Vatican City, Sep 18, 2015 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- While the international community can't seem to find solutions to the current crisis ravaging the Middle East, thanks to the media it's caught the world's attention and can't be ignored, Pope Francis said. He referred to the “overwhelming human tragedies” taking place in Iraq and Syria as a result of ongoing conflicts, which have caused millions to flee their homes. The Pope's words were addressed to participants in a Sept. 17 meeting sponsored by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum to address the current humanitarian crisis in Iraq and Syria. He said that Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey are bearing the brunt of the weight, having received millions of refugees, he noted, saying they have been generous in welcoming those seeking to escape violence. “Faced with such a situation and conflicts that are expanding and disturbing in an alarming way the internal and regional equilibrium, the international community seems unable to find adequate solutions while the arms dealers continue to achieve their interests.” However, unlike in the past, the terrible atrocities and human rights violations which characterize the conflicts “are transmitted live by the media. Therefore, they captured the attention of the whole world.” “No one can pretend not to know!” Francis said, adding that in his view, it's obvious to see that those most affected by the wars are the poor.  A non-violent solution is needed, “because violence only creates new wounds,” he said. In attendance at the Cor Unum were several Middle Eastern bishops and representatives of various Catholic charitable organizations who work in the region. Among them were Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso, secretary of Cor Unum; Msgr. Alberto Ortega Mart?n, Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; Msgr. Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria and Bishop Antoine Audo, Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo. Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations, was also present. Pope Francis urged attendees not to miss their “vital commitment” in caring for both the spiritual and material needs of the most weakest and most defenseless, particularly families, children and the elderly. In Iraq and Syria, he said, evil doesn’t just destroy buildings and infrastructure, but also and especially “the conscience of man.” “In the name of Jesus, who came into the world to heal the wounds of humanity, the Church feels called to respond to evil with good by promoting an integral human development,” the Pope said, and encouraged Catholics to strengthen intra-ecclesial ties and collaborative efforts. “Please: do not abandon the victims of this crisis, even if the world’s attention were to lessen.” According to United Nations, so far more than 200,000 people have been killed and over 1 million injured since the beginning of Syria’s civil war in 2011. And 8.6 million people are currently in need of immediate humanitarian assistance in Iraq, while in Syria the number is 12.2 million. Those internally displaced by violence number 7.6 million in Syria and 3.2 million in Iraq, while 4.1 million Syrians alone have fled since 2011, and are taking refuge in neighboring countries. United Nations statistics show that currently there are 1.9 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, 1.1 million in Lebanon and more than 600,000 in Jordan. An annual survey carried out by the Information Focal Point – formed by several Catholic aid agencies in 2014 and which is based at Cor Unum – Church entities in 2014 raised $126 million for humanitarian efforts in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and Cyprus, the countries involved in the survey. While funding has gone up to $150 million so far in 2015, participants in the meeting expressed concern that the trend won’t last long, and that donors will soon tire of continuous giving. The extent that aid reaches is widespread, ranging throughout almost the entire crisis areas, including internally and externally displaced persons, as well as areas that are risky and hard to access. Organizations contributing to the survey note that the aid is distributed via at least 2,000 professionals and 5,000 volunteers, in addition to the volunteers, priests,   and religious who work daily within dioceses and communities.    Key areas of intervention have been education, food aid,   assistance in non-food items, healthcare and rent and shelter. Areas deemed insufficiently covered in the 7 countries covered by the survey were education, livelihoods, psychological and social support and rent and shelter assistance. Priorities for the future were identified as education psychological support for children and families, healthcare, food aid, livelihoods and rent and shelter. In comments made to CNA/EWTN News, Sept. 17, Msgr. Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, said that the Pope’s words on putting a stop to the arms trade hit on the essence of what needs to change if the current conflicts are to come to an end. “I think it’s at a critical point to stop the flow of weapons to the Middle East,” he said, and cautioned that after years of war, “hate is gaining and gaining in the hearts of people.” “People, they don’t trust each other. There is too much hate,” the nuncio continued, adding that “everybody sees this happening.” “I think the international community must multiply the efforts in order to convince or to oblige the conflicting parties to see that they are able to reach some compromises.” Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations, told journalists during the conference that working with Catholic charities has been crucial in getting aid to those in need, thanks to the vast network they have. Speaking to CNA/EWTN News, he said that the Catholic Church “has got a vast network, and it’s that network of people deep in their communities who have been there for generations who really know what is going on locally.” He stressed the need to listen “very carefully to the expertise, the knowledge, the experience” of those who have been on the ground locally for generations as well as the charities that offer support from abroad. “So it's been a very, very important discussion to look at the intensifying of our partnership with such a strong network, as clearly the Catholic Church and the Catholic charities represent.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 18, 2015 / 04:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On the eve of his arrival to Cuba Pope Francis sent a video message to the small island nation, expressing his desire to be a witness of God’s mercy in the country, and to encourage locals to do the same. “I want to be among you as a missionary of mercy, of the tenderness of God, but allow me also to encourage you to be missionaries of this infinite love of God,” the Pope said in his message. Broadcast Sept. 17, the Pope’s message was in Spanish, and aired on Cuban television at 8:30p.m. local time in Havana. Francis is scheduled to visit Cuba Sept. 19-22, where he will meet with the current president, Raul Castro as well as the island’s bishops and Catholic population. He is also expected to meet with former president and older brother to Raul, Fidel Castro. In the video, Pope Francis said that he is coming in order “to share faith and hope, so that we can strengthen each other mutually in following Jesus.” The Pope said his message for Cuba was simple, yet important: “Jesus loves you very much, Jesus loves you, but seriously.” Jesus, he said, “always carries you in his heart; he knows better than anyone what each person needs, what they yearn for, what the deepest desires of our hearts are; he never abandons us and when we don't behave as he hopes, he always stays by our side, ready to welcome us, comfort us, and give us new hope, a new opportunity, a new life. He never goes away, he is always there.” Francis then thanked the country for the prayers they have been offering ahead of his visit as the behest of local bishops. He said one prayer that has brought him a lot of joy is the daily repetition of the children’s prayer: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, make my heart like yours.” Pope Francis concluded his message by noting how he will visit the Cuban Shrine of the Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, and said that he is going “as a pilgrim, but even more, as a son who wants to arrive to the house of his Mother.” He entrusted the visit and all Cubans to her care, and asked that they continue to pray for him. On Sept. 17 Pope Francis also participated in special television program with American and Cuban youth, organized by Scholas Occurrentes as a lead-in to his Sept. 19-17 trip to Cuba and the United States, according to a Sept. 17 communique from the Vatican. Scholas was founded by Pope Francis while he was still archbishop of Buenos Aires as an initiative to encourage social integration and the culture of encounter through technology, arts and sports. In addition to hosting two google-hangout sessions with the Pope and youth from around the world, one with special needs children, Scholas also played a key role in organizing Pope Francis’ interreligious soccer match for peace in 2014. Two different groups of youth participated in the Sept. 17 program with the Pope, one with five students from New York, and the other with five students from different schools in the Cuban capital of Havana. During the conversation, which was held via satellite connection, the youth expressed their hopes and expectations, while Pope Francis responded, and answered questions posed on various themes. The program was done in collaboration with The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and was filmed by CNN in New York, and by Vatican Radio and the Vatican Television Center on the part of the Pope. It is scheduled to be broadcast on CNN Friday evening, Sept. 18 at 8p.m. local time in New York. Read more

Vatican City, Sep 17, 2015 / 05:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Collected by a Salesian missionary to Japan in the early 20th century, letters and documents showing the history of Christians in the land of the rising sun have been recently restored by the Vatican archives and library. The collection conveys the story of the persecution of Christians in Japan, a story that Pope Francis has often recalled when speaking of the "hidden Christians" who knew how to keep and pass on the faith in a time of persecution, and even when deprived of priests. The Vatican Library and Secret Archives contain precious testimonies of those Christians who between the 16th and 19th centuries lived under violence and humiliation, thanks to the missionary Fr. Mario Marega, and now the Marega Fund. Fr. Marega, a Salesian from Croatia, arrived in Kobe in 1929 to begin his missionary life. Through the 1950s, in addition to his evangelistic mission, his passion for study led him to learn of the prohibitions that Christians in northern Kyushu underwent due to their faith, which the feudal shogun enforced politically. Despite this, some Japanese converted with the arrival of Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century. The Marega Fund has an immense number of documents collected by its namesake, many of which were long held in the Salesian University. Among them are two large boxes which Fr. Marega wanted to give to Venerable Pius XII in 1953. The letters have now returned to light through the restoration work of the Vatican Library. A recent exhibition helped to open up new perspectives on what really happened with the history of the 'Kakure Kirishitan' (hidden Christians). Stories of the first Japanese priests intersect with tragic events that didn't frighten a community which chose to remain faithful. The exhibition is the fruit of a cooperation among the Vatican Library, the archives of Japan's National Institute for the Humanities, and the civic authorities of Oita and Usuki, two cities on Kyushu. Among the topics discussed is the conservation of the texts, which are written on delicate Japanese rice paper. Nagasaki Teruaki, Japan's ambassador to the Holy See, recalled on the opening day of the exhibition that the 'Kakure Kirishitan' were “discovered”  150 years ago, when Japan was reopened to the world. Archbishop Jean-Louis Bruguès, head of the Vatican Library and Secret Archives, recalled that Christianity arrived to the Japanese archipelago more than four centuries ago, "but the shogun authorities, even before the penetration of European traditions and customs in the closing of pre-modern Japan, quickly grasped it's political significance, and arranged for it's eradication.” “This decision resulted in a complex bureaucratic mechanism,” the archbishop said, “whose meanderings are now explored by the composite team of historians, archivists, and restorers who wander through the plots, passing through the sieve thousands of archival documents, produced in four centuries by the feudal Usuki administration." Read more

Vatican City, Sep 17, 2015 / 07:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Thursday Pope Francis said that abandoned children and exploited sex workers forced to live on the street are a “shameful reality” in modern society, and encouraged efforts to find ... Read more