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(Vatican Radio) The official programme for Pope Francis’ 3-day visit to Armenia  from 24th to 26th June was released on Friday. 

Please see details below: (all times local)

Friday 24th June

09.00 Departure from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport for Yerevan

15.00 Arrival at Yereven’s Zvaretnots Airport with welcome ceremony there.

15.35 Visit to pray at Apostolic Cathedral at Etchmiadzin (Greetings given by Catholicos of All Armenia, Karekin II and by Pope Francis)

18.00 Courtesy visit to Armenia's President in the Presidential Palace.

18.30 Meeting with civil authorities and the Diplomatic Corps in the Presidential Palace (speech by the Pope)

19.30 Private meeting with Catholicos in the Apostolic Palace

Saturday 25th June

08.45 Visit to Tzitzernakaberd Memorial Complex

10.00 Journey by plane to Gyumri

11.00 Holy Mass in Gyumri’s Vartanants Square (Homily By the Pope and greeting by Catholicos)

16.45 Visit to the Holy Martyrs Armenian Catholic Cathedral in Gyumri

18.00 Journey by plane back to Yerevan

19.00 Ecumenical Encounter and Prayer for Peace in Yerevan’s Republic Square

Sunday 26th June

09.15 Meeting with Catholic Bishops of Armenia in the Apostolic Palace at Etchmiadzin

10.00 Participation in Divine Liturgy in the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral (Homily by Catholicos and greeting by the Pope)

Ecumenical Lunch with the Catholicos, Archbishops and Bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholic Bishops of Armenia and Cardinals and Bishops from the Papal entourage in the Apostolic Palace.

15.00 Meeting with delegates and benefactors of the Apostolic Armenian Church in the Apostolic Palace

16.05 Signing of Joint Declaration in the Apostolic Palace

17.00 Prayer at Khor Virap Monastery

18.15 Farewell Ceremony at airport

18.30 Departure by plane for Rome

20.40 Arrival at Rome’s Ciampino Airport

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Catholic professionals from various sectors on Tuesday convened to launch the Harare Chapter of the Catholic Professionals Network of Zimbabwe (CPNZ).

The association which has so far has existed in Gweru and Mutare brings together Catholics with various professions, aiming at developing an international and intercultural platform and network where professionals and intellectuals professing the Catholic faith can share their faith, life and professional experiences while identifying opportunities for service and growth.

The launch also invited the professionals to reflect on the dignity and integrity of the family vocation guided by the Pope’s apostolic exhortation on the family, “Amoris Laetitia.”

The guest speaker, Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe, Professor Ranganai Zinyemba, stressed on the Pontiff’s encouragement to families and how he reminds the Church to avoid judging and imposing rules on people without considering their struggles. The Church is called to ponder on the role of personal conscience in moral decisions and pastoral discernment.

He said the long-awaited document whose goal is to help families experience God’s love requires ‘new pastoral methods.’

At the same function, the network’s National Chaplain, Fr Nigel Johnson SJ, said the Church needs to meet the people where they are, which also means ‘not leaving them there’ because people are found in very different situations.

Judith Dembetembe Chiyangwa, the CPNZ National Chairperson, handed over the network’s Constitution and Strategic Plan to Fr Nigel Johnson SJ. A seven-member interim committee was earlier set-up. The CPNZ National Chair told the gathering that the task of the professionals’ network was to deliberate and apply the members’ professional skills in complementing the church’s service to the society.

(Jesuit Communications Zimbabwe –Mozambique)

Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va

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Washington D.C., May 13, 2016 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Thirty-five years after Saint John Paul II was shot in St. Peter’s Square, a witness from the front rows of the security barricades says that the now-canonized Pope offers an example – and a challenge –   of forgiveness for children who witness violence.

For witnesses and victims of violence, many experience the temptation of hopelessness, despair and even hatred, David DePerro told CNA in an interview.

“Then you think of John Paul visiting Mehmet Ali Agca,” DePerro said, pointing to the Pope’s visit to the man who attempted to assassinate him on May 13, 1981.   “In that respect, it’s extremely annoying,” DePerro said with a laugh, “because you have to forgive. You just have to.”

May 13, 1981

In 1981, David DePerro was nine years old, living with his siblings and parents in Würzburg, West Germany, where his father was stationed as a member of the U.S. Army. In May of that year, his family took their second trip to Rome along with a tour group from the Army base. As one of three children, David was paired as seat mates with a young priest, Fr. Rachly, for the entirety of the bus ride from West Germany to Italy.

On May 13, the group went to the Pope’s weekly Wednesday audience, and “all the kids crowded up to the front” in order to shake hands with the Pope and wave as he drove by in the Popemobile. David and his siblings were up against the security barricade along the open-air vehicle’s route in St. Peter’s square, and the Pope drove by as they reached out. Several minutes later, the Popemobile circled back so Pope John Paul II could greet the children and faithful gathered on the other side of the aisle cleared out for the vehicle’s route.  

The Popemobile passed by again, this time across from DePerro’s group. “It was then that I heard the popping sounds,” he recalled. “That was all it was- popping sounds: I thought they were fireworks.”  Still the sound of fireworks was unsettling, odd:  David had only ever seen fireworks before on the Fourth of July or New Years’ Eve - not on a Wednesday in broad daylight.

As it turned out, Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish citizen, had attempted to assassinate John Paul II, firing four bullets at the Roman Pontiff. Fr. Rachly, who had stood behind David at St. Peters’ Square, had seen Agca raise his gun as he attacked the Holy Father.

The scene after the shooting was chaotic, as the Popemobile sped off, DePerro remembered. “We didn’t know what was happening.” After the Pope left, the witnesses were kept in the square “for hours and hours and hours- they would not let us leave” as Swiss Guards confiscated cameras and film to search for evidence and to treat bystanders who were injured in the shooting.

The four bullets Agca fired hit John Paul II and left him seriously injured, passing through the Pope’s abdomen, arms, and narrowly missing his heart. Two of the bullets that passed through the Pope hit bystanders, one of whom was a member of DePerro’s group from Germany. The woman, who had to stay in Rome for treatment, had been struck in the elbow while resting her arms on the shoulders of one of the religious sisters traveling with the Army group. The woman’s elbow was only inches from the sister’s head.

“When John Paul II said ‘the gunman fired the gun, but Mary guided the bullet,’” DePerro started, “there was more than one bullet that she guided that day.”

“We were very, very blessed. We were spared the worst.”

Shock and Healing

Following the attack, DePerro and the other witnesses of the assassination attempt were in shock. However, as a child, David DePerro did not know what shock was, much less how to respond to it. “I didn’t know what that was called. When you’re a kid, you feel a lot of things or you feel nothing.”

DePerro said that while what he experienced was troubling it did not make him sad – even though he felt it should. “There was just an emptiness and a confusion,” he recalled. This emptiness contrasted, however with others’ responses of sadness and tears, making David feel “guilty because I thought I should be crying.”

“I started crying crocodile tears. I started crying because I was supposed to be crying.”

He added that in the days following the assassination attempt, the group continued its tour of Italy, traveling to Assisi and holding Masses to pray for the Pope and their own group member injured in the attack. “I have no recollection of that service,” DePerro said, adding later that he has little recollection of any details of the trip after the assassination attempt. Instead, he said, DePerro turns to memories from his parents and others on the trip to fill in the gaps of what happened.

DePerro remained silent on his experiences as he reflected on them for years, until the aftermath of the shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007. Since then  DePerro has taken to speaking to children and young adults, as well as to news outlets about his experiences during and after the shooting and to offer advice and the  “example of St. John Paul II as a saint to whom they can turn.”

One of the most important points for children and youth who are witnesses of shootings to understand, DePerro said, is that they should be free to talk about and to process their feelings on what happened, no matter what they are. Children who are witnesses of violence should find a trusted adult to talk about what they feel - sadness, anger, nothingness, even gratefulness- without fear of how others will judge those feelings. “It might take a long time to process those feelings. To feel those feelings,” DePerro advised, stressing that as children try to work through what they witnessed “there should be no guilt that it takes a long time to feel those feelings.”

He also stressed the importance of preserving memories and “meaningful artifacts” from important events, even if that event is traumatic. “It's important to capture your memories” DePerro said, explaining that he advises children to write down what they saw as soon as they are able. DePerro also pointed to the importance of physical remainders of the event. He lamented that his family had lost the blue hat he had been wearing to the Papal Audience, a hat that helped neighbors and family pick out David from other children in pictures published in German magazines and other news sources covering the Pope’s shooting.

Most of all, he underlined that each child’s experience is unique – even if they experience the same event. “No one else can understand what you’ve been through,” he said. “The reason why I know I don’t understand it is because I’ve been through it myself.”

St. John Paul II and Forgiveness

While each experience is unique, David DePerro said that SaintJohn Paul II can be a resource and example for those who experience violence. “You can turn to John Paul II as a firm, reliable friend to deal with your spiritual needs, your feelings, regarding what happened, because he certainly does understand.”

The most important aid the Pope can help provide is as an example of forgiveness for those who have harmed others, DePerro said he tells children. After the shooting, John Paul II told the faithful that he had forgiven Agca and asked for prayers for the man. Two years later, the Pope and Agca met for a private visit in the prison where Agca was serving his sentence, and the Pope then met both Agca’s mother and brother in the years following the visit. The Agca family and John Paul II remained in contact until the Pope’s death. Aga was released from Italian prison at the Pope’s request in 2000, and from prison in Turkey for a separate crime in 2006.

While the Pope’s forgiveness is beautiful, it’s also a challenge, DePerro continued. “I have been the victim of violence myself. It was really hard to forgive that person. It was really hard to feel safe again in my own neighborhood, where I was attacked.” However, the example and experience of John Paul II was a call to not be afraid or hardened. “I call John Paul II someone we can turn to in our prayers for ourselves but also for the other person.”

Because of the difficulty of forgiveness, St. John Paul II’s actions after the assassination attempt should not be seen as merely tenderhearted or kind, but a duty and a part of healing, DePerro counseled. “To forgive is not a sentimental proposition,” he said.  “It is a demand that our Lord places upon us but it’s a demand for our benefit.”

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Vatican City, May 13, 2016 / 04:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Yesterday Pope Francis raised eyebrows around the world after declaring his openness to establishing a commission to study the female deaconate, but a careful look at his full response is less of a shocker, and points to nothing new.

In fact, in addition to giving a brief summary of a deaconesses duties in the ancient Church, Pope suggested that in modern times, nuns perhaps already fill the role.

“(The question) touches the problem of the permanent deaconate. One could say that the 'permanent deaconesses' in the life of the Church are the sisters,” he said May 12, with a laugh.

What were these deaconesses? Were they ordained or no?” he asked, and noted that the Council of Chalcedon in 451 spoke about the topic, but was “a bit obscure.” It is because of this obscurity the Pope said he wanted to form a commission to study the topic.

Francis’ comments came in response to a question posed by a sister and member of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), who met with the Pope May 12 as part of their May 9-13 Plenary Assembly, which focuses largely on the role of women in the Church, and obstacles hindering it.

Francis’ lengthy discussion with the sisters consisted of four questions that touched on the lack of consecrated and lay women in decision-making roles in the Church, how to better insert women into the life of the Church, as well as the temptations of both feminism and clericalism.

In the question on deaconesses, the sister asked why the Church doesn’t include women in the permanent deaconate, since they already work with the poor and sick, and, in some cases where there is no priest, distribute communion, lead prayer services and even give the equivalent of a small homily.

“What stops the Church from including women from being permanent deacons, like in the ancient Church? Why not form an official commission to study the question?” the sister asked.

Part of the Church’s sacrament of Holy Orders, the diaconate is currently only open to men.

Pope Francis said the topic of the female deaconate was something that interested him a lot when he came to Rome for meetings. He usually stayed at the Domus Paolo VI residence on this trips, and there met a Syrian theologian who was an expert on the topic of the permanent deaconate.

After asking the man, whom he described as “a good professor, wise, a scholar,” about the role of female deacons, Francis said the answer he got was that their role in the early Church was “to help in the baptism of women, in the immersion…for decency,” and to anoint women's bodies.

In addition to assisting with the full-immersion baptisms of women, deaconesses would also serve as an aide to the bishop in determining the authenticity of domestic abuse, he said.

The Pope recalled how the Syrian professor told him that “when there was a matrimonial judge because the husband beat the wife and she went to the bishop to complain, the deaconesses were in charge of looking at the bruises on the woman’s body from her husband’s beatings and informed the bishop.”

“This, I remember,” he said, noting that while the Church has already published documents on the topic of the permanent deaconate which touch on the topic of deaconesses, including a 2002 document from the International Theological Commission, the conclusion for modern times was still “unclear.”

The document, which gave a thorough historical context of the role of the deaconess in the ancient Church, overwhelmingly concluded that female deacons in the early Church had not been equivalent to male deacons, and had “no liturgical function,” nor a sacramental one.

It also maintained that even in the fourth century “the way of life of deaconesses was very similar to that of nuns.”

However, given the lack of clarity on the issue today and due to the fact he was only speaking on the basis on his conversation with the Syrian professor, Francis said that “I think that I’ll ask the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to refer me to the studies on the issue.”

He also voiced his desire “to establish an official commission to clarify this point. I am in agreement, and I will speak to do something of this kind.”

“To me it seems useful to have a commission that clarifies this well, above all regarding the ancient times of the Church.”

In her question, the sister also asked the Pope to give an example of where he sees “the possibility of a better insertion of women and women consecrated in the life of the Church.”

While concrete areas of insertion didn’t immediately come to his mind, the Pope said that “consecrated women must participate” in consultations and assemblies with religious, “this is clear.”

Women, he said, see things “with a different originality than that of men, and this enriches: both in consultations and in decisions, and in concreteness.”

The work consecrated women carry out with the poor and marginalized, in teaching catechesis and accompanying the sick and the dying, “are very maternal works, where the maternity of the Church can be expressed more,” he said.

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(Vatican Radio) The Institute for Religious Works (IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, released its Annual Report with a press release on Thursday showing it made a net profit of 16.1 million Euros in 2015.  Speaking in an interview with Vatican media, the IOR’s Director General Gian Franco Mammì, said it’s now "impossible to launder money" there and pledged to continue the institute’s drive for reform, renewal and total transparency.  As part as that reorganization drive, the Annual Report said a total of 4935 accounts held at the IOR were closed down last year and all “suspicious” accounts have been reported to the competent authorities. Mammì said the 2015 profits have been given to the Cardinals' Commission that supervises the IOR's activities and the Commission will "make sure" they are available for Pope Francis and his pastoral mission.  

In a roundtable interview with Vatican Radio and the Osservatore Romano newspaper, the IOR’s President Jean Baptiste Douville de Franssu and Mammì, both spoke of how strong controls and governance and a major reorganization have been put in place, aimed at making “the IOR as rigorous and clean an institution” as possible.  

Whilst acknowledging past abuses, Douville de Franssu stressed that as a result of the new very strict rules governing who can open an account, it’s (now) “impossible to launder money at the IOR.” Given that “money is tempting,” Douville de Franssu said any financial institution that does not have strong governance and controls is by its very nature exposed to potential abuse. But he said the IOR has put in place a framework to ensure that some of the abuses that may have happened in the past “will never reoccur.”

During a visit to the IOR in November 2015, Pope Francis insisted on the need for the institute to adhere to ethical principles that are "non-negotiable" for the Church, the Holy See and the Pope. 

Listen to the report by Susy Hodges:  

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(Vatican Radio) The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said on Friday that its commander Mustafa Badreddine has been killed in an attack in Syria. He was one of Hezbollah’s highest ranking officials and well known on the international radar. The US said, since 2011 he was responsible for the militant group’s military operations in Syria and was one of five Hezbollah members indicted by the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the 2005 killing of former Lebanese PM Rafik al-Hariri.

It’s reported he was killed in an Israeli air strike near Damascus airport although Israel has yet to comment on the claim.

Badreddine, was the a brother-in-law of the late Hezbollah military commander, Imad Moughniyah.

His militant role can be traced back to the early 1980’s.  He was sentenced to death in Kuwait for his role in bomb attacks there in 1983 but escaped from prison in 1990 and for years, organized military operations against Israel from Lebanon and overseas.

The Hezbollah commander is the latest in around 1,200 Hezbollah of its fighters who are estimated to have been killed in the Syrian conflict.

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