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NEW YORK (AP) -- Apprentices no more, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are now at the helm of the Trump Organization and adjusting to the reality presented by their father's presidency. They're eyeing ways to use the new lease on the family fame by expanding the brand into parts of the United States that embrace him....
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(Vatican Radio) The memory of the modern martyrs, killed for their Christian faith over the past century, will be honoured on Saturday evening as Pope Francis presides at a prayer service in Rome’s Basilica of St Bartholomew on the Tiber island.The initiative, organised by the lay Catholic St Egidio community, also aims to highlight the difficulties and discrimination that many Christians still face in countries around the world today as they try and witness to their faith.Altars in six chapels around the church display objects such as letters, prayer books and other personal possessions recalling the witness of men and women from many countries and different Christian traditions who have laid down their lives for their faith.Claudio Betti is a professor of modern history and assistant to the St Egidio community president. He talked to Philippa Hitchen about the church of St Bartholomew and about the importance of sharing the memory of these modern day martyrsListen: B...
(Vatican Radio) The memory of the modern martyrs, killed for their Christian faith over the past century, will be honoured on Saturday evening as Pope Francis presides at a prayer service in Rome’s Basilica of St Bartholomew on the Tiber island.
The initiative, organised by the lay Catholic St Egidio community, also aims to highlight the difficulties and discrimination that many Christians still face in countries around the world today as they try and witness to their faith.
Altars in six chapels around the church display objects such as letters, prayer books and other personal possessions recalling the witness of men and women from many countries and different Christian traditions who have laid down their lives for their faith.
Claudio Betti is a professor of modern history and assistant to the St Egidio community president. He talked to Philippa Hitchen about the church of St Bartholomew and about the importance of sharing the memory of these modern day martyrs
Listen:
Betti notes that the basilica is dedicated to two ancient martyrs, St Bartholomew the apostle and the 10th century Bohemian missionary St Adalbert.
In the 1990s the church was given to the St Egidio community and in the year 2000 Pope John Paul II decided to dedicate it to the memory of the modern martyrs.
St Egidio’s founder Andrea Riccardi and other members had already been collecting together for publication thousands of dossiers and objects that were then incorporated into the altars around the church.
Relics of the martyrs
The first object they were given was the last letter written by Reformed Pastor Paul Schneider, killed in the Buchenwald Nazi death camp for refusing to stop proclaiming Christ as Saviour.
A more modern relic is the missal with which Archbishop Oscar Romero had been celebrating Mass when he was murdered in San Salvador in 1980.
Most recent of all is the prayer book of French Father Jacques Hamel, killed during a terror attack on his church near Rouen in July of last year. During Saturday’s celebration Fr Jacques’ sister will speak about his witness of faith.
Prayer service features testimonies
Claudio Betti notes there will be three different testimonies during the simple liturgy on Saturday: alongside Fr Jacques’ sister will be the son of Rev. Schneider, and a young man from El Salvador where community member William Quijano was murdered in 2009 for trying to help people escape from the criminal gangs.
Following the readings and homily of Pope Francis, there will be prayers for these modern martyrs, as well as for those who are considered martyrs, such as two Orthodox bishops Mar Gregorios Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi,as well as Fr Paolo del Oglio, who were kidnapped in Syria by ISIS and have not been heard of since.
Blood of martyrs unites Christians
Betti also underlines the ecumenical dimension of these martyrs, noting that the specially commissioned icon on the main altar makes clear that martyrdom is what unites Christians. In the blood of the martyrs, he says, unity is already achieved, such as the Catholic and Orthodox bishops who worked and were killed together in the Soviet gulags.
Betti says the message of the martyrs is very clear, showing that unity is more important than individual lives and ambitions. While the martyrs were not looking for death, he says, they show that there are things worth dying for. The memories of their lives tell stories of people who have served the poor and marginalized until death, calling us back to what Christianity really means.
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on Saturday, issued a message on the occasion of the Buddhist feast of Vesakh on the theme ‘Christians and Buddhists: Walking Together on the Path of Nonviolence’.The Message signed by Council President, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Council Secretary, Fr Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ emphasizes the urgent need to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence as both these values were promoted by Jesus Christ and the Buddha.The text reiterates how Jesus walked the path of nonviolence to the very end, to the cross and calls his followers today to embrace his teaching about nonviolence. Buddha also heralded the same message and encouraged all to overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.Therefore the message calls for a common enterprise, to study the causes of violence, combat violence and to pray for worl...
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on Saturday, issued a message on the occasion of the Buddhist feast of Vesakh on the theme ‘Christians and Buddhists: Walking Together on the Path of Nonviolence’.
The Message signed by Council President, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Council Secretary, Fr Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ emphasizes the urgent need to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence as both these values were promoted by Jesus Christ and the Buddha.
The text reiterates how Jesus walked the path of nonviolence to the very end, to the cross and calls his followers today to embrace his teaching about nonviolence. Buddha also heralded the same message and encouraged all to overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.
Therefore the message calls for a common enterprise, to study the causes of violence, combat violence and to pray for world peace while walking together on the path of nonviolence.
The full text of the message is here below:
MESSAGE FOR THE FEAST OF VESAKH
2017
Dear Buddhist Friends,
1. In the name of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we extend our warmest greetings and prayerful good wishes on the occasion of Vesakh. May this feast bring joy and peace to all of you, to your families, communities and nations.
2. We wish to reflect this year on the urgent need to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence. Religion is increasingly at the fore in our world today, though at times in opposing ways. While many religious believers are committed to promoting peace, there are those who exploit religion to justify their acts of violence and hatred. We see healing and reconciliation offered to victims of violence, but also attempts to erase every trace and memory of the “other”; there is the emergence of global religious cooperation, but also politicization of religion; and, there is an awareness of endemic poverty and world hunger, yet the deplorable arms race continues. This situation requires a call to nonviolence, a rejection of violence in all its forms.
3. Jesus Christ and the Buddha were promotors of nonviolence as well as peacemakers. As Pope Francis writes, “Jesus himself lived in violent times. Yet, he taught that the true battlefield, where violence and peace meet, is the human heart: for ‘it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come’ (Mk 7:21)” (2017 Message for the World Day of Peace, Non-Violence: A Style of Politics for Peace, no. 3). He further emphasises that “Jesus marked out the path of nonviolence. He walked that path to the very end, to the cross, whereby he became our peace and put an end to hostility (cf. Eph 2:14-16)” (ibid.). Accordingly, “to be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence” (ibid.).
4. Dear friends, your founder, the Buddha also heralded a message of nonviolence and peace. He encouraged all to “Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.” (Dhammapada, no. XVII, 3). He taught further that “Victory begets enmity; the defeated dwell in pain. Happily the peaceful live, discarding both victory and defeat.” (ibid. XV, 5). Therefore, he noted that the self-conquest is greater than the conquest of others: “Though one may conquer a thousand times a thousand men in battle, yet he indeed is the noblest victor who conquers himself” (ibid, VIII, 4).
5. In spite of these noble teachings, many of our societies grapple with the impact of past and present wounds caused by violence and conflicts. This phenomenon includes domestic violence, as well as economic, social, cultural and psychological violence, and violence against the environment, our common home. Sadly, violence begets other social evils, and so “the choice of nonviolence as a style of life is increasingly demanded in the exercise of responsibility at every level […] ” (Address of His Holiness Pope Francis on the Occasion of the Presentation of the Letters of Credence, 15 December 2016).
6. Though we recognize the uniqueness of our two religions, to which we remain committed, we agree that violence comes forth from the human heart, and that personal evils lead to structural evils. We are therefore called to a common enterprise: to study the causes of violence: to teach our respective followers to combat evil within their hearts; to liberate both victims and perpetrators of violence from evil; to bring evil to light and challenge those who foment violence; to form the hearts and minds of all, especially of children, to love and live in peace with everyone and with the environment; to teach that there is no peace without justice, and no true justice without forgiveness; to invite all to work together in preventing conflicts and rebuilding broken societies; to urge the media to avoid and counter hate speech, and biased and provocative reporting; to encourage educational reforms to prevent the distortion and misinterpretation of history and of scriptural texts; and to pray for world peace while walking together on the path of nonviolence.
7. Dear friends, may we actively dedicate ourselves to promoting within our families, and social, political, civil and religious institutions a new style of living where violence is rejected and the human person is respected. It is in this spirit that we wish you once again a peaceful and joyful feast of Vesakh!
Vatican City
Cardinal Jean-Louis Taura
President
Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ
Secretary
The Diocese of Miao in northeast India is marking 25 years of Catholic education in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The first Catholic school and hostel in the state were opened on 3rd July 1992 in Borduria village in Tirap District. The land for it was offered by Mr. Wanglat James Lowangcha. Saint Mother Teresa on 2nd August 1993 visited the place where her Missionaries of Charity today run a shelter for women, as the school had to be shifted to a bigger facility.The educational wing of the Diocese, Newman Educational Society conducted a survey of the progress made by the Catholic Church in the educational field in the region in the past 25 years. The diocese runs a total of 28 hostels for children ranging from Kindergarten (KG) to degree level. The total of number of students is 2605 of which 1150 are girls and 1455 are boys. Most of these hostels cater to children from remote villages where there are no schools. "It is sad too in a way to snatch these love...
The Diocese of Miao in northeast India is marking 25 years of Catholic education in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The first Catholic school and hostel in the state were opened on 3rd July 1992 in Borduria village in Tirap District. The land for it was offered by Mr. Wanglat James Lowangcha. Saint Mother Teresa on 2nd August 1993 visited the place where her Missionaries of Charity today run a shelter for women, as the school had to be shifted to a bigger facility.
The educational wing of the Diocese, Newman Educational Society conducted a survey of the progress made by the Catholic Church in the educational field in the region in the past 25 years. The diocese runs a total of 28 hostels for children ranging from Kindergarten (KG) to degree level. The total of number of students is 2605 of which 1150 are girls and 1455 are boys. Most of these hostels cater to children from remote villages where there are no schools. "It is sad too in a way to snatch these lovely kids from their parental care, but they are forced into as the parents and children want a good education at the early stage itself", said Bishop George Pallipparambil of Miao who with the help of Wanglat, started the first hostel 25 years ago.
What Bishop Pallipparambil, as a priest, along with lay people George Joseph and Martha Kapalomie started in a lowly hut in 1992, has today grown into a network of educational institutions. Miao Diocese, which covers eight civil districts of eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh, has 45 schools, with 631 teachers, catering to the educational needs of 18558 poor tribal children in the remote corner of India bordering Myanmar and China. Arunachal Pradesh’s two dioceses of Itanagar and Miao, both erected by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, together run more than 85 schools and 4 degree colleges, including in distant villages.
"Looking back at those days 25 years ago, in a temporary bamboo house, with no water, electricity and … facilities, with 28 small boys in the hostel and 58 in school and the physical and mental agony that we went through, I feel it was all worth as we see two generations of young men and women climbing the ladder of life,” Bishop Pallipparambil fondly recalled. “It was a challenge. There were threats, elements of jealousy but faith and love helped us to surpass all those. My hats off to the people of Borduria who made it all possible" the 62-year old bishop said. "We want to give them the best of what we can with the little they have and all that we can mobilize", remarked Fr. Anil Moc of Kulam, an interior village in Tirap District. Miao Diocese has included its educational outreach in its pastoral action plan for 2025 that it has been working upon over the past year.
(Vatican Radio) The 19th century French priest Louis Antoine Ormières was beatified in the Spanish town of Oviedo on Saturday by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.Founder of the Sisters of the Guardian Angel and 87 schools in France and Spain, Fr. Ormières (1809-1890) dedicated his life to providing education for young people.“My principle has always been to do good and allow others to speak” was Blessed Ormières’ oft repeated phrase.In an interview with Vatican Radio’s Giada Aquilino, Cardinal Angelo Amato called the new Blessed “an enterprising man and a born educator with a personality rich in Christian virtues, like faith, hope, and charity, and in human qualities, like goodness, gratitude, serenity, and friendship.”As examples of Blessed Louis Antoine Ormières’ charity, Cardinal Amato said he “once defended a man unjustly accused of theft, offered ho...
(Vatican Radio) The 19th century French priest Louis Antoine Ormières was beatified in the Spanish town of Oviedo on Saturday by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.
Founder of the Sisters of the Guardian Angel and 87 schools in France and Spain, Fr. Ormières (1809-1890) dedicated his life to providing education for young people.
“My principle has always been to do good and allow others to speak” was Blessed Ormières’ oft repeated phrase.
In an interview with Vatican Radio’s Giada Aquilino, Cardinal Angelo Amato called the new Blessed “an enterprising man and a born educator with a personality rich in Christian virtues, like faith, hope, and charity, and in human qualities, like goodness, gratitude, serenity, and friendship.”
As examples of Blessed Louis Antoine Ormières’ charity, Cardinal Amato said he “once defended a man unjustly accused of theft, offered hospitality to exiles from Spain, pleaded with well-off people to help a young man who had to take care of his family at the death of his father, and helped out a single mother of two young boys.”
“He was so generous in helping the sick that his bishop called him a martyr of charity,” Cardinal Amato said.
The miracle attributed to Fr. Ormières, which paved the way for his beatification, was of one of the Spanish sisters of the Guardian Angel who was suffering from a maxillofacial cancer.
Pope Francis recognized the miracle in a decree on 8 July 2016.
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