Vatican City, Jul 13, 2016 / 10:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After a trip to the dentist Wednesday, Pope Francis made the spontaneous decision to stop by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America – a visit one official says demonstrates his close pa... Read more
Vatican City, Jul 13, 2016 / 06:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday the Vatican released the names of 16 people appointed by Pope Francis to the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communications, among whom is American religious freedom and prolife attorney Kim Daniels. A graduate from Princeton University and the University of Chicago Law School, Daniels is an attorney whose practice is focused on religious freedom and prolife issues, and is also a lay consultant to the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty. She is the former spokesperson for the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, having served under both Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Archbishop Joseph Kurtz. She is also a founder and director of Catholic Voices USA. Announced in a July 13 communique from the Vatican, Daniels’ appointment came alongside that of 15 others, including six cardinals, seven bishops and two laypersons. The appointments come just two days after the announcement of a new director and vice director of the Holy See Press Office, and signal Francis’ next step in his sweeping reform of Vatican communications. Established June 27, 2015, the Secretariat for Communications is headed by Msgr. Dario Vigano and oversees all of the Vatican’s communications offices, including Vatican Radio, L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican Television Center, the Holy See Press Office, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Vatican Typography, the Photograph Service and the Vatican Publishing House. When Pope Francis began his reform of the Roman Curia in 2013 with the help of his council of nine adviser cardinals, one of the most immediate areas that needed attention were the Vatican communications operations. In order map out what a possible reform of Vatican communications would look like, Francis established an international commission headed by British Lord Chris Patten to study the current process and provide suggestions. Upon completing its mandate, the commission provided a plan for reform largely centered on streamlining the various communications departments for better integration and unification. Overseen by the Secretariat for Communications, the plan is currently being carried out over a 4-year period, and Francis’ newest appointments are part of the ongoing process. In addition to Daniels, other new members of the secretariat include Cardinals Béchara Boutros Raï, Lebanese Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites; John Njue, Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya; Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes, Haiti; Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar; Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches and Beniamino Stella, Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy. Bishops appointed were: Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin; Gintaras Grušas, Archbishop of Vilnius, Lithuania; Marcello Semeraro, Bishop of Albano, Italy; Stanislas Lalanne, Bishop of Pontoise, France; Pierre Nguyên V?n Kham, Bishop of My Tho, Vietnam; Ginés Ramón García Beltrán, Bishop of Guadix, Spain and Nuno Brás da Silva Martins, Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon, Portugal. The other two laypersons nominated are Markus Schächter, professor of ethics in the mass media and in society at the Faculty of Philosophy S.I. München, Germany, and Leticia Soberón Mainero, a psychologist and expert in communications who had already a consultant for the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Read more
Vatican City, Jul 13, 2016 / 06:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Less than two months after one of Sunni Islam’s highest authorities came to the Vatican following several years of icy relations, Pope Francis has sent a representative to Egypt’s Al-Azhar University in a bid to relaunch dialogue between the two. In accordance with “the explicit wish of Pope Francis,” Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, is currently in Egypt for an official visit to the Al-Azhar University, according to a July 12 press release from the Vatican. Bishop Ayuso will be accompanied by the Vatican’s ambassador to Egypt, Archbishop Bruno Musarò, for a July 13 meeting with Sunni academic and politician Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk, who is a member of the university's Council of Senior Scholars, director of the Al-Azhar Center for Dialoge and Egypt's former minister of religious endowment. According to the Vatican’s press release, the meeting “will consider how to resume dialogue between the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Al-Azhar University.” The Imam of al Azhar, currently Ahmed al Tayyeb, is considered by some Muslims to be the highest authority the 1.5-billion strong Sunni Muslim world and oversees Egypt’s al-Azhar Mosque and the prestigious al-Azhar University attached to it. He paid a visit to the Vatican May 23 for a meeting with Pope Francis, which marked a seismic step in thawing relations between the al-Azhar institution and the Holy See, which were strained in 2011 with claims that Pope Benedict XVI had “interfered” in Egypt’s internal affairs by condemning a bomb attack on a church in Alexandria during the time of Coptic Christmas. Founded in the Fatimid dynasty in the late 10th century together with the adjoining mosque, the university is one of the most renowned study centers for the legal principals of Sunni Islam. The 30 minute encounter the Pope and the Imam focused largely on the commitment of both faithful and authorities of major religions in working for peace, the rejection of violence and terrorism and the protection of Christians in the Middle East given their current state of persecution. In an interview given to Vatican Radio after the meeting, Tayyeb said his first impression of Pope Francis was that the Pope was “very strong,” and “a man of peace, a man who follows the teaching of Christianity, which is a religion of love and peace.” Francis, he said, is also a man “who respects other religions and shows consideration for their followers.” He also decried terrorism carried out by Islamic extremists, stressing that while it exists, “Islam has nothing to do with this terrorism, and this applies to Ulama Muslims and to Christians and Muslims in the East.” “Those who kill Muslims, and who also kill Christians, have misunderstood the texts of Islam either intentionally or by negligence.” Many hope that the meeting between the Vatican and Al-Azhar will lead to increased cooperation in the fight against terrorism, as well as for other urgent questions between the two religions. While this has yet to be seen, what is clear is that relations with Islam have improved with Francis’ constant appeals for interfaith dialogue, which began shortly after his election when he sent a personal message to Muslims marking the end of the first month of Ramadan. Read more
Washington D.C., Apr 25, 2017 / 03:16 am (CNA).- It’s a story seen across the nation – a neighborhood formerly known for rundown houses, empty shops and limited resources now finds flocks of millennials coming to the area’s trellised cafes and bars for brunch and drinks on weekends. What formerly made the neighborhood “sketchy” or caused outsiders to steer clear is now marketed as a selling point of its “character” to new investors and residents. It’s a change called “development” by many of the investors seeking to move in, and called “gentrification” by some who are skeptical of the impact that the rapid inflow of money has on longtime residents of a neighborhood. Yet, many of these conversations about the challenges – and opportunities – of gentrification have left out the institutions at the heart of many of these neighborhoods: the churches. “It’s been a mixed blessing,” said Fr. Michael Kelley of St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. Established in 1901, St. Martin’s is located in the middle of the Bloomingdale neighborhood of D.C. In recent years, the predominantly African-American neighborhood has experienced rapid economic change, as investors have started paying higher prices for land in the area, and new shops, bars and other amenities have sprung up in the middle of what used to be a major drug market. In the midst of these changes, St. Martin’s has remained committed to its mission of hospitality and outreach to the larger community – both new residents and old residents. “We work hard to be a good neighbor,” Fr. Kelley said. Their efforts to help their neighbors have actually been a factor in making the area enticing for the investors now moving into Bloomingdale. Local Christian pastors, working together and with the city, helped to diminish the drug trade and offer aid to those with addictions, the priest explained. In a way, the churches began a process that gentrification finished. However, new residents don’t always give credit to the vital role the parishes have historically played in the communities – and still do to this day. “You all just really need to move your church, you’re getting in the way of what we’re doing here,” new residents have told Fr. Kelley and other Bloomingdale pastors. The priest recalled one interaction with a new homeowner who criticized the churches’ presence in the area. “I remember saying to someone, ‘How long have you been here?’” “Oh I moved in about six months ago,” the man responded. “I’ve been here for 24 years,” Fr. Kelley told the new resident. “I remember when people were shooting up heroin in my backyard, breaking into my house and stealing our TVs and computers. I remember when there were drive-by shootings every night and I almost got hit once. I lived here when it was a very dangerous place to be.” “If it wasn’t for the churches being here as the anchors of the community, you wouldn’t have the community to move into that you have today.”“Development” by any other name Gentrification is a broad term for the movement of wealthier residents into an existing urban area, a demographic shift which changes a district’s character and culture, often affecting neighborhoods that have previously been home to ethnic minorities or immigrants. The result: historically working-class neighborhoods are transformed into up-and-coming “hipster” or “arts” districts, and eventually, to high-demand – and usually high-rent – neighborhoods. The gentrification process can be characterized by an increase in median income and housing prices, as well as a decrease in the neighborhood’s proportion of racial minorities. Crime rates often drop, while investments in high-end businesses and infrastructure often soar. Sociologists argue over the root causes of this phenomenon and the ways in which it is different, historically, from other kinds of demographic changes in cities. What is undeniable, however, is that the shift from primarily minority, lower-class neighborhoods to majority white, upper-class districts brings challenges for long-term residents as well as the benefits of increased resources and new businesses. As an integral part of many developing neighborhoods, local parishes are also feeling the strain of these changes.New Mission Territory Fr. Mark Doherty is an associate pastor at St. Peter’s in the Mission District, San Francisco's oldest neighborhood, and an area of the city that has been predominantly Hispanic for decades. He told CNA about the changes the Mission District is facing as millennial tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and programmers for startups like Dropbox and Airbnb have bought up properties in the neighborhood. “The young tech professionals, they want to live in the city, and a certain number of them – the more hipster type – want to live in the Mission District” because of its “grungier” feel, Fr. Doherty explained. But the stark economic divide is making life, and parish ministry, more challenging for the Latin American immigrants who have called the neighborhood home for generations. Many members of St. Peter’s are facing housing issues due in part to the arrival of wealthy property-owners and tenants looking for luxury accommodations, Fr. Doherty explained. “You have a fair number of first-generation arrivals who are having to move because property owners are either selling the buildings or redesigning them to make them more appealing to the younger set of professionals that are coming in.” Parish ministry has also been impacted as the changing neighborhood demographics have, in a sense, turned St. Peter’s back into mission territory. Most of the parishioners at St. Peter’s are Mexican-American and speak Spanish as their first language. “Our time is mostly dedicated to meeting the sacramental needs of theses first-generation immigrants who live in the neighborhood,” Fr. Doherty said, citing Masses, weddings, baptisms, quinceaneras and funerals as among the focuses of parish resources. “That means that the other folks who are moving in – the young tech professionals who now make a substantial part of the neighborhood – it means we don’t have nearly the kind of time available or the resources at hand to try to engage that population.” “These young professionals who have moved into the neighborhood generally have no connection to the Church whatsoever, and more generally seem to have none or very little religious experience or background to speak of,” Fr. Doherty continued. “It means that engaging them is very, very challenging and it comes down to one-on-one encounters more than anything else.” While these personal encounters “have the opportunity to become significant and deep,” the priest said, they take a significant amount of time and effort – a difficulty in a large parish with an already-established community and many sacramental needs. This place would be a very different community if it wasn’t for the churches. -Fr. Michael Kelley One parish that has seen some degree of success at merging different communities is St. Dominic’s in the Highland neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. The old Victorian houses in the area had long been home to a large Vietnamese and Hispanic population, many of whom were parishioners at St. Dominic’s. But as housing prices have risen with the influx of technology companies, startups and other incoming industries, some long-time residents have had to move to other neighborhoods while a new young adult population moves in. “The families who have been pushed out – they come back,” said Fr. Luke Barder O.P., parochial vicar for St. Dominic’s. He told CNA that some parishioners will “drive 30-40 mins to come to Mass.” Since many of the longtime parishioners have remained engaged in the parish despite moving to new neighborhoods, St. Dominic’s has refocused its efforts on integrating and welcoming new residents into its existing parish ministries. To refocus on its changing role in community, the parish has updated its mission statement, Fr. Barder said, and started targeting some ministries to the young adults in the area, including an Octoberfest beer festival and the Frassati Society, a group for fellowship and prayer.“Families and homes go together” The limited availability of affordable housing is an issue that the U.S. bishops have aimed to address for decades, said Dr. Jonathan Reyes, executive director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development for U.S. bishops’ conference. Reyes told CNA that within the Catholic Church, “for the last 10 years, housing has actually been one of the top three issues for community concerns and engagement, from the neighborhoods themselves.” “The way the Church has always framed it is that families have the right to decent housing,” he continued. This drive to protect families – and to defend parishes as spaces in a community – has led the bishops’ conference to be explicitly involved in affordable housing initiatives since 1975. In the document “The Right to a Decent Home,” the U.S. bishops lay out guidelines for Catholics on how to think about the need to ensure affordable housing. This concept was reinforced this past year in Pope Francis’ letter, “Amoris Laetitia,” in which the Pope asserted that “Families and homes go together,” and warned that housing difficulties may lead couples to delay starting a family. Reyes pointed to efforts by the U.S. bishops’ conference to help ensure fair rents, promote the building of good housing and prevent homelessness. In particular, he highlighted several initiatives by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, an anti-poverty program of the bishops’ conference which has set up land trusts enabling local communities to own and control land in their neighborhood to keep it affordable for future generations.Helping people – old and new In Washington, D.C., St. Martin’s parish is still working hard to meet the needs of the predominantly African American community and its “very clear Black Catholic identity,” while also reaching out to the influx of white young adults. “Our philosophy is: everyone is welcome; all gifts are needed; everyone can help build up the Church,” Fr. Kelley explained. All parishioners are welcomed and encouraged to serve in all areas of parish life, from the gospel choir to the parish council. St. Martin’s is also looking at expanding childcare services and other ministries to accommodate the increasing population of young families. At the same time, the parish has been careful not to stall its current ministries, particularly its role as the D.C. meeting location for Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. In addition to hosting the meetings, St. Martin’s also subsidizes the cost of utilities and operations. “Even though the neighborhood is changing, people are coming from all over to come to the meetings,” Fr. Kelley said, emphasizing their importance both as a ministry and as a catalyst for change in Bloomingdale. The influx of new residents has brought some benefits to the community. With the help of new parishioners, the parish been able to help secure housing protections for current residents against rapidly skyrocketing rental and property prices. In the 1990s, Fr. Kelley recalled, a row house in Bloomingdale could be bought for less than 10,000 dollars. Today, the same house could go for nearly 1 million dollars. New residents in the neighborhood have also helped to attract attention to Bloomingdale’s longstanding issue with sewage flooding during heavy rains. “For a long time, no one responded to the problem and plight of poor black folks complaining that we’re getting sewage in our basement when it rains,” Fr. Kelley said. New residents, though, had the resources and know-how to place enough political pressure on the city to jump-start repairs on the aging sewer and waste system in the neighborhood. Still, challenges do remain for the community, with some new residents failing to understand the history of the area, and some older residents feeling like they are not respected and do not have a voice in the neighborhood as it evolves. In the midst of these continuing tensions, Fr. Kelley said the parish must resist the narrative of “us against them.” “I want us as a Church to continue to be involved, to share the Good News of Jesus, to continue to welcome everyone who comes and to try to meet people’s needs as best we can with our resources,” he said. “Our basic principles are hospitality, generosity, using God’s abundance to make a difference in the neighborhood locally and in the larger community.” “It’s not like I’m trying to keep anyone out,” Fr. Kelley said of St. Martin’s role among the neighborhood’s many changes. “If anything, I’m trying to connect people more.”This article was originally published July 13, 2016. Read more
Washington D.C., Jul 13, 2016 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As the United States sends more troops to Iraq to help retake Mosul from the Islamic State, Catholics can view the action as just even while remaining vigilant about the long-term mission, one ... Read more
Juba, South Sudan, Jul 12, 2016 / 02:49 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Heavy fighting in Juba, the capital city of South Sudan, prompted Church leaders in the country to issue a statement this week condemning the violence and asking for prayers. “We condemn all acts of violence without exception. The time for carrying and using weapons has ended; now is the time to build a peaceful nation,” the South Sudan Council of Churches said in a July 10 statement. Since Thursday, heavy fighting has been reported between the forces of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, loyal to President Salva Kiir, and the SPLA in Opposition, loyal to First Vice President, Riek Machar. “We make no judgement as to how or why they occurred, nor who is to blame, but we note with concern that there have been a number of incidents recently, and that tension is increasing,” the Church leaders wrote. There is not yet an official toll, but several hundred people are believed to have died in the fighting of the past few days, and several thousand more have fled their homes. “We pray for those who have been killed, and for their families, and we ask God's forgiveness for those who have done the killing. However we also urge repentance and a firm commitment from all armed individuals, forces and communities, and from their leaders, to create an atmosphere where violence is not an option,” the Church leaders wrote. On Monday, President Kiir and Vice President Machar issued a ceasefire, which appears to be holding. A fairly new country, South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. In its brief history, the African country has been marred by an ethnically motivated civil war, with the Dinka supporters of Kiir fighting against the Nuer followers of Machar. The recent fighting ended a peace deal signed last year between Kiir and Machar last August, and has local and international leaders fearing that the country may fall into another civil war. The Church leaders in their statement also expressed their concern that the fighting is not limited to the capital city, and has been taking place in other places in South Sudan, including Yei, where the missionary Sister Dr. Veronika was killed in May. “We are encouraged by the statements from both President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar calling for calm. We add our voices to theirs, and urge soldiers and civilians to refrain from provocative words and actions, and to do everything in their power to avoid escalating the situation,” the Church leaders said. “We assure you of our prayers during these difficult times, and once again call for calm and hope.” Besides the Church leaders, the United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the UN Mission in South Sudan, Intergovernmental Authority on Development also voiced their condemnation of the violence and their hope to return to peace. Read more
Vatican City, Jul 12, 2016 / 12:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After a head-on train collision killed 20 people in the southern Italian region of Puglia, Pope Francis voiced his grief over the incident and offered prayers for the victims and their families. “His Holiness Pope Francis expresses his heartfelt and genuine participation in the sorrow striking so many families,” Vatican secretary of state Archbishop Pietro Parolin wrote on the Pope's behalf. “He assures his fervent prayers of repose for those who tragically died and, while invoking the Lord for a swift recovery for the injured, entrusts to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary the many who are affected by dramatic grief, and sends the comfort of his Apostolic Blessing.” Dozens were injured – some critically – and at least 20 people killed when two trains crashed while apparently traveling towards each other on the same track. The collision happened around 11:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday while the trains were moving through an olive grove between the towns of Corato and Ruvo di Puglia, the New York Times reported. Rescue teams worked throughout the day in sweltering heat to pull survivors from the wreckage. One passenger extracted from the mangled cars was a small child, who was airlifted to a hospital, the BBC reported. Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was in Milan during the accident, telling local media that he would be returning to Rome as soon as possible and that he had ordered an investigation. “We won't stop until we clarify what happened,” he told Milan reporters, according to the New York Times. “There is an absolute need to understand who is responsible and to shed total light” on the incident. Read more
Vatican City, Jul 12, 2016 / 11:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After the appointment of two laypersons as the new directors of the Holy See Press Office, Msgr. Dario Vigano said that while their roles haven’t yet been clearly defined amid ongoing reforms, the two will play a key role in Vatican communications. Following the July 11 announcement of Greg Burke and Paloma Garcia Ovejero as director and vice director, respectively, of the Holy See Press Office, Msgr. Dario Viganò – prefect of the Secretariat for Communications – said the two could count on him to “lend a hand in the building of this great family of communications.” He told journalists the new appointments are an occasion to “discuss some aspects” of what the role of director and vice director of the press office will be amid the ongoing reform of Vatican communications, adding that these roles “will be fully understood later.” He pointed out that the Press Office is one of the five sections of the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communications, and as head of the department, assured Burke and Ovejero of his support. On Monday the Vatican announced that after 10 years at the helm, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, would be retiring from his position as Director of the Holy See Press Office and chief Vatican spokesperson. Replacing him will be former American journalist and Vatican communications adviser Greg Burke, who in February took over as the number two official in the Holy See Press Office. Burke’s deputy will be Paloma Garcia Ovejero, the former Rome and Vatican correspondent for Spanish broadcaster COPE and the first woman ever to hold the position of Vice Director to the Press Office. The appointments will officially go into effect Aug. 1, following Pope Francis’ July 27-31 visit to Poland for World Youth Day. Both Burke and Garcia Ovejero will wade into their new positions amid the ongoing process of streamlining Vatican communications, which is currently being carried out according to a 4-year plan overseen by the Secretariat for Communications. Established June 27, 2015, the Secretariat for Communications oversees all of the Vatican’s communications offices, including Vatican Radio, L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican Television Center, the Holy See Press Office, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Vatican Internet Service, the Vatican Typography, the Photograph Service, and the Vatican publishing house. With the reform barely a year underway, the full extent of the responsibilities Burke and Ovejero will inherit remains unclear; however, with Fr. Lombardi’s long tenure as a foundation and with Vigano’s guidance, it likely won’t take long for them to jump into action. In his brief speech after the announcement of Burke and Ovejero’s appointment, Msgr. Vigano noted how the news coincided with the exact day of Fr. Lombardi’s 10 year anniversary as press office director. Lombardi’s tenure, he said, is “a long period of time” which has been marked by significant events such as the resignation of Benedict XVI and the encounter between Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Havana. In comments to journalists after the announcement of his appointment as director of the press office, Burke said the decision wasn’t entirely “out of the blue” given his previous position as vice director, but that he was “honored and moved” by the trust that placed him in the new role. He voiced his thanks to Fr. Lombardi, whom he called “an old style Jesuit, a scholar and a gentleman.” Burke said that for him, the purpose of his new role is clear: “to serve the Pope.” After meeting with Francis July 11 before the official announcement was made, Burke said the encounter was both moving and very personal, and that the Pope told them he had prayed a lot about the appointment. For her part, Garcia Ovejero believes the Pope’s choice to nominate her and Burke to fill the slots is “coherent with what he preached from the beginning.” “A man and a woman, two laypersons, one North American, one from the Spanish language,” she observed, explaining that the decision is “a logical choice … it’s natural.” Pope Francis, she said, “is coherent with his words and with his vision of the Church. A Church that goes out, a Church that’s not clerical, which all of us feel a part of and feel responsible in announcing the Gospel. The mission is to announce the Gospel.” Speaking of their meeting with the Pope, Garcia Ovejero said that Francis was “tender,” but also “serious and firm. He said clearly that fidelity, loyalty, and transparency are the most important things in communications.” Read more
Washington D.C., Dec 23, 2016 / 03:53 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Every minute, 20 people in the United States alone are victims of intimate partner violence. Nearly 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men have been victims of sexual violence other than rape at some poi... Read more
Caracas, Venezuela, Jul 12, 2016 / 12:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A top Venezuelan prelate slammed president Nicolás Maduro's lack of “moral authority” in calling for peace while preventing the Church and other institutions from relieving the country's severe food crisis. “The interests of the government are not the interests of the country,” said Archbishop Diego Padrón of Cumaná, who heads the Venezuelan Conference of Catholic Bishops. The archbishop made his remarks during his opening speech at the Venezuelan Conference of Catholic Bishops' recent plenary assembly. Venezuela's socialist government is widely blamed for the crisis. Since 2003, price controls on some 160 products, including cooking oil, soap, and flour, have meant that while they are affordable, they fly off store shelves only to be resold on the black market at much higher rates. “The ungovernability, aside from the brutal repression, the lack of serious and stabilizing responses that would be more than improvisational and provisional, create the widespread perception that the global crisis is getting more acute and is being prolonged with no end in sight,” the archbishop said. Archbishop Padrón warned that this perception creates in the population “uncertainty, hopelessness, depression, anger and social violence.” He cited the example of looting and riots over food shortages which took place in Cumaná in mid-June and in Tucupita between June 30 and July 1, with dozens of arrests and clashes with the National Guard. These cities as well as others, he said, “have experienced the effects of the wrong economic and social policies and the indolence of the authorities.” “It seems like a new edition of the 'Caracazo' coming out in chapters,” Archbishop Padrón warned in reference to the protests and riots that occurred in Caracas between Feb. 27 and March 8, 1989 during the government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez. At that time the country was facing another economic crisis, with protests that ended with around 300 deaths. During his remarks, Archbishop Padrón restated the Church's request that through Caritas, it could bring in “the medications needed by many Venezuelans requiring heightened medical attention.” “The ability of Caritas Venezuela to pull together resources and the cooperation of private institutions – and not of government entities – makes us capable of receiving and adequately distributing the many offers we receive daily from the outside.” “This is not the ultimate solution but it would provide relief that we shouldn't be waiting for any more,” he said. In May of this year, Caritas Venezuela's director Janeth Marquez told CNA that as of that time, her organization had made three attempts to reach out to Maduro's regime asking that food and medicine be allowed into the country. Read more
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