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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a telegram saying he was “deeply saddened” to learn of the death of Thailand’s King Bhumipol Adulyadej who died on Thursday at the age of 88 and extending his heartfelt condolences to the Members of the Royal Family and all the Thai people.

Please see below the full text of the telegram:

His Excellency Prayut Chan-o-cha

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand

I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and I extend my heartfelt condolences to the Members of the Royal Family and to all the people of the Kingdom at this sorrowful time.  I pray that, as a fitting tribute to the late King’s legacy of wisdom, strength and fidelity, all Thais may work together to further the path of peace, and I willingly invoke upon all who mourn his passing the consolation of divine blessings.      

                FRANCISCUS PP.

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The first Christian hospital of the north-eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh was inaugurated on Wednesday.  Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Chowna Mein, was the Chief Guest at the inauguration of the KBM Hospital on Oct. 12 at Injan, in Changlang District.  Named after the two French Missionaries, Frs. Nicolas Krick and Augustin Bourry of the Paris Foreign ‎Missions Society, who were martyred in 1854 in Somme Village of Arunachal Pradesh on their way to Tibet, the Krick and Bourry Memorial (KBM) Hospital had been earlier blessed and dedicated to St. Teresa of Kolkata on Sept. 8, following her Sept. 4 canonization. 

Two other ministers were also present at the inauguration. Mein, a product of the Don Bosco education system, lauded the contribution of Catholic missionaries to Arunachal, especially in the field of education and healthcare.  He described Miao Diocese’s KBM Hospital as the greatest gift to Arunachal Pradesh and assured the government’s cooperation.   Mein also called on all to fight the menace of drug addiction in the eastern part of the state. Bishop George  Pallipparambil of Miao Diocese gave a brief account of Frs. Krick and Bourry, and urged all to join hands in eradicating poverty, disease and hunger.  In the making for the last five years, the KBM Hospital has blood test facilities and basic diagnosis and treatment. More equipment and tools are needed to meet the healthcare needs of the people in eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh. 

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday visited children in Rome’s “SOS Village,” a residential complex that cares for children coming from difficult personal, family or social backgrounds. His surprise visit there was part of his “Friday of Mercy” initiatives that have seen him perform a concrete gesture of mercy on one Friday every month during this Jubilee Year.

During his visit to the centre, the Pope was given a tour of the grounds that include a small football pitch and a playground. The children living there also showed him their rooms and their toys and he listened to them talking about their personal stories. Before returning to the Vatican, Pope Francis also had an afternoon snack with the children. 

Situated in north west Rome, the SOS Village is made up of 5 lodgings in which a maximum of up to six children below the age of 12 live together with a supervisor known as an SOS Mother. The children living in the centre are cared for and supported in the same way as a real family would do. They are taken to school, they go to the local parish and they practice sporting activities. All the staff who work in the centre care for the children for a number of years so as to create a stable relationship with them and help them acquire more autonomy as they grow older.   

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Vatican City, Oct 14, 2016 / 05:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has decided to send an initial contribution of $100,000 to Haiti to help with emergency recovery in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the Vatican announced Friday.

Donated through the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the money will be used to support flood victims, and “is intended as a first and immediate concrete expression of the feelings of paternal spiritual closeness and encouragement of the Holy Father toward the people and territories affected,” an Oct. 14 communique from the Vatican read.

Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti in the morning on Oct. 4. A category four storm with winds racing at 145mph, it is the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade, devastating Haiti, which is still reeling from the catastrophic earthquake that crushed much of the country in 2010.

With more than 1,000 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, according to the BBC, Haiti was hardest hit in the southeast, with many in towns and fishing villages killed by debris, falling trees and swollen rivers.

The Pope’s contribution to the relief effort is part of aid activated throughout the Catholic Church immediately following the storm.

Numerous bishops’ conferences and charitable organizations have all stepped in to help Haiti, including Caritas Haiti, in collaboration with Caritas Internationalis, which has now launched a first appeal for emergency aid to 2,700 families for the purchase and distribution of food and hygiene kits, the communique says.

After the storm, Pope Francis assured his prayers and solidarity with all those affected: “Learning of the devastation wrought by hurricane Matthew, which has caused numerous victims and considerable damage, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses his sadness and assures his prayer for all those who have lost a loved one,” an Oct. 7 telegram read.

Signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and addressed to the president of the Haitian Bishops Conference, Cardinal Chibly Langlois, the letter expressed the Pope’s “deep sympathy in these painful circumstances.”

According to the BBC, some 1.4 million people are in need of assistance. The United Nations has pledged $120 million in emergency funds to support medical help, shelter, water and sanitation.

The latest crisis is the fear of another cholera outbreak, such as the one that occurred after the devastating 2010 earthquake, which caused the deaths of 10,000 people, the BBC reported.

The World Health Organization is sending a million doses of the cholera vaccine to Haiti, where more than 200 cases of the disease have already been reported since the hurricane hit.

In his initial telegram, the Pope entrusted the deceased to the mercy of God, asking that the Lord would “welcome them into his light.” He assured his closeness to the injured and those who have lost their homes, and encouraged solidarity.

The Pope entrusted the Haitian people to the “maternal protection” of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and gave them his Apostolic Blessing.

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New York City, N.Y., Oct 14, 2016 / 06:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Christianity is at a crossroads in the Middle East, and only a dedicated campaign of aid and activism can help Christians survive as a merciful, forgiving leaven in the region, said the head of the Knights of Columbus Wednesday.

“Either Christianity will survive and offer a witness of forgiveness, charity and mercy, or it will disappear, impoverishing the region religiously, ethnically and culturally,” Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight and CEO of the Knights of Columbus, said Oct. 12.

His remarks came at the awards banquet for the Path to Peace Award.  

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the apostolic nuncio heading the Holy See’s permanent observer mission to the U.N., conferred the award in recognition of the Knights of Columbus’ work in the Middle East and their humanitarian work throughout the world. The award is granted by the Path to Peace Foundation, which supports the Holy See’s U.N. mission.

Anderson outlined three steps to aid the Christians of the Middle East.

“The first step on the path to peace in this region has been taken,” he said. “Christians have forgiven their persecutors. The second step must be a level of government funding directed to those communities that have faced genocide, so that they, and their witness, can survive. The third step must be the creation of real equality regardless of religious belief.”

“If we take these steps, we will not only have saved the faith of a people, we will have ensured that their witness of mercy and reconciliation – which is the only authentic path to peace – continues to be a leaven in this region.”

The Knights’ support campaign began in 2014, raising millions of dollars for Christians and other minorities suffering from war or persecution in the Middle East, especially Iraq and Syria. The organization was a leader in the successful effort to persuade Congress to recognize the persecution of Christians as genocide. This designation triggered additional protections and programs under U.S. law.

Anderson stressed the need to preserve religious pluralism in general and Christianity specifically.

“The Christian witness of mercy and forgiveness is the true path to peace in the Middle East,” Anderson said, noting Christianity’s ancient roots there.

He cited Melkite Catholic Archbishop Jean-Celement Jeanbart of Aleppo’s frequent reminder that St. Paul did not baptize Syrian Christians. Rather, they baptized St. Paul.

“And I would add this. They had to forgive him before they baptized him,” Anderson said. “When asked to visit Paul, (the) Syrian Christian Ananias’ first reaction was to remind the Lord that Paul had persecuted Christians. Ananias had to forgive, then embrace his former persecutor.”

Anderson said Christians have lived “heroically” in the Middle East for 2,000 years.

“This is the history of Christians indigenous to the Middle East. They forgive, and by doing so they open the path to peace,” the Supreme Knight continued. “Today, they have given up everything but their faith, for their faith. But even having lost so much, they have given a great gift, to their fellow citizens and to the world. The gift they have given is the example of forgiveness and mercy – the fundamental building blocks of peace.”

He cited the example a young girl severely burned by members of the Islamic State group in Mosul who was dying of her injuries in a hospital. Before she died, she asked her mother to forgive them.

Another girl told ABC’s 20/20 News she also forgives ISIS.

“Jesus said ‘forgive each other, love each other the way I love you,’ that is what we need to learn. Forgiveness,” she said.

A Chaldean Catholic Iraqi priest, Father Douglas Bazi, was captured by terrorists for nine days. They tortured him, knocked out his teeth, and broke his back with a hammer.

During the torture, the priest prayed the rosary, using the chain links on his shackles as beads. He still tried to minister to his torturers, telling one that if they crossed paths again, “I will buy you a cup of tea.”

“This Christian witness of mercy and forgiveness is having an effect,” Anderson said, citing a Yazidi family who told a Knights of Columbus team that almost all the assistance they have received have come from Christians.

Anderson continued to stress the vital role of Christians in the region.

“A true path to peace in the region requires the presence of Christians within a pluralistic society in which they are full and equal citizens. This means they must survive, and they must be treated equally,” he said.

The Supreme Knight called for direct funding to communities who are victims of genocide. U.S. and U.N. officials in Iraq have said they prioritize aid to individuals in the most need, but do nothing for groups as such, even if the groups have been targeted for genocide.

“Victims and survivors of genocide should be prioritized,” Anderson said, adding that communities facing extinction should not be ignored.

Aid channels have failed and government delivery systems are unreliable, he reported, advocating that financial aid be delivered directly to threatened communities through new channels and new partnerships with religious organizations.

“If it is not done, the genocide begun by ISIS will likely succeed by our own inaction,” Anderson warned.

He suggested that given the vast amounts of foreign aid to the region from the U.S. and other countries gives leverage to secure real equality and human rights for threatened minorities.

“We must insist that Christians and other non-majority communities are no longer marginalized,” he said.

Anderson invoked the Knights of Columbus’ long history of humanitarian relief, advocacy and public awareness work.

The Knights aided persecuted Christians in Armenia and the Middle East in the early 20th century and supported persecuted Mexican Catholics around the same time. The organization advocated for Jews in Germany before World War II and for religious freedom in Central and Eastern Europe during the Cold War.

Previous recipients of the Path to Peace Award include U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former President Corazon C. Aquino of the Philippines, and former President Lech Walesa of Poland.

The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternity, has about 1.9 million members worldwide. The Knights’ relief fund for Middle East Christians and other minorities is accepting donations through its webpage at www.kofc.org/Iraq

 

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IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For Cardinal-designate Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, one of nine children born to a family in Omaha, Nebraska, more than 40 years of priesthood have been filled with "Are you kidding me?" moments.

Like Pope Francis, the archbishop of Chicago has a special affection for Caravaggio's painting of "The Calling of St. Matthew" and he often stops in Rome's Church of St. Louis of France to look at it.

Ordained a bishop on the feast of St. Matthew, Sept. 21, in 1998, Cardinal-designate Cupich said that the call of Matthew speaks to "my own spirituality." In the painting, he said, Matthew has "that surprised look on his face, that sense of wonderment, of 'Are you kidding me?' And that's the way I kind of feel at this point in my life."

"No one could have ever crafted this story; this is something that is an 'Are you kidding me?' moment," the cardinal-designate told Catholic News Service Oct. 13 during an interview in Rome.

Just a few days after Pope Francis announced Oct. 9 that he would induct the Chicago archbishop and 16 other churchmen into the College of Cardinals, Cardinal-designate Cupich was at the Vatican on a previously scheduled trip to take part in a meeting of the Congregation for Bishops.

He still had not received any written communication about his nomination, which he learned about when a friend from Rome phoned at 5 a.m. Chicago time and woke him up. "I was hoping to sleep in until 7 o'clock that nice Sunday," he said. His friend said, "You're on the list," and Archbishop Cupich responded, "What list?"

"It did come as a real surprise. I didn't know there was going to be an announcement," he said. The pope's nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, called the next day to congratulate him.

The previous six archbishops of Chicago received a red hat, but Pope Francis has been skipping over several archdioceses traditionally led by cardinals. "This pope is a pope of surprises. So I think it wasn't something I had my heart set on."

Pope Francis, in making the announcement, tied the nominations to the Year of Mercy; the new cardinals will concelebrate Mass with him Nov. 20 to formally close the Holy Year.

More than being about specific projects or works of mercy, Cardinal-designate Cupich said the year has "forced me to reflect on the fact that the Gospel has as its main message mercy. ... It's made me look at mercy not just as an add-on, but as the center of proclaiming the Gospel."

"Mercy means realizing that before we did anything, we're loved. That we're valued. That God wants us to succeed -- even to the point that when we go wrong, when we err, when we make mistakes, when we are sinful," he said, God tells us, "'Move forward. I want you to succeed. I'm there to help you.'"

Rather than being like a tribunal that commutes a sentence and allows the person to go back to where they were, he said, "mercy is an experience that moves us forward," it involves being "surprised and caught off guard" by God's love and responding by making a commitment to do better.

Cardinal-designate Cupich said he does not know many of the other cardinals-designate, but "one of the most striking appointments" was that of Archbishop Mario Zenari, the nuncio to Syria, who will remain in Syria. The nomination, he said, is a recognition of the nuncio's ministry in the midst of war, "but also, knowing a number of people who are in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, I would imagine this is a shot in the arm for them; it is a way the Holy Father can lift up the work that they are doing day in and day out in so many unrecognized ways."

Another surprise in the announcement was that Pope Francis named three prelates who had been ministering in the United States: Cardinals-designate Cupich, Joseph W. Tobin of Indianapolis, and Kevin J. Farrell, who had been bishop of Dallas and is the new prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

Choosing three shows Pope Francis "values the experience of the church in our country," the Chicago archbishop said. "Especially the way that we have worked to integrate immigrants into our country" is an experience that U.S. Catholics can share with Catholics in other countries who may be struggling to find appropriate ways to accept and integrate immigrants.

A month before U.S. citizens vote in a heated presidential election, Cardinal-designate Cupich said his confidence in the American people and U.S. democracy has not weakened.

"I have great confidence in the moral fiber of the American people to respond in a way that is going to allow their deepest aspirations about democracy to win the day," he said. "Political debate is tough, it's a rumble sometimes," but people know what they value.

"It's not for me or any leader in the church to tell people how to vote; we're there to present principles, to look at where the priorities of the nation should be and then to allow them to make a decision," he said. "People day in and day out make tough decisions; they raise teenagers, so they know how to make tough decisions and how to deal with thorny issues."

When they receive their red hats, Cardinal-designate Cupich and the 16 other new cardinals also will receive the "title" to a church in Rome. As the "titular cardinal" of those churches, the cardinals become members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome.

Rome "is a place where all of us should feel welcome and at home," he said. Rome is not just where the pope lives, but "it's where the universal church comes together in unity."

"Especially at a time when there's so much division in society and in the world," the cardinal-designate said, "the church can be an example of what are the gifts of fighting for unity -- not fighting in a way that brings division, but fighting for all that unites us."

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Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden.

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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/Don Doll, S.J.

By Carol Glatz

ROME (CNS) -- Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, 67, a member of the Jesuits' Venezuelan province, was elected the first non-European superior general of the Society of Jesus.

The 212 voting delegates to the Jesuit general congregation elected Father Sosa Oct. 14. He succeeds Father Adolfo Nicolas, 80, who had asked to resign because of his age.

Pope Francis was informed of the election of Father Sosa before the Jesuits announced it publicly.

The election came after four days of prayer, silence and quiet one-on-one conversations among the voting delegates, who were chosen to represent the more than 16,000 Jesuits around the world.

Reacting to his election, Father Sosa told Vatican Radio, "I have the feeling of needing great help; now the great challenge begins."

Because they belong to the Society of Jesus, "Jesus must give us work to do here, too, with us," he said. The work of the Jesuits isn't the responsibility of one person, but of the entire order, whose members are "very good," he said.

In an interview Oct. 7 about the pre-election phase of the congregation, Father Sosa said delegates gathered come from different countries, but they share a common culture linked to their experience of the Ignatian spiritual exercises and practices of discernment. "We have a long tradition and a strong desire to listen to the same voice, that is the voice of the Holy Spirit," he said in an interview published on the Jesuits' gc36.org website.

Father Sosa was born in Caracas on Nov. 12, 1948. He joined the Jesuits in 1966 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1977, according to a press release from the Jesuits.

Prior to the election, he was Father Nicolas' delegate for the international houses and works of the Society of Jesus in Rome. He was provincial superior of the Jesuits in Venezuela between 1996 and 2004 and general counselor of the Society of Jesus from 2008 to 2011.

From 1977 to 1996, he was the director of "Centro Gumilla," a center of research and social action of the Jesuits in Venezuela.

As a teacher and researcher, the Jesuit worked with the Foundation Council of the Catholic University Andres Bello and other institutes and centers, and he served as president of the Catholic University of Tachira.

He was invited to teach at Georgetown University's Center for Latin American Studies in 2004, and he was a professor of Venezuelan political thought at the Catholic University of Tachira. He has published a number of works, mostly about the history and politics of Venezuela.

He has a degree in philosophy from the Catholic University Andres Bello in Caracas, a degree in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and a doctorate in political science from the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

He speaks Spanish, Italian, English and understands French.

Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro told Vatican Radio Oct. 14 that Father Sosa has great experience and skill in governance, spirituality and academics, making him a very "multifaceted and well-rounded" leader.

His expertise in political science and experience dealing with the difficult situation in Venezuela means he is also highly "capable of facing tensions that may arise in the world," Father Spadaro said. He added that the priest not only knows fellow-Jesuit Pope Francis well, "they esteem each other."

The resignation of Father Nicolas and the election of Father Sosa came during the order's 36th general congregation, which began Oct. 2. After the election, the gathering was to continue as delegates focus on questions of Jesuit identity and governance, vocations, mission and collaboration with the laity.

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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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