CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD : TUES. JUNE 18, 2013 - SHARE BREAKING NEWS

 2013

POPE FRANCIS "PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES!" AND ECCLESIAL CONGRESS - LATEST FROM VATICAN - VIDEO

*G8 SUMMIT LETTER FROM POPE TO DAVID CAMERON - FULL TEXT

*NEW $5 MILLION CHURCH OPENS IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

*YOUTH PREPARE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY IN AUSTRALIA

*G8 MEETING DISCUSSES TAX HAVENS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

*60000 TRAPPED BY MUD AND LANDSLIDES DURING MONSOONS IN NORTH INDIA

*CHRISTIAN TEACHER CONVICTED OF BLASPHEMY IN EGYPT - PLEASE PRAY

*TODAY'S SAINT : JUNE 18 : ST. ELIZABETH OF SCHOENAU

*TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : TUES. JUNE 18, 2013

FREE CATHOLIC MOVIES - ST. ANTHONY WARRIOR OF GOD - PART 6

Vatican Radio REPORT:  It is hard to love our enemies, but that is exactly what God is asking us to do, said Pope Francis at Mass Tuesday morning. He said we must pray for those who hate us and have done us wrong, ‘that their heart of stone be turned to flesh, that they may feel relief and love’. God lets sun shine and rain fall on the good and the bad, on the just and the unjust and, the Pope added, we must do the same or else we are not being Christian. Emer McCarthy reports:

Pope Francis began his homily, with a series of questions that encompassed some of the most pressing dramas of humanity. How can we love our enemies? The Pope asked, how can we love those who decide to “bomb and kill so many people?" And again, how can we "love those who out of their for love money prevent the elderly from accessing the necessary medicine and leave them to die"? Or those who only seek "their own best interests, power for themselves and do so much evil?" "It seems hard to love your enemy," he noted, but Jesus asks it of us. This current liturgy, he said, proposes "Jesus’ updating of the law", of the law of Mount Sinai with the Law of the Mount of Beatitudes. The Pope also pointed out that we all have enemies, but deep down we too we can become enemies of others:

"We too often we become enemies of others: we do not wish them well. And Jesus tells us to love our enemies! And this is not easy! It is not easy ... we even think that Jesus is asking too much of us! We leave this to the cloistered nuns, who are holy, we leave this for some holy soul, but this is not right for everyday life. But it must be right! Jesus says: 'No, we must do this! Because otherwise you will be like the tax collectors, like pagans. Not Christians. '"
So how can we love our enemies? Pope Francis noted that Jesus, "tells us two things": first look to the Father who "makes the sun rise on evil and good" and "rain fall on the just and unjust”. God "loves everyone." And then he continued, Jesus tells us to be "perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect", "imitate the Father with that perfection of love." He added Jesus "forgive his enemies", "does everything to forgive them”. He warned that taking revenge is not Christian. The Pope asks But how can we succeed in loving our enemies? By praying. "When we pray for what makes us suffer - the Pope said - it is as if the Lord comes with oil and prepares our hearts for peace":

"Pray! This is what Jesus advises us:' Pray for your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Pray! '. And say to God: 'Change their hearts. They have a heart of stone, but change it, give them a heart of flesh, so that they may feel relief and love '. Let me just ask this question and let each of us answer it in our own heart: 'Do I pray for my enemies? Do I pray for those who do not love me? 'If we say' yes', I will say, 'Go on, pray more, you are on the right path! If the answer is' no ', the Lord says:' Poor thing. You too are an enemy of others! '. Pray that the Lord may change the hearts of those. We could say: 'But this person really wronged me', or they have done bad things and this impoverishes people, impoverishes humanity. And following this libe of thought we want to take revenge or that eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". 
Pope Francis reaffirmed, it’s true that love for our enemies "impoverishes us”, because it makes us poor "like Jesus", who, when he came to us, lowered himself and became poor" for us. The Pope noted that some could argue this was not a good deal "if the enemy makes me poorer" and of course, "according to the criteria of this world, it is not a good deal." But this, he said, is "the path Jesus travelled" who from rich became poor for us. In this poverty, "in this Jesus’ lowering of himself – he said - there is the grace that has justified us all, made us all rich." It is the "mystery of salvation":


"With forgiveness, with love for our enemy, we become poorer: love impoverishes us, but that poverty is the seed of fertility and love for others. Just as the poverty of Jesus became the grace of salvation for all of us, great wealth ... Let us think today at Mass, let us think of our enemies those who do not wish us well: it would be nice if we offered the Mass for them: Jesus, Jesus' sacrifice, for them, for those who do not love us. And for us too, so that the Lord teaches us this wisdom which is so hard, but so beautiful, because it makes us look like the Father, like our Father: it brings out the sun for everyone, good and bad. It makes us more like the Son, Jesus, who in his humiliation became poor to enrich us, with his poverty. " 


Shared from Radio Vaticana

POPE TO HIS DIOCESE: WE CANNOT REMAIN WITH ARMS CROSSED BEFORE A CITY THAT ASK HOPE OF US Vatican City, 18 June 2013 (VIS) – “I'm Not Ashamed of the Gospel” was the theme of Pope Francis' catechesis given yesterday afternoon in the Paul VI Hall for the inauguration of the Ecclesial Congress (17-19 June) that concludes the Diocese of Rome's pastoral year. The theme of the pastoral year was: “Christ, We Need You! The Responsibility of the Baptized in Proclaiming Jesus Christ.” The meeting began with Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of the Diocese, greeting the Bishop of Rome. His address followed the Reading of the First Letter of St. Paul to the Romans, which contains the phrases that inspired the Pope's catechesis: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel. … We who were baptized … are not under the law but under grace.” Following are ample excerpts from Pope Francis' prepared address with some of the impromptu comments he added. “A revolution, in order to transform history, must profoundly change human hearts. Revolutions that have taken place throughout the centuries have changed political and economic systems, but non of them have truly changed the human heart. Only Jesus Christ accomplished the true revolution, the one that radically transforms life, with his Resurrection that, as Benedict XVI loves to recall, was 'the greatest “mutation” in the history of humanity' and it gave birth to a new world.” “This is the experience that the Apostle Paul lives. After having met Jesus on the way to Damascus, he radically changes his perspective on life and receives Baptism. God transforms his heart. Before he was a violent persecutor of Christians, now he becomes an Apostle, a courageous witness of Jesus Christ. … With Baptism, the paschal sacrament, we to are made to participate in that same change and, like Paul, 'we too might live in newness of life'. … We are led to believe that it is primarily in changing structures that we can build a new world. Faith tells us that only a new heart, one regenerated by God, can create a new world: a heart 'of flesh' that loves, suffers, and rejoices with others; a heart full of tenderness for those who, bearing the wounds of their lives, feel themselves to be on the outskirts of society. Love is the greatest force for transforming reality because it breaks down the walls of selfishness and fills the chasms that keep us apart from one another.” “Even in Rome there are people who live without hope and who are immersed in deep sadness that they try to get out of, believing to have found happiness in alcohol, in drugs, in gambling, in the power of money, in sex without rules. But they find themselves still more dejected and sometimes vent their anger towards life with violent acts that are unworthy of the human person. … We who have discovered the joy of having God for our Father and his love for us, can we stand idly by in front of our brothers and sisters and not proclaim the Gospel to them? We who have found in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again, the meaning of life, can we be indifferent towards this city that asks us, perhaps even unconsciously, for hope? … We are Christians; we are disciples of Jesus not to be wrapped up in ourselves but to open ourselves to others in order to help them, in order to bring them to Christ and to protect every creature.” “St. Paul is aware that Jesus—as his name signifies—is the Saviour of all humanity, not just of persons of a certain age or geographical area. The Gospel is for all because God loves everyone and wants to save everyone. The proclamation of the Gospel is destined primarily to the poor, to those who often lack the essentials for a decent life. The good news is first announced to them, that God loves them before all others and comes to visit them through the acts of charity that the disciples of Christ carry out in his name. Others think that Jesus' message is destined to those who don't have cultural training and who therefore find in faith the answer to the many 'whys' that are present in their hearts. Instead, the Apostle strongly affirms that the Gospel is for everyone, even experts. The wisdom that comes from Revelation is not opposed to human wisdom, but rather purifies and elevates it. The Church has always been present in the places where culture develops.” The Pope then improvised: “The Gospel is for all! Going out toward the poor doesn't mean that we must become paupers or some sort of 'spiritual bums'! No, that's not what it means! It means that we must go towards the flesh of the suffering Jesus but Jesus' flesh also suffers in those who don't know it, with their studies, their intelligence, their culture. We must go there! That's why I like to use the expression 'go to the outskirts', the existential peripheries. Everyone, all of them, [who suffer] from physical and real poverty to intellectual poverty, which is also real. All the outskirts, all the intersections of paths: go there. And there sow the seed of the Gospel by word and by witness.” “This means that we must have courage. … I want to tell you something. In the Gospel there's that beautiful passage that tells us of the shepherd who, on returning to the sheepfold and realizing that a sheep is missing, leaves the 99 and goes to look for it, to look for the one. But, brothers and sisters, we have one. It's the 99 who we're missing! We have to go out, we must go to them! In this culture—let's face it—we only have one. We are the minority. And do we feel the fervour, the apostolic zeal to go out and find the other 99? This is a big responsibility and we must ask the Lord for the grace of generosity and the courage and the patience to go out, to go out and proclaim the Gospel.” “Sustained by this certainty that comes from Revelation, we have the courage, the confidence, to go out of ourselves, to go out of our communities, to go where men and women live, work, and suffer, and to proclaim the Father's mercy to them, which was made known to humanity in Jesus of Nazareth. … Let us always remember, however, that the Adversary wants to keep us separated from God and therefore instils disappointment in our hearts when we do not see our apostolic commitment immediately rewarded. Every day the devil sows the seeds of pessimism and bitterness in our hearts. … Let us open ourselves to the breath of the Holy Spirit, who never ceases to sow seeds of hope and confidence. Don't forget that God is the strongest and that if we allow him into our lives nothing and no one can oppose his action. So let's not be overcome by the discouragement that we encounter in facing difficulties when we talk of Jesus and the Gospel. Let's not think that faith doesn't have a future in our city!” “St. Paul then adds: 'I am not ashamed of the Gospel'. For him, the Gospel is the proclamation of Jesus' death on the cross. … The cross forcefully reminds us that we are sinners, but above all that we are love, that we are so dear to God's heart that, to save us, He didn't hesitate to sacrifice his Son Jesus. The Christian's only boast is knowing that they are loved by God. … Every person needs to feel themself loved the way they are because this is the only thing that makes life beautiful and worthy of being lived. In our time, when [what is freely given] seems to fade in our interpersonal relationships, we Christians proclaim a God who, to be our friend, asks nothing but to be accepted. Think of how many live in desperation because they have never met someone who has shown them attention, comforted them, made them feel precious and important. We, the disciples of Christ, can we refuse to go to those places that no one wants to go out of fear of compromising ourselves or the judgement of others, and thus deny our brothers and sisters the announcement of God's mercy?” Speaking off the cuff again, the Pope added: “Freely given! We have received this gratuity, this grace, freely. We must give it freely. And this is what, in the end, I want to tell you … Don't be afraid of love, of the love of God our Father. … Don't be afraid to receive the grace of Jesus Christ. Don't be afraid of our freedom that is given by the grace of Jesus Christ, or, as Paul said: 'You are not under the law but under grace'. Don't be afraid of grace. Don't be afraid to go out of yourselves … to go and find the 99 who aren't home. Go out to dialogue with them and tell them what we think. Go show them our love, which is God's love.”

CHILDREN'S TRAIN ARRIVES IN VATICAN Vatican City, 18 June 2013 (VIS) – A press conference was held his morning in the Holy See Press Office to present the initiative “Children's Train: A Journey through Beauty”. Participating in the presentation were Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and Mr. Mauro Moretti, delegate administrator of the Italian Railway System. The project will be a trip made by 450 children of various nationalities with their teachers, family members, and volunteers, in a train made available just for them by the Italian Railway System, starting from Milan on 23 June and making two stops, in Bologna and Florence, before arriving at the Vatican train station where they will be received by Pope Francis himself, who will be awaiting them at the station. The objective of the initiative is to promote the direct experience of artistic creation, bringing the littlest ones closer to visual communication and the language of images, from which sprang the idea of a journey through beauty. During the trip, other educational and artistic programs dedicated to children will be offered by the personnel of the Italian Railway System. “I focused on the children,” said Cardinal Ravasi, “because I think that therein lies the root from which we must build a generation of young persons who still have ... the beauty of creativity—that doesn't seem old at the start—who aren't already discouraged the way we are but who are ready to live more the future that awaits them. Basically, religions have precisely this fundamental purpose: to teach how to come together, how to continuously declare the future, that is, hope.”

AUDIENCE Vatican City, 18 June 2013 (VIS) – On Sunday afternoon, 16 June, in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Holy Father received Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Philippines.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Vatican City, 18 June 2013 (VIS) - – Today, the Holy Father:    - appointed Fr. Johannes Wubbe as auxiliary bishop of Osnabruck (area 12,580, population 2,148,603, Catholics 568,647, priests 379, permanent deacons 79, religious 871), Germany, assigning him the Titular See of Ros Cre. The bishop-elect was born in Lengerich, Germany, in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1993. Since ordination, he has served in several pastoral and diocesan-level roles, most recently, since 2010, as pastor of the pastoral unity of Spelle.    - appointed Fr. Gabriel Narciso Escobar Ayala, S.D.B., as apostolic vicar of Chaco Paraguayo (area 96,0300, population 23,400, Catholics 19,300, priests 7, permanent deacons 1, religious 18), Paraguay, assigning him the Titular See of Media. The bishop-elect was born in Asuncion, Paraguay, in 1971 and was ordained a priest in 2001. Since ordination, he has served in several administrative, pastoral, and academic roles within the order as well as at the parochial and diocesan levels, most recently, from this year, as director of the Salesian Institute of San Jose in Concepcion, Paraguay.    - appointed Dr. Adriano Pessina as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Dr. Pessina is a tenured professor of Moral Philosophy and the director of the Athenaeum Centre of Bioethics at the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Italy.

G8 SUMMIT LETTER FROM POPE TO DAVID CAMERON - FULL TEXT

Vatican Radio REPORT:  Money, politics and economics must serve, not rule. They must serve people and promote an ethics of truth. This was the thread running through Pope Francis Letter to the British Prime Minister on the eve of the G8 Summit.The Holy Father's Letter was in response to one sent by David Cameron ahead of the Northern Ireland summit which gathers togther the leaders of the 8 most powerful nations in the world to the banks of Lough Erne.
In his letter, Pope Francis praises the priorities on the agenda of the British G8 Presidency: the free international market, taxation, and transparency on the part of governments and economic actors; concerted action to eliminate hunger and ensure food security and the protection of women and children from sexual violence in conflict situations.
In this regards Pope Francis writes that the G8 "cannot fail to address the situation in the Middle East, especially in Syria".He expresses the hope that the Summit will help to obtain "an immediate and lasting cease-fire and to bring all parties in the conflict to the negotiating table". "Peace is an essential pre-requisite for the protection of women, children and other innocent victims", and "conquering hunger".
Pope Francis writes that, "in a seemingly paradoxical way, free and disinterested solidarity is the key to the smooth functioning of the global economy". As such he concludes his letter "every economic and political theory or action must set about providing each inhabitant of the planet with the minimum wherewithal to live in dignity and freedom, with the possibility of supporting a family, educating children, praising God and developing one's own human potential. This is the main thing; in the absence of such a vision, all economic activity is meaningless".

Below please find the text of Pope Francis’ letter to the British Prime Minister:
To The Right Honourable David Cameron, MP Prime Minister
I am pleased to reply to your kind letter of 5 June 2013, with which you were good enough to inform me of your Government's agenda for the British G8 Presidency during the year 2013 and of the forthcoming Summit, due to take place at Lough Erne on 17 and 18 June 2013, entitled A G8 meeting that goes back to first principles.
If this topic is to attain its broadest and deepest resonance, it is necessary to ensure that all political and economic activity, whether national or international, makes reference to man. Indeed, such activity must, on the one hand, enable the maximum expression of freedom and creativity, both individual and collective, while on the other hand it must promote and guarantee their responsible exercise in solidarity, with particular attention to the poorest.
The priorities that the British Presidency has set out for the Lough Erne Summit are concerned above all with the free international market, taxation, and transparency on the part of governments and economic actors. Yet the fundamental reference to man is by no means lacking, specifically in the proposal for concerted action by the Group to eliminate definitively the scourge of hunger and to ensure food security. Similarly, a further sign of attention to the human person is the inclusion as one of the central themes on the agenda of the protection of women and children from sexual violence in conflict situations, even though it must be remembered that the indispensable context for the development of all the afore-mentioned political actions is that of international peace. Sadly, concern over serious international crises is a recurring theme in the deliberations of the G8, and this year it cannot fail to address the situation in the Middle East, especially in Syria.. In this regard, I earnestly hope that the Summit will help to obtain an immediate and lasting cease-fire and to bring all parties in the conflict to the negotiating table. Peace demands a far-sighted renunciation of certain claims, in order to build together a more equitable and just peace. Moreover, peace is an essential pre-requisite for the protection of women, children and other innocent victims, and for making a start towards conquering hunger, especially among the victims of war.
The actions included on the agenda of the British G8 Presidency, which point towards law as the golden thread of development – as well as the consequent commitments to deal with tax avoidance and to ensure transparency and responsibility on the part of governments – are measures that indicate the deep ethical roots of these problems, since, as my predecessor Benedict XVI made clear, the present global crisis shows that ethics is not something external to the economy, but is an integral and unavoidable element of economic thought and action.The long-term measures that are designed to ensure an adequate legal framework for all economic actions, as well as the associated urgent measures to resolve the global economic crisis, must be guided by the ethics of truth. This includes, first and foremost, respect for the truth of man, who is not simply an additional economic factor, or a disposable good, but is equipped with a nature and a dignity that cannot be reduced to simple economic calculus. Therefore concern for the fundamental material and spiritual welfare of every human person is the starting-point for every political and economic solution and the ultimate measure of its effectiveness and its ethical validity.
Moreover, the goal of economics and politics is to serve humanity, beginning with the poorest and most vulnerable wherever they may be, even in their mothers' wombs. Every economic and political theory or action must set about providing each inhabitant of the planet with the minimum wherewithal to live in dignity and freedom, with the possibility of supporting a family, educating children, praising God and developing one's own human potential. This is the main thing; in the absence of such a vision, all economic activity is meaningless.In this sense, the various grave economic and political challenges facing today's world require a courageous change of attitude that will restore to the end (the human person) and to the means (economics and politics) their proper place. Money and other political and economic means must serve, not rule, bearing in mind that, in a seemingly paradoxical way, free and disinterested solidarity is the key to the smooth functioning of the global economy.
I wished to share these thoughts with you, Prime Minister,, with a view to highlighting what is implicit in all political choices, but can sometimes be forgotten: the primary importance of putting humanity, every single man and woman, at the centre of all political and economic activity, both nationally and internationally, because man is the truest and deepest resource for politics and economics, as well as their ultimate end.Dear Prime Minister, trusting that these thoughts have made a helpful spiritual contribution to your deliberations, I express my sincere hope for a fruitful outcome to your work and I invoke abundant blessings upon the Lough Erne Summit and upon all the participants, as well as upon the activities of the British G8 Presidency during the year 2013, and I take this opportunity to reiterate my good wishes and to express my sentiments of esteem.
Below please find the letter written to Pope Francis by Prime Minister Cameron
5 June 2013Your Holiness,
When I said farewell to Pope Benedict at the end of his historic State Visit to Britain in September 2010, .I made a number of promises. I said that the United Kingdom would keep its promises on aid, in particular in dedicating 0.7% of GNI to international development aid, despite the tough economic times. I said that we would continue to help the poorest and ensure the money we spend on aid goes to those who need it most. I also promised that we would redouble our resolve to work for the common good, working closely with the Holy See.In 2013, the United Kingdom holds the Presidency of the G8 group of nations. I am determined to ensure that our G8 agenda will lead to real benefits for the global economy and will help people in developed and developing countries alike. Your Holiness has spoken eloquently about the need to rebalance the global economy, to help the poor and disadvantaged, and to find people work. My aim for our G8 Presidency, especially at the G8 Summit at Lough Erne on 17 and 18 June, is to do this by restoring strong and sustainable growth to the world economy by practical action on fairer taxes, freer trade, and greater transparency.
I will use the G8 to galvanise collective international action to effectively tackle tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance - problems shared by developed and developing countries alike. We shall promote a new global standard for automatic information exchange between tax authorities to shrink the space for tax evasion. We shall provide political support for the ongoing OECD and G20 work to prevent some individuals and corporates artificially shifting their profits to ultra-low tax jurisdictions, distorting competition and seek to enhance the flow of information to tax authorities. We shall seek to set out concrete steps we will take to let law enforcement and tax collectors find out who really owns and controls every company. We shall also explore what more can be done by the G8 to support lower-income developing countries to collect the tax revenues owed to them, thereby strengthening their public services in areas like health and education on which people's well-being depends.On trade, I know the Vatican has taken a keen interest in trade liberalisation, particularly the potential that it offers to alleviate poverty, and the need to ensure the poorest countries are integrated into the global economy. This is very much in line with the trade agenda for Lough Eme. We shall ensure that the G8 shows leadership on free trade by opening our markets, resisting protectionism and supporting an open, global rule-based trading system to ensure that all countries can benefit from increased trade. Protectionism and trade bureaucracy are amongst the most significant brakes on the global economy, affecting developing and developed economies alike and creating a barrier to economic and social progress. This is why I will put political impetus on progressing bilateral and plurilateral deals as well as supporting the multilateral trading system.
We will support efforts to conclude a multilateral deal on Trade Facilitation at the WTO Ministerial Conference in December, which could add $70 billion to the global economy and would help boost trade in Africa in particular. We will also work with African countries to help them realise their goal of a Continental Free Trade Area, including through our support for regional integration. This could see intra-African trade double by 2022. If G8 countries complete all of their current trade deals and those in the pipeline, it could boost the income of the whole world by more than $1 trillion. Under our G8 Presidency, I also want to see real progress on tackling food and nutrition insecurity through practical action and greater political commitment to fighting global malnutrition.Many of the world's poorest countries are shackled by a lack of transparency, poor mles, corrupt practices and weak capacity. Too often, a veil of secrecy allows corrupt corporations and officials in countries to flout the law and prevent development. Too often, mineral wealth in developing countries becomes a curse rather than a blessing, as a lack of transparency fosters crime and corruption. Too often, instead of a shared hope for the next generation, such wealth brings conflict, greed, and environmental damage. Through the G8, I plan to push for mandatory higher global standards for the extractives sector, to encourage responsible and sustainable investment in land, and setting the standards for ensuring that government data are released in an open and useable format.
Finally, the High Level Panel Report on the post-2015 development agenda, which we transferred to the UN Secretary General last week, highlighted the importance of trade, tax and transparency to better the lives of the world's poorest. The Report presents an ambitious roadmap to eradicate extreme poverty from the face of the earth by 2030. It says that everyone - regardless of gender, ethnicity, income, disability, age - must have their basic needs met, and their economic and human rights respected. It too makes a strong call for economic growth that promotes social inclusion and preserves the planet's natural resources for future generations. It says that freedom from violence, good governance and justice are not only fundamental to achieving poverty eradication, but goods in themselves that all citizens of the world have equal right to enjoy. I hope that you will be able to read the Report and offer support for its core messages.You have called for disinterested solidarity and for a return to person-centred ethics in the world of finance and economics. As President of the G8, I aim to help secure the growth and stability on which the prosperity and welfare of the whole world depends. To do this, we must tackle the conditions that cause poverty, stiffen the sinews of responsible capitalism, and strengthen governance and transparency.
I believe that this path is one which requires more than the G8 to find success, that responsible governments, business and faiths can and should travel together, doing what we can to turn these values into practical action for the benefit of all.

SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA

NEW $5 MILLION CHURCH OPENS IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

UCAN NEWS REPORT - GULF NEWS

Existing church is occasionally 10 times over capacity

(Picture: Atiq-Ur-Rehman/Gulf News Express)

• Jay B. Hilotin for Gulf News
• United Arab Emirates
• Vatican representative Cardinal Fernando Filoni will open the new Catholic church in Ras Al Khaimah on Friday.

Cardinal Filoni, the Vatican’s Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, will consecrate the 5,000 square metre St Anthony of Padua Church in the Al Jazira Al Hamra district, about 25 km from the city.

Other officials who will attend the event include Archbishop Petar Rajic, Apostolic Nuncio to the Arabian Peninsula and Bishop Paul Hinder, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia.

“This is a great achievement,” said Fr Galdolf Josef, 73-year-old secretary of Abu Dhabi-based Bishop Paul Hinder, of the Dh18.5-million church. “Ras Al Khaimah is developing quite a bit, especially its industries and tourism, and so is the number of migrant workers. We’re thankful to the Ruler [of Ras Al Khaimah] for giving us the land.”

There are about 6,000 Catholics in Ras Al Khaimah, said the Swiss prelate.

In the UAE there are an estimated 700,000 Catholics who go to 10 churches and served by about 40 priests speaking a dozen languages.

“The church is very much alive here, in Africa and certainly in Asia. All of the members are migrant workers. Besides Filipinos, Indians and Christian Arabs, we have a growing number of Korean Catholics too. Services in rather small churches here are packed, while in Europe, big and beautiful cathedrals are almost empty,” Fr Galdolf said.

The 1,200-seat church can accommodate up to 1,500 worshippers. Two major roads link the new church to Umm Al Qwain, Ajman and Sharjah.

The existing chapel in RAK’s Al Nakheel district, meant for 500 parishioners, sometimes caters to more than 10 times its capacity.
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS 

YOUTH PREPARE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY IN AUSTRALIA

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese, 

18 Jun 2013

Inhabitants of Lima's slums are poor but rich in spirit and joy

Sydney's 400-plus World Youth Day pilgrims are not only preparing spiritually for Rio 2013 which begins in just over five weeks but are in training to make sure they are physically fit for the five days they'll be volunteer builders laying concrete pathways and staircases in the shanty hillside towns of Lima, Peru.

"In the past WYD pilgrims joined local parishes as part of the Days in the Diocese experience. But this year pilgrims are able to participate in the mission work of Catholic congregations such as the Christian Life Movement," says Selina Hasham, Chair of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference's National World Youth Day Committee.

For Sydney's young people along with the many hundreds of pilgrims from across Australia who have volunteered to take part in an immersion experience in different South American cities and communities in Brazil in the lead up to this year's WYD in Rio, the five days and nights spent on site helping the poorest of the poor will be immensely rewarding.

"The mission work will also be very confronting," Selina warns, explaining that most Australians will not have experienced the extreme poverty of the shanty towns in South America's teeming cities. Covering steep hillsides on the periphery of Lima and other major cities, shanty towns stretch as far as the eye can see. Homes are built out of whatever materials can be found and are makeshift and unstable.

Shanty towns of Lima

For these people there is no running water, no electricity and no sewers to remove waste. There is no safe or clean place for children to play amid the dust and dirt and rubble.

"The Andes foothills are prone to earthquakes and it is on these slopes that the poor of Lima build their shanty towns, Selina says.

Located between the deep offshore Peru-Chile trench and the rugged Andes Mountains, the Andes  are it is part of the Circum Pacific Seismic belt which includes the famous San Andreas fault line of California.

Shacks built of whatever materials can be salvaged are no match for even a small quake. Build on steep hillsides on land that was deforested long ago, Lima's slum towns are also subject to devastating mud slides.

"We've been told by the Christian Life Movement who are preparing for the visit by Australia's WYD pilgrims that the Peruvian government only regards areas as viable for important infrastructure such as sewers, water mains and electricity, if they have proper concrete paths and walkways. So this is what many of the Australians will be doing as part of their mission in Lima," Selina explains.

Sydney pilgrims plan to help Lima's Shantown children learn about hygiene

Concrete paths and stairways will also be far safer for the inhabitants of these Shantytowns.

"With low rainfall and rubble everywhere  the steep hillside can be perilous, particularly for the elderly or for children who must navigate their way through the rocks and dirt to school each day," she says.

For those participating in the 19-day pilgrimage to WYD 2013Rio led by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, five nights will be spent in Lima where the group plan to build a series of concrete stairways and paths in one of the shanty towns.

For participants on the WYD 2013 Rio pilgrimage led by Bishop Peter Comensoli, Auxiliary Bishop for the Sydney Archdiocese, their immersion experience will also include building concrete paths and proper stairways in another section of the city's sprawling hillside shanty towns.

Selina Hasham, Chair National WYD Committee for the Bishops' Commission for Pastoral Life

In addition, 70 staff and 260 Year 10 and 11 students from Sydney's 147 Catholic schools, will be rolling up their sleeves to help out. Half of this group from the Archdiocese's Catholic Education Office (CEO) are heading for Santiago in Chile for mission work there while the rest of the team will  undertake a five day immersion experience in Lima before joining the rest of the Australia contingent in Rio for WYD 2013.

"Our prime goal in Lima is to construct solid well-built dining halls in the city's shanty towns so people can meet and eat together," says David Cloran, Archdiocesan Youth Ministry Coordinator with the CEO. "Another project we have planned is to take a large group of shanty town children, aged between 5 and 10 on an all-day excursion into the city," he says.

With poverty so overwhelming in the shanty towns on the outskirts of Lima, few of the children have ever been into the city proper or even more than a kilometre or so from the hillside hovels where they were born.

"The morning of the excursion will be devoted to classes where we will help teach them about dental hygiene, the importance of clean water and health generally. For the afternoon we have a program of sports lined up where for once the children will have a chance to play on grassed sports grounds rather than the rubble and rocks of the shanty towns," David says.

To make the day even more memorable for the children, the CEO and students have organised small gifts for each child.

Medical mission of Christian Life Movement is helping change lives in Lima's shantytowns

For the past several months the priests, religious and laity of the Christian Life Movement who are based in Peru have been closely liaising with Selina and the Archdiocese of Sydney's WYD 2013 Rio team to ensure pilgrims who undertake the five day immersion experience are able to make a real difference to people's lives.

"We hope the presence and volunteer work of all the Australian pilgrims will of benefit to those living in Lima's shanty towns and in other poverty-stricken communities of South America," David says but insists the benefits to all the WYD pilgrims taking part in these immersion missions prior to WYD in Rio will be even greater.

"The experience will bring home to many just how lucky we are to live in a country like Australia," he says adding that even more important for the Sydney pilgrims will be the opportunity to be amongst people who live in extreme poverty.

"These are people who have absolutely nothing but but who as a result of their unswerving faith in Christ and devotion to God, consider themselves rich," he says adding the pilgrims' time in Lima will be a "powerful, life changing experience."

SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY

G8 MEETING DISCUSSES TAX HAVENS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

IND. CATH. NEWS REPORT

UK-linked tax havens are at the centre of a global financial system that encourages crime, corruption and aggressive tax avoidance in developing countries, reveals a new report by Christian Aid as part of the Enough Food For Everyone IF campaign. The report highlights for the first time the huge scale of foreign investment routed through the UK’s tax havens to poor countries – and the potential for abuse this causes. The findings in Invested Interests: The UK’s Overseas Territories’ Hidden Role in Developing Countries underline the urgent need for the G8 to agree a tax deal that benefits poor countries. Report author Joseph Stead, Christian Aid’s senior economic justice adviser, said: 'The UK as G8 chair has never been in a stronger position to end the grave injustices caused by tax havens – if the UK succeeds in putting its own house in order first. 'The Prime Minister must do everything he can to get UK havens agreed on a tax deal before he arrives in Northern Ireland, so he can push the G8 to end the tax scandal. 'The G8 can start to put an end to tax haven secrecy by agreeing to public registers of the beneficial ownership of all companies and trusts, and making sure developing countries benefit from any tax information deal.' The report reveals that the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Gibraltar, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos - all British Overseas Territories - together with the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are now the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment in developing countries. The amount totalled US$556bn by 2011, the most recent year for which we have figures, and accounted for one in every ten US dollars of foreign direct investment made there. This figure is concerning because investment is often structured through such jurisdictions specifically to enable tax dodging in poor countries. Other abuses they facilitate include the laundering of crime money, and ‘round tripping’, in which money originating in the developing country where it is to be invested is sent offshore and then returned disguised as foreign funds to qualify for major tax breaks. 'All countries need foreign investment, particularly those fighting hunger and acute poverty,' added Mr Stead. 'But this needs to be genuine and bring real benefits, not money disguised for tax purposes to enrich the already wealthy, illicit money laundered to bestow legitimacy on the corrupt, or investment designed to shift profits out of developing countries. 'We need to clamp down on tax havens and launch a convention on tax transparency to stop the flow of billions of pounds out of developing countries – money that could be used to end hunger.' The report finds that the British Virgin Islands alone was the fourth largest investor to developing countries in 2011, with the amount involved US$388bn. Globally it provides investment more than 860 times the size of its own GDP. That same year it was revealed that 45 newly incorporated companies in the BVI had acquired mining assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo at a loss, it was claimed, to the DRC’s economy of US$5.5bn. The identity of those behind the companies remains secret. Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan warned recently that foreign investors making extensive use of tax havens ‘facilitate tax evasion, and in some cases corruption.’ Enough Food for Everyone IF is a coalition of nearly 200 organisations that have joined together to campaign for action by the G8 on the issue of global hunger. It estimates that developing countries lose some US$160bn of tax revenues a year from multinationals shifting profits offshore before they can be taxed. For more information visit: http://www.christianaid.org.uk

60000 TRAPPED BY MUD AND LANDSLIDES DURING MONSOONS IN NORTH INDIA

ASIA NEWS REPORT
The most affected areas are Uttarkhand (40 victims) and Uttar Pradesh (18), in the north of the country. Tens of thousands of pilgrims blocked. Heavy rains will continue for at least two days, flooding of the Ganges feared.


New Delhi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - More than 65 dead and at least 60 thousand people trapped: this is the provisional budget from four days of floods that have plagued the north of India. The State of Uttarkhand is the most affected, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Himanachal Pradesh. The rains show no sign of easing in the coming days and the Ganges, the sacred river that runs through the main northern states of the country, could overflow.

The most serious situation is that of Uttarkhand: waters engulfed 40 people and damaged more than 150 homes. At least one building was blown away. The 60 thousand people blocked by mud and landslides were pilgrims: called "Land of the Gods", the state is known for the many Hindu temples.

In Uttar Pradesh the most affected area is the district of Saharanpur, where 18 people have died. In Himanachal Pradesh landslides have killed a dozen people, all originating in the district of Kinnaur.

The police and the army have already started the rescue operation: Approximately 45 people were taken to safety in helicopters, while the centers close to rivers were transferred to refugee camps.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT 

CHRISTIAN TEACHER CONVICTED OF BLASPHEMY IN EGYPT - PLEASE PRAY

CISA NEWS REPORT

CAIRO, June 14, 2013 (CISA) -A Christian teacher in Luxor accused of insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammed was convicted on blasphemy charges on  June 11 by a court in Upper Egypt. Demiana Abdel-Nour, a Coptic Christian teacher, was not given a custodial sentence by the judge, but was fined 100,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately £9,000).

Abdel-Nour was accused of blasphemy after complaints were made on April 8 about one of her classes by a few parents and pupils at her school. Although she was cleared by two independent investigations into the case, conducted by the school council and the local office of the Ministry of Education, lawyers representing the parents of one pupil filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office. Abdel-Nour denies any wrongdoing.

According to ICN, Egypt’s Christian community is disproportionately affected by blasphemy allegations, facing fines and imprisonment.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW) Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “We are very concerned that Demiana Abdel-Nour was prosecuted on blasphemy charges even though she is innocent and was exonerated by the school’s own investigation, as well as that of the Ministry of Education. She appears to be being targeted because she is a Christian; we urge the Egyptian government to respect the rights of its citizens without discrimination.

The situation for Christians in Egypt and the wider Middle East, who were already living with discriminatory legislation and the threat of sectarian attacks, has continued to deteriorate since the Arab Uprisings in 2010. This will be one of the issues highlighted at the Middle East Day of Prayer on 22 June, hosted jointly by CSW and United Action for Egyptian Christians (UAFEC) at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in London. We will continue to stand in solidarity with Christians in the Middle East as they work to claim their equal rights as citizens in their respective countries.”

SHARED FROM CISA NEWS

2013

TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : TUES. JUNE 18, 2013

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 366

Reading   12 COR 8:1-9

We want you to know, brothers and sisters, of the grace of God
that has been given to the churches of Macedonia,
for in a severe test of affliction,
the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty
overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For according to their means, I can testify,
and beyond their means, spontaneously,
they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part
in the service to the holy ones,
and this, not as we expected,
but they gave themselves first to the Lord
and to us through the will of God,
so that we urged Titus that, as he had already begun,
he should also complete for you this gracious act also.
Now as you excel in every respect,
in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness,
and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.

I say this not by way of command,
but to test the genuineness of your love
by your concern for others.
For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that for your sake he became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Responsorial Psalm PS 146:2, 5-6AB, 6C- 7, 8-9A

R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel MT 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

TODAY'S SAINT : JUNE 18 : ST. ELIZABETH OF SCHOENAU

St. Elizabeth of Schoenau

BENEDICTINE ABBESS AND MYSTIC

Feast: June 18

Information: Feast Day: June 18 Born: 1129 at Germany Died: 18 June 1165 at Bonn, Germany Patron of: against temptations

Born about 1129; d. 18 June, 1165.-Feast 18 June. She was born of an obscure family, entered the double monastery of Schönau in Nassau at the age of twelve, received the Benedictine habit, made her profession in 1147, and in 1157 was superioress of the nuns under the Abbot Hildelin. After her death she was buried in the abbey church of St. Florin. When her writings were published the name of saint was added. She was never formally canonized, but in 1584 her name was entered in the Roman Martyrology and has remained there. Given to works of piety from her youth, much afflicted with bodily and mental suffering, a zealous observer of the Rule of St. Benedict and of the regulation of her convent, and devoted to practices of mortification, Elizabeth was favoured, from 1152, with ecstasies and visions of various kinds. These generally occurred on Sundays and Holy Days at Mass or Divine Office or after hearing or reading the lives of saints. Christ, His Blessed Mother, an angel, or the special saint of the day would appear to her and instruct her; or she would see quite realistic representations of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension, or other scenes of the Old and New Testaments. What she saw and heard she put down on wax tablets. Her abbot, Hildelin, told her to relate these things to her brother Egbert (Eckebert), then priest at the church of Bonn. At first she hesitated fearing lest she be deceived or be looked upon as a deceiver; but she obeyed. Egbert (who became a monk of Schönau in 1155 and succeeded Hildelin as second abbot) put everything in writing, later arranged the material at leisure, and then published all under his sister's name. Thus came into existence * three books of "Visions". Of these the first is written in language very simple and in unaffected style, so that it may easily pass as the work of Elizabeth. The other two are more elaborate and replete with theological terminology, so that they show more of the work of Egbert than of Elizabeth. * "Liber viarum Dei". This seems to be an imitation of the "Scivias" (scire vias Domini) of St. Hildegarde of Bingen, her friend and correspondent. It contains admonitions to all classes of society, to the clergy and laity, to the married and unmarried. Here the influence of Egbert is very plain. She utters prophetic threats of judgment against priests who are unfaithful shepherds of the flock of Christ, against the avarice and worldliness of the monks who only wear the garb of poverty and self-denial, against the vices of the laity, and against bishops and superiors delinquent in their duty; she urges all to combat earnestly the heresy of the Cathari; she declares Victor IV, the antipope supported by Frederick against Alexander III, as the one chosen of God. All of this appears in Egbert's own writings. * The revelation on the martyrdom of St. Ursula and her companions. This is full of fantastic exaggerations and anachronisms, but has become the foundation of the subsequent Ursula legends. There is a great diversity of opinion in regard to her revelations. The Church has never passed sentence upon them nor even examined them. Elizabeth herself was convinced of their supernatural character, as she states in a letter to Hildegarde; her brother held the same opinion; Trithemius considers them genuine; Eusebius Amort (De revelationibus visionibus et apparitionibus privatis regulae tutae, etc., Augsburg, 1744) holds them to be nothing more than what Elizabeth's own imagination could produce, or illusions of the devil, since in some things they disagree with history and with other revelations (Acta SS., Oct, IX, 81). A complete edition of her writings was made by F.W.E. Roth (Brunn, 1884); translations appeared in Italian (Venice, 1859), French (Tournai, 1864), and in Icelandic (1226-1254). (Taken from Catholic Encyclopedia)

source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/E/stelizabethofschoenau.asp#ixzz1y8bGfFK8

2013

FREE CATHOLIC MOVIES - ST. ANTHONY WARRIOR OF GOD - PART 6

K

IN HONOR OF THE YEAR OF FAITH- JCE WORLD NEWS IS SHARING Anthony - Warrior of God. (Image share - Google)
PART 6 - TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR PART 7 OF 10

YOUTUBE ABOUT SHARE: St. Anthony began life as a young nobleman who enjoyed all the sumptuous pleasures and privileges of that medieval Europe could offer. Yet he was compelled by a mysterious inner voice to gaze upon the unspeakable misery, disease and cruelty around him. Overcome with boundless compassion, he entered a monastery, dedicating his fine mind and fragile body to defending the poor and oppressed against injustice. This revolutionary saint dared to challenge the highest spheres of society, the government and even the Church, if they were guilty of exploiting the common people. His story continues to this day with the many accounts of those who have been transformed by "the most famous saint in the world," St. Anthony of Padua.

PART 1 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/06/free-catholic-movies-st-anthony-warrior.html
PART 2 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/06/free-catholic-movies-st-anthony-warrior_14.html
PART 3 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/06/free-catholic-movies-st-anthony-warrior_15.html
PART 4 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/06/free-catholic-movies-st-anthony-warrior_6060.html
PART 5 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/06/free-catholic-movies-st-anthony-warrior_17.html

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