Catholic News 2
VIENNA (AP) -- The Latest on Austria's presidential election (all times local):...
VIENNA (AP) -- Left-leaning candidate Alexander Van der Bellen won the election to become Austrian president Monday, but his right-wing rival was only narrowly behind, a result that reflects the growing strength of Europe's anti-EU political movements....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Before deciding if she'll vote for Donald Trump, Martha McSally says she'll spend time "determining what kind of man he is." Mia Love says some comments by the presumptive Republican presidential candidate need "some sort of explanation," while Renee Ellmers backs him because he's "a problem solver."...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court ruled decisively in favor of a death-row inmate in Georgia on Monday, chastising state prosecutors for improperly keeping African-Americans off the jury that convicted him of killing a white woman....
BALTIMORE (AP) -- A Baltimore officer was acquitted Monday of assault and other charges in the arrest of Freddie Gray, dealing prosecutors a significant blow in their attempt to hold police accountable for the young black man's death from injuries he suffered in the back of a police van....
Holy Mass in memory of Sr. Veronika Rackova has been held over the weekend at Yei’s Christ the King Cathedral in South Sudan. Sr. Veronika, a medical doctor at St Bakhita Health Centre in Yei, South Sudan died Friday of her wounds after being shot at in South Sudan, last week.Speaking at the Mass, the Vicar General of Yei Diocese, Fr. Zachariah Angutuwa Sebit told the congregation that Sr. Veronika knew she was dying. As Fr. Angutuwa Sebit narrated the last days of Sr. Veronika, priests and Christians openly shed tears at the Mass. Earlier in the week, the Secretary General of the Diocese of Yei, Fr. Emmanuel Sebit told media that he believed that the death of Sr. Veronika was "a tragic accident." According to Fr. Emmanuel, being the eve of anniversary celebrations marking 30 years of the formation of Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLA), the army had been deployed in large numbers to protect civilians. There were several roadblocks on most major high...
Holy Mass in memory of Sr. Veronika Rackova has been held over the weekend at Yei’s Christ the King Cathedral in South Sudan. Sr. Veronika, a medical doctor at St Bakhita Health Centre in Yei, South Sudan died Friday of her wounds after being shot at in South Sudan, last week.
Speaking at the Mass, the Vicar General of Yei Diocese, Fr. Zachariah Angutuwa Sebit told the congregation that Sr. Veronika knew she was dying. As Fr. Angutuwa Sebit narrated the last days of Sr. Veronika, priests and Christians openly shed tears at the Mass.
Earlier in the week, the Secretary General of the Diocese of Yei, Fr. Emmanuel Sebit told media that he believed that the death of Sr. Veronika was "a tragic accident." According to Fr. Emmanuel, being the eve of anniversary celebrations marking 30 years of the formation of Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLA), the army had been deployed in large numbers to protect civilians. There were several roadblocks on most major highways.
Refering to the shooting, the Bishop of Yei, Erkolano Lodu Tombe, who celebrated Sr. Veronika’s Mass told the congregation that security personnel should not let wrong elements provoke citizens into “unnecessary reactions.” The Bishop spoke of his profound sadness at the death of Sr. Veronika when the country had just begun to take steps towards peace.
Bishop Erkolano urged military commanders to punish immediately soldiers who abuse their role while protecting lives and property of citizens. Earlier this week, the government said it had arrested three SPLA soldiers for the shooting.
Yei River State Information Minister, Stephen Lodu Onesimo, described the killing of Sr. Veronika as an “undisciplined and barbaric act.” He said the culprits “must be brought to justice.”
Sister Veronika Rackova a Slovakian missionary was a religious sister of the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (SSpS). While working in South Sudan, she served as head of St Bakhita’s Medical Centre in Yei. She was shot at and severely wounded on 16 May by SPLA soldiers who were on night patrol in Yei Municipality at around 1.00 am. The shooting happened while Sr. Veronika was driving the St Bakhita ambulance on her way back from Harvester's Health Centre, a more specialised facility for women and children. She had just delivered a patient with a complicated case of delivery for specialised treatment and care. Sr. Veronika died on 20 May at the Nairobi Hospital in Kenya, where she had been flown for emergency treatment.
Provincial Regional Superior of the SSpS sisters, Sister Maria Jerly said the death of Sr. Veronika was a great torment for members of her congregation especially those working in South Sudan. Notwithstanding the tragic death, she reiterated that sisters would continue working in South Sudan.
"It is our hope to continue to serve the needy people of this great nation of Africa despite this unfortunate incident," Sister Jerly told journalists in South Sudan.
(Catholic Radio Network, South Sudan)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va
(Vatican Radio) A relic of St Thomas Becket, the 12th century English archbishop murdered at the altar in Canterbury Cathedral, is returning home this week from Hungary, where it has been venerated as a powerful symbol of the Church’s struggle for religious freedom.The relic, a small fragment of bone, is believed to have been taken to Hungary shortly after the assassination and has been kept for the past eight centuries in Esztergom Basilica. Becket’s murder by four knights in December 1170 marked the dramatic end of a long feud with King Henry II and the start of a popular tradition of pilgrimage to his tomb.Under Henry VIII, his shrine was destroyed and his name was removed from the Anglican calendar, yet today he is being seen a sign of shared Christian heritage and a powerful symbol of those modern martyrs being persecuted for their faith.Hungary’s president will join top Catholic and Anglican leaders for liturgies at both Westminster Cathedral and Westminste...
(Vatican Radio) A relic of St Thomas Becket, the 12th century English archbishop murdered at the altar in Canterbury Cathedral, is returning home this week from Hungary, where it has been venerated as a powerful symbol of the Church’s struggle for religious freedom.
The relic, a small fragment of bone, is believed to have been taken to Hungary shortly after the assassination and has been kept for the past eight centuries in Esztergom Basilica. Becket’s murder by four knights in December 1170 marked the dramatic end of a long feud with King Henry II and the start of a popular tradition of pilgrimage to his tomb.
Under Henry VIII, his shrine was destroyed and his name was removed from the Anglican calendar, yet today he is being seen a sign of shared Christian heritage and a powerful symbol of those modern martyrs being persecuted for their faith.
Hungary’s president will join top Catholic and Anglican leaders for liturgies at both Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, before the relic continues its journey to Canterbury Cathedral.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols is presiding at Mass to welcome the relics to Westminster Cathedral – he talked to Philippa Hitchen about this unprecedented ecumenical initiative...
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Cardinal Nichols says the initiative comes from Hungarian Cardinal Erdo and the Hungarian government, since these relics have been there, almost since Becket’s death, and have been an important focal point for Catholic life, especially during the period of Communist domination.
The cardinal notes that Becket stood firmly for the rights of the Church and particularly of the clergy in the tussle that was going on in juridical matters between Church and State. Later, during the Reformation when Henry XIII wanted to obliterate the feast and the memory of Becket, Catholic priests coming to England and risking their lives appealed to Becket as their patron.
In this new ecumenical era, Cardinal Nichols says the devotion to Becket has grown as people see in his life a “total dedication to the ministry of being a priest, and in his case a bishop, which inspires every priest today”.
Following the liturgies in Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, the relics will go at the end of the week to Canterbury and be received in the Cathedral, following a precession through the city centre. The Cardinal says this event was “prefigured in a way by the visit of John Paul II” who knelt together in prayer with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, at the spot where Becket was martyred. That encounter, he says, was the “beginning of an important healing and moving forward to a time of sharing and esteem” for those who were heroic in their faith.
Cardinal Nichols also notes that veneration for Becket spread right across Europe in the years after his death as many people came to visit the site of his murder. Today, he adds, as the practice of pilgrimages is once again on the rise, Pope Francis is urging us to see our own lives as a pilgrimage, especially during this Year of Mercy.
(Vatican Radio) No Christian can exist without joy: that’s what Pope Francis said in his Homily at Mass Monday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta guesthouse. The Pope stressed that even through life’s difficulties, the Christian knows he can trust in Jesus and find hope. The Pope also reminded the faithful they should not allow riches to dominate their lives because they ultimately lead to sadness. Christians live in joy and amazement because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Commenting on the First Letter of St. Peter the Apostle, Francis pointed out that, even if we are plagued by trials, we can never lose the joy of knowing that God “regenerated us in Christ and gave us hope".The identity card of the Christian is the joy of the GospelHe noted that we can go towards that “hope” which "the early Christians depicted as an anchor in heaven." We too, can “ take the rope and go up there," to...
(Vatican Radio) No Christian can exist without joy: that’s what Pope Francis said in his Homily at Mass Monday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta guesthouse. The Pope stressed that even through life’s difficulties, the Christian knows he can trust in Jesus and find hope. The Pope also reminded the faithful they should not allow riches to dominate their lives because they ultimately lead to sadness.
Christians live in joy and amazement because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Commenting on the First Letter of St. Peter the Apostle, Francis pointed out that, even if we are plagued by trials, we can never lose the joy of knowing that God “regenerated us in Christ and gave us hope".
The identity card of the Christian is the joy of the Gospel
He noted that we can go towards that “hope” which "the early Christians depicted as an anchor in heaven." We too, can “ take the rope and go up there," to "that hope" that brings joy:
"A Christian is a man, or a woman, of joy: a man and a woman with joy in their heart. There is no Christian without joy!” You may be told that there are many such Christians, the Pope warned, but “they are not Christians! They say they are, but they are not! They are missing something.”
“The Christian identity card is joy, the Gospel’s joy, the joy of having been chosen by Jesus, saved by Jesus, regenerated by Jesus; the joy of that hope that Jesus is waiting for us, the joy that - even with the crosses and sufferings we bear in this life - is expressed in another way, which is peace in the certainty that Jesus accompanies us, is with us. "
"The Christian,” he added, “grows in joy through trusting in God. God always remembers his covenant." And in turn, "the Christian knows that God remembers him, that God loves him , that God accompanies him, that God is waiting for him. And this is joy."
Slavery to riches is an evil which leads to sadness
Turning to the day’s Gospel story regarding Jesus’s encounter with the wealthy man, the Pope observed the young man “was not able to open his heart to joy [and] chose sadness," "for he had many possessions."
"He was shackled to his belongings! Jesus told us that one cannot serve two masters: either one must serve God or serve riches. Riches are not bad in themselves, but slavery to wealth – this, is wickedness. The poor young man went away sad ... 'He frowned and he went away sorrowful'. When in our parishes, in our communities, in our institutions we find people who say they are Christians and want to be Christian but are sad, something is wrong there. And we must help them to find Jesus, to take away that sadness, so that they may rejoice in the gospel, can have this joy which is truly of the Gospel. "
"Joy and amazement:" that’s what the Christian feels when faced with God’s revelation and love, and “the emotions stirred by the Holy Spirit,” Pope Francis added. And here, the Pope recalled Jesus’s disappointment when he told the Apostles that the young man could not follow him, because he was too attached to his riches. And when the Apostles asked the Lord, ‘who then, can be saved?’ The Lord answered, "Impossible for men," "but not for God."
Christian joy, then, and the ability to “be saved from worldly attachments” can “only come through the power of God, with the strength of the Holy Spirit."
Concluding, Pope Francis prayed that the Lord “graces us with amazement in his presence, in the presence of the many spiritual treasures he has given us; and with this amazement, may he give us joy, the joy of our lives - and of having our hearts at peace even when faced with many difficulties. And may he protect us from seeking happiness in so many things that ultimately sadden us: they promise much, but they will not give us anything! Remember well: a Christian is a man, and a woman, of joy, joy in the Lord; a man and a woman of wonder ."
This year's Billboard Music Awards promised to be heavy on emotion during its biggest performances by iconic artists such as Celine Dion and Madonna. And they certainly delivered on Sunday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a political statement about transgender rights, a tender Prince tribute and Dion's return after personal losses. These are the most memorable moments of the night....
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- After decades of officially-imposed detachment from the "Great Satan," Iranians are this time transfixed by the wild U.S. presidential campaign, mindful that the next White House occupant could have direct impact on their lives....
