SA Bishops can bring about healing to the problem of racism
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=170217&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
On the second day of the SACBC Plenary being held at Mariannhill, South Africa’s Bishop João Rodrigues of the Diocese of Tzaneen has said that racism is not only a problem but a sin. He stated that failure to address this issue now would lead South Africa to a worse-off situation in the future.Bishop Rodrigues said that those who are racists are sick and are injured people who need healing, as much as those who were affected by racism. He added that South Africa should be healed from memories of the past, and this does not mean forgetting past events. Instead, past events should be approached with a new spirit.The Bishop of Tzaneen says that tackling the problem of racism requires fraternal sharing and confrontation of past experiences. He said that the Church should be the first agent to address this issue because she understands better the dignity of the human person made in the image of God. She also knows what the Kingdom of God is all about.Explaining the Kingdom...
On the second day of the SACBC Plenary being held at Mariannhill, South Africa’s Bishop João Rodrigues of the Diocese of Tzaneen has said that racism is not only a problem but a sin. He stated that failure to address this issue now would lead South Africa to a worse-off situation in the future.
Bishop Rodrigues said that those who are racists are sick and are injured people who need healing, as much as those who were affected by racism. He added that South Africa should be healed from memories of the past, and this does not mean forgetting past events. Instead, past events should be approached with a new spirit.
The Bishop of Tzaneen says that tackling the problem of racism requires fraternal sharing and confrontation of past experiences. He said that the Church should be the first agent to address this issue because she understands better the dignity of the human person made in the image of God. She also knows what the Kingdom of God is all about.
Explaining the Kingdom of God in relation to the problem of racism in South Africa, Bishop Rodrigues used the analogy of the parable of the net found in the Bible. He said that the Kingdom of God is something dynamic other than static. It requires all to take part in it and experience it. The Kingdom of God is inclusive and knows no race. Before God everybody is equal, and all have the same dignity.
Bishop Rodrigues said that there is a possibility that some people in South Africa were not racists before but may now be racists because they are not able to embrace change. He gave an example of the late 1970s when he was in the seminary. At the time, white people were dominant even in the whole administration, but the reality now is different. The seminary is black with a white minority. This kind of change should be embraced, he said. It reflects the dynamism of the Kingdom of God; It has to be always discovered.
According to Bishop Rodrigues, life should not be seen in terms of race distinctions. All persons are equal in dignity before God. The Bishop also referred to the Genocide in Rwanda where people of the same race killed each other. Another group undermined the dignity of the other. It was not about colour; it was the sickness of perceiving another person as not being equal in dignity.
“In South Africa, we are a rainbow nation, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu declared and this should be treasured. We are making one beautiful nation,” the Bishop said. He urged South Africans not be afraid of fraternal confrontation where racism is concerned.
“Fraternal confrontation is very important in addressing the problem of racism in South Africa. We need to sit around and tell each other fraternally about what they did to us so that healing and reconciliation can be achieved. The wounds of the past should be touched as to bring healing to them,” Bishop Rodrigues said
The Bishop of Tzaneen also underscored the importance of the Eucharist as a place where all should come for healing. He invited fellow Bishops to be the first agents of this healing. Bringing healing to matters of race, in South Africa, should be part of the mission of Bishops. Bishops should work together to bring about healing and reconciliation within the Church and in society. He concluded by urging Southern Africa’s Bishops to do all they can to bring healing and reconciliation to South Africa.
For more information about the Southern Africa Bishops’ discussion on racism kindly contact Archbishop William Slattery and arrange time for an interview. Contact: +27-834685473
(SACBC)
Email:engafrica@vatiradio.va
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275563&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
null / Credit: ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 18:20 pm (CNA).The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) released a pair of emergency rules that it said are aimed at combating "misinformation" and a "deeply dishonest scare campaign" by the Biden administration about the state's new six-week pro-life law. The rules, published on May 1, establish guidance for lifesaving measures and clarify that certain procedures, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies, are not considered abortion and remain legal under the Florida Heartbeat Protection Act, which went into effect on Wednesday. This comes amid significant criticism over the state's pro-life law that prohibits abortions on women after six weeks of pregnancy except for in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. The new AHCA rules further clarify those exceptions. "The agency finds there is an immediate danger to th...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275562&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Oviedo Archbishop Jesús Sanz Montes accused the government of focusing "in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church." / Credit: Archdiocese of OviedoACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 18:50 pm (CNA)."They have done it again. It is a kind of obsessive mantra every time they need a smokescreen to distract from the real problems we have and to which they so clumsily and insidiously apply their tortuous governance."That is how the archbishop of Oviedo, Jesús Sanz Montes, began a letter released this week titled "The Accusing Rattle" in which he responds to the socialist government's announcement of an exclusive plan to address sexual and power abuses committed within the Catholic Church.In the opinion of the prelate, the country's executive "has tried to focus in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church, which represents an exclusive...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275559&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis meets with 300 priests taking part in the World Meeting of Parish Priests on May 2, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 12:41 pm (CNA).Pope Francis published a letter on Thursday addressed to all parish priests in the world with his advice for building a missionary Church in which all the baptized share in the mission of proclaiming the Gospel."Parish communities increasingly need to become places from which the baptized set out as missionary disciples and to which they return, full of joy, in order to share the wonders worked by the Lord through their witness," Pope Francis wrote in the letter published on May 2.The pope presented the letter to 300 priests participating in the Synod on Synodality's "World Meeting of Parish Priests" during an audience at the Vatican, saying that their meeting is "an opportunity to remember in my prayers all of the parish priests in the world to whom I address these words with great affection."P...