Catholic News 2

(Vatican Radio) Gabon's president, Ali Bongo, came under international scrutiny on Tuesday as a European Union mission questioned the validity of his narrow re-election victory, France recommended a recount, and the African Union said it will send mediators to the country.

Meanwhile, the Bishops of Gabon called for the intervention of an international mediator to bring the country out of a political crisis following the disputed presidential elections of 27 August.

Listen to Christopher Wells’ report:

In a message addressed to the nation, the Bishops said that “in the face of opposing positions, we are inspired to African wisdom, according to which when two brothers fight, it is essential to involve a third party as a mediator”. The letter, sent to the Agenzia Fides news service, was signed by Archbishop Basile Mve Engone of Libreville.

After recalling that Gabon has exercised this role in several African crises, Archbishop Mve Engone said: “our Country has to rely on the mediation of organizations and international institutions to preserve unity, justice and peace”.

The Archbishop in particular called on the UN, the African Union and the European Union, which “had committed themselves to fund the electoral process,” to “fully carry out their role in helping Gabon to emerge from the crisis”.

In the riots that followed the announcement of Bongo's victory, there have been several deaths and numerous injuries, as well as damage to buildings and property.

In expressing the Bishops’ pain over the loss of lives, Archbishop Mve Engone called on “all the living forces of the nation, the majority and the opposition, to find the wisdom to immediately exit from the crisis”.

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The Catholic Church in Kenya has marked the 13th anniversary of the death of Servant of God, Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga with a big Eucharistic celebration.

Speaking when he presided over the Eucharistic celebrations, Cardinal John Njue of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi urged the faithful to emulate the deeds of Servant of God, Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga.

“Be humble like the Servant of God. During his lifetime he showed us that humility was an important element that we need to emulate every time,” said Cardinal Njue.

After the Mass, Bro Reginald Cruz, Vice postulator for the cause of beatification of Cardinal Otunga called on the faithful to continue praying to Servant of God Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga  and more so in relation to the ongoing cause for his beatification.

“How many of you want to see Cardinal Otunga become a saint like Saint Teresa of Kolkata?” asked Bro Cruz.

Cardinal Otunga died on 6 September 2003 at the age of 80 having served the Catholic Church for over fifty years. His beatification cause begun in 2009.

(CISA in Nairobi)

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis urged the faithful on Wednesday to make place in their lives for God’s message of Salvation with faith and without prejudice.

Speaking to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, the Pope reflected on the Gospel reading of the day which speaks of God’s infinite mercy.

Taking his cue from St Matthew's Gospel account of  how John the Baptist – who was imprisoned both in a cell and in the darkness of a heart that failed to understand Jesus’ humble style – the Pope said John was upset because his expectations of Jesus’ ministry were not what he anticipated.

God – Francis said - did not send his Son to punish sinners and crush the wicked. Rather he came to invite them to conversion.

And pointing out that Jesus is the concrete instrument of the Father’s mercy that brings consolation and salvation to all, the Pope urged those present not to create false images of the Messiah for their own use and consumption. 

When we construct our own image of God – he explained – this prevents us from experiencing his real presence among us. 

“Some reduce Him to a false idol using his name to justify their interests, and even hatred and violence” he said.

Some seek him only in times of difficulty and others consider Christ a mere good master of ethical teachings: “one amongst many in history” he said.

Pope Francis concluded his catechesis reminding the faithful not to lose sight of the fact that faith calls us beyond ourselves to be his missionaries in the world.  

“Let us renew our commitment to remove every obstacle that prevents us from experiencing the merciful works of our Father – he said - and let us ask him for an ever deeper faith so that we may be signs and instruments of his mercy”.  

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Denver, Colo., Sep 7, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- It used to be that the only people speaking out against pornography were those who opposed it because of its moral depravity - namely, people of faith.  

Apart from that, pornography was considered a normal, if even healthy part of everyday life.

But as the smartphone boom made the internet - and therefore pornography - available at most everyone’s fingertips, secular groups and individuals are increasingly speaking out against pornography’s harmful and addictive properties.

Just last week, former 15-time Playboy cover model Pamela Anderson co-authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, declaring pornography a “public hazard of unprecedented seriousness” following the latest sexting scandal of former Congressman Anthony Weiner.

Whether or not Weiner is in fact a pornography addict is not known to the public, but Anderson is not the first celebrity to use her platform to speak out against the problem of pornography.

British comedian Russel Brand, actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rashida Jones, and former NFL player and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actor Terry Crews are just some of the celebrities that have recently spoken out against pornography, its addictive properties and its harmful effects on relationships.

Earlier this year, the GOP at the Republican National Convention declared pornography a public health crisis as part of their platform, a few months after the state of Utah declared the same.

While the debate over what exactly constitutes a public health crisis continues, research already shows the staggering increase in pornography viewing, as well as many harmful effects of pornography use including decreased gray matter in the brain, having more sexual partners and the perpetuation of rape myths, such as the belief that most rape accusations are false. Pornography can also contribute to increasingly violent sexual behaviors, and a decrease in virility, causes for alarm regardless of one’s faith.  

In April, TIME Magazine’s Belinda Luscombe published an extensive piece entitled “Porn and the Threat to Virility” including interviews with many young men who blamed their inability to be aroused by real women on their addictions to pornography, a piece that made waves across the internet for weeks afterwards.

In the piece, Luscombe wrote:

“A growing number of young men are convinced that their [physical, in-person] sexual responses have been sabotaged because their brains were virtually marinated in porn when they were adolescents. Their generation has consumed explicit content in quantities and varieties never before possible, on devices designed to deliver content swiftly and privately, all at an age when their brains were more plastic–more prone to permanent change–than in later life. These young men feel like unwitting guinea pigs in a largely unmonitored decade-long experiment in sexual conditioning. The results of the experiment, they claim, are literally a downer.”

“So they’re beginning to push back, creating online community groups, smartphone apps and educational videos to help men quit porn. They have started blogs and podcasts and take all the public-speaking gigs they can get. Porn has always faced criticism among the faithful and the feminist. But now, for the first time, some of the most strident alarms are coming from the same demographic as its most enthusiastic customers,” she added.

Included in those online community groups are Fight the New Drug and NoFap, two non-faith-based websites committed to providing resources for people who want to be rid of their addictions to pornography.

NoFap, featured in Luscombe’s article and recently in an interview with NPR, describes itself as  a “comprehensive community-based porn recovery website. We offer all the tools our users need to connect with a supportive community of individuals determined to quit porn use and free themselves from compulsive sexual behaviors.”

The NoFap website is intentionally secular, with the notion that pornography addiction afflicts people of any or no faith, and that recovery should be available to all. It offers its users help through a process called “rebooting”, which helps users restore the neural pathways of their brain, which research has shown can be changed through constant pornography viewing.

Fight the New Drug (FTND), so named because of porn's addictive properties, is another secular movement that aims to raise awareness of pornography's effects on the brain, the heart (relationships), and ultimately on the world.

In a previous interview with CNA last year, FTND's Clay Olsen said that sometimes it takes awhile for society’s views to catch up to the science that’s already out there.

“We're very excited to see some of this progress and some of these mainstream media outlets kind of following suit and starting to talk about the negative impacts, we couldn't be more excited about it, but we still have a long way ahead of us.”

“Science has caught up with the fact that pornography's harmful,” Olsen said, “but society is still catching up.”

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Westminster, England, Sep 7, 2016 / 12:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Urging the Catholic Church to work for prison reform, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster stressed the need to ensure that parishes can welcome and aid former prisoners seeking to deepen their faith and return to society.

“We have a duty to support them, not segregate them. Without this welcome any redemption they found in prison and any motivation they have to reform will be wasted, along with all that they have to offer,” Cardinal Nichols said to a gathering of prison chaplains Sept. 6 at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham.

“One young prisoner, actually preparing for baptism as a Catholic, gestured to the knife scars and tattoos on his face and neck and poignantly asked his Catholic chaplain, ‘How can I walk through the door of a Church looking like this?’ His words challenge us to ensure that we can confidently say he would be welcomed in our own parish.”

The cardinal praised prison chaplains’ work and their commitment to endure stress and hardship to show compassion to those alienated from society.

“Through your vocation you enrich the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our society in work that has been given a fresh highlight in this Year of Mercy,” he said.

A recent report from the bishops’ conference of England and Wales found that Catholics in prison are very clear about the importance of chaplains in deepening their faith and helping them take part in Mass.

“They testify that doing so brings them closer to God, helps them to cope during this intensely testing period of their lives, and strengthens their connections with the Catholic community, both inside and outside the prison walls,” the cardinal said. “An overwhelming majority of Catholics in our prisons are very clear that chaplains play a vital role in helping them to deepen understanding of their faith.”

He added that collaboration between Catholic and Muslim prison chaplains is “one of the most inspiring demonstrations of partnership between the faith communities in our land.”

Cardinal Nichols reflected on the role of prisons and prisoners. He said that prisoners have individual responsibility to work for their rehabilitation

The cardinal also reflected on the failings of the prison system and society. Communities have a responsibility to ensure humane conditions in prison. Communities must also help those who have left prison and ensure that they are not stigmatized and rejected in a way that leads them back to crime and gangs.

He recounted the story of a prisoner who had learned to read and write better in prison and was chosen to read at the cardinal’s Advent Mass. Although the prisoner’s improvements had seemed hopeful, after a few months out of prison, he had rejoined his gang and died in “a pointless feud.”

“This tragedy underscored for me that, despite the efforts of all those working in our prisons and the difference that you make in many cases, the challenges to be confronted are many and complex,” he said.

Cardinal Nichols strongly denounced inhumane conditions in prisons.

“We think of ourselves as a civilized society, yet we know that in practice our treatment of prisoners often falls short of acceptable standards,” he said. “The care of prisoners, therefore, is a measure of the maturity of a society.”

He said society must act wisely to ensure that the needs of prisoners are met while insisting that they face the consequences of their criminal acts.

“Depriving someone of their liberty is a legitimate punishment. Yet no one can reasonably claim that the conditions in which we hold many prisoners are acceptable,” he said. While there are examples of well-run prisons in England and Wales, “it is a stain on our society that in the twenty-first century some prisons are still characterized by rubbish, damp, dirt, graffiti, and unhygienic facilities.”

He noted an inspector general’s report that prisoners often must eat their meals in their cell right next to an unscreened toilet.

“There is surely no justification for treating our brothers and sisters with such disregard,” he added. “A society which shows such contempt for a prisoner’s dignity truly undermines that prisoner’s chance of reforming their lives.”

He said the Catholic Church has a “vital part” to play in prison reform, given Jesus Christ’s mandate for Christians to visit and care for the imprisoned in Matthew 25. Among the reforms he advocated were efforts to ban mandatory disclosure of criminal sentences on initial job applications. Critics say the job application process screens out newly released prisoners and ensures many will never find sufficient employment, no matter whether they have reformed and educated themselves in prison.

Other failings in the prison system include the growing number of prisons who suffer harm, including self-inflicted harm, suicide, and murder.

“People in prison have done wrong. In many cases they have caused great suffering. Yet they still have the same dignity as every other man, woman or child,” the cardinal said.

He called for better mental health support and safer staffing levels, describing these as “urgent necessities.”

Any prisoner who returns to crime, or suffers addiction, unemployment or violence upon release, shows that the prison system is not working, the cardinal said.

“The Year of Mercy presents an opportunity and a challenge to re-energize our commitment to all whose lives are touched by prison,” the cardinal said.

 

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