Catholic News 2

Full Article

Full Article

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis addressed the participants in a major international gathering of the European Society of Cardiology on Wednesday. The 5-day World Congress of the European Society of Cardiology has been meeting in Rome at the city's New Fairgrounds since August 27^th to explore the role of teamwork in researching, diagnosing and treating cardiovascular illness. Pope Francis spoke to the participants on the final day of their convention.

In his remarks, the Holy Father reaffirmed the Church’s constant support for and recognition of the importance of scientific research and care for the scientists who carry it out. “Nature, in all its complexity, and the human mind, are created by God; their richness must be studied by skilled men and women, in the knowledge that the advancement of the philosophical and empirical sciences, as well as professional care in favour of the weakest and most infirm, is a service that is part of God’s plan,” he said.

Click below to hear our report

The Pope went on to say, “The sciences alone, however, whether natural or physical, are not sufficient to understand the mystery contained within each person: when man is viewed in his totality,” he continued, “we are able to have a profound understanding of the poorest, those most in need, and the marginalized.”

Pope Francis stressed that such a vision needs to inform research and caregiving, if they are really to serve authentic human flourishing. “In this way,” he said, “the [poor, needy, and marginalized] will benefit from your care and the support and assistance offered by the public and private health sectors.”

Full Article

(Vatican Radio) The Jubilee of the Americas, or the "Celebration of Mercy in the American Continent", brought together various components of the church in the Americas to experience the merciful face of the Father.

Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Religious, and lay people from Canada to the "Patagonia" were among the participants of the 27-30 August event in Bogotà, Colombia, which was organised by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the Latin American Bishop's Conference (CELAM).

Several of the participants spoke to Vatican Radio to share their experience of the Jubilee of the Americas, including Cardinal Marc Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; Cardinal Chibly Langlois of Ley Cayes, Haiti; Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa; and Vicki Thorn, foundress of Project Rachel.

Listen to the full interviews:

Cardinal Marc Ouellet

Reflecting on the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Cardinal Ouellet said he was "very grateful to God and to Pope Francis for this initiative of the Jubilee Year of Mercy".

Pope Francis sent a video message on Saturday for the opening of the event.

He said the Jubilee of the Americas was an opportunity to live the unifying power of mercy. "We have lived this continental celebration with all these people, and we have lived a very great fraternity. So we have experienced that, to practice mercy and to speak and share about mercy, it unites people of different cultures."

Cardinal Chibly Langlois

Haitian Cardinal Chibly Langlois of Ley Cayes said the Jubilee of the Americas was a great opportunity to "touch directly the reality of mercy".

He said, "We have to show the face of mercy, the face of Christ, the face of the mercy of God for us in many bad situations of Latin America and the Caribbean."

Archbishop Terrence Prendergast

The Archbishop of Ottawa, Terrence Prendergast, said he was "particularly moved" by the difficulties and struggles of the church in Latin America, as well as by "common problems that we have with migrants, people suffering from drug abuse, people struggling with addictions of one kind or another, and poverty". 

Participants in the event visited several works of mercy in the city of Bogotà on Monday.

One of the works which they visited was the 'Outpatient Clinic of the Miraculous Medal' run by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Archbishop Prendergast said his visit to the Clinic was very poignant.

"One of the touching moments was when we were greeted by former drug addicts and people living on the street who told us how important it was that they receive, not only freedom from their addictions and a way of beginning a life anew, but also a spiritual dimension, which they value very much."

He said the outpatients and participants of the Jubilee event put on a drama play together to demonstrate their experiences of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The drama followed the plot of the Good Samaritan, and Archbishop Prendergast played a part as well. 

"Among the people who walked by, we had not only the priest, but instead of the Levite we had a bishop. I played the bishop, and we got a good laugh out of that. But it tells us how important it is to be able to see the victims and the poverty and the challenges that they have, but then to draw near, to encounter, to touch, to be touched, and to have a healing relationship of support."

Vicki Thorn

Vicki Thorn is the foundress of Project Rachel, a post-abortion reconciliation program, and the executive director of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

She said the "grace of this event is to bring together people from all the Americas and to have a real dialogue and exchange about the problems that we have in our culture, but [also] about how to bring the real vision of mercy, that Pope Francis talked about, to the world. Just the meeting of people and the exchange of ideas is an enormous gift and the opportunity to pray together."

Other participants in the event included Cardinals Gerald Lacroix and Óscar Maradiaga.

Full Article

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has expressed appreciation for the opening of the 20th Renovabis Congress taking place in Freising, Germany.

The event, from  31 August to  2 September focusses on the theme “Witnessing to the Gospel – Shaping the World. The Role of Religious Orders in Central and Eastern Europe”.

A message from the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, on behalf of Pope Francis highlights his profound belief that the Lord’s call to bring peace and mercy to mankind continues to be an urgent and significant one in today’s world.

This – the message continues – is especially true for missionaries who leave the safety of their homelands to bring the light of the Gospel and the solidarity of the Church to the ends of the earth.  

To respond to the Lord’s call in this way, the message says, is a constant witness of God’s love for each creature.

The message of good wishes to the participants of the congress concludes with the wish that this kind of testimony may contribute to the building of a society based on dignity  and social responsibility, and that they may become the ‘architects of a new society’.    
 
As explained on the website of the congress itself:  “The role and the activities of orders within today’s Central and Eastern European societies will be focal points during the congress. In addition to a short introduction concerning the development of the life of religious orders during the 20th century, especially related to the awakening or restart after the political-societal upheavals 25 years ago, the congress will also deal with the commitment of individual religious orders in the fields of school, caritas, pastoral aid and refugee relief. In addition to that, several workshops and a ‘Market of Possibilities’ will illustrate the variety of the religious life in the 21st century. Another important subject will be the perspectives of religious orders within the following decades”.

Full Article

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has urged that Pakistan should revoke the draconian blasphemy law. The commission based in Geneva, in its periodic report on Pakistan released on August 26, stated that misuse of blasphemy laws is surging in the heavily Islamic country.

The Commission based in Geneva “takes note of the state’s efforts to prevent the abuse of blasphemy laws”, but also expresses concern about “efforts for the broad and vague definition of crimes against religion under articles of the law”, which consists of some articles of the penal Code of Pakistan, and notes “the disproportionate use of those laws against individuals belonging to ethnic and religious minorities”.

The UN Committee in its report, expressed concerns relating “the high number of blasphemy cases based on false accusations with no related investigations and prosecutions, the judges who judge cases of blasphemy face intimidation, death threats and murders.”

Furthermore, the Committee also offered advised Pakistan “to consider the repeal of the blasphemy law, which goes against freedom of expression and religion, established by the Constitution” and asks “to take all necessary measures to prosecute and punish those submitting false charges” and “to protect the judges.”

Additionally, the UN Committee also recommends for efficacious efforts to curb religion-based discrimination and guard Pakistanis hailing from various ethnic and religious minorities. The Committee further urged for reinforcing the impartiality and effectiveness of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan-which was established in the country in 2015.

It was further recommended that the government must apportion sufficient resources, polishing skills and enhancing powers which might help in probing cases of human rights violation.

(Source: Christians in Pakistan; Fides)

Full Article

Vatican City, Aug 30, 2016 / 10:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In honor of all “workers and volunteers of mercy,” the Vatican is encouraging those who volunteer in different service opportunities to share their testimony on social media with the hashtag #BeMercy.

Launched by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, the #BeMercy initiative is meant to coincide with the special Sept. 2-4 Jubilee for Workers and Volunteers of Mercy, and is part of Pope Francis’ wider Holy Year of Mercy.

“Charity, love and mercy are different words to express the same reality: God’s love,” Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Council for the New Evangelization, told CNA in an interview.

“God is close to you and God is always helping you,” he said, noting that love, charity and mercy aren’t limited to just helping people, but “become a great witness for us in the moment we are able to forgive people.”

“That will be really the challenge for us today: to be witnesses of pardon and forgiveness.”

The idea to share testimonies of volunteer service is meant to show the fact that within the Church there are many who daily perform the concrete works of mercy Pope Francis has encouraged during the Holy Year.

Since the new initiative is meant to be a special part of the special Jubilee for Workers and Volunteers of Mercy, the council is asking that faithful take to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc., to share how they have volunteered their time serving others with the hashtag #BeMercy.

For those who might not know if they qualify as a volunteer of mercy, Archbishop Fisichella said those who fall into the category include “everybody who takes care of a friend or sister. Everybody who is in the condition to help people daily, in silence, in a concrete way, visiting sick people, visiting prisoners, helping poor people, assisting people who are hungry.”

“We have an infinite way of (living the) works of mercy and in this way we have infinite workers of mercy,” he said, adding that everyone in this category is invited to join the jubilee celebration in order “to receive the thank you of Pope Francis.”

Official events for the Jubilee of Workers and Volunteers of Mercy start Friday, Sept. 2 with adoration and confessions in designated churches throughout Rome, followed by a welcoming ceremony at Castel Sant’Angelo, which sits at the end of Via Conciliazione, the large street leading up to St. Peter’s Basilica.

The following morning, jubilee participants will have a special audience with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square during which he will give a catechesis on themes related to the Holy Year.

After the audience, pilgrims will have the opportunity to pass through the basilica’s Holy Door, and attend adoration and confession in certain parishes.

On Sunday, Sept. 4, the jubilee will conclude with the canonization Mass for Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, considered one of the greatest witnesses of mercy in our time, celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square.

Speaking of Mother Teresa’s witness to mercy, Archbishop Fisichella said that in addition to honoring all those who give their time in service to others with a special jubilee, Pope Francis also wanted to provide “spiritual assistance” to all those who work in the field, and “who will be the icon of mercy in our sanctuary except Mother Teresa?”

Mother Teresa, he said, “was close to the poorest among the poor and probably for this reason Pope Francis had this inspiration to canonize Mother Teresa and to give a concrete sign how we can be workers of mercy daily.”

Even if Mother Teresa isn’t officially declared a patron for workers of mercy, “she is the icon and the spiritual assistance for everybody,” the archbishop said.

On the topic of security, Archbishop Fisichella stressed that Italian and Vatican police are taking extra precautions to ensure everyone’s safety, so there is no need to fear.

Though groups and pilgrims are still trickling into Rome, the city has already begun to fill up ahead of Mother Teresa’s canonization Sunday.

Archbishop Fisichella said that while he doesn’t have a number as to how many pilgrims might show up, nearly 500,000 came when Padre Pio’s remains were brought to Rome for the launch of the Jubilee, and “so I think that more or less it will be the same number” for Mother Teresa.

For those who aren’t able to make it to the Mass or who aren’t even Catholic, Mother Teresa serves as “a universal sign of goodness, of piety, of mercy, of love,” and will be appreciated as such throughout the world, the archbishop said.

He pointed to Mother Teresa’s often repeated phrase that “I probably don’t speak your language, but I can smile,” noting that one doesn’t have to be Catholic to share in this act of mercy, because “smiling is a universal language.”

“When you are a witness of mercy, a witness of charity, a witness of God’s love,” he said, “a smile, joy, is your universal language.”

Though he never met Mother Teresa personally, Archbishop Fisichella said he has met and spent time with the Missionaries of Charity on several occasions, and “they continue to work with the witness of Mother Teresa, with the ideal of Mother Teresa and with the same charity.”

 

Full Article

Washington D.C., Aug 31, 2016 / 06:32 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has given $1.25 million in aid to Catholic refugee relief efforts.

“Together, as people of faith, we know that refugees desperately need our help – and this generosity allows us to serve many more,” said Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of Seattle and chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration.

The LDS Church, whose members are colloquially known as Mormons, gave cash and donated goods to aid newly arrived refugees. The refugees are helped through Catholic dioceses’ resettlement offices under the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services. The donation will help welcome refugees and help them build new lives, the U.S. bishops’ conference reported.

Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of the LDS Church, spoke about the aid.

“We are grateful for the ongoing relationships we have with people of faith for the opportunities it provides to assist in one of the fundamental principles of the gospel – caring for those that may feel like strangers among us,” he said Aug. 30. “This includes those who have been driven from their homes and find themselves in new and unfamiliar circumstances.”

Bishop Waddell said the donation is part of the LDS Church’s ongoing relationship with the U.S. bishops’ conference and part of “our collective resolve to follow Jesus Christ and assist in bettering the lives of refugees.”

Bishop Elizondo said he is “extremely grateful” to Bishop Waddell and the LDS Church for their support.

Violence in Central America has pushed tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors to flee to the U.S. in recent years. In 2015 the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reported record numbers of people worldwide have been uprooted from their homes by war and persecution.

Migration and Refugee Services represents the U.S. bishops in migration policy, communication, advocacy, education and other services to migrant populations. Those assisted include immigrants, refugees, victims of human trafficking, and unaccompanied minors.

 

 

Full Article

Vatican City, Aug 31, 2016 / 07:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis stressed the importance of having the courage to recognize our sins and ask God for forgiveness, moving forward rather than getting stuck in feelings of shame and rejection.

“How many times do we feel rejected internally because of our sins!” the Pope said Aug. 31, noting that what the Lord tells us in these moments is “have courage, come. For me you are not discarded, have courage.”

In the face of our sins Jesus calls us sons and daughters, he said, adding that “this is the moment of grace, of forgiveness, a moment of inclusion in the life of Jesus, in the life of the Church. It's the moment of mercy.”

To hear someone say “you are no longer discarded, I forgive you, I embrace you,” is truly “the mercy of God,” he said, adding that “we must have courage to go to him and ask forgiveness for our sins, and then move forward with courage.”

Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims present in a rainy St. Peter’s Square during his Wednesday general audience, continuing his ongoing catechesis on mercy for the Jubilee.

He picked up from where he left off last week, having postponed his catechesis due to the massive earthquake that left several towns in Central Italy in shambles, focusing on the Gospel passage in Matthew in which a woman with hemorrhages touches Jesus’ cloak with the hope of being healed.

Speaking of how the woman, blending in with the crowd, believed that just touching Jesus’ cloak would be enough to heal her ailment, the Pope marveled at her faith, saying she is able to think like that “because she was animated by so much faith and so much hope and, with a touch of cunningness, achieved what was in her heart.”

The woman, he noted, had been sick for many years and had visited several doctors, spending all of her money on painful treatments only to get worse.

As a result, she was “rendered impure” and “excluded from the liturgy, from married life, from normal relationships with others.”

“She was a woman discarded from society,” Francis said, explaining that because of this, “she felt that Jesus could free her from sickness and from the state of marginalization and indignity in which she found herself. In a word, she felt that Jesus could save her.”

When Jesus turned around to see who had touched him, he “admired her faith,” and transformed it “into salvation,” the Pope continued, adding that in the encounter with Christ, “the path of liberation and salvation opens for all; men and women of every time and place.”

Pope Francis then noted now due to her state of exclusion, the woman “acted in secret, behind Jesus’ back” in order not to be seen.

However, instead of looking at her state of rejection and reproaching her, Jesus instead treats her with mercy and tenderness. Jesus, the Pope said, “knows what happened and seeks a personal encounter with her, the one the woman deeply desired.”

“This means that Jesus doesn’t just welcome her, but considered her worthy of the encounter to the point that he gave her the gift of his work and attention.”

In telling the woman “courage, daughter, your faith has saved you,” Jesus has expressed “the entirety of God’s mercy” for the people he encounters, particularly for those who have been discarded, Francis said.

Not only does Jesus restore her health, but he fulfills her hopes by abolishing her despair, he restores her to the community and “frees her from social and religious discrimination,” he said.

What Jesus gives, then, “is total salvation, which reintegrates the woman’s life into the sphere of God’s love and, at the same time, restores her to her full dignity.”

Francis closed his address by noting that Jesus is the only source “from which salvation springs forth for all men,” and stressing that “faith is the fundamental disposition to welcome it.”

“Jesus, yet again, with his demeanor full of mercy, indicates to the Church the path to take in order to go to the encounter of every person, so that each one may be healed in body and spirit, and recover their dignity as a child of God.”

Full Article

Denver, Colo., Aug 31, 2016 / 09:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Voters in Colorado will decide whether to legalize assisted suicide in their state in November, after a campaign gathered enough signatures to put the proposal on the ballot.

If passed, the measure known as the Colorado End-of-Life Options Act would allow for someone with a terminal illness to request a lethal prescription from their physician. The person must be at least 18 years old, deemed mentally competent, and have a diagnosis from two physicians of six months or fewer to live. The measure also requires that they self-administer the drug, called secobarbital, which is also used for lethal injections in some states.

But these safeguards are not enough to keep Coloradans safe from coercion and error, argues Carri Ann Lucas, an attorney and board member for Not Dead Yet, a disability rights group that advocates against assisted suicide measures.

“Nobody wants themselves or their family members to suffer, but they haven’t thought through all of the policy implications of a decision like this, and passing a measure like this,” Lucas said.

“I think Compassion and Choices is just trying to play on the ignorance of voters and count on the ignorance of voters,” she added. “If people are educated about this proposal, they will not support it.”

The new initiative, largely pushed for by Compassion and Choices, counts on voter ignorance about safeguards and legal concerns surrounding physician assisted suicide in order to pass, Lucas said. It comes after two assisted suicide measures – one initiated in the Senate and one in the House – failed to make it to a floor vote in the state legislature. Last year, the Colorado legislature rejected a similar bill, citing concerns about the lack of safeguards in place.

One of the big issues with the newest proposal, Lucas said, is that it does not require a physician or medical professional to be present at the time of the drug’s administration, meaning that there is a concerning margin for error and no one to help if something goes wrong.

“There’s nothing stopping someone from abusing an elder or family member by flipping these medications into their applesauce and feeding them to the individual,” she said. “But also there’s no assurance that these drugs will work as intended, and nobody’s there to ensure that people are safe at the time that they’re administered, that there aren’t any adverse effects that need to be treated at the same time.”

“These are the same types of drugs that are used for lethal injection and we know how that can go awry at times, so that’s certainly a concern,” she added.

Another concern is the conflict of interest in the witnesses of the decision to seek assisted suicide, Lucas said. Under the proposed initiative, a friend or family member would be able to legally witness a loved one’s decision to seek assisted suicide.

“As an attorney, I can’t have an interested party witness a will, so we’re going to now let an interested party help sign a request to seek a lethal prescription?” Lucas asked.

“There aren’t safeguards to ensure … that family members aren’t coercing people into seeking assisted suicide, so somebody who’s an heir to an estate can take their loved one to a doctor’s office and witness their request, even though they stand to inherit from the person if they follow through on that request,” she added.

Additionally, the supposed safeguard about mental competency is another concern, Lucas said. In the language of the proposal as it stands, individuals seeking assisted suicide are only give a psychological evaluation if the doctor deems it necessary – meaning many people with depression or other mental health problems could slip through the cracks, and be killed instead of treated. 

The debate surrounding the issue has been heated, and has many news outlets in Colorado grappling with the semantics of it all, debating whether to continue calling the taking of lethal prescriptions “assisted suicide” or “medical aid in dying” – which is used by groups like Compassion and Choices, which advocates for legalized assisted suicide.

Several disability groups in Colorado have joined forces with each other as well as groups of physicians and faith-based groups to fight assisted suicide legislation in the past two years. The disability rights groups argue that assisted suicide discriminates against the disabled as well as people with a low income, because it is cheaper for insurance companies to pay for someone’s death than to pay for lifelong medical care.

In Oregon, the first state to legalize assisted suicide, there have been cases of cancer patients who are denied chemotherapy treatment, but instead are offered lethal prescriptions.

The groups have also argued that doctors can make mistakes when diagnosing terminal illnesses – a person who is given six months to live may outlive their diagnosis, sometimes by many years.

As with past assisted suicide legislation, the problem with the Colorado End-of-Life Options Act is that there is too wide a margin for error, Lucas said.

“Frankly, no safeguards have been proposed that would alleviate our concerns.”

Full Article