Catholic News 2

The Daughters of St. Anne, based in Ranchi, the capital of India’s Jharkhand state, is an indigenous religious congregation whose members have DSA Ranchi as the identifying initials after their name.   With a history of nearly 120 years, the Daughters of St. Anne Ranchi  was  founded on July   26,  1897 by   Mother   Mary   Bernadette   Prasad Kispotta, a local Chotanagpur  tribal woman, together with   three of her companions, as an answer to the situation and needs of the  contemporary local Church at that time. Mother Kispotta died in on Apr. 16, 1961 at the age of 83,  and with the opening of the process of her sainthood  in the Archdiocese of Ranchi on Aug. 7 this year, Mother Kispotta thus became the first tribal woman of India to be declared a “Servant of God”  by the Catholic Church.

According to their website, the charism of the Daughters of St. Anne Ranchi is: Better service with the love of Jesus;  their vision: Christ filled society; their mission: to live Christ-like life among the poor and downtrodden  through the  apostolate  of  DSA; and their  goal: to foster human dignity and respect among people of all  religion.

Well, we came to know more about Mother Kispotta and her Daughters of St. Anne Ranchi from their current Superior General, Sr. Linda Mary Vaughn, who recently paid a visit to Vatican  Radio, here in Rome.  Today, in the first of a 2-part interview,  she begins by telling us how it all began. 

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(Vatican Radio) The Diocese of Manado is putting the final touches to preparations for the Second Indonesian Youth Day  of the Catholic Church, that kicks off on Saturday here in Manado, the capital of the country’s northernmost province of North Sulawesi.   The theme of the Oct. 1-6 event is, “The Joy of Gospel Amidst a Plural Society in Indonesia”.  This follows from the 1st Indonesian Youth Day  that took place in October 2012 in Sanggau, West Kalimantan, on the theme “Rooted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Strengthened in the Faith.”  

Robin Gomes reports: 

The Second Indonesian Youth Day, taking place during the worldwide Catholic Church’s  Jubilee Year of Mercy,  is the first of two important youth celebrations in 2016 and 2017.   This is also in preparation for the 6th Asian Youth Day to be hosted  in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, July 30 – August 6, in 2017. ‎

With nearly 90% of the nation’s over 250 million people professing Islam,  Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.  Christians make up almost 10% of the population, or over 25 million people, with Catholics forming some 2.7%.  A vast majority of Indonesian Muslims are moderates, but recent incidents indicate that the nation is no exception to the growing threat of Islamic radicalism among its people, and the nation’s authorities are aware of it and taking action.   In this context, the Indonesian Youth Day in Manado, focussing on diversity as a unifying factor, is of great relevance to the country, and the government has also shown great interest in this.  

Bishop Joseph Suwatan of Manado who is hosting the youth event, told Vatican Radio’s Robin Gomes in Manado, that his diocese which comprises the northern provinces of North Sulawesi, Gorontalo and Central Sulawesi, is a model of peaceful co-existence and brotherhood among religions and peoples.  

Interview with Bishop Suwatan: 

From Oct. 1 to 6, Catholic youth from all the dioceses will pray, meditate, discuss and share their experiences on how important it is to engage in healthy dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation, and work together in solidarity with followers  other faiths, especially Islam, to  create a healthy society for the common good.  Commenting on the theme of the 2nd Indonesian Youth Day,  “The Joy of Gospel Amidst a Plural Society in Indonesia”, Bishop Suwatan explained that he envisages the youth event in his diocese like the marriage feast of Cana in the Gospel, where Jesus transformed water into wine. 

Bishop Suwatan: 

According to the Indonesian Youth Day coordinating team at the Bishop’s House in Manado, some 2600 young people from the country’s 37 dioceses will be arriving soon at Manado. The team is coordinating with the various dioceses and assigning participants to Manado’s 37 parishes who will take care of their accommodation and other expenses and also see to the event’s programme at the local level.  Fr. Rheinner Saneba, the organizer of the media centre said that the first three days of the Indonesian Youth Day will be at the parish level, with participants taking part in live-in programmes in the homes of local families, both Catholics and non-Catholics.  On the fourth day, Oct. 4, the Indonesian Youth Day will be officially inaugurated, with local Catholics as well as others joining the youth representatives from the dioceses for an afternoon of open-air celebration at Manado’s Klabat Stadium.  The remaining days will be dedicated to a variety of programmes such as seminars, catechesis, adoration, procession, sharing of testimonies as well as shows by dioceses depicting the rich cultural variety of  the far-flung archipelago of Indonesia.

(Robin Gomes, of Vatican Radio) 

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(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis has arrived in Georgia at the start of a three day trip to the Caucasus which will also take him Sunday for a brief visit to Azerbaijan.  On Friday, Georgian government, civil and religious leaders and members of the Catholic community turned out at Tbilisi’s international airport to greet the pontiff, whose plane touched down shortly before 3:00 pm local time. 

On Pope Francis’ schedule for the afternoon:  a private visit to the President of the Republic, Giorgi Margvelashvili, at the presidential palace in Tbilisi followed by a meeting with national authorities, civil leaders and the diplomatic corps.  The Holy Father will then pay a visit to Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II of all Georgia at the Patriarchal Palace in the capital.  He will conclude the afternoon with a meeting with members of the Syro-Chaldean community in the Catholic Church of Saint Simon the Tanner in Tbilisi.

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(Vatican Radio) Lorna and Joseph are members of the neo-catechumenal way. The couple and their eight children have been in Tbilisi for the past 11 years to share the experience of their faith.

Speaking to Vatican Radio, Lorna said she believes – and hopes – Pope Francis’ visit to Georgia will not only bring joy to the small flock of Catholics in the predominantly Orthodox nation and help them to feel they are part of the Universal Church, but it will also give emphasis to the push towards full Christian unity.

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(Vatican Radio) One of the highlights of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey to Georgia is an encounter with the leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Pope Francis and the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, will meet at the Orthodox Patriarchate of Georgia on Friday afternoon.

His Holiness Ilia II, is also the Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan Bishop of Abkhazia and Bichvinta.

On the second day of his visit – Saturday - the Pope will also be visiting the Patriarchal Cathedral of Svetyskhoveli in Mtsketa, one of the most important spiritual venues of the nation.
  
Hieromonk Mikhail, from the Communications Office of the Patriarchate, spoke of the Georgian Orthodox Church’s expectations for the Pope’s visit.  

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We hope and believe that the meeting of the leaders of our ancient Churches will always have a positive conclusion. As you know, at a certain point in history, the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches lost their unity in prayer and in the Eucharist; that unity that existed before the XI century, and with the Georgian Church until the XII century. Afterwards, internal differences within our confessions began to take shape: we have our Patriarch and the Catholics have their own, we have different beliefs. But these differences should not result in radical stances amongst believers. I believe that this meeting will solve these issues. People can clearly see there is no hostility between us, as between other believers who do not understand the tragedy of the schism and the complexity of reunification. Therefore, we expect this to take us a step further towards the future… Each time, that during the liturgy we pray the first ‘ektenia’, we always pray “for peace in the world, for the good of the holy Churches of God and for the unity for all”. Our prayer is always that the moment may arrive in which the problems that exist between us be resolved, and that - by the grace of God - we may be totally united in Christ. Therefore, this visit is a firm step forward to get closer and to resolve the radical impulses hidden in some faithful. We trust in this.”

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Washington D.C., Sep 30, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As the Hyde Amendment turns 40 years old this week, a new report claims that it may have saved two million lives from abortion since it went into effect.

“Two million lives saved is reason to celebrate,” Chuck Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute which produced the report, stated.

“The Hyde Amendment is popular not just with pro-lifers, but with a majority of Americans – people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs who all agree that forcing taxpayers to fund abortion is wrong.”

However, he added, the policy “is under unprecedented assault as its 40th anniversary approaches” and pro-lifers must defend it to see that it continues to save lives.

The Hyde Amendment, named after Congressman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) who sponsored it, passed Congress in 1976 several years after the Supreme Court ruled that a woman had a legal right to an abortion. The policy prohibited taxpayer dollars – namely through federal programs for low-income women like Medicaid – from subsidizing abortions.

Current exceptions to the prohibition are for abortions performed in cases of rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother.

“As a rider, it is not a permanent law, but it has been passed with bipartisan support in every federal funding bill since 1976,” Genevieve Plaster of the Charlotte Lozier Institute noted in her written testimony to Congress on Sept. 23.

To see how many abortions the policy has prevented, the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, compiled over 20 different studies on how limiting abortion subsidies affects the overall number of abortions.

The conclusion they came to was that, because of Hyde's prohibition on Medicaid reimbursements of elective abortions, over two million pregnancies are estimated to have instead been carried to term since 1976, and over 60,000 a year. One in nine pregnancies of women on Medicaid would have ended in abortions if not for Hyde, the report claimed.

However, the policy has been under fire recently as the Democratic Party platform called for its repeal over the summer. The party’s presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has supported its repeal, but vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine stated publicly that he favored the policy, after the Clinton campaign had said he opposed it. A Clinton spokesperson said that he still supported the candidate’s “agenda” which included repealing the amendment.

GOP nominee Donald Trump has spoken out in favor of the Hyde Amendment.

According to a recent Knights of Columbus/Marist poll, Americans were not in favor of taxpayer funding of abortion including 63 percent of women and even 44 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of those identifying as “pro-choice.”

“The Hyde Amendment and therefore lives are at stake this election. It is so important that Catholic voters understand where the two tickets stand on this issue,” Mallory Quigley, communications director of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, stated on Thursday. The group’s president Marjorie Dannenfelser also heads Trump’s newly-created pro-life coalition.

How has Hyde saved lives? For instance, data from around the time the policy went into effect showed that “the birthrate among women on Medicaid increased by an average of about 13 percent,” the report stated.

A Guttmacher Institute review of 22 studies found that 19 of the studies had “statistically significant evidence that abortion rates fell after Medicaid funding was reduced,” the report said, noting that in the studies “18-37 percent of pregnancies that would have ended in Medicaid funded abortions were carried to term when funding was no longer available.”

In another case in North Carolina, where from 1980 to 1995 the state subsidized abortions through a special fund, the report cited findings that “whenever funds were depleted,” it was then that “there were statistically significant decreases in the abortion rate, and months later, statistically significant increases in the birthrate.”

According to three studies cited in the Guttmacher review, over the course of two decades in certain states “(state) Medicaid funding limits reduce state abortion rates anywhere from 1.4 to 3.4 abortions per thousand women of childbearing age.”

Using this methodology for every state for every year from 1976 to 2016 the Hyde Amendment is predicted to routinely save over 60,000 lives a year and thus cumulatively has saved 2.13 million lives since 1976.

On the 40th anniversary of the amendment, a “Hello Hyde” campaign also seeks to add faces to the effect of the legislation and personalize it. HelloHyde.org tells the stories of those whose mothers “received prenatal/birth care through Medicaid,” with the statement of “Medicaid should cover birth, not death.”

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(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Raphael Minassian hopes that the Papal visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia will promote peace in the region. The small Catholic community in Georgia, which Pope Francis is visiting on Friday and Saturday, is made up of Latin, Chaldean and Armenian rites.

The Armenian presence in Tbilisi and the region on the border with the republic of Armenia dates back to the 4th century. Today the community is under the care of the Ordinary for Armenians in Eastern Europe, Archbishop Raphael Minassian.

Ahead of the Pope’s trip to Georgia, the Archbishop talked to Philippa Hitchen about the relationship of the Armenian community between Azerbaijan and Georgia. 

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Archbishop Raphael Minassian discusses the history of Armenians in Georgia: “The relationship with this country is very old and very constant because Tbilisi was the culture and the city of the Armenians for centuries. It is very normal to see the presence of the Armenians in this country.” He says that the presence in Georgia, “of Armenians is over 200,000 and Armenian Catholics are over 150,000.”

The Archbishop says that the Armenian community in Georgia can act as a bridge for peaceful relations. “In the relationship between the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches, the friendship remains as a base of all kinds of relations.” He also mentions that the Georgian government has been assisting the Catholic Churches, the Chaldean, Latin, and Armenian Catholics, for two years.

Although the Armenian community and the Georgian government are able to maintain a positive relationship, the Archbishop admits that they do experience problems. He says that “Both of them are working strongly for the propaganda of faith and the consolation that we have to encourage and accept it. Even if we are not working together we should work for the same case.” He also says that they are proud to be Christians in this country.

Archbishop Minassian says that Pope Francis has a hard situation on his shoulders: “He is obliged to work with a society where they preach liberty and they are in the situation of domination. They speak about rights and they are the people that strip the rights of human society and at the end if I were to say the word peace, they are the war makers. I am talking about presidents, kings, societies, governments, and all of these, the Holy Father has to pass by and say the reality, defend the rights, defend the liberty, and give peace to everybody. We lost the meaning of these three words and have to rebuild again.”

The Archbishop discusses his thoughts on the Pope’s appeal for peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan: “You know, in a way they used the religion for political issues and the possibility to have peace is very easy. The most important point is between the two nations or the two presidents who have to forget the people because they are the minority of the minorities that are leading the country. I think that if you take out all of the governments all of the people would live in peace.” 

Although the governments are taking steps towards peace, the Archbishop hopes that more can be done. “There is work going on for peace, but I hope that also in the visit of his Holiness to Azerbaijan would encourage them also accept the realities because all of us in this world are passengers. No one owns anything in this Earth. So it is not useful to have these wars between people that can live peacefully and very happily.”

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