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The Director of Caritas Rome, Monsignor Enrico Feroci has called upon parishes in the Diocese of Rome to use this Sunday, 10 July as a day of reflection and remembrance for Emmanuel Chidi Nnamdi brutally murdered in a racist attack. The Sunday 10 July initiative was made known to Radio Vatican by  Alberto Colaiacomo, an official of the Caritas Rome press office. 

Emmanuel, 36, and his partner Chinyere, 24, were taking a stroll Tuesday in the city centre when they were confronted and viciously attacked by a group of right-wing football fans in the Italian town of Fermo, situated in the central region of Marche. Emmanuel’s partner, Chinyere sustained bruises to the arms and leg while Emmanuel was fatally beaten with a steel bar that was ripped out of a road sign.

Caritas Rome reminds citizens to “recognise the face of Christ in the many refugees who seek help in our country. We hope that our nation will muster the needed courage and political will to be more welcoming and inclusive of refugees," said Monsignor Feroci. He has encouraged the government to outline programmes that are supportive and attentive to persons in need. Monsignor Feroci further challenged politicians not to stoke the flames of hate. 

We hope "that our politicians will be more respectful of the suffering of men and women who confront major difficulties in their lives with so much dignity, a dignity that is missing from those that shout the loudest only to foment and propagate fear, hatred and resentment, " Monsignor Feroci said. He adds that racism is not only about killing, injuring or humiliating. 

“Racism is also in ignoring, refusing to acknowledge the other person, distancing oneself and not creating relationships. We also need to ask ourselves, If it were not for this tragedy, would be interested in this painful story of Emmanuel and Chinyere? The task of a Christian and indeed of every citizen is to foster the truth about these matters: It is the only way in which we can prevent violence, often caused by the poverty and the discontent of so many men and women who are manipulated by professionals of terror,” Monsignor Feroci emphasised.  

Announcing the 10 July initiative in parishes, Caritas Rome notes that by coincidence, the Gospel reading of this Sunday in all Catholic Churches is about the parable of the Good Samaritan as found in the Gospel of Luke Chapter 10 verses 25 – 37. In this Gospel,  a scholar of the Law asked Jesus the question, “Who is my neighbour?”

"‘Who is my neighbour?’ Is the question that this Sunday, 10 July proposes to us. Jesus answers the question with the parable of the Good Samaritan. We too would do well to reflect on the life of Emmanuel Chidi Nnamdi brutally murdered in Fermo. We need to take a moment to think also of Chinyere, Emmanuel’s partner. Think about all the immigrants and refugees who come to us in search of a future for themselves and their families. As Caritas Rome, we invite you to pray together so that the Lord give us the ability to recognise him in our brothers and sisters. On our part (as Caritas Rome) we will dedicate this Sunday’s Eucharistic celebration to the memory of Emmanuel and his surviving partner Chinyere at 10.30 am in our Church of “Cittadella Della Carità – Santa Giacinta,” Monsignor Enrico Feroci said.

(Email:engafrica@vatiradio.va)

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Catechists and Family Life Coordinators in Kenya have been challenged to take up their roles seriously and ensure that they teach families about the joy of love that affirms the Church’s teaching that stable families are the building blocks of a healthy society and a place where children learn to love, respect and interact with others.

Speaking this week at a workshop for Catechists and Family Life Coordinators drawn from different dioceses of Kenya, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) – National Family Life Chairman Bishop Selesius Mugambi said the role of Catechists and Family Life Coordinators in the Catholic Church is very fundamental. 

Bishop Mugambi said Catechists, in particular, have the key responsibility of equipping parents with knowledge about the Catholic Faith. When parents are armed with this knowledge, they will pass it on to their children thus enabling them to grow in their faith. 

Bishop Mugambi said Catechists should disseminate the message as founded on the gospel, the truth and social teachings of the Catholic Church. 
The Bishop said the family is made up of real people living in the real world and that this Jubilee Year of Mercy is a good occasion to meet-up again, to embrace each other, forgive each other and to leave bad things behind.

The Bishop emphasised the fact that the natural family is based on marriage between a man and a woman, established by the Creator as the "fundamental unit of society," the foundation of civilisation, and the best refuge and school for children. This sanctity of the institution must be upheld at all times. 

“Catholics have been given a unique insight.  We know how precious life is. We know what a treasure our children are,” Bishop Mugambi said

The Bishop advised participants at the workshop to maximise the learning curve and improve their skills on how to better their roles as pro-family champions. He further reminded the Catechists and Family Life Coordinators to prepare and factor into their recommendations the 2018 ninth World Meeting of Families to be held in Ireland.

The workshop dubbed, “Joy of Love Workshop,” was held at Little Daughters of St. Joseph Spiritual Centre in Nairobi. 

“The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church.” With these words, Pope Francis opens the document Amoris Laetitia, a Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation. It covers two preceding Synods on the family (2014 and 2015).

(Rose Achiego in Nairobi)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va

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Vatican City, Jul 8, 2016 / 01:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday Pope Francis moved eight martyrs a step further on the path to sainthood, one of whom is Josef Mayr-Nusser, an Italian layman killed for refusing to swear an oath to Hitler during the Second World War.

The Pope’s recognition of Mayr-Nusser as a martyr was announced July 8 following an audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Born Dec. 27, 1910 in the northern Italian city of Bolzano, Mayr-Nusser grew up on a farm and was instilled with Christian values by his parents from a young age.

Since his family was poor and his older brother Jakob was in seminary studying for the priesthood, Mayr-Nusser didn’t study himself, but worked on the farm and later as the clerk for the Eccel company in Bolzano.

He dedicated much of his free time to reading, including many religious works. Among his favorites were the works of Frederic Ozanam, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thomas More, and the life of St. Vincent de Paul.

At the age of 22 he joined the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, an international Catholic volunteer organization dedicated to serving the poor and disadvantaged, in an effort to imitate the charity of the saint.

Mayr-Nusser was also involved in Catholic Action, and became head its division in the Diocese of Trent in 1934. In 1937 he became president of the Bolzano branch of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, spending a large amount of his time visiting the poor and providing them with both material and spiritual support.

When World War II flared up in Europe in 1939, Mayr-Nusser wasted no time in joining the anti-Nazi movement “Andreas Hofer Bund.”

However, a few years later civil war also broke out in Italy following the 1943 ousting of Benito Mussolini from power, which led to the German occupation of the northern half of the country.

The Nazi regime had established the “Schutzstaffel,” or “protective squadron.” The regime called not only on local men from Nazi Germany to join the squad, but they also took volunteers and conscripted men from both occupied and non-occupied territories.

Mayr-Nusser was among those conscripted from northern Italy, and so in 1944 was enrolled in an SS unit, forcing him to leave his wife and newborn son for training in Prussia.

However, when it came time for the SS members to swear an oath to Hitler, Mayr-Nusser refused.

According to a fellow comrade, he was “pensive and worried,” but told the general with a “strong voice” that “I cannot take an oath to Hitler in the name of God. I cannot do it because my faith and conscience do not allow it.”

Although his friends and tried to convince him to retract his statement and take the oath, Mayr-Nusser refused, believing that Nazi ideals could in no way be reconciled with Christian ethics and values.

As a result he was jailed while he awaited trial. In 1945 he was sentenced to death for treason, and was ordered to march to the Dachau concentration camp, where he was to be shot by firing squad.

However, he fell ill with dysentery along the way and died Feb. 24, 1945, before reaching the camp. When his body was discovered on the train, he had both a Bible and a rosary with him.

Mayr-Nusser’s cause for martyrdom was launched by the Diocese of Bolzano and was approved in 2005, allowing him to receive the title “Servant of God.” Now, Pope Francis’ recognition of his martyrdom has paved the way for his beatification.

Other causes advanced by Pope Francis July 8 include the martyrdom of Servant of God Antonio Arribas Hortigüela and his six companions, all of whom were Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. They were killed  in hatred of the faith Sept. 29, 1936 in Girona during the Spanish Civil War.

Francis also acknowledged a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Luis Antonio Rosa Ormières, allowing for his beatification. A priest who founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Guardian Angel, Ormières was born in 1809 and died Jan. 16, 1890.

The heroic virtue of six other causes was also recognized, including four clerics, a religious sister, and a layman.

Among the clerics whose heroic virtue was approved of are Servants of God Alfonse Gallegos, who died in 1991 and was an auxiliary bishop of Sacramento; diocesan priest Fr. Rafael Sánchez García; Fr. Joseph Marchetti of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles; and Fr. Giacomo Viale, a Franciscan and pastor of Bordighera, who died in 1912.

Servant of God Andrés García Acosta, a lay member of the Franciscan order, was also approved for heroic virtue. He was born Jan. 10, 1800, and died Jan. 14, 1853.

Sr. Maria Pia of the Cross, foundress of the Congregation of Crucified Sisters Adorers of the Eucharist, was also recognized for having heroic virtue. She was born in 1847, and died July 1, 1919.

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