Catholic News 2
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Researchers are creating an artificial womb to improve care for extremely premature babies - and animal testing suggests the first-of-its-kind watery incubation so closely mimics mom that it just might work....
VARNER, Ark. (AP) -- After going nearly 12 years without executing an inmate, Arkansas now has executed three in a few days - including two in one night....
BERLIN (AP) -- Ivanka Trump brushed aside groans and hisses Tuesday over her father's track record and defended his attitudes toward women as she made her first international outing as a White House adviser....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will mark the end of his first 100 days in office with a flurry of executive orders, looking to fulfill campaign promises and rack up victories ahead of that milestone by turning to a presidential tool he once derided. But Trump's frequent use of the executive order points to his struggles getting legislation through a Congress controlled by his own party and few of the orders themselves appear to deliver the sweeping changes the preside...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Counting down to a budget deadline, the White House has toyed with a hardball health care tactic to force Democrats to yield on President Donald Trump's priorities....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a letter to Cardinal Franc Rodé, CM, his special envoy at the celebration of the 550th anniversary of the Madonna of Shkodra’s arrival in the Church of Genazzano near Rome, Italy.The celebration takes place on 26 April at the National Shrine of Shkodra in Albania.It commemorates the arrival of the Madonna of Shkodra at the Madonna of Good Council Church in Genazzano after the Albanian sanctuary was destroyed by the Ottomans in 1467.Cardinal Franc Rodé is the Prefect-emeritus of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.Please find below the Latin text of the Pope’s letter:Venerabili Fratri NostroFRANCISCO S.R.E. Cardinali RODÉ, C.M.Praefecto olim Congregationis pro Institutis vitae consecrataeet Societatibus vitae apostolicae Quingentesima et quinquagesima anniversaria memoria appropinquante adventus praeclarae imaginis Dominae Scodrensis in sacram aedem Gena...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a letter to Cardinal Franc Rodé, CM, his special envoy at the celebration of the 550th anniversary of the Madonna of Shkodra’s arrival in the Church of Genazzano near Rome, Italy.
The celebration takes place on 26 April at the National Shrine of Shkodra in Albania.
It commemorates the arrival of the Madonna of Shkodra at the Madonna of Good Council Church in Genazzano after the Albanian sanctuary was destroyed by the Ottomans in 1467.
Cardinal Franc Rodé is the Prefect-emeritus of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Please find below the Latin text of the Pope’s letter:
Venerabili Fratri Nostro
FRANCISCO S.R.E. Cardinali RODÉ, C.M.
Praefecto olim Congregationis pro Institutis vitae consecratae
et Societatibus vitae apostolicae
Quingentesima et quinquagesima anniversaria memoria appropinquante adventus praeclarae imaginis Dominae Scodrensis in sacram aedem Genatiani, prope Romam, Matri Boni Consilii dicatam, fideles dilectae terrae Albaniae Beatam Mariam Virginem singulari cultu prosequuntur eaque intercedente Salvatori gratias agunt pro omnibus beneficiis saeculorum decursu acceptis. In archidioecesi potissimum Scodrensi-Pulatensi varia incepta suscipiuntur in praeparanda praecipua festivitate die XXVI mensis Aprilis celebranda. Mater Dei enim, cuius memorata icona peculiari splendore eminet, christifideles Albanienses difficilibus temporibus auxiliis est prosecuta apud Filium suum et Dominum nostrum divina dona efflagitans. De hac re sanctus Ioannes Paulus II clare est locutus qui in visitatione apostolica in Albaniam die XXV mensis Aprilis anno MCMXCIII in cathedrali Scodrensi lapidem benedixit novi sanctuarii aedificandi atque totum Albaniensem populum Matri Boni Consilii concredidit.
His rerum adiunctis diligenter consideratis Venerabilis Frater Angelus Massafra, O.F.M., Archiepiscopus Metropolita Scodrensis-Pulatensis atque Conferentiae Episcopalis Albaniensis Praeses, humanissime rogavit ut eminentem virum mitteremus, qui Nostras vices memorato die gereret Nostramque erga istum populum dilectionem manifestaret. Ad Te autem, Venerabilis Frater Noster, qui, Sloveniae clarus filius, olim pergrave munus Praefecti Congregationis pro Institutis vitae consecratae et Societatibus vitae apostolicae diligenter exercuisti, mentem Nostram vertimus atque Te hisce Litteris MISSUM EXTRAORDINARIUM NOSTRUM nominamus ad celebrationem quae die XXVI huius mensis Aprilis apud Sanctuarium Nationale Scodrense agetur.
Sollemni ibidem praesidebis Eucharistiae atque Archiepiscopum Metropolitam aliosque sacros Praesules, sacerdotes, religiosos viros mulieresque, publicas auctoritates atque universos christifideles Nostro salutabis nomine. Optamus etiam ut de pondere Marialis cultus in historia Ecclesiae quae est in Albania loquens, omnes adstantes sermone tuo ad diligentiore usque modo viam per Mariam ad Iesum prosequendam cohortaberis.
Nos autem Te, Venerabilis Frater Noster, in tua missione implenda precibus comitabimur intercessionem ipsius Dominae Scodrensis invocantes atque beatorum martyrum Albaniensium Vincentii Prennushi et XXXVII Sociorum. Denique Benedictionem Nostram Apostolicam libentes Tibi impertimur, signum Nostrae erga Te benevolentiae et caelestium donorum pignus, quam omnibus celebrationis participibus rite transmittes.
Ex Aedibus Vaticanis, die XXII mensis Aprilis, anno MMXVII, Pontificatus Nostri quinto.
FRANCISCUS
(Vatican Radio) The Gospel must be proclaimed with humility, overcoming the temptation of pride. That was the exhortation of Pope Francis at the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, on the feast of St Mark the Evangelist. Among those taking part in the Mass were the Cardinal counsellors of the C-9.The Holy Father spoke about the necessity for Christians of “going out to proclaim” the Good News. A preacher, he said, must always be on a journey, and not seek “an insurance policy,” seeking safety by remaining in one place.Jesus gave His disciples a mission: to proclaim the Gospel, “to not remain in Jerusalem, but to go out to proclaim the Good News to all. In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on passage from the Gospel of St Mark, which relates the story of the Great Commission. He said “the Gospel is always proclaimed on the journey, never seated, always on the journey.”Going out to proclaim the Good News, never remaining stopped but always on...
(Vatican Radio) The Gospel must be proclaimed with humility, overcoming the temptation of pride. That was the exhortation of Pope Francis at the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, on the feast of St Mark the Evangelist. Among those taking part in the Mass were the Cardinal counsellors of the C-9.
The Holy Father spoke about the necessity for Christians of “going out to proclaim” the Good News. A preacher, he said, must always be on a journey, and not seek “an insurance policy,” seeking safety by remaining in one place.
Jesus gave His disciples a mission: to proclaim the Gospel, “to not remain in Jerusalem, but to go out to proclaim the Good News to all. In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on passage from the Gospel of St Mark, which relates the story of the Great Commission. He said “the Gospel is always proclaimed on the journey, never seated, always on the journey.”
Going out to proclaim the Good News, never remaining stopped but always on the journey
Christians, the Pope said, need “to go out where Jesus is not known, or where Jesus is persecuted, or where Jesus is disfigured, to proclaim the true Gospel”:
“To go out in order to proclaim. And, also, in this going out there is life, the life of the preacher is played out. He is not safe; there are no life insurance policies for preachers. And if a preacher seeks a life insurance policy, he is not a true preacher of the Gospel: He doesn’t go out, he stays in place, safe. So, first of all: Go, go out. The Gospel, the proclamation of Jesus Christ, goes forth, always; on a journey, always. On a physical journey, on a spiritual journey, on a journey of suffering: we think of the proclamation of the Gospel that leads to so many wounded people – so many wounded people! – who offer their sufferings for the Church, for the Christians. But they always go out of themselves.”
But what is “the style of this proclamation?” the Pope asked. “Saint Peter, who was St Mark’s teacher, was perfectly clear in his description of this style”: “The Gospel must be announced in humility, because the Son of God humbled Himself, annihilated Himself.” This, the Pope said, “is the style of God”; there is no other. “The proclamation of the Gospel,” he said, “is not a carnival, a party.” This is “not the proclamation of the Gospel.”
The Gospel must be announced with humility, overcoming the temptation of worldliness
The Gospel, the Pope said, “cannot be announced with human power, cannot be proclaimed with human power, cannot be proclaimed with the spirit of climbing and advancement.” “This is not the Gospel.” All of us, then, are called to vest themselves with “humility, one towards another,” because “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”:
“And why is this humility necessary? Precisely because we carry forward a proclamation of humiliation – of glory, but through humility. And the proclamation of the Gospel undergoes temptation: the temptation of power, the temptation of pride, the temptation of worldliness, of so many kinds of worldliness that they bring preaching or to speaking; because he does not preach a watered down Gospel, without strength, a Gospel without Christ crucified and risen. And for this reason St Peter says: ‘Be vigilant, be vigilant, be vigilant… Your enemy the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.’ The proclamation of the Gospel, if it is true, undergoes temptation."
Pope Francis said that if a Christian says he is proclaiming the Gospel “but is never tempted,” it means that “the devil is not worried,” because “we are preaching something useless.”
Let us ask the Lord that we might go out of ourselves in order to evangelize
For this reason, the Pope continued, “in true preaching there is always some temptation, and also some persecution.” He said that when we are suffering, the Lord is there “to restore us, to give us strength, because that is what Jesus promised when He sent the Apostles”:
“The Lord will be there to comfort us, to give us the strength to go forward, because He works with us if we are faithful to the proclamation of the Gospel, if we go out of ourselves to preach Christ crucified, a scandal and a folly, and if we do this with a style of humility, of true humility. May the Lord grant us this grace, as baptized people, all of us, to take the path of evangelization with humility, with confidence in Him, announcing the true Gospel: ‘The Word is come in the flesh.’ The Word of God is come in the flesh. And this is a folly, it is a scandal; but doing it with the understanding that the Lord is at our side, He works with us, and He confirms our work.”
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a video message to the people of Egypt ahead of his Apostolic Journey to the country, saying the “world needs peace, love and mercy”.Listen to Devin Watkins’ report: Pope Francis began his video message to the people of Egypt with the traditional greeting in Arabic: “As-salamu alaykum! (Peace be with you!)”He said he is “coming as a friend, as a messenger of peace, and a pilgrim to the country that, over two thousand years ago, gave refuge and hospitality to the Holy Family as they fled the threats of King Herod.”The Pope thanked those who invited him, including the President, Patriarch Tawadros II, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and the Coptic-Catholic Patriarch, as well as all those people preparing for his arrival.He said he would like his visit to “be a witness of my affection, comfort and encouragement for all the Christians of the Middle East”.He called his interreligious and ecume...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a video message to the people of Egypt ahead of his Apostolic Journey to the country, saying the “world needs peace, love and mercy”.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
Pope Francis began his video message to the people of Egypt with the traditional greeting in Arabic: “As-salamu alaykum! (Peace be with you!)”
He said he is “coming as a friend, as a messenger of peace, and a pilgrim to the country that, over two thousand years ago, gave refuge and hospitality to the Holy Family as they fled the threats of King Herod.”
The Pope thanked those who invited him, including the President, Patriarch Tawadros II, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and the Coptic-Catholic Patriarch, as well as all those people preparing for his arrival.
He said he would like his visit to “be a witness of my affection, comfort and encouragement for all the Christians of the Middle East”.
He called his interreligious and ecumenical visit “a message of friendship and respect for all the inhabitants of Egypt and the region, and a message of brotherhood and reconciliation with all the children of Abraham, particularly the Muslim world, in which Egypt holds so important a place.”
Speaking about recent “blind violence” in the country, Pope Francis said, “Our world needs peace, love and mercy. It needs peacemakers, people who are free and who set others free, men and women of courage who can learn from the past in order to build the future, free of every form of prejudice.”
He went on to say “Our world needs people who can build bridges of peace, dialogue, fraternity, justice and humanity.”
Finally, Pope Francis extended a warm embrace to the Egyptian people of all religions, age, and means.
“Shukran wa Tahiaì Misr! (Thank you and may Egypt flourish!)”
Please find below the official English translation of the Pope’s video message:
Dear People of Egypt,
As-salamu alaykum!
Peace be with you!
With a heart full of joy and gratitude I will soon visit your beloved country, the cradle of civilization, the gift of the Nile, the land of sun and hospitality, the land where Patriarchs and Prophets lived, and where God, Benevolent and Merciful, the Almighty and One God, made his voice heard.
I am truly happy to be coming as a friend, as a messenger of peace, and a pilgrim to the country that, over two thousand years ago, gave refuge and hospitality to the Holy Family as they fled the threats of King Herod (cf. Mt 2:10-16). I am honoured to visit the land visited by the Holy Family!
I greet all of you warmly and I thank you for your invitation to visit Egypt, which you call ‘Umm il Dugna – Mother of the universe!
I offer heartfelt thanks to the President of the Republic, to His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II, to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and to the Coptic-Catholic Patriarch, all of whom invited me. I also thank each of you for opening your hearts to me, and in particular all those who worked so hard to make this journey possible.
I would like this visit to be a witness of my affection, comfort and encouragement for all the Christians of the Middle East, a message of friendship and respect for all the inhabitants of Egypt and the region, and a message of brotherhood and reconciliation with all the children of Abraham, particularly the Muslim world, in which Egypt holds so important a place. I would also hope that my visit will make a fruitful contribution to interreligious dialogue with the followers of Islam and to ecumenical dialogue with the venerable and beloved Coptic Orthodox Church.
Our world is torn by blind violence, a violence that has also struck the heart of your beloved land. Our world needs peace, love and mercy. It needs peacemakers, people who are free and who set others free, men and women of courage who can learn from the past in order to build the future, free of every form of prejudice. Our world needs people who can build bridges of peace, dialogue, fraternity, justice and humanity.
Dear Egyptian brothers and sisters, young and old, women and men, Muslims and Christians, rich and poor… I embrace you warmly and I ask Almighty God to bless you and protect your country from every evil.
Please pray for me! Shukran wa Tahiaì Misr! (Thank you and may Egypt flourish!).
(Vatican Radio) Elizabeth Bettina Nicolosi puts everything down to a “miracle”. A miracle and a series of coincidences which saved her life after a brutal mugging in New York City one night before Christmas last year. In an apparent theft-turned- attempted murder, a man had followed her home and viciously attacked her in the vestibule downstairs. Elizabeth and her two rescuer-Good Samaritans, Jonny Lennon and Ashley Aversano, attended the Mass at Santa Marta and met Pope Francis on Tuesday. They shared their story with Tracey McClure:Listen “I think that this is all a miracle – it’s unbelievable how this all happened,” says Elizabeth. “I am so lucky that when I was being beaten for five minutes in the vestibule of my building, people who did not know me came down from the fifth floor and saved my life and they are the ultimate Good Samaritans and I couldn’t think of a better way to say thank you for saving my life than having t...
(Vatican Radio) Elizabeth Bettina Nicolosi puts everything down to a “miracle”. A miracle and a series of coincidences which saved her life after a brutal mugging in New York City one night before Christmas last year. In an apparent theft-turned- attempted murder, a man had followed her home and viciously attacked her in the vestibule downstairs. Elizabeth and her two rescuer-Good Samaritans, Jonny Lennon and Ashley Aversano, attended the Mass at Santa Marta and met Pope Francis on Tuesday. They shared their story with Tracey McClure:
Listen
“I think that this is all a miracle – it’s unbelievable how this all happened,” says Elizabeth. “I am so lucky that when I was being beaten for five minutes in the vestibule of my building, people who did not know me came down from the fifth floor and saved my life and they are the ultimate Good Samaritans and I couldn’t think of a better way to say thank you for saving my life than having this lovely couple that’s engaged to be married, to have them meet Pope Francis. The world needs more good stories of people sticking their necks out for others, no matter what”.
She says she had the opportunity to meet Pope Francis and introduce him to her two Good Samaritans and show him a photograph of her as she recovered in a New York hospital after the attack. “He sort of did a ‘wow’ and stepped back. When you see that picture, it was pretty bad”.
Jonny explains that he had been due to be out of town for a meeting on the evening of the attack but he “had a weird feeling that day that I didn’t want to leave – I didn’t want to leave [Ashley] alone in the building. … I got this weird feeling and just said, ‘I’m not going to go’”.
The couple planned to leave on holiday the next day and as they were sitting at the table folding laundry, they heard loud banging and thudding coming from downstairs. “We decided it was probably the kids downstairs; they watch football, they’re always screaming.. so we walked back into our apartment and then we hear some more screaming”, Jonny said. “So I said, I’m just going to stick my head out real fast, one more time and I hear a giant thump (so ) I said, that’s not a normal… it sounded violent. It sounded like a violent scuffle”.
So he decided to go down to investigate; Ashley, calling 911, was shortly after him. “I just said, I’ve got to get downstairs, somebody’s in trouble” Jonny recalled. The scene before him was macabre – blood everywhere. Elizabeth bruised and moaning on the ground, her assailant with fists raised. The man fled.
Helping strangers
Both Jonny and Elizabeth’s fathers were firemen. “Maybe it’s somewhere in that DNA – you know you’re supposed to help someone else”, says Elizabeth, reflecting on the coincidences that brought the couple to her rescue and on how her own Dad used to talk about his work at the dinner table. “That’s what they do for a livelihood. They help strangers that they don’t know.”
Saying that he and Ashley have grown in their faith in recent times, and knowing that intervening to help would put his own life in danger, Jonny put his faith in God to protect him. “There were so many thoughts in that one second: you’re going to be protected – just go! It was a faith-based ‘go for it’”.
Making the world a better place
“I can’t thank both Jonny and Ashley enough for not… being bystanders and for saving my life because according to New York City police,” Elizabeth added, the assailant “was never going to stop … he kept saying ‘I’m going to kill you’. My hope is that this story can be insightful for others: to not to be a bystander in life and to do something for others – whether it’s risking your life – Jonny was totally risking his life by coming into the vestibule to save mine. Or just helping someone with a package. If we just treat each other with a bit of kindness, the world is a better place.”
An Indian anti-mining activist in eastern India’s Odisha state, is among 6 winners of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize 2017, also known as the “Green Nobel.” Prafulla Samantara and five others were honoured at a special ceremony at the San Francisco Opera House, USA, on April 24. Samantara spent more than a decade battling the Odisha government and Vedanta Resources, a London-based mining corporation seeking to extract bauxite from an area belonging to the Dongria Kondh, an 8,000-member indigenous tribe in the state. The other winners of this year’s Goldman Environmental Prize are from Slovenia, the US, Guatemala, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Australia. The prize – which was first awarded in 1990 and focuses on grass-roots environmental activism – gives each of its recipients a $175,000 no-strings attached cash grant. “An iconic leader of social justice movements in India, Prafu...
An Indian anti-mining activist in eastern India’s Odisha state, is among 6 winners of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize 2017, also known as the “Green Nobel.” Prafulla Samantara and five others were honoured at a special ceremony at the San Francisco Opera House, USA, on April 24. Samantara spent more than a decade battling the Odisha government and Vedanta Resources, a London-based mining corporation seeking to extract bauxite from an area belonging to the Dongria Kondh, an 8,000-member indigenous tribe in the state. The other winners of this year’s Goldman Environmental Prize are from Slovenia, the US, Guatemala, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Australia. The prize – which was first awarded in 1990 and focuses on grass-roots environmental activism – gives each of its recipients a $175,000 no-strings attached cash grant.
“An iconic leader of social justice movements in India, Prafulla Samantara led a historic 12-year legal battle that affirmed the indigenous Dongria Kondh’s land rights and protected the Niyamgiri Hills from a massive, open-pit aluminum ore mine,” is how Goldman Environmental Prize described the 65-year old environmental activist.
Odisha is among the mineral-richest states of India. In October 2004, the Odisha State Mining Company signed an agreement with Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite, an aluminum ore, in the Niyamgiri Hills. The agreement was made without consulting the Dongria Kondh tribals who have lived in the area for several generations. The $2 billion mine would have destroyed 1,660 acres of untouched forestland in order to extract more than 70 million tons of bauxite, polluting critical water sources in the process. The mine would also require roads to transport the bauxite, which would leave the forest vulnerable to loggers and poachers, noted the Goldman Environmental Foundation. Samantra and other activists not only rallied the tribal people living in Odisha’s Niyamgiri region but used the law to thwart Vedanta’s plans to mine bauxite.
Father Ajay Kumar Singh, another Odisha activist who has worked with Samantra in opposing mining and displacement in Odisha, welcomed the award. “We are thrilled over Prafulla’s award,” he told Matters India soon after Indian media reported the award. Anto Akkara, an Indian rights advocate and journalist also congratulated Samantara “for standing up for voiceless tribals of Niyamgiri Hills against the might of Vedanta!” He noted that Samantara has also been “a staunch supporter of the hapless victims of Kandhamal carnage and fraud,” referring to the anti-Christian violence by Hindu zealots in Odisha’s Kandhamal District.
Samantara, the son of an Odisha farmer, has earned degrees in economics and law and is married to a college professor. He has been involved in activism for nearly four decades. He began his activism during the “Total Revolution,” a movement Gandhian Jayaprakash Narayan launched-in mid 1970s. He is however, best known for his championing of the rights of the Dongria Kondh, who consider the Niyamgiri Hills as sacred and regard themselves to be its custodians. When Samantara learned of the bauxite mining project, he set about the Niyamgiri Hills area on a bicycle to warn local people about the threat to their land and livelihood. In 2004, Samantara petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene on behalf of the Dongria Kondh tribals, and kicked off a 12-year legal battle.
The environmental activist alleged he was kidnapped twice – the last time in April 2016 – by goons working on behalf of Vedanta. Police were also used to suppress the growing anti-mining movement; women were also jailed without cause, said Samantara. Finally, in 2013, the Supreme Court issued a historic verdict, ruling that the Odisha government had no authority over the tribals’ land. The Supreme Court ruled that only the village council could take such decisions. The precedent-setting ruling was applied throughout the state and had the effect of staunching similar mining projects, said Samantara.
Past Indian winners of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize include Narmada Dam activist Medha Patkar; public interest attorney M.C. Mehta; Bhopal activists Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla; and Chhattisgarh environmental activist Ramesh Agrawal, who fights against coal mining.
