stigma surrounding sexual violence in traditional communities such as Northeast Nigeria. Additionally, children who are born out of sexual violence face abandonment, rejection, and violence:

“There is a strong belief here that if they carry the blood of Boko Haram because they were fathered by Boko Haram fighters, that blood will come out and they will turn against their community,” says Porter.

After the girls return, many of the families and people in the community are afraid:

“They are often afraid that the girls have been indoctrinated by Boko Haram and that they pose a threat to their community. Boko Haram uses children and especially girls as suicide bombers so that increases the fear in the community of girls who have been with Boko Haram for a long period of time,” explains Porter.

UNICEF has managed to reach hundreds of girls thus far, working with the community and religious leaders to help them understand what the girls have been through and aid the reintegration process on both fronts.

The work that UNICEF is doing in Northeast Nigeria is extremely underfunded. Porter says UNICEF has a goal of reaching 750,000 people in need in the region, but cannot because of a lack of funds.

She says people are also unaware of the extent of the problem and appeals for support, both through direct donations to UNICEF or by spreading the word, especially through social media, in order to gain visibility for this hidden crisis.

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