The Daughters of St. Anne Ranchi, based in Ranchi, the capital of India’s Jharkhand state, is an indigenous religious congregation founded nearly 120 years ago, in 1897 by Mother Mary Bernadette Prasad Kispotta, a local Chotanagpur tribal woman, together with three of her companions. With the opening of the process of her sainthood in the Archdiocese of Ranchi on Aug. 7 this year, Mother Kispotta became the first tribal woman of India to be declared a “Servant of God” by the Catholic Church. Last week in the first part of an interview with the Superior General of the Daughters of St. Anne, Ranchi, Sr. Linda Mary Vaughn, we came to know how Mother Kispotta, who was a Lutheran, converted to Catholicism. She fought of pressures from her family to get married, saying, if nothing else, she would remain single to serve the Loreto nuns. Inspired by the sacrifice and dedication of the Loreto...
The Daughters of St. Anne Ranchi, based in Ranchi, the capital of India’s Jharkhand state, is an indigenous religious congregation founded nearly 120 years ago, in 1897 by Mother Mary Bernadette Prasad Kispotta, a local Chotanagpur tribal woman, together with three of her companions. With the opening of the process of her sainthood in the Archdiocese of Ranchi on Aug. 7 this year, Mother Kispotta became the first tribal woman of India to be declared a “Servant of God” by the Catholic Church.
Last week in the first part of an interview with the Superior General of the Daughters of St. Anne, Ranchi, Sr. Linda Mary Vaughn, we came to know how Mother Kispotta, who was a Lutheran, converted to Catholicism. She fought of pressures from her family to get married, saying, if nothing else, she would remain single to serve the Loreto nuns. Inspired by the sacrifice and dedication of the Loreto nuns and the Belgian Jesuits from Calcutta, Mother Kispotta decided to found an order of her own that would easily associate and mingle with the tribal people, who lived in grinding poverty and were exploited and crushed by the landlords. But for that, Mother Kispotta had to wait 8 years before being granted permission to found the Daughters of St. Anne Ranchi known by their initials, DSA Ranchi. Sr. Vaughn said her order’s main thrust is pastoral work, which is carried out through education, healthcare and social work. What began with just 4 members, is today a congregation with 1040 members, in 140 communities in India, Italy and Germany, with three more opening this year.
Well, today, in the final part of this interview, Sr. Vaughn begins by telling us about the schools of the Daughters of St. Anne Ranchi.
(Vatican Radio) Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos has won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the 52-year conflict with the Marxist FARC rebels. It was seen as a surprise choice after Colombians narrowly voted in a referendum last week to reject the peace deal signed by Santos and the rebels.The Nobel Committee said Santos had brought one of the longest civil wars in modern history significantly closer to a peaceful solution but there was still a real danger the peace process could come to a halt and that war could flare up again.Santos has promised to revive the peace plan despite the outcome of the referendum and said the Nobel peace prize award was "of invaluable importance" to further the peace process.Colombia’s Catholic Church played a key role as a mediator between the two sides during the long-running peace negotiations and has been at the forefront of trying to promote reconciliation.Ulrike Beck is the Colombia Programme Officer f...
(Vatican Radio) Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos has won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the 52-year conflict with the Marxist FARC rebels. It was seen as a surprise choice after Colombians narrowly voted in a referendum last week to reject the peace deal signed by Santos and the rebels.
The Nobel Committee said Santos had brought one of the longest civil wars in modern history significantly closer to a peaceful solution but there was still a real danger the peace process could come to a halt and that war could flare up again.
Santos has promised to revive the peace plan despite the outcome of the referendum and said the Nobel peace prize award was "of invaluable importance" to further the peace process.
Colombia’s Catholic Church played a key role as a mediator between the two sides during the long-running peace negotiations and has been at the forefront of trying to promote reconciliation.
Ulrike Beck is the Colombia Programme Officer for the Catholic aid agency, CAFOD and has just returned from a 3-week visit to Colombia. She spoke to Susy Hodges.
Listen to the interview with Ulrike Beck, Colombia Programme Officer for the Catholic aid agency, CAFOD:
Asked for her reaction to President Santos winning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, Beck described the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Santos “as a clear sign” that the international community “supports” continuing efforts to forge a new peace deal between the Bogota government and the FARC rebels. She spoke of how CAFOD, its local partners and the Catholic Church in Colombia have long supported and campaigned for peace.
When it comes to Colombia’s human rights record, Beck revealed that CAFOD’s local partners “have very deep concerns” about the continuing murder of human rights defenders or activists inside Colombia. (Most of the killings have been attributed to criminal groups). She described how the situation has worsened of late with more than 22 human rights defenders killed during the past month alone. Beck pointed out that “many of those targeted,” are those “working for peace or on land and environmental issues.”
Coming back to the Nobel Peace Prize, Beck said it’s really “welcome” that there’s this “willingness” on the part of both parties in Colombia to continue the peace negotiations and called the awarding of this prestigious prize to President Santos “a very strong push to achieve peace.”
CUAMM, an Italian non-governmental organisation, known as “Doctors with Africa” has expressed anxiety concerning the situation of the Oromia region of Ethiopia in the wake of a deadly stampede that killed about 55 persons.The deaths occurred early this month when Ethiopian Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a huge crowd attending the Oromo religious annual festival known as Irreecha in the town of Bishoftu, some 40km from the capital Addis Ababa. The massive stampede that resulted saw some people falling into nearby ditches or off a cliff into the nearby lake.The Oromo People celebrate Irreecha to thank God for the blessings and mercies they have received throughout the previous year. As the festival was underway, some sections of the crowd started shouting anti-government slogans and making anti-government gestures that made police nervous. The government of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has declared a three-days mourning period and is blaming the oppos...
CUAMM, an Italian non-governmental organisation, known as “Doctors with Africa” has expressed anxiety concerning the situation of the Oromia region of Ethiopia in the wake of a deadly stampede that killed about 55 persons.
The deaths occurred early this month when Ethiopian Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a huge crowd attending the Oromo religious annual festival known as Irreecha in the town of Bishoftu, some 40km from the capital Addis Ababa. The massive stampede that resulted saw some people falling into nearby ditches or off a cliff into the nearby lake.
The Oromo People celebrate Irreecha to thank God for the blessings and mercies they have received throughout the previous year. As the festival was underway, some sections of the crowd started shouting anti-government slogans and making anti-government gestures that made police nervous. The government of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has declared a three-days mourning period and is blaming the opposition and “anti-peace elements” for the deaths.
“Doctors with Africa, CUAMM is closely following the events related to the protests in the Oromia region, which erupted Sunday, 2 October and which have not yet completely subsided … 52 people [died], according to government sources while [local] press sources said over 300 people were killed in the stampede,” CUAMM said in a statement made available to Vatican Radio’s Africa Service.
CUAMM is composed of volunteers and supporters of Doctors with Africa. It is a medical mission started by the Italian Catholic Diocese of Padua, 65 years ago. The NGO is considered a leading medical organisation that focusses mainly on working with sub-Saharan Africa and is to be found in 7 African countries, namely, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The late Fr Luigi Mazzucato is credited as the man behind CUAMM's success and longevity. CUAMM says its mission is to improve the wellbeing and health of vulnerable communities in Africa.
In Ethiopia, Doctors with Africa –CUAMM has a staff of 28 comprising 11 expatriates and 17 Ethiopians. The Wolisso Hospital of St Luke, situated in the Oromia region is a CUAMM facility with 200 beds capacity. In the statement released Friday, CUAMM said it was experiencing disruptions to services as a result of the disturbances.
(Vatican Radio) More than one million children in Syria have been signing a petition calling for peace as part of a fresh appeal to political leaders to end the Syrian civil war. At least 2,000 schools from many parts of Syria are taking part in the initiative in which youngsters have been drawing pictures and writing messages for the attention of the United Nations in Geneva and the European Union in Brussels.The Peace for Children scheme, organised with help from the Catholic charity, 'Aid to the Church in Need,' involves children of all ages describing in words and pictures the impact of the five-year conflict for them and their loved ones.The initiative was developed by the charity in response to reports that at least 2.1 million Syrian children are unable to attend school – with many education buildings evacuated or damaged because of the conflict.This week, children of all denominations in the capital, Damascus, as well as in Homs, Yabroud, Marmarita and A...
(Vatican Radio) More than one million children in Syria have been signing a petition calling for peace as part of a fresh appeal to political leaders to end the Syrian civil war.
At least 2,000 schools from many parts of Syria are taking part in the initiative in which youngsters have been drawing pictures and writing messages for the attention of the United Nations in Geneva and the European Union in Brussels.
The Peace for Children scheme, organised with help from the Catholic charity, 'Aid to the Church in Need,' involves children of all ages describing in words and pictures the impact of the five-year conflict for them and their loved ones.
The initiative was developed by the charity in response to reports that at least 2.1 million Syrian children are unable to attend school – with many education buildings evacuated or damaged because of the conflict.
This week, children of all denominations in the capital, Damascus, as well as in Homs, Yabroud, Marmarita and Aleppo have been taking part in the Peace for Children initiative with songs, dances, drama and prayer, all calling for peace.
The youngsters – who include many Muslims – have been writing messages to the global community on white balloons, slogans such as “We want peace”, “Give us our childhood”, “We don’t want any more war” and “We want to go to school”.
Children have been invited to tell their own personal story of suffering.
(Vatican Radio) A gruesome and terrifying cache made up of some 55,000 photographs of victims of torture perpetrated by the Syrian regime exposes the horror that took place between 2011 and 2013 in the prisons of Damascus.Entitled “Codename Caesar: Syrian detainees victims of torture” a selection of those images produced by ‘Caesar’ – a former forensic photographer of the Syrian Military Police, make up an exhibition that has been shown at the United Nations in New York, at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Congress, at the Holocaust Museum in Washington and in major European cities.It is currently showing in Rome and Mouaz Moustafa, Executive Director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force who presented the exhibition to the press, told Vatican Radio that work is ongoing – not only to try and identify the victims in the photographs, but also to try and obtain some justice.Listen: Mouaz Moustafa explains that ‘Caesar’ was off...
(Vatican Radio) A gruesome and terrifying cache made up of some 55,000 photographs of victims of torture perpetrated by the Syrian regime exposes the horror that took place between 2011 and 2013 in the prisons of Damascus.
Entitled “Codename Caesar: Syrian detainees victims of torture” a selection of those images produced by ‘Caesar’ – a former forensic photographer of the Syrian Military Police, make up an exhibition that has been shown at the United Nations in New York, at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Congress, at the Holocaust Museum in Washington and in major European cities.
It is currently showing in Rome and Mouaz Moustafa, Executive Director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force who presented the exhibition to the press, told Vatican Radio that work is ongoing – not only to try and identify the victims in the photographs, but also to try and obtain some justice.
Listen:
Mouaz Moustafa explains that ‘Caesar’ was officially part of a team of forensic photographers working for the Syrian President behind closed doors. But driven to act by the terrible things he had witnessed, Caesar transferred the pictures of mutilated dead bodies from police computers on to USB sticks between 2011 and 2013. These were smuggled abroad - and then posted on the Internet, where they are now available for all to see.
Moustafa specifies that “when we talk about 55,000 images we are not talking about 55,000 people: often there are multiple photos of the same person. However we are still talking about thousands and thousands of people of whom, so far, it has been possible to identify only 780”.
He explains that identification is particularly difficult due to the horrific torture the victims have undergone and the terrible condition of their bodies.
“In the exhibition we see some of the less brutal picture, but often the bodies were heavily deformed by torture, and therefore it is really difficult to recognize who are the people who died” he says.
Moustafa says that for many of the relatives of the victims, it comes almost as a relief to find out what happened to their next-of-kin. Not only because they can grieve, but also because they can put an end to the blackmail they are subjected to as military police continue to ask for money in exchange for better treatment of the prisoners.
The ‘Caesar Team’ – from ‘Caesar’ the fictitious name given to the former military photographer who has since fled his homeland - continues to plow through the photographs and reconstruct this dark chapter in Syrian history, and is also working to try to obtain legal proceedings for crimes against humanity:
"Yes, they all want justice, punishment, legal action” he says.
Unfortunately, he says, he has to ask these families if their spouses, their relatives, their children have a second citizenship: “a Swedish or Canadian citizenship perhaps. Often the answer is "no" and when that is the case I cannot but say ‘then we can do nothing.’
That’s because – he explains - a Syrian citizen cannot file a claim before the International Criminal Court because it will be vetoed – particularly by Russia.
“Consequently, this is proof for them that nobody cares what actually happens in Syria and to Syrians” he says.
Moustafa – who is a Syrian exile himself – says that he is powerless to seek justice for some of his own relatives who were captured and ended up in Air Force Military Police detention.
He says that at least he is trying to do something, to help the 300 thousand people who are still in Assad’s prisons by getting the story out and hopefully instigating an international investigation.
“As a Muslim, what I hope, is that the prayer of the oppressed is heard by God” he says.
Since the Syrian government first cracked down on the peaceful ‘Arab Spring’ uprising in 2011, the Syrian Network for Human Rights estimates that over 215,000 people have been detained – but it is unknown how many of them are still alive.
President Assad repeatedly denies his forces make use of torture, however, in 2008 he issued a decree which ensures immunity for government forces.
The ‘Caesar’ photographs have helped spark an international investigation into the actions of Bashar al-Assad for crimes against humanity. Caesar is reportedly the first Syrian to supply conclusive evidence about what was going on in the government detention centers.
The war alone has left more than 300,000 dead, while millions more have become refugees because of the non-stop bombing of cities, towns and villages.
(Vatican Radio) Georgia’s ambassador to the Holy See says she believes the Pope’s recent visit to her country can help promote better relations with other Christian Churches.Ambassador Tamara Grdzelidze, an Orthodox theologian and former official at the World Council of Churches, told Vatican Radio she was saddened by some of the negative media coverage of the two day papal visit.Pope Francis spent September 30th and October 1st visiting the capital Tbilisi and the nearby ancient city of Mtskheta, where he and Georgia’s Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II prayed together in the 11th century Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.Speaking on her return to Rome with Philippa Hitchen, the ambassador highlighted some of the most positive points of the trip.....Listen: Firstly, Ambassador Grdzelidze mentions the gestures and speeches of the patriarch and the pope in the Patriarchal cathedral which she says “spoke this language of fraternal love” as they described the...
(Vatican Radio) Georgia’s ambassador to the Holy See says she believes the Pope’s recent visit to her country can help promote better relations with other Christian Churches.
Ambassador Tamara Grdzelidze, an Orthodox theologian and former official at the World Council of Churches, told Vatican Radio she was saddened by some of the negative media coverage of the two day papal visit.
Pope Francis spent September 30th and October 1st visiting the capital Tbilisi and the nearby ancient city of Mtskheta, where he and Georgia’s Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II prayed together in the 11th century Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.
Speaking on her return to Rome with Philippa Hitchen, the ambassador highlighted some of the most positive points of the trip.....
Listen:
Firstly, Ambassador Grdzelidze mentions the gestures and speeches of the patriarch and the pope in the Patriarchal cathedral which she says “spoke this language of fraternal love” as they described themselves as the successors of St Peter and St Andrew.
She also points to the fact that the elderly Patriarch, who is “not in good physical form”, came to the airport to greet the Pope. She says she was particularly struck by the sight of the two leaders entering the cathedral “hand in hand” before stopping to pray in silence at the holy place where the seamless tunic of Christ is buried with St Sidonia.
Breakthrough visit
For the ambassador and for many in the church of Georgia, she says, “this is a breakthrough”. She says lots of people, including young priests, have been in touch with her to say “they think this is the beginning of the end of this darkness which you saw in the group that protested against the visit”. She says the protesters were expected to demonstrate and it was a positive sign that “they were not pushed back by the government”.
Ambassador Grdzelidze also mentions the low turnout at the papal Mass on Saturday, noting that the Georgian government “did not organize attendance at the Mass” so those who attended did so freely, including many Orthodox. She says she regrets that the Orthodox clergy and bishops did not come, as originally expected, but she insists “many [Orthodox] did come and they enjoyed it”.
Building on positive exchanges
The ambassador says she is very eager to pursue the positive impact of the papal visit and she has already had conversations with several bishops and many young theologians. She says that other Orthodox faithful worldwide are “very interested to give us their back up in this” to build on the important exchanges that the Pope had with Patriarch Ilia.
At state level too, she says, “they were very happy that the Pope recognized us as a young democracy” so she is “upset” by the negative reporting in the Western press.
Better bilateral relations
Ambassador Grdzelidze says that a lasting fruit of the visit would be for the Georgian Church to start “with the help of others outside, working against this strange idea of non-recognition of Baptism”. Secondly, she says, the “personal encounter between Patriarch Ilia and Pope Francis will help the Georgians to move forward into normal bilateral Church relations”.
Christian and Muslim activists in Pakistan have welcomed a new law that punishes crimes of honour against women. Thursday, after two years stuck in the National Assembly, the bill was approved. It eliminates the so-called loophole that allowed killers to enjoy impunity due to a legal provision under which a relative of the victim could forgive the perpetrator.“It is good news and a step in right direction,” Sister Genevieve Ram Lal, national director of the Catholic Women Organization, told AsiaNews. The old law “was a license to kill and people were using this excuse to settle personal grudges”,The Anti-Honour Killing Laws (Criminal Amendment Bill) 2015 and the Anti-Rape Laws (Criminal Amendment Bill) 2015 were both passed by joint sitting of both houses of parliament on Thursday. The legislation imposes Imprisonment for life on “honour” killers even if victim’s family forgives them. Now forgiveness will only spare them the death penalty....
Christian and Muslim activists in Pakistan have welcomed a new law that punishes crimes of honour against women. Thursday, after two years stuck in the National Assembly, the bill was approved. It eliminates the so-called loophole that allowed killers to enjoy impunity due to a legal provision under which a relative of the victim could forgive the perpetrator.
“It is good news and a step in right direction,” Sister Genevieve Ram Lal, national director of the Catholic Women Organization, told AsiaNews. The old law “was a license to kill and people were using this excuse to settle personal grudges”,
The Anti-Honour Killing Laws (Criminal Amendment Bill) 2015 and the Anti-Rape Laws (Criminal Amendment Bill) 2015 were both passed by joint sitting of both houses of parliament on Thursday. The legislation imposes Imprisonment for life on “honour” killers even if victim’s family forgives them. Now forgiveness will only spare them the death penalty.
Honour killings are a widespread scourge in Pakistan as men often kill women over alleged offences to the family’s good name. Forgiveness, whereby a family member forgives the murderer, is the cause of the high number of crimes. The murder of Qandeel Baloch, a famous model strangled by her brother for being too free, sped up the law’s approval.
News of her death went viral around the world and triggered a wave of indignation. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s own daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, spoke out openly on women’s rights and pushed for the law’s quick adoption.
According to the latest figures, 94 cases of honour killings were recorded in the first seven months of this year in the province of Punjab alone. According to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), nearly 1,100 women were killed by relatives in Pakistan last year for this reason, and at least 800 tried to kill themselves.
In addition, the Aurat (women) Foundation noted that 432 women were reportedly killed in the name of honour in Pakistan in 2012, 705 in 2011, 557 in 2010, 604 in 2009 and 475 in 2008.
These figures do not include unreported cases or, indeed, the number of men who are often killed alongside women in the name of honour,” said Sumera Saleem, Senior Program Manager at the Aurat Foundation in Lahore. Despite the new law, many doubt that real change can be implemented in Pakistani society in the short term.
For Saleem, “Both government and advocacy groups now have an even bigger responsibility to ensure the implementation of the bill. A strong strategy is needed against serial killing of women which has become a tradition”.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for concrete solidarity for the victims of Hurricane Matthew that has killed more than 500 people in Haiti, left tens of thousands homeless, and is now moving up the east coast of Florida.Meteorologists say Hurricane Matthew is the most powerful storm to batter the Caribbean in a decade.A telegramme signed by the Vatican Secretary of State on behalf of the Holy Father says the Pope “expresses his sadness and joins in prayer with those who have lost loved ones”.“Having learnt of the devastation wrought by the passage of Hurricane Matthew, which has claimed many lives and caused considerable damage” the telegrammed reads “the Holy Father expresses his condolences and assures the families of the victims his closeness while entrusting the deceased to the mercy of God”.And while he assures the injured and all those who have lost their homes in the disaster of his spiritual closeness and love, Pope Francis cal...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for concrete solidarity for the victims of Hurricane Matthew that has killed more than 500 people in Haiti, left tens of thousands homeless, and is now moving up the east coast of Florida.
Meteorologists say Hurricane Matthew is the most powerful storm to batter the Caribbean in a decade.
A telegramme signed by the Vatican Secretary of State on behalf of the Holy Father says the Pope “expresses his sadness and joins in prayer with those who have lost loved ones”.
“Having learnt of the devastation wrought by the passage of Hurricane Matthew, which has claimed many lives and caused considerable damage” the telegrammed reads “the Holy Father expresses his condolences and assures the families of the victims his closeness while entrusting the deceased to the mercy of God”.
And while he assures the injured and all those who have lost their homes in the disaster of his spiritual closeness and love, Pope Francis calls for the concrete ‘implementation’ of solidarity [projects] to tackle the challenges facing Haiti.
The Pope concludes his message entrusting all Haitians to the maternal protection of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and imparts his Apostolic blessing.
The telegramme was addressed to Cardinal Chibly Langlois, President of the Haitian Episcopal Conference and Bishop of Les Cayes.
Vatican City, Oct 7, 2016 / 06:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After Hurricane Matthew killed more than 300 people and left thousands more homeless, Pope Francis has written a telegram assuring his prayer and spiritual closeness to all those affected by the disaster.“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,” the 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.”A category three storm with winds racing at 120mph, the hurricane is the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade and has devastated Haiti, which is still reeling from the catastrophic earthquake that crushed much of the...
Vatican City, Oct 7, 2016 / 06:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After Hurricane Matthew killed more than 300 people and left thousands more homeless, Pope Francis has written a telegram assuring his prayer and spiritual closeness to all those affected by the disaster.
“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,” the 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.”
A category three storm with winds racing at 120mph, the hurricane is the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade and has devastated Haiti, which is still reeling from the catastrophic earthquake that crushed much of the country in 2010.
With more than 300 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, according to CNN, the country was hardest hit in the southeast, with many in towns and fishing villages killed by debris, falling trees and swollen rivers.
According to the U.N. Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, some 350,000 people are in need of assistance. The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal for $6.9m in order to provide medical help, shelter, water and sanitation to around 50,000 people, the BBC reports.
Hurricane Matthew has now headed toward the coast of Florida after tearing through Haiti and pounding Cuba and the Bahamas, however, it has yet to make landfall.
In his 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.
Vatican City, Oct 7, 2016 / 07:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After electing their new General Superior, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate had a meeting with Pope Francis, who told them that in the midst of a rapidly changing world, humanity needs missionaries filled love and zeal for the Gospel.“Today, every land is 'mission territory,' every dimension of the human being is mission territory, awaiting the announcement of the Gospel,” he said Oct. 6.“The field of the mission today seems to expand every day” with men and women in desperate situations, he said. “Therefore there is need of you, of your missionary courage, your willingness to take to all the Good News that liberates and consoles.”Pope Francis met with the Missionary Oblates exactly one week after they held elections for their next Superior General in Rome, as well as in honor of the 200th Jubilee of their founding, which is being celebrated throughout 2016.On Sept. 30th, the ...
Vatican City, Oct 7, 2016 / 07:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After electing their new General Superior, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate had a meeting with Pope Francis, who told them that in the midst of a rapidly changing world, humanity needs missionaries filled love and zeal for the Gospel.
“Today, every land is 'mission territory,' every dimension of the human being is mission territory, awaiting the announcement of the Gospel,” he said Oct. 6.
“The field of the mission today seems to expand every day” with men and women in desperate situations, he said. “Therefore there is need of you, of your missionary courage, your willingness to take to all the Good News that liberates and consoles.”
Pope Francis met with the Missionary Oblates exactly one week after they held elections for their next Superior General in Rome, as well as in honor of the 200th Jubilee of their founding, which is being celebrated throughout 2016.
On Sept. 30th, the 36th Chapter of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate reelected Fr. Louis Lougen as Superior General. Born in Buffalo, New York in 1952, he was first named to the position of Superior General in 2010.
Reminding them to smile, Pope Francis told the priests and brothers that they must be joyful witnesses of the Gospel.
Following the example of their founder, French priest St. Eugene de Mazenod, charity must be the “first rule of life, the premise of all apostolic actions,” he said. In this way, “zeal for the salvation of souls is a natural consequence of this fraternal charity.”
Francis said both the Church and the world today are experiencing “an era of great change,” and that the world “needs men who carry in their hearts the same love for Jesus Christ that lived in the heart” of their founder.
“It is important to work for a Church that is for everyone, ready to welcome and accompany!” he said.
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, founded Jan. 25, 1816, have institutes in the Americas, Australia, the Philippines and China.
As of January, the number of Missionary Oblates is 3,776 worldwide, including 46 bishops and archbishops, 2,843 priests and 316 brothers.
Pointing to the “happy and providential coincidence” that their Jubilee happens to fall during the Church's Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis reminded the Oblates to renew their love for the poor and for spreading the faith.
“It is necessary to seek appropriate, evangelical and courageous responses to the questions of the men and women of our time,” he said.
“For this you need to look at the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm and embrace the future with hope, not letting yourselves be discouraged by the difficulties you encounter in the mission, but with strong fidelity to your religious and missionary vocation.”
