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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday expressed his hope women enslaved to the “arrogance of the powerful” will be allowed to have a life of “peace, justice, and love.”

The Holy Father was speaking during his Angelus address for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary.

“The Assumption of Mary is a great mystery that pertains to all of us, regarding our future;” Pope Francis said.

“The exultation of this humble girl from Galilee, expressed in the canticle of the Magnificat, becomes the song of all mankind, who is pleased to see the Lord reach down to all men and all women, lowly creatures, and take them with him in into heaven,” the Pope said.

“The Canticle of Mary also leads us to think about many actual sad situations, in particular those women overwhelmed by the weight of life and the drama of violence; of women who are slaves to the arrogance of the powerful; the girls forced into inhumane work; the women forced to surrender in both body and spirit to the avarice of men,” Pope Francis said.

“May they as soon as possible begin a life of peace, justice, and love: waiting for the day when they finally feel grasped by hands that do not humiliate; but with tenderness that will lift them up and guide them on the road of life, and on to heaven.” he continued.

“Mary, a woman – a young girl  – who has suffered so much in her life, makes us think of these women who suffer so much,” – the Pope said – “And we ask the Lord that He at the same time lead them by the hand along life’s path, and free them from this slavery.”

Pope Francis on Friday visited a refugee centre in Rome housing women rescued from prostitution as part of his ‘Friday of Mercy’ gestures during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

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Retired Catholic Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, the champion of the cause of Christians who bore the brunt of one of the worst Christian persecutions India has ever witnessed in modern times, expired on August 14.  The 82-‎year old archbishop, who led the archdiocese for over 30 years,  died of colon cancer at the Holy Spirit Hospital in Mumbai. ‎ "The Church in India mourns the death of Archbishop Raphael Cheenath ... who led the archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in the most traumatic period for the Catholic Church, in India,”  recalled Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Mumbai and President of the Latin Bishops in India (CCBI).  The Divine Word archbishop campaigned ceaselessly for the victims and survivors of the 2008 anti-Christian carnage in Odisha’s state’s Kandhamal District and his efforts let to the Supreme Court of India upholding on Aug. 2 his Public Interest Litigation for enhanced ‎relief to the victims.   Cardinal Gracias also noted that Archbishop Cheenath had received death threats and as a result was not able to live his final years in retirement carrying out a public life in his Archdiocese.

Prominent Catholic lay leader  John Dayal also mourned the late archbishop saying he “provided leadership to a people who were shattered.”  Dayal, a former president of the All India Catholic Union , who worked with Archbishop Cheenath “very closely for over 16 years,”  wrote in a post on his Facebook, “I mourn a friend, and a leader of rare stature.”

Father Ajay Kumar Singh, a social worker and rights activist from Kandhamal, said the prelate had made the difference in the lives of thousands of people of Odisha. “He stoutly fought for justice. When the Odisha government refused NGOs and civil society to distribute relief among Kandhamal victims and survivors, he took the matters to the Supreme Court and got the state government order cancelled,” said the priest who heads the Odisha Forum for Social Action of Odisha’s regional bishops council. “I salute the man, who guided me for the past 15 years,” Father Singh said adding the prelate fought for justice until the end.

Archbishop Cheenath was born on December 29, 1934, in Kerala, southern India. He was ordained a priest on September 21, 1963. He was appointed bishop of Sambalpur in Odisha (then Orissa) in 1974. He was appointed archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar on July 1, 1985, a post he held until retirement on February 11, 2011.

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Vatican City, Aug 15, 2016 / 03:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis marked the feast of the Assumption of Mary by praying for the dozens of people massacred over the weekend in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and decrying the “shameful silence” which surround these attacks.

“To the Queen of Peace, who we contemplate today in heavenly glory, I wish to entrust once again the anxieties and sufferings of the people who, in many parts of the world, are innocent victims of persistent conflict,” the Pope said during Monday's Angelus address.

Saturday's attacks in the DRC's North Kivu province have long been “perpetuated in shameful silence, without even drawing our attention,” he said, and its victims include the “many innocent people who have no influence on global opinion.”

“May Mary obtain for everyone sentiments of understanding, and a desire for harmony!”

At least 36 civilians were killed late Saturday during an attack blamed on the Rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Reuters reports, although other estimates have the death toll as high as 42. Local authorities say it is the deadliest attack in the conflict-ridden region this year.

Pope Francis held the special Angelus in St. Peter's Square on Monday for the Feast of the Assumption, a day which commemorates the Virgin Mary being assumed into heaven, body and soul.

In his reflection, the Pope spoke of the day's Gospel reading which recounts Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth shortly after the Annunciation, and reciting what the Church refers to as the Magnificat.

“She was the first to believe in the Son of God, and is the first to have been assumed into heaven body and soul,” the pontiff said.

Mary was the first to welcome and take the child Jesus in her arms, “and is the first to have been welcomed by his arms to be introduced into the Eternal Kingdom of the Father.”

“Mary, a humble and simple girl from a remote village in the outskirts of the Empire, because she welcomed and lived the Gospel, was permitted by God to stand next to the throne of the Son for all eternity.”

Pope Francis spoke of the relevance of Mary's Assumption for each of us. “Today's feast promises a 'new heaven and a new earth', with the victory of the risen Christ over death and the final defeat of the evil one.”

“The exaltation of the humble girl from Galilee, expressed in the song of the Magnificat, becomes the song of the whole of humanity,” he said.  The Lord bends over “all men and all women, humble creatures, and takes them with him in heaven.”

Pope Francis reflected on the relevance of the Magnificat prayer for those who live in “painful situations.” He spoke particularly of “women overwhelmed by the weight of life and the drama of violence, women enslaved by the arrogance of the powerful, girls forced into inhuman work, women forced to surrender themselves in body and in spirit to the greed of men.”

“May the beginning of a new life of peace, justice, and love begin as soon as possible” for these women, who await the day in which they will finally “feel seized by hands which do not humiliate, but which, with tenderness, lift them up and guide them on the path of life, up to heaven.”

“Mary, a young maiden, a woman who suffered much in her life, makes us think of these women who suffer so much,” the Pope said. “We ask the Lord himself to guide them by the hand, and carry them on the path of life, liberating them from this slavery.”

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Philadelphia, Pa., Aug 15, 2016 / 09:34 am (CNA).- In his latest column for the Philly Catholic Archdiocesan paper, Archbishop Chaput shared some of his personal thoughts on the upcoming presidential election, and implored Catholics to take the time to pray and form their consciences before voting.

This year is a particularly interesting one for Catholics, Archbishop Chaput said, because both major candidates for president “have astonishing flaws.”

The archbishop, himself a long-time registered Independent, said this realization is both “depressing and liberating at the same time.”

“Depressing, because it’s proof of how polarized the nation has become. Liberating, because for the honest voter, it’s much easier this year to ignore the routine tribal loyalty chants of both the Democratic and Republican camps,” he wrote.

“Both major candidates are – what’s the right word? so problematic – that neither is clearly better than the other.”

That’s why it’s crucial in this election year for Catholic voters to take time in silence, prayer, and formative reading in order to discern what the best course of action will be when they enter the voting booth in November, he said.

“Note that by ‘Catholic,’ I mean people who take their faith seriously; people who actually believe what the Catholic faith holds to be true; people who place it first in their loyalty, thoughts and actions; people who submit their lives to Jesus Christ, to Scripture and to the guidance of the community of belief we know as the Church,” he wrote.

One of the most important things Catholics can do is to pray, the archbishop said.

“And prayer involves more than mumbling a Hail Mary before we pull the voting booth lever for someone we see as the lesser of two evils,” he added. “Prayer is a conversation, an engagement of the soul with God. It involves listening for God’s voice and educating our consciences.”

Silence is necessary for prayer, and so prayer must mean that Catholics take time to “unplug” in order to make room for silence – from T.V., from social media – and in order to make time for true prayer, Archbishop Chaput added.

The Archbishop also made several suggestions for Catholics who are looking for formative reading on the subject of Catholicism and politics, including “Living the Gospel of Life,” the 1998 pastoral letter of the U.S. bishops and “the best brief guide to American Catholic political reflection yet produced.”

Archbishop Chaput also recommended several books, including “Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society” by R.R. Reno, “It’s Dangerous to Believe: Religious Freedom and Its Enemies” by Mary Eberstadt, and two essays by Czech writer Václav Havel: “Politics and Conscience” and “The Power of the Powerless.”

While the archbishop admitted that he is not sure yet how he will vote in November, he wrote that “(i)t’s a matter properly reserved for every citizen’s informed conscience.”

But taking the time to ensure one has a well-formed conscience is crucial, he added.

“The next few months will determine the next decade and more of our nation’s life. We need to be awake, we need to clear our heads of media noise, and we need to think quietly and carefully before we vote.  None of us can afford to live the coming weeks on autopilot.”

 

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IMAGE: CNS/Alex Brandon

By Rhina Guidos

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- On the Aug. 6 feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington addressed a crowd of largely Salvadoran immigrants at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

They were there to mark the feast that is the main national holiday in the predominantly Catholic country of El Salvador, whose name in Spanish means "the savior," referring to Jesus Christ. Many of them arrived in the U.S. in the 1980s during the country's civil war and some more recently because of the violent situation in the region.

Bishop Dorsonville told the crowd that when he was censing the image depicting the transfiguration of Christ, an image revered by Catholic Salvadorans, he noticed the statue's arms spread out in a welcoming pose. He used the image to address immigration.

"It gave me joy to see the open arms," Bishop Dorsonville said of the statue. "A person who closes his arms is not a Christian. A person who closes doors cannot be a Christian. A person who is indifferent to the tragedies of the world is not a Christian."

Like many in the church, as well as the pope and other U.S. bishops, Bishop Dorsonville called for "welcoming the stranger." In the document, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," the U.S. bishops say that the Gospel mandate to welcome the stranger "requires Catholics to care for and stand with newcomers, authorized and unauthorized, including unaccompanied immigrant children, refugees and asylum-seekers, those unnecessarily detained, and victims of human trafficking."

With weeks to go before the end of election season that has seen politicians and others bring out critical and unfavorable language toward immigrants and migrants, Catholics report some of the highest percentages of churchgoers hearing about immigration from the pulpit and hearing about the need to welcome and support them.

An Aug. 8 Pew Research Center survey showed that 41 percent of Catholics say they have heard about immigration at Mass, the highest of percentage of churchgoers who said they heard about immigration in the survey conducted in June and July. And of those, 32 percent said they heard about the need to welcome and support immigrants, also the highest percent of churchgoers (higher than Protestants, evangelicals and other Christians) reporting that they heard at church the message of being more welcoming toward immigrants.

Christopher G. Kerr, executive director of Ignatian Solidarity Network, a national social justice education and advocacy organization based in Ohio, said the pope's 2015 apostolic visit to the U.S. "raised the profile of immigrants and the immigration issue in the U.S. by bringing greater attention to the plight of the immigrant/migrant."

The pope called "attention to the truths of marginalization that exist in our world. He seeks to engage us in the realities of our brothers and sisters who are marginalized, to remind us of the presence of Christ within them," Kerr said in an email interview with Catholic News Service.

He did so, Kerr said, when he stopped his car along a motorcade route to accept the note of a 5-year-old telling him she didn't want her parents deported.

"The story of her parents' undocumented status captured the country's attention," said Sara Benitez, director of the Latino outreach program for Washington's Faith in Public Life. "When Pope Francis visited the United States, his words and actions shifted the debate on immigration from policy to people."

It changed the conversation, Benitez said.

"As Americans, we are a lot like Thomas -- we have to touch the wounds to believe -- as a nation we don't usually trust someone until we come to know them," Kerr said. "Pope Francis' emphasis on the immigrant story is one way that people were invited into knowing immigrants and coming to see their struggles as our own and our country's."

And how did Catholics respond?

"I think we saw a strong Catholic voice in support of refugees and immigrants over the course of the past year -- both clerical and lay," Kerr said. "I think this was particularly true around the Syrian refugee crisis, but also in terms of outreach and concern for immigrants in the U.S, including people who are undocumented. 

"We have seen lots of examples of parishes working to organize legal assistance and direct service assistance to migrants, migrant communities, unaccompanied children migrants, etc. We also saw a significant interest by young people in engaging in the immigration issue on Catholic campuses."

But Congress and policy is another story.

"In terms of Congress and the election -- one could say that there was no impact because comprehensive legislation has not been passed," Kerr said.

Benitez, whose organization advocates for immigration policy, said he has seen people respond by wanting to know more about immigrants, "by seeing their faces, listening to their stories." And this, in turn, has strengthened the resolve of immigration advocates to keep pushing for reform, she said.

"At Faith in Public Life, we were inspired and challenged by Pope Francis' visit to continue lifting up his example and message of Catholic teaching to welcome immigrants," she said.

Bishop Dorsonville, in his homily during the feast of the Transfiguration, reminded those gathered of the contribution of the many immigrants to the country. He went on to invoke Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated in 1980 for speaking out against violence and standing up for the poor -- and anyone who was "voiceless."

"I'm sure if our dear Blessed Romero lived in the United States today, his gaze would turn to the immigrant in this precise moment, a very complicated and difficult moment in the history of a nation that has been built by immigrants," Bishop Dorsonville said. "Our voice has to join the voice of the voiceless" and the faces of those no one wants to see.

The worst human tragedy that can befall on a person is to become invisible to society, said Bishop Dorsonville.

"Let's ask our Blessed Romero today, that by his intercession, he place at the feet of the transfigured Christ our intentions for the millions and millions of 'invisible' people who work and build the economy of our nation," he said.

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Follow Guidos on Twitter: @CNS_Rhina.

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