Catholic News 2
PARIS (AP) -- Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron hunted working class votes Monday, entering the final week of an increasingly nasty campaign for president. Thousands across France celebrated May Day by showing their top concerns are jobs and the kind of country the next leader will give them....
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A gunman despondent over a recent breakup opened fire at a poolside birthday party and phoned his ex-girlfriend as he kept shooting strangers, killing one woman and injuring six other partygoers before he was killed by officers, police said Monday....
LEESBURG, Va. (AP) -- Schools won't have to cut more salt from meals just yet and some will be able to serve kids fewer whole grains, under changes to federal nutrition standards announced Monday....
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Emergency responders say one person is dead and three others have been taken to a hospital with "potentially serious injuries" after a stabbing attack on the University of Texas campus....
Unlike colleges and universities, there are no national requirements for U.S. elementary and secondary schools to track student sexual assaults. But 32 states and the District of Columbia do maintain information, though it is inconsistent and sometimes incomplete, The Associated Press found....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Thousands of people chanted, picketed and marched on cities across America as May Day demonstrations raged against President Donald Trump's immigration policies....
(Vatican Radio) To mark International Labour Day which coincides with the Feast day of Saint Joseph the worker, in this archive programme Veronica Scarisbrick takes a look at the special devotion Pope Francis has for this Saint. As well as focus briefly on one of the social issues central to his thinking: the dignity of labour.Listen to a programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick: Let’s begin with his devotion to Saint Joseph as there’s quite a list of things that connect Pope Francis to this saint. Among them the choice of the date for the beginning of his pontificate the 19th of March, Saint Joseph’s feast day, and the choice of the nard flower symbolic of this saint on his coat of arms. Then in July 2013 his decision to consecrate Vatican City State not just to Saint Michael, as had been previously planned, but to Saint Joseph as well. And on a more personal note his admission to cherishing a wooden statue representing a d...
(Vatican Radio) To mark International Labour Day which coincides with the Feast day of Saint Joseph the worker, in this archive programme Veronica Scarisbrick takes a look at the special devotion Pope Francis has for this Saint. As well as focus briefly on one of the social issues central to his thinking: the dignity of labour.
Listen to a programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick:
Let’s begin with his devotion to Saint Joseph as there’s quite a list of things that connect Pope Francis to this saint. Among them the choice of the date for the beginning of his pontificate the 19th of March, Saint Joseph’s feast day, and the choice of the nard flower symbolic of this saint on his coat of arms. Then in July 2013 his decision to consecrate Vatican City State not just to Saint Michael, as had been previously planned, but to Saint Joseph as well. And on a more personal note his admission to cherishing a wooden statue representing a dormant Saint Joseph, dressed in gold trimmed dark green and red garments according to Hispanic iconography, by which he places prayer requests. Simply because as he mentioned when he confided to us this personal gesture: “ He’s a carpenter and he gets the job done, even though he sometimes makes you wait”.
As for what links Pope Francis to Saint Joseph, International Labour Day and workers why not shine the spotlight on his words the 1st of May 2013, so the very first year of his pontificate, during his weekly general audience. Words which focus precisely on work and the figure of Saint Joseph. In a special way on the role played by Joseph as the legal father who teaches his son his skills as a carpenter in the workshop in Nazareth on a daily basis and shares with him, the efforts, the commitment, the satisfactions and problems that come with the job.
On this occasion Pope Francis goes on to remind us of the dignity and importance of work. The Book of Genesis, he says, tells us that God created man and woman entrusting them with the task of filling the earth and subduing it, which does not mean exploiting it, but nurturing and protecting it, caring for it through their work: “Work is part of God's loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way participate in the work of creation! Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person...it gives you the ability to maintain yourself, your family, to contribute to the growth of your nation. And here I think of the difficulties which, in various countries, today afflicts the world of work and business; I think of how many, and not just young people, are unemployed, many times due to a purely economic conception of society, which seeks selfish profit, beyond the parameters of social justice. I wish to extend an invitation to solidarity to everyone, and I would like to encourage those in public office to make every effort to give new impetus to employment, this means caring for the dignity of the person, but above all I'd like to say do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the certainty that God never abandons us.And then I would like to speak especially to you young people: be committed to your daily duties, your study, your work, to relationships of friendship, to helping towards others; your future also depends on how you live these precious years of your life. Do not be afraid of commitment, of sacrifice and do not look with fear towards the future; keep your hope alive: there is always a light on the horizon".
But while Pope Francis on this occasion shares with us words of encouragemen as we've just noticed he also chooses to highlight some of the evils of society in the area of work and denounces once again, the practice some companies have of adopting policies that favour profit over human dignity or even human life. And then uses an image to express how fundamental work is to the dignity of the person:"... work to use an image ‘anoints’ with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God who has worked and still works, who also acts”.
One last word perhaps: let’s hope the prayer requests that Pope Francis places by the reclining and dormant figure of Saint Joseph are eventually answered…As he once assured us, they always are!
(Vatican Radio) The Supreme Court of Pakistan has turned down the request for an early hearing of the case of a Catholic mother sentenced to death for blasphemy, that her supporters and rights activists hold hard-line Islamic lobbyists responsible for. Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on April 26, declined a request for the hearing of the case of Asia Bibi in the first week of June made by her Muslim lawyer Saiful Malook. “Today I have been informed that the plea was declined by the CJP,” Malook is reported to have told The Express Tribune.Bibi, a 51-year old fruit picker from Sheikhupura, was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 2010 after an argument with a Muslim woman over a glass of water. Her supporters and rights activists maintain her innocence and insist she was falsely accused due to a personal dispute with the accuser. Successive appeals have been rejected, and if the Supreme Court bench uphold...
(Vatican Radio) The Supreme Court of Pakistan has turned down the request for an early hearing of the case of a Catholic mother sentenced to death for blasphemy, that her supporters and rights activists hold hard-line Islamic lobbyists responsible for. Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on April 26, declined a request for the hearing of the case of Asia Bibi in the first week of June made by her Muslim lawyer Saiful Malook. “Today I have been informed that the plea was declined by the CJP,” Malook is reported to have told The Express Tribune.
Bibi, a 51-year old fruit picker from Sheikhupura, was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 2010 after an argument with a Muslim woman over a glass of water. Her supporters and rights activists maintain her innocence and insist she was falsely accused due to a personal dispute with the accuser. Successive appeals have been rejected, and if the Supreme Court bench upholds Bibi’s conviction, her only recourse will be a direct appeal to the president for clemency.
"This is very unfortunate. Her husband became quiet when he heard the latest developments. We shall again apply for the hearing and keep struggling for justice," Joseph Nadeem, executive director of the Renaissance Education Foundation told UCANEWS. "There are many factors at work behind the slow pace of judiciary. Her case has been in the doldrums due to huge pressure. There will be a strong reaction if Bibi is freed. Opposing groups have made it a matter of honor and ego," Nadeem said.
The Renaissance Education Foundation has been supporting Bibi's family in Lahore since she was imprisoned for allegedly defaming Prophet Mohammed in 2009. If Bibi’s death sentence is upheld, she would be first woman in Pakistan to be put to death for blasphemy.
The last time her case was taken up by the Supreme Court, was on October 13, by a three-judge bench. However, one of the judges, Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman retired from the case because he said he was also a part of the bench in the case of the murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who was assassinated by his bodyguard in 2011 for his support of Bibi. Judge Pervez Ali Shah fled to Saudi Arabia along with his family in 2011 after getting death threats for convicting Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri who confessed to murdering Taseer. Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic and federal minister for minorities, was also assassinated that year for supporting Bibi’s released and recommending reform of the blasphemy law.
Analysts consider Qadri's 2016 execution a litmus test for processing blasphemy-related killings. Now, in the view of Bibi's former attorney, the current environment in the country is not conducive for the dispensation of justice in her case. "Our plight is that the socio-political atmosphere of the country has no space for discussion on blasphemy laws. The judges know what is happening outside as non-state actors show their strength on the roads demanding death for Bibi," said Naeem Shakir, a Christian lawyer. The sensitivity surrounding blasphemy laws has made it a political tool to threaten and put down others. The state has a weak narrative regarding this law and its functionaries usually try to evade questions regarding its misuse," he said.
Meanwhile, several Islamic clerics have renewed calls for the execution of Bibi, saying incidents such as the recent lynching of a Muslim university student in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was because of the frustration over delay in Bibi’s execution. Pakistan’s National Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the lynching and resolved to insert safeguards into the blasphemy law but religious parties opposed the idea.
The dreadful blasphemy laws in Pakistan’s Penal Code stipulates life imprisonment for blasphemy against the Qur'an and death penalty for blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed. Rights groups say the laws are increasingly exploited by religious extremists as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores, not just against members of minority communities but also against Muslims. The law do not clearly define blasphemy and evidence might not be reproduced in court for fear of committing a fresh offence. There are no penalties for false accusations. Those accused are sometimes lynched on the spot. If they are arrested, police and the courts often allow trials to drag on for years, afraid of being attacked if they release anyone accused of blasphemy.
Since the passage of blasphemy laws in the early 1980s, religious minorities including Shia, Ahmadi, Hindu and Christians have often been attacked and persecuted for their faith. Asia Bibi has been rotting in prison since 2009. "Such atrocities have become routine. The plight of Bibi has had a dampening effect on minorities. Their grief cannot be addressed because of religious retrogressive and extremist groups. Islamists consider her freedom a defeat for their movement," added Shakir.
(Vatican Radio) On May 1st the Church remembers Saint Joseph the worker, a day marked across the globe as International Labour Day.Pope Francis’ thoughts in these days go especially towards young people as expressed in his May 1st tweet: “May Saint Joseph give young people the ability to dream, to take risks for big tasks, the things that God dreams for us,” many of whom are faced with unprecedented high rates of unemployment and socio-financial difficulties.And in a message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that in these days is holding its Plenary Assembly in the Vatican (28 April-2 May), the Pope recalls the “hard battles” of workers during the 19th and 20th centuries which took place “in the name of solidarity and rights”.He says these battles “are far from over” pointing to the “social exclusion and marginalization of millions of men and women today.”“Today, solidarity is not sufficient, it is n...
(Vatican Radio) On May 1st the Church remembers Saint Joseph the worker, a day marked across the globe as International Labour Day.
Pope Francis’ thoughts in these days go especially towards young people as expressed in his May 1st tweet: “May Saint Joseph give young people the ability to dream, to take risks for big tasks, the things that God dreams for us,” many of whom are faced with unprecedented high rates of unemployment and socio-financial difficulties.
And in a message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that in these days is holding its Plenary Assembly in the Vatican (28 April-2 May), the Pope recalls the “hard battles” of workers during the 19th and 20th centuries which took place “in the name of solidarity and rights”.
He says these battles “are far from over” pointing to the “social exclusion and marginalization of millions of men and women today.”
“Today, solidarity is not sufficient, it is necessary to increase the parameters of the traditional concept of justice” he said.
In the current liberal and individualistic vision of the world, he continues, almost everything has become a “trade commodity”; in a “state-centric” vision everything is accomplished out of “duty”. These are two visions, the Pope says, that have not and will not solve the grave problems of economy and work.
In his message the Pope says it is “necessary to attempt new paths that are inspired by Christ’s message.”
He says the key word is fraternity and he highlights the content of Pope Pius XI’s social encyclical issued in 1931: “Quadragesimo Anno,” which he says, decries the egoism which is at the basis of injustice and is the opposite of fraternity. He points out that it also foresaw the affirmation of a “global economic dictatorship” that Pius XI called the “international imperialism of money”.
The solution, Pope Francis says, is a fraternal society in which work “before being conceived as a right, is recognized as a capacity and an inalienable need of each person”.
Only in a fraternal society, he says, can work be “just”, meaning that not only will it assure an equitable remuneration, but it will correspond to the vocation of the person and therefore be able to contribute to the development of his or her capacities and talents.
“This is the proposal of the Gospel – a proposal that is able to create a new humanism” the Pope says, and “a new energy that will generate freedom, justice, peace and dignity for all”.
Pope Francis concludes his message quoting from a speech to managers and workers of the Terni steel mill in 2014: “Dear brothers and sisters, never stop hoping for a better future. Fight for it, fight. Do not be trapped in the vortex of pessimism, please! If each one does his or her part, if everyone always places the human person — not money — with his dignity at the centre, if an attitude of solidarity and fraternal sharing inspired by the Gospel is strengthened, you will be able to leave behind the morass of a hard and difficult economic season of work”.
(Vatican Radio) The civic body of Mumbai in western India pulled down a cross in a suburb on Saturday, drawing sharp reactions from Catholic officials and the faithful. Not long after officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the civic body that governs Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra state, pulled down a cross near Bazar Road in Bandra on April 29, local Catholics put up a a makeshift cross to “reassure” the community. A group staged a protest outside Bandra police station demanding action against the BMC officials for hurting religious sentiments. The Archdiocese of Bombay plans to go to court against the demolition. Catholics say the demolished cross was on private land and was erected 122 years ago. “It has religious and historical significance,” said archdiocesan spokesperson Father Nigel Barrett in a statement on April 30. He said the tearing down of the cross without following due process has dis...
(Vatican Radio) The civic body of Mumbai in western India pulled down a cross in a suburb on Saturday, drawing sharp reactions from Catholic officials and the faithful. Not long after officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the civic body that governs Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra state, pulled down a cross near Bazar Road in Bandra on April 29, local Catholics put up a a makeshift cross to “reassure” the community. A group staged a protest outside Bandra police station demanding action against the BMC officials for hurting religious sentiments. The Archdiocese of Bombay plans to go to court against the demolition. Catholics say the demolished cross was on private land and was erected 122 years ago. “It has religious and historical significance,” said archdiocesan spokesperson Father Nigel Barrett in a statement on April 30. He said the tearing down of the cross without following due process has disturbed the Catholic community. “This is gross misuse of authority and the archdiocese, in collaboration with various representative bodies, will legally pursue the matter,” the archdiocesan official added.
The removal of the cross was part of the directive of Bombay High Court asking BMC to demolish all illegal religious structures that have come up after September 29, 2009. As many as 32 temples and 6 crosses from H west ward were deemed against the Development Plan of the city. However, Rita D'sa of Bombay Catholic Sabha contends that the cross was erected in 1895 or so and the BMC action amounts to insulting the religion. "This PIL (public interest litigation) only relates to religious structures on public property. The notice issued has no application to the said Holy Cross since it was constructed on a private property," D'sa claimed.
Fr. Barrett explained that on April 3 after BMC explained to the local community about the cross being illegal on a public road, the community representatives presented their legal position and were asked to submit their statements in writing. On April 26, assistant municipal commissioner Sharad Ughade sent a notice to the church people regarding the cross. Fr. Barrett said, “the notice was invalid with respect to the cross demolished, as it was on private property.” “The owner and community organizations had replied in time to the notice and had even met Ughade with documentary evidence, including a revenue plan and property card. The legal position was explained very clearly to Ughade with supporting documents,” the priest explained. “We hope BMC will take cognizance of this and initiate appropriate action,” Father Barret said.
According to Rita D’Sa, "All the notices were responded to by us." "They have confused it with the illegal ones," said Godfrey Pimenta, adding " this Cross didn't feature in the list of illegal ones.” An officer from Bandra police station said they have received an application regarding the matter and if required would register a complaint against the responsible person(s).
Ashish Shelar, who represents the area in the state legislative assembly, has called a meeting of all affected parties, on May 2. “Since BMC’s action is based on an HC order, we will verify all facts. We will peruse the list and examine if the caretakers had received a BMC notice, if they have replied to it, and if their response is being considered by the civic authorities. If BMC is unable to consider their plea, they should get an opportunity to present their case before the HC. For that they require time,” Shelar said.
