Catholic News 2

Over the weekend, Catholic communities in Nigeria’s Enugu, Awgu and Nsukka Dioceses have held simultaneous peaceful processions and prayers to protest growing violent activities and killings attributed to Fulani herdsmen in their areas.

Nigerian media quoted the Bishop of  Enugu Diocese, Callistus Valentine Onaga calling upon the federal and state governments to put in place adequate security measures and protect innocent lives.

Nigeria’s Sun news online reports that the Catholic faithful in Enugu braved morning rains to join the procession which culminated in prayers at the Holy Ghost Cathedral. At the Cathedral, Bishop Onaga read a pastoral statement co-authored with his two brother-Bishops of Awgu and Nsukka Dioceses.

“For decades our people here in Enugu State – a peaceful and God-fearing population of predominantly peasant farmers, traders and civil servants – have played hosts, not without some difficulties, to a succession of Fulani herdsmen and their Cattle in various parts of the state,” Bishop Onaga said. He added, “In the past few years, however, this relationship has become increasingly problematic as the herdsmen turned aggressive, disrespectful and destructive in their activities,” the Bishop said as he read from the pastoral statement.

In attendance, at the Cathedral of the Holy Ghost was the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi together with all the state’ security chiefs.

The Governor called on the faithful gathered to remain law abiding, assuring that government was doing all it can to ensure a climate of peaceful co-existence among the people of the state.

In Awgu Diocese, the faithful numbering over 10,000 marched from the St Michaels Catholic Cathedral, Awgu to the headquarters of Awgu Local Government Council where they were addressed by political and Church leaders.

In Nsukka Diocese, the faithful began their peaceful procession from St. Theresa’s Cathedral to the local government headquarters with many onlookers joining them. Most shops and public buildings were closed.

Early last month, Nigerian media reported that as many as 50 residents of Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani local Government Area, Enugu State were killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen. A March 2016 attack in Agatu, Benue State left more than 100 people dead.

Nigeria still reeling from the Boko Haram insurgency is watching nervously if the attacks signal the emergence of yet another militia group with an Islamist ideology.  

Increased desertification of the common nomadic grazing lands of the nomadic Fulani tribes in the north of Nigeria are leading them southwards. As the Fulani herdsmen push farther south in search of new pasture and water for their cattle, they have become increasingly violent towards local communities encountered. The use of sophisticated military weapons by the herdsmen is escalating the conflict with deadly consequences. 

(engafrica@vatiradio.va)

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis spoke about Pope emeritus Benedict XVI and his relationship with Argentina’s new President, Mauricio Macri, in an interview with the Argentinian newspaper La Nación released on Sunday.

Speaking about his predecessor, Pope Francis said that although his age has affected his movement, “his mind and his memory are intact, perfect.”

He said Pope Benedict XVI was “revolutionary,” and added his “generosity was unparalleled.”

“His resignation, which exposed all the problems of the Church, had nothing to do with personal matters,” Pope Francis said. “It was an act of governance, his last act of governance.”

Speaking about opponents of his reforms in the Vatican, the Holy Father said they “do their job and I do mine.”

“I want a Church that is open, understanding, which accompanies wounded families,” Pope Francis said.

“They say no to everything. I continues straight on my way, without looking over my shoulder,” – he continued – “I do not cut off heads. I never like to do that. I repeat: I reject conflict.”

Much of the interview considered Argentinian issues, and the Pope denied any problems with the new president.

"I have no problem with President Macri,”Pope Francis said. “He seems to me a good family person, a noble person.”

He admitted he had a dispute with him once when he was mayor of Buenos Aires, but said “one time over a long period is a very low average.”

Pope Francis also said that no one speaks for him in Argentina, emphasizing “the Vatican Press Office is the only spokesman for the Pope.”

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The 17th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has officially been presented to the local press in the Angolan capital of Luanda.

Vatican Radio’s Portuguese correspondent, Anastacio Sasembele reports this weekend, from Luanda that the Bishop of Caxito,  António Jaka,  met with the media in Luanda and briefed them on Angola’s readiness to host the SECAM Assembly from 18 July to 24 July 2016.  Bishop Jaka is also the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and Sao Tome (CEAST).

The press briefing held at the Aníbal de Melo centre was also fronted by Fr. Apolonio Graciano, who said that the over 100 Bishops expected from the continent of Africa would find that Angolans are a hospitable people with a confident and thriving Church. The Catholic Church in Angola has come a long way and is rooted in solid tradition, Fr. Graciano said.

Fr. Graciano explained that the Plenary Assembly’s theme,"Family yesterday and today" is one that is dear to the African Church particularly after the Synod on the Family and the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis - “Amoris Laetitia,” on love in the family.

Several journalists and media practitioners, as well as students of the John XXIII school, attended the event.

(Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va)

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Norfolk, Va., Jul 4, 2016 / 04:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An immigrant parish, burnt down, with only the crucifix remaining. A parish rebuilt, transformed and a key part in giving back to the community. In a sense, one parish’s story of struggle, pressure and rebirth is metaphor for the American Catholic experience.

St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk, Virginia, is the only black Catholic church in the United States that is also a basilica. Its dramatic history captures both the broader American Catholic history of persecution, growth and acceptance, but also a witness to the unique challenges faced by black Catholics over the centuries.

Founded originally as St. Patrick’s Parish in 1791, it is the oldest Catholic parish in the Diocese of Richmond, predating the foundation of the diocese by nearly 30 years.

“Catholicism was not legal to practice” in Virginia when the colony was founded, said Fr. Jim Curran, rector of the basilica. In much of Colonial America, before the Revolution and the signing of the Bill of Rights, churches that were not approved by the government were prohibited from operating, he told CNA.

The land originally bought in 1794 for the parish is the same ground on which the basilica today stands. From the beginning, according to the parish’s history, Catholics from all backgrounds worshiped together: Irish and German immigrants, free black persons and slaves.

However, by the 1850s, the parish’s immigrant background and mixed-race parish drew the ire of a prominent anti-Catholic movement: the Know-Nothings.

Largely concentrated in northeastern states where the immigrant influx was greatest, the movement rose and fell quickly. Concerned with maintaining the Protestant “purity of the nation,” it worked to prevent immigrants – many of whom were Catholic – from gaining the right to vote, becoming citizens, or taking elected office.

“I consider the Know-Nothings to be a sort of gatekeeper organization, by which I mean that they were both anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic at the same time,” said Fr. David Endres, an assistant professor of Church History and Historical Theology at the Athenaeum of Ohio.

He told CNA that the Know-Nothing Party was able to bring together both pro- and anti-slavery voters in the mid-1800s, united in the common “dislike of foreign-born and Catholics.”

While most anti-Catholic activities took the form of defamatory speeches and public discrimination, the prejudice sometimes turned to violence and mob action, Fr. Endres explained.

The anti-Catholic discrimination and threats found their way to St. Patrick’s doorstep, where the Know-Nothings were unhappy that the pastor was allowing racial integrated Masses, said Fr. Curran.

The pastor at that time, Fr. Matthew O’Keefe, received so many threats directed against the Church and himself that police protection was required to stop the intimidation of the Catholics worshiping at the church, according to the locals.  

Despite the threats, however, Fr. O’Keefe did not segregate the Masses. In 1856, the original church building burned down, leaving only three walls standing. Only a wooden crucifix was left unscathed.

More than 150 years later, it is still unclear exactly who or what caused the fire, but since the days following the blaze, parishioners have had their suspicions.

“We don’t know for sure if they were the ones who burned it, but it’s widely believed, it’s a commonly held notion that it’s the Know-Nothings who burnt the Church,” Fr. Curran said.   

Fr. O’Keefe and the parishioners worked hard to rebuild the church, seeking donations from Catholics along the East Coast. A new church building was constructed less than three years after the fire and is still standing today.

After the church was rebuilt, the parish renamed itself in 1858 in honor of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854. It claims to be the first church in the world named for Mary of the Immaculate Conception following the declaration.

In 1889, the Josephites built Saint Joseph's Black Catholic parish to serve the needs of the black Catholic community, and the two parishes operated separately within several blocks of one another. However, in 1961, St. Joseph’s was demolished to make way for new construction, and the two parishes were joined, reintegrating – at least in theory – St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.

But the merger was not popular with many of the white parishioners and conflicted with the segregation policies of local government institutions and public life, Fr. Curran said. “St Mary’s became a de facto black parish.”

During this demographic shift, many parishioners of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception had to draw deeply upon their faith. Black Catholics had to be stalwart, facing prejudice from both some white parishioners, who did not view them as fully Catholic, and some black Protestants, who did not support their religious beliefs.

“They were devoted, and still are,” the rector said. “You have to be very devoted to be a Black Catholic.”

This devotion and witness of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception was formally celebrated when, in 1991, Saint Pope John Paul II elevated the 200-year-old church to a minor basilica.

“Your black cultural heritage enriches the Church and makes her witness of universality more complete. In a real way the Church needs you, just as you need the Church, for you are a part of the Church and the Church is part of you,” Pope Saint John Paul II proclaimed at the elevation.

Today, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception plays a vital role not only as the only Catholic basilica in Virginia, but also as an important anchor of the neighborhood. The basilica operates a “robust” set of outreach ministries to local families, including rent assistance and food aid, serving thousands of people.

“The Church standing proudly and beautiful in the midst of the poor is where we need to be,” Fr. Curran said.

He also pointed to the basilica’s history as an example of one way communities can aid churches affected by violence, such as the - such as the half dozen black churches across the South that have burned since late June.

“The reason why we were able to raise so much money so quickly was because there were so many people that were appalled at the burning of St. Patrick’s,” the rector said.

Tragic events like the burning of a church can actually help bring people together in a common cause, he continued.

“It unites people of faith. If people of faith who are appalled by this stand up and assist and let our voices be heard, we can do something wonderful.”

This article was originally published on CNA July 4, 2015.

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