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Vatican Weekend for April 8th, 2017 features a report on the Pope’s general audience, a look ahead to the upcoming papal visit to Egypt, a Lenten reflection on the fickleness of Jesus’ followers, a look at where we can see artwork depicting Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and a reflection on the difficulties of being a Good Samaritan.

Listen to this program produced and presented by Susy Hodges: 

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Vatican Weekend for April 9th, 2017 features our weekly reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading, “There’s more in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye,” plus our resident Vatican watcher Joan Lewis reviews the past week’s events in the Vatican.

Listen to this program produced and presented by Susy Hodges:

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Church leaders in the Philippines welcomed the signing of an agreement between the government and communist rebels to bring a temporary stop to armed clashes.

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) said the outcome of the ongoing talks "shows that the concerns of the people are central to resolve the decades-old armed conflict in our land." The PEPP is an alliance of Catholic and Protestant church leaders who have been pressing for a negotiated end to the almost five-decade communist insurgency.

The fourth round of formal talks between the government and the communist-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines ended on April 6 in the Netherlands. Both sides firmed up an agreement on free land distribution "as a basic principle of genuine agrarian reform."

"This is the main message of the meeting ... and an achievement of the fourth round of talks," read a statement signed by both sides at the end of the talks. They earlier agreed to an interim joint ceasefire, which was described as a "significant step forward" for a conducive environment for the negotiations.

The government also offered to conditionally pardon 23 rebel prisoners.The rebels, meanwhile, agreed to release soldiers and policemen they hold captive.

Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro congratulating the peace negotiators, said the agreements signed is "a signpost of hope after the impasse of these past two months."  Peace negotiations were suspended after both the government and rebels ended their truce declarations in February over disagreements in the release of prisoners, among others. 

Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon, head of the Episcopal Commission on Mission of the bishops' conference, expressed "hope that the nation will now be at peace." The prelate said that with a stop to clashes President Rodrigo Duterte "can say to himself that during his administration the rebellion will finally end."

Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga, head of the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People, urged Filipinos to their offer prayers during the Holy Week for the success of the talks. "Let us think of our country before ourselves, let us think of others before ourselves, let us thing of the teachings of the Lord," said Bishop Santos.

The church leaders vowed to mobilize the constituents including the resources of the churches  to ensure that the interim joint ceasefire can attain its objectives.  According to the  PEPP statement, they also wish to  continue their commitment to help facilitate the release of military and police elements in the custody of the rebels  as well as the prisoners listed by the rebels.  

As per an EU statement, the European Union also acclaims the talks, saying that it demonstrates the power of political processes to resolve conflict and is an  encouraging step towards generating goodwill and trust in the peace negotiations. (UCAN)

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A nine-year-old girl has filed a lawsuit against the Indian Government for failing to take adequate action to mitigate the effects of climate change, citing growing concern over pollution and environmental degradation in the country.   In the public interest litigation (PIL) filed on March 31with the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a special court for environment-related cases established in 2010‎, Ridhima Pandey said the government has failed to implement its environment laws.  "As a young person (Ridhima) is part of a class that amongst all Indians is most vulnerable to changes in climate, yet are not part of the decision making process," the 52-page petition said.  It called on the tribunal to direct the government "to take effective, science-based action to reduce and minimize the adverse impacts of climate change".

The NGT has asked the Ministry of Environment and the Central Pollution Control Board to respond within two weeks. A spokesman from the Ministry of Environment told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that they would respond as directed by the tribunal.   The NGT has given two weeks to respondents, listing the next hearing for May 4.

India, the world’s third carbon emitter, after China and the United States, is home to four of the 10 worst ranked cities in the world for air pollution.  Along with China, India accounted for more than half the total number of global deaths attributable to air pollution in 2015, according to a recent study.  Despite several laws to protect India's forests, clean up its rivers and improve air quality, critics are concerned that implementation is poor, and economic growth often takes precedence over the environment.   According to the World Bank, climate change will exacerbate the stress on India’s water sources, and ‎the country is expected to suffer major health crises. ‎

Ridhima has argued that India has failed to put into action the ‎promises it made in signing and ratifying the Paris Agreement on climate change. ‎ Flash floods and landslides in her home state of Uttarakhand, in the foothills of the Himalayas, killed hundreds of people and left tens of thousands homeless in 2013.   Ridhima was exposed to forest and wildlife at the age of two.  Credit goes to her mother, Vinita, who works with the forest department and wildlife activist father, Dinesh, for instilling in her concern for environmental issues.   "For someone so young, she is very aware of the issue of climate change, and she is very concerned about how it will impact her in future," said Rahul Choudhary, a lawyer representing her.  "She wanted to do something that can have a meaningful effect, and we suggested she could file a petition against the government," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Ridhima is not the first child in India to take the government to task over inaction to protect the environment.  Last year, six teenagers filed a petition with the NGT over air pollution in New Delhi which has the worst air quality in the country.   

The critically high level of air pollution during the great smog in Delhi and the adjoining areas in November 2016, has been regarded as one of the worst levels of air quality in and around the Indian capital since 1999.  India is taking some action to mitigate the damage.  As a signatory to the Paris Agreement on climate change, it is committed to ensuring that at least 40 percent of its electricity is generated from non-fossil-fuel sources by 2030.   However,  Ridhima argues India has failed to put into action its Paris Agreement commitment.  In her petition, she asked the court to order the government to assess industrial projects for climate-related issues, prepare a "carbon budget" to limit carbon dioxide emissions, and create a national climate recovery plan.   

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(Vatican Radio) The Vatican on Thursday released latest statistics for the numbers of Catholics in countries around the globe. The figures show substantial growth in the numbers of both priests and people in the pews in Africa and Asia, but declining vocations and Mass attendance in other parts of the world.

The data, compiled by the Vatican’s central office for Church statistics, refers to the year 2014-2015, showing a slight increase of about one percent of Catholics worldwide.

While the statistics do not seem like an emergency scenario, some analysts are warning that the Church is suffering its worst decline in centuries, requiring some profound changes in strategy and leadership style to turn the crisis around.

Chris Lowney is one of those Catholics who believes that Pope Francis’ reform efforts must be followed up by a transformation of culture and participation, from the grassroots through to hierarchical level.

A New Yorker and former Jesuit seminarian, Lowney became a successful banker and currently chairs the board of Catholic Health Initiatives, one of America’s biggest hospital systems. He talked to Philippa Hitchen about his latest book, published this week, entitled “Everyone leads: how to revitalize the Catholic Church”.

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Lowney says “the book is a call to action” and “we have to be much more frank and forthright about some of the challenges”.

He says it’s vital to “accept the fact that everybody really has to play a role in doing something about them, and we have to have a culture that enables that and where people feel some responsibility”.

Declining numbers

Lowney examines some of the statistics, globally and in the United States, showing young adults with declining interest in organised religion, and “sacramental participation numbers going down for decades in many countries”.

He proposes a strategy of five principles to help reverse the crisis, but he insists that all his ideas are grounded in the Gospel, the life of Jesus and the ministry of the first disciples.

Drinking from the 1st century well

Although he uses words like entrepreneurial or accountability, which would not have been familiar to the apostles, he says we have to learn from their example and the way they dealt with the extreme challenges of their day.

“We don't have to turn ourselves into something that we’re not, we just have to drink more deeply from our 1st century well,” Lowney concludes.  

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Vatican City, Apr 7, 2017 / 05:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis said Friday that when it comes to solving the immigration crisis, the media needs to stop perpetuating negative stereotypes and explain the big picture, shedding light on the causes behind migration.

“The mass media should be driven by the need to explain the different aspects of migration, also making the public aware of the causes of this phenomenon,” he said in an interview published April 7.

“The violation of human rights, the violent conflict in the social unrest, lack of basic necessities, natural disasters and those caused by man: all this must be told clearly to allow the right knowledge of the migration phenomenon and, therefore, the right approach.”

The Pope’s comments were made in a new interview with the Italian magazine, LibertàCivili, published every two months by the Italian Ministry for Internal Affairs.

In the interview, Francis slammed those in media who perpetuate negative stereotypes about migrants and refugees, especially when based on misinformation.

“How many times do you hear them speak of ‘illegal’ as a synonym for migrant. This is incorrect; it is information that starts from an incorrect basis and that pushes the public to develop a negative opinion,” he said.

This points to the media’s obsession with sensationalism and negative stories which grab the public’s attention, he explained. We always hear about any bad thing that an immigrant or refugee does, but it’s a “rare piece of news” that focuses on the good stories about them.

Good information is the kind that can “break down the walls of fear and indifference,” he continued. Only when the media, through images and stories, presents the human aspect, can we move beyond the stereotypes and the fear, and really encounter and welcome other people.

For Christians, “the peaceful integration of people of different cultures” is a reflection of the Church’s catholicity, or universality, since “ethnic and cultural diversity is a dimension of the Church’s life, which in the Spirit of Pentecost is open to everyone,” he said.

If handled humanely, migration offers an opportunity for encounter and growth for everyone, Francis continued.

“We must not lose the sense of fraternal responsibility. The defense of human beings knows no barriers; we are all united in wanting to ensure a dignified life for every man, woman, child forced to abandon their land. There is no difference of belief that can stand against this will, indeed.”

Europe and other parts of the world at a “critical juncture” when it comes to migration and the management of migration policies, the Pope said. Leaders need “foresight and cohesion” as well as a “vigilant respect for fundamental human rights” to create policies that end the causes of forced migration.

Repeating what he often says about these policies, the Pope emphasized that there must be international cooperation on the issue that respects both the country welcoming and those being welcomed, and that those coming to the new country respect the laws, customs and traditions of the country they now reside in.

Likewise, European and other countries should remember how they have also experienced both immigration and emigration “the hard way.”

“How difficult was it after the war for millions of Europeans who left often with the whole family and crossed the ocean to land in South America or the United States!” he said.

“It was not an easy experience even for them. They suffered the burden of being regarded as strangers, they came from far away and without any knowledge of the local language. It was not an easy integration process.”

On January 1st of this year, Pope Francis formed a new Migrants and Refugees Section under the new Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development. He did this, he said, because “the millions of migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking need special care.”

Reflecting the strong emphasis he’s placed on this issue of migration throughout his pontificate, Francis has put himself in charge of this section, “at least for a time,” he said.

“The main mission of the Section is to support the Church and pastors – locally, regionally and internationally – in accompanying people at every stage of the migration process,” he said.

The Pope said that for him, he thinks especially of people fleeing conflict, persecution, natural or man-made disasters, as well as trafficked-persons and those in exploitative situations, especially migrant workers, women, adolescents, and children.

As in the past, migrants are an “enrichment for our society,” he said. “We have much to learn from the past; it is important to act with awareness, without stirring up fear of foreigners.”

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Bamako, Mali, Apr 7, 2017 / 06:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Four people have been arrested in Mali in connection with the February kidnapping of a nun who remains missing.

According to the Associated Press, a judge in the country charged four individuals this week.

Sister Cecilia Argoti Narvaez was originally from Colombia but worked in Mali until she was kidnapped earlier this year. Her fate is still unknown.

Armed men kidnapped Sr. Cecilia in the southern Mali city of Karangasso on February 7th. The men forced Sister Cecilia to hand over the keys to the community’s ambulance. The vehicle was later found abandoned. Three other sisters were present at their house but escaped.

A member of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate, Sr. Cecilia had served in Mali for 12 years. Her community administers a large health center in the country, as well as a home where they care for some 30 orphans between one and two years of age.

The religious sisters teach literacy to some 700 Muslim women. They are working on a barn project for times of food shortages, as many mothers in the region die from malnutrition.

Earlier this month, the Catholic bishops of Mali asked the general public to help secure Sr. Cecilia’s release.

“We are exploring all possible paths to obtain Sister Cecilia’s release and are calling upon the faithful to keep praying for her,” said Father Edmond Dembele, secretary general of the Episcopal Conference of Mali, according to Fides news agency.

Fr. Dembele appealed to anyone with information about the kidnappers to contact authorities.

“Some people believe that bandits in the area kidnapped the sister in the hope of getting a ransom, and now do not know how to handle the situation,” he said. “Others believe jihadists kidnapped her.”

While jihadist groups like Al Qaida operate in the north of Mali, Karangasso is far removed from their typical area of operations.

 

 

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Javier Etxezarreta, EPA

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The defense of the life, dignity and human rights of migrants and refugees must come before any other question when enacting migration policies, Pope Francis said.

"The defense of human beings knows no limits," the pope said in an interview with the journal of the Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration of the Italian Ministry of the Interior.

"Those in power," he said, "must be both far-sighted and coherent in watchful respect for fundamental human rights, as well as in trying to end the causes which force civilians to flee."

Of course, he said, a safe and humane approach to handling the current global migration crisis requires international cooperation and policies that "respect both those who welcome and those who are welcomed."

Newcomers must respect the laws of their host countries and be assisted in integrating into the life of their new communities, he said in the interview published April 7. And members of the receiving community must be educated to understand the real causes of migration and the desperate situations of those who feel forced to flee their homes.

The news media play a big role, Pope Francis said. They should explain the human rights violations, violence, poverty and catastrophes that lead so many people to flee.

But, especially, he said, the media must report responsibly and not simply "indulge in negative stereotypes when talking about migrants and refugees."

"Just think of the unfair terms often used to describe migrants and refugees," the pope said. "How often do we hear people talk of 'illegals' as a synonym for migrants? This is unfair. It is based on a false premise, and it pushes public opinion toward negative judgments."

Asked about his 2016 trip to refugee camps in Lesbos, Greece, with leaders of the Orthodox Church, Pope Francis said it was a sign of "fraternal responsibility."

"We are all united in wanting to ensure a dignified life for every man, woman and child who is forced to abandon his or her own land," the pope said. "There is no difference of creed that can outweigh this wish -- in fact, quite the contrary."

Pope Francis said he wished the political leaders of every nation would show the same kind of joint concern for "the cries of the many innocents who ask only for a chance to save their own lives."

As for anti-immigrant feelings and fears among some Europeans, the pope urged people to remember what Europe was like after World War II.

Millions of Europeans immigrated to South America or the United States, he said. "It was not an easy experience for them, either. They had the burden of being seen as foreigners, arriving from afar with no knowledge of the local language.

"The process of integration wasn't easy, but for the most part it ended in success," Pope Francis said.

Countries that have grown and thrived over the centuries by accepting and integrating newcomers cannot forget that experience or pretend it will not be repeated today, he said.

For example, "Europeans contributed greatly to the growth of trans-Atlantic societies," those in North and South America. "This is always the case: Any exchange of culture and knowledge is a source of wealth and should be valued as such."

Members of the Catholic Church have an even greater obligation to recognize the value of welcoming newcomers, Pope Francis said. "We can see the peaceful integration of people from other cultures as a kind of reflection of its Catholicism. A unity which accepts ethnic or cultural diversity constitutes a dimension of church life, which in the spirit of Pentecost is open to all -- open to embracing everyone."

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Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden.

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