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(Vatican Radio) The Archbishop of Canterbury’s new representative to the Holy See, Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi, says his appointment will help Anglicans and Catholics to work more closely together on key issues of reconciliation, poverty and human trafficking.The Archbishop, who will also serve as director of Rome’s Anglican Centre, says his experience in jail, following a military coup in Burundi, taught him humility and other valuable lessons about the responsibility of religious leaders.Ntahoturi served as chief of staff to Burundi’s former President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza from 1979 to 1986. Following the overthrow of the government in 1987, he spent almost four years in prison.After being consecrated bishop of the Diocese of Matana, and later serving as leader of the Anglican Church of Burundi for over a decade, Ntahoturi has played a key role in local and regional peace building efforts. He’s also well-known on the international scene f...
(Vatican Radio) The Archbishop of Canterbury’s new representative to the Holy See, Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi, says his appointment will help Anglicans and Catholics to work more closely together on key issues of reconciliation, poverty and human trafficking.
The Archbishop, who will also serve as director of Rome’s Anglican Centre, says his experience in jail, following a military coup in Burundi, taught him humility and other valuable lessons about the responsibility of religious leaders.
Ntahoturi served as chief of staff to Burundi’s former President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza from 1979 to 1986. Following the overthrow of the government in 1987, he spent almost four years in prison.
After being consecrated bishop of the Diocese of Matana, and later serving as leader of the Anglican Church of Burundi for over a decade, Ntahoturi has played a key role in local and regional peace building efforts. He’s also well-known on the international scene for his ecumenical work, serving on the central committee of the World Council of Churches.
Over the past 10 days, Archbishop Bernard has been in Rome, meeting Pope Francis and top Vatican officials ahead of the start of his new job in the autumn. Philippa Hitchen caught up with him to find out more about his past experiences and how they may help him in the challenges that lie ahead…
Listen:
Archbishop Bernard pays tribute to the work of his predecessor, New Zealand Archbishop David Moxon and says he was grateful to meet with Pope Francis – unexpectedly – during the Wednesday general audience. He says he found the Holy Father “very well informed” about his appointment, adding that he looks forward to their next meeting in October when he can “explain my mission and get his blessing”.
Mission of rapprochement
The major mission of the Anglican Centre, he says, is the work of “rapprochement” or bringing together Roman Catholics and Anglicans who together count close to one and half billion followers. “That’s a population that can make a difference in the world,” he says, adding that the main objective is “to witness to a divided world” in response to Jesus’ prayer “that they may be one, so that the world may believe.”
Focus on Africa
His appointment as the first African director of the Anglican Centre is a recognition that the Churches in Africa are growing, as well as sending a strong signal that the Church is universal. Secondly, he says, it sends a message that “we’ll be concentrating and focusing on some of the problems and challenges we have in Africa,” especially reconciliation, conflict resolution, poverty and human trafficking, where Catholics and Anglicans can come together to denounce these evils of this century.”
Responsibility of reconciliation
Discussing his previous work in peace and reconciliation, Archbishop Bernard notes his role as chair of the council of all African provinces, as well as his responsibilities as vice chair of Burundi’s commission on truth and reconciliation. Reconciliation is a word that all people of faith have to take seriously, he says, as “it talks to the hearts of people.” Our responsibility, he says, is to “bring people together to see the other not as an evil, a demon, because there’s demonisation, but as someone created by God.”
Political experience in Burundi
The Anglican leader says his previous experience in Burundi doesn't compromise his role, but instead contributes to a greater understanding of human behaviour. Speaking of his time in the cabinet of former president Bagaza, he says those surrounding the military leader advised him that “conflict does not have a purpose” but he adds that Bagaza had his own personal convictions and “struggle for power.” He says those years taught him “you can’t ignore the role […] and the presence of the Church, especially in Africa where people are deeply religious,” a lesson which will help “in the work I’m doing here”
His time in jail, following the coup in his country, “taught me humility” and that “one should be prepared for changes”, he says.
Visit to South Sudan
Asked about the desire of Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby to visit South Sudan together, he says if the two religious leaders can travel there together, it “would be of great contribution to the process of peace”. But he adds they “should really do that visit when inclusive negotiations have been started.”
Dealing with differences
Commenting on diverging opinions within the Anglican world, Archbishop Bernard says “what Jesus Christ prayed for was unity in the Church, not uniformity”. As we mark this year’s 500th anniversary of the Reformation, he says, we are not celebrating divisions but rather remembering what happened, and we “should be aware of dividing” the Church of Christ today. Just as the first century Christians dealt with their differences through discussions, so “we should learn from what the early Church did,” he concludes, not dividing the Church but continuing to “walk together”.
Washington D.C., Jun 2, 2017 / 11:02 am (CNA).- Vatican experts on human development and social issues challenged Catholics around the world this week to respond with openness and a willingness to confront global issues in a truly Catholic manner.In a meeting with reporters at Georgetown University, Cardinal Peter Turkson warned that when Catholics focus on national or regional identities first “and make that qualify Catholicism or Catholic teaching, there’s a mighty good chance that we may be going in parallel lines and never meet.”The cardinal warned that Catholics from various regions of the world might lose sight of what’s more important when placing these identities at the forefront, rather than the faith. “The thing that binds us, that makes us common is the fact of belonging to the Catholic faith,” he stressed.Cardinal Turkson, who serves as prefect for the Dicastery of Integral Human Development, was joined by Archbishop Silvano Maria Toma...
Washington D.C., Jun 2, 2017 / 11:02 am (CNA).- Vatican experts on human development and social issues challenged Catholics around the world this week to respond with openness and a willingness to confront global issues in a truly Catholic manner.
In a meeting with reporters at Georgetown University, Cardinal Peter Turkson warned that when Catholics focus on national or regional identities first “and make that qualify Catholicism or Catholic teaching, there’s a mighty good chance that we may be going in parallel lines and never meet.”
The cardinal warned that Catholics from various regions of the world might lose sight of what’s more important when placing these identities at the forefront, rather than the faith. “The thing that binds us, that makes us common is the fact of belonging to the Catholic faith,” he stressed.
Cardinal Turkson, who serves as prefect for the Dicastery of Integral Human Development, was joined by Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi, former Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, in the May 31 meeting. There at Georgetown, they spoke with reporters about a range of challenges facing the Church and the West today, including climate change, migration, education, development and social cohesion.
The two prelates came to the university as part of a national convention of Catholic university centers studying Catholic Social Teaching.
Archbishop Tomasi, who also has experience working with refugee and migration issues, warned that recent trends in the West promote what he called a “self-centered” and inward-focused politics that can distract these nations from helping to find solutions to global problems. “If you look around the world, one of the situations we see in Europe, for example, even in Africa; there is a tendency in a part of the population to close in on itself.”
“It’s a global issue and if you limit yourself to the needs of your own country,” Archbishop Tomasi said, “you are not going to solve the problem.”
To truly create solutions to social problems, however, the Church believes that care must be taken for the good of the human person, Cardinal Turkson said. “Development,” he stressed, “is ultimately about the human person.”
“The human person requires certain conditions to flourish. Some of those conditions are moral conditions. Some of them are physical,” he continued. “Human ecology from the point of view of the Church would require…legislation, policies that enable a human person to flourish and realize its dignity.”
Development efforts that fail to recognize both the bodily and spiritual needs of persons, the cardinal warned, are “kind of flawed - it’s not quite complete.”
Similarly, efforts that promote “norms which negatively affect human growth and development,” Cardinal Turkson told CNA, pose the risk of “ideological colonization” and the pushing of harmful ideas as contingencies for development to happen in the first place.
Despite the risks of shortcomings, and collaboration in facing global struggles is a necessity – and a reason why Cardinal Turkson was disappointed to hear the United States would be re-evaluating its relationship with the Paris climate agreement. Cardinal Turkson played a major role in helping to broker the 2015 Paris climate agreement. “The truth is that climate is a global public good and not limited to any country, not limited to any nation,” he said, advocating for the acceptance of “global responsibility” for the health of the environment.
Yet, while these issues are global, response to them – both in policy and in politics – have local sources to first consult. Cardinal Turkson granted that it was understandable for a leader to reconsider the deal’s economic burdens or the weight of participation in the agreement on a given nation’s citizens. He cautioned, though, that complete abandonment should not be done without consulting other nations party to the agreement and also those threatened by climate change.
When looking towards the future, another issue the United States, Europe and other countries have to consider is the question of migration, Archbishop Tomasi stated. Pointing to special initiatives by the Holy See on migration and refugees, Archbishop Tomasi called for a global response and innovative solutions to the questions of migration.
“The fact that the Pope wants to show a special interest in migration is to emphasize the fact that that migration is not a European problem, it’s a global problem,” he said. “It touches the Americas, it touches Australia, it touches Asia, and in this sense, he wants to emphasize the need for governments to address this issue in a global way.”
An integrated, complete response to migration will require more than just readjustment of quotas or physical resettlement of migrants, the archbishop said, but considering how immigrants and refugees already fit into receiving societies. “It is in the self-interest of the United States, as it is in the self-interest of Europe, to look at immigration in a more constructive and positive way, and look at integration, rather than just debate how many we can take in.” He pointed to many industries in Western nations that rely upon immigrant labor or support.
Yet, he granted, there are serious challenges to consider, such as the integration of new immigrants into existing communities. These issues, he challenged “are very fundamental issues.”
Still, Archbishop Tomasi said, in all of these issues, Catholics who live in the United States can have a global impact. “The presence of the Catholic community in the United States plays a role in influencing the government or creating public culture.”
“It has an impact outside the United States,” Archbishop Tomasi said. “In that sense, given the political preeminence of our country, if the Catholic community succeeded in promoting certain aspects of life and culture that are acceptable in the American context, they would have an impact outside.”
IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz MuthBy Colleen DulleWESTMINSTER,Md. (CNS) -- For Father Mark Bialek, being a priest means enabling hisparishioners to evangelize in new ways."Wecan't just sit comfortably anymore in our parishes and our chanceries and inour homes, but we have to actually go to where the sheep are," Father Bialeksaid, comparing the church to a flock.FatherBialek will attend the "Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospelin America," a national gathering in Orlando, Florida, from July 1-4, to learnabout evangelization and share ideas with other Catholic leaders.Theinvitation-only convocation aims to equip attendees with strategies and bestpractices for preaching the Gospel in a way that reaches today's culture. It isbased on Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium" ("The Joy ofthe Gospel.")FatherBialek told Catholic News Service he has high hopes for the convocation."Ithink it's going to be a time of renewal where we go from maintenance tomission," Fath...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth
By Colleen Dulle
WESTMINSTER, Md. (CNS) -- For Father Mark Bialek, being a priest means enabling his parishioners to evangelize in new ways.
"We can't just sit comfortably anymore in our parishes and our chanceries and in our homes, but we have to actually go to where the sheep are," Father Bialek said, comparing the church to a flock.
Father Bialek will attend the "Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America," a national gathering in Orlando, Florida, from July 1-4, to learn about evangelization and share ideas with other Catholic leaders.
The invitation-only convocation aims to equip attendees with strategies and best practices for preaching the Gospel in a way that reaches today's culture. It is based on Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium" ("The Joy of the Gospel.")
Father Bialek told Catholic News Service he has high hopes for the convocation.
"I think it's going to be a time of renewal where we go from maintenance to mission," Father Bialek said. "It's no longer business as usual within our parishes and within our dioceses. We have to respond to the call of the Gospel in our own day and in our own age and find a way of proclaiming the Gospel in a way that people hear."
In his 11 years as a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Father Bialek said he has learned that it's important to be vulnerable and courageous and continually to evaluate his parish's work as a missionary vehicle.
He hopes to share this knowledge with the other participants at the convocation.
"Pope Francis said that he wants pastors that have the smell of the sheep, so I'm hoping that I'd be able to bring the experience of working in the parish, ministering every day," Father Bialek said.
The convocation will include several sessions dedicated to healing the wounds left by the clergy sex abuse scandal that gained international attention in 2002.
Healing these wounds has always been part of Father Bialek's ministry: He was entering the seminary just as the revelations began to come out.
"I think it was a very unsettling time where there seemed to be more questions than answers. There was a lot of anger that was coming, too, from all directions," he said. "To understand where those emotions were coming from, to understand the experiences that some people had unfortunately gone through, the hurt and pain that people had experienced, there was no getting away from it."
The priest said it gave him hope to see that even as the scandal continued to be uncovered in different cities, men continued to come to the seminary.
"I think the discussion was, how can we bring healing and comfort to those who have been affected and be agents of change within our ministry? And we kind of realized that this was going to take a lifetime," Father Bialek said.
He said it comforted him to think of the priests who had impacted him positively when he was young, like Father David Leary, who had talked with Father Bialek and the other altar servers about the faith and his different ministries.
"As I grew up and as I got more involved in the life of the parish, I wanted to be more like Father Dave," Father Bialek said.
Now, Father Bialek wants to provide that same kind of nurturing environment in his own parish.
"I truly feel a mission and a call to be a witness of joy, to proclaim the Gospel and to make sure the parish is an environment where all are protected, where dignity is upheld from the youngest to the most seasoned parishioner," Father Bialek said.
He said Pope Francis is leading a renewal in how the public views the church.
Since the pope's election in 2013, Father Bialek said he has seen more people returning to Mass and the sacraments, a change he attributes to Pope Francis' example.
"I think that if we can just get a glimpse, a glimmer, just a spark from his apostolic ministry and we can translate that back to our own dioceses and our own parishes, I think the church is going to be alive and well," Father Bialek said.
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By WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Members of the U.S. Senate "have agrave obligation" to make sure their health care reform bill respectslife, provides access to adequate health care "for all" and is"truly affordable," the chairmen of four U.S. bishops' committeessaid in a letter to senators released June 2.As theSenate takes up health care reform, it "must act decisively to remove theharmful proposals from the House bill that will affect low-income people --including immigrants -- as well as add vital conscience protections, or beginreform efforts anew," the chairmen said, reiterating key moral principlesthey urged be in the U.S. House bill to replace the Affordable Care Act.By afour-vote margin May 4, the House passed the American Health Care Act toreplace the Obama administration's health care law.SenateRepublicans have been urged to pass health care legislation before the congressionalrecess at the end of July. AfterHouse passage of its measure, the U.S. bishops "noted the positiveaspects"...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Members of the U.S. Senate "have a grave obligation" to make sure their health care reform bill respects life, provides access to adequate health care "for all" and is "truly affordable," the chairmen of four U.S. bishops' committees said in a letter to senators released June 2.
As the Senate takes up health care reform, it "must act decisively to remove the harmful proposals from the House bill that will affect low-income people -- including immigrants -- as well as add vital conscience protections, or begin reform efforts anew," the chairmen said, reiterating key moral principles they urged be in the U.S. House bill to replace the Affordable Care Act.
By a four-vote margin May 4, the House passed the American Health Care Act to replace the Obama administration's health care law.
Senate Republicans have been urged to pass health care legislation before the congressional recess at the end of July.
After House passage of its measure, the U.S. bishops "noted the positive aspects" of the bill, including "critical life protections" for the unborn, the letter said, but the measure "contains many serious flaws" the Senate must act to change, it added.
The letter, dated June 1, was signed by New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty; Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice Chairman and Human Development; and Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the Committee on Migration.
"Most troubling are unacceptable changes to Medicaid that reports indicate will leave millions of additional people uninsured in the years ahead," the letter said.
"The Catholic Church remains committed to ensuring the fundamental right to medical care, a right which is in keeping with the God-given dignity of every person, and the corresponding obligation as a country to provide for this right," it continued. "Health care debates must not be reduced to only those elements which appear most politically expedient; those without a strong voice in the process must not bear the brunt of attempts to cut costs."
The letter said the U.S. bishops "stand ready to work with Congress" to address problems with the current health care law "in ways that protect the most vulnerable among us."
It also stressed that health care is "much more than mere insurance" and should provide incentives for preventative care, early intervention and even encourage people to enter medical professions which foster relationships between doctors and patients.
The bishops' letter to the Senate reiterated many of the points raised in a March 8 letter to House members that said any repeal of the previous health care legislation shouldn't move forward without a replacement plan. They also urged that such a plan should show respect for life, offer access for all, be truly affordable and offer comprehensive and high quality coverage.
"No health care reform plan should compel us or others to pay for the destruction of human life, whether through government funding or mandatory coverage of abortion," the bishops wrote, adding that long-standing Hyde Amendment protections must be included in any health care plan and that federal resources should not be used to "assist consumers in the purchase of health care plans that cover abortion."
The bishops said that if the Senate uses the American Health Care Act as its starting point, they should "retain the positive elements of the bill and remedy its grave deficiencies." The bishops suggested the new plan keep protections for the unborn; ensure affordable and adequate coverage for all stages of life; and increase the level of tax assistance, especially for low-income and older people, in the measure's tax credit proposal.
They also said a new plan should oppose significant penalties, which the poor cannot afford, for gaps in coverage and add conscience protections.
The letter urged senators to recognize their "grave obligation" to come up with a fair health care plan. It included a quote from Pope Francis about health care saying: "When a sick person is not placed at the center and considered in their dignity, attitudes arise which can even lead to profiteering on other people's misfortunes. The growing health poverty among the poorest segments of the population is due precisely to the difficulty of access to care."
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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
SEATTLE (AP) -- The private studio of glass artist Dale Chihuly reflects his long obsession with collecting. Sheets of stamps cover one table; pocket knives are marshaled on another. Carnival-prize figurines from the first half of the 20th century line shelves that reach the ceiling....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic lawmakers and rights groups criticized the Republican head of the Senate intelligence committee on Friday for seeking the return of copies of a report on CIA treatment of detainees after 9/11. The critics claimed Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the committee chairman, is trying to "erase history" by making it harder for the public to ever see the classified document....
HAVANA (AP) -- President Barack Obama's 2014 opening with Cuba helped funnel American travel dollars into military-linked tourism conglomerates even as state security agents waged a fierce crackdown on dissent....
