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(Vatican Radio) This Holy Week in Iraq, Christians and Muslims will walk for 140 km through the Nineveh Plain in the name of peace and the end of violence in a once mostly Christian inhabited area.

The peace march is supported by the Chaldean Patriarchate, which declared 2017 as “the Year of Peace”.

The march started in Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil city in northern Iraq, after participants took part in Palm Sunday Mass. The march will continue through Holy Week and will end in Qaradosh, close to the ruins of the Assyrian cities of Nimrud and Nineveh, about 32km from the city of Mosul.

The Nineveh Plain is filled with ancient, religious sites. When the area was captured by so-called Islamic State terrorists in the summer of 2014, historic architecture and archeological remains, including the UNESCO world heritage site Hatra, were destroyed. Part of the territory was liberated in November 2016 by Iraqi forces. However, many towns and villages occupied by Christians were abandoned.

An estimated 100 people from Iraqi and other countries are expected to walk through these historic lands.

During the week-long journey, participants will pray for the rebirth of these abandoned towns as well as for peace and for the will to overcome all forms of violence.

 The march aims to sow the seeds for a new the beginning of healing for a population torn apart by conflict and violence.

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(Vatican Radio) The President of the U.S. Bishops Conference, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, has issued a statement in response to the bomb attack on Coptic churches in Egypt.

The bombings occurred on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, which culminates in Easter Sunday celebrations. More than forty people were killed, and scores more injured.

In his statement, Cardinal DiNardo expressed “our deepest sadness at the loss of those killed, our prayers for healing for all those injured, and our condolences to those who suffer the loss of loved ones.”

Cardinal DiNardo also expressed the solidarity of the Church in America with the Coptic Church in Egypt, “an ancient Christian community that faces mounting persecution in its historic home from violent extremism.”

Below, please find the full text of the statement by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB):

In the early hours of Palm Sunday, as Christians began the celebration of the holiest week of the year, our brothers and sisters in Egypt suffered unspeakable persecution. They were at Church. They were praying. And in the midst of what should be peace, horrible violence yet again. I express our deepest sadness at the loss of those killed, our prayers for healing for all those injured, and our condolences to those who suffer the loss of loved ones. 

I also express our solidarity with the Coptic church in Egypt, an ancient Christian community that faces mounting persecution in its historic home from violent extremism.  I also pray for the nation of Egypt, that it may seek justice, find healing, and strengthen protection for Coptic Christians and other religious minorities who wish only to live in peace.

I also join Pope Francis in his prayer for the victims of this attack, and that 'the Lord [may] convert the hearts of the people who are sowing terror, violence and death, and also the hearts of those who make and traffic weapons.' The Prince of Peace assures us that the darkness of terror cannot withstand the Easter light of Resurrection. We entrust all those who suffer and who have perished into the arms of the crucified and Risen Christ.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged scientists and experts in biotechnologies to always be aware of the effects their decisions can have on human life and on creation.

The Pope was addressing members of the National Committee for Biosafety, Biotechnology and Life Sciences at an audience in the Vatican.

The main issues addressed by the Committee’s various working groups include: genetic testing, gene therapy, tissue engineering, development of biotechnology, cloning, Italian and European legislation, clinical trials, GMOs, infrastructure, information, genetic testing, biobanks, and bio nanotechnology.

Remarking on the fact that the themes and issues that the committee faces are of great importance for contemporary man, both as individuals and in relation to the social dimension, the Pope said: “your task is not only to promote the harmonious and integrated development of scientific and technological research that relates to the biological processes of plant, animal and human life”; you are also asked to predict and prevent the negative consequences that a distorted use of science and technology can result in when “they are used to manipulate life”.

Highlighting the principle of accountability which, the Pope said, is an essential cornerstone of human action, he said that various fields of technology and science put a “huge and growing power into the hands of man”. 

“A grave risk is that citizens, and at times even those who represent and govern them, are not fully aware of the seriousness of the challenges that arise, of the complexities of the problems to be solved, and are in danger of misusing the power that sciences and biotechnologies put in their  hands”.

Pope Francis said that when the connection between economic power and the power of technology is a strong one, interests can come into play; choices can be taken in light of possible profits for industrial and commercial groups to the detriment of populations and of the poorest nations.

“It is not easy to reach a harmonious composition of the different scientific, productive, ethical, social, economic and political realities that promotes a sustainable development that respects our ‘common home’” he said. 

It is something that requires humility, courage and openness, he said, certain that the contribution given by men of science to truth and to the common good, contribute to the development of civil conscience.

Pope Francis reminded those present that sciences and technologies are made for man and for the world and not the opposite.

“May they be put to the service of  dignified and healthy lives for all, now and in the future, and may they help render our common home more livable and supportive, more cared for and safe-guarded” he said. 

The Pope concluded his address encouraging those present to initiate and sustain processes of consensus amongst scientists, technology experts, businessmen and representatives of the institutions, and to identify strategies to enhance public awareness on the issues raised by developments in Life Sciences and biotechnology.

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India’s Catholic  Church has strongly condemned the suicide bomb attacks at two Coptic churches in northern Egypt on Palm Sunday killing at least 44 people and expressed its closeness with Egypt’s Christians and people.  “Such inhuman acts cannot be tolerated and while we welcome the decision of the Egyptian ‎Government to declare a three month Emergency, we also hope that the perpetrators of this brutal ‎inhuman acts will be traced and punished,” wrote Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) wrote in a statement issued on Monday. 

Suicide bombers struck hours apart at St. George’s Church in Tanta city and St. Mark’s Coptic Cathedral in Alexandria on April 9, killing 44 people and turning Palm Sunday services into scenes of blood, horror and outrage.  However, Coptic Pope Tawadros II who was leading the Palm Sunday service in St. Mark’s was unhurt.   The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the violence, and warned of more to come.  President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, whose difficulties in protecting Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population, have been exposed, has called for a three-month state of emergency. 

“The Catholic Church in India also shares and reiterates the expression of profound grief of His Holiness, Pope Francis, following the Church attacks,” Bishop Mascarenhas wrote.  Pope Francis, at the conclusion of the Palm Sunday Mass in Rome expressed his deep condolences to Pope Tawadros II, the Coptic Church and the Egyptian nation.  “I pray for the dead and the injured, and I am close in spirit to the family members and to the entire community,” the Pope said.  Bishop Mascarenhas also wrote, “To His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, to the Coptic Church and to all citizens of the dear country, Egypt, we convey our deep condolences, as the Catholic Church in India is deeply concerned and express our solidarity with the Coptic Church in Egypt and offers prayers in this time of great sorrow and distress.”  The Indian bishops expressed their sorrow for the dead and the wounded as they offered their condolences and remained in solidarity with the families and with the entire community.  The CBCI Secretary General said, “The Catholic Church in India strongly condemns violence in any form especially all cowardly terrorist activities against innocents wherever and in whatever form it takes place.”  “We pray that God may convert the hearts of the people who spread terror, violence and atrocities,” Bishop Mascarenhas added.

The violence that also left 126 people wounded came at the start of Holy Week leading up to Easter, and just weeks before Pope Francis is due to visit and meet Pope Tawadros II, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, April 28-29.  It was the single deadliest day for Christians in decades and the worst since a bombing at a Cairo church in December killed 30 people.

The word ‘Copt’ simply means ‘Egypt’. Making up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 90 million, the Coptic Orthodox Church is the largest Christian denomination in the Muslim-majority country.  The Coptic Orthodox Church is not in communion with Eastern Orthodoxy or Roman Catholic Church, and claims St. Mark as its founder and first bishop.   Egypt also has a tiny minority eastern rite Coptic Catholic Church, headed by patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak.  

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London, England, Apr 10, 2017 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Fr. John Reid, a Roman Catholic priest serving in County Durham, England, has been spared an 18-month jail sentence for stealing more than £50,000 from his parish, which he had been spending on his housekeeper and her two daughters.

According to media reports, the 70-year-old priest was given an 18-month suspended sentence after admitting to fraud by abuse of position at an earlier hearing. He has agreed to repay the money within three months.
 
“The defendant was arrested in May 2014 at St. Patrick's Presbytery, Stockton. It appeared that the defendant was virtually living as a family with Gillian Leddy and her daughters, Veronica and Alice,” said Jane Waugh, the prosecutor in Fr. Reid's case, according to the Telegraph.

“There had been dramatic increases within the categories of General Administration, House Keeping, and Hospitality. This would appear to be because Gillian, Alice, and Veronica Leddy…were effectively living at the presbytery and the defendant's expenditure increased to reflect the fact that he was helping to support them financially,” Waugh said.

Fr. Reid was assigned to St. Cuthbert's parish in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle in 2009. Within a few years of his arrival, some parishioners began to raise eyebrows when the parish's spending had more than doubled.

Suspicions were also raised when Fr. Reid began asking for blank checks without giving any details about his spending. He also started to run the parish without a finance council, and named one of his housekeeper's daughters the co-signatory of the parish check book. He additionally wrote more than 150 checks to himself.

Basic living for a parish priest at St. Cuthbert's should have totaled around £31,500 over the course of four years. Instead, that number spiked to over £113,000.

Eventually, parishioner Nora McKie raised the red flag and wanted Fr. Reid's spending to be investigated by auditors and the police.

“The witness Nora McKie…stated that the defendant had a lifestyle not typical of any priest she had known, and that the reason she took action to highlight these serious concerns was to protect those people, who with total trust were giving money to the Church,” Waugh said.

During the two-year investigation, it was discovered that Fr. Reid had stolen thousands of pounds from the parish to pay for things such as foreign travel, fine dining, expensive cutlery and a seemingly lavish lifestyle for his housekeeper and her daughters.

In addition, the priest's rectory was found “in terrible condition.”

“It was dirty and untidy with large quantities of alcohol present,” Waugh noted, adding that they also found “female clothing in the bedrooms and it was apparent that females had been staying there.”

Fr. Reid had also funded two homes, a few cars, and even financed a business venture for the two daughters, using his own inheritance.

In response to the investigation, Fr. Reid stated that he was in love with his housekeeper, Gillian Leddy, and that the three women were “the family that he never had.”

“The parish keeps me,” Fr. Reid stated, and “ultimately, I’m in charge of it, so I can spend it.”

Since the scandal, Fr. Reid has been replaced at St. Cuthbert's by another priest and was charged to pay back the £50,000 that he stole, in addition to another £5,000 to repay the auditing costs within three months.

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Vatican City, Apr 10, 2017 / 04:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Monday the latest Pope Francis-inspired initiative for the poor opened up in Rome – a new laundromat, with washing, drying and ironing services for those without a home or a fixed living situation.

"The Pope's Laundry,” as it is being called, is organized in partnership with the Community of Sant'Egidio and will be run by volunteers who will wash, dry and iron the clothes and blankets of those who otherwise can’t clean their belongings.

The initiative was born out of an invitation from Pope Francis in his apostolic letter Misericordia et misera, “to give a ‘concrete’ experience of the grace of the Jubilee Year of Mercy,” an April 10 communique from the Vatican stated.

As Francis wrote at the end of the Year of Mercy, the announcement said, “To want to be close to Christ demands to be near to our brothers, because nothing is more pleasing to the Father than a concrete sign of mercy. By its very nature, mercy is made visible and tangible in concrete and dynamic action.”

The service, located in an old hospital in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood, now called the “People of Peace Center,” includes six brand-new washers and dryers, donated by Whirlpool. Irons, detergent and other products needed for the service have also been donated.

The laundromat joins services to welcome and assist the poor already in place at the location for more than 10 years.

In the next few months, they plan to also add a barber, free clothing, medical clinics, and the distribution of necessities to the Center.

The laundry service follows a string of special initiatives by Pope Francis to serve the homeless in Rome.

In 2015, Francis established showers, bathrooms and a barber shop inside the Vatican to serve the homeless population.

Later in the same year, he opened up a new homeless shelter for men, just around the corner form the Vatican in Via dei Penitenzieri, furnished by the Papal Office of Charities and donations, and run by sisters from Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.  

With enough space to house 34 men, the shelter brought the Vatican’s total capacity for housing the homeless up to 84.

Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has also invited homeless men and women to the Vatican, whether to see the Sistine Chapel, to dine with him, or for special events, showing his continued commitment to put into practice his charge to the Church to go out to the “peripheries.”

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