Catholic News 2
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Accompanied into the courthouse by a member of the TV family who cemented his nice-guy image as America's Dad, Bill Cosby went on trial Monday on sexual assault charges, his legacy and his freedom on the line....
LONDON (AP) -- British counterterrorism investigators searched homes and detained more people Monday in the London attack investigation as an intense political firestorm developed over Prime Minister Theresa May's role in reducing police ranks....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump for a second day lashed out at London's mayor on Twitter in the wake of a deadly terror attack in the city....
Thousands of indigenous people in south-east Bangladesh are fleeing the wrath of Bengali Muslims settlers who blame them for the death of a local youth leader of Bangladesh’s ruling party, AsiaNews reported. Members of the mostly Buddhist Chakma community in Rangamati district fled after their homes were torched by angry Muslim mobs following the death of Nurul Islam Nayan, a leader of Jubo League, the youth organization of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami League. It is still unclear how Nayan died, but his body was found near a road on 1 June, but Bengali settlers nearby blamed it on the indigenous people, who reject the accusation."The culture of impunity and the state's failure to protect indigenous people on the hills show that a slow genocide is taking place," Theophil Nokrek, secretary of Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) said. "The violence was pre-pla...
Thousands of indigenous people in south-east Bangladesh are fleeing the wrath of Bengali Muslims settlers who blame them for the death of a local youth leader of Bangladesh’s ruling party, AsiaNews reported. Members of the mostly Buddhist Chakma community in Rangamati district fled after their homes were torched by angry Muslim mobs following the death of Nurul Islam Nayan, a leader of Jubo League, the youth organization of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami League. It is still unclear how Nayan died, but his body was found near a road on 1 June, but Bengali settlers nearby blamed it on the indigenous people, who reject the accusation.
"The culture of impunity and the state's failure to protect indigenous people on the hills show that a slow genocide is taking place," Theophil Nokrek, secretary of Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) said. "The violence was pre-planned and part of annihilating indigenous peoples from hills, and the state mechanism was a cohort in the case," Nokrek told UCANEWS.
The situation went out of control after the funeral of Nayan when Bengali Muslims marched to the headquarters of the United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which represents indigenous tribes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The mob set fire to the house of the party chairman, as well as its regional office, which also served as a community centre. The victims complained the attackers sacked the buildings before setting them on fire.
Some 80 buildings, both residential and commercial, in Langadu, but people who fled the violence said at least 300 buildings were destroyed. A 75-year old Chakma man is reported to have died inside a burning building.
Police arrested 10 people after gruesome violence and arson attacks on indigenous villagers in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh.
Hundreds of people from the indigenous community, progressive cultural and political organizations, and civil society groups held protest rallies in the three Chittagong Hill Tracts districts and the national capital, Dhaka, June 2-4.
"The attack is an act of sectarian violence against tribal people,” indigenous groups say. “They attack us because we are weak." Various advocacy groups, like AIN or Salish Kendra, slammed the attack, calling on the authorities to arrest and punish the perpetrators.
"The church supports the struggle of indigenous peoples and call for proper justice and compensation over the violence,” Nokrek said.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh comprising three hill and forest districts, and are home to some 25 indigenous tribes, mostly Buddhist and some Christians. Sectarian tensions have brewed in the area since the 1970s when the government began resettling thousands of landless Bengali Muslims by grabbing indigenous land, a deliberate attempt to change local demography.
Indigenous people resisted the influx and formed a militia group to fight back. In response, the government turned the area into a military zone leading to two decades of guerrilla war, which ended with a peace accord in 1997. To this day, the region is heavily militarized. From time to time, the military and Muslims have been accused of abuse, and sectarian violence is rife.
The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Sunday condemned the brutal the attacks on the innocent indigenous community and demanded immediate action against the perpetrators. It also demanded the government track down the killers of local Jubo leader and mete out justice. (Source: AsiaNews/UCAN)
(Vatican Radio) The staff and students of the schools of Miao Diocese in north-east India kicked off their new academic year on Monday, marking World Environment Day. Schools under the Newman Educational Society (NES), the educational wing of Diocese of Miao in east Arunachal Pradesh state, made the most of the first day of the new academic year, June 5th, planting saplings around school campuses to mark this year World Environment Day. Staff and students of the 45 schools of the Newman Educational Society spread across 8 districts of east Arunachal Pradesh planted saplings around their school campus to remind themselves of the urgent need to fight global warming and climate change and of the duty to leave a safe world to the coming generations. “These trees will not only help improve the environment but also make you feel proud of visiting your school in future and it will make you feel nostalgic,” said Fr. Felix Anthony, the Principal of Newman...
(Vatican Radio) The staff and students of the schools of Miao Diocese in north-east India kicked off their new academic year on Monday, marking World Environment Day. Schools under the Newman Educational Society (NES), the educational wing of Diocese of Miao in east Arunachal Pradesh state, made the most of the first day of the new academic year, June 5th, planting saplings around school campuses to mark this year World Environment Day. Staff and students of the 45 schools of the Newman Educational Society spread across 8 districts of east Arunachal Pradesh planted saplings around their school campus to remind themselves of the urgent need to fight global warming and climate change and of the duty to leave a safe world to the coming generations.
“These trees will not only help improve the environment but also make you feel proud of visiting your school in future and it will make you feel nostalgic,” said Fr. Felix Anthony, the Principal of Newman School, Neotan. He noted that children were happy to have spent the first day of the new academic year for the promotion of environment. “Our school organizes a wide variety of events to get us involved in social causes,” said Kanseng Ronrang, a tenth grader. “Besides formal education in the classrooms, celebrating environment day is another example of the hands-on projects our schools organize throughout the year,” Ronrang added. “One hopes that initiatives such as this by children help improve and protect the environment,” Fr. Felix said.
(Vatican Radio) In a heartfelt personal letter, Pope Francis has expressed his desire to “be among those praying to the heavenly Father” for the “chosen soul of our Brother” Cardinal Lubomyr Husar.The Holy Father noted the “extraordinary influx of people” paying their respects to the former head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. This, he said, “is an eloquent sign of what he has been: one of the highest and most respected moral authorities of the Ukrainian people in recent decades.”Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop emeritus of Kyiv-Halyc, died on 31 May 2017, aged 84.In his letter, addressed to Husar’s successor, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Pope Francis spoke of the late Cardinal’s efforts to lead his people beyond “the legacy of the ‘catacombs’ into which it was forced by persecutions.” He did so not only by restoring ecclesiastical structures, but especially through “...
(Vatican Radio) In a heartfelt personal letter, Pope Francis has expressed his desire to “be among those praying to the heavenly Father” for the “chosen soul of our Brother” Cardinal Lubomyr Husar.
The Holy Father noted the “extraordinary influx of people” paying their respects to the former head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. This, he said, “is an eloquent sign of what he has been: one of the highest and most respected moral authorities of the Ukrainian people in recent decades.”
Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop emeritus of Kyiv-Halyc, died on 31 May 2017, aged 84.
In his letter, addressed to Husar’s successor, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Pope Francis spoke of the late Cardinal’s efforts to lead his people beyond “the legacy of the ‘catacombs’ into which it was forced by persecutions.” He did so not only by restoring ecclesiastical structures, but especially through “the joy of his own story, founded on faith” that endured “through and beyond suffering.”
Pope Francis spoke of Cardinal Husar as “a master of wisdom,” who spoke to his people in simple, yet profound words. “His was the wisdom of the Gospel, the bread of the Word of God broken for the simple, for the suffering, for all those seeking dignity.” After his ministry as “father and head” of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Pope said, and with the onset of old age and illness, Cardinal Husar’s presence became “even more intense and rich.” He prayed for all, and when he spoke, “everyone felt that a Christian was speaking, a Ukrainian passionate about his identity, always full of hope, open to the future of God.” Pope Francis praised him for “the warmth of his great humanity and exquisite kindness,” and especially for his ability to welcome and communicate with the young.
“It moves me to think that today all of Ukraine weeps for him,” the Pope said, “but also that many people are certain that he already rests in the embrace of the heavenly Father.” They are certain, he said, that after the example of his “credible and coherent life” they will “continue to benefit from his prayer, with which he will continue to protect his people who are still suffering, marked by violence and insecurity, and yet certain that the love of Christ does not disappoint.”
Pope Francis concluded with his letter with a note of gratitude for “this unique religious and social presence in Ukraine’s history,” encouraging the faithful to remain committed to Cardinal Husar’s “constant teaching and total abandonment to Providence.” He called on them to continue “to feel his smile and his caress.”
(Vatican Radio) Doing works of mercy doesn’t mean just giving coins to assuage our consciences. Rather, it means sharing in the suffering of others, even at personal cost to ourselves. That message was at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily on Monday morning at his regular Santa Marta Mass.Philippa Hitchen reports:Reflecting on the first reading from the book of Tobit, or Tobias, the Pope noted how Tobit was saddened and wept at the murder of a Jewish kinsman, whose body he brought inside to bury after sunset. Pope Francis went on to speak about the 14 corporal and spiritual works of mercy, saying that to do them properly means not just sharing what we possess, but also sharing in the sufferings of others.We do not do works of mercy to assuage our consciences, to make us feel better, he said. Rather, the merciful person is the one who has pity on others and shares in their suffering. We must ask ourselves, am I generous? Do I know how to put myself in another person&rsqu...
(Vatican Radio) Doing works of mercy doesn’t mean just giving coins to assuage our consciences. Rather, it means sharing in the suffering of others, even at personal cost to ourselves. That message was at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily on Monday morning at his regular Santa Marta Mass.
Philippa Hitchen reports:
Reflecting on the first reading from the book of Tobit, or Tobias, the Pope noted how Tobit was saddened and wept at the murder of a Jewish kinsman, whose body he brought inside to bury after sunset. Pope Francis went on to speak about the 14 corporal and spiritual works of mercy, saying that to do them properly means not just sharing what we possess, but also sharing in the sufferings of others.
We do not do works of mercy to assuage our consciences, to make us feel better, he said. Rather, the merciful person is the one who has pity on others and shares in their suffering. We must ask ourselves, am I generous? Do I know how to put myself in another person’s shoes? Do I suffer when I see another person in difficulty?
The Pope continued by noting how the Jews in the bible reading had been deported to Assyria and were not allowed a proper burial. Therefore Tobit risked being killed too – just as we too must take risks as we carry out works of mercy.
Recalling the Second World War years here in Rome, Pope Francis spoke of all those people, beginning with Pope Pius XII, who risked their own lives to save Jews from deportation and death.
Those who carry out works of mercy must take risks, but they may also be mocked by others, just as Tobit was mocked by his neighbours. Doing works of mercy also means being willing to be inconvenienced, the Pope went on, just as Our Lord was inconvenienced – all the way to the Cross – to show mercy to us.
We do works of mercy for others, Pope Francis said, because we know that we have been shown mercy by Our Lord first. We think about our mistakes, our sins, and how the Lord has forgiven us, so we do the same with our brothers and sisters. Works of mercy, the Pope concluded, keep us away from egoistic behavior and help us imitate Jesus more closely.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are headed home in a familiar spot after the first two games of the NBA Finals....
CHICAGO (AP) -- Drugs are scoring big wins against common cancers, setting new standards for how to treat many prostate, breast and lung tumors. There's even a "uni-drug" that may fight many forms of the disease....
LONDON (AP) -- British counterterrorism investigators searched two homes Monday and detained "a number" of people in the investigation into a van and knife attack in the heart of London that left seven people dead....
