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(Vatican Radio) With  21 million viewers, 30,000 downloads on YouTube and millions of Facebook followers each week, SAT-7 Christian satellite TV is preparing to launch yet another project: it’s called SAT-7 Academy and it aims to respond to the urgent needs of refugees and internally displaced persons in the Middle East and North Africa.   

Propelled by the newly founded SAT-7 Education & Development entity, this educational channel has been conceived to address the physical, emotional, relational, and intellectual aspects of the region’s children, parents and teachers, and provide a much needed tool to tackle the education gap in the Middle East, especially in war-torn Syria.

Passing through Rome for talks with partners inside and outside the Vatican, Kurt Johansen, the Executive Director of SAT-7 in Europe and in Asia, told Linda Bordoni that in over 20 years of service, SAT-7 has become a vital lifeline for millions as it provides information, entertainment and culture to displaced people and Christian minorities in difficult situations.

Listen to the interview:

Kurt Johansen explains that SAT-7 is a Christian TV station in the Middle East that broadcasts on four channels, 24 hours a day, on satellite.

“Satellite TV is ‘the’ media of the Middle East, more than 300 million have access to it – so this is actually the first time in world history that we can go into 300 million homes with the Christian message!” he says.

Johansen says all the programmes are produced in the Middle East, and the station has been able to unite all the Churches – Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant - in19 different countries with  studio’s throughout the region, showcasing the unity and the diversity of the Christianity.

Whilst covering a wide spectrum of issues, he explains that at the heart of SAT-7’s mission is the wish  to be the voice of the Christians of the Middle East, and also show what it means to be a Christian – and especially a minority Christian, giving them an identity and a legitimacy in a very difficult situation.

Pope Francis: a beloved figure

Johansen says that Pope Francis is often a protagonist of SAT-7’s programmes; referring in particular to the Pope’s recent apostolic journey to Egypt, he says that the TV station covered that journey 24 hours a day live.

“He’s very popular in the Middle East, and his message of peace and inclusion is very needed and important” he says.

Building bridges with non-Christians

Johansen also points out that according to independent surveys, most of SAT-7’s viewers are non-Christians: “they have the chance to see what these Christians are talking about, who they are – most people in the Middle East will never meet a Christian, they will never see a Bible” so satellite TV is a means to allow them to get informed.

He says it is important also because there are many misunderstandings regarding Christians, and it is a way of showing the people that Christians have been in the area for more than 2.000 years and still have a lot to contribute to the society.

“We are bringing the Church out onto the market place, showing how the Church does social work, how it is involved in human rights, politics and so on” he says.

Johansen speaks of the interest the TV programmes continue to arouse also amongst the huge Muslim viewership of SAT-7.

“I think we are building bridges to the non-Christians opening their eyes as to what Christianity is” he said.

Educational programmes for children in refugee camps

One of SAT-7’s main missions is to be involved in education, that’s why for the past ten years the station has been broadcasting educational programmes 10 hours per day so that children – in refugee camps or in areas where schooling is poor or inaccessible – can learn to read and write, can learn mathematics, science and also “living skills”.

“There are millions of kids who are not in school, and have not been in school for years, and will probably not be in school in the coming years as well – it’s a lost generation” he says.

Johansen says this is true in Syria, but also in Turkey, in Jordan, in Lebanon where millions of children have nothing but satellite TV in their tents.

He says the station is currently working to set up the SAT-7 Academy  24/hour educational channel that should be launched on September 1st. It will be broadcast in Arabic to 20 countries and is especially targeted towards Syrian refugees but has also garnered much interest in countries such as Egypt where the education system is struggling.

Johansen says the programmes are directed at children in kinder-garden and in grade one and grade two with the main academic subjects, but also gives space to cultural activities and civil education.

“Because we have the best teachers in our studios, because we can add cartoons and songs and make it very attractive and very unlike the average school situations in the Middle East, we feel we can teach millions of children, give them hope and make them feel they are loved by someone” he says. 

Johansen reveals he travels to Rome once a year as he is in contact with various partners and collaborators such as Propaganda Fide, TV 2000, the bishops’ conference and other congregations in the Vatican as well as with Catholic churches and organizations throughout the Middle East.

He says local governments and NGOs are happy to collaborate with the TV station with whom they have built up a “win-win” relationship. He speaks in particular of the situation in Turkey where SAT-7 continues to have permission to broadcast on the official Turk Sat satellite systems and reach a Christian minority which finds itself in serious difficulty.

Johansen says there are many difficulties in working in the Middle East but, he says “we must not allow ourselves to give up, we still have the duty and the possibility to bring love and hope and the witness of Christ to the region”. 

“The message of forgiveness and inclusion, he concludes, is very important; and without this message I can’t see an end to this circle of violence, attacks and hate that we are seeing at this time”.

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It is only the Holy Spirit Who can teach us to say: “Jesus is the Lord.” That was the focus of Pope Francis’ reflections during the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on Monday. The Holy Father emphasized that we must open our hearts in order to hear the Holy Spirit, and thus be able to bear witness to Christ.

Listen:

“Be calm, I will not leave you orphans; I will send you an advocate, the Holy Spirit, to defend you before the Father.” Pope Francis based his homily on the long discourse of Jesus to His disciples at the Last Supper. The Pope dwelt especially on the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who accompanies us and “gives us the assurance of being saved by Jesus.”

The Holy Spirit, the gift of Jesus, is the travelling companion of the Church

It is only the Holy Spirit, the Pope said, Who teaches us to say, “Jesus is the Lord”:

“Without the Holy Spirit, none of us is able to say it, to perceive it, to live it. Jesus, in other places in this long discourse, said of Him [the Holy Spirit]: ‘He will lead you into all truth,’ He will accompany you towards the full truth. ‘He will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you; He will teach you all things.’ That is, the Holy Spirit is the travelling companion of every Christian, and also the travelling companion of the Church. And this is the gift that Jesus gives us.”

We must open our hearts to the Holy Spirit; otherwise, He cannot enter in

The Holy Spirit, he continued, is “a gift, the great gift of Jesus,” Who does not lead us astray. But where does the Spirit dwell? the Pope asked. He looked to the first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, where we see the figure of Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, someone who “knew how to do things.” The Lord opened her heart, so that she might follow the Word of God:

“The Lord opened her heart so that the Holy Spirit could enter, and she became a disciple. It is precisely within our hearts that we carry the Holy Spirit. The Church calls the Spirit ‘the sweet guest of the heart’: He is there. But He cannot enter a closed heart. ‘Ah, but where can one buy the keys to open the heart?’ No! That too is a gift. It is a gift of God: ‘Lord, open my heart so that the Spirit can enter it, and I can understand that Jesus is the Lord.’”

This, the Pope said, is a prayer that we should say every day: “Lord, open my heart so that I can understand what You have taught us; so that I can remember Your words; so that I can follow Your words; so that I can come to the fullness of the truth.”

Let us ask ourselves if our hearts are truly open to the Spirit

Our hearts must be open, then, so that the Holy Spirit can enter, and so that we can hear the Spirit. Pope Francis said the readings of the Mass suggest two questions we can ask ourselves:

“The first: Do I ask the Lord for the grace that my heart might be opened? The second question: Do I seek to hear the Holy Spirit, His inspirations, the things He tells my heart that I might advance in the Christian life, and that I too might bear witness that Jesus is the Lord? Think about these two things today: Is my heart open? Do I make an effort to listen to the Holy Spirit, to what He tells me? And so we advance in the Christian life, and we too bear witness to Jesus Christ.”

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Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Monday, met Equatorial Guinea’s Bishops in the newly-erected Diocese of Mongomo. The country has one of the highest Catholic populations by proportion.

“Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, as the episcopal body of this country, I wish first to express my joy at being with you all at this particular moment,” Cardinal  Filoni said. He then expressed his joy at the increase of new Bishops in the country. He said this was one of the signs that the Church in Equatorial Guinea was growing. 

Earlier on Saturday 20 May, at Mongomo, Cardinal Filoni ordained three new Bishops for Equatorial Guinea. The new Bishops are from for the new Dioceses of  Evinayong and Mongomo respectively, as well as for the Diocese of Ebebiyin.

The Cardinal is on a pastoral visit to the country. The visit began on 18 May and ends on 25 May.

Meeting the Bishops on Monday, Cardinal Filoni expressed the gratitude of the Holy See for the for the great progress within the Church of Equatorial Guinea. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples told Guinea’s Bishops that as Pastors, Bishops need to cultivate a paternal and brotherly attitude especially towards their immediate collaborators, the priests.

“Since we are building a family in Christ, we must create this climate of understanding and solidarity, among our clergy, to make them feel that they are members of a family. Certainly, Canon Law gives us directions on how to form basic diocesan structures, such as the Presbyteral Council, the College of Consultors, the Pastoral and Economic Council of the Diocese. These structures should not only exist in theory; they need to become tangible and facilitate collaboration and co-responsibility in the service of our particular Churches. The good work of our priests needs to be constantly appreciated. Even little gestures and small achievements need to be acknowledged, appreciated and commended. This is particularly necessary when priests encounter difficulties (in their calling). The Bishop must always have the habit, as Pope Francis often advises, to be available full time, for his brother-priests,” Cardinal Filoni told the Bishops.

The Cardinal also spoke of the need to create harmony and collaboration with the religious and the laity in the dioceses. He acknowledged challenges and limitations faced by local Churches such as inadequate spiritual formation and the problem of ethnic divisions even among Christians. Cardinal Filoni encouraged Bishops to tackle head-on these difficulties and limitations.

(Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va)

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Philadelphia, Pa., May 22, 2017 / 03:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his address to graduating seminarians on Wednesday, United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. emphasized the importance of religious freedom and the dangers it faces today.

Religious freedom means that “no one is forced to act in violation of his own beliefs,” Alito said, according to Catholic Philly. “Most of my life Americans were instilled in this,” he added, and urged the audience “keep the flame burning.”

Alito gave the keynote address at the concursus ceremony for the graduating class of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia May 17, where he also received the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Honorus Causa, from Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia.

He was awarded the degree “in testimony to and recognition of his many outstanding contributions to society … especially in protecting the sanctity and dignity of human life, the full responsibilities of the human person and promoting true justice and lasting peace,” Archbishop Chaput said.

Alito, 67, is a practicing Catholic from an Italian family in Trenton, New Jersey, and was nominated to the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush, where he has served since January 2006.

He wrote the majority opinion for the 2014 Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. case, in which the court allowed for closely-held, for-profit corporations to be exempt from a regulation its owners religiously object to if there is a less restrictive means of furthering the law's interest, according to the provisions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

He also wrote a dissent from the majority opinion in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case, in which the Supreme Court held that the Constitution guarantees the right to same-sex marriage.

Prior to his address, in an interview with the St. Charles Borromeo blog Seminarian Casual, Alito again spoke about religious freedom as well as the effect his faith and family has had on his career.

Religious freedom is “one of the most fundamental rights” in the United States, Alito said, and the founding fathers “saw a vital connection between religion and the character needed for republican self-government.”

“What the founders understood more than 200 years ago is just as true today,” he said, though “(t)here is cause for concern at the present time.”

In his Obergefell dissent, Alito said he “anticipated that… 'those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools.’”

There is already evidence of this happening, he said, such as in a case the Supreme Court declined to hear, in which a pharmacy was being forced to sell emergency contraceptives despite their religious beliefs against them. He said he anticipates even more struggles for religious freedom in the years to come.

“This is not an easy time to be a priest, but priests are desperately needed,” he said.

In particular, priests of the 21st century are needed to “express what is essential about the faith in a way that registers with a culture that speaks a different language. It is a daunting task, but that is essentially what was done by brave priests in the past who took the faith to every corner of the globe,” he said.

“One priest who especially stands out in my memory is the pastor of the church in New Jersey that we attended before moving to Washington. He had a marvelous way of speaking to the parishioners in a way that was seemingly simple but attractive and ultimately profound.”

When asked how his Catholic faith has shaped him, Alito said his faith provides him meaning and purpose.

“The title of a book by Tolstoy has been translated as What Then Should We Do? My faith gives me an answer. It would be terrible to think that life has no meaning, that we are going nowhere, and that what we do until we die is a matter of indifference. That is what tortures so many today.”

He added that the strong family values with which he was raised influenced the way he raised his own family, and that he is grateful for a career that allows him some flexibility to be able to spend time with his family.

“Nothing on this Earth is more important to me than my family,” he said.

“I have been fortunate to have jobs that allowed me to control my work schedule to a very great degree,” he said. “Very few people today have this luxury, and it is hard for busy people to balance work and family life. Our society needs to do a better job of making this possible.”

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