DONATE TO JCE NEWS

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD : TUESDAY JULY 24, 2012
















VATICAN : PROJECTS FOR MIXED RACES IN LATIN AMERICA
AFRICA : GHANA RIP PRESIDENT JOHN ATTA MILLS - AGE 68  
EUROPE : GEORGIA : PATRIARCH BAPTIZES 400 BABIES
ASIA : LEBANON : THOUSANDS OF SYRIAN REFUGESS
AMERICA : DOMINICAN REPUBLIC CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN SERIOUS
AUSTRALIA : YOUNG PARALYMPIAN REAGAN WICKENS
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : TUESDAY JULY 24, 2012
 
PROJECTS FOR INDIGENOUS, MIXED RACE AND AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Vatican City, 24 July 2012 (VIS) - The administrative council of the Populorum Progressio Foundation is holding its annual meeting from 24 to 27 July at the Pastoral Care and Spirituality Centre of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia, to deliberate on the financing of projects in support of poor indigenous, mixed race and African-American communities of Latin America and the Caribbean. Populorum Progressio, which was founded in 1992, is part of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum".
The administrative council is composed of the following members: Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Foundation and of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum"; Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico and president of the administrative council; Archbishop Edmundo Luis Abastoflor Montero of La Paz, Bolivia and vice president of the administrative council; Archbishop Murilo Sebastiao Ramos Krieger S.C.I. of Sao Sebastiao da Bahia, Brazil; Archbishop Javier Augusto del Rio Alba of Arequipa, Peru; Archbishop Antonio Arregui Yarza of Guayaquil, Ecuador; Archbishop Oscar Urbina Ortega of Villavicencio, Colombia, and Msgr. Segundo Tejado Munoz, under secretary of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum". Archbishops Ramos Krieger and del Rio Alba joined the council this year as new representatives, respectively, of Brazil and Peru.
The Foundation receives its principal financial support from the Italian Episcopal Conference's committee for charitable initiatives in favour of the Third World, and from private donors. The administrative council traditionally holds its annual session in a country of Latin America or the Caribbean in order to draw attention to the activities and initiatives of the particular Churches there.
A total of 203 projects have been presented this year, involving 19 countries and a total value of USD 2,908,727. The number of projects presented by country are: Brazil (59), Colombia (42), Peru (15), Ecuador (16), El Salvador (6), Haiti (12), Guatemala (5), Argentina (5), Bolivia (10), Paraguay (4), Chile (4), Cuba (5), Costa Rica (6), Mexico (3), Venezuela (2), Nicaragua (3), Dominican Republic (2), Honduras (2) and Uruguay (2).
The Foundation is currently going through a period of renewal, both of its membership and secretariat, with the aim of identifying new ways to propagate the activities of Populorum Progressio. This will include a project to be presented to the members by Juan Carlos Navarro, an expert on foundations, with the assistance of Msgr. Silverio Nieto, juridical consultant of "Cor Unum", containing possible changes to the working methods of the Foundation. This year's meeting will also serve to elect a new president and vice president of the administrative council.





OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 24 July 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley, Scotland, as metropolitan archbishop of Glasgow (area 1,165, population 815,200, Catholics 193,200, priests 192, permanent deacons 15, religious 250), Scotland. He succeeds Archbishop Mario Conti, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Lutsk of the Latins, Ukraine, presented by Bishop Markyian Trofym'yak, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law, appointing Bishop Stanislav Szyrokoradiuk O.F.M., auxiliary of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, Ukraine, as apostolic administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Lutsk of the Latins.
- Appointed Fr. Tadeusz Wojda S.A.C., bureau chief of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, as under secretary of the same congregation.

AFRICA : GHANA RIP PRESIDENT JOHN ATTA MILLS - AGE 68



The President of Ghana, Africa, John Evans Atta Mills, age 68, died unexpectantly Tuesday July 24, 2012. He was at the 37 Military Hospital receiving medical help. The death was called "sudden and untimely in a statement from the government. The cause of death was acute cardiac arrest. The Vice-President John Dramani Mahama will be acting President. Mills was suffering from throat cancer.

EUROPE : GEORGIA : PATRIARCH BAPTIZES 400 BABIES


In May the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church baptised 400 babies. In 2008, Patriarch Ilia II offered to be the Godfather of all families with 2 or more children. He now has almost 11,000 God children. With these baptisms the Patriarch has encouraged more families to have children and thus, raised the birth rate of the former Soviet country. The President of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili also encourages families to have more children by providing money from the government for each child. (images source Wordpress blogs)

ASIA : LEBANON : THOUSANDS OF SYRIAN REFUGESS

ASIA NEWS REPORT:
Over 47 thousand people are living in makeshift camps and tents, where there is a high risk of epidemics. Their conditions are terrible. To date, the Lebanese government will not grant permission for a refugee camp.


Beirut (AsiaNews) - "The situation in the refugee camps on the border with Syria, is terrible and getting worse day by day. Thousands of refugees are crossing the border trying to escape from the Syrian hell. Most are women and children. The suffering of these people is enormous, wherever you go you hear cries of despair, hatred, revenge, many feel abandoned by God. " This is what Fr. Simon Faddoul, President of Caritas Lebanon tells AsiaNews. The priest speaks of more than 47 thousand refugees who have sought shelter in the Bekaa Valley and in makeshift camps on the northern border between Syria and Lebanon. They come mostly from the Sunni-majority provinces of Homs and Hama, the most affected by the war between the regime and rebels. For several weeks many of the Muslims who have fled are Alawites along with small groups of Christians from Damascus and Aleppo. Today, over 8 thousand people have crossed the border.

According to Fr. Faddoul most of the refugees are Sunni Muslims. Only 5% are Christian.

"Our volunteers are always on alert - he says - because these people need everything: clothes, water, food, medicine, blankets. For political reasons the government does not authorize the construction of refugee camps, forcing people to find shelter in old abandoned houses, shacks, makeshift tents. " To help the Syrian refugees, Caritas and other NGOs have set up several collection centers across the Bekaa valley and a mobile clinic dedicated to the care of the wounded.

The priest said that hundreds of foreign volunteers came to Lebanon to support the local Caritas, but without the refugee camps it is impossible to organize aid. "Anyone who crosses the border goes to our centers and plants their tents there. In these days we have asked the government permission to increase our space for at least the distribution of aid, to prevent overcrowding and the outbreak of epidemics."

Fr. Faddoul invites Western countries not to forget the Syrian people and to press for an immediate cease-fire. "The situation is irreversible. Many fear an escalation which will be almost impossible to escape. We must try to be ready for any eventuality because we do not know what will happen in the future." (SC

SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT

AUSTRALIA : YOUNG PARALYMPIAN REAGAN WICKENS

ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY REPORT:
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
24 Jul 2012


Reagan Wickens won 2 golds and 5 silver at
the Parapan Games in Canada last year
In March this year, 17-year-old Reagan Wickens swam the race of his life. His effort paid off and clocking up one of the five best times worldwide, he won a spot on the Australian Paralympic Team. But selection of the Year 12 student at St Patrick's College Sutherland had to remain a secret and it wasn't until this month his achievements finally became public.
"My three brothers and my parents knew but no one else was allowed to be told until this month when the Paralympic Swimming team for London was finally announced," he says.
Typically modest and low key not only about being selected for the Paralympics this year but at being picked to join the target squad in training for the Paralympics in Rio in 2016, Reagan insists keeping it a secret wasn't "too difficult."
But for his proud mother, Lisa and the rest of his immediate family it was a different story.
"We are just so proud of him and being a mother, I couldn't wait to tell the world," she says.

Reagan and the rest of Australia's 35-member Paralympic Swimming team head for Cardiff, Wales on 10 August. They will spend the next two and a half weeks at training camp there before heading for London on 27 August and the Opening Ceremony of London's Paralympics 2012 two days later.
17 year old Reagan Wickens began
competitive swimming at 8 and
continues to win medals and acclaim
Since March when Reagan was first selected, his three older brothers and his parents have had their flights to London and accommodation booked and will be in the stands to see him compete and hopefully cheering him on to victory.
Back home in Australia, the staff and entire student body at St Patrick's College will also be barracking for Reagan and glued to their television sets as each race unfolds.
"They've told me I have to bring home the gold," Reagan says with a grin.
St Pat's first-ever Paralympian, Reagan will represent Australia in his favourite event, the 400 metres freestyle, Reagan will also compete in the 50 m butterfly, 50 m freestyle, 200 m individual medley, 100 m backstroke and 100 m freestyle.
Despite his heavy training regime which involves getting up at 4.30 am to swim two hours each morning and a further two hours each night, Reagan is managing to find the time to study for his HSC. This means that when he reaches Cardiff and then London, his schedule will not only include four or more hours of training in the pool but several hours of supervised study.
"Reagan is very focussed and committed to whatever he takes on," Lisa says.
Born with achrondraplasia, a bone growth disorder that causes dwarfism, Reagan first made waves at the 2009 Australian Paralympic Youth Games, taking home five medals including a gold in the 100m breastroke. He followed that up last year when he was a member of Australia's international team at the 2011 Parapan Games in Canada, and won 2 gold and 5 silver medals.

Reagan Wickens is a powerhouse when it
comes to swimming and a multi medal winner
With an attitude that any and everything is possible, and inspired by his eldest brother,an elite athlete and swimmer, Reagan was just 8 years old when he began competing. A pupil at St Catherine's Laboure Primary, Gymea he was soon winning medals at the NSW Catholic Inter-diocesan Carnival and at the state's Primary Schools Sports Association Championships.
His passion for swimming has never waned and thanks to his dedication, hard work and talent, Reagan has continued through secondary school where he proved again and again he is a champion be it in the pool or out of it.
Reagan's all time sports hero is Geoff Huegill, the comeback king of swimming who eight years after breaking records and winning medals, competed at the Commonwealth Games and won gold.
"He's really something," he says and admires Huegill's easy-going personality and sportsmanship as much as his ability as a swimmer.

"The way he lost weight and came back to compete and win medals is a great motivation."
Reagan's other hero is James Magnussen and this is the Australian swimmer he will be following and barracking for during the Olympics which kick off in London this weekend. Not only will Reagan be cheering Magnussen on but he will be taking in every detail of London's massive Aquatic Centre.
"That's where we'll be competing in August," he says.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY

AMERICA : DOMINICAN REPUBLIC CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN SERIOUS

Agenzia Fides REPORT - In the context of a convivial gathering to say thank you to the various institutions for the end of President Leonel Fernandez' mandate, Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, Archbishop of Santo Domingo, and the Archbishop of Santiago de los Caballeros, His Exc. Mgr. Ramon de la Rosa y Carpio, said that the problem of violence against women has reached an alarming figure in the country and have asked to review public policies to stop this serious social problem.
The President himself presented this problem as the main problem the country has to face. For the President, crimes against women is a human drama. Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez considers them "an international scandal" that should lead to a review of social structures and exemplary punishment. The Archbishop of Santiago attributed the serious problem of such factors to the lack of education and machismo. The meeting between the outgoing President and the two members of the Dominican Church went on for more than two hours and it is likely several national and international problems were analyzed.
On the problem of violence against women, the Church has already expressed herself many times (see Fides 26/05/2012). From the data collected by Fides Agency, in 2012 more than 100 women have been killed. The last case in the country provoked a demonstration in front of Congress asking for tougher sanctions against those who commit violence against women. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 24/7/2012)

TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : TUESDAY JULY 24, 2012

Matthew 12: 46 - 50
46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.
48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!
50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."

TODAY'S SAINT: JULY 24: ST. JOHN BOSTE


St. John Boste
PRIEST AND MARTYR
Feast: July 24


Information:
Feast Day: July 24
Born: 1544 at Dufton, Westmoreland, England
Died: 24 July 1594 at Dryburn near Durham, England
Canonized: 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Priest and martyr, b. of good Catholic family at Dufton, in Westmoreland, about 1544; d. at Durham, 24 July, 1594. He studied at Queen's College, Oxford, 1569-72, became a Fellow, and was received into the Church at Brome, in Suffolk, in 1576. Resigning his Fellowship in 1580, he went to Reims, where he was ordained priest, 4 March, 1581, and in April was sent to England. He landed at Hartlepool and became a most zealous missioner, so that the persecutors made extraordinary efforts to capture him. At last, after many narrow escapes, he was taken to Waterhouses, the house of William Claxton, near Durham, betrayed by one Eglesfield [or Ecclesfield], 5 July, 1593. The place is still visited by Catholics. From Durham he was conveyed to London, showing himself throughout "resolute, bold, joyful, and pleasant", although terribly racked in the Tower. Sent back to Durham for the July Assizes, 1594, he behaved with undaunted courage and resolution, and induced his fellow-martyr, Bl. George Swalwell [or Swallowell], a convert minister, who had recanted through fear, to repent of his cowardice, absolving him publicly in court. He suffered at Dryburn, outside Durham. He recited the Angelus while mounting the ladder, and was executed with extraordinary brutality; for he was scarcely turned off the ladder when he was cut down, so that he stood on his feet, and in thatposture was cruelly butchered alive. An account of his trial and execution was written by an eye-witness, Venerable Christopher Robinson, who suffered martyrdom shortly afterwards at Carlisle.
[Note: In 1970, John Boste was canonized by Pope Paul VI among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, whose joint feast day is kept on 25 October.]


source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjohnboste.asp#ixzz1T1nf4w79