Catholic News 2

Vatican Weekend for June 17th, 2017 features a report on Pope Francis’ Wednesday general audience where he spoke of God’s unconditional love for us, more about an innovative course on how to manage the Church’s money, a look at a missionary movement that provides life-saving support for vulnerable communities across the world and the Pope’s former Latinist, Fr Reginald Foster, takes us on a tour of Rome’s Capitoline Hill.

Listen to this program produced and presented by Susy Hodges:

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Vatican Weekend for June 18th, 2017 features our weekly reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading, “There’s more in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye,” plus our resident Vatican watcher Joan Lewis reviews the past week’s events in the Vatican.

Listen to this program produced and presented by Susy Hodges: 

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(Vatican Radio) A picture is worth a thousand words. But what does it tell us about our spiritual life? Methodist minister Philip Richter sets out to answer that question in a new book entitled ‘Spirituality in Photography: taking pictures with deeper vision’.

A passionate amateur photographer himself, Rev Richter offers a wealth of tips on taking good photos with smart phones or professional cameras. But at the same time, he reflects on how to use those same skills in our search to make sense of contemporary society.

His short, yet deceptively simple volume, is part user manual for photographers, part prayer guide for those seeking a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God and with the world around us.

Richter is in Rome this week for a study tour and a book launch at the Libreria Claudiana in Piazza Cavour on Saturday morning. He dropped in to Vatican Radio to tell Philippa Hitchen more about his work…

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Richter begins by talking about his work as ministry development officer for the Methodist Church in England, which he has served for almost four decades.

His book, he explains, is designed both for those who go to a church, as well as for those who “don't do religion” but are nevertheless interested in spiritual questions.

He recalls that he has always had a passion for photography, since the days when he was photographed as a young boy holding an old ‘box brownie’ camera. As a minister, he says, he didn't have money to buy expensive camera equipment, but the advent of digital photography has led to a ‘democritisation’ of the medium.

Digital photography has also brought with it the trend of taking many pictures without a second thought, he says. One of the main goals of the book is to encourage people to “think before they snap” and reflect on how we frame a photo, extending that reflection to consider what we "include and exclude from the picture" in our own lives.

Photography and spirituality can inspire each other, Richter believes, citing the way that perspective in photography can help us develop a better sense of proportion in our busy lives. Rather than being constantly reactive to the latest text or email, he insists, it’s essential to “shelve some things and deal with the really important things and people around you”.

Richter also considers the way pictures can be photo-shopped in a creative way, yet it’s vital that we don’t seek “manipulate the truth”. He encourages people to “see things in a different light”, taking advantage of the so-called ‘golden hours’ just after sunrise and just before sunset.

At its heart, Richter says, the book is about encouraging people to slow down, to enjoy what they do, and “to become truly attentive to the people and places that God has given you”.

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(Vatican Radio) The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that persons with homosexual tendencies must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite their difficulties to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross.

Along with all Christians, people with homosexual tendencies are called to live chastely, each according to his condition and state of life, and by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

The pontificate of Pope Francis has offered new impetus for ministry to people, who have often felt unduly judged and excluded from the Christian community – particularly homosexuals.

One organization that has been reaching out to people struggling with homosexual tendencies in their own lives and even living homosexual lifestyles, is Courage: a ministry founded by the Servant of God, Terence Cardinal Cooke, in 1980 in New York, which now has chapters in dozens of US cities and around the world.

The current Executive Director of Courage, Fr. Philip Bochanski, told Vatican Radio that Courage has been practicing what Pope Francis has called the Church’s mission of merciful accompaniment since its founding.

Click below to hear Fr. Bochanski's extended conversation with Chris Altieri

“The important thing to do, first of all, is to listen,” Fr. Bochanski said. “The first thing I usually do is say, ‘Tell me your story.’”

Bochanski went on to explain that genuinely Christ-like accompaniment is delicate, often difficult work.

“Gently ask[ing] good questions,” is one major key to the approach of Courage ministry.

“If there are places in [your interlocutors’] lives where they are making compromises with the moral truth, where they are not finding the kind of intimacy and support that they are looking for, well, that is an opportunity to say, ‘There is a way that God has marked out for all of us’,” and then to see if one’s interlocutor is open to exploring questions regarding the nature and meaning of human embodiment, the purpose of human sexuality, and other related questions.

“If that’s something that you’re willing to pursue, then I’m here to help,” Fr. Bochanski said.

With the endorsement of the Holy See, Courage has grown to have more than 100 Chapters and contact people world-wide, and ministers to thousands of men and women.

The Courage Central Office receives financial support from the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut, though the apostolate largely relies on the contributions and volunteer efforts of its members. Individual chapters are self-supporting, and exist with the permission of their diocesan Bishop.

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(Vatican Radio)  In order to be saved and healed by God we must recognize that are weak, vulnerable and sinful like earthen vessels, said ‎Pope Francis on Friday.  And this will lead us to happiness, he said in ‎his homily at the morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta chapel in the Vatican.  He was reflecting on the Second Letter to the Corinthians, where St. Paul speaking about the mystery of Christ, says we have this treasure of Christ in our fragility and vulnerability because we are vessels made of clay.

Not being shameful is hypocrisy  

"All of us are vulnerable, fragile, weak, and we need to be healed,” the Pope said.  But recognizing our vulnerability is one of the most difficult things of life.  At times, we try to cover this vulnerability with cosmetics in order to disguise it, pretending it does not exist.  And disguises are always shameful, the Pope said. “They are hypocrisy."

Temptation to cover our weakness and sins

Pope Francis explained that besides being hypocritical towards others, we are also hypocritical within ourselves believing "to be something else”, hence not needing healing and support.  This, the Pope pointed out, is the path to vanity, pride and self-reference of those who do not feel themselves made of clay and thus seek salvation and fulfilment in themselves.  Instead, as St. Paul says, it is the power of God that saves us because of our vulnerability. Hence we are troubled but not crushed; we are shaken but not desperate; we are persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not killed.  There is always this relationship between clay and power, clay and treasure. But the temptation, the Pope said,  is always the same: to cover, conceal and not believing we are made of clay.  This is the hypocrisy towards ourselves.

When we accept our weakness, God comes with His salvation and happiness

In this regard, Pope Francis spoke about confession where we confess our sins in a way whitewashing the clay a bit in order to appear strong.  Rather, the Pope said, we must accept our weakness and vulnerability, even if it is "difficult" to do so.  Hence the importance of "shame".  It is shame that broadens the heart to allow the power of God in -  the shame of being clay and not a silver or gold vase.   When Peter objected to Jesus washing his feet, he did not realize he was made of clay needing the Lord’s power to be saved.  It’s only when we accept we are made of clay that the extraordinary power of God will come and give us the fulfilment, salvation, happiness and joy of being saved, thus receiving the Lord's "treasure".

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Malawi’s Archdiocese of Lilongwe through its advocacy and governance arm, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) has underscored the need to have a guiding tool that effectively promotes justice, peace and the integrity of creation in Malawi.

CCJP Diocesan Secretary, Noel Mtonza said a clear road map that guides the work of the Commission was needed. He said it was against this background that the Diocesan Commission had engaged stakeholders in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe to validate the Commission’s five-year strategic plan which expires this year and at the same time endorse a new one that would run from this year (2017) to 2022.

“Basically, we have invited all our stakeholders to develop a Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) strategic plan so as to improve delivery of services, performance and impact in our operations,” said Mtonza.

To this end, a two-day consultative meeting was held with the aim of reviewing the organisational vision, mission, goals, strategic objectives and expected outcomes.

“We believe that we have done better in strategic pillars like Human Dignity and Access to Justice; Human Rights and the Rule of Law; Good Governance and Democracy and the Environmental Justice or Integrity of Creation,” said Mtonza.

Mtonza, however, said the Commission needs to do more to ensure that Catholic Social Teaching was widely known and appreciated. 

Reflecting on the Archdiocese’s CCJP Strategic Plans, Vicar General for Lilongwe, Monsignor Francis Sonkhani said any healthy institution needed to re-examine its operations and at the same time take stock of its work.

“We should ask questions like, what have we learnt from our past? How do we want to move forward? Who will help us move forward and when should we move forward?” he observed. 

Monsignor Sonkhani commended the Commission and urged it to strive to implement its programmes in line with Catholic Social Teaching.

(Prince Henderson in Lilongwe)

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To start the year-long Bicentennial Celebrations of the existence of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa, an inaugural Mass of Thanksgiving in Cape Town’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt will be held next week on Sunday, 25 June. According to organisers, due to limited space the Mass will be by invitation.

Announcing the Bi-centennial Celebration, Vicar General in the Archdiocese of Cape Town, Monsignor Clifford Stokes described as exciting the year ahead in which the southern African Church would celebrate its faith and honour the memory of those who brought it to them.

“An exciting year in which we shall celebrate our faith and those who have been instrumental in bringing it to Southern Africa is soon to be inaugurated. Let us prepare well through our prayers and the offering of our Masses for this grace-filled time of remembrance of those who have gone before us in the faith, “ Mgr Clifford Stokes said.

The Bicentennial Celebrations will conclude on Sunday, 10 June 2018.

See below the full statement on the Bicentennial celebration. The Statement was made available to Vatican Radio by the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference.

Catholic Church Celebrates 200 years of existence in Southern Africa

Bi-centennial Celebration of the Church in Southern Africa

Historical traces of the development of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa

In June 2018 Catholics in Southern Africa will celebrate the bi-centenary of the establishment of the Catholic Church in the region of Southern Africa.

From the time of the discovery of the Cape, ecclesiastical jurisdiction over it belonged to the Portuguese mission under the authority of the king of Portugal. After the establishment of the Dutch East India Company at the Cape in 1652, the practice of the Catholic religion was de facto prohibited.

It was only in 1804 that Jacob Abraham de Mist, the Commissioner-General of the Cape Colony, decided that “all religious societies which for the furtherance of virtue and good morals worship an Almighty Being, are to enjoy in this Colony equal protection from the laws” and in 1805 three Dutch priests arrived to minister to the Catholics of the Cape. One of them, Fr Johannes Lansink, was appointed Prefect Apostolic. The following year, however, the British colonial authorities, which had taken over the Colony in the meantime, ordered them to leave the region.

On 7 June 1818, Pope Pius Vll erected the Vicariate Apostolic of the Cape of Good Hope and adjacent territories. Subsequently the Island of Mauritius was added, and so were New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land (effectively, modern day Australia).

In 1820 the first Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Bede Slater OSB, stopped at Cape Town for three weeks on his way to Mauritius where he was to reside, leaving behind Fr Patrick Hurst Scully as chaplain to the local Catholic Community. By then, religious tolerance had made some progress. Fr Scully was succeeded by Fr Theodorus Wagener who was later joined by Fr Thomas Rishton OSB. Bishop Slater was succeeded by Bishop William Placid Morris OSB, who also resided at Mauritius.

On 6 June 1837, Pope Gregory XVI constituted the Cape of Good Hope (i.e. the entire region of southern Africa) a separate vicariate and appointed Bishop Patrick Raymund Griffith OP as the first resident vicar apostolic.

On 14 April 1838 (Holy Saturday) Bishop Griffith stepped ashore at Cape Town. While initially interested in evangelizing black people, he essentially ministered, quite successfully, to white settlers. He can be considered as the founder of the Catholic Church of South Africa.

In 1847, the Vicariate of the Cape of Good Hope was divided into the Vicariates of the Western District and the Eastern District of the Cape of Good Hope, of which Fr Aidan Devereux became the first Vicar Apostolic. It was he who invited, in 1849, the first group of religious sisters to South Africa.

In 1852 the first four Oblates of Mary Immaculate arrived to establish a mission in Natal. They later set out to evangelise Lesotho.

On 24 May 1872, the Prefecture of the Central District of the Cape of Good Hope was detached from the Western Vicariate. Further subdivisions took place in subsequent years. It was not until the 1880s that the first Southern African mission in what is today South Africa was successfully established by the Trappists. Indeed, long absent from the missionary scene, the Catholic Church’s missionary thrust in Southern Africa started to grow rapidly in the 20th century.

Also belatedly, but with increasing vigour, various sectors of the Church began opposing the apartheid regime in the second half of the century.

On 11 January 1951, Pope Pius XII established by Papal Bull the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy in the then Union of South Africa, and set up the Ecclesiastical Provinces of Cape Town (comprising the suffragan sees of Aliwal, Oudtshoorn, Port Elizabeth, Queenstown and De Aar); Durban (comprising the suffragan sees of Mariannhill, Eshowe, Kokstad and Mthatha); Pretoria (comprising the suffragan sees of Johannesburg, Lydenburg, Swaziland and Pietersburg); and Bloemfontein (comprising the suffragan sees of Kroonstad, Bethlehem, Kimberley, Keimoes and Lesotho).

Further growth has taken place in the Church of Southern Africa since then: new dioceses have been created; Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Namibia – which had been part of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference – left the Conference to establish their own Conferences in 1969, 1972 and 1996 respectively; and the ecclesiastical province of Johannesburg was created in 2007 with the diocese of Johannesburg being raised to the status of an archdiocese.

The Catholic Church in Southern Africa Today and Bicentenary Celebration

Celebrating 200 Years of Catholic Faith

It was on June 7, 1818 that Pope Pius VII erected the Vicariate Apostolic of the Cape of Good Hope and Adjacent Territories, thus constituting for the first time a formal presence of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa. While the first beginnings of the Church in Southern Africa had their origin in Cape Town, in the almost 200 years since then, the presence of the Catholic Church has grown to the extent that there are now twenty-eight dioceses and one vicariate apostolic in our Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) which includes South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland.

To commemorate the bi-centenary of the formal establishment of the Church within our Bishops’ Conference, we shall inaugurate our celebrations with a Mass of Thanksgiving in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt on Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 3.00pm. Because of the limited space, invitations to this celebration are to be sent to priests and deacons in the Archdiocese, to chairpersons of parish pastoral councils and three parishioners in each parish, to religious superiors, to the lay leaders of each of the three sodalities in the Archdiocese, to the Regional Grand Knight of the Knights of da Gama, to the Magistral Delegate of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and to a representative of the Migrant and Refugee Communities in the Archdiocese.

Moreover, an invitation has also been extended to all the bishops of the SACBC since, while the origins of the Church have their roots in Cape Town, the intervening 200 years have witnessed the spread of the Church throughout Southern Africa. It is worth noting that the “adjacent territories”, referred to in the papal document of June 7, 1818, included both Australia and Mauritius and for this reason, an invitation will be sent to the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of both territories to visit Cape Town during the bi-centennial year.

During this Mass of Thanksgiving, tribute will be paid to the selfless contributions of those heroic early pioneers, both priests, religious and laity from far-off lands, by whose dedication and untiring efforts, the seeds of the Church were first planted in the Cape of Good Hope, as it was then known, and throughout Southern Africa.

We owe an immense debt of gratitude that can never be expressed adequately to so many religious congregations for their establishment of schools in our Archdiocese and throughout Southern Africa as a whole, and their invaluable contribution in the field of education during these two hundred years.

We owe much too to those members of religious congregations who have established hospitals and hospices for the sick and the dying and also to those whose charism is to minister to the poor and the destitute. At the offertory procession during this Mass, symbols of their contributions to the Southern African Church will be brought up and displayed in the sanctuary.

To further celebrate these heroic contributions by so many who, in face of much difficulty and often opposition, have brought the light of Christ into Southern Africa, during the Mass of Thanksgiving a specially decorated candle will be blessed and given to every bishop (or his delegate) to be taken back to his Cathedral and placed in a prominent position during this bi-centennial year. We hope to be able to present to every parish priest a copy of the papal document of June 7, 1818 for display in his church.

During the twelve months following upon the Mass inaugurating the bi-centennial year, there will be other large Archdiocesan celebrations. We are presently looking for a sufficiently large venue to accommodate 8000/9000 people for the celebration of a Mass. This would then be our principal celebration. Since we have not yet found such a suitable venue at a reasonable cost, we may have to extend our search further away from the city centre. This would be a Conference celebration at which all the bishops of the SACBC would be present.

As a secondary Archdiocesan celebration in the course of the bi-centennial year, there will be a Eucharistic procession starting from the Holy Cross parish, District Six and ending at the steps of our Cathedral with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. During the procession, there will be prayers for the enrichment of family life in our Archdiocese, for our young people and youth, for the elderly, for the sick and for migrants and refuges. Our prayers will reflect the Church in human solidarity with everyone. The details of this event will be advertised in due course.

There has also been a request for a national celebration in Cape Town at which all the bishops of the SACBC would be present. The possibility of such a celebration is currently being investigated.

During the bi-centennial year, there will be at least one large celebration in each deanery in the Archdiocese of Cape Town. There are eight deaneries in the Archdiocese and each, under the leadership of a dean who is a priest elected by the priests of each deanery, consists of a cluster of between eight and ten parishes. The dean’s role is to promote pastoral co-operation among the parishes that constitute the deanery.

On the Solemnity of All Saints celebrated on Sunday, November 5 this year, there will be a celebration in each deanery focussing upon Our Forefathers and Foremothers in the Faith. Also, as part of our year of celebration, Archbishop Stephen Brislin has agreed to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation at deanery level in 2018, where requested, rather than in individual parishes, thus promoting a greater sense of Church among those who are to receive the Sacrament.

Special liturgies are also to be arranged in parishes during this year of celebration. These could include a Lenten penitential celebration where the Church’s Failures of the Past are considered, an Advent or Lenten parish mission focussing upon the Renewal and Awakening of Faith, and an Easter celebration emphasising our personal invitation to Share in the New Life of our Risen Saviour.

Two special projects to include our Youth and School-going Children and their involvement in the celebration of 200 years of the Church in Southern Africa have also been arranged. The first includes two ‘Bi-centennial Catholic Schools Choir Festivals’ which will be held in the Cape Town City Hall on Sunday, August 27, 2017 and on Sunday, October 27, 2017. These choral festivals will showcase the talent of our Youth and recount the story of Catholic Education in South Africa.

The second project concerns a Youth competition entitled ‘Exploring our Catholic Heritage’. Parishes and Catholic Schools will soon be inviting our Youth to tell their story through a heritage research project. The best entries will be published in the Archdiocesan News. Details of this project will be circulated to Catechetical and Religious Education Co-ordinators shortly.

To close the bi-centennial celebrations, there will be a Mass of Thanksgiving at noon on Sunday, June 10, 2018, hopefully in every Cathedral, parish and mission station throughout Southern Africa. At that Mass, a recorded message from Pope Francis will be aired, and the special candle distributed at the opening Mass on June 25, 2017, will be lit in every Cathedral in South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland, and bells will be rung, thus symbolising the solidarity of faith between all of us. 

A media committee has been established to advertise the events planned for this year and produce a bi-centennial brochure with a calendar of events. This committee will also take responsibility for advertising major events during the year of celebration in the printed media and for ensuring that the archdiocesan website is up-to-date as far as events planned for the year of celebration are concerned. A prayer card reflecting a special prayer for the bi-centenary year in Xhosa, English and Afrikaans will soon be made available through the media committee.

An exciting year in which we shall celebrate our faith and those who have been instrumental in bringing it to Southern Africa is soon to be inaugurated. Let us prepare well through our prayers and the offering of our Masses for this grace-filled time of remembrance of those who have gone before us in the faith.

Compiled by Mgr Clifford Stokes

Vicar General in the Archdiocese of Cape Town

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Amsterdam, Netherlands, Jun 15, 2017 / 03:53 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A new report estimates that between 50 and 80 percent of Christians have fled the countries of Iraq and Syria since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.

Released by Christian advocacy groups Open Doors, Served, and Middle East Concern, the report estimates that at least 100,000 Iraqi Christians have fled or are internally displaced, and that the Christian population of Syria has been ‘roughly halved’, from about 2 million, since 2011.

“Factors for leaving included the violence of conflict, including the almost complete destruction of some historically Christian towns in the Nineveh plains of northern Iraq, the emigration of others and loss of community, the rate of inflation and loss of employment opportunities, and the lack of educational opportunities,” states the report.

The information for the report was gathered through a series of interviews with various sources, including NGO staffers and religious leaders, and also includes the findings of academic studies.

The report tracked the emigration of those Christians who have fled the Middle East to Europe, even though others have traveled to Asia, Australia or the Americas.

Since the 2003 U.S. invasion and the rise of the Islamic State, increased violence in Iraq and Syria has resulted in the targeted killings and expulsions of many Christians, with many fleeing to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, or beyond, while others are displaced within their home countries.

The arrival of the Islamic State made the situation especially dire for Christians, who were forced to either pay a tax, convert, or leave if they didn’t want to be killed.

That was the “tipping point” for Christians in the area who had already experienced an “overall loss of hope for a safe and secure future,” the report notes.

Iraq once had a Christian population of as many as 1.4-2 million in the 1990s, which declined to around 300,000 by 2014, and is now down to approximately 100,000. Most of those internally displaced have fled to Erbil.

Pinpointing the exact number of Christians who have stayed in or fled Syria is more difficult, though the report notes that numerous regions and towns that once had large Christian populations have decreased significantly since the start of the war, with some communities all but disappearing.

The report estimates that approximately half of Syria’s estimated 2 million Christians have left, and a survey found that of the Christians still in the country, about 35 percent wish to leave, compared to eight percent of the country's Muslims.

Of the Christians who fled, many chose to seek resettlement in other countries through family or Church organizations rather than through state-sponsored refugee resettlement programs.

“Trust in churches allows people to feel more comfortable to register with them. Furthermore, it is seen to be less demeaning to have to line up to receive assistance ‘provided in a sensitive way in the safe space of a church,’” the report found.

The hope for return to their home countries varied among those who had fled. For the most part, those who were settled in their destination countries reported not wanting to return, while those who have encountered more difficulties in the resettlement process either have returned or hope to return someday.

Sweden and Germany have become popular destinations because of the ease of resettlement and the ability to find work, though the report found that due to new policies in these countries, that may change.

Published with the report was a policy proposal paper for the EU, since the report tracked only those Christians fleeing to Europe. It made several recommendations, including establishment of an “accountability mechanism,” to the European Union Parliament.

“Creating a national accountability mechanism for grievances is a long-term solution which aims to restore faith in a system that ensures all religious and ethnic communities are affirmed as equal citizens and deserving of protection, while also deterring negative actors from taking adverse actions against these communities,” it stated.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorize U.S. government funds to be given to aid groups directly providing assistance to displaced Iraqi and Syrian Christians. The bill has yet to clear the Senate. According to In Defense of Christians, thousands of Iraqi Christians have seen no financial aid from the U.S., despite the U.S. having given the Iraqi government millions of dollars for relief efforts.

As of October 2016, the Chaldean Archeparchy of Erbil has received more than $31 million in funding from Aid to the Church in Need, in addition to support from 16 other Catholic organizations from around the world. The Knights of Columbus have a website dedicated to providing relief to displaced Christians in the Middle East.

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Indianapolis, Ind., Jun 15, 2017 / 05:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Advocates for Chaldean Christians detained by federal immigration enforcement are in a race against time to halt their deportation back to war-torn Iraq.

“Today is also the feast of the Body of Christ. And this is where the Body of Christ is in pain, and it turns to the Body of Christ for healing,” Bishop Francis Kalabat of the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of Detroit told CNA on Thursday, the feast of Corpus Christi.

“Today we are carrying our crosses, and those crosses are real,” he continued June 15. “And with every cross we have our Good Friday, but trusting in God we will also have our Easter Sunday.”

Beginning last Sunday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested dozens of Chaldean Christians in the Detroit metropolitan area, and most were quickly sent to detention at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio. Some were taken from their homes in front of their families, and others were reportedly arrested in public places like restaurants.

An estimated 106 Iraqis have been arrested so far, Bishop Kalabat said, “the vast majority of them Chaldean Christian,” though there are reportedly Muslims among the detained.

ICE explained in a statement that the Chaldeans had previous criminal records including convictions for homicide, rape, and aggravated assault, had been ordered for removal by a federal judge, and were being deported to Iraq as part of an agreement between the U.S. and Iraq.

They entered the U.S. legally, some of them decades ago, with an eventual path to citizenship, but since then those who committed felonies would not have a legal path to citizenship.

Many of the crimes were committed decades ago, in the 1980s and '90s, Bishop Kalabat said, with one case “literally 30 years ago.” That man “did his time [in prison], paid the price, has cleared his name,” and is now married with four children.

Some of the detainees may have recent criminal records and be a threat to public safety, the bishop noted, and if that is the case they should be detained.

He maintained, however, that many of those detained have long been responsible, law-abiding residents.

Chaldeans are native to Iraq and the population has been Christian almost since Christianity began. Detroit is one of the largest Chaldean diaspora communities in the U.S., where an apostolic exarchate was created in 1982. An estimated 30,000 Iraqi refugees have been settled in Michigan since 2003.

The church and the community have been working feverishly to halt the deportation of the Iraqis. Prayer vigils have been taking place this past week in the community, Bishop Kalabat said.

Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean Community Foundation, told CNA on Wednesday that advocacy for the plight of the detainees has reached the highest levels of government. The U.S. bishops have written a letter to the Vice President asking for a halt to the deportations, he added.

“Hardened criminals” make up a “very small percentage” of the detainees, he insisted.

The Knights of Columbus have written Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly on the matter, and several members of Congress – Reps. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.), and John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) -- wrote Secretary Kelly as well.

The detainees “will be placed in great danger if deported to Iraq,” they insisted, noting that the State Department declared in 2016 that Christians in Iraq and Syria faced genocide at the hands of the Islamic State. They continue to be threatened by the Islamic State and other terror groups.

“Because of the horrors perpetrated against the Catholic Chaldean population in Iraq, these individuals could be stranded in a country in which they are subject to extreme jeopardy,” the letter said.

Furthermore, many of the detainees may have no families or connections in Iraq given how long they have lived in the U.S., the members wrote.

“Until we in Congress can review all aspects of the agreement reached with Iraq, and the referenced safety measures, we urge you to hold off removal of these individuals to Iraq,” the members stated.

Detainees must not be deported without due process, Manna insisted, saying that sending them back to a country with an active war zone like Iraq is inhumane.

“The law is really on their side,” he said of the detainees, who have had clean records for at least ten years. They served their time in prison and “paid their debt” to society, he said, and should not be deported without due process as federal judges had ruled long ago they could be removed.

Furthermore, sending these detainees back to Iraq while it is an active war zone could violate the International Convention Against Torture, he added.

“The U.S. also bears responsibility” to rectify the problem, he told CNA, as the American-led 2003 invasion of Iraq precipitated a massive exodus in Christians from the country, from a population of 1.5 million in 2003 to under 300,000 now.

“The administration has committed itself to helping Christians,” Bishop Kalabat said, but if Christians who committed crimes decades ago and have “turned the corner” are being deported, “it doesn’t make sense.”

Yet God suffers with his people, he continued.

“This, to me, is the greater tragedy, when we forget about giving of our lives to God and allowing God to be with us, and allowing God to speak to us, to be hurt with us.”

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Yaoundé, Cameroon, Jun 16, 2017 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After determining that one of their confreres was murdered two weeks ago, the bishops of Cameroon have called on the national government to take up its task of protecting human life.

Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Bala of Bafia, who was 58, left his residence late in the evening of May 30. He disappeared, and his car was found parked on the Sanaga bridge near Ebebda, about 25 miles northwest of Obala. His body was found June 2, about 10 miles from the bridge.

A note was found in his car which reportedly read: “Do not look for me! I am in the water.” This gave rise to the belief that he had committed suicide.

However, an autopsy showed that the bishop had not drowned, and there were signs of torture on his body.

“Given the initial findings, we, the bishops of Cameroon, affirm that Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Bala did not commit suicide; he was brutally murdered. This is one more murder, and one too many,” read a June 13 statement from the Cameroonian bishops' conference.

The bishops noted that there have been a number of clerics and consecrated persons whose murders in the country have never been solved, citing, “to mention only a few”: Fr. Joseph Mbassi, killed in 1988; Fr. Antony Fontegh, 1990; Archbishop Yves-Joseph-Marie Plumey, 1991; a group of religious sisters in Djoum, 1992; and Fr. Engelbert Mveng, 1995.

“We have the impression that the clergy of Cameroon are particularly persecuted by obscure and diabolical forces,” the bishops wrote.

They called on the Cameroonian government “to shed complete light on the circumstances and the motives” for Bishop Bala's murder and that those reponsible be identified and handed over to the authorities.

The bishops also asked that the government “assume its noble task of protecting human life, and notably that of ecclesiastical authorities.”

They said they are praying for Bishop Bala's murderers, asking them “to strive for urgent and radical conversion.”

In light of the rumors that spread about the bishop's supposed suicide, the bishops addressed the media and social media users, asking them “to renounce defamation, lies, calumnies, and recommending that they respect the dignity of the human person, truth, modesty, and discernment in the use of certain information.”

Addressing the people of the Dioese of Bafia and Bishop Bala's natural family, the bishops said: “keep courage, for Christ has conqured the world. Your pastors carry with you the dolour of this sad disappearance. Do not let your faith fail.”

“Find the necessary strength in the celebration of the Eucharist,” they advised.

“May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles, Our Lady of Sorrows, Patronness of Cameroon, accompany us in this difficult trial.”

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