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Vatican City, Jan 14, 2016 / 03:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Thursday afternoon the office for papal charities offered a unique charity event for Rome's marginalized: an entire circus organized especially for them.

The poor, homeless, refugees and a group of prisoners were treated to the special entertainment, which was offered to them free of charge at the Rony Roller Circus. The company had made all of its 2,000 seats available for the occasion.

An initiative of the Office of the Papal Almoner, headed by Bishop Konrad Krajewski, the event was announced in a Jan. 14 communique from the office.

The opening act of the show was a song written by a Spanish singer-songwriter who used to be homeless himself, and who dedicated the song to Pope Francis and wrote it to be “an opening prayer and expression of gratitude to the Holy Father for this new act of closeness to each one of them.”

In one of his general audience addresses last January, Pope Francis said that those who put on circus shows “are creators of beauty.”

In light of the Pope's comments, the Almoner's Office said that Thursday's “gift,” offered by circus artists “who with perseverance, commitment and many sacrifices are able to create and give beauty to themselves and to others,” is also a source of renewal for the most needy.

“(It is) an encouragement to overcome the harshness and difficulties of life which many times seem too great and insurmountable.”

The communique also noted that medical personnel from the Vatican Health Services would be on site, and would give free treatment to any of the attendees who might need it. A small snack was also provided after the event.

In addition to the circus announcement, the Holy See Press office also made known the identity of the second family of refugees being hosted by the Vatican, assisted by St. Peter's basilica.

A Jan. 14 communique from the Vatican announced that St. Peter’s has provided an apartment for an Eritrean family, consisting of a mother and her five children. While three of the children are already in Italy, the other two are still in an Ethiopian refugee camp.

They are expected to arrive in the coming weeks, the Vatican said, and explained that the youngest child, only a few months, was born in Norway, where the family had fled. After the child’s birth, the family was sent back to Italy by the Dublin Convention, though the reasons for this were not given.

The family’s presence is a response to Pope Francis' Sept. 6, 2015 appeal for all European parishes, religious communities, monasteries and shrines to house one refugee family.

At the time, the Pope said the two Vatican parishes – St. Peter's Basilica and St. Anne's parish – would also be hosting one family each.

The family hosted by St. Anne’s parish is a Christian Syrian family, consisting of the parents and two children.

They fled from the Syrian capital of Damascus, and are now living in a Vatican-owned apartment just outside the Vatican walls. They arrived in Italy the same day Pope Francis made his appeal.

Pope Francis greeted the Syrian family himself just before he set off for his 10-day trip to Cuba and the United States in September.

Both of the Vatican’s parishes have been assisted in welcoming the families by the Papal Almoner, Bishop Konrad Krajewski, and the Sant’Egidio Community.

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Washington D.C., Jan 14, 2016 / 04:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The life of a refugee is rarely easy. But it is particularly difficult for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, most of whom cannot obtain legal status and are vulnerable to exploitation, says a new report by the group Human Rights Watch.

The new Lebanese residency policies adopted in 2015 “are making life impossible for refugees in Lebanon and are pushing them underground,” stated Nadim Houry, the group’s deputy Middle East director, on the country’s stricter application process for a residency permit. Lebanon, which borders Syria, has hosted well over a million refugees fleeing the five year-long civil war there.

The tension is detailed in a new report released by Human Rights Watch titled “‘I Just Wanted to be Treated Like a Person’: How Lebanon’s Residency Rules Facilitate Abuse of Syrian Refugees.” Some of the findings are that most Syrian refugees in the country do not have legal status, and have suffered labor and sexual abuse as a result.  

For instance, only two out of 40 refugees that Human Rights Watch interviewed between February and November of 2015 “had been able to renew their residencies with their UNHCR certificates,” the report stated.

Even though more than half of them were able to pay the fee, the government denied their residency application and told them to get a sponsor, even though they had UN refugee status.

Syrians had been able to enter Lebanon without a visa prior to 2015 and could renew their residency permits for free. That changed with the new rules which require a sponsor and a fee which most refugees are unable to pay.

Lebanon has the world’s highest refugee population per capita. There are 1.1 million Syrian refugees there who have registered with the United Nations. However, many refugees are not registered with the U.N., so some estimates put refugees as high as 30 percent of Lebanon’s population.  

U.N. refugees receive aid but as a result cannot legally work in Lebanon. If they enter the workforce and the authorities find out, they could be deported.

There are various reasons that many refugees don’t register with the U.N. According to aid groups, some are concerned about security in the refugee camps, while others simply cannot afford the trip to register with the UN or want to avoid the security checkpoints along the way.

Regardless of the reason, those who are not registered with the U.N. do not receive refugee benefits.

These refugees must have a sponsor to get a work permit. Thus they are at the mercy of their sponsor and/or employer if they do not have legal status. One refugee reported a sponsor making profits of up to $1,000 for legal sponsorship.

“My boss makes me work more than 12 hours a day at his shop. Sometimes I complain but then he threatens to cancel my sponsorship. What can I do?” one refugee told Human Rights Watch. “I have to do whatever he says. I feel like his slave.”

“Some refugees purposely burned their tents down a few months ago in the town of Marj in order to get emergency cash assistance. It has got to the point where people are burning their own belongings just to survive,” one humanitarian worker said in the report.

Child labor has also increased with reports of children working for $5 a day or $15 a week, and landlords demanding they work for free if a family is late paying its rent. Some mothers have reportedly resorted to prostitution to support their families. Women have also been vulnerable to sexual exploitation by employers or sponsors.

“Five Syrian women told Human Rights Watch that sponsors or employers sexually harassed or tried to sexually exploit them but that they could not confront them for fear of losing residency,” the report said.

And without legal status, refugees risk deportation if they move around within the country. If they travel to Syria, they might not be able to re-enter or could be detained as security risks, according to the report.

Some of the refugees interviewed had been arrested during government raids of unofficial refugee camps for not having legal status. While they were detained, some reported being beaten for the purpose of obtaining security-related information. Five refugees said that after they applied for residency and were denied, they were later arrested for lacking legal status.

“The last thing Lebanon needs is a large, undocumented community living at the margins of society, at heightened risk of abuse,” Houry stated.

Legal status aside, the refugees’ needs are dire but the aid is drying up. The United Nations is reducing refugee aid due to a 2015 funding shortfall and the reduction is expected to continue in 2016. After the fifth year of conflict in Syria, there is palpable donor fatigue.

“Here people are really facing death,” Michel Constantin, the regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association in Beirut, told CNA. The Catholic Near East Welfare Association is a humanitarian aid agency of the Holy See.

Some refugees have cancer, hypertension, and diabetes but lack necessary medications and health care, he said. Hundreds of thousands of children have gone years without schooling.

“The situation is really miserable for everyone,” he said, but insisted that donors must continue to support the Syrians. “It’s really a dying population,” he said.

Meanwhile, the influx of refugees combined with political instability in Lebanon has created a situation described as a “pressure cooker” and a “tinderbox.”

The country has structural problems to begin with. The president must be a Maronite Christian, but because of political divisions between Sunni and Shi’a Muslim allies, there is no sitting president.

Furthermore, the national government is generally unable to provide for the basic needs of citizens. As a result, the burden of supporting refugees falls disproportionately on the shoulders of municipalities.

The flood of refugees, many of who lack legal status, has provided a source of cheap labor for employers and depressed employment prospects for Lebanese citizens.

“This is the sad reality now,” Constantin told CNA. “The middle class in Lebanon doesn’t exist anymore. They are all slipping into poverty and into unemployment.”

More and more young people from educated, middle-class backgrounds are leaving the country, even risking a dangerous voyage to Europe.

Constantin shared the story of one 21 year-old Lebanese Christian girl, a college graduate, who couldn’t find a job and left to reach Germany with a group of Syrians. They perished in the Aegean Sea en route to Greece.

For the refugees, the present provides little hope – an estimated 70 percent of UN refugees are living in poverty and 9 in 10 are “trapped in a vicious cycle of debt,” according to UN reports. The future looks bleak with no end to the Syrian conflict in sight.

“I think it’s a matter of years” before many refugees could return, Constantin said, because even if the conflict ended swiftly the destruction has been so immense.


Photo credit: Credit: ZouZou via www.shutterstock.com

 

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London, England, Jan 14, 2016 / 05:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A meeting of national leaders of the Anglican Communion on Thursday issued a statement reprimanding the Episcopal Church, its American branch, for having allowed its clergy to perform same-sex marriages.

“Recent developments in The Episcopal Church with respect to a change in their Canon on marriage represent a fundamental departure from the faith and teaching held by the majority of our Provinces on the doctrine of marriage,” a Jan. 14 statement from the meeting reads.

As a result the Anglican Communion is “requiring that for a period of three years The Episcopal Church no longer represent us on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, should not be appointed or elected to an internal standing committee and that while participating in the internal bodies of the Anglican Communion, they will not take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity.”

The Jan. 11-16 meeting in Canterbury, known as Primates 2016, gathers the heads of 37 national Anglican churches from around the world “to reflect and pray together concerning the future of the Anglican Communion.”

The Anglican Communion has been in tension in recent years over the issues of same-sex marriage. Since 2003, the Episcopal Church has made moves to be more tolerant of or even welcoming to homosexual acts and relationships. These moves have drawn sharp criticism from Anglican communities elsewhere, particularly in Africa.

In July 2015 the Episcopal Church's general convention voted to accept gay marriage, and approved liturgies for their celebration.

The Primates 2016 statement notes that “We gathered as Anglican Primates to pray and consider how we may preserve our unity in Christ given the ongoing deep differences that exist among us concerning our understanding of marriage.”

“The traditional doctrine of the church in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union. The majority of those gathered reaffirm this teaching.”

The statement called the Episcopal Church's decision “unilateral” and lacking “Catholic unity,” and added that it “is considered by many of us as a departure from the mutual accountability and interdependence implied through being in relationship with each other in the Anglican Communion.”

It went on to say that such actions “further impair our communion and create a deeper mistrust between us. This results in significant distance between us.”

The decision to suspend the Episcopal Church from decision making within the wider Anglican community was a formal acknowledgement of the distance between the United States branch and the rest of the Anglican Communion.

The three-year suspension will be revisited in 2018, when the Episcopal Church's next general convention is scheduled.

The primates' statement added that they had asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to appoint a task group to help restore trust and to explore the differences between the Episcopal Church and the rest of the Anglican Communion.

When he announced Primates 2016 last September, Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, had acknowledged the challenges facing the Anglican Communion over the issue of same-sex marriage.

“The way in which proclamation happens and the pressures on us vary greatly between Provinces,” he stated. “We each live in a different context.

“The difference between our societies and cultures, as well as the speed of cultural change in much of the global north, tempts us to divide as Christians: when the command of scripture, the prayer of Jesus, the tradition of the church and our theological understanding urges unity. A 21st-century Anglican family must have space for deep disagreement, and even mutual criticism, so long as we are faithful to the revelation of Jesus Christ, together.”

The Episcopal Church's changing perspective on homosexuality had already heightened tensions within the Anglican Communion.

In 2009, former members of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, disaffected by those communities' liberalization on homosexuality, formed the Anglican Church in North America. The ACNA is not part of the Anglican Communion, yet it is in communion with three African provinces of the Anglican Communion.

And even though the ACNA is not part of the Anglican Communion, Welby invited its head, Foley Beach, to be present at Primates 2016.

The primates' statement was to have been released Jan. 15, but their decision had been leaked earlier on Thursday. As a result they decided to release their agreed-upon document in full, “in order to avoid speculation.”

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 WASHINGTON-Hundreds of Catholics from across the country who work in ministries at parishes, dioceses, national organizations and college and university campuses will explore the implications of Pope Francis' teachings on ecology and mercy at the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, January 23-26, in Washington. The theme of the gathering, "Called to Live Mercy in Our Common Home," is meant to echo Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' and the ongoing celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

The gathering, which seeks to equip leaders and rising leaders in the Church to bring the voice of faith into the public square, is organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and 16 other national organizations, including Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Catholic Charities USA, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Rural Life and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

"Our faith impels us to promote human dignity and to act in solidarity for those most in need, especially during this Jubilee Year of Mercy," said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. "The Catholic Social Ministry Gathering is a unique opportunity for people to come together to pray and learn more about issues threatening human life and the dignity of our brothers and sisters here and around the world, issues that include environmental degradation, poverty, war and persecution. Participants will explore ways to address these vital concerns in our shared home."

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, USCCB president, will celebrate the opening Mass of the gathering on Saturday, January 23. Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Burlington, Vermont, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Communications, will celebrate the closing Mass on Tuesday, January 26.

Bishop Nelson J. Perez, auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre, New York, will give the keynote address, January 23. On January 24, Sister Kathleen McManus, O.P., Ph.D., associate professor of theology at the University of Portland, will speak on The Global Suffering of Women as an Ethical Imperative for the Church, and Kathryn J. Edin, Ph.D., Bloomberg distinguished professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University, will present on her new book "$2 a Day: The Art of Living on Virtually Nothing in America." Meghan Clark, Ph.D., assistant professor of theology and religious studies at St. John's University, will speak on Encounters at the Margins of our Common Home, January 25.

David Brooks and Mark Shields of the PBS NewsHour will discuss the political landscape in Washington with Jonathan Reyes, Ph.D., executive director of USCCB Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, at a luncheon, January 24.

Registration and other information is available online: www.catholicsocialministrygathering.org. Media accreditation information available online.

Updates on Twitter are at https://twitter.com/WeAreSaltLight with the hashtag #csmg16.
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Keywords: Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, USCCB, Catholic Relief Services, CRS, Catholic Charities USA, Society of St. Vincent De Paul, Catholic Rural Life, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
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(Vatican Radio) Russia's leaders have warned the government will need to make more cutbacks if the nation is to avoid a repeat of the 1998 financial crash, the country's biggest post-Soviet economic trauma.The warning comes amid concerns about falling energy prices and Western sanctions against Russia over its perceived role in Ukraine's conflict, which killed more than 9,000 people.

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:      

Moscow says Russia's economy, which is heavily reliant on its massive oil and natural gas industry, is hammered by the plunge in global energy prices. State revenues are running dry and the cost of living is soaring for Russians as the nation's currency drops.

President Vladimir Puitin has acknowledged that Western sanctions against Russia over its role in Ukraine have added to Russia's economic woes. 

The West introduced the measures after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and began backing separatists in eastern Ukraine, though Moscow has denied it supports the rebels with weapons and troops. 

Faced with the prospect of the economy languishing in recession in an election year, the government is now trying to manage expectations. 

BUDGET CUT

Russian Finance minister Anton Siluanov warned that Russia's budget must be cut by at least 10 percent to avoid a repeat of the economic disaster of the late 1990s.  "If the state's finances aren't adjusted to the new conditions we are finding ourselves in, we can expect big deficits, a big inflation on our hands, and the devaluation of our currency as was the case in 1998, 1998, if we don't take the right decisions regarding our financial needs based on our financial capacity," he warned. 

"We shouldn't make the same mistake [as in the late 1990s]. We most thoughfully cut and calculate the budget to meet the new conditions," the minister added.  
 
In the interview with Bloomberg Television he referred to August 17, 1998, seen by Russians as Black Tuesday. 

It was the day when the nation defaulted on its debt, the currency started to fall fold, inflation was out of control, and many were unemployment. And people were seen fighting in bank lines to get to their money as banks collapsed.

FUTURE UNCERTAIN

Moscow has suggested that the country may be able to finance its needs this year with privatization and using reserves. 

Officials say however that more should be done as the budget is based on oil process of at least 50 dollars a barrel, whole they are currently hovering around 30 dollars or less. 

Russia's finance minister has not ruled out cuts in the military and even welfare spending in the future. 

Yet those moves that are expected to add to social tensions. 

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