2015-04-15T21:13:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 15, 2015 at 9:13 pm   By

Vatican City, Apr 15, 2015 / 03:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has blessed the family of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, as they continue to work for her release.   Bibi’s husband, Ashiq Masih, said “the Holy Father blessed and encouraged us.” Masih and the couple’s youngest daughter, 14-year-old Isham, briefly met with Pope Francis after his Wednesday General Audience. “We are here in Italy to make sure we can be the voice of an innocent woman who has been suffering in jail for six years,” Masih told CNA April 15. Asia Bibi was convicted of violating Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws in 2010, an allegation she denies. She was accused of making derogatory comments against Islam’s Prophet Muhammad while arguing with a Muslim woman in 2009. On Oct. 16, 2014 the Lahore High Court rejected Bibi's appeal seeking to overturn the death sentence. Isham, Bibi’s daughter, was nine when her mother was arrested. She defended her mother during an April 14 press conference at Italy’s Chamber of Deputies. “The accusations against her are false,” Isham said. “My mother was working when two women asked her for water to drink. When my mother gave them the water, they began saying their hands were impure, that Christians are not dignified to eat and drink with Muslims, who are clean. On this basis, the accusation of blasphemy was built.” Masih told CNA he and his daughter wanted to ask Pope Francis to encourage the government of Pakistan to free Bibi. They also wanted to raise awareness about Bibi’s case before the Pope and European authorities. Joseph Nadeem, one of Asia Bibi’s lawyers, spoke about her case. “We still have the hope of a presidential pardon,” he told CNA, saying a pardon would immediately release Bibi. Appeals to the Pakistan Supreme Court “could take a very long time.” Bibi’s family is seeking help from the international community to pressure Pakistan’s government to help secure a presidential pardon. Masih visited his wife before the trip to Italy. She is currently an inmate in a prison close to Lahore. Bibi is kept in isolation because sharing a cell with Muslims could put her life at risk.   “Since the day Asia Bibi was arrested, our family is totally destroyed. The children cannot survive without their mother. Asia Bibi misses her children, the children miss her,” said Masih.     “Asia’s faith is very strong, but she cries,” Masih added. “All of our family is praying to God to help her, and so we appeal to international community.” “The life of Christians in Pakistan is very difficult,” he said, adding that “every Christian is in danger in Pakistan.” People in Pakistan have made public protests against Bibi’s release. Some of those released from prison after facing blasphemy charges have been killed. According to Masih, their killers “enjoy great esteem.”   He said that about 74 percent of Pakistan’s population is Muslim, adding “most of them are against Asia Bibi, they don’t want her to be set free. “If Asia Bibi will be free, she cannot stay in Pakistan, she should move abroad very quickly.”   The blasphemy law has been in effect since 1986. According to the Pakistan Catholic Church’s National Committee for Justice and Peace, at least 964 people have been charged with the crime of blasphemy from 1986 to 2009. Among these were 479 Muslims, 340 Ahmadis, 119 Christians, 14 Hindus and 10 people whose faith is not known.   Asia Bibi is the first woman sentenced to death under the 1986 law. The law has faced criticism within Pakistan, as well. Salman Taseer, a Muslim who was governor of Punjab, called the law a “kala kanoon,” a “black law” in the Urdu language, because it can be exploited.   Shabhaz Bhatti, a Catholic who had served as Pakistan’s minister for religious minorities, said that the law is often used “as a tool to solve personal issues” and that 85 percent of the charges are false. Both Taseer and Bhatti advocated for Asia Bibi’s release. Both of them were assassinated in 2011 by Islamist extremists.   Religious extremism in Pakistan is still a major issue. Fides news agency reported that a 14-year-old boy named Nauman Masih was recently burned alive by a group of Muslims, causing severe burns. After several days at a Lahore hospital, he died April 15. The boy had reportedly been assaulted because he had said he was Christian.   Read more

2015-04-15T15:22:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 15, 2015 at 3:22 pm   By

Vatican City, Apr 15, 2015 / 09:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has warned against gender theories which seek to eradicate differences between man and woman, saying they perpetuate the very problems they are trying to solve. “Experience teaches us: to know each other well and grow in harmony, the human being requires the reciprocity of man and woman,” the pontiff said Wednesday to participants in his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square. In his Apr. 15 catechesis, the Pope challenged notions of “so-called gender theory,” and whether it “aims to erase sexual difference because it no longer knows how to confront it.” Observing how such theories are an expression of frustration and resignation, the Pope added: “the removal of the differences is the problem, not the solution.” “We risk taking a step backward,” he said. Pope Francis acknowledged that today's culture has allowed for advancements in the understanding of man and woman's differences, but warned that “many doubts and skepticism” have also been introduced. Sexual difference is evident in many life forms, but what makes men and women unique is that they are created in God's image and likeness, he said. Recalling that we are called to “listen to and help one another,” the pontiff suggests that without this reciprocal relationship, we cannot understand “what it means to be man and woman.” Problems with relationships are resolved when men and women speak, listen, know, and love each other more, he added. Pope Francis also stressed the universal significance of marriage, saying it is “serious matter” for everyone, and not just for Christian believers.   He appealed to intellectuals to not desert the idea of marriage, as though it has become “secondary” in their commitment to build a “freer and more just society.” Without the “alliance” between men and woman, affection and hope diminish in the world, the pontiff said. He observed that there are already “worrying” signs that this is the case. There is an urgent need to be attentive to the role of women in the Church and society, and recognize the significance of man and woman being created in the image and likeness of God, Pope Francis said. In order to strengthen the reciprocal relationship between men and women, women should “not only be listened to more,” but they should be “a recognized authority, in society and in the Church.” Pope Francis also noted the connection between the crisis in man and woman's “alliance” and the modern crisis of faith in God. The Bible, he said, shows how “communion with God is reflected in the communion of the human couple, and that the loss of faith in the Heavenly father engenders division and conflict between man and woman.” “From here comes the great responsibility of the Church, of all believers, and  above all believing families, to rediscover the beauty of creative design, which inscribes God's image even in the alliance between man and women.” Read more

2015-04-15T10:31:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 15, 2015 at 10:31 am   By

Alqosh, Iraq, Apr 15, 2015 / 04:31 am (Aid to the Church in Need).- “At night we often hear gunfire,” says Father Steven, a priest in Alqosh, Iraq. “But luckily we are quite a bit away from the fighting,” he adds. In fact, as... Read more

2015-04-15T08:25:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 15, 2015 at 8:25 am   By

Rome, Italy, Apr 15, 2015 / 02:25 am (CNA).- In a recent Facebook post, well-known Roman exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth said the Islamic State (ISIS) “is Satan,” and he also questioned the lack of response from Western nations. “I... Read more

2015-04-15T06:42:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 15, 2015 at 6:42 am   By

Havana, Cuba, Apr 15, 2015 / 12:42 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Seventeen years after the historic visit of Saint John Paul II to Cuba, the Polish pope is returning to the country, thanks to a relic brought by the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Ma... Read more

2015-04-14T22:02:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 14, 2015 at 10:02 pm   By

London, England, Apr 14, 2015 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When the Titanic began to sink on April 15, 1912, Father Thomas Byles had two opportunities to board a lifeboat. But he forewent those opportunities, according to passengers aboard the sinking ocean liner, in order to hear confessions and offer consolation and prayers with those who were trapped aboard.   Now, a priest at the former church of Fr. Byles in England is asking that his beatification cause be opened. Some 1,500 people died when the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912. Believed at the time to be “unsinkable,” the ship lacked adequate lifeboats for all the passengers on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. Fr. Byles was traveling on the Titanic to preside at his brother’s wedding in New York. The 42-year-old British priest had been ordained in Rome 10 years prior and had served as a parish priest at Saint Helen’s Church in Essex since 1905. Miss Agnes McCoy, a third class passenger and survivor of the Titanic, said Fr. Byles had been on the ship, hearing confessions, praying with passengers and giving his blessing as the vessel sank. McCoy’s testimony, and that of other passengers onboard, has been collected at www.fatherbyles.com. Helen Mary Mocklare, another third class passenger, offered more details about the final hours of the priest’s life. “When the crash came we were thrown from our berths ... We saw before us, coming down the passageway, with his hand uplifted, Father Byles,” she recalled. “We knew him because he had visited us several times on board and celebrated Mass for us that very morning.” “'Be calm, my good people,' he said, and then he went about the steerage giving absolution and blessings...” Mocklare continued: “A few around us became very excited and then it was that the priest again raised his hand and instantly they were calm once more. The passengers were immediately impressed by the absolute self-control of the priest.” She recounted that a sailor “warned the priest of his danger and begged him to board a boat.” Although the sailor was anxious to help him, the priest twice refused to leave. “Fr. Byles could have been saved, but he would not leave while one (passenger) was left and the sailor's entreaties were not heeded,” Mocklare recounted. “After I got in the boat, which was the last one to leave, and we were slowly going further away from the ship, I could hear distinctly the voice of the priest and the responses to his prayers.” More than a century later, Father Graham Smith – the current priest at Fr. Byles’ former parish of Saint Helen’s – is the promoter for opening his cause for beatification. In a statement to the BBC, Fr. Smith announced the beginning of the process seeking the canonization of his predecessor, whom he considers to be “an extraordinary man who gave his life for others.” Fr. Smith said that in the local community, “We are hoping and praying that he will be recognized as one of the saints within our canon.” The canonization process first requires that the person in question be found to have lived the Christian virtues to a heroic degree. A miracle attributed to the intercession of the individual must then be approved, for the title of “Blessed” to be bestowed. Once beatified, another miracle due to the intercession of Fr. Byles would need to be approved, for him to be declared a saint. “We hope people around the world will pray to him if they are in need and, if a miracle occurs, then beatification and then canonization can go forward,” Fr. Smith said.   Read more

2015-04-14T18:25:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 14, 2015 at 6:25 pm   By

Rome, Italy, Apr 14, 2015 / 12:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis' comments on the extermination of Armenian Christians in early 20th century Turkey prompted a strongly worded criticism from the Turkish Foreign Ministry and led to the withdrawal of Turkey's ambassador to the Holy See. But what's the full story? As the April 24 centenary commemoration of the Armenian genocide approaches, tensions between Turkey and Armenia run high. Despite this, Pope Francis remembered the martyrdom of the Armenian people during his April 12 Mass at the Vatican. The Turkish government criticized the Pope and an Armenian representative in a Sunday statement, focusing on the use of the word “genocide.” Most non-Turkish scholars consider the mass killings of 1915-1916 to be a genocide in which the Ottoman Empire systematically exterminated its minority Armenian population, who were predominantly Christian. Roughly 1.5 million Armenians – men, women and children – lost their lives in ways ranging from executions into mass graves to meticulous torture. Turkey has repeatedly denied that the slaughter was a genocide, saying that the number of deaths was much smaller and came as a result of conflict surrounding World War I. The country holds that many ethnic Turks also lost their lives in the event. Pope Francis' comments on Sunday set off a firestorm of criticism among Turkish leaders, prompting the removal of the country's Vatican ambassador. What could be lesser known, however, is that the Pope's introductory remarks included a precise quote of the joint text that St. John Paul II and Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos Karekin II of the Armenian Apostolic Church issued on Sept. 27, 2001, during a papal visit to Armenia. The text said “the extermination of a million and a half Armenian Christians, in what is generally referred to as the first genocide of the twentieth century, and the subsequent annihilation of thousands under the former totalitarian regime, are tragedies that still live in the memory of the present-day generation.”   Though never read aloud by John Paul II, the words of this joint statement were balanced and correctly stressed that the Armenian massacre is “generally referred to as the first genocide of the 20th century.” On the other hand, John Paul II never spoke aloud the word “genocide” in his speeches in Armenia, though he had acknowledged the Armenian martyrdom when he visited the genocide memorial in Armenia on Sept. 26, 2001.   During that visit, St. John Paul II read a prayer and reminded his audience that the early 20th century pontiff, Pope Benedict XV, “raised his voice in defense of 'the sorely afflicted Armenian people.'” “We are appalled by the terrible violence done to the Armenian people, and dismayed that the world still knows such inhumanity,” John Paul II said. The same spirit pervaded Pope Francis' text. A source who works in Vatican diplomacy told CNA April 13 that the papal text had been sent in advance to Vatican diplomatic circles and there had been a discussion over whether using the word genocide could lead to some diplomatic tensions.   In the end, “a full quote from the 2001 joint text was considered the best way to give the message and avoid any diplomatic tension.”   When Pope Francis read the text on Sunday, he did not explicitly say he was quoting John Paul II. This led media reports to emphasize that the Pope recognized the Armenian genocide. However, the concluding off-the-cuff remarks by Aram I, the Armenian Apostolic Church’s Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, disturbed Turkish authorities even more.   Towards the end of his Armenian-language speech, Catholicos Aram I spoke for about 10 minutes in English. He underscored that “the Armenian genocide is an unforgettable and undeniable fact of history, deeply rooted in the annals of modern history and in the common consciousness of the Armenian people. Therefore any attempt to erase it from history and from our common history is doomed to fade.”   He also stated that “according to the international law, genocide is a crime against humanity. International laws spells out clearly that condemnation, recognition and reparation of the genocides are closely interconnected. The Armenian cause is a cause of justice and as we well know justice is not human made, it’s a gift of God; therefore the violation of justice is a sin against God.”   In the end, these words caused the declaration from the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The statement clearly pointed out that it concerned the statements of both “Pope Francis and of the Armenian representatives,” and charged that both of them “contradict historical facts.”   The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s statement focused on the legal concept of genocide. The ministry said that “claims not fulfilling the requirements of law, even if they are attempted to be explained on the basis of widespread conviction, are bound to remain as slanders.”   The release also objected that Pope Francis’ prior statements referred to the “tragic events” in Bosnia and Rwanda as “mass killings,” which “competent international courts” have declared to be genocides. The ministry claimed that Pope Francis called “the events of 1915” a genocide “despite the absence of any such competent court judgment.”   These concerns were conveyed to the papal nuncio to Turkey, Archbishop Antonio Lucibello, and are likely part of a formal diplomatic protest forwarded to the Holy See through Mehmet Paçaci, Turkish Ambassador to the Holy See, who has was called to Turkey for consultations on Sunday.   Turkish reaction also comes in the context of the interactions between the Turkish and Armenian governments in view of the upcoming April 24 commemoration of the mass killings. The commemoration will take place in the Armenian capital of Erevan. Many heads of state have been invited, including the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.   Erdogan declined the invitation and organized another ceremony the very same day to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the World War I Gallipoli campaign, one of the most famous battles of World War I between Ottoman troops and invading Allied forces. The Turkish president invited U.S. President Barack Obama and the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who declined the invitation.   These splits let understand why the issue has been so strongly addressed by the Turkish government. However, it is noteworthy that both the Holy See newspaper L’Osservatore Romano and the Italian Bishops Conference’s newspaper L’Avvenire referred more to the martyrdom of Armenians than to a genocide, putting into action a prudent – yet tough – language. Read more

2015-04-14T16:03:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 14, 2015 at 4:03 pm   By

Vatican City, Apr 14, 2015 / 10:03 am (CNA).- In a message for the 7th Summit of the Americas, Pope Francis called for dialogue, cooperation and the securing of human rights and basic life necessities. In the Apr. 10 message, entitled “Prosperity with Equity: the Challenge of Cooperation in the Americas,” the Pope called for “sincere dialogue” that leads to “mutual collaboration which unites efforts and exceeds the differences in the way toward the common good.”   “Efforts to build bridges, communication channels, build relationships, seek the agreement are never in vain,” the Pope said in a message to Panama president Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez. The 7th Summit of the Americas was held in Panama City April 10-11. The summits are a series of gatherings which bring together leaders of North and South America, including Central America and the Caribbean. Leaders of 35 countries from North, Central, and South America, including U.S. president Barack Obama, attended the summit. This year's meeting marks the highest-level talks between Cuba and the United States in nearly 60 years, with Obama meeting with Cuban president Raul Castro, according to Reuters. In December 2014, Obama said Pope Francis was instrumental in improving relations between the leaders of the U.S. and Cuba. In his message, Pope Francis called for the promotion of “the globalization of solidarity and brotherhood,” and the “fair distribution of wealth” and resources. Doing otherwise, he said, breeds conflict and violence, creating a “globalization of discrimination and indifference” and leaving the problems of society unresolved.   “There are ‘basic necessities’ such as land, work and home, and ‘public services,’ such as health, education, safety and the environment, from which no human being should remain excluded.” In his message, the pontiff also touched in the issue of immigration, which he said is caused by inequality in nations whereby citizens are forced to leave their families and homeland. Such persons are susceptible to becoming victims of human trafficking and slavery, without rights or access to justice, he said. In defending fundamental human rights, Pope Francis said, the law is not enough: without mercy, there is no justice. The pontiff cited problems which arise even within a given country, especially for indigenous persons in rural areas or suburbs. “Without a genuine defense of these people against racism, xenophobia and intolerance, the rule of law would lose its legitimacy,” Pope Francis said.     Read more

2015-04-14T12:20:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 14, 2015 at 12:20 pm   By

Vatican City, Apr 14, 2015 / 06:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis will meet with a vast array of different groups during his daytrip to Bosnia, which is a visit Sarajevo’s cardinal says could help ease political and ethnic tensions after the c... Read more

2015-04-14T10:03:00+00:00

Last updated on: April 14, 2015 at 10:03 am   By

Washington D.C., Apr 14, 2015 / 04:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The head of the U.S. Bishops' international peace committee supports the new framework for Iran's nuclear program and is asking the U.S. Congress not to “undermine” the deal.   “We welcome the most recent step the United States and its international partners have taken with Iran and encourage our nation to continue down this path,” said Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces. N.M. Bishop Cantu spoke out on the framework outlined in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached April 2. The plan is a product of negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Iran, the European Union, and the P5+1 countries – the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China. It provides the framework for a final agreement to be reached June 30. The framework's goal is preventing the “unacceptable” outcome of Iran developing nuclear weapons, Bishop Cantu said. The plan reduces the number of Iran's centrifuges by two-thirds, down to just over 6,000. It limits the level of uranium that may be enriched and the amount of low-enriched uranium stockpiled. No new uranium enrichment facilities may be constructed for 15 years. The underground nuclear facility at Fordow must be turned into a research facility, and cannot research uranium enrichment there for 15 years. Nuclear-related sanctions on Iran will be lifted if the country abides by the framework, but sanctions related to “terrorism, human rights abuses, and ballistic missiles” will remain. Bishop Cantu warned Congress not to get in the way of a final agreement, the “alternative” to which “leads toward armed conflict.” “(O)ur Committee continues to oppose Congressional efforts that seek to undermine the negotiation process or make a responsible multi-party agreement more difficult to achieve and implement. The alternative to an agreement leads toward armed conflict, an outcome of profound concern to the Church,” he said. His warning comes as the Senate is set to debate a bipartisan bill allowing Congressional review of a final agreement with Iran. The Corker-Menendez bill, S. 615, currently sits in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It has 21 co-sponsors in the Senate including seven Democrats. Iran's hostility to its neighbors in the Middle East is all the more reason for the international agreement on its nuclear program, Bishop Cantu insisted. “As we have noted in the past, Iran’s statements and actions have threatened its neighbors, especially Israel, and contributed to instability in the region,” he said. “We hope the agreement is a first step in fostering greater stability and dialogue in the Middle East.” Pope Francis praised the plan in his “Urbi et Orbi” blessing on Easter Sunday, saying that “in hope we entrust to the merciful Lord the framework recently agreed to in Lausanne, that it may be a definitive step toward a more secure and fraternal world.” Read more

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