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CHICAGO (AP) -- A federal judge on Tuesday upheld Rod Blagojevich's 14-year prison sentence on corruption counts, setting aside pleas for leniency by the former Illinois governor's wife and daughters during his resentencing hearing....
DALLAS (AP) -- Delta Air Lines says some computer systems are still working slowly more than a day after an outage crippled the airline and led to more than 1,500 cancelled flights....
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MIAMI (AP) -- Hillary Clinton is turning to a major health issue in the battleground state of Florida with a visit Tuesday to a Miami neighborhood dealing with the first U.S. outbreak of the Zika virus....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Clinton wants to get as close as possible to Michael Phelps and Simone Biles. So she's spending more than $13 million on political ads at the Olympics - while Donald Trump is sitting on the sidelines....
(Vatican Radio) Tributes have been pouring in following the news of the death of Bishop Edward Daly, Bishop Emeritus of Derry. He died on Monday at the age of 82 following a long illness. Bishop Daly became one of the symbols of the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland after being photographed holding up a blood-stained handkerchief as he helped a fatally injured protester during the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Derry when 14 people were shot dead by British troops. The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Eamon Martin described Bishop Daly as “an iconic figure” in Ireland, “a fearless peace-builder - as exemplified by his courage on Blood Sunday - and as a holy and humble faith leader.” In his message of condolence, Archbishop Martin also wrote:“Bishop Edward’s bravery was also apparent in his lived conviction that violence from any side during the Troubles was futile and could never b...
(Vatican Radio) Tributes have been pouring in following the news of the death of Bishop Edward Daly, Bishop Emeritus of Derry. He died on Monday at the age of 82 following a long illness.
Bishop Daly became one of the symbols of the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland after being photographed holding up a blood-stained handkerchief as he helped a fatally injured protester during the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Derry when 14 people were shot dead by British troops.
The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Eamon Martin described Bishop Daly as “an iconic figure” in Ireland, “a fearless peace-builder - as exemplified by his courage on Blood Sunday - and as a holy and humble faith leader.”
In his message of condolence, Archbishop Martin also wrote:
“Bishop Edward’s bravery was also apparent in his lived conviction that violence from any side during the Troubles was futile and could never be morally justified. He was courageous in speaking out against injustice and took many personal risks for peace and reconciliation. His personal friendship with Bishop James Mehaffey sent a quiet, yet powerful message of harmony and bridge building across the community divide.”
Bishop Daly was ordained bishop of Derry in 1974 and served until serious illness compelled him to retire in 1994. In retirement, despite poor health, he continued to serve as a Chaplain to the Foyle Hospice in Derry.
Bishop Daly’s funeral was scheduled for Thursday August the 11th.
Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea, Aug 9, 2016 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the deep Melanesian jungles, a native Papua New Guinea Catholic priest walks miles through the deep thick forests. He scales the country’s steep mountainous terrain to reach his remote flock and serve in the poorest parishes every weekend.“These people live in a difficult and rugged terrain. God has put them there. It is their home. All the material used to build their church was carried by their grandfathers on their shoulders. They are proud to have the presence of the Church in their area,” said Fr. Christian Sieland of the Kundiawa Diocese of Papua New Guinea.“Many have only a few pieces of clothes or just enough money to get through the week. They may be poor, but they acknowledge all the blessings God has given them,” Fr. Sieland told CNA.“They don’t starve because God has given them a fertile soil where almost everything can be grown. They don’t thirst becau...
Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea, Aug 9, 2016 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the deep Melanesian jungles, a native Papua New Guinea Catholic priest walks miles through the deep thick forests. He scales the country’s steep mountainous terrain to reach his remote flock and serve in the poorest parishes every weekend.
“These people live in a difficult and rugged terrain. God has put them there. It is their home. All the material used to build their church was carried by their grandfathers on their shoulders. They are proud to have the presence of the Church in their area,” said Fr. Christian Sieland of the Kundiawa Diocese of Papua New Guinea.
“Many have only a few pieces of clothes or just enough money to get through the week. They may be poor, but they acknowledge all the blessings God has given them,” Fr. Sieland told CNA.
“They don’t starve because God has given them a fertile soil where almost everything can be grown. They don’t thirst because God has given them clean and fresh mountain streams nearby to fetch water from.”
The priest had high praise for the hospitality of these Catholics.
“When I as their parish priest go into their homes for a visit or even stay overnight with them, they give me the biggest plate full of food, they let me sleep in their best beds under mosquito nets. The care and respect given to a priest in those remote areas sometimes really touches me and makes me at times even feel embarrassed,” he said.
“But how can you refuse such gestures of hospitality from simple believing people? They don’t have much to offer, but when they offer you the little they have, it comes from deep within their hearts.”
About 30 percent of the diocese’s 375,000 people are Catholic. The diocese’s territory includes Mt. Wilhelm, the country’s highest mountain at nearly 14,800 feet. Some parts are so remote that people have never seen a car.
Fr. Sieland reflected on his mission.
“My motivation is simple. If I as an ordained priest don’t go to these people, who else will?” he asked. “Wasn’t I ordained for this purpose, namely to bring the sacraments to the people and to nourish them with spiritual food, i.e. the Word of God, and the Eucharist? No priest means no Eucharist, no confession, no sacraments at all. If I don’t go, then I am depriving them of their God-given right to receive all the spiritual food and blessings.”
Fr. Christian Sieland speaks at a conference in Papua New Guinea. Photo courtesy of Fr. Christian Sieland.
“How am I going to justify myself before God for not ‘feeding his lambs, tending his sheep and feeding his sheep?’,” he said, citing Jesus’ words to St. Peter.
“Even if there were only 10 old people to be visited, I would still walk and climb the mountains and cross the rivers to be with them.”
The Papua New Guinea government has not been to the region in more than 40 years, since independence in 1975.
“But the Church has been there ever since the first missionaries from the Society of the Divine Word started to evangelize the people in the early 1930s and 1940s,” Fr. Sieland said.
“When you see the simple and yet deep faith of the people, and compare it to your own belief which is adorned with certificates, diplomas and degrees, then you begin to appreciate the simple faith of the ‘little ones’ all the more.”
In recent decades, permanent churches have been built. The Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea is transitioning from a missionary phase, though some changes have come too soon.
“Traditional and western modern values are clashing right now and the younger generation seem a bit lost or confused,” Fr. Sieland said. “Good traditional values that are similar to certain Gospel values are slowly disappearing. In 20 years’ time they will be gone for good.”
The numbers of foreign missionaries, especially from Europe, have dropped considerably. Even with the help of missionaries from Australia, Poland, India, and Indonesia, local clergy still cannot staff all the areas their predecessors vacated.
“Most of the Catholic parishes cover huge areas,” the priest reported. “Even in the remotest of areas, you will find a small Catholic Church building and maybe even an elementary or primary school and an aid post.”
The priest said that the government should be providing basic services, but the churches have had to fill the gap.
Despite efforts to promote Catholic values at parish schools, the country still faces many challenges posed by western lifestyle, mobile phone technology and internet access.
“One of the greatest challenges is the loss of Gospel values such as honesty, transparency, respect, love, commitment and dedication in family, in marriage, in the parish, at school, outside of school,” Fr. Sieland said.
Many teachers lack a stable marriage life and face problems with debt or alcohol. Some mismanage the schools’ money. Many students, for their part, disrespect teachers and some use alcohol or marijuana, often affecting their performance at school.
There are also major problems deeply rooted in Melanesian culture. Polygamous relationships have proved very hard to eradicate. There is also a clash between Christianity and traditional beliefs about sorcery.
“If people get sick and die, especially if they are a young, energetic and educated persons, people speak of ‘sanguma’ or sorcery,” the priest said. “We still have a lot of sorcery related violence and killings in Papua New Guinea, especially in our own province.”
“The local church tries everything to challenge this kind of belief, educate the people and eradicate belief in sorcery, but it won’t happen just from one day to the next. It takes time.”
IMAGE: CNS photo/Leslie E. KossoffBy Mark PattisonWASHINGTON(CNS) -- Practicing patience can be a great virtue, said Auxiliary Bishop JosephN. Perry of Chicago in his homily at the Aug. 7 closing Mass of the AfricanNational Eucharistic Congress in Washington."Whatgreater school for patience is there than family life?" asked Bishop Perry,who is episcopal liaison to the African Conference of Catholic Clergy andReligious in the United States, one of the eucharistic congress' sponsors. "Jesuscalls us to embrace the gift."BishopPerry described situations where patience can be a virtue in his homily at theMass, celebrated in the crypt church of the Basilica of the National Shrine ofthe Immaculate Conception in Washington.One suchsituation: "Imagine for a moment you are stuck in traffic as others lag out ofwork," Bishop Perry said. All that is visible, he added, is a "line oftaillights."Next,he said, imagine there's "someone between you and the exit you call home." Uponencountering that p...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Leslie E. Kossoff
By Mark Pattison
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Practicing patience can be a great virtue, said Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry of Chicago in his homily at the Aug. 7 closing Mass of the African National Eucharistic Congress in Washington.
"What greater school for patience is there than family life?" asked Bishop Perry, who is episcopal liaison to the African Conference of Catholic Clergy and Religious in the United States, one of the eucharistic congress' sponsors. "Jesus calls us to embrace the gift."
Bishop Perry described situations where patience can be a virtue in his homily at the Mass, celebrated in the crypt church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
One such situation: "Imagine for a moment you are stuck in traffic as others lag out of work," Bishop Perry said. All that is visible, he added, is a "line of taillights."
Next, he said, imagine there's "someone between you and the exit you call home." Upon encountering that person, Bishop Perry added, would you give that person a wave to allow them to travel safely to their destination, "or would you give them another kind of hand gesture?" he asked to laughter.
Another case likely to test one's patience is being greeted at the other end of a phone call by a prerecorded voice saying, "Your call is very important to us. ... Your call will be taken in the order in which it was received."
Patience, the bishop noted, also can be diverted into irritation, anger and resentment, as he cited the situation of a man intentionally arriving early to wait outside a relative's house to avoid her likely reproach for being late -- and then being forced to wait an hour before she traipses out of the house entirely oblivious to his having waited.
The Gospel of Luke from the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time proclaimed at the Mass included the parable of the servants waiting for their master to return home from the wedding feast. Bishop Perry said the servants did not know when the master would return, but they were happily expectant.
"Don't miss the detail how Jesus described his heavenly Father" as the master in the parable, he said.
Bishop Perry also lauded the family structure in his homily. "The church looks to you, families, to be models of the larger family of God," he said. "Thank you, families, for your faithful witness of marital love and family life."
"I'm happy to see husbands and wives standing side by side to receive the Eucharist together," Bishop Perry added. As food nourishes the body, "the holy Eucharist revives the soul," he said.
The crypt church was filled to standing-room-only capacity. The vast majority in the congregation were Africans, although there was a smattering of curious or befuddled non-blacks who either stuck around for the two-hour-plus Mass or made their way to the shrine's main church upstairs.
The music reflected the African continent's culture as well. The opening processional, "We Are Marching in the Light of God," was sung in other languages in addition to English. And the third Communion song, sung by a combined choir whose members were in ethnic dress and headdress, crescendoed in volume and intensity as it continued, eliciting shrieking and ululation from some in the assembly, which rose to give an ovation at its conclusion.
The Third African National Eucharistic Congress, held on the campus of The Catholic University of America, was sponsored by several partner organizations, including the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church and several other offices of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; the national shrine and Catholic University; the National Association of African Catholics in the United States; Trinity Washington University; the Knights of Columbus and Knights of St. John; the Catholic Health Association of the United States; and the St. John Paul II Shrine.
The African Conference of Catholic Clergy and Religious in the United States held its own meeting in advance of the eucharistic congress.
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Follow Pattison on Twitter: @MeMarkPattison.
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