Catholic News 2

Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa of the Catholic Diocese of Masaka has asked the government to respect the rights of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party leader Dr. Kizza Besigye and set him free from detention.

He said that since elections were now over, there was no need to keep the opposition leader in detention.

“We must work towards uniting the people of our country,” Bishop Kaggwa said during Easter Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Cathedral in Masaka.

In a related development, Church of Uganda’s Northern Uganda Diocese Bishop Johnson Gakumba also noted at the weekend that only talks between President Museveni and Dr. Besigye would calm the post-election tension that has gripped Uganda.

“If I were President Museveni, I would talk with Dr Besigye. This will help move this nation forward,” Bishop Gakumba said.

The Bishop was delivering his sermon during the Easter Sunday Service at Christ Church in Gulu Municipality.

Uganda’s opposition leader, Dr. Besigye has been under house arrest since the 18 February general elections and police have defended the action as intended ‘to prevent crime.’

Uganda’s Electoral Commission declared President Yoweri Museveni as the winner of the Februiary presidential elections with 60.62 per cent and Dr. Besigye as runner up with 35.61 percent of votes cast.

(CISA)

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(Vatican Radio)  “God is greater than all the sins we may commit! God is greater than our sin!”    That’s what Pope Francis reminded pilgrims at the General Audience Wednesday 30 March.  In his remarks in Italian, the Pope said God's infinite mercy wipes away our sins like the dry cleaner eliminates the stains from our clothes. 

Listen to Tracey McClure's report:

But “divine forgiveness is supremely effective,” noted the Pope.  Unlike the dry cleaner, however, “it doesn’t hide the sin; it destroys it and cancels it… God eliminates our sin from its very roots – all of it!”

In his catechesis, Pope Francis reflected on the penitential prayer Psalm 51 from the Old Testament.  In ancient Hebrew tradition, the Pope noted, the psalm refers to a penitent King David who, trusting in God’s mercy, humbly prays for forgiveness after he committed not simply “a small lie” but the great sins of adultery and murder.

Pope Francis invited those gathered in Saint Peter’s square to raise their hands if any among them had not sinned in his or her lifetime.  He remarked that no one present had raised a hand and observed that “we are all sinners” and some people find themselves sinning over and over again. 

Like a child who reaches up to his parents to lift him after a fall - noted the Pope, when we fall in sin, we can raise our hand to God who will pull us up.  “God created man and woman to stand upright,” said the Pope.  "It is beautiful to be forgiven," stressed Pope Francis, "but you too, if you want to be pardoned, you should also forgive.  Forgive!"

Pope Francis conveyed this message to English speaking pilgrims:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:  In our continuing catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now conclude our treatment of the Old Testament with a consideration of Psalm 51, the Miserere.  This Psalm is traditionally seen as King David’s prayer for forgiveness following his sin with Bathsheba.  Its opening words: “Have mercy on me, O God in your kindness”, are a moving confession of sin, repentance and confident hope in God’s merciful pardon.  Together with a heartfelt plea to be cleansed and purified of his sin, the Psalmist sings the praise of God’s infinite justice and holiness.  He asks for the forgiveness of his great sin but also for the gift of a pure heart and a steadfast spirit, so that, thus renewed, he may draw other sinners back to the way of righteousness.  God’s forgiveness is the greatest sign of his infinite mercy.  Through the prayers of Mary, Mother of Mercy, may we become ever more convincing witnesses to that divine mercy which forgives our sins, creates in us a new heart, and enables us to proclaim God’s reconciling love to the world.

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including those from England, Ireland, Norway, Nigeria, Australia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the United States.  In the joy of the Risen Lord, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father.  May the Lord bless you all!

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(Vatican Radio) The Mexican Government is phasing out a group of investigators it chose to delve into the case of 43 student teachers who disappeared after they were abducted by municipal police and handed over to a drug gang.

James Blears reports:

The case of the missing 43 student-teachers, which occurred during a protest rally at the Southern Mexican City of Iguala in 2014, continues to cause international outrage. An official Mexican government probe concluded that a minority of corrupt municipal police arrested and handed over the 43 student teachers to gangsters, who murdered them and incinerated their bodies at a rubbish dump. Many of these facts were disputed and contradicted in a searing report by the Inter American Commission for Human Rights, which organized its own investigation. In response to this lambasting report, the Mexican government chose an independent panel of experts to start a third investigation. But now Roberto Campa, who's the Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Interior, says the specialists will end their work by the end of next month, because Mexican institutions must conclude the investigation. Undaunted the panel of experts is pledging to publish its own independent report. 

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Lusaka’s Catholic Archbishop, Telesphore-George Mpundu, who is the President of the Zambia Episcopal Conference, has presided over a meeting seeking to end escalating political violence in the country, ahead of the August general elections.

Zambian political party leaders including republican President, Edgar Lungu in his capacity as head of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) met with opposition politicians at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross, in Lusaka for discussions.

Opposition leaders in attendance included the United Party for National Development (UPND)’s Hakainde Hichilema, Forum for Democracy & Development (FDD) ’s Edith Nawakwi, People’s party led by Mike Mulongoti and the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) headed by  Nevers Mumba. Several other smaller parties were also represented.

The meeting which was first proposed to the Catholic Bishops by the Zambian President saw Bishops Joe Imakando and Joshua Banda of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia as well Bishop Alfred Kalembo of the Council of Churches in Zambia co-facilitate the discussions.

Lusaka’s QFM Radio reports today that when the meeting ended at about 22 hours in the night, Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu read out a communique that among other things stated that all the 18 political party leaders represented at the meeting had agreed to use existing leadership structures in various political parties to encourage members to desist from violent acts; refrain from the use of hate speech and offensive language as well as encourage tolerance across the board.

More importantly perhaps, the leaders agreed to curb the use of perceived military regalia alongside the carrying of machetes and pangas in public places. 

Archbishop Mpundu further said that opposition political parties also raised concern over the unfair implementation of the Public Order Act by the Zambia Police.

Political analysts in Zambia say an impartial apllication of the law, by the Zambia Police would go a long way in creating a peaceful environment in the country. The litimus test will be in the implementation of the accord signed by political parties leaders Tuesday night. In the meantime, citizens will be looking forward to an end to ongoing terror, created by party cadres, especially in public places such as bus stops and markets. 

(Sources: QFM; Zambian Watchdog; ZEC)

Email: english@vatiradio.va

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Salt Lake City, Utah, Mar 30, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A new Utah law requiring anesthesia for unborn babies during late-term abortions shows the contradiction between society’s view of life and legal abortion, a leading pro-life doctor has said.

“If we as a society say it is okay to put to death the unborn, especially abortions that are done on fetuses that could survive outside the womb, then I think anesthesia is merciful,” Dr. Donna Harrison, executive director of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told CNA March 29.

Legislation based on the concept of fetal pain helps people recognize “that this baby is a human being, a human being that can feel pain just like the rest of us,” said Harrison, who is an obstetrician-gynecologist.

At the same time, she saw a “schizophrenic” approach to fetal pain legislation, especially given that babies can survive outside the womb at 22 weeks into pregnancy.

“What we should do is deliver the baby,” Harrison said. “If the baby can survive outside the mother’s womb, and the mother is incapable of continuing the pregnancy, then we deliver the baby under the best of circumstances and we allow that baby to continue its own life.”

“We don’t just kill it, or deny it care because it’s immature or weak,” she continued. “We as a society need to really look at this incoherent view of life.”

The legislation requires doctors who perform abortions 20 weeks or later into pregnancy to anesthetize the unborn baby. The law makes exceptions for cases in which anesthesia could endanger the mother’s life or in which the baby is not viable.
 
Utah governor Gary Herbert signed the bill into law March 28.

State senator Curt Bramble (R-Provo) was among the bill’s backers.

“This will require that if we are going to take the life of an unborn child… then anesthesia would be required to protect the child from the infliction of pain at the time their life is forfeit,” he said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

The senator had initially intended to introduce legislation to ban abortions after 20 weeks, but changed his mind when told such a law would likely be found unconstitutional.

In 2014 there were 17 abortions in Utah conducted after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The legislation drew opposition from Planned Parenthood of Utah, the only provider of late-term abortions in the state.

Dr. Sean Esplin of Intermountain Healthcare in Utah said the law could put the health of women at risk, given that anesthesia would need to be applied to the mother to reach the unborn baby, the Associated Press reports.

Other critics of the bill disputed whether unborn babies can feel pain at 20 weeks.

Harrison thought the evidence was clear.

“It’s unequivocal that a fetus who is undergoing a procedure will have their heart rate increase. They will withdraw from needles or sharp objects. They will have a release of stress hormones,” she said.

She said these are all of the physical reactions measured to say when the human body is reacting to pain. Harrison contended that those who want to deny the humanity of the unborn baby focus on the philosophical idea of suffering rather than “the reality that that baby is withdrawing from painful stimuli.”

“The fetus is not a blob of tissue. It is an immature human being. We were all fetuses at one point,” she said. “Clearly this idea that the fetus doesn’t feel pain is based on the assumption that the fetus is not one of us.”

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Vatican City, Mar 30, 2016 / 06:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis on Wednesday offered a special blessing for Mother Angelica following her death on Easter Sunday, expressing his confidence that she is already in heaven.

“She’s in heaven.” The Pope pointed to the sky as he spoke these words to members of EWTN’s Rome bureau, who brought an image of the late Poor Clare nun to his March 30 general audience as a sign of affection and remembrance.

Francis saw the framed photo in the crowd, and blessed it when asked by EWTN’s Executive TV Producer in Rome, Martha Calderon, for a blessing for Mother Angelica’s soul.

 

Today #PopeFrancis gave a blessing 4 #MotherAngelica's soul, saying "she's in heaven" & pointing to the sky #ewtnMA pic.twitter.com/MQvKeSu1UW

— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) March 30, 2016


 

Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation founded the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), in 1981, and it has since become the largest religious media network in the world. She passed away March 27 after a lengthy struggle with the aftereffects of a stroke. She was 92 years old.

Pope Francis offered his prayers for Mother Angelica Feb. 12 while on his way to Cuba, and asked for her prayers in return.

But he isn’t the only one who is confident in the nun’s holiness. Several other prelates have voiced their admiration and appreciation for Mother’s contribution to the faith, to the Catholic Church in the U.S., and to the world of Catholic communications, including retired pontiff Benedict XVI and the Vatican’s spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi.

Although Francis has expressed his belief that Mother Angelica is already in heaven, the formal process for declaring her a saint has yet to begin.

Once a cause for her canonization officially opens, the facts and details of her life, as well as the testimonies from those around her, must be obtained and gathered into a lengthy report called a “positio” or “position” and presented to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The congregation must then study the records to determine Mother’s heroic virtue, and eventually look into miracles attributed to her intercession. Only when one miracle has been officially approved can she be declared a Blessed. A second is then required for her canonization as a saint.

However, the Pope could decide to take the route of what’s called an “equipollent,” or “equivalent” canonization, in which he waives the requirement for one or both of the miracles and canonizes the person without them.

This was the case with St. Pope John XXIII in 2014, for whom the Pope decided to waive the second miracle required for his canonization, and proclaimed him a saint with just one.

In his general audience speech, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on mercy as understood in scripture, finishing his segment on the Old Testament.

He focused on Psalm 51, also referred to as “the Miserere” and which is traditionally understood as King David’s prayer asking for forgiveness following his sin of adultery with Bathsheba.

Francis pointed to the psalm’s opening words “Have mercy on me, O God in your kindness,” saying they are “a moving confession of sin, repentance and confident hope in God’s merciful pardon.”

Alongside his “heartfelt plea” to be cleansed and purified of his sin, Kind David also praises God’s infinite justice and holiness, the Pope observed.

Not only does he ask to be forgiven “of his great sin,” but he also prays “for the gift of a pure heart and a steadfast spirit, so that, thus renewed, he may draw other sinners back to the way of righteousness.”

“God’s forgiveness is the greatest sign of his infinite mercy,” Francis said, and in off-the-cuff remarks had the pilgrims present at the audience repeat three times that “God's forgiveness is greater than our sin!”

He closed his audience by praying that Mary, the “Mother of Mercy,” would intercede so that all would become “ever more convincing witnesses to that divine mercy which forgives our sins, creates in us a new heart, and enables us to proclaim God’s reconciling love to the world.”

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New York City, N.Y., Mar 30, 2016 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a region fraught with political, ethnic and religious divisions, the Central African Republic's motto of “Unity, Dignity, and Work” can serve as a foundation for healing and progress in Africa's Great Lakes Region, a Vatican representative told the United Nations.

“No solutions to the Region's many problems would be possible if there are divisions instead of unity, grave violations of human rights instead of respecting the dignity of all, and extreme poverty instead of dignified work for all,” Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said March 21.  

Archbishop Auza's remarks came as part of the U.N. Security Council Debate on “The Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts in the Great Lakes Region.”

Although the Great Lakes Region of Africa – which includes Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Central African Republic – is home to rich biodiversity, it's also place of “political instability and bad governance, corruption and extreme poverty, ethnic divisions and exploitative use of the abundant natural resources,” he said.

Pope Francis reflected on Central African Republic's motto during his visit last November, and Archbishop Auza said that the values of “Unity, Dignity, and Work” can serve the entire Great Lakes Region of Africa.

“The Pope sees in this trilogy an expression of the aspirations of each Central African and, indeed, of each of the inhabitants of the Great Lakes Region,” Archbishop Auza said. “My delegation believes that these three values of unity, dignity and work are pillars of any prosperous society and thus could greatly facilitate solutions to the complex of causes of armed conflicts and underdevelopment in the Region.”

He called unity “a cardinal value” that would help build respect for “the plurality of political views and religious beliefs” of an area that is home to different tribes, communities and faiths. On the other hand, recognizing the inherent dignity of all is essential to building up “mutual respect and solidarity.”

In an area plagued by extreme poverty, “(d)ecent work for all would greatly improve the lives of all in the region,” Archbishop Auza said, recalling Pope Francis’ call for all countries of the Great Lakes Region to “improve themselves by wisely exploiting their many resources.”

Unfortunately, the natural resources are “being exploited in favor of a privileged few” rather than for “the common good” as a result of political corruption and armed groups fighting in the area, making these resources seem more like a curse than a blessing.

“Governments and all stakeholders in the Region must be helped to negotiate and deal with the various issues at stake in the most impartial way possible, having in mind only the common good of all the citizens,” he said.

Additionally, the presence of armed forces and terrorist groups fighting in these areas only perpetuates poverty and political instability in the region.

Investments in education and job opportunities must be taken seriously to help prevent the trafficking and recruitment of children by terrorist organizations, he said.

The archbishop recommended offering militants “credible reasons to disarm” and encouraging the international community to “assume a larger role in programs aimed at controlling the legal and illegal arms trade.”

The Holy See’s top priority in all her diplomatic activities, he said, is “preventive action geared toward safeguarding the inviolable dignity of every human person, protecting fundamental human rights, promoting education and health care for all, and fostering the identity of each people.”

Pope Francis is grateful for the work that the international community has been doing and encouraged the continuation of work to “achieve disarmament, prosperity, and sound administration at all levels,” Archbishop Auza said.

Photo credit: www.shutterstock.com.

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