Catholic News 2
JERUSALEM (AP) -- President Donald Trump paid a short visit to Israel's national Holocaust memorial on Tuesday, calling the Nazi extermination of 6 million Jews "the most savage crime against God and his children" during the most sensitive stop on his two-day visit to Israel....
NEW YORK (AP) -- The typical CEO at the biggest U.S. companies got an 8.5 percent raise last year, raking in $11.5 million in salary, stock and other compensation last year, according to a study by executive data firm Equilar for The Associated Press. That's the biggest raise in three years....
JERUSALEM (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday pushed for elusive peace between Israel and the Palestinians, calling on both sides to put aside the "pain and disagreements of the past."...
MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- For the young crowd of music fans, the Ariana Grande concert was supposed to be a night of high-energy candy pop and fun on a school night. The scene quickly turned into sheer terror when a bomb went off at the end, sending terrified parents into a desperate search for their loved ones....
MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- The Latest on the blast at an Ariana Grande concert in northern England (all times local):...
MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- A suicide bomber blew himself up as young concert-goers left a show by the American singer Ariana Grande in the northern English city of Manchester, killing at least 22 people, some wearing the star's trademark kitten ears and holding pink balloons as they fled....
(Vatican Radio) A deadly terror attack at a concert venue in Manchester, England, where singer Ariana Grande had been performing for a crowd of mostly teenagers. At least 22 people are dead, while 59 others have been injured.Police investigation as terror incidentManchester Police chief Constable Ian Hopkins made a statement in which he said authorities are treating the incident as a terror attack.Describing the attack as "the most horrific incident," Greater Manchester had ever faced, Hopkins said the invesitgation is "fast-moving" and working to establish whether the attacker "was acting alone or as part of a network."Over 400 officers of the Greater Manchester police force were on duty throughout the night.8 hospitals in the Greater Manchester area are treating victims.Election campaign suspendedBritish Prime Minister Theresa May has suspended campaigning in the UK general election, and has called a meeting of the Government’s emergency ...
(Vatican Radio) A deadly terror attack at a concert venue in Manchester, England, where singer Ariana Grande had been performing for a crowd of mostly teenagers. At least 22 people are dead, while 59 others have been injured.
Police investigation as terror incident
Manchester Police chief Constable Ian Hopkins made a statement in which he said authorities are treating the incident as a terror attack.
Describing the attack as "the most horrific incident," Greater Manchester had ever faced, Hopkins said the invesitgation is "fast-moving" and working to establish whether the attacker "was acting alone or as part of a network."
Over 400 officers of the Greater Manchester police force were on duty throughout the night.
8 hospitals in the Greater Manchester area are treating victims.
Election campaign suspended
British Prime Minister Theresa May has suspended campaigning in the UK general election, and has called a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee for this morning.
Solidarity of Catholic community
The Catholic Bishop of Salford, John Arnold, in which the Greater Manchester area is located, issued a statement saying, "The citizens of Manchester and the Catholic community are united in condemning the attack on the crowds at the Manchester arena. Such an attack can have no justification."
The statement goes on to say, "I thank the emergency services for their prompt and speedy response, which saved lives."
Bishop Arnold also called for prayerful solidarity with the victims and their families.
"We join in prayer for all those who have died, and for the injured and their families, and all affected by this tragedy," he said.
"We must all commit ourselves to working together," Bishop Arnold's statmeent concludes, "in every way, to help the victims and their families, and to build and strengthen our community solidarity."
(Vatican Radio) The Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, has released his prepared remarks to the first of two panel discussions of issues surrounding sustainable development and poverty eradication, in connection with the Global Compact on safe, orderly and regular migration. Please find the full text of Archbishop Auza's prepared remarks below*********************************************************Intervention of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito AuzaApostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United NationsGlobal Compact on safe, orderly and regular migration:Informal Thematic Session on Addressing drivers of migration, including adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters and human made crisis, through protection and assistance, sustainable development, poverty eradication, conflict prevention and resolutionPanel 1: Sustainable Development and Poverty EradicationNew York, 22 M...
(Vatican Radio) The Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, has released his prepared remarks to the first of two panel discussions of issues surrounding sustainable development and poverty eradication, in connection with the Global Compact on safe, orderly and regular migration. Please find the full text of Archbishop Auza's prepared remarks below
*********************************************************
Intervention of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza
Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
Global Compact on safe, orderly and regular migration:
Informal Thematic Session on Addressing drivers of migration, including adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters and human made crisis, through protection and assistance, sustainable development, poverty eradication, conflict prevention and resolution
Panel 1: Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication
New York, 22 May 2017
Distinguished Ambassadors and Panelists,
The number of migrants crossing international borders is at its highest total in recorded history. Even more dramatic, as laid out in the interagency brief produced for this thematic session, is the fact that the number of people displaced within their own countries far exceeds those moving across international borders.
While it is true that the current mixed flows of mass migrations often reveal serious failures and shortcomings on the part of States and the International Community, they also point to the aspiration of many to build a better life for themselves and their families. It is crucial that we view migration not as merely a negative phenomenon, but rather as a complex reality, one in which the needs and expectations of all those involved ought to lead to greater solidarity and to a coherent international framework for the global management of migration. A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed, from defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization towards a culture of encounter and more creative forms of solidarity.
Certainly, responsibility and burden sharing need to take into account a country’s wealth and level of development. The persisting economic crisis limits the options of a single country’s response to the emergencies, as do the devastating droughts in some parts of the world that weaken the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the increasing number of refugees and forcibly displaced persons. In this context, "the active involvement of international partners is indispensable”[1].
Pope Francis, however, reminds us that “working together for a better world requires that countries help one another, in a spirit of willingness and trust, without raising insurmountable barriers.” Indeed, the best way forward is to start from this position of cooperation, and from there confront together the many global socioeconomic imbalances that we face and in which every country has a stake.
Recognizing this, the International Community committed itself to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At its core is the eradication of poverty, the provision of universal access to health care and to quality education, and decent work. The Global Compact for Migration is a unique opportunity to develop concrete, coordinated policies and investments in these specific areas. Many private and public initiatives, especially at the local level, are already engaged in this work. The Global Forum on Migration and Development, as well as the various consultations currently being organized by the International Organization for Migration, are opportunities to see how these initiatives can be scaled bilaterally, regionally and internationally through the Global Compact.
Finally, we must remember that before the right to emigrate, there is the right of all to remain in their countries in peace and economic security. Migration should not be a desperate necessity; it should be a choice. If the Global Compact adopts and implements this approach, migration will not only become voluntary but safer, more orderly and better governed by agreed regulations.
Thank you.
Karamlesh, Iraq, May 23, 2017 / 12:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Martin Baani was just 24 years old when he risked his life as a seminarian to rescue the Blessed Sacrament from the imminent invasion of Islamic State terrorists in his hometown.Now, he is returning to his native village as a priest, ready to serve the people through the Eucharist.On August 6, 2014, Baani received a call from a friend who warned that a nearby village had fallen into the hands of ISIS, and that his hometown of Karamlesh would be next.Baani promptly headed to the San Addai church and took the Blessed Sacrament, to prevent the jihadists from desecrating it. That day, he fled in a car along with his pastor, Fr. Thabet and three other priests.“I was the last one to leave Karamlesh, with the Blessed Sacrament in my hands,” he told the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need.Despite threats from ISIS, Baani chose to stay in Iraq instead of fleeing with his family to the United States. He continu...
Karamlesh, Iraq, May 23, 2017 / 12:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Martin Baani was just 24 years old when he risked his life as a seminarian to rescue the Blessed Sacrament from the imminent invasion of Islamic State terrorists in his hometown.
Now, he is returning to his native village as a priest, ready to serve the people through the Eucharist.
On August 6, 2014, Baani received a call from a friend who warned that a nearby village had fallen into the hands of ISIS, and that his hometown of Karamlesh would be next.
Baani promptly headed to the San Addai church and took the Blessed Sacrament, to prevent the jihadists from desecrating it. That day, he fled in a car along with his pastor, Fr. Thabet and three other priests.
“I was the last one to leave Karamlesh, with the Blessed Sacrament in my hands,” he told the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need.
Despite threats from ISIS, Baani chose to stay in Iraq instead of fleeing with his family to the United States. He continued his studies at Saint Peter's Seminary in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
In September 2016, Baani was ordained a priest along with six other men.
Around 500 people attended the ordination, which was presided over by the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Raphael Sako.
A few months before his ordination, Baani told Aid to the Church in Need: “Every day I go to the refugee camps to accompany the families. We are Christian refugees. ISIS wants to eliminate Christianity from Iraq but I have decided to stay. I love Jesus and I don't want our history to disappear.”
Almost a year later, following the liberation of the villages of the Plain of Nineveh from ISIS control, Fr. Banni confirmed his decision to stay in Iraq in order to “serve my people and our Church.”
“Now I am happy to celebrate Holy Mass in Iraq,” he said.
Aid to the Church in Need has currently planned the reconstruction of about 13,000 Christian homes that were destroyed by ISIS.
Several weeks ago, the foundation held an “olive tree ceremony” where they delivered an olive plant to the homeowners of 105 Christian homes in the villages of Bartella, Karmalesh and Qaraqosh as a symbol of peace and reconciliation.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The search for 12 jurors and six alternates for Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial is off to a brisk start even though a third of the initial jury pool had an opinion about Cosby's guilt or innocence and an equal number said they or someone close to them had been sexually assaulted....
