RADIO VATICANA REPORT:
To mark a year since the beatification of John Paul II on May 1st 2011, we bring you his words in English focusing on prayer and priestly life, as well as the testimony of some of those who witnessed this first-hand.
Among them, the late Carmelite Father, Redemptus Valabek, former postulator of the causes of the saints of his Order, who explains why many used to describe John Paul II as being a Carmelite at heart.
Also, Nigerian Cardinal, Francis Arinze, head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious dialogue at the time of the remarkable prayer gathering in Assisi.He points to how this Polish Pontiff's call for all to pray was addressed not just to Christians but to non-Christians as well.
In this programme in which you can hear Blessed John Paul II reciting the 'Our Father', we also highlight how this Pope's 's prayer life was inseparable from his priestly vocation. How he often told his friends: "I am first and foremost a priest", reminding them how privileged he was to have this vocation because it allowed him to preside at the Church's most important prayer of all: the Celebration of the Eucharist .
SOURCE RADIO VATICANA
To mark a year since the beatification of John Paul II on May 1st 2011, we bring you his words in English focusing on prayer and priestly life, as well as the testimony of some of those who witnessed this first-hand.
Among them, the late Carmelite Father, Redemptus Valabek, former postulator of the causes of the saints of his Order, who explains why many used to describe John Paul II as being a Carmelite at heart.
Also, Nigerian Cardinal, Francis Arinze, head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious dialogue at the time of the remarkable prayer gathering in Assisi.He points to how this Polish Pontiff's call for all to pray was addressed not just to Christians but to non-Christians as well.
In this programme in which you can hear Blessed John Paul II reciting the 'Our Father', we also highlight how this Pope's 's prayer life was inseparable from his priestly vocation. How he often told his friends: "I am first and foremost a priest", reminding them how privileged he was to have this vocation because it allowed him to preside at the Church's most important prayer of all: the Celebration of the Eucharist .
SOURCE RADIO VATICANA
AMERICA : NEW ARCHBISHOP LEPINE OF MONTREAL
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
StatementThe Most Reverend Christian Lépine has taken canonical
possession of the Archdiocese of Montreal with all the powers and rights
involved. In accordance with canonical norms, this terminates the mandate of His
Eminence Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte as Apostolic Administrator of the
Archdiocese. He had been appointed Apostolic Administrator by Pope Benedict XVI
at the same time that the Holy Father accepted Cardinal Turcotte's resignation
as Archbishop of Montreal.Archbishop Lépine will be formally installed as the Archbishop of Montreal on Friday, April 27, 2012, at 7:30 pm, in the Cathedral Basilica of Marie-Reine-du Monde - Saint Jacques, Montreal.
With his recent episcopal appointment, Archbishop Lépine becomes an ex officio
EUROPE : REFORM OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS
CATHOLIC HERALD REPORT:
By Francis X
Rocca on Thursday, 19 April 2012
American women religious attend a
meeting of Network (CNS)
The Vatican has called for major reforms of an American
association of women religious to ensure the group’s fidelity to Catholic
teaching in areas including abortion, euthanasia, women’s ordination and
homosexuality.
Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle will provide “review, guidance and approval, where necessary, of the work” of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the Vatican announced yesterday. The archbishop will be assisted by Bishop Leonard Blair of Toledo, Ohio, and Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, and draw on the advice of fellow bishops, women religious and other experts.
The LCWR, a Maryland-based umbrella group that claims about 1,500 leaders of US women’s communities as members, represents about 80 per cent of the country’s 57,000 women religious.
The announcement from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) came in an eight-page “doctrinal assessment” based on an investigation that Bishop Blair began on behalf of the Vatican in April 2008. That investigation led the doctrinal congregation to conclude, in January 2011, that “the current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern, also given the influence the LCWR exercises on religious congregation in other parts of the world”.
Among the areas of concern were some of the most controversial issues of medical and sexual ethics in America today.
“While there has been a great deal of work on the part of LCWR promoting issues of social justice in harmony with the Church’s social doctrine, it is silent on the right to life from conception to natural death, a question that is part of the lively public debate about abortion and euthanasia in the United States,” the doctrinal congregation said. “Further, issues of crucial importance in the life of the church and society, such as the Church’s biblical view of family life and human sexuality, are not part of the LCWR agenda in a way that promotes Church teaching.”
The Vatican also found that “public statements by the LCWR that disagree with or challenge positions taken by the bishops, who are the Church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals, are not compatible with its purpose”.
According to the Vatican, such deviations from Catholic teaching have provoked a crisis “characterised by a diminution of the fundamental Christological centre and focus of religious consecration”.
But the congregation’s document also praised the “great contributions of women religious to the church in the United States as seen particularly in the many schools, hospitals, and institutions of support for the poor, which have been founded and staffed by religious over the years”, and insisted that the Vatican “does not intend to offer judgment on the faith and life of women religious” in the LCWR’s member congregations.
During his tenure as the Holy See’s delegate, which is to last “up to five years, as deemed necessary”, Archbishop Sartain’s tasks will include overseeing revision of the LCWR’s statutes, review of its liturgical practices and the creation of formation programmes for the conference’s member congregations. The archbishop will also investigate the LCWR’s links to two outside groups: Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, and the Resource Center for Religious Institutes, which offers legal and financial expertise to religious orders.
The doctrinal assessment grew out of the Vatican’s “Apostolic Visitation of Religious Communities of Women in the United States”, a study of the “quality of life” in some 400 congregations, which began in December 2008. The visitation’s final report was submitted in December 2011 but has not yet been published.
Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle will provide “review, guidance and approval, where necessary, of the work” of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the Vatican announced yesterday. The archbishop will be assisted by Bishop Leonard Blair of Toledo, Ohio, and Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, and draw on the advice of fellow bishops, women religious and other experts.
The LCWR, a Maryland-based umbrella group that claims about 1,500 leaders of US women’s communities as members, represents about 80 per cent of the country’s 57,000 women religious.
The announcement from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) came in an eight-page “doctrinal assessment” based on an investigation that Bishop Blair began on behalf of the Vatican in April 2008. That investigation led the doctrinal congregation to conclude, in January 2011, that “the current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern, also given the influence the LCWR exercises on religious congregation in other parts of the world”.
Among the areas of concern were some of the most controversial issues of medical and sexual ethics in America today.
“While there has been a great deal of work on the part of LCWR promoting issues of social justice in harmony with the Church’s social doctrine, it is silent on the right to life from conception to natural death, a question that is part of the lively public debate about abortion and euthanasia in the United States,” the doctrinal congregation said. “Further, issues of crucial importance in the life of the church and society, such as the Church’s biblical view of family life and human sexuality, are not part of the LCWR agenda in a way that promotes Church teaching.”
The Vatican also found that “public statements by the LCWR that disagree with or challenge positions taken by the bishops, who are the Church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals, are not compatible with its purpose”.
According to the Vatican, such deviations from Catholic teaching have provoked a crisis “characterised by a diminution of the fundamental Christological centre and focus of religious consecration”.
But the congregation’s document also praised the “great contributions of women religious to the church in the United States as seen particularly in the many schools, hospitals, and institutions of support for the poor, which have been founded and staffed by religious over the years”, and insisted that the Vatican “does not intend to offer judgment on the faith and life of women religious” in the LCWR’s member congregations.
During his tenure as the Holy See’s delegate, which is to last “up to five years, as deemed necessary”, Archbishop Sartain’s tasks will include overseeing revision of the LCWR’s statutes, review of its liturgical practices and the creation of formation programmes for the conference’s member congregations. The archbishop will also investigate the LCWR’s links to two outside groups: Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, and the Resource Center for Religious Institutes, which offers legal and financial expertise to religious orders.
The doctrinal assessment grew out of the Vatican’s “Apostolic Visitation of Religious Communities of Women in the United States”, a study of the “quality of life” in some 400 congregations, which began in December 2008. The visitation’s final report was submitted in December 2011 but has not yet been published.
AUSTRALIA : VISIT OF MALANKARA ORTHODOX BISHOP
ARCHDIOCESE OF PERTH REPORT:
Article and Photographs by Fr R Cross
On Monday 16 April, Malankara Syrian Orthodox Bishop, His Grace Paulose Mor Ireneous, paid a courtesy visit to the Archbishop of Perth, His Grace Timothy Costelloe.
L to R: Fr Jomon Thomas, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, Bishop Paulose Mor Ireneous and Fr Boutros Touma Issa
Bishop Pailos Mor Ireneous was accompanied by Fr Jomon Thomas and Mr Matthew Samuel as well as the Very Reverend Father Chorepiscopus Boutros Touma Issa and Reverend Deacon Theodore Issa of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Perth.
During the meeting, Bishop Pailos Mor Ireneous presented Archbishop Costelloe with a Ponnada as a sign of respect for the Archbishop. The Ponnada consists of a fine woven cloth with a golden silver stitched border and is placed around the shoulders of the recipient.
The Malankara Syrian Orthodox Christians in Perth come under the Patriarch of Antioch in Damascus and is called St Peter's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church.
The community regularly celebrates Holy Mass (Malayalam Qurbana) at St Thomas More Chapel in Mounts Bay Road Crawley.
The following website provides more information about the St Peter's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
http://perthjacobitechurch.com/Default.aspx
.jpg)
L to R: Deacon Theodore Issa, Fr Jomon Thomas,
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, Bishop Paulose Mor Ireneous and Fr Boutros Touma
Issa and Mr Mathew Samuel
Article and Photographs by Fr R Cross
On Monday 16 April, Malankara Syrian Orthodox Bishop, His Grace Paulose Mor Ireneous, paid a courtesy visit to the Archbishop of Perth, His Grace Timothy Costelloe.
L to R: Fr Jomon Thomas, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, Bishop Paulose Mor Ireneous and Fr Boutros Touma Issa
Bishop Pailos Mor Ireneous was accompanied by Fr Jomon Thomas and Mr Matthew Samuel as well as the Very Reverend Father Chorepiscopus Boutros Touma Issa and Reverend Deacon Theodore Issa of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Perth.
During the meeting, Bishop Pailos Mor Ireneous presented Archbishop Costelloe with a Ponnada as a sign of respect for the Archbishop. The Ponnada consists of a fine woven cloth with a golden silver stitched border and is placed around the shoulders of the recipient.
The Malankara Syrian Orthodox Christians in Perth come under the Patriarch of Antioch in Damascus and is called St Peter's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church.
The community regularly celebrates Holy Mass (Malayalam Qurbana) at St Thomas More Chapel in Mounts Bay Road Crawley.
The following website provides more information about the St Peter's Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
http://perthjacobitechurch.com/Default.aspx
L to R: Deacon Theodore Issa, Fr Jomon Thomas,
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, Bishop Paulose Mor Ireneous and Fr Boutros Touma
Issa and Mr Mathew Samuel
ASIA : CAMBODIA : COUPLE BEARS WITNESS TO LIFE
ASIA NEWS REPORT:
Ly Sovanna (aka Vanna), 33, and Keum Sokhon, 32, have been married for eight years. The Cambodian couple will be among thousands of families from 70 countries attending the 7th World Family Meeting scheduled for 30 May-3 June in Milan, which will end with an embrace of Benedict XVI.
.jpg)
Milan (AsiaNews) - Vanna and Sokhoh are a deeply religious Catholic couple. Their story deserves to be known. Paola Maiocchi, a member of PIME's lay missionary community active in Cambodia for years, will present it.
Vanna originally hails from Kompong Cham province. Orphaned at the age of 10, he was taken to Kompong Thom (Battambang diocese) to live with relatives. Quickly, the "little orphan" was helped by the Church and so grew up near priests and Christians. Sokhon is from a Catholic family in Kompong Thom. She grew up in the Church. In 1996, both were baptised in Kompong Thom.
Eventually the two close friends came to Phnom Penh to further their education. Vanna went to the Catholic University Student Centre (opened in 2000), whilst Sokhon went to study with the Salesian nuns.
The two were married in 2004 and settled permanently in Phnom Penh. After training in computer science, Vanna was asked by Fr Omer Giraldo, a Colombian missionary with the Yarumal Missionary Society and director of the Social Communications Office, to set up a Catholic Social Communications (CSC) programme for the Catholic Church in Cambodia. In 2009, Vanna became its director.
Sokhon became involved instead in the world of the disabled, working with Jesuit-sponsored projects until 2007, when her first child, Gabriel, was born. A second child, Elisabeth, was born in 2009, and a third one is on the way.
The couple also went abroad. Sokhon took part in World Youth Day in Rome of 2000. Vanna spent three months in Taizé that same year. For professional reasons, Vanna has also attended international conferences, especially in Asia.
"They are highly involved members of Phnom Penh's Child Jesus parish, a model of reference for other couples and young people," said Paola Maiocchi, who knows them very well. "Having them as guests (staying at her grandmother) will be a way for the meeting to find echoes back in Cambodia," she explained.
Vanna and Sokhon will be the only Cambodian couple at this year's World Family Meeting. However, many participants will come from other Asian nations and Churches.
A large delegation will come from the Philippines (more than 600) with groups of families travelling from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Lebanon, Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam.
Some families will also come from Hong Kong, Macao and the People's Republic of China and even North Korea, whilst a few will be from war-torn countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine and Syria. (GF)
To give everyone a change to take part in the 7th World Meeting, a 'World Family Reception Fund' was created. Anyone who wishes to make a donation can do so at the following account: IBAN IT16Q0306901629100000014189. Object: Gemellaggi per Family 2012.
SOURCE: ASIA NEWS
Ly Sovanna (aka Vanna), 33, and Keum Sokhon, 32, have been married for eight years. The Cambodian couple will be among thousands of families from 70 countries attending the 7th World Family Meeting scheduled for 30 May-3 June in Milan, which will end with an embrace of Benedict XVI.
.jpg)
Milan (AsiaNews) - Vanna and Sokhoh are a deeply religious Catholic couple. Their story deserves to be known. Paola Maiocchi, a member of PIME's lay missionary community active in Cambodia for years, will present it.
Vanna originally hails from Kompong Cham province. Orphaned at the age of 10, he was taken to Kompong Thom (Battambang diocese) to live with relatives. Quickly, the "little orphan" was helped by the Church and so grew up near priests and Christians. Sokhon is from a Catholic family in Kompong Thom. She grew up in the Church. In 1996, both were baptised in Kompong Thom.
Eventually the two close friends came to Phnom Penh to further their education. Vanna went to the Catholic University Student Centre (opened in 2000), whilst Sokhon went to study with the Salesian nuns.
The two were married in 2004 and settled permanently in Phnom Penh. After training in computer science, Vanna was asked by Fr Omer Giraldo, a Colombian missionary with the Yarumal Missionary Society and director of the Social Communications Office, to set up a Catholic Social Communications (CSC) programme for the Catholic Church in Cambodia. In 2009, Vanna became its director.
Sokhon became involved instead in the world of the disabled, working with Jesuit-sponsored projects until 2007, when her first child, Gabriel, was born. A second child, Elisabeth, was born in 2009, and a third one is on the way.
The couple also went abroad. Sokhon took part in World Youth Day in Rome of 2000. Vanna spent three months in Taizé that same year. For professional reasons, Vanna has also attended international conferences, especially in Asia.
"They are highly involved members of Phnom Penh's Child Jesus parish, a model of reference for other couples and young people," said Paola Maiocchi, who knows them very well. "Having them as guests (staying at her grandmother) will be a way for the meeting to find echoes back in Cambodia," she explained.
Vanna and Sokhon will be the only Cambodian couple at this year's World Family Meeting. However, many participants will come from other Asian nations and Churches.
A large delegation will come from the Philippines (more than 600) with groups of families travelling from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Lebanon, Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam.
Some families will also come from Hong Kong, Macao and the People's Republic of China and even North Korea, whilst a few will be from war-torn countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine and Syria. (GF)
To give everyone a change to take part in the 7th World Meeting, a 'World Family Reception Fund' was created. Anyone who wishes to make a donation can do so at the following account: IBAN IT16Q0306901629100000014189. Object: Gemellaggi per Family 2012.
SOURCE: ASIA NEWS
AFRICA : SUDAN : 37000 REFUGEES NEED AID
CISA REPORT:
JAMAM, April 27, 2012 (CISA) -Tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees face life-threatening water shortages and a growing threat of fatal diseases in Jamam camp, South Sudan, and must be urgently moved to a new site, international agency Oxfam said today.
“As conflict spreads along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, there are fears that more refugees could arrive in a camp that is already stretched beyond its limits and unable to cope with a further influx,” the humanitarian organisation said.
Extensive work by Oxfam and other organizations has been unable to find enough safe and reliable sources of water to meet the growing needs.
Heavy rains in the coming weeks will make delivering aid and relocating the refugees even more difficult, and will further exacerbate an escalating humanitarian crisis, Oxfam said. The rains will increase the threat of diseases such as malaria and cholera, and destroy the flimsy shelters under which new arrivals are sheltering.
“We are fast running out of time and options in the midst of a huge humanitarian crisis. We have drilled for water and carried out a geological survey, but there is simply not enough ground water available to sustain the growing number of people who need it. Women have to queue for hours in the burning sun just to collect a fraction of the water they need, and the situation is getting more desperate by the day. The only solution is for people to be moved urgently,” said Pauline Ballaman, head of Oxfam’s operations in Jamam.
Since December, nearly 37,000 refugees have arrived in Jamam, fleeing the ongoing conflict in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, and more continue to arrive. More than 100,000 people have been forced to flee Sudan because of the fighting in Blue Nile and the parallel conflict in Southern Kordofan, and hundreds of thousands more have been displaced within Sudan.
Oxfam urged all agencies and local authorities to urgently prepare a new safe and secure site for 23,000 people, where long-term water sources can be found.
This region of Upper Nile is one of the most remote and least developed parts of South Sudan and safe drinking water is extremely scarce. The existing boreholes can only provide the recommended amount of water for about 16,500 people, but there is already twice that number in Jamam camp, and families continue to arrive each day. Shortages are also increasing among the several thousand permanent residents of the area. Oxfam is concerned that tensions over competition for water are growing between the refugee community and permanent residents.
Ultimately, Oxfam said, the only sustainable solution to the crisis is for all parties to negotiate for long-term peace in Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan and the rest of the border region, so that refugees can return home.
Meanwhile IOM has started providing water and hygiene kits to 700 displaced people in Abyei who fled ongoing military clashes between Sudan and South Sudan.
The displaced families, mostly women and children, abandoned their houses on 21 April 2012 in the village of Abiemnom in South Sudan’s Unity State when the fighting broke out and trekked some 20 km to the village of Rumamier, in Abyei.
The distribution of aid including jerry cans, buckets and water purification tablets, started on Monday, 23 April 2012. IOM is also disseminating hygiene messages among the displaced written on T-shirts and posters.
JAMAM, April 27, 2012 (CISA) -Tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees face life-threatening water shortages and a growing threat of fatal diseases in Jamam camp, South Sudan, and must be urgently moved to a new site, international agency Oxfam said today.
“As conflict spreads along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, there are fears that more refugees could arrive in a camp that is already stretched beyond its limits and unable to cope with a further influx,” the humanitarian organisation said.
Extensive work by Oxfam and other organizations has been unable to find enough safe and reliable sources of water to meet the growing needs.
Heavy rains in the coming weeks will make delivering aid and relocating the refugees even more difficult, and will further exacerbate an escalating humanitarian crisis, Oxfam said. The rains will increase the threat of diseases such as malaria and cholera, and destroy the flimsy shelters under which new arrivals are sheltering.
“We are fast running out of time and options in the midst of a huge humanitarian crisis. We have drilled for water and carried out a geological survey, but there is simply not enough ground water available to sustain the growing number of people who need it. Women have to queue for hours in the burning sun just to collect a fraction of the water they need, and the situation is getting more desperate by the day. The only solution is for people to be moved urgently,” said Pauline Ballaman, head of Oxfam’s operations in Jamam.
Since December, nearly 37,000 refugees have arrived in Jamam, fleeing the ongoing conflict in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, and more continue to arrive. More than 100,000 people have been forced to flee Sudan because of the fighting in Blue Nile and the parallel conflict in Southern Kordofan, and hundreds of thousands more have been displaced within Sudan.
Oxfam urged all agencies and local authorities to urgently prepare a new safe and secure site for 23,000 people, where long-term water sources can be found.
This region of Upper Nile is one of the most remote and least developed parts of South Sudan and safe drinking water is extremely scarce. The existing boreholes can only provide the recommended amount of water for about 16,500 people, but there is already twice that number in Jamam camp, and families continue to arrive each day. Shortages are also increasing among the several thousand permanent residents of the area. Oxfam is concerned that tensions over competition for water are growing between the refugee community and permanent residents.
Ultimately, Oxfam said, the only sustainable solution to the crisis is for all parties to negotiate for long-term peace in Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan and the rest of the border region, so that refugees can return home.
Meanwhile IOM has started providing water and hygiene kits to 700 displaced people in Abyei who fled ongoing military clashes between Sudan and South Sudan.
The displaced families, mostly women and children, abandoned their houses on 21 April 2012 in the village of Abiemnom in South Sudan’s Unity State when the fighting broke out and trekked some 20 km to the village of Rumamier, in Abyei.
The distribution of aid including jerry cans, buckets and water purification tablets, started on Monday, 23 April 2012. IOM is also disseminating hygiene messages among the displaced written on T-shirts and posters.
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : TUES. MAY 1, 2012
| Matthew
13: 54 - 58
| |
| 54 | and coming to his own country he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? |
| 55 | Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? |
| 56 | And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?" |
| 57 | And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." |
| 58 | And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. |
TODAY'S SAINT : MARCH 19 : ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER
St. Joseph
SPOUSE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AND FOSTER
FATHER OF JESUS
Feast: March 19
source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjoseph.asp#ixzz1tdnHuxhT
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