Ghana Bishops promote social cohesion
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=154547&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Representatives of political parties in Ghana that participated in the 2016 general elections have called on members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, as a matter of urgency, to add their voice to the recent negative happenings in the country. With elections over, there have been reports of harassment and alleged politically motivated dismissals from public office of sympathisers of the now opposition party, the NDC.In a post-election meeting with the Bishops at the National Catholic Secretariat (NCS) in Accra, the representatives appealed to the Bishops to speak out on national issues to help stop the political wrangling in the country.The meeting, last week, was held to evaluate what went well during the 2016 elections and what did not work well. The idea is to make changes and improvements needed in time for the 2020 elections.Convened by the Bishops, the meeting was also meant to discuss how religious leaders could contribute more efficiently to promoting social...
Representatives of political parties in Ghana that participated in the 2016 general elections have called on members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, as a matter of urgency, to add their voice to the recent negative happenings in the country. With elections over, there have been reports of harassment and alleged politically motivated dismissals from public office of sympathisers of the now opposition party, the NDC.
In a post-election meeting with the Bishops at the National Catholic Secretariat (NCS) in Accra, the representatives appealed to the Bishops to speak out on national issues to help stop the political wrangling in the country.
The meeting, last week, was held to evaluate what went well during the 2016 elections and what did not work well. The idea is to make changes and improvements needed in time for the 2020 elections.
Convened by the Bishops, the meeting was also meant to discuss how religious leaders could contribute more efficiently to promoting social cohesion by building on the positive gains.
Political party representatives said the intervention of religious leaders during the 2016 elections helped reduce political violence. They, however, expressed worry about certain negative events happening in post-election Ghana.
The Parties mentioned cases where some people are being harassed at their workplaces, homes and other public places as a result of the election outcome. They raised the issues of the removal of public officers, seizure of public properties, security after elections, and the sacking of some police recruits as cases in point.
The political party representatives expressed gratitude to the Catholic Bishops for their leadership in national matters including during the just concluded election.
The officials from the parties assured the Bishops that in spite of different political ideologies, they were determined and committed to the peace of Ghana.
Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale, Philip Naameh, who is President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference (GCBC) commended political parties and other stakeholders for their collaboration with the Bishops’ Conference to ensure that peace prevailed before, during and after the 2016 general elections.
(Damian Avevor in Ghana)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275467&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275466&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275461&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...