Catholic News 2
The Senate committee investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election on Wednesday released the written testimony of fired FBI Director James Comey. He is set to testify under oath Thursday in a public hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence....
LONDON (AP) -- The youngest of the London Bridge attackers pleaded with his mother to settle with him in Syria but instead moved to Britain where his extremist views hardened and he fell into the company of a bloodthirsty gang that launched the latest attack on British streets, his mother said Wednesday....
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- A top Emirati diplomat said Wednesday "there's nothing to negotiate" with Qatar over a growing diplomatic dispute about the energy-rich nation's alleged funding of terror groups, signaling Arab countries now isolating it have no plans to back down....
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Wednesday for a pair of stunning attacks on Iran's parliament and the tomb of its revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 40....
CINCINNATI (AP) -- President Donald Trump promised Wednesday to create a "first-class" system of roads, bridges and waterways by using $200 billion in public funds to generate $1 trillion in investment to pay for construction projects that most public officials agree are badly needed and long overdue....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump surprised Washington on Wednesday with his choice to replace James Comey a day ahead of the ousted FBI director's blockbuster congressional testimony, tapping a white-collar defense lawyer with strong law enforcement background. Senate Republicans and some Democrats praised the nomination....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former FBI Director James Comey will testify that President Donald Trump sought his "loyalty" and asked what could be done to "lift the cloud" of investigation shadowing his administration, according to prepared remarks released ahead of his appearance on Capitol Hill on Thursday....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday urged Christians to be truthful, warning them against the temptations of hypocrisy and flattery. His words came during the homily at morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.Hypocrisy – Pope Francis said – is not the language of Jesus, nor is it the language of Christians, in fact, he said, “the hypocrite is capable of destroying a community”.Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni: The Pope explained that Jesus often uses the adjective “hypocrite” to describe the doctors of the law, because, as the etymology of the word illustrates, they claim to have higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case, they proffer their opinions and issue judgements but in reality they are false.And reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day, the Pope said "The hypocrite always uses language to flatter” just as some Pharisees and Herodians who tried to ensnare Jesus in his speech.“Hypocrites &ndash...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday urged Christians to be truthful, warning them against the temptations of hypocrisy and flattery. His words came during the homily at morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
Hypocrisy – Pope Francis said – is not the language of Jesus, nor is it the language of Christians, in fact, he said, “the hypocrite is capable of destroying a community”.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni:
The Pope explained that Jesus often uses the adjective “hypocrite” to describe the doctors of the law, because, as the etymology of the word illustrates, they claim to have higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case, they proffer their opinions and issue judgements but in reality they are false.
And reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day, the Pope said "The hypocrite always uses language to flatter” just as some Pharisees and Herodians who tried to ensnare Jesus in his speech.
“Hypocrites – Francis said – always begin with adulation, “exaggerating the truth, feeding into one’s vanity" and he recalled the case of a priest he met a long time ago whom, he said, “drank-up all the flattery; that, he said, was his weakness”.
Jesus makes us see reality which is the opposite of hypocrisy and ideology
Flattery, the Pope said, is triggered by “bad intentions” as in the case of the doctors of the law in today’s liturgical reading. They put Jesus to the test, flattering him first and then asking him a question with the intention of making him fall into the wrong: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
"The hypocrite, Francis said, is two-faced, but Jesus knew their hypocrisy and said: ‘Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.’ Jesus always responds to hypocrites and ideologists with reality: ‘this is the reality; everything else is either hypocrisy or ideology’. In this case he said: ‘bring me a coin’, and he answered with the wisdom of the Lord: ‘Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – the reality was that the coin carried the image of Caesar - and to God what belongs to God’.”
The third aspect, the Pope continued “is that the language of hypocrisy is the language of deceit, it is the same language the serpent used with Eve.”
It begins with flattery, he said, and ends up destroying people: “it tears to pieces the personality and the soul of a person. It destroys communities”.
Hypocrisy destroys communities and hurts the Church
"Hypocrisy is so bad for the Church” the Pope said with a warning to all those Christians who fall into this sinful and destructful attitude.
"The hypocrite is capable of destroying a community. While speaking gently, he ruinously judges a person. He is a killer” he said.
Pope Francis concluded exhorting the faithful to remember that the only way to respond to flattery is with truth; the only way to respond to ideology is with reality.
“Let us ask the Lord to guard us from this vice, to help us be truthful, and if this is not possible to keep silent – but never to be a hypocrite” he said.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday blessed an altar destined for a Marian sanctuary in South Korea during his General Audience.The “Adoratio Domini in unitate et pace” will be placed in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary in Namyang, South Korea.Pope Francis mentioned the altar in his greetings to Polish pilgrims.He said the request for his blessing of the altar was made by the Queen of Peace Community Association in Radom, Poland.The association is setting up 12 centers for Eucharistic Adoration and perpetual prayer for peace in “hotspots” around the world.The Pope said the group drew its inspiration for the Adoration centers from the “12 stars in the crown of Mary, Queen of Peace”.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday blessed an altar destined for a Marian sanctuary in South Korea during his General Audience.
The “Adoratio Domini in unitate et pace” will be placed in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary in Namyang, South Korea.
Pope Francis mentioned the altar in his greetings to Polish pilgrims.
He said the request for his blessing of the altar was made by the Queen of Peace Community Association in Radom, Poland.
The association is setting up 12 centers for Eucharistic Adoration and perpetual prayer for peace in “hotspots” around the world.
The Pope said the group drew its inspiration for the Adoration centers from the “12 stars in the crown of Mary, Queen of Peace”.
Sri Lankan bishops have called on the Catholic community to continue supporting hundreds of thousands affected by the devastating cyclonic storm that triggered floods and landslides in the south and west of the island nation. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka issued a statement, June 1, signed by its president, Bishop Winston Fernando of Badulla and conference secretary-general Bishop Valence Mendis of Chilaw, calling for "continued solidarity" toward humanitarian efforts. The bishops called on Catholics to "extend their fullest cooperation to provide humanitarian help" through the respective Caritas, government agencies and civil society organizations. "Any financial, human and material support will be invaluable to those affected who have lost their personal belongings and properties to help them regain their confidence and return to a normal life," the statement read.Some 658,500 people have been displaced by floods and ...
Sri Lankan bishops have called on the Catholic community to continue supporting hundreds of thousands affected by the devastating cyclonic storm that triggered floods and landslides in the south and west of the island nation. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka issued a statement, June 1, signed by its president, Bishop Winston Fernando of Badulla and conference secretary-general Bishop Valence Mendis of Chilaw, calling for "continued solidarity" toward humanitarian efforts. The bishops called on Catholics to "extend their fullest cooperation to provide humanitarian help" through the respective Caritas, government agencies and civil society organizations. "Any financial, human and material support will be invaluable to those affected who have lost their personal belongings and properties to help them regain their confidence and return to a normal life," the statement read.
Some 658,500 people have been displaced by floods and landslides in 15 districts and 68,734 persons are living temporarily in 355 camps, following the May 30 cyclone. With a further 95 missing people now declared dead by the ministry for Public Enterprise Development, the death toll has risen above 300. Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre (DMC) estimates that over 2,500 houses were destroyed and nearly 15,900 damaged. These numbers could rise as data from damage assessments is compiled in the coming weeks.
Father Mahendra Gunathilake, Caritas national director, said they are continuing extensive relief operations and have distributed 60 truck-loads of essential commodities. "Every Caritas center, not impacted by the adverse weather, has collected relief items for the worst-affected areas in Ratnapura, Galle and Colombo," Father Gunathilake said. The most severely impacted district was Galle where, according to reliefweb.int, 142,149 people, some 36,314 families, were affected. "Caritas provided 20,645 packets of cooked meals and 2,614 packets of dry rations in the three days following the floods and landslides," the priest added. "Caritas is about to distribute 8,000 rupees-worth of dry rations among 5,000 families. The northeastern dioceses have collected close to 1 million rupees to support the flood victims,” Fr. Gunathilake said.
Anton Saman, an organizer of one of collection centers in Negombo said, "Hundreds of people bring large quantities of relief materials from morning until night." The response has seen Church communities, Buddhist temples, schools, village and voluntary groups committing personnel, facilities and resources to the recovery efforts. A week after the cyclone struck, the focus is now expanding to help the people return to any semblance of normality.
Father Gunathilake said Caritas is “asking for education materials for school children, hygiene and cleaning equipment for common areas in villages." Some 25,000 school children lost their school books and stationery in the flood-affected areas.
Several other bishops also expressed concern saying flood victims need to be assured and made to feel they are not alone or abandoned.
International communities, UN in relief work
International assistance has also arrived in Sri Lanka from India, Pakistan, China, Australia and the European Union. United Nations agencies are working to provide shelters and other emergency kits while seeking to contain a mosquito-borne disease that is starting to “spiral out of control.” The International Organization for Migration (IOM) plans to provide 3,700 shelter repair kits, 5,000 non-food relief item kits and 250 temporary shelters, with funding sought from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), said the UN migration agency. The intervention is targeted at an estimated 74,750 people.
Threat of diarrhoea and dengue
On Friday, the UN Humanitarian Country Team launched an emergency response plan seeking $22.7 million to address the critical life-saving and protection needs of 374,000 people in seven districts, targeting four priority sectors, including shelter, food, health and water and sanitation. IOM will co-lead the emergency shelter and non-food item sector, which is appealing for $6.5 million. Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is calling for $3.5 million to keep vulnerable children safe. “So far we have delivered water and sanitation supplies, we are working on education supplies, strengthening health systems and rehabilitating basic health services and working on disease control for both diarrhoea and dengue which is starting to spiral out of control,” said UNICEF country representative Tim Sutton.
