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(Vatican Radio) Pakistan’s Catholic bishops have condemned the Taliban suicide bombing in the eastern city of Lahore, July 24, that killed 26 people, including nine policemen, and wounded 54 others.   "Killing innocent people and security agents is unacceptable,” said the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference (PCBC). 

Police said a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted police guarding a demolition site at Kot Lakhpat's vegetable market on the outskirts of Lahore.  The outlawed militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.  

Extremists recruting children

Drawing attention to the teenage suicide bomber, NCJP officials issued a statement noting the young age of attackers who have hit several Pakistani cities in the past months.  Noting that "illegal extremist groups are using our youth to bring about destruction,” the NCJP said, “We must unite forces despite our political-religious or cultural differences and save our children from this demon.”   “We all need to stand together with government officials in every possible way to fight against extremism,”  said the statement signed by NCJP chairman Bishop Joseph Arshad of Faisalabad, national director Fr. Emmanuel Yousaf and executive director Cecil S. Chaudhry.  

Security for all

Bishop Arshad and Fr. Yousaf argued that "life is uncertain because of the insecurity in the country and the citizens are even more vulnerable".  Pakistan’s Catholic bishops thus called on authorities, "to ensure the guilty of justice, to address the extremists and root out the causes of intolerance", as well as to "strengthen the protection of all citizens".  

"In our country, people have forgotten humanity" lamented Pastor John Feroze of Christ King Gospel Ministries in Lahore.  "Terrorists do not respect Islam. Peace can not prevail until the government acts severely against madrasas (Islamic seminaries), radical imams and illegal terrorist groups," he told AsiaNews.  

Roger Randhawa, in charge of Caritas, the social arm of the Catholic Church in Lahore also lamented to AsiaNews saying, "Our city is a frequent target because it is literally called 'Heart of Pakistan'. 

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(Vatican Radio) The Holy See has confirmed that the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, will travel to Moscow in September.

Parolin’s journey to Russia comes in the wake of his visits to Belarus and to Ukraine in the past two years signaling the Vatican’s continuing engagement with eastern Europe and its desire to continue supporting the Christians in the region.

Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni:

In an exclusive interview with the Italian newspaper “Il Sole 24 ore”, Cardinal Parolin pointed out that the Holy See’s support for Christians in Eastern Europe has never waned, not even in the darkest of years.

Holy See's historical relationship with Russia

He said the Vatican has always given great value to its relationship with Eastern Europe and with Russia and he recalled the Tsar, Nicholas I’s two meetings with Pope Gregorius XVI in 1845, and how the the Pontificate of Pius IX began in 1847 with an agreement by which both the government and the Holy See played a part in filling vacant Latin Church episcopal sees in Russia and in its Polish provinces.    

Parolin described the continuing relationship between the Vatican and Russia as a “patient, constructive and respectful dialogue”.

Diplomacy of peace

It is crucially important, he said, especially regarding those issues that are at the root of current conflicts or that risk triggering further tensions.

“In this sense, the question of peace and the quest for solutions to the various crises should be placed above any national or partial interest. There cannot be winners or losers, Cardinal Parolin stressed, I am convinced that it is the mission of the Holy See to insist on this fact”.

In the article the Vatican Secretary of State also touched on the global issue of violence perpetrated in the name of religion and spoke of the need to protect religious freedom and at the same time protect Christians – or any other community –  at risk of persecution.

He also spoke of the need to continue to work to protect and care for creation expressing his hope that the United States – and other international actors – do not ignore their international responsibility to care for our common home, work to reduce poverty and inequality, and open their hearts to forced migrants and refugees.

“The Catholic Church’s diplomacy is a diplomacy of peace” – Parolin explained – it is not driven by political, ideological or economic interests, and for this reason it is free to pursue the path to common good and to denounce the catastrophic effects a self-referenced vision can have on all.

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(Vatican Radio) Egypt's president and its highest religious authority have announced new measures to tackle terrorism and combat radicalisation.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Wednesday announced the formation of a new National Council to Confront Terrorism and Extremism. It will be comprised of 10 government ministers, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the Coptic Pope Tawadros II, Egypt's former Grand Mufti and the parliamentary speaker. It will be chaired by President el-Sissi himself.

Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report:

Egypt’s new national council is tasked with drawing up a strategy, in coordination with religious institutions and security authorities, to promote moderate religious discourse, as well as studying and proposing amendments to terrorism-related legislation.

President el-Sissi ordered its formation following the Palm Sunday bombings of two churches, back in April, that left at least 45 people dead and more than 100 injured.

Al-Azhar kiosk in Metro station

Meanwhile, Al-Azhar university, the highest religious authority for the Sunni Muslim world, has set up a kiosk in one of Cairo's busiest underground stations, handing out religious advice to commuters queueing outside.

Almost 2,000 people have come to seek advice since the initiative began two weeks ago, in an effort to counter the appeal of militant Islam and reach out to believers at the grassroots.

Modernise religious discourse

Commuters welcomed the initiative, with some calling for more kiosks to be set up at other stations across the capital. Critics, however, accuse the 1,000-year-old Al-Azhar for failing to modernise its religious discourse, saying the new initiative does little to counter the lure of militancy among marginalised young people.

Islamist militants are waging an insurgency in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and have killed hundreds of soldiers and police in clashes since 2013. Suicide attacks have increasingly spread onto the mainland, killing tourists and Christians in particular. 

Azhar Observatory

In 2015, President al-Sisi called on Al-Azhar to take action and the Azhar Observatory was subsequently launched. Operating in 10 languages, it tracks social media where militants spread their propaganda and has also published books stressing the need to correct extremist interpretations of Islam.

In February this year, a top level Vatican delegation, led by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, held talks at Al-Azhar on ways of working together to combat all religiously motivated violence.

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Washington D.C., Jul 27, 2017 / 08:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas (R) on Wednesday was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next Ambassador at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

Dr. Tom Farr, president of the Religious Freedom Institute, hailed the choice as “excellent.”

Farr explained that “because of his experience,” Brownback “fully meets the two qualifications critical for this position: first, a vigorous understanding of the meaning and value of religious freedom for all, and the ability to communicate that understanding, both as a universal moral value and as a political institution that can serve the interests of every society.”

The religious freedom ambassador position was created through the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act. That law established the Office of International Religious Freedom at the State Department, which is tasked with “promoting religious freedom as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy,” as the office states.

The ambassador is charged with monitoring religious freedom abuses worldwide, meeting with religious leaders around the globe, and discussing with foreign governments how they could better respect the freedom of religious minorities to practice their faith publicly without harassment or state action.

Rabbi David Saperstein, the previous ambassador, served during the second term of the Obama administration and was a “model” for the position, former congressman Frank Wolf told CNA recently. Most notably on his watch, the State Department declared that genocide was taking place against Christians, Yazidis, and Shi’a Muslims in Syria and Iraq at the hands of the Islamic State.

The position is vital, religious freedom advocates say, because countries where freedom of religion is respected also see fewer acts of terror and extremism, and enjoy stronger civil and human rights than other countries where religious freedom is not respected.

Now Brownback will look to continue progress made within the State Department in this area. The agency has historically not viewed promoting religious freedom as a priority in U.S. foreign relations, although according to Saperstein the office has made strides in the last two years particularly in advocating for prisoners of conscience.

Brownback “has the experience, gravitas, and bureaucratic skill to sell this understanding” of the importance of religious freedom, Dr. Farr said, “and to build a successful policy, within a resistant bureaucracy at the Department of State and a largely indifferent political class.”

Other religious freedom advocates applauded the selection of Brownback for the position. Maureen Ferguson, senior policy advisor with The Catholic Association, said that Brownback’s record on defending religious freedom during his time in the Senate proves his qualification.

“As a U.S. Senator, Brownback was a passionate defender of the rights of all people to worship freely, and courageously confronted offenses against human dignity in trouble spots such as North Korea, Iraq, China, Sudan, Vietnam, and Egypt,” Ferguson said.

His nomination comes at a crucial time, she said, “given the global instability caused by the severe religious persecution that 77 percent of the world’s population live under.”

Brownback converted to Catholicism in 2002, after years of being a mainline Protestant and then an evangelical.

Before serving as Governor of Kansas, Brownback was a U.S. senator from 1996 until 2010. He served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

When he retired from the Senate in 2010, Brownback was hailed in the chamber as someone “known around the world as a champion of religious freedom.” The senator introduced resolutions or bills defending human rights abroad and shaming human rights abusers.

In 2010, he introduced a measure “condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities” and calling for the release of the “Baha’i Seven,” seven Baha’i leaders held captive by the state for their religious beliefs.

In 2008, Brownback introduced a resolution calling for a Jewish cemetery in Lithuania to be protected against planned construction projects, and insisted that it “should not be further desecrated.”

He also introduced a resolution that year welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the United States and honoring “the unique insights his moral and spiritual reflections bring to the world stage.”

Brownback spoke out against persecution of religious minorities in Russia in a 2005 resolution that called on “the government of the Russian Federation to ensure full protection of freedoms for all religious communities and end the harassment of unregistered religious groups.”

He also called for a “National Weekend of Prayer and Reflection for the people of Darfur, Sudan” in July of 2005, a year after the U.S. declared genocide was taking place there at the hands of the government and militia groups. Brownback introduced a concurrent resolution in the Senate declaring that genocide was taking place there.

Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.), who wrote the administration in April asking them to nominate an international religious freedom ambassador, emphasized the importance of the ambassador position.

“As anti-religious freedom regimes expand around the world, the United States should clearly speak out for human rights, including religious liberty,” he stated on Wednesday.

 

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Robert Duncan

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- No matter the position one takes on national migration policy, Pope Francis, Caritas Internationalis and national Catholic charities across the globe want Catholics to meet a migrant or refugee and listen to his or her story.

In late September, Pope Francis will launch the "Share the Journey" campaign, a two-year program of Caritas Internationalis to promote encounters between people on the move and people living in the countries they are leaving, passing through or arriving in.

Meeting migrants and refugees and listening to their stories -- and having them listen to the stories of people in their host communities -- mean the walls people have erected in their minds and hearts should begin to fall, said Michel Roy, secretary general of Caritas Internationalis.

"You may be afraid of migrants as a large group of people coming in, but when you meet a migrant, then you have a different vision," he said July 27. Listening to their stories makes it clear that "they are human beings, they are human beings who have suffered much; they've left a situation where they could not live anymore because of violence, conflict or just because of misery."

"Once you understand the story of the person, then you will have a different attitude," he said.

Most people who vote for political parties espousing anti-immigrant sentiments, Roy believes, "have never met a migrant," which makes it easy for politicians to convince them that they have something to fear.

Even if the person does not change their mind about the most appropriate political policies for regulating migration, he said, it is necessary to make the fear subside by helping folks get to know the real people who have left all behind because of persecution, violence or extreme poverty.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines, president of Caritas Internationalis, wrote a letter in late June asking members of the Caritas federation to participate in the campaign. He said, "One of the most important questions we can ask ourselves as individuals, communities and countries at this time of mass movements of people and global doubt is 'Do I allow fear to prevail in my heart, or do I allow hope to reign?'

"Through 'Share the Journey' we hope to dispel fear and understand why so many people are leaving their homes at this time in history," the cardinal wrote. "We also want to inspire communities to build relationships with refugees and migrants. We want to shine a light and lead the way. Migration is a very old story but our campaign aims to help communities see it with new eyes and an open heart."

The "Share the Journey" campaign will run at least until 2019. The U.S. bishops' Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA, as well as more than 160 other Caritas members around the world, will be sponsoring national and local events to provide opportunities for migrants and members of host communities to meet and share their stories.

Through his words and, especially, his gestures, Pope Francis "is inviting everyone on earth to be welcoming" and to protect migrants and help them integrate into the society of their new countries, Roy said. As a central institution of the church, he added, Caritas Internationalis promotes what Pope Francis is asking all Catholics to do.

"Catholics are not all convinced that we have to welcome migrants," the secretary general acknowledged, "so I think we have work to do within the church itself."

But, he said, the pope is asking "everyone to make a step," and Caritas hopes that will begin with every Catholic being willing to meet a migrant or refugee.

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