Catholic News 2

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday afternoon met with football legend Diego Maradona and other players in the “Match for peace and solidarity” which took place later that evening at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

Among other stars playing in the match were Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Aldair, Cafu, Claudio Lopez, Hernán Crespo, Zambrotta, Rui Costa, Juan Sebastián Verón, Fabio Capello, Aitor Karanka, and Francesco Totti.

The White team led by Karanka and Ronaldinho beat the Blue team led by Capello, Maradona, and Totti by a score of 4-3.

The football match was promoted by ‘Scholas occurrentes’, Comunità Amore e Libertà, Centro Sportivo Italiano and Unitalsi. The proceeds from the match will be used to help the earthquake victims in central Italy.

Full Article

The Catholic Church of Indonesia last week concluded its Second Indonesian Youth Day (IYD2) in ‎Manado, the capital of the northern province of North Sulawesi, with nearly 2,460 young men and ‎women from all of the nation’s 37 dioceses taking part in it.  After six days of prayer, reflection, ‎testimonies, catechesis that kicked off with a 3-day live-in programme in local families, the Second ‎Indonesian Youth Day (IYD2) ended with a highly animated evening Mass Oct. 6 at the ‎‎‘Amphitheatre’ of the Emmanuel Catholic Youth Centre at Lotta, a suburb of Manado.   After the ‎Mass ‎followed a variety programme that included the final declaration by the nation’s Catholic youth,  ‎speeches, songs, dances and entertainment by the various diocesan regional groups with fireworks to ‎cap it all close to midnight.‎

The IYD, Oct. 1-6, had as its theme, “The Joy of Gospel ‎amidst a Plural Society in Indonesia”.  ‎ It was ‎the follow-up of the First Indonesian Youth Day that took place in October 2012 in Sanggau Diocese, on the theme “Rooted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Strengthened in the Faith.” The ‎Indonesian Youth Day 2016 in Manado, held during the current Jubilee Year of Mercy, was in ‎preparation for the 6th Asian Youth Day that is to be hosted by Indonesia in Yogyakarta, in the ‎Diocese of Semarang, July 30 ‎‎– August 6, in 2017. ‎

The first 3 days of the Oct. 1-6 Indonesian Youth Day in Manado began with the young men and ‎women living with local families of Manado Diocese’s 37 parishes, intending to demonstrate that ‎young Catholics can carry the joy of the Gospel anywhere they may be placed in the world’s largest ‎archipelagic nation.   On the fourth day, all the participants and their guides and mentors, many of ‎whom were nuns and priests, came together for the first time at Manado’s Klabat Stadium where the ‎Second Indonesian Youth Day was officially inaugurated with Holy Mass, led by host Bishop Joseph ‎Suwatan of Manado.  The opening event was a festival of colours, dances, songs and yells, with each ‎contingent from the 37 dioceses displaying their cultural wealth and variety that Indonesia is well ‎known for. Day 5 and 6 were dedicated  to catechesis, interactive talks and sessions on some 15 ‎different issues, involving bishops, priests, nuns, young people, experts, politicians and government ‎officials.   The afternoon of day 5 was set aside for the sacrament of reconciliation, to which the youth ‎responded in great numbers.  ‎

Well, in our edition of 'THE BACKGROUNDER' today, we bring you an interview with Missionary of ‎the Sacred Heart priest, Fr. Aloysius Batmyanik of the Archdiocese of Merauke, one of Indonesia’s ‎easternmost cities, in Papua province.   Fr. Aloysius, who is the moderator of the youth of his ‎archdiocese, accompanied 110 Catholic men and women to the Indonesian Youth Day in Manado.   ‎Speaking to Vatican Radio on Oct. 5, the penultimate day of the event, he first explained about the ‎preparation of his young people for the Indonesian Youth Day. ‎

Listen:  

Full Article

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written the preface to the book “Bartholomew: Apostle and Visionary,” published by the U.S.-based Thomas Nelson. The book is being published to mark the 25th anniversary of the election of the Ecumenical Patriarch, who is the “first among equals” of the Orthodox Church.

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI also contributed a chapter to the volume.

The October 12 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, had the texts written by Pope Francis (available here) and Pope emeritus Benedict XVI (available here) in their entirety.

“The Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople are united by a profound and long-standing bond, which not even centuries of silence and misunderstanding have been able to sever,” – Pope Francis wrote – “This bond is exemplified by the relationship between those to whom tradition attributes the foundation of our respective Churches, namely, the holy apostles Peter and Andrew, two brothers in the flesh, but above all, two disciples of the Lord Jesus, who together believed in him, followed him, and ultimately shared his destiny on the cross, in the one and same hope of serving the coming of his kingdom.

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI began his reflection by remembering his “first close personal contact with the Ecumenical Patriarch” on the train to the  2002 World Meeting of Prayer in Assisi hosted by Saint John Paul II.

“I was also immediately moved by the personal openness and warmth of the patriarch,” – the Pope emeritus said – “ It required no great effort for us to become close to one another. His inner openness and simplicity immediately brought with it comfortable intimacy.”

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI said this first meeting give him a picture of the entire personality of the ecumenical patriarch: “living on the road toward a goal; living in the many dimensions of the great cultures; living in encounter, borne by the fundamental encounter with the truth that is Jesus Christ. In the end, the goal in all of these encounters is unity in Jesus Christ.”

The anniversary of the election of Patriarch Bartholomew I will occur on November 2.

Full Article

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday morning met with Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the NATO military alliance.

The Holy See Press Office did not release any details of the meeting.

However, Mr. Stoltenberg sent a tweet saying “Honoured to meet [Pope Francis]. His vision for a just world and appeal for cooperation is inspiring. Especially in times of increased tension.”

Full Article

Caritas India, an official agency of the Catholic Church, has decided to fight against an openly discriminatory mentality, announcing the launch of a programme for the assistance and social promotion of transgender people. The Catholic Church's social service wing has confirmed the decision in a statement on Monday, Oct. 10 after holding internal talks on its inclusive development policy.

"Caritas is open to work with transgender people. I am even open to recruiting them," said Fr Frederick D’Souza, executive director of Caritas India, during the meeting. Referring to the initiative as the “beginning of a new school of thought,” and explaining: “People who are suffering for no fault of their own because of sexual confusion in their body require our attention and support.”

With this programme, Caritas hopes to eradicate “traditional biases against them,” in the awareness that this “decision will definitely have implications on other institutions. Others will also begin to reflect on this”. Hopefully this attention will set an example for society. 

Fr D’Souza however clarified that by transgender he means “biological transgenders” and not those who undergo gender change. “We don’t want to confuse the two. We have an opinion on those who undergo sex change, we are not in favour of that. We believe that the natural gender one is born with is what he/she is supposed to cherish and contribute to creation.”

Father Paul Moonjely, deputy director of Caritas India, said that the decision to include transgender people in Caritas is not sudden. "We have been reaching out to transgender people in our development programs but have largely failed to recognize them and show data on how many of them we have supported," he said.

This programme is very likely to have a “ripple effect”: Founded in 1962, Caritas India is recognised and appreciated as a leader in the social field, actively working with programmes that focus on humanitarian aid, social development, reconstruction, poverty reduction, sustainable development, education and the social promotion of women and poor, vulnerable and marginalised groups.

India has nearly 500,000 transgender people, according to the 2011 government census. They have been excluded from participating in social and cultural life, economy and politics, according to a 2012 United Nations Development Program report.

Not included in any form of census or government mapping, they are often a hidden population, most vulnerable because they are treated as invisible and deprived of the fundamental rights available to the other two sexes.

They are one of these groups as they have traditionally been an unpopular minority in India and all countries across the Indian sub-continent: they are often seen roaming around asking for money or prostituting themselves. They are only summoned during the blessing of newlyweds and new-born babies as there is an ancient tradition that considers them to be bearers of good fortune.

Known as hijras, the transgender community were once a firmly accepted group in Indian culture. The Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, recognize them with both male and female characteristics. During the Mughal period, they played an important role in the court administration and as royal guards.

However, their revered place in history drastically changed in the British colonial period and they were legally relegated to the margins of society, with limited access to healthcare, employment or education.

But, legally, 2014 marked a turning point in India: The Supreme Court acknowledged the status of a ‘third gender’ and ruled that transgender people are to officially enjoy the same rights as other citizens, helping to temper hostilities and widespread prejudice, granting them equal social rights: they can marry, inherit and have access to public institution jobs and educational institutions.

The federal government is currently planning a law to protect the rights of transgender people. The draft law was introduced into the lower house of the Indian parliament in August.

Odisha state become the first state to provide transgender people subsidized food grains, housing and pensions to improve their overall social and economic status.

"Much needs to be done towards sensitization on the issue even within the Caritas network," Father Moonjely said.

(Source: UCANews, Matters India, Vatican Insider) 

Full Article

(Vatican Radio)  The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday elected 67 year old António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres to replace outgoing Ban Ki Moon as the world body’s new Secretary General.  In December 2013, Mr. Guterres was here in the Vatican where, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, he met the newly elected Pope Francis in private audience.  At the time, Guterres was serving his second five year mandate at the helm of the U.N.’s agency for refugees.  He will take over his new job January 1.

As High Commissioner of UNHCR, Guterres headed one of the world's largest humanitarian organizations with more than 7,000 staff working in 126 countries providing protection and assistance to millions of refugees, returnees, internally displaced people and stateless persons. More than 85 per cent of UNHCR staff work in the field, often in difficult and dangerous situations.

Tracey McClure spoke with the former Portuguese Prime Minister following his 2013 meeting with Pope Francis.  She asked him if the Pope’s concerns about what he sees as the “globalization of indifference,” came up in their conversations.  The Pope first used that term early into his pontificate when he visited the Italian island of Lampedusa overwhelmed by thousands of migrants and refugees, many of whom had perished while trying to reach Europe by sea.

Listen to Tracey McClure’s 2013 interview with António Guterres:

Catholic Church puts respect for refugee rights on the agenda

“Indeed,”  Guterres says,  “I believe that first of all since [the beginning],  the Catholic Church has been absolutely impeccable in putting in the agenda the need to respect the rights of refugees, the rights of migrants, the need for societies to be tolerant, for societies to respect diversity and this has been a constant line of advocacy for the Catholic church but I think Pope Francis gave a new dimension to this.  Because not only has he been expressing in a very clear way these positions, I remember his declaration (on) the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, also how this issue is dealt with in Evangelii Gaudium …

Pope Francis’ visit to Lampedusa: a personal engagement in a world of indifference

"But his personal presence in Lampedusa, in that tragic moment when so many people (were) dying in the sinking boats in the Mediterranean, his visit to one of the refugee centers in Rome: the Centro Astalli of the Jesuit Refugee Services… so there is a personal testimony.  It’s not only that there’s a doctrine, there is a personal engagement, a personal testimony and in a world of indifference, but also in a world of disrespect for refugees and migrants, in a world where diversity is (often) not appreciated... in a world where you see xenophobia and racism developing in many societies, people are afraid. "

Voice of Pope enormously important to defeat the voices of populism, intolerance

"And when people are afraid, it is easy for populists and demagogues to convince people that foreigners are to be blamed because there is unemployment, because there is insecurity in our societies - even if it’s obviously not because of refugees that this happens.  The voice of the Pope and the testimony of the Pope have an enormous importance to help us all (and) to help those who struggle for refugee protection to be maintained in our societies, to be able to defeat the voices of populism, the voices of intolerance, the voices of xenophobia that unfortunately – especially in our European continent – have been more and more fierce in the recent past.”

Pope Francis a new symbol of hope in a world unable to address key challenges

“Obviously, as citizens of the world, we see Pope Francis as a new symbol of hope for many things.  I believe that obviously for the Catholic Church it represents an enormous breath of fresh air that is making a lot of people feel strongly committed also, but for the world in general, it has an enormous influence in a moment that we see that conflicts are multiplying, the international community has lost much of its capacity to prevent conflicts and to solve conflicts.  We see the world unable to address some of the key challenges of our time.  Look at climate change for instance. We see a global lack of leadership.  So to see this kind of committed (engagement) and at the same time humane, deeply human leadership in the Catholic Church, is I think, a fantastic example for the world. And so it’s natural that everybody that feels this enormous strength, (the) energy that comes from the Pope, that everybody would of course, I’m sure, would like to be with him and to be able to (draw in) this energy and this commitment because we all need that in the difficult moments that we are facing.”

Full Article

Vatican City, Oct 13, 2016 / 05:49 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As images of children crushed by bombs or washed up at sea are becoming an increasingly daily sight, Pope Francis’ decision to focus his message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on child migrants rings in as particularly timely and appropriate.

“I feel compelled to draw attention to the reality of child migrants, especially the ones who are alone,” Francis said in his message.

Young migrants, he noted, are particularly vulnerable and defenseless primarily because “they are children, they are foreigners, and they have no means to protect themselves.”

He pointed to Jesus’ insistence in the Gospels that whoever receives a child “in my name receives me,” as well as his warning that for those who cause a child to sin, “it is better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

“How can we ignore this severe warning when we see the exploitation carried out by unscrupulous people?” he asked.

“Such exploitation harms young girls and boys who are led into prostitution or into the mire of pornography; who are enslaved as child laborers or soldiers; who are caught up in drug trafficking and other forms of criminality; who are forced to flee from conflict and persecution, risking isolation and abandonment,” he noted.

“I ask everyone to help those who, for various reasons, are forced to live far from their homeland and are separated from their families.”

Titled “Child Migrants, the Vulnerable and the Voiceless,” Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees was presented to journalists during an Oct. 13 news conference in Rome. The day will be celebrated in the Church Jan. 15, 2017.

In his message, the Pope noted that children are the first to pay the price of emigration, often caused by violence, poverty, environmental problems, as well as the negative impact of globalization.

An “unrestrained competition for a quick and easy profit” brings with it “scourges” such as child trafficking, the exploitation and abuse of minors, and the deprivation of rights “intrinsic to childhood,” such as the right to a secure family environment guided by “a mother and a father,” the right to education and that of recreation.

However, frequently child migrants are left “invisible and voiceless” because the precocity of their situation “deprives them of documentation, hiding them from the world’s eyes,” and the absence of an adult to accompany them “prevents their voices from being raised and heard.”

“In this way, migrant children easily end up at the lowest levels of human degradation, where illegality and violence destroy the future of too many innocents, while the network of child abuse is difficult to break up.”

Pope Francis called the phenomena of migration a “sign of the times.” To resolve the problem, one recognize that it is connected to salvation history, he said, and pointed to several versus in the Bible encouraging the welcome strangers and foreigners.

“Each person is precious,” he said, stressing that “persons are more important than things, and the worth of an institution is measured by the way it treats the life and dignity of human beings, particularly when they are vulnerable, as in the case of child migrants.”

He cautioned that the line between migration and trafficking “can at times be very subtle,” and noted that the most prominent cause of the abuse and exploitation of children “is demand.”

“If more rigorous and effective action is not taken against those who profit from such abuse, we will not be able to stop the multiple forms of slavery where children are the victims,” he said.

Francis encouraged the international community to work together in sharing information to end such phenomena, and focused on the need to integrate children and youth migrants into their new communities.

Often times instead of focusing on welcome and integration, programs attempt “to curb the entrance of migrants, which in turn fosters illegal networks; or else immigrants are repatriated to their country of origin without any concern for their best interests.”

The condition of child migrants “is worsened when their status is not regularized or when they are recruited by criminal organizations,” he said, noting that in such cases “they are usually sent to detention centers.”

While there, “it is not unusual for them to be arrested, and because they have no money to pay the fine or for the return journey, they can be incarcerated for long periods, exposed to various kinds of abuse and violence.”

Francis stressed that in these cases, it is the right of each state to control migratory movement,” but that protecting the “common good of the nation” must be seen “in conjunction with the duty to resolve and regularize the situation of child migrants,” rather than contrary to it.

Long-term solutions which target the problems at their source are needed, he said, and pointed to phenomena such as war, violence corruption, poverty and human rights violations in migrants’ home countries as examples.

In these cases, “children are the first to suffer, at times suffering torture and other physical violence, in addition to moral and psychological aggression, which almost always leave indelible scars.”

The Pope closed his message by thanking the organizations and institutions who work with migrants, particularly children, and urged the international community to step up their efforts in ending the conflicts and violence that force people to flee their homeland.

Entrusting all child migrants, their families and communities to the intercession of the Holy Family, Pope Francis prayed that they would “watch over and accompany each one on their journey.”

Full Article

Lahore, Pakistan, Oct 13, 2016 / 06:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Several Christian television stations in Pakistan were ordered to stop transmitting last month, after the nation's media regulator found that they didn’t have the legal permit required to broadcast their materials.

“It’s true that we didn’t have permission for the radio,” Alessandro Monteduro, president of the Italian branch of Aid to the Church in Need, told CNA Oct. 12.

For two years Monteduro’s branch has been supporting a specific project on Catholic TV, the television network of the Archdiocese of Lahore.

While Monteduro admitted they didn’t have the necessary legal permit in order to broadcast their content, he said the network had been following the proper legal procedures, but that the procedures had been changed and that they were unaware of the changes.

In Monteduro’s opinion, the absence of the permit was used as an excuse to close Catholic TV and the other 10 networks, preventing the Christian message from being heard in Pakistani society.

He said such acts are the daily bread of Christians in the country, and that by now they “are used to it.”

The order to close the networks was issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which is a body of the Pakistani government.

Issued Sept. 22, the citation included Catholic TV and 10 other Christian television networks broadcasting in Urdu considered to be illegal, terming them “unauthorized TV.”

The citation said that “all the Regional Directors General are invited to take the necessary steps to immediately stop the illegal transmission of TV channels in their respective regions.”

Monteduro expressed his regret for the 11 people working for Catholic TV in Lahore who are now out of a job. He was sceptical about the possibility of re-opening the network, saying that “without a collective indignation I don’t think we will be given the possibility of reopening.”

“A form of indignation is needed,” he repeated, but said that, although the prospects are difficult, it might be possible for the network to start again from zero, re-establishing themselves anew with the proper legal permits.

Fr. Robert McCulloch, an Australian priest and member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban, spoke to CNA about the closing of the networks, cautioning that “it’s important not to overreact” to the situation.

Having lived in Pakistan for 34 years, from 1978-2011, the priest was decorated by the Pakistani government in 2012 for his services to health and education in the country.

Although the closing of the networks is sad to see, Fr. McCulloch noted that “these are not big TV channels … they’re small diocesan networks or even parish networks that are being set up, maybe in a particular locality,” so for the most part “they’re not national.”

He said that rather than making the decision out of direct malice toward Christians, it’s possible the government is cracking down more on organizations without proper permits for telecommunications activities due to their intensifying conflict with India over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Relations between India and Pakistan have been tense since a Sept. 18 attack by militants on an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Some in India believe the militants were were backed by Pakistan, and India has claimed to have carried out “surgical strikes” against suspected militants along the “line of control” between Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

Given the situation, the priest noted that “things are rather tense there at the present time.”

With Lahore sitting within 100 miles of Kashmir, “anything concerning telecommunications, anything like that is being heavily monitored.”

Fr. McCulloch emphasized the need to be “very careful” when it comes to describing the situation of Christians in Pakistan, saying that while they certainly face “intense discrimination,” which at times includes violence, the situation is “not one of persecution.”

“Our hospitals are open, we’ve got a major seminary in Karachi for the last four years where there are 84 seminarians coming in and out, that’s open,” he said, stressing that the situation isn’t nearly the same as in other countries, such as North Korea, China, Saudia Arabia, Iran, or Afghanistan.

“People have got to be careful in terms of what words they use in describing the situation there. Discrimination certainly, but persecution not.”

Full Article

IMAGE: CNS photo/Giorgio Onorati, EPA

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting a pilgrimage of Catholics and Lutherans from Germany, Pope Francis said he does not like "the contradiction of those who want to defend Christianity in the West, and, on the other hand, are against refugees and other religions."

"This is not something I've read in books, but I see in the newspapers and on television every day," Pope Francis said.

Answering questions from young people in the group Oct. 13, the pope said, "the sickness or, you can say the sin, that Jesus condemns most is hypocrisy," which is precisely what is happening when someone claims to be a Christian but does not live according to the teaching of Christ.

"You cannot be a Christian without living like a Christian," he said. "You cannot be a Christian without practicing the Beatitudes. You cannot be a Christian without doing what Jesus teaches us in Matthew 25," which is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and welcome the stranger.

"It's hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help," he said. "If I say I am Christian, but do these things, I'm a hypocrite."

Asked what he thought of the Reformation, Pope Francis said the Christian community is called to continual growth and maturity, and its entire history has been marked by reform movements "small and not so small," some of which were healthy and holy, others which went awry because of human sin.

"The greatest reformers of the church are the saints, those men and women who follow the word of God and practice it," he told the pilgrims, most of whom came from Martin Luther's home region of Saxony-Anhalt.

In his formal talk to the group, Pope Francis said Christians must praise God that, in the past 50 years, Catholics and Lutherans have moved "from conflict to communion. We already have traveled an important part of the road together."

Noting that he would go to Lund, Sweden, at the end of the month to participate with Lutheran leaders in opening commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Pope Francis said an important part of the commemoration would be a joint commitment to working together in a world "thirsting for God and his mercy."

The world needs Christians to witness God's mercy "through service to the poorest, the sick (and) those who have abandoned their homelands in search of a better future for themselves and their families," he said.

"In putting ourselves at the service of the neediest," Pope Francis said, "we will experience that we already are united; it is God's mercy that unites us."

- - -

Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden.

- - -

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.

Full Article

Full Article