2014-12-04T11:02:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 4, 2014 at 11:02 am   By

Rome, Italy, Dec 4, 2014 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- One of several leaders of Hong Kong's Occupy Central movement to surrender to police after months of pro-democracy protests, Cardinal Joseph Zen has said he is ready to go to jail. “I’m prepared to be jailed, which is the strongest and most sincere proof of the unfairness of the system in Hong Kong,” said Hong Kong's emeritus bishop, according to a translation of a report by the Hong Kong Economic Journal. Cardinal Zen, 82, turned himself into police on Dec. 3 along with founders of the movement, Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming. All were allowed to leave without facing any charges. The demonstrations have drawn tens of thousands of people, although to-date they have decreased to a few hundred protesters, most of whom are students. In an Nov. 20 interview with CNA, Hong Kong's former bishop urged student demonstrators to be patient as clashes resume during overnight pro-democracy protests in the city center. Cardinal Zen, who supports the fight for democratic elections, expressed concern that young protestors were moving too quickly without sufficient planning, “The students have taken the whole thing into their hands, and they are impatient,” he said. “Obviously they want to have an immediate success. That’s not possible.” On the one hand, the cardinal acknowledged that the protesters “raise the awareness of the people, of the whole world” because of their youth. However, he warned it is “dangerous to waste the sympathy of the people, because now the things are dragging on too long. It’s affecting very much the daily life of the people in Hong Kong.” Demonstrations began late September when students staged a week-long boycott of China's decision to only allow pre-screened candidates to be elected as Hong Kong's leader in 2017. “We are fighting for a real democratic election, said Cardinal Zen, adding that Beijing's decision to choose the candidates is not a “real election.” Efforts to confront this motion began “very rationally,” he continued, “so we didn’t expect immediate success.” On Sep. 29, Hong Kong bishop, Cardinal John Tong, appealed the government to ensure the safety of its citizens, and called all Christians to pray for reconciliation between the “conflicting parties” in the conflict. Formerly under the sovereignty of Britain, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, with the latter's government agreeing to permit the region greater freedoms and autonomy. Read more

2014-12-04T09:05:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 4, 2014 at 9:05 am   By

Jerusalem, Israel, Dec 4, 2014 / 02:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Franciscans in the Holy Land have launched a new project to bring together young people from different cultural and religious backgrounds to share in the “common language” of sport... Read more

2014-12-04T07:28:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 4, 2014 at 7:28 am   By

Edinburgh, Scotland, Dec 4, 2014 / 12:28 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The presentation of a special Papal mace marking the 600th anniversary of Scotland’s oldest university is a reminder of the ultimate purpose of education – to know, love and serv... Read more

2014-12-03T23:04:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 11:04 pm   By

Manila, Philippines, Dec 3, 2014 / 04:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In an executive order, the mayor of Manila has declared a five-day, non-working holiday for Pope Francis’ Jan. 15-19 visit – a decision the Philippine government is considering on a national level. “For now, the government’s top priority is to ensure the smooth conduct of activities during the papal visit,” Philippine Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told state-run radio station DZRB in an interview published Nov. 30 in leading Philippine newspaper Inquirer.net. “In order to attain this, we are considering the possible declaration of a holiday (during the visit of Pope Francis).” At the city level, Manila mayor Joseph Estrada’s executive order has already declared the suspension of classes and a non-working holiday due to safety concerns surrounding the number of pilgrims expected to come for the papal visit. Although public order, safety and convenience were cited as key motives for Estrada’s decision, Marciano Paynor Jr., a member of the Papal Visit Central Committee, told Catholic radio station Radyo Veritas that it was not the only reason, Inquirer.net reports. Paynor, a former ambassador to Israel, noted how a holiday was also declared for the 1995 visit of St. John Paul II, and that the holiday for Pope Francis’ trip would “enable Catholics who may want to take part in any of the papal activities to do so.” Officially announced by the Vatican in July, the Pope’s visit had been unofficially revealed by the pontiff himself during an in-flight press conference on his way back from the Holy Land in May. His visit to the Philippines falls directly after his Jan. 12-14 trip to Sri Lanka. Fr. Gregory Ramon Dacer Gaston, rector of the Pontifical Filipino College, said that the declaration of a holiday for the papal visit, even on a local level, shows the importance of the event for the Filipino people. “For Filipino Catholics, the Pope is truly the representative of Christ on earth. Even a Bishop's visit to a parish would already be a very, very special event, so how much more if the Pope himself comes to town!” he told CNA in a Dec. 3 email interview. As in many other countries, Pope Francis is seen in the Philippines as “a real father” who is close to each person, and who is now coming to visit his children, the priest explained. Many Filipinos still have vivid memories of St. John Paul II’s visit, he said, noting how “everyone looks forward to this new Papal visit (and) memorabilia of Pope Francis is already circulating, preparing the people for his coming.” Fr. Gaston revealed that is also being considered to join the journalists aboard the papal plane as Radyo Veritas’ correspondent to Sri Lanka and the Philippines. He currently speaks with them on a weekly basis for their nationwide broadcast. The people will want to listen to the Pope and see him, whether it is up close or from a distance, Fr. Gaston observed, but above all they will want simply be with him. “They will be proud to show their ‘selfies’ even with the Pope far away in the picture, and (will be) happy to be able to say, ‘I was with Pope Francis!’”   Read more

2014-12-03T22:12:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 10:12 pm   By

Austin, Texas, Dec 3, 2014 / 03:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic bishops in Texas thanked a federal appeals court for issuing a stay of execution for mentally ill inmate Scott Louis Panetti mere hours before the state was due to carry out his capital punishment. “The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops today expressed appreciation to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for granting a stay of execution for death row inmate Scott Panetti,” a Dec. 3 statement from the Texas Catholic Conference read. It added, “The Texas Bishops have long taught about the immorality of the death penalty and were particularly vocal seeking mercy for Panetti, who has been diagnosed by several doctors as suffering from severe mental illness.” The stay, the bishops said, “means Panetti's attorneys will have another opportunity to argue that the death penalty in his case would violate the constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The Texas Catholic Conference will continue to advocate for the commutation of Panetti’s sentence into institutionalization.” Panetti was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday evening, but the fifth circuit appeals court said it needed time “to fully consider the late arriving and complex legal questions at issue in this matter.” In September 1992, Panetti killed his in-laws Joe and Amanda Alvarado in their home in front of his estranged wife and their 3-year-old daughter. He was heavily armed and dressed in camouflage. He had been hospitalized for mental illness more than a dozen times before the murders, and is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. During his 1995 trial, he acknowledged that he had killed the two. However, he acted as his own attorney and dressed as a cowboy, believing that only an insane person could make an insanity defense, the Associated Press reports. He also tried to subpoena John F. Kennedy and the Pope. Kathryn Kase, one of Panetti’s lawyers, has said the inmate believes he is being punished as part of a satanic conspiracy to prevent him from preaching the Gospel on death row. Prosecutors have said that Panetti is faking insanity. Court-appointed experts for the state have voiced suspicions that some of his behavior was contrived. An assistant district attorney for Gillespie County, which handled his trial, has said that the inmate’s discussion of politics during a Nov. 4 prison visit with relatives showed he was oriented in time and place. However, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has unanimously recommended his sentence be commuted. On Tuesday, the Texas Catholic Conference had written to state governor Rick Perry seeking a stay, citing Panetti's “lengthy history of mental illness, his delusional behavior while defending himself at trial in 1995, and the multiple diagnoses from mental health professionals confirming his severe mental illness,” as well as noting the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Christ “teaches that a true neighbor is one who shows mercy.” “Showing mercy does not mean neglecting to administer justice or punish people for their crimes. Showing mercy does mean exhibiting compassion toward all of our brothers and sisters, and providing them with an opportunity for atonement and rehabilitation,” added the Catholic conference, which called for Panetti’s sentence to be commuted for him to obtain appropriate medical treatment for mental illness. “While government has an obligation to protect the community from violent offenders, it also bears a responsibility to ensure justice and proper treatment for our brothers and sisters suffering from mental illness,” the conference said. Opponents of the execution include his ex-wife, who signed a petition against the execution, and over 20 conservative leaders who opposed the execution in a joint letter. The Texas Catholic Conference’s Texas Mercy Project has written a prayer asking for mercy for Panetti, and for mercy and compassion from those with authority over his execution.   Read more

2014-12-03T19:47:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 7:47 pm   By

Jerusalem, Israel, Dec 3, 2014 / 12:47 pm (CNA).- The lack of unity among Christians is one of the factors that keeps them from playing a mediatory role in the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, according to the head of the Franciscans in the Middle East. “Here in the Holy Land, we Christians are irrelevant. There are too few of us. In addition, we are confessionally divided,” Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., Custos of the Holy Land, told Aid to the Church in Need's Oliver Maksan Dec. 2. “We can’t even agree on who cleans what in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. How then are we supposed to be a model for unity and reconciliation?” This, he said, “is why we cannot be the ones to build the bridge. However, we can of course provide opportunities for encounters. After all, every church has interreligious fora. However, I don’t believe that there is very much else we can do.” Violence between Israelis and Palestinians was heightened in 2014 relative to recent years: the outbreak of war in the summer killed nearly 2,000 people. Peace talks had been broken off earlier in the year, and terror attacks have taken place in Jerusalem more recently. “We are doubtlessly far away from peace,” Fr. Pizzaballa commented. “I can’t see that there is any possibility of changing the situation in the near future. There is deep-seated frustration and a profound lack of mutual trust between these two peoples.” Rebuilding trust “will take a long time,” he said. “And there are no easy solutions. What we are seeing at the moment is the result of years of hate and frustration. You have to start in the schools and in society.” “You have to give the Palestinians something concrete and not just promises. And the Israelis also have to feel as if they have a contact person on the other side.” Fr. Pizzaballa affirmed that 2014 “has been a turning point” for Christians in the Middle East: “What World War I was for Europe, this year was for the Middle East. The old orders no longer exist. However, we don’t know yet what the new will look like.” “In Syria, for example, hundreds of thousands of Christians are fleeing. The middle class is leaving the country. What is left are the poor. The ecclesiastical infrastructure that we built up in Aleppo and other such regions of the country has been destroyed or abandoned. We are faced with enormous tasks. We not only have to rebuild the Christian community, but also the relationship with the Muslim majority.” The advent of the Islamic State has been a “horrendous shock” for Christians in the Holy Land, he said. “It strengthens the feeling that there is no future for Christians in the Middle East, that they are not wanted here.” Relations between Christians and Israel are likewise strained. A bill in the Israeli parliament that would strengthen the nation's Jewish character, while it would “not fundamentally change the situation of the minorities, including the Christians,” would “intensify the feelings of reserve that minorities in Israel harbour towards the state. It will make them even more convinced that they are not really wanted here,” Fr. Pizzaballa said. The emigration of Palestinian Christians can be explained both by Israeli occupation and the Islamization of Palestinian society, the custos commented. “There is no 'either or', only a 'not only but also'. The one does not exclude the other. From an economic standpoint, life in the Palestinian areas is very difficult. On the other hand, relations with the Islamic community are not the same as they once were. All of that plus everything else that is going on around us and you get a feeling of hopelessness.” “Nineteen Christian families have left Bethlehem for Europe and America in the past two, three months,” Fr. Pizzaballa added. Read more

2014-12-03T17:31:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 5:31 pm   By

Vatican City, Dec 3, 2014 / 10:31 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican’s press officer provided an update on the trial of laicized former nuncio Jozef Wesolowski, saying that the case is moving forward, and the first stages of investigation and questioning have begun. “Regarding the situation of Mons. Wesolowski, I can say that the Judiciary of the State of Vatican City, continuing investigations, made a first interrogation of the accused, of which others will follow,” Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. said in a Dec. 2 statement. Wesolowski, 66, was laicized earlier this year after being accused of having paid for sex with minors while nuncio to the Dominican Republic. In September, he was placed under house arrest, rather than being jailed in Vatican City's prison, due to poor health. In his statement, Fr. Lombardi explained that because the deadline for the former nuncio’s preventative custody has passed, and due to his poor health, Wesolowski is authorized to have “a certain freedom of movement,” but must remain within the Vatican City State and with limited external communications. The Vatican spokesman also revealed that yesterday Prof. Gian Piero Milano, Promoter of Justice for the Vatican City State Tribunal, met with the Dominican Republic’s Attorney General, Francisco Dominguez Brito. Brito requested the meeting during a trip to Europe for contacts in Poland and in the Vatican, Fr. Lombardi said, noting that the encounter comes “in the context of international cooperation at a level of investigative bodies for proceedings against Mons. Wesolowski and to the investigation underway.” The meeting between Milano and Brito “was useful for both parties given the complexity of the investigation and the possibility of an international rogatory (formal letter of request for judicial assistance) by the Vatican to acquire further information.” Brito met with Pope Francis Dec. 3, and said that the Pope had emphasized that the truth must prevail, according to the AP. Wesolowski’s house arrest is linked to the opening of a criminal trial being held against him in Vatican City. He was summoned by a Vatican prosecutor and informed of the criminal charges he faces. In June, 2014, Vatican officials ruled that Wesolowski was guilty of accusations that arose in late 2013 that the former nuncio had engaged in sexual misconduct, which had previously led him to resign from the position of nuncio to the Dominican Republic on Aug. 21, 2013. After the printing of the original accusations, a 13-year-old boy came forward with further allegations that Wesolowski had solicited him for sexual favors in exchange for money. The nuncio was then taken into protective custody by Dominican Republic officials. After the guilty verdict, the Vatican ruled that Wesolowski would be laicized, a serious canonical penalty that renders one unable to celebrate the sacraments. Though there is no extradition treaty between the Vatican and the Dominican Republic, Vatican officials had expressed their willingness to hand over Wesolowski to civil authorities in the Dominican Republic. In August 2014, Fr. Lombardi clarified that as the nuncio had been removed from his post, he no longer has diplomatic immunity. Fr. Lombardi stressed that the Vatican “from the very first moments that this case was made known to them, moved without delay and correctly in light of the fact that former nuncio Wesolowski held the position of a diplomatic representative of the Holy See,” particularly in recalling the former nuncio to Rome for canonical trial. He added that the recall of Wesolowski to the Vatican for trial and the consideration “demonstrates the full and direct undertaking of the Holy See's responsibility even in such a serious and delicate case,” saying that the case is one that Pope Francis “wishes to address justly and rigorously.” Read more

2014-12-03T12:35:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 12:35 pm   By

Vatican City, Dec 3, 2014 / 05:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his weekly general audience Pope Francis recalled the activities of his recent trip to Turkey, and prayed that the visit would lead to a more fruitful ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. ... Read more

2014-12-03T11:02:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 11:02 am   By

Washington D.C., Dec 3, 2014 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With winter approaching, Congress must act to help Syrian refugees whose basic needs are threatened by the U.N. suspension of an urgent food assistance program, said a leading Catholic humanitar... Read more

2014-12-03T09:01:00+00:00

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 9:01 am   By

Canberra, Australia, Dec 3, 2014 / 02:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Australian bishops have declared that Dec. 7 will be a day of solidarity throughout the country with Christians in the Middle East, a large number of whom have been threatened or displaced by the Islamic State. The designation followed a request seeking the support of Catholics in Australia which came from the expatriate Middle Eastern Apostolic Churches in Australia and New Zealand. “The request comes as we approach the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas,” a Nov. 27 statement from the Australian bishops' conference noted. “We are aware that the situation for Christians and other minorities in the Middle East is deteriorating by the day, especially as the northern winter will set in soon.” The day of solidarity is to involve prayer and financial offering for suffering Christians, particularly those Iraqis who have become refugees. Archbishop Djibrail Kassab, of the Chaldean Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Sydney, said that “all the Christians of Iraq desperate need our prayers and support. These, our wounded brothers and sisters, were brutally forced to leave their hometowns and all their belongings in order to remain faithful to Jesus Christ.” Archbishop Kassab is shepherd of the more than 31,000 Chaldean Catholics in Australia. Most are expatriates from Iraq; the archbishop was himself born in Tall Kayf, which is near Mosul and which was seized by the Islamic State earlier this year. On Dec. 14, Archbishop Kassab and four other Australian bishops will travel to Iraqi Kurdistan and to Lebanon to offer spiritual support and humanitarian aid. The Chaldean archbishop will be joined by the other two Middle Eastern bishops of Australia, Bishop Antoine Tarabay of the Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron of Sydney and Bishop Robert Rabbat of the Melkite Eparchy of Saint Michael's of Sydney, as well as Archbishop Christopher Prowse of Canberra-Goulborn and Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart. “Communities that have been present in the region since apostolic times are being driven out in the midst of unspeakable atrocities,” the bishops' statement read. “The present tragedy in the Middle East not only impacts upon the communities of the area, but has far-reaching implications for the peace and security of the world.” Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne said, “We hear the plea of our brother bishops from the Eastern Churches and we join them in expressing our grave concerns about the suffering of the Christian communities, that trace their roots back to apostolic times, and the danger of their gradual disappearance from their ancient homelands.” In Australia, there are 150,000 Maronite Catholics, many of them from Lebanon, and 50,000 Melkite   Read more

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