2016-05-05T21:20:00+00:00

New York City, N.Y., May 5, 2016 / 03:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- (Editor's note: This article includes explicit descriptions of violence. Reader discretion is advised.)   In a Christian neighborhood inside war-torn Syria, a young boy was waiting to be discharged from a hospital after undergoing surgery. Suddenly the building shook from a bombing. His mother, who was with him, ran out of the hospital to look for help. After she left, a bomb directly hit the building and her son was killed. “She told me ‘My son was already prepared to be in heaven’,” Sister Maria de Guadalupe, a missionary in Syria with the Institute of the Incarnate Word, said of the mother. According to the mother, her son had recently reminded her of Christ’s Gospel admonition not to fear those who can kill the body, but rather those who can take the soul. “This is what persecuted Christians live daily,” Sr. Maria said. “They say ‘Don’t worry – kill me. They can’t take away the heaven from me. You can take my head, you can burn my churches…when I die, I won’t die.” Sr. Maria testified at the #WeAreN2016 international congress on religious freedom in New York City. The April 28-30 meeting detailed the plight of persecuted Christians in Syria, Iraq, and Nigeria, and asked the United Nations to take action to prevent further atrocities in those regions. On Friday, the advocacy group CitizenGO delivered 400,000 signatures to the United Nations headquarters, petitioning the UN Security Council to declare that the Islamic State is committing genocide in Iraq and Syria against Christians and other religious minorities, and for the matter to be referred to the International Criminal Court for investigation and possible prosecution. Sister Maria and Fr. Rodrigo Miranda, missionaries in the Institute of the Incarnate Word, both testified at the congress. They have lived in Aleppo during the Syrian civil war, and told the gathering of unspeakable atrocities committed against Christians there. For Christians in Syria, life has been one long “Way of the Cross” since the civil war began five years ago. “The media talked about [peaceful] demonstrations from the Syrian people, who looked for liberty and democracy,” Sr. Maria de Guadalupe recalled of the Arab Spring, though in reality “it was very different.” Reports of non-Syrian armed groups entering Christian neighborhoods and killing Christians began to travel back to university students who were studying at the mission in Aleppo. Thousands soon took to the streets of Aleppo “to demonstrate their support to the government” because they “preferred to keep going as they were,” Sr. Maria said. “Because what they saw coming wasn’t democracy.” What followed was “a war that nobody was expecting in Syria.” “Overnight, the armed groups started to seize the people in the cities.” Aleppo, she noted, is the “most important city” and the “economic center of the country,” so terror groups targeted the city and besieged it for a full year. Electricity was available only one to two hours a day. Water came every 10 to 15 days. “Then the city became war every single day,” Sr. Maria said. “And we have been living like that for five years.” The Christian neighborhoods and churches have been targeted the most, she noted. There has been “total destruction” in the Christian communities, Fr. Rodrigo said, “especially during the important feasts of the Christian year.” “So we always expect a massive attack during Christmas and Easter … They destroy our churches, monasteries, shelters, everything.” After the Muslim preaching and prayer on Fridays, he said, his community would be “targeted, threatened, directly attacked, because we were the only Christian community in the area.” Christians, he said, “are kidnapped, tortured, martyred, beheaded, cut in pieces.” “Regularly they broke the windows of our houses and cars, or there were times when they entered into the houses of our consecrated sisters with knives, threatening of rape or martyrdom, commonly harassed them when they had to go on the streets.” “Or they threw their cars or motorcycles against the children of our small Christian school. I personally defended my children from them.” A Christian cemetery was also destroyed and the corpses desecrated and displayed in public, he said. A Christian woman was tied to a pillar and beaten by passers-by until she would ask to convert to Islam. However, she never asked to convert, Sr. Maria said. And children and priests have been special targets for brutality. They have been “buried alive” in front of their mothers, and beheaded with their heads put on spikes in public squares. “Girls, mostly between 10 and 15 years old, are raped, up to ten times a day or more,” Fr. Rodrigo said, “and sold in the successful and growing prostitution market from the region and in the Western countries.” Priests have also been targets of hatred. Fr. Rodrigo recounted the story of a 75 year-old Dutch missionary priest who “was kidnapped and shot twice in the back of the head because he was feeding the [poor].” Other priests Fr. Rodrigo has talked to have had their bones broken and teeth knocked out, and have been starved nearly to death. “Why? Political bias? Ethnic cleansing? He’s a priest, an imitator of Christ. The reason of this is the hatred of Jesus Christ,” Fr. Rodrigo said. “If they persecute me, said our Lord, they will also persecute you. Christ is a sign of contradiction, and we are going to be the sign of contradiction in Syria and Iraq.” For Fr. Rodrigo, “the motivation of today’s genocide is the same from the very beginning, from the roots of our very difficult coexistence with Islam.” And the violence against Christians has continued to the present. On Saturday, Sr. Maria relayed a message from her community in Aleppo that “the city has been attacked terribly by rebels, the last desperate attempt to take the city.” “There is no safe place in the whole city,” she continued. “A lot of Christians have died in the last few days. The rebels have said that this is a revenge. They will make civilians in the whole city to pay for the repression that they are receiving.” “This is the ‘moderate’ opposition that we have in Syria,” she continued. Yet the Christians, despite tremendous suffering, have seen their faith grow through it. “Christians never blamed God for our situation. God created us free, and H=he respects our freedom,” Sr. Maria told CNA in an interview, through Fr. Rodrigo’s translation. “Even because of a lot of suffering, God is powerful enough to take major goods from this situation. Because even when they’ve lost everything materially speaking, spiritually they have grown in faith and hope. And in this sense, they have won.” “Suffering purifies faith and strengthens it,” she continued. “At the end of the day, the thing that we want is Eternal Life.” “At the end of the day we have the cross that Jesus Christ gives us, and that is the way.” Suffering also helps Christians to live as though every day is their last, because for Christians in Aleppo, it may well be their last day alive. “Are we going to waste time in the last day of our life?” she asked in her Saturday testimony at the congress. “Are we going to keep living in sin in the last days of our lives? I can die today. I want to go to heaven. So today, I am going to make the most out of the day.” Forgiveness is a hallmark of the Christian life, Fr. Rodrigo insisted. “Peace is a gift from above,” he said. “From God.” “Forgiveness is in our blood, it’s in our divine blood because of grace,” he added. “Forgiveness is something so powerful that no one can give it except Jesus Christ.” “It’s very difficult to speak and not to feel the instinct for revenge. So also we ask, from our Lord, the grace of forgiveness and the grace of mercy for all the people who’s responsible.” “We are missionaries, and we have the opportunity, the possibility to live with the martyrs of our time. This is a privilege,” Sr. Maria concluded.   Read more

2016-05-05T19:05:00+00:00

Vatican City, May 5, 2016 / 01:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis is set to receive on Friday the prestigious Charlemagne Prize for his efforts in the unification of Europe, drawing major leaders on the continent such as the King of Spain to the cele... Read more

2016-05-05T17:30:00+00:00

Vatican City, May 5, 2016 / 11:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During a prayer vigil on Thursday for all those in need of consolation, Pope Francis stressed that though we cry out in moments of difficulty, we are never alone. His words of reassurance came after hearing various testimonies of suffering at the prayer vigil which was held as part of the Jubilee of Mercy. “How many tears are shed every second in our world; each is different but together they form, as it were, an ocean of desolation that cries out for mercy, compassion and consolation,” the Pope said May 5. The bitterest tears, he noted, “are those caused by human evil: the tears of those who have seen a loved one violently torn from them; the tears of grandparents, mothers and fathers, children; eyes that keep staring at the sunset and find it hard to see the dawn of a new day.” However, Francis stressed that “in our pain, we are not alone,” and noted that “Jesus, too, knows what it means to weep for the loss of a loved one.” Pointing to the passage in the Gospel of John when Christ weeps for the death of his friend Lazarus, the Pope noted that Christ sees Mary of Bethany weeping and “nor can he hold back tears. He was deeply moved and began to weep.” “Jesus’ tears have unsettled many theologians over the centuries,” he said, but even more “they have bathed so many souls and been a balm to so much hurt.” Pope Francis spoke to the thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for his evening “Dry the Tears” prayer vigil for all in need of consolation. The vigil, marking the Ascension of the Lord, began with three testimonies alternated with biblical readings, in which the families who spoke recounted tragic stories of suffering, including loneliness, suicide, and religious persecution. After each testimony a candle was lit in front of the reliquary of Our Lady of Tears in Syracuse, which was brought to Rome for the jubilee prayer vigil, and exposed for veneration. In his speech, Pope Francis noted that in moments of sadness, suffering, and illness, everyone looks for “a word of consolation” amid the anguish of persecution and grief. “We sense a powerful need for someone to be close and feel compassion for us. We experience what it means to be disoriented, confused, more heartsick than we ever thought possible. We look around us with uncertainty, trying to see if we can find someone who really understands our pain,” he said. Questions fill the minds of the suffering but frequently without answers, he said, explaining that reason alone is not enough to make sense of the profound grief of those who suffer, nor can it provide answers. At times like this, “more than ever do we need the reasons of the heart, which alone can help us understand the mystery which embraces our loneliness,” Francis observed. In addition to knowing what it means to cry in moments of grief, Christ also experienced personally not only fear of suffering and death, but “disappointment and discouragement at the betrayal of Judas and Peter.” “If God could weep, then I too can weep, in the knowledge that he understands me,” Pope Francis said, explaining that the tears of Christ “serve as an antidote to my indifference before the suffering of my brothers and sisters.” “His tears teach me to make my own the pain of others, to share in the discouragement and sufferings of those experiencing painful situations,” he said, adding that Christ's tears “cannot go without a response on the part of those who believe in him. As he consoles, so we too are called to console.” Francis noted how in moments of fear and dismay Christ always turned to his Father in prayer, adding that prayer is the “medicine” for our suffering. “In prayer, we too can feel God’s presence,” which comforts us and gives us strength and hope. “We too need the certainty that the Father hears us and comes to our aid. The love of God, poured into our hearts, allows us to say that when we love, nothing and no one will ever be able to separate us from those we have loved,” the Pope said. He concluded his meditation pointing to a passage in the Letter to the Romans in which St. Paul says that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” The power of love, he said, “turns suffering into the certainty of Christ’s victory, and our own in union with him, and into the hope that one day we will once more be together and will forever contemplate the face of the Blessed Trinity, the eternal wellspring of life and love.” After Francis finished his address, the vigil continued with the collection of individual prayer intentions from those in attendance, as well as the universal prayer for all situations of physical and spiritual suffering. Pope Francis concluded the vigil by blessing and giving to certain individuals present an image of the Paschal Lamb as an expression of the mercy of the Father for all faithful who live in situations of profound suffering. Read more

2016-05-05T17:14:00+00:00

Charlotte, N.C., May 5, 2016 / 11:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- North Carolina’s governor is standing firm against the U.S. Justice Department’s claim that it is unlawful and discriminatory to require individuals to use public bathrooms, locker r... Read more

2016-05-05T12:02:00+00:00

Rome, Italy, May 5, 2016 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- To observe the Jubilee Year of Mercy and to connect it with past Jubilee Years, the pilgrimage office of the Diocese of Rome is displaying historical documents proclaiming the jubilees dating back to 1300. “Holy Pilgrimage: The Jubilee Bulls from the Vatican Secret Archives” is an exhibition of the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi which displays papal bulls of indiction of the Jubilee Years from 1300 to 2000. The bulls are normally not available to public view, and are restricted to scholars and conservationists who work with the Vatican Secret Archives – the historical archives of the papacy. The exhibition also features bulls from the archives of the Chapter of St. Peter kept in the Vatican Library, as well as incunabula – books printed before the year 1500 – stored at the Biblioteca Casanatense. Beginning today, the exhibition is on display daily through July 31, from 10 am to 9 pm, at the Palazzo del Vicariato Vechio on the Via della Pigna, a two-minute walk south of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Each bull is accompanied by explanatory texts in English and Italian which provide historical context for the jubilees. Papal bulls are a kind of letter, named for the lead seal, or bulla, which were appended to the letters to verify their authenticity. Jubilee years were historically established by papal bulls. The practice of jubilees has biblical roots, as the Mosaic era established jubilee years to be held every 50 years for the freeing of slaves and forgiveness of debts as manifestations of God's mercy. The practice was formally re-established in 1300 by Boniface VIII. Pilgrims to Rome were granted a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions. Between 1300 and 2000, 29 jubilee years were held in Rome. Pope Francis opened the Jubilee of Mercy, an Extraordinary Holy Year, Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The Holy Year will close Nov. 20, 2016, with the Solemnity of Christ the King. The Jubilee was officially inaugurated by the by the Pope when he opened the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica. Pilgrims who pass through the door – which is only opened during Jubilee years, ordinarily every 25 years or when a Pope calls for an extraordinary Jubilee – can receive a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions. The current Jubilee of Mercy was opened by Pope Francis Dec. 8, 2015, and will close Nov. 20, 2016. The Jubilee was officially inaugurated when Pope Francis opened the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica. Pilgrims who pass through the door – which is only opened during Jubilee years – can receive a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions. Read more

2016-09-16T12:29:00+00:00

Washington D.C., Sep 16, 2016 / 06:29 am (CNA).- For Bishop Matthew Kukah, persecution is not just the history of the Church. It’s a reality that he lives every day. In the diocese of Sokoto, located in northern Nigeria, ministry includes not on... Read more

2016-05-05T06:08:00+00:00

Dublin, Ireland, May 5, 2016 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Salvatorians have offered their “deepest apology” for failing to stop a priest who sexually abused children in Ireland until his 2004 arrest. “The Salvatorians express the... Read more

2016-05-04T22:51:00+00:00

Washington D.C., May 4, 2016 / 04:51 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) has asked a federal court to reconsider its ruling forcing the company to comply with the revised HHS mandate, based on an admission by the federal gov... Read more

2016-05-04T20:25:00+00:00

Alqosh, Iraq, May 4, 2016 / 02:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After Islamic State militants broke through Kurdish army forces Tuesday, killing one American and three Kurdish fighters, local Christians voiced gratitude that the attack failed, but remain shaken and on edge should there be another assault.   “The people of Alqosh and other cities nearby have been very afraid. But we thank God that this time the battle was won,” Fr. Ghazwan Baho told CNA. Fr. Baho is the parish priest in Alqosh – the last major Christian city on the Plain of Nineveh not taken by the Islamic State. It sits roughly ten miles north of the Christian village of Telskuf, which was invaded by Islamic State militants in the early hours of May 3. Telskuf had been seized by Islamic State in 2014, but was liberated by Kurdish army forces last year. Islamic State's assault on the town yesterday marks the most recent attempt to gain back some of the territory lost due to the intervention of the Kurdish army, called the Peshmerga, and airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition. Fr. Baho explained that the attack began at 3a.m., when about 20 car bombs “infiltrated beyond the line of Kurdish defense in Telskuf.” “After a hard 15 hour battle that continued with the help of the Kurdish army coalition, they managed to free the Christian city at 6:00 in the evening,” he said. Among the losses are one American soldier, Navy Seal Charles H. Keating IV, three Kurdish soldiers, and what Fr. Baho described as “dozens” of soldiers from the Islamic State. Additionally, three Christian soldiers from the Kurdish army were wounded, and are recovering in the hospital. After receiving news of the attack, Christians in Erbil rallied to offer spiritual support for the residents in the area as well as the troops fighting. Roni Marzina Momica, a young, recently ordained deacon for the Syriac Catholic Church in Iraq, led a women’s prayer gathering at Mariamana shrine in Ankawa, the Christian suburb of Erbil, just hours after hearing about the attack and the injured soldiers. He told CNA that they had prayed specifically “for the Christians soldiers who were injured today because ISIS attacked Telskuf …that God would give them strength and power to come back and give them life.” Their prayers were answered. After having surgery late Tuesday night to remove the bullets they were shot with and to cure their other injuries, Deacon Momica said that today all of the soldiers “are doing good.” Deacon Momica, who himself is displaced from Bakhdida (Qaraqosh), a city now in the hands of Islamic State, said that two of the injured soldiers are from the same city, and are friends of his. The three wounded soldiers are Fouad Masoud, 48; Rafid Kahak, 27; and Wahab Ena, 18, who is also from Bakhdida. His father is believed to still be in the city, though Islamic State militants seized it in August 2014. Ena has had no word from his father since, and doesn’t know whether or not he is alive, as Islamic State has not allowed anyone to leave since seizing the city.   Deacon Momica recounted how in a phone conversation, Kahak told him that they were already inside Telskuf when Islamic State began their early-morning assault. “He didn’t want to stay in this place because if ISIS entered and caught him they would kill him,” the deacon said, explaining that Kahak carries a cross with him at all times, and had begun praying to God for help, when a plane arrived and carried them to safety. Deacon Momica told CNA that he spoke with the soldiers after their surgery late Tuesday night “and they are good now. I even spoke with them five minutes ago, and they tell me they are good.” However, while this battle has been won, the war is far from over, and Christians, especially in Alqosh, remain uneasy about what the future holds. Since Alqosh is the only remaining Christian village on the Nineveh Plain, Fr. Baho said that if it falls, “that’s it” – Christianity in Iraq is finished. Read more

2016-05-04T19:33:00+00:00

Madrid, Spain, May 4, 2016 / 01:33 pm (CNA).- In the Catholic Church, the spoken language is central to the liturgy: we recite the Nicene Creed as one, we praise the Lord with the Gloria that we sing, and we bow our heads to hear the blessing we receiv... Read more




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