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The Catholic Bishop of the Territorial Prelature of the besieged city Marawi in southern Philippines, has dismissed as “ridiculous” proposals by terrorist gunmen to negotiate the release of his vicar.  Speaking before a gathering of church people in the northern province of Pangasinan on 29 June, Bishop Edwin de la Pena said "there is no way we can dialogue" with extremists.  The Prelate of Marawi said that for the past four decades the Catholic Church's response to war and conflicts in the southern region of Mindanao is dialogue.  "We can only dialogue with like-minded people," he told the gathering called the Solidarity Congress for Persecuted Christians. The gathering was sponsored by “Aid to the Church in Need”, a pontifical foundation of the Catholic Church that supports victims of persecution. 

Islamist Maute terrorists who claim to have links with the Islamic State (IS), attacked the ‎city of Marawi on May 23 and burned the city's Catholic cathedral, a Protestant school, and took ‎hostage Catholic priest Teresito Suganob, the vicar of Marawi Prelature, and several church workers hostage.  ‎Bishop de la Pena was out of town when the violence broke out.

The government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday ruled out negotiations with the Islamist Maute militants holding hostages in Marawi, after reports that a leader of the group wanted to trade Fr. Suganub for his parents being held by police. Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said there would be no deals with the Maute group because that was against government policy, and anyone trying to bargain had no authority to do so.   Authorities believe Fr. Soganub and more than 100 other Christians are being held in by the militants in Marawi as human shields.

Bishop de la Pena said the Church should "choose the kind of people that we will have a dialogue with."  He said people who have fallen victim to extremism, those who "experience so much pain ... are all the people who are open to have a dialogue with us." 

In a statement, Aid to the Church in Need said the gathering was "timely" because of the ongoing conflict in Marawi.  The Catholic group said "awareness of the situation of persecuted Christians" in Mindanao is necessary before Filipinos can express solidarity with "suffering fellow Christians."

Mindanao has long been a hotbed of local insurgencies and separatist movements: but now, Islamist fighters from Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries are reported to have converged in Mindanao, stoking fears that it could become a regional stronghold of Islamic State.

More than 90 percent of the Philippines' 100 million people are Christian, and most of the Muslims of the Philippines live on the island of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago and Palawan.  In 1980 Marawi proclaimed itself an "Islamic City" and it is the only city in the country with that designation.

The battle for control of the city entered its sixth week with intense bombing raids by military planes on a shrinking terrorist-held zone.  On June 28, at least 17 civilian bodies were recovered by the military from the besieged city.  The bodies were in addition to the 27 civilians earlier confirmed killed when fighting broke out last month.  The conflict has so far resulted in the deaths of at least 299 terrorists and 71 soldiers and policemen.  Some 2,700 civilians have been rescued from the battle zone while about 300,000 individuals remain in evacuation centers in nearby areas.   (Source: UCAN/...)

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London, England, Jun 29, 2017 / 06:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Methodist Church in Britain and the Church of England announced Sunday that each ecclesial community is considering a proposal that would enable the sharing of clergy between them.

Jonathan Baker, the Anglican bishop of Fulham, said that “(t)he separation between Anglicans and Methodists in Great Britain is a tear in the fabric of the Body of Christ. The proposals made in this report are offered as a means of helping to repair that tear.”

The proposal, Mission and Ministry in Covenant, would in effect largely end the approximately 200-year-old division between the communities.

Methodism began in the 18th century as a movement within the Church of England, and broke off from the Anglican communion shortly after the 1791 death of one of its founders, John Wesley.

The Methodist Church in Britain currently ordains no bishops, and is instead headed by a conference, of whom the president is an ordained minister and the vice president a lay person. However, under the proposal being considered, the conference would be headed by a president-bishop, who will likely be ordained by a panel of three Anglican bishops.

In the Church of England, the proposal would mean the abandonment of 350-year-old laws stating that only ordained ministers may hold office in the Church.

Under the agreement, both denominations will maintain their governing structure. The Church of England governs on a diocesan system, where the Methodist Church in Britain is divided into districts and is largely oriented toward local communities.

After the birth of Methodism, the denomination in Britain became characterized by loosely associated non-conformist churches, hence the lack of an episcopal leadership model. However, in 1932, the non-conformist churches united as the Methodist Church in Britain but maintained their local approach. The denomination also emphasizes collegiality between the clergy and the laity.

The seeds for reunion between the ecclesial communities were first laid in 1946, when the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury called for the Methodists to begin ordaining bishops. However, Anglo-Catholics – a group of Anglicans who strive to keep the Church largely aligned with Catholic theology and practice – in 1972 resisted this move due to differences in the clerical treatment of men and women.

The first woman to join the Anglican priesthood in Britain was ordained in 1994, after a 1992 measure passed the Anglican General Synod permitting female ordination. The Methodist Church has long allowed for female clerics.

More important strides have been taken since the beginning of this century. Mission and Ministry in Covenant has been under preparation for 14 years, since 2003 when the two communities signed a national covenant committing them to work toward fuller unity.

One of the last remaining barriers to full communion between the denominations fell in 2015 with the Church of England’s first ordination of a female bishop. While this step allowed for the reunification of the two British denominations, it poses a significant barrier between them and reunification with the Catholic Church.

The merging of the denominations also signals a significant moment in British politics. The Church of England has long been aligned with the center-right Conservative Party, and the Methodists with the center-left Labour Party.

According to the Daily Mail, the Church of England has in the past been called “the Tory Party at prayer,” and the Labour Party has been said to “owe more to Methodism than to Marx.” These two parties comprise the dominant force in British politics: the Conservatives occupy 317 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, and the Labour Party occupies 262.

Methodist churches in Britain have recently faced a severe decline in worshippers. According to the Daily Mail, they have lost a third of their members in the last 12 years, and in 2016 had only about 188,000 regular church-goers.

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IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Proclaiming his innocence after being charged with sexual abuse, Australian Cardinal George Pell said, "I'm looking forward finally to having my day in court."

"I'm innocent of these charges. They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me," he said June 29 during a brief news conference in the Vatican press office.

Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office, said Pope Francis had granted Cardinal Pell a leave of absence from his position as prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy so that he can work on his defense.

Cardinal Pell, Burke added, will not participate in any public liturgies while his case is being considered.

"These matters have been under investigation now for two years," Cardinal Pell told the press. "There's been relentless character assassination, a relentless character assassination, and for more than a month claims that a decision on whether to lay charges was imminent."

Without giving specifics about the number of charges or the incidents, police in Australia's Victoria state announced June 29 that charges had been filed against the cardinal and that he has been called to appear in court July 18.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters June 29, "Cardinal Pell is facing multiple charges in respect of historic sexual offenses and there are multiple complainants relating to those charges."

Patton also told reporters, "It is important to note that none of the allegations that have been made against Cardinal Pell have obviously been tested in any court yet."

"Cardinal Pell, like any other defendant, has a right to due process and so therefore it is important that the process is allowed to run its natural course," Patton added.

In his statement, Cardinal Pell said he had kept Pope Francis informed "during these long months" when police and the Australian media were talking about the possibility of charges being made.

"I have spoken to him on a number of occasions in the last week, I think most recently a day or so ago," Cardinal Pell said of Pope Francis. "And we talked about my need to take leave to clear my name, so I'm very grateful to the Holy Father for giving me this leave to return to Australia."

Cardinal Pell said he had spoken to his lawyers about the timing of his return to Australia and also had consulted his doctors about the trip.

In February 2016, Australia's Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse allowed Cardinal Pell to testify by video link from Rome because a heart condition prevented him from traveling to Australia.

A year ago, in July, allegations surfaced in a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. featuring several people who accused Cardinal Pell of sexual assault; at least one of the accusations had been found to be unsubstantiated by an Australian court in 2002. Some accusations dated to the late 1970s, when Cardinal Pell was a priest in Ballarat, Australia.

Speaking to reporters at the Vatican June 29, the cardinal said, "All along I have been completely consistent and clear in my total rejection of these allegations. News of these charges strengthens my resolve, strengthens my resolve. And court proceedings now offer me an opportunity to clear my name and then return here, back to Rome, to work."

When the allegations surfaced last year, Cardinal Pell dismissed them as "nothing more than a scandalous smear campaign," and a statement issued by his office said that "claims that he has sexually abused anyone, in any place, at any time in his life are totally untrue and completely wrong."

In October, Australian police questioned Cardinal Pell in Rome regarding the accusations.

While Burke, the Vatican spokesman, told reporters that the Vatican respects the Australian justice system, he also said people should remember that Cardinal Pell "has openly and repeatedly condemned as immoral and intolerable the acts of abuse committed against minors" and, as a bishop, "introduced systems and procedures both for the protection of minors and to provide assistance to victims of abuse."

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, in a statement released shortly after the cardinal's news conference, said, "Many people will be shocked, as I have been, by the news that Victoria Police have issued charges against Cardinal George Pell in relation to sexual abuse allegations."

"Cardinal Pell has repeatedly and vehemently rejected these allegations and insisted that he is completely innocent," the archbishop said. "He will now have the opportunity to put his case in court and is determined to clear his name."

"The George Pell I know is a man of integrity in his dealings with others, a man of faith and high ideals, a thoroughly decent man," the archbishop added.

Archbishop Fisher said the Archdiocese of Sydney will "assist with the cardinal's accommodation and support, as it would for any of its bishops or priests" as the legal process unfolds, however, he said, "it is not responsible for the cardinal's legal bills arising from these matters."

"Where complaints of abuse are made, victims should be listened to with respect and compassion and their complaints investigated and dealt with according to law," Archbishop Fisher said. At the same time, "no one should be prejudged because of their high profile, religious convictions or positions on social issues."

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Contributing to this story was Carol Glatz.

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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church's new cardinals and new archbishops must be willing to risk everything, patiently endure evil and bear crosses like Jesus did, Pope Francis said.

"The Lord answers our prayers. He is faithful to the love we have professed for him, and he stands beside us at times of trial." Just as he accompanied the apostles, "he will do the same for you," the pope told five new cardinals and about 30 archbishops named during the past year.

Pope Francis addressed the new cardinals and archbishops during his homily at a Mass in St. Peter's Square June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, who are the patron saints of the Vatican and the city of Rome.

The Mass was celebrated the day after Pope Francis created new cardinals from El Salvador, Mali, Laos, Sweden and Spain. Thirty-six archbishops appointed over the course of the past year were also invited to come to Rome to concelebrate the feast day Mass with Pope Francis. They came from 26 countries.

The concelebrants included Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; and Archbishops Paul D. Etienne of Anchorage, Alaska; and Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis. All three of the U.S. prelates have deep connections to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Archbishop Etienne was a priest of the archdiocese and Cardinal Tobin is the former archbishop.

In what has become the standard practice, the pope did not place the pallium on new archbishops during the liturgy. Rather, after the Mass, the pope handed each archbishop a pallium folded up in a small, simple wooden box tied with a brown ribbon as a soloist sang "You Got to Walk that Lonesome Valley," a traditional American gospel song.

The actual imposition of the woolen band was to take place in the archbishop's archdiocese in the presence of his faithful and bishops from neighboring dioceses. The pallium symbolizes an archbishop's unity with the pope and his authority and responsibility to care for the flock the pope entrusted to him.

After the Mass, Cardinal Tobin told Catholic News Service that St. John XXIII had said "cardinals and bishops are the coat hangers on which the church hangs its tradition. Now I don't like being a coat hanger, but the thing I like to wear the most is the pallium."

Being made of lamb's wool, the pallium is a reminder of "the need and really the obligation of the bishop to look for the one who is lost and then bring the lost one back on his shoulders," the cardinal said. "I hope to do that in Newark."

Archbishop Etienne noted that the pallium also is "symbolic of the unity of the metropolitan archbishops with the Holy Father and, through him, with the universal church."

It tells an archbishop that his role is to be a good shepherd to his flock, "to help the people entrusted to my pastoral care to learn to live in unity and peace, to manifest that truth and love of Jesus Christ and the Gospel," he said.

"The role of every priest, and particularly every bishop, is to be more and more transformed into Christ and that's my prayer," Archbishop Etienne said. "And then whatever burdens come and challenges, I'll find my peace because I will be firmly convinced in experiencing his presence with me."

Archbishop Thompson told CNS he received the pallium from Pope Francis as a gift for the sixth anniversary of his ordination as a bishop.

Pope Francis "has been such a great model, example and witness, and to receive this from him," the archbishop said, is "a reminder to go forth. I think about Jesus at the Last Supper when he washed the feet of the disciples and said, 'Now, go and do as I have done.'"

Archbishop Thompson said he kept watching Pope Francis during the Mass and looking at the pallium the pope wears as a symbol of the universality of his mission. "I watched him in his role of being the shepherd" and knew the pope was calling him "now to go forth and be that shepherd for the people entrusted to my care."

In his homily at the Mass, the pope said the life of every apostle is built on: constant, edifying prayer; a firm, passionate profession of faith; and a willingness to patiently endure persecution.

People must ask themselves whether they are "'armchair Catholics,' who love to chat about how things are going in the church and the world," he said, or if they are "apostles on the go," who are on fire with love for God and ready to offer their lives for him.

Apostles of Christ "know that they cannot just tread water or take the easy way out, but have to risk putting out into the deep, daily renewing their self-offering," he said.

Christians must follow the Lord completely and live according to his ways, not ways guided by personal self-interest, he said. Christ's way "is that of new life, of joy and resurrection; it is also the way that passes through the cross and persecution."

In different parts of the world, "often in complicit silence, great numbers of Christians are marginalized, vilified, discriminated against, subjected to violence and even death, not infrequently without due intervention on the part of those who could defend their sacrosanct rights," the pope said.

However, there is no Christ and no Christian without the cross, he said. "Christian virtue is not only a matter of doing good, but of tolerating evil as well," he said, quoting St. Augustine.

Enduring evil means "imitating Jesus, carrying our burden, shouldering it for his sake and that of others," knowing that the Lord is by one's side.

Finally, the pope said, prayer is another essential element of the life of an apostle as it "is the water needed to nurture hope and increase fidelity. Prayer makes us feel loved and it enables us to love in turn."

As is customary, a delegation from the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople attended the Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

Before the Mass, Archbishop Job of Telmessos, head of the Orthodox delegation, joined the pope in prayer at the tomb of St. Peter inside St. Peter's Basilica. The two also stopped before a bronze statue of St. Peter, which was adorned with a jeweled tiara, ring and red cope.

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Contributing to this story were Cindy Wooden and Junno Arocho Esteves.

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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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