Catholic News 2
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Stacey English has modest desires for her 7-year-old daughter Addison: Be able to eat without gagging and move both her arms....
LONDON (AP) -- Prosecutors charged a former senior police commander with manslaughter on Wednesday in the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster that left 96 people dead - long-awaited vindication for the families of the victims after authorities spent years blaming fans for the catastrophe....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senior officials from the departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security labored Wednesday to finalize rules for visitors from six mostly Muslim nations who hope to avoid the Trump administration's revived travel ban and come to the United States....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate GOP leaders scrambled Wednesday for a deal to revive their health care legislation, but encountered new obstacles as recalcitrant senators doubled down on their opposition to the bill sought by President Donald Trump....
(Vatican Radio) How to be engaging on social media. How to build relationships beyond our own virtual world. How to rebuild trust through an authentic online presence. Those questions were at the heart of a seminar on Wednesday at Rome’s Pontifical Holy Cross university, focused on the theme ‘Communicating in the Digital Culture’.Organised by the British embassy to the Holy See, the encounter featured presentations by two well-known speakers, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Civiltà Cattolica journal, and the former British ambassador to Lebanon, Tom Fletcher, now a professor of international relations at New York University.Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report: Love them or hate them, social media sites are an important part of daily life for a large part of the global population. So much so, that Fr Spadaro insists it’s no longer possible to talk about pastoral work without understanding what goes on in the digital world.Pope Franc...
(Vatican Radio) How to be engaging on social media. How to build relationships beyond our own virtual world. How to rebuild trust through an authentic online presence. Those questions were at the heart of a seminar on Wednesday at Rome’s Pontifical Holy Cross university, focused on the theme ‘Communicating in the Digital Culture’.
Organised by the British embassy to the Holy See, the encounter featured presentations by two well-known speakers, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Civiltà Cattolica journal, and the former British ambassador to Lebanon, Tom Fletcher, now a professor of international relations at New York University.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report:
Love them or hate them, social media sites are an important part of daily life for a large part of the global population. So much so, that Fr Spadaro insists it’s no longer possible to talk about pastoral work without understanding what goes on in the digital world.
Pope Francis’s social media accounts are currently among the most influential of all world leaders, with over 33 million followers on Twitter and over four million on his more recent Instagram profile.
Communicating the Gospel of Mercy
This clearly offers huge opportunities to communicate “the Gospel of Mercy to all peoples and cultures”, as the pope himself puts it. Yet Fr Spadaro notes it also raises new challenges about how we engage people effectively in this new digital environment.
Asking the right questions
We live in world of search engines, he says, where “everything has an answer” yet we are losing sight of the important questions in life. The best way forward, he goes on, is not to “consider the Gospel itself as a book of answers, but as a book of questions”.
Sometimes, he says, “the Church […]is answering questions that no one is interested in” so we have to recover the ability to discern which are the important questions for our life today.
Breaking out of the filter bubble
Secondly, he notes how digital technology filters the results of our searches, so that “in the end, our world is shrinking so we are caged in a kind of filter bubble” in which “we’re always in touch with people who think like us”. We have to break out of this bubble, he says, by being curious and posing the right questions.
Creating relationships
Thirdly, Fr Spadaro says, we have to realise that communicating no longer means broadcasting, but rather it means sharing in a way that “each one of us is involved”. If we post on Facebook, he explains, we don't just share a content, but we communicate ourselves, becoming witnesses and creating relationships – if we don't create relationships, he says, “we can’t spread the Gospel”.
For the diplomatic world too, Professor Tom Fletcher believes that social media sites are the best tool for building trust to promote coexistence and cooperation.
Promoting coexistence
The “big dividing line of the 21st century”, he says, “is between people who believe in coexistence” across different faiths, communities and nationalities, and “people who don’t, the people who believe that the answer to the 21st century is just a bigger wall”.
Rules of engagement
Fletcher spells out his three basic rules of engagement in the digital world: firstly, he says, “it’s really important to be authentic”, secondly, “always try to be engaging” by creating “new interesting content”, and thirdly, “be purposeful”, which, for him, means both promoting national interests, but also promoting partnership and collaboration between people.
Don't leave space to extremists
Fletcher urges everyone to “take the plunge” into social media because “if we leave this space to extremists, but also to those who are basically apathetic or cynical”, there is “a real risk of the next generation only hearing their voices”. The “silent majority tend to be outshouted”, he concludes, “so we need to hear more from the coexisters”.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged companies and businesses to bring more young people into the workplace saying it is both “foolish and short-sighted” to force workers to carry on working in old-age.The Pope’s words came as he addressed representatives and members of Italy’s CISL - Confederation of Trade Unions - whom he received in the Vatican.Francis described work as a “form of civil love” that allows men and women not only to earn their livings and flourish as persons, but also to keep the world going. But, he pointed out that work is not everything and no one must work all the time. He also said that there are people who must not work – like children - who must be safeguarded from child labour – sick people whose right it is not to work, and elderly people who have a right to a “just pension”.And on the topic of pensions, the Pope denounced both the ``golden retirements'' given to some pe...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged companies and businesses to bring more young people into the workplace saying it is both “foolish and short-sighted” to force workers to carry on working in old-age.
The Pope’s words came as he addressed representatives and members of Italy’s CISL - Confederation of Trade Unions - whom he received in the Vatican.
Francis described work as a “form of civil love” that allows men and women not only to earn their livings and flourish as persons, but also to keep the world going.
But, he pointed out that work is not everything and no one must work all the time. He also said that there are people who must not work – like children - who must be safeguarded from child labour – sick people whose right it is not to work, and elderly people who have a right to a “just pension”.
And on the topic of pensions, the Pope denounced both the ``golden retirements'' given to some pensioners and the meager ones given to others and said that both are an offense to the dignity of work.
He also made a strong appeal to employers and policy-makers saying that “a society that forces its workers to work for too long, thus keeping an entire generation of young people from taking their places, is foolish and short-sighted”.
“There is an urgent need – the Pope said – for a new social contract for labour” in order to bring more young people into the workforce.
Highlighting the “epochal challenges” faced by trade unions at this time in history, he urged them to be the prophetic face of society, to continue to give voice to the voiceless and to defend the rights of the most fragile and vulnerable workers.
“In our advanced capitalistic societies, trade unions risk losing their prophetic nature and becoming too similar to the institutions and the powers they should be criticizing. With the passing of time Unions have ended up looking too much like political parties” he said.
The other fundamental challenge for Unions Pope Francis pinpointed is that of the capacity to be renewed and updated.
Not only, he explained, must Unions protect those who are within the system, it must also look to and protect those who have no rights, because those who are excluded from the world of work are deprived of their rights and excluded from democracy.
Pope Francis concluded his address with a reflection on how capitalism seems to have forgotten the social nature of economy.
“Let us think, he said, of the 40% of young people in Italy who have no work. That is the existential periphery where you have to take action.”
“And women, he said, are still considered second class workers; they earn less and they are more easily exploited” he said: “Do something!”
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday made appointments in the Asia and Pacific regions, with a bishop in Indonesia, a coadjutor bishop and an auxiliary bishop in South Korea and a prefect apostolic in the Marshal Islands. INDONESIA - PANGKALPINANGIn Indonesia he appointed Franciscan Father Adrianus Sunarko the Bishop of Pangkalpinang. The 50-year old priest is the Franciscan provincial superior of Indonesia as well as the president of the Conference of Men Major Superiors of Indonesia (KOPTARI). He takes over from Bishop Hilarius Moa Nurak SVD, who passed away on 29 April, 2016. Bishop Yohanes Harun Yuwono of Tanjungkarang was serving as its Apostolic Administrator.Born on 7 December, 1966 in Merauke, Papua, Fr. Sunarko attended the minor seminary of Mertoyudan. He did his philosophical studies at the Driyarkara High School of Philosophy in Jakarta and his theology at the Wedhabhakti Pontifical Faculty in Yogyakarta. He...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday made appointments in the Asia and Pacific regions, with a bishop in Indonesia, a coadjutor bishop and an auxiliary bishop in South Korea and a prefect apostolic in the Marshal Islands.
INDONESIA - PANGKALPINANG
In Indonesia he appointed Franciscan Father Adrianus Sunarko the Bishop of Pangkalpinang. The 50-year old priest is the Franciscan provincial superior of Indonesia as well as the president of the Conference of Men Major Superiors of Indonesia (KOPTARI). He takes over from Bishop Hilarius Moa Nurak SVD, who passed away on 29 April, 2016. Bishop Yohanes Harun Yuwono of Tanjungkarang was serving as its Apostolic Administrator.
Born on 7 December, 1966 in Merauke, Papua, Fr. Sunarko attended the minor seminary of Mertoyudan. He did his philosophical studies at the Driyarkara High School of Philosophy in Jakarta and his theology at the Wedhabhakti Pontifical Faculty in Yogyakarta. He took his perpetual vows as a member of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM) on 15 August, 1994, and was ordained a priest on 8 July, the following year.
As a priest, Fr. Sunarko was assigned various responsibilities:
1995-1996: Assistant parish priest of Kramat (Jakarta Archdiocese)
1996-2002: Bachelors degree in theology at the Albert-Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany
Since From 2002: Professor at Driyarkara High School of Philosophy in Jakarta
2004-2007: OFM provincial definitor
2007-2009: OFM vice provincial of Indonesia
Since 2010: OFM provincial superior of India ( 2 terms)
Since 2014: President of the Conference of Men Major Superiors of Indonesia (KOPTARI)
The Diocese of Pangkalpinang, created in 1961, is a suffragan of Palembang Archdiocese. Out of a total population of 3.345.000 over an area of 30,442 sqkm, Pangkalpinang has 58.000 Catholics. They are being ministered to by 76 priests (61 diocesan and 15 religious), 78 nuns and 15 seminarians.
SOUTH KOREA - SEOUL
In South Korea, Pope Francis appointed Fr. Job Koo Yobi as Auxiliary Bishop of Seoul Archdiocese in the capital. With this appointment, the 66-year old parish priest of Po-I Dong has been assigned the titular see of Sfasferia. Fr. Koo will assist the Archbishop, Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung who is already being aided by three other auxiliary bishops.
Born on 25 January, 1951, Fr. Koo studied at the major seminary of the Suwon (1985-1989 and 1990-1993). Enrolled for mandatory military service, he served as sergeant in aviation (1989-1990). He was ordained a priest for Seoul Archdiocese on 24 February, 1981.
As a priest he held the following positions:
1981-1982: Assistant parish priest of I-Mun Dong
1982-1983: Assistant parish priest of Shin-Dang Dong;
1983-1986: Studied at the Association of Priests of Prado at Lyons, France
1986-1991: Parish priest of Guro Dong
1991-1993: Parish priest of Sang-ge Dong
1993-1998: National director of the Association for Young Catholic Workers; member of the Labour Pastoral Commission, in-charge of the Association of Priests of Prado in South Korea.
1998-2000: Studied for licentiate in spirituality a the Catholic Institute of Paris
2000-2002: Parish priest of Jong-ro
2002-2007: Spiritual director of the major seminary
2007-2013: In charge of the Association of Priests of Prado in South Korea; member of the International Council of Association of Priests of Prado, headquartered in South Korea.
Since 2013: Parish priest of Po-I Dong.
SOUTH KOREA - CHEJU
Elsewhere in South Korea the Pope appointed Father Pius Moon Chang-woo as Coadjutor Bishop of Cheju Diocese that is headed by 71-year old Bishop Peter Kang U-il. Unlike an auxiliary bishop, a coadjutor bishop has the right to succession in the case of the retirement, resignation or death of the current bishop.
Fr. Moon, the principal of the Shinsong Girls’ Middle School in Cheju, was born on 15 March, 1963 in Cheju. He studied philosophy and theology at the major seminary of Gwangju, and followed it up with a master’s degree in theology (1994-1996).
After his priestly ordination for Cheju Diocese on 10 February, 1996, he held the following positions:
1996-1997: Assistant parish priest of Seomoon
1997-1998: Assistant parish priest of Chungang
1998-1999: Parish priest of Choongmoon
1999-2006: Director of the diocesan Office for Youth and Education and of the Diocesan Students’ Association, director of the Office for Catechesis and Migrants.
2006-2016: Professor and spiritual father at the Catholic University of Gwangju
2010-2015: Doctoral studies
Since 2016: Principal of the Shinsong Girls’ Middle School
Erected in 1977, Cheju Diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Gwangju. Out of a population of 641,355 spread across an area of 1,849 sqkm, Catholics number 75,579. They are served by 47 diocesan priests, 7 religious priests, 108 nuns and 13 major seminarians.
MARSHALL ISLANDS
Meanwhile, in the Marshall Island in the Pacific Ocean, the Pope appointed Fr. Ariel Galido as Prefect Apostolic. The priest of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) takes over from 71-year old Fr.. Raymundo Sabio MSC, who has stepped down.
Fr. Galido was born on 3 June, 1975, at Bacuag, Surigao del Norte, in the Philippines. He was ordained a priest on 9 June, 2004, and the following year was sent to the Marshall Islands, where he served in various islands of the islands.
Created in 1993, the Prefecture Apostolic of the Marshall Islands was entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Made up of 5 islands and 29 atolls, Marshall Islands has an area of 181.3 sqkm with a population of 58,800. Of these, 4.925 are Catholics, who are ministered to by 6 priests (1 diocesan, 5 religious), a deacon, a religious brother and 8 sisters.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over an Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of Cardinals on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Holy Father created five new Cardinals – who are representative members of the Clergy of Rome, whose duties are to elect the Bishop of Rome, to advise the Pope, and to assist him in governing the universal Church.Listen to the report by Chris Altieri: The five new Cardinals are: Jean Zerbo, Archbishop of Bamako, Mali; Juan José Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, ??Spain; Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden; Luis Marie-Ling Mangkhanekhoun, Apostolic Vicar of Paksé, Laos; Gregorio Rosa Chávez, Bishop of Mulli, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, El Savador.In his allocution on the occasion, the Holy Father focused on the mission of service to which the new Cardinals are called.“[Jesus] calls you to serve like him and with him,” Pope Francis said, &ldqu...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over an Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of Cardinals on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Holy Father created five new Cardinals – who are representative members of the Clergy of Rome, whose duties are to elect the Bishop of Rome, to advise the Pope, and to assist him in governing the universal Church.
Listen to the report by Chris Altieri:
The five new Cardinals are: Jean Zerbo, Archbishop of Bamako, Mali; Juan José Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, ??Spain; Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden; Luis Marie-Ling Mangkhanekhoun, Apostolic Vicar of Paksé, Laos; Gregorio Rosa Chávez, Bishop of Mulli, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, El Savador.
In his allocution on the occasion, the Holy Father focused on the mission of service to which the new Cardinals are called.
“[Jesus] calls you to serve like him and with him,” Pope Francis said, “to serve the Father and your brothers and sisters.”
The Pope went on to say, “He calls you to face as he did the sin of the world and its effects on today’s humanity.” Pope Francis went on to offer an exhortation. “Follow him, and walk ahead of the holy people of God, with your gaze fixed on the Lord’s cross and resurrection.”
The Consistory took place on the eve of the great Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, martyrs and patrons of the Church of Rome.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered an allocution on Wednesday at the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The prelates to be created Cardinals during the Consistory are: Jean Zerbo, Archbishop of Bamako, Mali; Juan José Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, ??Spain; Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden; Luis Marie-Ling Mangkhanekhoun, Apostolic Vicar of Paksé, Laos; Gregorio Rosa Chávez, Bishop of Mulli, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, El Savador. Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis' prepared remarks, in their official English translation...******************************************“Jesus was walking ahead of them”. This is the picture that the Gospel we have just read (Mk 10:32-45) presents to us. It serves as a backdrop to the act now taking place: this Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals.Jesus walks resolutely towards Jerusal...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered an allocution on Wednesday at the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The prelates to be created Cardinals during the Consistory are: Jean Zerbo, Archbishop of Bamako, Mali; Juan José Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, ??Spain; Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden; Luis Marie-Ling Mangkhanekhoun, Apostolic Vicar of Paksé, Laos; Gregorio Rosa Chávez, Bishop of Mulli, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, El Savador. Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis' prepared remarks, in their official English translation...
******************************************
“Jesus was walking ahead of them”. This is the picture that the Gospel we have just read (Mk 10:32-45) presents to us. It serves as a backdrop to the act now taking place: this Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals.
Jesus walks resolutely towards Jerusalem. He knows fully what awaits him there; on more than one occasion, he spoke of it to his disciples. But there is a distance between the heart of Jesus and the hearts of the disciples, which only the Holy Spirit can bridge. Jesus knows this, and so he is patient with them. He speaks to them frankly and, above all, he goes before them. He walks ahead of them.
Along the way, the disciples themselves are distracted by concerns that have nothing to do with the “direction” taken by Jesus, with his will, which is completely one with that of the Father”. So it is that, as we heard, the two brothers James and John think of how great it would be to take their seats at the right and at the left of the King of Israel (cf. v. 37). They are not facing reality! They think they see, but they don’t. They think they know, but they don’t. They think they understand better than the others, but they don’t…
For the reality is completely different. It is what Jesus sees and what directs his steps. The reality is the cross. It is the sin of the world that he came to take upon himself, and to uproot from the world of men and women. It is the innocent who suffer and die as victims of war and terrorism; the forms of enslavement that continue to violate human dignity even in the age of human rights; the refugee camps which at times seem more like a hell than a purgatory; the systematic discarding of all that is no longer useful, people included.
This is what Jesus sees as he walks towards Jerusalem. During his public ministry he made known the Father’s tender love by healing all who were oppressed by the evil one (cf. Acts 10:38). Now he realizes that the moment has come to press on to the very end, to eliminate evil at its root. And so, he walks resolutely towards the cross.
We too, brothers and sisters, are journeying with Jesus along this path. I speak above all to you, dear new Cardinals. Jesus “is walking ahead of you”, and he asks you to follow him resolutely on his way. He calls you to look at reality, not to let yourselves be distracted by other interests or prospects. He has not called you to become “princes” of the Church, to “sit at his right or at his left”. He calls you to serve like him and with him. To serve the Father and your brothers and sisters. He calls you to face as he did the sin of the world and its effects on today’s humanity. Follow him, and walk ahead of the holy people of God, with your gaze fixed on the Lord’s cross and resurrection.
And now, with faith and through the intercession of the Virgin Mother, let us ask the Holy Spirit to bridge every gap between our hearts and the heart of Christ, so that our lives may be completely at the service of God and all our brothers and sisters.
As political parties in Timor-Leste or East Timor are in the midst of a campaign for next month parliamentary elections, the Catholic Church in Asia’s youngest nation is urging them to ramp up their efforts in reducing poverty and improving the lives of people. Twenty-one parties are vying with one another for 65 parliamentary seats in the 22 July elections. The election that kicked off on 20 June will run up to 19 July."The most important thing is that political parties take concrete action to improve the lives of today's poor," said Father Herminio Goncalves, chairman of Dili Diocese's Justice and Peace Commission. While more than 80 percent of people rely on agriculture, there has been no improvement in the sector. A case in point are the rice fields that have dried up because of poor irrigation.According to the government, poverty in Timor-Leste is decreasing with the national poverty rate having fallen from 50.4 percent in 2007 to 41.8 perc...
As political parties in Timor-Leste or East Timor are in the midst of a campaign for next month parliamentary elections, the Catholic Church in Asia’s youngest nation is urging them to ramp up their efforts in reducing poverty and improving the lives of people. Twenty-one parties are vying with one another for 65 parliamentary seats in the 22 July elections. The election that kicked off on 20 June will run up to 19 July.
"The most important thing is that political parties take concrete action to improve the lives of today's poor," said Father Herminio Goncalves, chairman of Dili Diocese's Justice and Peace Commission. While more than 80 percent of people rely on agriculture, there has been no improvement in the sector. A case in point are the rice fields that have dried up because of poor irrigation.
According to the government, poverty in Timor-Leste is decreasing with the national poverty rate having fallen from 50.4 percent in 2007 to 41.8 percent in 2014. The country's GDP per capita has also improved from US$762.17 in 1999 to US$983.50 in 2015, the last time it was recorded. However, Church leaders and observers say poverty rate remains high, with many going without electricity or sanitation. Many suffer malnutrition, unemployment and poor education. (Source: UCAN)
"This is a serious problem that needs immediate attention from parties," Father Goncalves said on June 26. The priest also said the church will continue voicing these concerns throughout the campaign.
With over 95% of its 1.2 million people professing Catholicism, the Church in Timor-Leste has a powerful voice. The former Portuguese colony was invaded by Indonesia after Portugal withdrew in 1975. The violence that followed saw up to 200,000 people killed before the Timorese voted for independence in 1999. That was met with further violence. Timor-Leste became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on 20 May 2002.
According to the International Republican Institute, a U.S.-based nonprofit and nonpartisan organization committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide, the Fretilin party and CNRT (National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction) established by Xanana Gusmao in 2007 are the election frontrunners in the elections, followed by the Democratic Party and the newly established People's Liberation Party by former president Taur Matan Ruak.
Former president and CNRT leader, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, told thousands of supporters last week that under his leadership there have been many pro-poor programs. Gusmao said his party has played a crucial role in preserving peace, unity and stability, which are fundamental cornerstones to ensuring the success of development. "For the next five years, CNRT will focus more on improving the lives of small people, especially in rural areas, to create more job opportunities," he said.
