ASIA: PAKISTAN: 13-YEAR OLD CHRISTIAN KIDNAPPED FROM CHURCH
EUROPE: TURKEY: NUNCIO PRAISES GOV. FOR RETURN OF PROPERTIES TO RELIGIOUS GROUPS
AUSTRALIA: NATIONAL E-CONFERENCE- FOLLOWING JESUS- SEPT. 6
AMERICA: CANADA: DECREE ON ROMAN MISSAL 1ST ADVENT- IMPLEMENTATION
AFRICA: SOUTH SUDAN: ARCHBISHOP CALLS FOR UNITY WITH PEACE
TODAY'S SAINT: AUG. 30: ST. PAMMACHIUS, DIED 409
TODAY'S GOSPEL: AUG. 30: LUKE 4: 31- 37
The Holy Father Benedict XVI accepted the resignation from the ministry of the Diocese of Cádiz y Ceuta (Spain), presented by Bishop Antonio Ceballos Atienza, in accordance with canon 401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law.
(IMAGE SOURCE: RADIO VATICANA)
The Pope has appointed Bishop of Cádiz y Ceuta Archbishop Rafael Zornoza Boy, Titular Bishop so far. Mentes and the Auxiliary of Getafe.
Archbishop Rafael Zornoza Boy
Archbishop Rafael Zornoza Boy was born in Madrid July 31, 1949. He followed his ecclesiastical studies at the Seminary of Madrid-Alcalá and obtained a Licentiate in Biblical Theology at the Pontifical University of Comillas (Madrid).
He was ordained a priest March 19, 1975 for the Diocese of Madrid-Alcala, joining then in the Getafe when it was erected in 1991.
In Madrid was then assistant pastor (1975-1983), Deputy Regent (1983-1985) and Parish Priest of San Jorge(1985-1991), archpriest of San Agustín (1986-1991).
At Getafe was the first Secretary of the Bishop (1991-2004) and Rector of the Seminary since its founding in 1991 until 2009.
On 13 December 2005 he was elected titular Bishop of Mentes and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Getafe. He received his episcopal consecration on February 5 next.
[01217-01.01] [B0503-XX.01] SOURCE: WWW.VATICAN.VA
ASIA: PAKISTAN: 13-YEAR OLD CHRISTIAN KIDNAPPED FROM CHURCH
For two days there has been no news of Daniel Sharoon. Security cameras and witnesses saw him enter the building, then all trace was lost. The family asks for prayers for his release. The police find no useful clues. In Faisalabad Koranic students attack a 64 year old Christian maid.
Lahore (AsiaNews) - A 13 year old Christian from the Chak district of Layyah, Punjab province, disappeared on August 28. The suspicion is that he has been kidnapped, while listening to mass in the local Catholic Church in Rawalpindi. One priest reported the disappearance to the police, but so far officials have found no trace leading to the whereabouts of the boy. Meanwhile in Faisalabad, a woman aged 64 was attacked by a group of students from an Islamic religious school, because she organized prayer meetings in a district with a Muslim majority. In this regard, a Catholic priest invites Protestants not to "create problems for themselves" with acts that may be deemed provocative.
13 year-old Daniel Sharoon, had been living for the past six months with his sister next to the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi. Last Sunday the boy - as usual - went to the local Catholic church to attend mass with his family. Daniel's father John told AsiaNews that "my son came to church with us, but at the end of the ceremony was gone. We looked everywhere - he adds - but not even the guards in charge of security have seen him or noticed suspicious people wandering in the area. "
Fr. Anwar Pastras, a priest of the Diocese of Rawalpindi, condemned the kidnapping of Sharoon, which he calls "a very strange" because "we have installed CCTV cameras" along the perimeter of the building and "we saw the boy enter, but we did not see him leave”. The priest explains that "there were no policemen at the entrances and exits" of the church, but "only our security personnel." "We think - said Father Pastras – he was been kidnapped in the church. " The priest reported the episode to the New Town police station, officers opened an investigation, but so far have no useful leads.
The family is in shock and fears for his fate, his parents have asked for prayers for his return home safe and sound. The phenomenon of kidnapping Christian boys and girls is not an isolated: in March 2010 only 12 children have disappeared from the churches in the district of Kohat and from the Khyber PukhtunKhawa province.
In a second incident, which occurred in Faisalabad (still in Punjab), a group of students from a local madrassa attacked Sakeena Bibi, a 64 year-old Christian maid. The woman had invited a few Christians from the area to pray at her home, located in an area with a Muslim majority, sparking the ire of the Koranic students. The family was forced to leave the area. While condemning the episode of intolerance, Fr. Javed Masih of Faisalabad diocese said that " but the protestant groups are creating problems from themselves by starting the mushroom Churches in the Muslim colonies." The priest adds that "the rest of the family has fled the city fearing life threats".
EUROPE: TURKEY: NUNCIO PRAISES GOV. FOR RETURN OF PROPERTIES TO RELIGIOUS GROUPS
CNS REPORT -- The Turkish prime minister's announcement that the government will return hundreds of properties confiscated from non-Muslim religious groups or compensate the groups for properties sold to third parties is "a historic decision," said the Vatican nuncio to Turkey.
"Even though the Roman Catholics will not benefit from this, it is an important step that is a credit to Turkey," said Archbishop Antonio Lucibello, the nuncio.
"It is a sign that is not just good, it's an excellent sign that the government wants to reconstruct the unity of the country so there no longer are first-class and second-class citizens," the nuncio toldCatholic News Service Aug. 30 in a telephone interview from Ankara.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Aug. 28 that his government would return hundreds of pieces of property -- including schools, orphanages and hospitals -- that were confiscated by the government in 1936. The properties involved belonged to officially recognized religious minorities: Jews, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Armenian Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Syrian Catholics and Chaldean Catholics.
Although Pope Benedict XVI, human rights supporters and the European Union have pressed Turkey to recognize all religions, the Latin-rite Catholic community and Protestant churches do not have official legal standing in Turkey.
Archbishop Lucibello said the decision does not include the Church of St. Paul at Tarsus, now a government-run museum, which church officials have asked to have back.
"The government has made a commitment to continue looking for a solution, and this decision gives us good reasons to hope," the archbishop said. The case of the Church of St. Paul, he said, is complicated by the fact that it was built by the Armenians, then taken over by the Greek Orthodox and restored by Latin-rite Catholics.
Otmar Oehring, an expert on religious freedom in Turkey and director of the human rights office of Missio, the German Catholic aid agency, described Erdogan's decision as "a positive and courageous step."
"There wasn't any need for Erdogan to do this because talks with the European Union" -- which Turkey has been trying to join -- "are at a standstill. This decision won't restart the talks because the EU has other pressing problems," Oehring told CNS in a telephone interview.
Oehring said several years ago that Erdogan forced the government to return much of the confiscated property it still owned. The latest decision would have the government compensate religious communities for properties the government has sold to third parties.
"It will be costly for the Turkish state: I've read 700 million euros or about $1 billion," he said.
The Turkish Constitution proclaims Turkey as a secular country, but its unique brand of secularism involves almost absolute control over religion, including Islam. The government builds and funds mosques and employs Muslim prayer leaders. It has granted full legal status only to the foundations formed by a few minority religious groups, including the Jewish community and the Greek Orthodox.
Minorities like the Latin-rite Catholic and Protestant communities, "which do not have foundations, aren't affected by the new decision. This means that the Catholic Church is in the same negative position it was in."
Latin-rite Catholic parishes, dioceses and religious orders "own property, but it's not clear if that ownership will be recognized. Tomorrow the government could say, 'You don't exist legally, so you don't own it,'" he said.
Other Catholic properties are owned by a foreign government, he said. Catholic parishes operate on property owned by the Italian and French embassies in Ankara and the French consulate in Istanbul. The Latin-rite cathedral in Izmir is a protectorate of France, he said.
"For many years, non-Muslims were too afraid to ask for their properties back, but there also is the fact that there no longer are Christian communities in many of those places," Oehring said.
"The Jesuits, Franciscans and Dominicans had many buildings all over Turkey and they just don't care because they don't have the numbers" of faithful to use them or personnel to staff them, he said. "But they still should seek compensation."
AUSTRALIA: NATIONAL E-CONFERENCE- FOLLOWING JESUS- SEPT. 6
Keynote speakers Fr Chris Monaghan and Rev Dorothy Lee will explore the topic'Following Jesus – Matthew' during a National eConference on Tuesday 6 September.
The national eConference, the sixth presented by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and The Broken Bay Institute, will explore the Gospel of Matthew and its call to discipleship.
The conference will be streamed to 'eSites' across Australia between 10.30am and 3pm on 6 September, including at the Institute For Mission in Blacktown (IFM), Xavier College in Llandilo, Queen of Poland Convent in Marayong and the Catholic Education Office in Parramatta.
For details of how to take part in the conference at IFM, click here.
It is important to note that participants booking to attend the eConference at IFM other eSites also need to register for the eConference at:http://matthew.vividas.com/
NATIONAL ECONFERENCE PROGRAM
10.30am
Opening Prayer - Commencement of webcast
10.35am
Introduction of Host and Educators - Mike Bailey
10.40am Session 1:
Fr Chris Monaghan CP
Bring Out Treasures Old and New
11am
Local facilitated discussion
11.20am Session 2:
Rev Dorothy Lee
The Way of Right Relations: The Sermon on the Mount
11.40am
Local facilitated discussion
12pm Session 3:
Fr Nicholas King SJ
12.20pm
Lunch
12.55pm Session 4:
Fr Chris Monaghan CP
Holding it Together: The Challenges of being Church
1.15pm
Local facilitated discussion
1.35pm Session 5:
Rev Dorothy Lee
The Paradox of Jesus in Matthew
1.55pm
Local facilitated discussion and afternoon tea
2.15pm
Panel
2.45pm
Final PrayerAMERICA: CANADA: DECREE ON ROMAN MISSAL 1ST ADVENT- IMPLEMENTATION
CCCB – Ottawa REPORT… On August 15, 2011, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) published the Decree of Implementation for the General Instruction of the third typical edition of the Roman Missal for use in Canada. The new norms of the General Instruction will come into effect on November 27, 2011, in all English-language and French-language parishes and institutions in the country. The same day, the revised Proper Calendar for the Dioceses in Canada will also be implemented in conjunction with the revised General Instruction.
In addition, the decree confirms that the revised English-language edition of the Roman Missal approved for use in Canada, including the variations to the English-language translation of the Propers of the Mass, will also come into effect on November 27, 2011, which is the First Sunday of Advent. That same day, many other English-speaking countries will also be implementing their own revisions of the Roman Missal as approved by the Bishops of each country and confirmed by the Holy See.
By coincidence, the revised French-language marriage ritual which has been approved by the Bishops of Canada and confirmed by the Holy See will come into effect as well on the same day.
Last month, following the confirmation or recognitio of the Holy See, the CCCB published the Decree of Publication, dated July 15, 2011, for the revised English-language Roman Missal from the Publications Service of the Conference. The 1,480-page layout of the CCCB edition of the Missal is now with the St. Joseph Communications printing company. According to the production schedule, the Missal will be shipped to parishes and religious institutions as of November 10, 2011.
In accordance with the Instruction Liturgiam authenticam, no. 83, issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and also the canonical vote by the Bishops of Canada, the Decree of Implementation and the Decree of Publication both stipulate that the new CCCB edition is the sole translation and version of the Missal authorized for use in English-language liturgical celebrations of the Roman Rite in Canada. Both decrees, signed by the President of the CCCB, Bishop Pierre Morissette, are available on the CCCB website under “Official Texts”.
On the Web
The English-language General Instruction of the third typical edition of the Roman Missal for use in Canada, including the adaptations for Canada, will be available shortly on the special CCCB website dedicated to the Roman Missal at www.romanmissal.ca. The French-language version of the adaptations to the General Instruction as approved for Canada will be accessible over the coming weeks.
In addition, a pastoral note will be sent to the Bishops of Canada, inviting them as of September 25 to authorize experimentation in their dioceses with the liturgical modifications required by the General Instruction and also with the sung responses for the new English-language translation of the liturgical texts in the Missal.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is the national assembly of the Bishops of Canada. It was founded in 1943 and officially recognized by the Holy See in 1948. After the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), the CCCB became part of a worldwide network of Episcopal Conferences, established in 1965 as an integral part of the life of the universal Church.
AFRICA: SOUTH SUDAN: ARCHBISHOP CALLS FOR UNITY WITH PEACE
According to reports from the Sudan Tribune newspaper, Mgr. Loro called upon the congregation to pray for peace in South Sudan and work towards stability, with a particular focus upon the problem of cattle rustling. Some of the most serious acts of violence that took place recently in South Sudan are due to cattle raids between the different populations in the country. The latest murder was committed by an armed group, probably from the Murle tribe, which killed over 600 people in the county of Uror, in the Lou Nuer tribe area. The attack is supposed to be a retaliation assault in connection with a similar attack allegedly launched by the Lou Nuer on Murle in June where hundreds were killed.
About 2 million people died in the conflict fought over religion, ethnicity, ideology and oil. Analysts say that Southern Sudan, which became independent on July 9, risks becoming a failed state if it cannot control insurgencies and bloody feuds that divide the different tribes that live there. (L.M.)
TODAY'S SAINT: AUG. 30: ST. PAMMACHIUS, DIED 409
Feast: August 30
Information: Feast Day: August 30
Born: 340
Died: 409 at Rome
Roman senator, d. about 409. In youth he frequented the schools of rehetoric with St. Jerome. In 385 he married Paulina, second daughter of St. Paula. He was probably among the viri genere optimi religione præclari, who in 390 denounced Jovinian to Pope St. Siricius (Ambrose, Ep. xli). When he attacked St. Jerorme's book against Jovinian for prudential reasons, Jerome wrote him two letters (Epp. xlviii-ix, ed. Vallarsi) thanking him; the first, vindicating the book, was probably intended for publication. On Paulina's death in 397, Pammachius became a monk, that is, put on a religious habit and gave himself up to works of charity (Jerome, Ep. lxvi; Paulinus of Nola, Ep. xiii). In 399 Pammachius and Oceanus wrote to St. Jerome asking him to translate Origen's "De Principiis", and repudiate the insinuation of Rufinus that St. Jerome was of one mind with himself with regard to Origen. St. Jerome replied the following year (Epp. lxxxiii-iv). In 401 Pammachius was thanked by St. Augustine (Ep. lviii) for a letter he wrote to the people of Numidia, where he owned property, exhorting them to abandon the Donatist schism. Many of St. Jerome's commentaries on Scripture were dedicated to Pammachius. After his wife's death Pammachius built in conjunction with St. Fabiola (Jerome, Epp. lxvi, lxxvii), a hospice at Porto, at the mouth of the Tiber, for poor strangers. The site has been excavated, and the excavations have disclosed the plan and the arrangement of this only building of its kind. Rooms and halls for the sick and poor were grouped around it (Frothingham, "The Monuments of Christian Rome," p. 49). The church of SS. John and Paul was founded either by Pammachius or his father. It was anciently known first as the Titulus Bizantis, and then as the Titulus Pammachii. The feast of Pammachius is kept on 30 August.
SOURCE http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stpammachius.asp
TODAY'S GOSPEL: AUG. 30: LUKE 4: 31- 37
31And he went down to Caper'na-um, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the sabbath;32and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority.33And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice,34"Ah! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God."35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.36And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."37And reports of him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
