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WASHINGTON (AP) -- After the political convention confetti is swept away, a more sobering tradition of the presidential election begins: The regular, top-secret intelligence briefings for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Under pressure to account for money he claimed to raise for veterans, an irritated Donald Trump lambasted the news media Tuesday for pressing the issue and listed charities he said have now received millions of dollars from a fundraiser he held in January....
(Vatican Radio) The U.S. State Department’s Special Representative for Religion and Global Affairs says religious literacy is at the heart of educated citizenship and that interfaith interaction in the classroom and on the soccer field can build healthy, pluralist societies. Shaun Casey spoke to Vatican Radio’s Tracey McClure on a visit to Rome this week. She asked him to sum up the state of interfaith dialogue, and particularly dialogue with Islam, 15 years on from the September 11 attacks in 2001.Listen to Part I of the interview: “We’re in a much better place than we were in 2001… but there’s a long way to go,” says Casey, who observes there are 1.6 billion Muslims around the world and approximately 2.2 billion Christians.Casey recalls Pope Francis’ first address to the diplomatic corps in 2014 in which he stressed the “deep need for dialogue in the Christian world and the Muslim world” and the ...
(Vatican Radio) The U.S. State Department’s Special Representative for Religion and Global Affairs says religious literacy is at the heart of educated citizenship and that interfaith interaction in the classroom and on the soccer field can build healthy, pluralist societies. Shaun Casey spoke to Vatican Radio’s Tracey McClure on a visit to Rome this week.
She asked him to sum up the state of interfaith dialogue, and particularly dialogue with Islam, 15 years on from the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Listen to Part I of the interview:
“We’re in a much better place than we were in 2001… but there’s a long way to go,” says Casey, who observes there are 1.6 billion Muslims around the world and approximately 2.2 billion Christians.
Casey recalls Pope Francis’ first address to the diplomatic corps in 2014 in which he stressed the “deep need for dialogue in the Christian world and the Muslim world” and the Catholic Church’s “very fruitful” interfaith engagement “and interesting dialogues across the Muslim world.”
Grassroots interfaith conversation in the neighborhood
“I think the good news is, in the United States, the Muslim community has grown. Some estimates are that between 3-5 million Muslims are living in the United States and at a grassroots level, the number of non-Muslim Americans who now know Muslims as friends and neighbors has grown quite significantly so there’s been what I call ‘grassroots conversation at the neighborhood level.’”
Casey notes that his daughter attended a high school in Virginia where Muslims were among her teachers, classmates and neighbors. “When we moved to Washington in 2000, that really wasn’t the case in public schools in Fairfax county (Virginia). So in a 10-15 year period, there’s really been an expansion just at the level of lived-religion, a lot more conversation at the school lunch table and on the soccer field.”
This, he adds, is “happening all across America today. It’s not just a phenomenon of the two coasts – but there’s a rich pluralism religiously that is now growing across the country,” and it’s entering school life, athletics and local government.
At the national level, Casey says there are ongoing discussions in” a very robust, complex way between Christian leaders, Jewish leaders and Muslim leaders. I think when you open the aperture a little wider, there’s an amazing array of dialogues going on across the faiths, across the world.”
Pluralism and diversity at work in the U.S.
Asked why does such pluralism seem to work in the U.S., Casey replies,
“It’s the nature of civil society.” American society is “far from perfect,” he admits.
“We certainly have our prejudices; we have our intolerances…But our vision of democracy welcomes - at least in theory - diverse groups of people to whatever tables there might be in public life and I think American Muslims are very diverse in terms of their countries of origin, many of them now are the fourth, fifth generation of Americans. They are participating in democracy. There’s not a sense that ‘oh, we’re going to bar you at the door because you’re a member of this faith group or another faith group.’”
Casey looks to history for some of the clues, recalling his own Irish American roots and the stigmatisms felt by that community in the U.S. in the 19th and early 20th centuries. “It was hard [for them]. Now, you go to Boston and the feeling is that the Irish Americans own the place.”
“I think we can point in our history, in the not-too-distant past, where various ethnicities, various religions, have come to America in waves and it’s been a bumpy road, but it’s been a road of progress for them.”
Religious literacy: to be a fully educated citizen means having a basic understanding of world religions
Growing up as he did in the southern United States, Casey says, religious literacy “meant you knew the difference between Methodist and Baptist…the diversity wasn’t huge; it was within the Christian tradition. But now, understanding the other, all the world’s major religions and some of the smaller religions are internally complex, plural. Simply because you meet one Catholic or you meet one Sunni Muslim, does that mean you understand the full complexity of those communities? It takes work – it is something that can be taught and learned: what are the basics of each faith, where do they overlap, where are they different. And I think now there’s more intentionality in a lot of public education systems: that to be a fully educated citizen means you need to have at least a basic understanding of the world’s religions that you might interact with, or your family might interact with.”
Casey calls it a “global” movement, “but it’s hard; it’s difficult. You have to have people come together to write [school] textbooks because there’s no one faith that has the expertise or the right to describe all the others for any particular public school.”
Marrakech Declaration: a call to Muslim states to protect minority rights, begin conversation on citizenship
In the Arab world, he observes, some Muslim leaders and intellectuals have acknowledged a growing need for informed and tolerant, citizenship. Casey cites the Marrakech Declaration, a document issued in the Moroccan city in January 2016 in which 120 Muslim leaders and scholars affirmed the need to protect the rights of minorities in predominantly Muslim societies. It is based on the 1,400 year old Charter of Medina allegedly written by the Prophet Muhammed himself.
Though some commentators say the Declaration does not go far enough in the area of religious freedoms and minority rights, Casey invites listeners to “Google it.” He says, “At the center of the Declaration is a call for a wider conception of citizenship within the Muslim world. I would say, first of all, that’s a very good thing: that 120 Muslim leaders from across the planet came together and came to that theological and political consensus. It’s not my office’s business, it’s not the U.S. government’s business, to argue theology with anybody…we have no competency theologically, to make those kinds of judgements.”
“I think the Marrakech Declaration is a very good thing,” he asserts. “This has been part of a process that this group of leaders has been in for some time and the Declaration represents…in many ways, the beginning point now for a public conversation in the Muslim world. “
He admits that change won’t happen overnight, “but it is a good trend…. This is certainly an issue where the Muslim world needs to do more work, and I think frankly, that the fact that scholars of this kind of diversity and prominence came together.. I’d say they’re midway in their process. They’re now trying to promote this at the grassroots level.”
The “intra-Muslim conversation on this nexus of issues,” he says, “bears watching.” And, “if they can heed the advice to have a conversation around this notion of citizenship, I think that one can only be hopeful that that process will continue.” We see it as a “salutary moment,” Casey concludes, and are “intrigued to see how that dialogue will continue.”
The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Jose Elmer Imas Mangalinao new auxiliary bishop of Langayen-Dagupan, Philippines, assigning him the titular see of Urusi. Currently Mons. Jose Mangalinao was serving as the Vicar General of the same diocese.Monsignor Jose Elmer Imas Mangalinao was born in Cabiao in Nueva Ecija, in the Diocese of Cabanatuan April 7, 1960. After his Secondary Education, he studied philosophy and theology at the San Carlos Seminary, in Makaty City.He was ordained on October 15, 1985 for the Diocese of Cabanatuan. He was here till 1993 as the Spiritual Director at Assumption Seminary, Cabanatuan City, and also held the post of assistant Parish priest of St. Isidore the Worker parish. From 1993 to 1995 he was sent to Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in theology at the Gregorian University.Back in the diocese, he first continued to serve as a professor in the seminary, then became the first Episcopal Vicar for Pastor...
The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Jose Elmer Imas Mangalinao new auxiliary bishop of Langayen-Dagupan, Philippines, assigning him the titular see of Urusi. Currently Mons. Jose Mangalinao was serving as the Vicar General of the same diocese.
Monsignor Jose Elmer Imas Mangalinao was born in Cabiao in Nueva Ecija, in the Diocese of Cabanatuan April 7, 1960. After his Secondary Education, he studied philosophy and theology at the San Carlos Seminary, in Makaty City.
He was ordained on October 15, 1985 for the Diocese of Cabanatuan. He was here till 1993 as the Spiritual Director at Assumption Seminary, Cabanatuan City, and also held the post of assistant Parish priest of St. Isidore the Worker parish. From 1993 to 1995 he was sent to Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in theology at the Gregorian University.
Back in the diocese, he first continued to serve as a professor in the seminary, then became the first Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Planning and pastor of the parish of Three Kings in Gapan, then, in 2006, he was appointed Vicar General and Board Member of Consultors. From 2008 to 2014 he was also the parish priest of the Cathedral. In 2014, retaining the post of Vicar General, he also began to serve as Dean of the College of the Immaculate Conception in Cabanatuan City.
(Vatican Radio) St Peter’s Cricket Club, popularly known as the ‘Vatican XI’ is preparing for a second British tour with both ecumenical and interfaith objectives high on the agenda.The team, comprised of Catholic priests and seminarians from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK, was founded in 2013 and challenged a Church of England cricket team in Canterbury the following year. Since then, the sporting friendships and spiritual experiences have grown, with the Anglican side coming to Rome for a return match in 2015.From September 11th to 20th the Vatican team sets off on a second ‘Light of Faith’ tour, playing against Anglicans, a Muslim team from Yorkshire and an interfaith match against cricketers from Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist communities in the south east of England.The Vatican XI, which enjoys the patronage of the Pontifical Council for Culture, will play in venues which have been offered free of charge, including the famous Edgbaston g...
(Vatican Radio) St Peter’s Cricket Club, popularly known as the ‘Vatican XI’ is preparing for a second British tour with both ecumenical and interfaith objectives high on the agenda.
The team, comprised of Catholic priests and seminarians from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK, was founded in 2013 and challenged a Church of England cricket team in Canterbury the following year. Since then, the sporting friendships and spiritual experiences have grown, with the Anglican side coming to Rome for a return match in 2015.
From September 11th to 20th the Vatican team sets off on a second ‘Light of Faith’ tour, playing against Anglicans, a Muslim team from Yorkshire and an interfaith match against cricketers from Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist communities in the south east of England.
The Vatican XI, which enjoys the patronage of the Pontifical Council for Culture, will play in venues which have been offered free of charge, including the famous Edgbaston ground in Birmingham and the revered Headingley site which has been used for international test cricket since 1899.
The goals of St Peter’s team members include sharing their faith with others, building bridges across religious and cultural divides and furthering what Pope Francis calls ‘the culture of encounter. To find out more, Philippa Hitchen spoke with team manager, Fr Eamonn O’Higgins, spiritual director of the Maria Mater Ecclesiae seminary where many of the players are in training for the priesthood.
Listen:
Fr Eamonn says that the tours are called ‘Light of Faith’ because “deep down, that is what we try to transmit. He notes that while the 2014 tour focused on establishing relations with the Church of England, this second event has a much broader interreligious dimension with Muslims and others who’ve become interested in the opportunities that such encounters can offer.
While cricket is the context in which the players meet, Fr Eamonn says the tour is also about going “to pray and to commune” with people in different ways. He notes that he’s been invited to speak at a mosque on the Friday that the team will be in Batley, Yorkshire with the local community. “It’s a pilgrimage”, he says, adding “that means not only praying ourselves, but understanding and praying with other faiths as well”.
Asked about the effect of these ecumenical and interreligious encounters on the seminarians training at the Mater Ecclesiae seminary, Fr Eamonn says that for “all of us, not just the lads”, it has “an extremely broadening effect”. While we sometimes have our own stereotypes, often influenced by the media’s depiction of other religious communities, he says “the fact of meeting members of other faiths, understanding their contexts, listening to their prayer, being with their families”, enables the team to understand other people and their traditions in a new way.
“You cannot understand another culture or another religion without getting into it from the inside, from somebody else’s point of view, the Vatican team manager insists, “and this is the privilege we’ve been able to experience”.
The Holy Father has appointed Rev. Fr. John Bosco Chang-Ho Shin new auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Daegu, South Korea, assigning him the titular see of Vescera. Fr. John Bosco Chang-Ho Shin was born on May 25, 1966 in Daegu, in the Gyeousang-namdo province, in the Archdiocese of Daegu. He studied first at the University of Electronics Youngnam and then did his studies in philosophy and theology at the major seminary in Daegu. He obtained the Bachelor’s degree in Theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome (1993-1996) and a Licentiate in Liturgy at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm, in Rome (1996-1998). He was ordained a priest on 25 August 1998.After his ordination he held the following positions and pursued his religious studies1998-1999: Parish Vicar of Bongdeok, Daegu;1999- 2002: Doctorate in Liturgy at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm in Rome;2002-2009: Lecturer in the major seminary in Daegu;2009: Exec...
The Holy Father has appointed Rev. Fr. John Bosco Chang-Ho Shin new auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Daegu, South Korea, assigning him the titular see of Vescera.
Fr. John Bosco Chang-Ho Shin was born on May 25, 1966 in Daegu, in the Gyeousang-namdo province, in the Archdiocese of Daegu.
He studied first at the University of Electronics Youngnam and then did his studies in philosophy and theology at the major seminary in Daegu. He obtained the Bachelor’s degree in Theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome (1993-1996) and a Licentiate in Liturgy at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm, in Rome (1996-1998). He was ordained a priest on 25 August 1998.
After his ordination he held the following positions and pursued his religious studies
1998-1999: Parish Vicar of Bongdeok, Daegu;
1999- 2002: Doctorate in Liturgy at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm in Rome;
2002-2009: Lecturer in the major seminary in Daegu;
2009: Executive Secretary of the Liturgical Committee of the Bishops' Conference of Korea.
I Kgs 17:17-24; Gal 1:11-19; Lk 7: 11-17A prominent businessman was walking down the street of a large city on his way home from a meeting. It was night. Since his meeting had lasted later than it should, it was long after it was safe to be on the streets alone. By this time, there were all kinds of derelicts and people of questionable reputation on the streets. As he was walking by, the businessman happened to look down and see a man all curled up in the gutter trying to stay warm. The cool night air was progressively getting chillier and chillier. Something about this man made the businessman take another look at him, and then another. Finally, he walked over to get a good look. When he saw the man, and the look in his eyes, the businessman instinctively did what Jesus did with the widow who had lost her only son that day in the town of Nain. The businessman's heart went out to the man in the gutter. He bent down to him and said, "Whoever you are, you don't belong h...
I Kgs 17:17-24; Gal 1:11-19; Lk 7: 11-17
A prominent businessman was walking down the street of a large city on his way home from a meeting. It was night. Since his meeting had lasted later than it should, it was long after it was safe to be on the streets alone. By this time, there were all kinds of derelicts and people of questionable reputation on the streets. As he was walking by, the businessman happened to look down and see a man all curled up in the gutter trying to stay warm. The cool night air was progressively getting chillier and chillier. Something about this man made the businessman take another look at him, and then another. Finally, he walked over to get a good look. When he saw the man, and the look in his eyes, the businessman instinctively did what Jesus did with the widow who had lost her only son that day in the town of Nain. The businessman's heart went out to the man in the gutter. He bent down to him and said, "Whoever you are, you don't belong here!" The businessman took the man home with him to see if he could help him. As it turned out, the businessman was right. This man didn't belong there. He was a prominent physician who had taken to drink and had all but ruined his career. Just as Jesus had seen that the young man did not belong on the funeral bier, so the businessman saw that this man, whoever he was, didn't belong in the gutter. This story also has a happy ending. The businessman saw to it that the man got into a rehabilitation program and turned his life around. All because of that little word "compassion." Compassion can do more than you may think, especially if it's straight from the heart of Jesus.
Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is that, in a world of broken hearts, God sees and cares for us in our grief. He shows compassion on our miseries and gives us His healing touch. Today’s Scripture readings challenge us to become channels of God’s compassionate, healing love and to place our hope in Jesus who gives us resurrection and eternal life. The first reading, taken from I Kings 17, shows us how our merciful God uses His prophet Elijah to resuscitate the only the son of the poor widow of Zarephath who had given the prophet accommodation in her house during a famine. In the second reading, taken from the letter to the Galatians, St. Paul declares that the Good News of God’s love, mercy and salvation which he preaches has been directly revealed to him by God, Who had chosen him for ministry from his mother’s womb Today’s Gospel story reveals to us the compassionate heart of God in Jesus. Meeting a funeral procession coming out of the village of Nain, Jesus was visibly moved at the sight of the weeping widow going with the town to bury her only son. Perhaps he could foresee his own mother in the same position at the foot of his cross. In addition, Jesus knew that the widows were one of the most destitute, dependent, and vulnerable classes of society, totally dependent for support on the mercy of others. So Jesus stopped the funeral procession, touched the bier, consoled the mother and surprised everyone by resuscitating the boy, thus extending God’s love and compassion to the bereaved mother.
The first reading: In the story from I Kings, the prophet Elijah is a lodger in the upper room of the house of a widow during the great famine. This widow had been very kind to Elijah. But tragically her only son became very ill and stopped breathing. In utter desperation and anger the poor widow struck out at Elijah, as if somehow this were his fault. Grief often gives rise to misplaced anger, and hurting people hurt other people. This woman was hurting, and so she struck out at Elijah. Elijah realized that it was his turn to help her in her tragedy. He took the boy from her arms, carried him to his own bedroom, and laid him on the bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” And the writer of I Kings tells us, “The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
The second reading: In Galatia, Paul encountered conflicts caused by hostile elements, people whose misguided efforts threatened to stifle the Church’s growth among the Gentiles. St. Paul had to clarify both his authority to preach and the source of his teaching to his opponents. Here in his letter to the Galatians, he declares that the Good News of God’s love, mercy and salvation which he has been preaching have been directly revealed to him by God who chose him for this ministry from his mother’s womb.
Exegesis: The context: Today's Gospel presents one of the three accounts in the Gospel of Jesus’ raising of a dead person to life. The other stories are those of Lazarus and of Jairus, the synagogue leader’s daughter. Today's story is found only in Luke. Nain is a village six miles SE of Nazareth, and it is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible.
A great, irreparable loss ruining the life a widow: Widows formed one of the most destitute, dependent, and vulnerable classes of society in Jesus’ time. Unlike our society in which the modern woman has the freedom to work and to care for herself, the woman could not provide for herself. As a result, the worst thing that could happen to a woman was for her to lose her husband. Then she was left in the most vulnerable and destitute of conditions. As a result, the Old Covenant law protected widows and made provision for them. For example, in Deuteronomy 24, there are regulations that prevent the Israelites from harvesting their fields more than once. Why? So that whatever remained of the harvest after the first pass would then be given to the destitute of society, which included the widows. The first harvest was for the land-owner. The remaining harvest was given to the poor. Even then, the widow was left completely dependent upon the graciousness of the landowners and their obedience to the Mosaic Law.
The Scriptures make clear that God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone (see Ezekiel 33:11); God desires life, not death. The story of Naomi in the book of Ruth reminds us of what happens when sons die. After losing both her husband and her two sons, Naomi laments, "Call me no longer Naomi (that is, pleasant), call me Mara (that is, bitter)." In the story of the widow of Zarephath (I Kings 17:8-16), the widow announces, "Just now, I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die" (1 Kings 17: 12), the famine having made even the meager existence they had had impossible. Widows and orphans were a particular concern of the prophets. Jesus stands in that prophetic tradition. The scene at Nain is particularly sad because the mother in this story, who had already lost her husband, has now lost her only son and her only means of support. Jesus was visibly moved by the sight of the weeping widow, perhaps because he could foresee his own mother in the same position at the foot of his cross. His compassionate heart prompted him to console the widow saying: "Do not weep." Then Luke reports, “He touched the bier and when the bearers stood still, he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother,” and participated in her indescribable joy.
Revelation of Jesus’ Divinity and humanity: Jesus’ physical touch not only restored life but brought freedom and wholeness to soul as well as body. Christ comes to restore what was lost. He, in fact, acts to remove the cause of pain and sorrow, “for I, the LORD, am your Healer” (Exodus 15:26). In reading this fragment of the Gospel about the resuscitation of that young man of Nain, we could emphasize Jesus' Divinity alone by saying that only God could have brought back his life to this young man. But here we see Jesus’ humanity as well. We don’t see Jesus in the Gospel episode as a remote Divine Being, but as somebody close to us, sharing our loss and sorrow. Jesus’ raising of the widow’s son was also a sign of the spiritual resurrection offered to all people. Jesus is showing concern about the need for us to be spiritually alive here and now.
The reaction of the people around was one of awe and admiration. "A great prophet has risen among us and God has visited his people." They had no doubts about the origin of what they had seen taking place; it was the work of God. Not surprisingly, the story spread like wildfire all through Judea and beyond.
Old Testament parallel cases: There were instances in the Old Testament of people being raised from death: by Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24), and Elisha (2 Kings 4:32-37). This miracle of Jesus took place near the spot where the prophet Elisha had brought another mother's son back to life again (see 2 Kings 4:18-37). These miracles were signs of the power of God working through His prophets. In the case of the widow’s son in today’s Gospel, the miracle showed the people that Jesus, like Elijah and Elisha, was, at the least, a great prophet.
Life messages: 1) We need to become channels of God’s compassionate and healing love as Jesus was: The event also reminds us to have the same love and compassion for those who suffer that Jesus had. Our deeds of love will transform the broken-hearted and help them to experience God as the Father who has come among His people. We must ask God for the grace to be like Christ for the others in our daily lives. Those who saw St. Francis of Assisi, for instance, were also seeing Jesus in him. Saints are those who carry Jesus in their words and deeds, imitating his way of doing things and his goodness. Our society need saints, and we can each be one in our own environment. Those who hurt also need comfort, and again, it is our responsibility to offer that comfort. As our Lord comforted this woman, let us comfort others (Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:15).
2) We need to be spiritually alive: This story should help us to look at our own situation and see, first of all, how alive we really are. When we live in mortal sin we are physically alive and spiritually dead. We need the spiritual revival offered to us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. St. Augustine comments, "Our Mother, the Church, rejoices every day when people are raised again in spirit sacramentally.”
3) We need to offer our broken hearts to Jesus: We need to bring our deepest hurts and broken relationships to Jesus and experience how he reaches out to us to grant us his loving reconciliation. Let us invite Jesus to transform the most difficult situations in our life. The Lord Jesus still raises the dead. We trust that promise each time we bring our shattered lives, our broken hearts, our anger, our depression, our deepest hurts to the table of the Lord and hear, in the voice of the priest, His sure and certain words: "This is my Body and this is my Blood given and shed for you!"
A couple of years ago the New York Daily News carried a story about a television news anchorwoman named Pat Harper who left her luxurious East Side apartment with 80 cents in her pocket and spent five days living on the street "to learn what it's like to be homeless." Harper spent the days wandering the streets in the icy January rain and her nights sleeping in doorways, train stations and public shelters. She began to realize that most of the homeless people were not much different from her. Several people helped, giving her food and advice on how to survive without money. The undercover investigation made her realize that many homeless are simply normal people who have been hit with financial problems from which they have not been able to rebound. There was no other way for this successful media person to know how they felt other than to walk where the homeless walk. There is another who left comfort and convenience to walk where the outcasts walk. He was the same man who had compassion on the widow of Nain. That is essentially the message of the cross. He has walked where we walk. When it is time for us also to walk the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering, he walks with us. That has always been the hope of people whose dreams have been dashed, whose burdens have seemed unbearable.
(Source: Homilies of Fr. Anthony Kadavil)
By Junno Arocho EstevesVATICANCITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called on Catholics and Orthodox Christians to prayfor children in Syria who are suffering because of the ongoing conflict in thecountry. "The children of Syria invite children from all overthe world to join in theirprayer for peace" on International Children's Day June 1, he said.Before praying the Angelus May 29, thepope said Catholicand Orthodox Christians would be taking part together in the special prayer forpeace and that the children were "the protagonists" by inviting allthe world's children to unite with them in prayer. Thejoint Day of Prayer for Peace, sponsored by the Catholic charity Aid to theChurch in Need, is one of several initiatives meant to promote peace in Syria. Thepope's invitation echoes that of Catholic leaders and Orthodox patriarchs inthe country, who signed a joint message inviting Christians around the world tojoin them in praying for peace. Themessage says: "We pray to him -- the Christ, the king ...
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called on Catholics and Orthodox Christians to pray for children in Syria who are suffering because of the ongoing conflict in the country.
"The children of Syria invite children from all over the world to join in their prayer for peace" on International Children's Day June 1, he said.
Before praying the Angelus May 29, the pope said Catholic and Orthodox Christians would be taking part together in the special prayer for peace and that the children were "the protagonists" by inviting all the world's children to unite with them in prayer.
The joint Day of Prayer for Peace, sponsored by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, is one of several initiatives meant to promote peace in Syria.
The pope's invitation echoes that of Catholic leaders and Orthodox patriarchs in the country, who signed a joint message inviting Christians around the world to join them in praying for peace.
The message says: "We pray to him -- the Christ, the king of the universe, who carries the world in his hand, in the arms of his mother -- to bless all the children of Syria. We implore him, who alone can bring peace: 'Protect and save the children of this land! Hear our prayers, now! Delay no longer in granting peace to our land! Look upon the tears of the children; dry the tears of the mothers; let the cries of grief at last fall silent!'"
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By Carol GlatzVATICANCITY (CNS) -- Help wipe out bullying and aggression by being better listeners andoffering concrete gestures of tolerance and patience, Pope Francis told a groupof top YouTubers from around the world."Thelevel of aggressiveness in our world needs to be dialed down. (The world) needstenderness, meekness, (people) listening and walking together," he told themand others taking part in a world congress sponsored by Scholas Occurrentes."Pride,arrogance -- eradicate them. Because pride and arrogance always have a badending," he said May 29 at the close of the three-day meeting at theVatican.Thepope met privately -- for an informal closed-door Q-and-A session -- with a dozen youngYouTubers, people who create their own videos or vlogs, or video blogs, and share them onYouTube. The YouTube "celebrities" who were invited to meet the popehave, when tallied together, about 25 million subscribers.Thepope also met privately with U.S. film stars, Richard Gere, Salma Hayek andG...
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Help wipe out bullying and aggression by being better listeners and offering concrete gestures of tolerance and patience, Pope Francis told a group of top YouTubers from around the world.
"The level of aggressiveness in our world needs to be dialed down. (The world) needs tenderness, meekness, (people) listening and walking together," he told them and others taking part in a world congress sponsored by Scholas Occurrentes.
"Pride, arrogance -- eradicate them. Because pride and arrogance always have a bad ending," he said May 29 at the close of the three-day meeting at the Vatican.
The pope met privately -- for an informal closed-door Q-and-A session -- with a dozen young YouTubers, people who create their own videos or vlogs, or video blogs, and share them on YouTube. The YouTube "celebrities" who were invited to meet the pope have, when tallied together, about 25 million subscribers.
The pope also met privately with U.S. film stars, Richard Gere, Salma Hayek and George Clooney, who were honored at the congress for working to help marginalized young people.
The pope sat in on the closing portion of the world congress, which was dedicated to dialogue and social integration. He heard personal testimonies, including from a young woman who was born in Mexico, moved to Chicago and was the victim of bullying for years.
The pope called for an end to "aggression, bullying" when answering one of two questions from the audience.
"Bullying is an aggression that conceals profound cruelty, and the world is cruel" with wars representing "the monuments of cruelty," he said.
Recalling photographs he received from a nun picturing a child massacred in a civil war unfolding in Africa, Pope Francis said bullying is the same kind of cruelty because it "massacres" the mind.
In order to build a better world, "we need to eradicate all forms of cruelty," he said.
It is important to listen to others and ask questions -- not argue right away -- but inquire in order to truly understand the other person's point of view and find points in common, he said.
Dialogue isn't a soccer match or a debate because "in dialogue everyone wins, no one loses," he said. "Even if I think differently, don't argue, but rather, persuade softly."
It's also important people feel like they belong, which can even include "a virtual belonging" -- being part of something meaningful online, he said. "It's urgent to offer some kind of belonging," he told his audience.
The pope also urged participants to work harder at practicing the "language of gestures."
"Sometimes we like to talk, talk," he said, but "we risk paying lip service and this doesn't work."
Talking is not enough and sometimes what is needed is "a smile that gives hope, looking in someone's eyes, gestures of approval, patience, tolerance."
Of the many new initiatives Scholas organizers announced at the congress, one included an invitation for young people to ask Pope Francis a question at www.askpopefrancis.com. Selected questions and replies will then be published in a book in various languages and countries in the autumn.
Scholas Occurrentes is a project Pope Francis supported as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and expanded as pope. Through schools it links students from different neighborhoods, countries, economic backgrounds and faiths to promote communication, understanding and cooperation.
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