Bangladesh cardinal urges end to stalemate at Christian credit union
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=159937&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Bangladesh’s cardinal has launched a “devoted appeal to unity” to the Christian leaders and Churches of the country to overcome their conflicts and divisions that has almost brought the country’s first Christian microcredit institution to a halt. Since last year, the managing board of the Dhaka-based Christian Cooperative Credit Union Limited (CCCUL), which covers various denominations, has not been renewed because of disagreement among Christian leaders. This has led to the institution’s paralysis, preventing it from granting loans. "It is sad and at the same time scandalous to see the recent divisions and disunity within Christian communities in Bangladesh and abroad," the country’s first cardinal noted in his appeal. According to Card D'Rozario, the situation is due to "conflicts over ideologies, approaches and strategies, leadership and interests, power, and positions taken by Christian organizations...
Bangladesh’s cardinal has launched a “devoted appeal to unity” to the Christian leaders and Churches of the country to overcome their conflicts and divisions that has almost brought the country’s first Christian microcredit institution to a halt. Since last year, the managing board of the Dhaka-based Christian Cooperative Credit Union Limited (CCCUL), which covers various denominations, has not been renewed because of disagreement among Christian leaders. This has led to the institution’s paralysis, preventing it from granting loans.
"It is sad and at the same time scandalous to see the recent divisions and disunity within Christian communities in Bangladesh and abroad," the country’s first cardinal noted in his appeal. According to Card D'Rozario, the situation is due to "conflicts over ideologies, approaches and strategies, leadership and interests, power, and positions taken by Christian organizations and socio-economic institutions." The net result of this is that “Ordinary people are the victims of such conflicts and divisions,” the prelate added. “For them, divisions threaten the Christian community. " Therefore, "listening to the voice of simple people, I urge all interested parties to turn to God's mercy and forgiveness, and abandon the spirit of revenge, hatred and exaggerated judgments. Build your vision, values, mission and actions around Christ, who is a source of unity, healing, and reconciliation. Let the Risen Lord be present. May prayers accompany each one of you," Card. D'Rozario exhorted.
The bank was created in 1955 by American Holy Cross priest Fr Charles J. Young, at a time when Dhaka’s Christians, unable to get loans from regular financial institutions, found themselves exposed to unscrupulous loan sharks. The CCCUL offers easy low interest loans. Today it has 36,000 shareholders members, 47,000 savings account holding members with an equivalent of $ 66 million in estimated assets, making it one of Asia's largest credit unions.
The dispute pits the old guard and other candidates. The credit union’s outgoing group barred some candidates from running by cancelling their membership. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh postponed the election of the CCCUL management board scheduled for 6 January.
Some Christians have welcomed Card. D’Rozario’s initiative, wishing it had come earlier. Speaking about corruption among CCCUL leaders, who they say came to power illegally, they called for fresh and clean elections to the board. (Source: AsiaNews)
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275879&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Outer details of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Chicago. / Credit: Eric Allix RogersCNA Staff, May 15, 2024 / 12:12 pm (CNA).Catholics and city preservationists in Chicago are scrambling to try to preserve a historic parish on the city's North Side, one that has survived a century of the city's development including being fully moved to a new location after it was first built. Our Lady of Lourdes Parish will hold its final Mass on Sunday, May 19, before the parish merges with nearby St. Mary of the Lake. The consolidation is part of the Archdiocese of Chicago's ongoing "Renew My Church" initiative that has closed and merged dozens of parishes in order to address shrinking budgets and priest shortages. The archdiocese announced the Lourdes parish merger in 2021. Katerina Garcia, the president of the Our Lady of Lourdes Church Preservation Society, told "EWTN News Nightly" anchor Tracy Sabol this week that parishioners at the parish dispute ...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275878&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, archbishop of Hong Kong, China. / Credit: Daniel IbáñezRome Newsroom, May 15, 2024 / 14:17 pm (CNA).Cardinal Stephen Chow recently visited three Catholic dioceses in mainland China, one year after the bishop of Hong Kong's first historic trip to Beijing.Chow led a 10-person delegation of Catholics from Hong Kong to the southern Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Shantou, and Shenzhen in April in his second official visit to China since becoming bishop of Hong Kong."We brought our people to have an encounter … where we share common concerns, for example, youth ministry, catechism, marriage and family," Chow said in a video interview published May 5.Here is a look at some of the Catholic communities Chow visited:St. Joseph's Cathedral in ShantouSt. Joseph's Cathedral in Shantou, China. Credit: Kc1446 at Chinese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsHundreds of Chinese Catholics attended a Mass in St. Joseph's Cathedral in Shantou concelebrated...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275877&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Stained-glass window at the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis. / Credit: Ella Manthey/ShutterstockSt. Louis, Mo., May 15, 2024 / 14:47 pm (CNA).Two St. Louis parishes that appealed to the Vatican after Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski ordered them to merge last year have had their appeals upheld by the Holy See, reversing the archbishop's prior decision.As part of the archdiocese's major pastoral planning initiative dubbed "All Things New," Rozanski announced a year ago that the number of parishes would be reduced by nearly 50 by way of parish mergers and closures.Under canon law, a diocesan bishop has the authority to alter parishes, but only for a just reason specific to each parish. Concern for souls must be the principal motivation for modifying a parish.Amid the All Things New process, a number of parishes announced their intention to send appeals to the Vatican, putting aspects of the mergers planned for the parishes on hold until the Dicastery for the Clergy's rulings. Af...