Washington D.C., Nov 14, 2014 / 03:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. must make religious freedom a top priority with Burma if there is hope for the southeast Asian country to make progress as a rights-based democracy, said a leader in religious liberty.... Read more
Vatican City, Nov 14, 2014 / 02:59 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After hearing from a homeless man that a bath is more urgently need than food in Rome, the Vatican’s papal almoner commissioned that showers be added to the public restrooms in St. Peter's Square. “The Basilica exists in order to keep the Body of Christ, and we serve Jesus’ suffering body by serving the poor. Always, in the history of Rome, the poor congregated around the Basilicas,” Bishop Konrad Krajewski told Vatican Insider in an article published on Nov. 13. The Vatican agency reports that Bishop Krajewski received his inspiration after taking a homeless man to dinner in order to celebrate his birthday. As papal almoner, the Polish bishop is charged with the dual responsibility of carrying out acts of charity for the poor as well as raising the money to fund them. One example of how the almoner’s office funds it’s work are papal blessings, which consist of a papal blessing written on parchment for various occasions such as a wedding, baptism or priestly ordination, along with picture of the Pope, which is then blessed by the pontiff after purchase. After leaving Rome’s Holy Spirit church where he hears confessions one night at the beginning of October, Bishop Krajewski came across a homeless man named Franco, who had been living on the streets for 10 years, and was celebrating his 50th birthday that day. In honor of the Franco's birthday, the bishop invited him to dinner, however upon reaching the restaurant, the man told him “Father, I can’t go to the restaurant with you because I smell.” “I took him with me nonetheless. We went to a Chinese restaurant,” the bishop recalled, explaining that in the course of dinner, the man told him that “Here no one starves to death, you can find a sandwich every day. But there is no place to use the toilet and wash.” Although there are many soup kitchens providing food and even some parishes, such as the Sant’Egidio community, which offer showers to Rome’s homeless population, Franco told the bishop that these places are often overcrowded and have a short time limit. Previously considering food to be a primary concern for the poor, the Papal Almoner took immediate action and commissioned the renovation of the public bathrooms just under Bernini’s colonnades in St. Peter’s Square. Construction will begin on the bathrooms, which the Vatican Governorate had been planning to renovate for some time, on Nov. 17 of this year and will be paid for by the Pope’s charity, Vatican Insider reports. In addition to adding the three private showers to the basilica’s public restrooms, 10 parishes in the neighborhoods most frequented by Rome’s homeless population have already built showers at the almoner’s request. Bishop Krajewski stressed the urgency of responding to the needs of the poor in a timely manner, saying that “In the Gospel, Jesus always uses the word ‘today,’ and it is today that we must respond to people’s needs.” According to Vatican Insider, the new showers will not be expensive and are designed strictly for those who already live in the area of the basilica and other parishes in order to relieve the larger support centers, since public restrooms are closed and the homeless are unable to use the toilets in cafés. “It is not simple, because it is easier to make sandwiches than run a shower service. We need volunteers, towels, underwear,” the bishop explained. However, he noted that divine providence always provides, and revealed that numerous individuals have already intervened, including the world-renown Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who is making a large donation through his foundation. While the bishop recognized that some tourists who visit the basilica, which is one of the largest tourist attractions in the world, might be put off by the presence of homeless persons coming to the square for a shower, he also acknowledged that it is the Church’s responsibility to care for the poor. “The Basilica exists in order to keep the Body of Christ, and we serve Jesus’ suffering body by serving the poor,” he said, observing how throughout Rome’s history the poor have always congregated around basilicas. In addition to the showers, Bishop Krajewski is also seeking the help of those in beauty schools, so that once in a while the homeless can receive a haircut as well as the opportunity to wash themselves. The reason for keeping the homeless clean and tidy, he explained, is because it reduces the risk of diseases spread through dirt. Read more
Vatican City, Nov 14, 2014 / 02:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Addressing the children who filled the chapel at the Santa Marta residence on Nov. 14, Pope Francis said that – in an age dominated by images and cellphones – the faithful must rely on... Read more
Baltimore, Md., Nov 14, 2014 / 10:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Meeting in Baltimore for their annual fall meeting, the U.S. bishops have selected their choices for delegates to next year’s Synod on the Family, sources have confirmed to CNA. The delegates, in order of election, are: Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, who is hosting the 2015 World Meeting of Families; Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, the bishops’ conference vice president; and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, the highest-ranking Hispanic bishop in the country, who leads the nation’s largest diocese. The two alternates elected are Archbishop-designate Blase Cupich, who will soon be installed in Chicago, and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, who heads the U.S. bishops’ defense and promotion of marriage subcommittee. After being elected, the delegates’ names will be sent to the Vatican for approval. If confirmed, the delegates will participate in the 2015 Synod on the Family, a global meeting of bishops to be held next October in Rome. That synod will follow one that was previously completed this year, discussing a wide variety of matters related to marriage and family across the globe. Archbishop Kurtz was born in Mahanoy City, Pa. in 1946. He studied divinity and social work, and he was ordained a priest in 1972. After serving as a diocesan priest with a focus on social services, diocesan administration, and parish ministry, he served as Bishop of Knoxville from 1999-2007. Since 2007, he has led the Archdiocese of Louisville. He was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2013, after completing three years as the conference vice president. He had earlier served as chair of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage and Family Life. The archbishop is also a member of the Board of Directors for the National Catholic Bioethics Center, on the Advisory Board to the Cause for Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification, and was appointed earlier this year to the Holy See’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches. Archbishop Kurtz recently co-authored a booklet on the vocation of Christian parenthood and Christian parents’ relationship with their parish. The booklet focuses on a prayer called “The Blessing of the Child in the Womb,” which was drafted by the U.S. bishops’ conference. Born in 1944 in Concordia, Kansas, Archbishop Chaput was ordained to the priesthood in 1970. He was ordained Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1988, and was appointed Archbishop of Denver by Pope John Paul II in 1997. While in Denver, Archbishop Chaput launched the local St. John Vianney Seminary, which boasts one of the highest seminary enrollment rates in the country. He was also influential in the success of several Colorado-based organizations, including the nationwide missionary group Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), the international women's group Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women (ENDOW), and the Augustine Institute, a lay Catholic graduate school. As member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe, Archbishop Chaput is the first Native American archbishop. He has served on several U.S. bishops' committees involving marriage and family, pro-life activities, immigration, and religious freedom. Earlier this year, Pope Francis appointed him to the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The archbishop was chosen to lead Philadelphia in 2011. He is currently leading efforts to organize the highly-anticipated 2015 World Meeting of Families, which will take place next September in Philadelphia. The event is expected to draw 1 million participants from around the globe and is widely expected to bring Pope Francis to the United States. Cardinal DiNardo was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1949. He studied philosophy and theology, and he was ordained a priest in 1977. He became coadjutor bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, in 1997 and was named coadjutor bishop of Galveston-Houston in January 2004. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals in November 2007. The cardinal was chosen vice president of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference in 2013. He previously served as the head of the bishops’ pro-life committee. In addition, he is a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, the Pontifical Council for the Economy Appointed in 2010 to shepherd the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Archbishop Gomez heads the largest U.S. diocese, with more than 4 million Catholics. He is the highest-ranking Hispanic bishop in the United States. Born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1951, he holds degrees in accounting, philosophy and theology, and was ordained an Opus Dei priest in 1978. In 2001, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver, and in 2005, he was appointed Archbishop of San Antonio. Archbishop Gomez has worked extensively in Hispanic ministry and played a key role in creating the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL). In 2005, he was named one of Time Magazine’s 25 most influential Hispanics in the United States, and in 2007 he was on a CNN’s list of “Notable Hispanics” in a web special celebrating “Hispanic Heritage Month.” In 2008, Archbishop Gomez was appointed as a consultant to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He has served in various roles for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in areas including Cultural Diversity, Doctrine, and Hispanics and the Liturgy. Read more
Vatican City, Nov 14, 2014 / 07:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Today the Vatican published the official itinerary for Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, during which he is slated to spend roughly two days each in Colombo, Manila and Tacloban. Officially announced by the Vatican in July, the trip had been unofficially revealed by the Pope during an in-flight press conference on his way back from the Holy Land. Pope Francis’ decision to visit Sri Lanka and the Philippines marks his second trip to Asia in six months – the first being to South Korea in August. The papal voyage will follow the theme of “Mercy and Compassion,” and will last from January 12-19. After departing Rome the evening of Jan. 12, 2015, the Roman Pontiff will arrive to Colombo, Sri Lanka the following morning, where he will be received with an official welcoming ceremony and afterwards meet the bishops of the island. While in Sri Lanka the Pope will also pay a courtesy visit to the country’s president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, hold a meeting with leaders of different religions, and will canonize Sri Lankan Blessed Giuseppe Vaz. Before leaving Sri Lanka on Wed., Jan. 15, the Bishop of Rome will pay a visit to the city of Bolawalana’s “Our Lady of Lanka” chapel, after which he will travel to Manila. Upon his arrival to the Philippines, Pope Francis will have an official welcome at the Air Base where he lands. The official welcoming ceremony will take place the following morning, after which the Pope is slated to visit with the country’s president, Benigno Aquino III, as well as local authorities and the diplomatic corp. Later that day he will celebrate mass with bishops, priests and religious in Manila’s cathedral, and afterward will hold an encounter with families. He will depart the next morning, Jan. 17, for Tacloban. In Tacloban the pontiff will celebrate mass after his arrival, and will then have lunch with survivors of the typhoon Yolanda that devastated the country last year, causing the death of around 6,000 people. After the lunch, the Pope will go on to bless the city’s “Pope Francis Center for the Poor” and will hold mass for priests, religious, seminarians and families of the typhoon survivors. He will return to Manila by plane that evening. On his last full day in the Philippines, the Roman Pontiff will hold a brief encounter with interreligious leaders, followed by a meeting with the youth in the afternoon, and will conclude the day by celebrating mass in Manila’s Rizal Park. He will have a farewell ceremony the morning of Mon., Jan. 19 at Manila’s Air Base before returning to Rome, where he will arrive at roughly 6p.m. Pope Francis’ visit will also mark the 20th anniversary of the 1995 Manila World Youth Day, the largest ever papal event, which gathered around 5 million young people to pray with St. John Paul II. Please find the full schedule for the Pope’s trip below:January 12, 2015 7:00p.m. Depart for Colombo by plane from Rome's Fiumicino airportTuesday, January 13, 2015 9:00a.m. Arrive to the international airport of Colombo Welcoming ceremony 1:15p.m. Encounter with the bishops of Sri Lanka in the Archdiocese of Colombo 5:00p.m. Courtesy visit to the President of the Republic in the presidential residence 6:15p.m. Interreligious encounter in the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference HallWednesday, January 14, 2015 8:30a.m. Holy Mass and canonization of Blessed Giuseppe Vaz in the Galle Face Green in Colombo 2:00p.m. Transfer by helicopter to Madhu 3:30 Marian prayer at the shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Madhu 4:45p.m. Transfer by helicopter to ColomboThursday, January 15, 2015 8:15a.m. Visit to the "Our Lady of Lanka" chapel in Bolawalana 8:45a.m. Farewell ceremony at the international airport of Colombo 9:00a.m. Depart from Colombo by plane for Manila 5:45p.m. Arrive to the Villamor Air Base of Manila Official WelcomeFriday, January 16, 2015 9:15a.m. Welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace Courtesy visit to the president 10:15a.m. Encounter with authorities and with the Diplomatic Corp in the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of the presidential palace 11:15 Holy Mass with bishops, priests and religious in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Manila 5:30p.m. Encounter with families in the Mall of Asia Arena in ManilaSaturday, January 17, 2015 8:15a.m. Depart from Manila by plane for Tacloban 9:30a.m. Arrive at the airport of Tacloban 10:00a.m. Holy Mass next to the Tacloban International Airport 12:45p.m. Lunch with some survivors of typhoon Yolanda at the Archbishop of Palo's residence 3:00p.m. Blessing of the Pope Francis Center for the Poor 3:30p.m. Encounter with priests, religious, seminarians and families of the survivors in the Cathedral of Palo 5:00p.m. Departure by plane for Manila 6:15p.m. Arrive to the Villamor Air Base of ManilaSunday, January 18, 2015 9:45a.m. Brief encounter with religious leaders of the Philippines in the University of St. Thomas in Manila 10:30a.m. Encounter with youth in the sports field of the university 3:30p.m. Holy Mass at Rizal Park in ManilaMonday, January 19, 2015 9:45a.m. Farewell ceremony in the Presidential Pavilion of the Villamor Air Base in Manila 10:00a.m. Departure from Manila by plane for Rome 5:40p.m. Arrive to Rome's Ciampino airport Read more
Baltimore, Md., Nov 14, 2014 / 03:49 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the wake of the mid-term elections last week, the U.S. Bishops urged Congress and President Obama to work together on timely immigration reform that respects families and human dignity. &nbs... Read more
Sydney, Australia, Nov 14, 2014 / 02:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- At his Mass of Installation on Wednesday, Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney said that by the time of his retirement, he hopes for a local Church filled with vocations to priesthood and the religious life. “What will this Archdiocese look like when, God willing, I retire in 2035? My hope is for a Church in which the Gospel is preached with joy, the wisdom of our tradition mined with fidelity, the sacraments celebrated with dignity and welcome, and the seminaries, convents and youth groups are teeming with new life,” he said in his Nov. 13 homily at St. Mary's Cathedral. “That will depend hugely on three factors: our clergy and religious; our families; and our young people,” the archbishop added at the Mass, the main celebrant of which as Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne. Archbishop Fisher succeeds Cardinal George Pell, who in February was transferred from Sydney to be the prefect of the newly-created Secretariate for the Economy at the Vatican. “Pope Francis said pastors should smell of their sheep,” Archbishop Fisher said his homily, adding that “this is not a comment on clerical hygiene: it is an insistence that we are from and for our flocks.” “Pray, therefore, that I will always be a shepherd for Sydney after the heart of Jesus Christ,” he urged. Archbishop Hart stated that Sydney's new bishop “will teach, lead people to God in worship, and give generous service … knowledge of the people, being one with them, and walking with them where they are is so important. We wish him many years of dedicated and compassionate service.” “Archbishop Fisher is a gifted teacher whose gifts and vision will bring people to a vibrant appreciation of Catholic life, and will help our young people and families to move forward together in our modern society,” he added. Archbishop Fisher thanked all his family, friends, and diocesan clergy, and said that he “missed the people of Parramatta already.” He had served as bishop there since 2010. Archbishop Fisher, 54, was born in Sydney, and in 1987 professed perpetual vows in the Dominican Order, and was then ordained a priest in 1991. He served as an auxiliary bishop of Sydney from 2003 until he was transferred to the Diocese of Parramatta. The Sydney archdiocese has 664,000 Catholics, about 27 percent of a population of almost 2.5 million. It has 484 priests and more than 1,500 vowed religious. Read more
Cuernavaca, Mexico, Nov 14, 2014 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the wake of the September disappearance of 43 students in Mexico, the country’s bishops pled on Wednesday for an end to the incessant violence entrenching the nation, and called on citizens to help build a society rooted in justice. “The bishops of Mexico say: enough is enough! We don't want any more blood. We don't want any more death. We don't want any more disappearances. We don't want any more pain or anymore shame,” a Nov. 12 statement released by the Mexican bishops' conference read. On Sept. 26, the students disappeared in the town of Iguala, in Guerrero state. They had been protesting in the town, and city police say they intercepted the students on the orders of the mayor, who wanted to prvent them from disrupting a speech being given by his wife. The police reportedly handed the students over to a local drug gang. It is believed the gang killed the students, and burned their bodies. Violent protests have arisen across the country over the disappearances. The bishops' statement addressed the long-standing and deeply-rooted thread of violence that has gripped the nation due to the ongoing drug war, and political corruption. They joined their voices to “the widespread cry for a Mexico in which truth and justice provoke a profound transformation of the institutional, judicial and political order, to ensure that events like this never happen again.” Violence, they said, only serves to damage human relationships, breed mistrust, wound people by poisoning them with resentment, fear and a desire for revenge. It also affects the economy, the bishops noted, as well as the quality of democracy and the establishment of peace. The bishops recognized that the state of the country “has deteriorated, triggering a true national crisis” in which many live in a constant state of fear and mistrust due to the activity of criminal groups and corrupt political leaders. “In our vision of faith, these events make it clear that we have turned away from God,” the statement read, explaining that this is clearly seen in the society’s disregard for truth and human dignity, as well as a growing sense of inequality and disrespect for life. However, the Mexican bishops acknowledged that in spite of the dire situation of the country, many citizens seem to have awoken and taken a stand against the corruption and “complicity” of certain authorities. They called for the current protests surrounding the disappearance of the students to turn into concrete proposals of creating road to peace which “favors dialogue and transparent agreements, without vested interests.” A true democracy that guarantees respect for the law, work and the security of future generations is at stake, they said, explaining that it is up to each citizen to find solutions according to a “new mentality and heart” that seeks a sincere and harmonious coexistence. In order to overcome the current crisis, “an institutional order, laws and justice that generates trust are needed,” as well as the participation of everyone seeking the common good, the bishops said. Otherwise, “power remains in the hands of the few.” The bishops expressed their closeness and solidarity to those suffering due to violence, and reminded citizens that peace comes from Christ, present in the Eucharist and in scripture. “With this certainty, we re-double our promise to form, animate and motivate our diocesan communities to accompany jointly and spiritually the victims of violence across the country.” Collaborative efforts in generating peace and reconciliation, the said, ought to include the establishment of a genuine rule of law in Mexico, as well as preaching the Gospel to families, and accompanying them so as to ensure the stay away from violence. The Mexican bishops also offered their gratitude to Pope Francis for his “proximity and concern” regarding the situation, as he has spoken of the tragic disappearance of the students on two public occasions, one being in yesterday’s general audience. On Dec. 12, which marks the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the bishops of Mexico will hold a day of prayer asking for peace, and for the conversion of all Mexicans, specifically those who commit violent acts. “May Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of the true God for whom we live, who claims her missing children and who prays for peace in Mexico, intercede for us so that a flood of love enable us to reconstruct the damaged society.” Read more
Denver, Colo., Nov 13, 2014 / 05:30 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- India's population control policy is under fire after at least 14 women died following botched sterilizations due to negligent medical practices in one of the country’s poorest states, Chhattisgarh. On Monday, the death toll was eleven women, with more than 50 others hospitalized – 20 of them in critical condition – after being sterilized at a state run camp in Chhattisgarh. By Wednesday, another woman had died and 15 others were hospitalized following the same procedure at a different state-run camp. Sebastian, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Raipur, which includes Chhattisgarh, said the women were operated on, given medicine and sent home. However, reports in the area indicated that the medicine was expired and the hospital used for the procedures had been closed for four months and suddenly reopened, increasing the risk of infection. “We are all pained at the carelessness of the doctor’s administration,” he said. The archdiocese, he added, only promotes education and awareness about natural family planning methods. The sterilizations are part of government efforts to curb population numbers, which are on pace to eclipse China soon. The women received tubectomies – their fallopian tubes were cut in order to prevent pregnancy. Normally this procedure requires anesthetic, but the Chhattisgarh women were not given any. According to BBC, 83 women between the ages of 26 and 40 were operated on in just six hours by one doctor and his assistant. Government rules relegate one surgeon to perform only 35 operations in a day. The women died of infection and shock from loss of blood. Mara Hvistendahl, an award-winning journalist and author who has spent time reporting throughout Asia, said negligent sterilizations have a long history in India under their population control policies. “These operations are being performed very quickly and under abysmal conditions,” she said, “and this is not the first time that there have been problems with the sterilization program.” India’s history of sterilization includes the “Emergency period” which began on June 25th, 1975, with the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi declared a State of Emergency, and began rounding up Dalits (those considered “untouchables”) and Muslims by the millions. According to the Population Research Institute, a non-profit which documents, exposes, and ends coercive population control programs, the conditions and consequences during the two-year emergency period were similar to what the women faced earlier this week. “By the time the emergency period ended in March 1977, over 11 million men and women had been forcibly sterilized in assembly-line fashion. The unsanitary conditions in which these operations were carried out left many crippled or dead,” a press release on their website reads. The Institute, which exposes the myth of overpopulation, said it vows to never forget “the day when the population controllers got their way.” The period of emergency caused a strong backlash in the country, and since then the population control policies have refocused their efforts on targeting women, Hvistendahl said. “The irony is that it's much easier to sterilize men,” she added. Danielle Sisk serves as the National Student Advocacy Director for the Dalit Freedom Network, which works on the ground in India to aid the poorest and most disadvantaged people in India by providing education, health care and other services without discrimination. Sisk said the poorest women in India are seen as easy targets for sterilization, as they are often illiterate and therefore uneducated about the risks associated with tubectomies, including risks to surrounding organs and the permanence of the procedure. Sterilizations in India are supposedly voluntary, but there are many reports of coercion of women by officials to have the procedure in exchange for a very small sum – about $20, a week’s worth of wages in the impoverished Chhattisgarh. But the incentives work both ways, said Sisk. “When you have a doctor in the community that’s been told he has to meet a certain quota each month, you then have doctors trying to perform this crazy amount of procedures, maybe 80 or 100 in a day,” often with little or no monitoring or accountability for how the procedures are done, she said. Women are also often told through various campaigns that sterilization is in their best interest, but Sisk said this begs the question of how free they are to make that decision when they are not well educated and are an at-risk population. “Where is the woman’s voice in this?” she said. “She’s offered incentives, but if these women weren’t already at risk due to poverty or a social hierarchy, would this be their desire?” Hvistendahl added that there may be more sinister roots of the population control programs. “Poor women are ostensibly targeted because there is a higher birth rate among the poor,” she said, “But India also has a history of population control with eugenic aims -- directed at supposedly improving the ‘quality’ of the population by curbing the birth rate among the poor.” “There is a huge difference between empowering women to make family planning decisions and a state imposing birth control or sterilizations on its people,” Hvistendahl said. Besides health risks and death, another perhaps unintended consequence of the mass sterilizations is the further exploitation of women as sexual targets for traffickers, Sisk said. “We work really closely with the temple prostitutes, girls sold at a young age to the temple…who are basically used or sexually exploited,” she said, “but one of our concerns is that when you have a woman who is sterilized, what further risks are you putting her to, especially if she’s not married? Or even if she is married?” “They now have this woman, who is their product, who is their supply for this demand to sexually exploit her,” Sisk said. “Not only do they have the supply, they no longer have to worry about her getting pregnant or not being able to make money off of her, or having to pay for a kid or getting an abortion.” According to the latest data from the U.S. State Department, India is considered Tier 2 when it comes to complying with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act – they are still not in full compliance, but have made strides in recent years to protect women. Sisk said the majority of trafficking in India – about 90% - happens domestically, while 10% of the women are exported. “(Sterilizations) just made it easier for them to target these young girls.” While many see sterilization as a quick fix to control population numbers, Sisk said a bigger issue in India is the devaluation of the female gender as a whole. “I believe we’re all made in the image of God, equal and beautiful,” she said. “So any time you start to devalue, or put less value on one sex versus the other, you already have a really negative road that you’re going to take, that allows them to be susceptible to multiple things.” One thing devalued women are susceptible to is gender-selective abortions, leaving some Indian communities with as few as eight women for every ten men, with the gap worse among younger people, as the practice has become more widespread recently. This is a problem throughout all of Asia and occurs in other continents as well, skewing the birth rate of the entire world. Hvistendahl explores the issue in her latest book, Unnatural Selection, drawing from extensive reporting in China, India, Vietnam, South Korea, Albania, and other countries. Sisk said the best thing people can do to help women in other countries is to be educated on the issues, support non-profits that provide aid to women, and remain educated on policies affecting women in their own countries. “There has to be a shift that women are valuable and beautiful, there has to be a focus on women’s rights here.” Read more
Vatican City, Nov 13, 2014 / 03:34 pm (CNA).- In a joint statement delivered Thursday, the Catholic-Muslim Forum condemned acts of terrorism, oppression, and violence, affirming it is never acceptable to use religion to justify such acts. The Catholic-Muslim Forum was held Nov. 11-13 in Rome. It was established in 2008 for dialogue between the religions, and it meets every three years to harvest the fruit of more grassroots dialogue pursued between the forums. The group met on Wednesday with Pope Francis, who encouraged them to persevere in the path of interreligious dialogue and praised the common effort of the two religions in society. This year’s meeting occured as an uprise of violence in the name of religion has taken place in the Middle East with the establishment in Iraq and Syria of the Islamic State, a caliphate that has persecuted all non-Sunni Muslims in its territory. The statement of the Catholic-Muslim Forum makes four points: it condemns violence in the name of religion; address the education of young people; commits to fostering interreligious dialogue; and asks for more opportunities to together serve societies. It acknowledged the “many examples across the world of active Catholic-Muslim collaboration in educational, charitable, and relief efforts” and recognized that the gathering “took place in a time of severe tension and conflict in the world, underlining the vital importance of enhanced service and mutual cooperation.” The delegates of the Catholic-Muslim Forum “unanimously condemned acts of terrorism, oppression, violence against innocent persons, persecution, desecration of sacred places, and the destruction of cultural heritage.” “It is never acceptable to use religion to justify such acts or to conflate such acts with religion,” the joint statement read. The statement also stressed that the education of young people is of “the utmost importance for the promotion of a well-rounded identity which builds respect for others,” and that for this reason “school curricula and textbooks should portray an objective and respectful image of the other.” At the same time, delegates also underscored the importance “of the culture of interreligious dialogue for deepening mutual understanding,” being “required to overcome prejudice, distortions, suspicions, and inappropriate generalizations, all of which damage the peaceful relationships we all seek.” The participants also encouraged “Christians and Muslims to multiply opportunities for encounter and cooperation on joint projects for the common good.” The discussion also promoted the establishment of a permanent Muslim-Catholic committee to address the most important issues, which some participants wanted included in the final declaration. “Beyond finding a common conscience and reaction to instrumentalization, we should stress the added value of religions. Our goal is not just finding common grounds of dialogue, but rather providing young people a new language to understand the inner sense of life,” Yahya Pallavicini, vice-president of the Italian Muslim Association Co.Re.Is., told CNA Nov. 13. Pallavicini has always been involved in the forum, which was established in following the drafting of a letter 138 Muslim scholars addressed to Benedict XVI. Titled “A Common Word Between Us and You,” the letter was aimed at finding common grounds of dialogue between Catholicism and Islam, proposing as discussion topics the love of God and neighbor. In response to the letter, Benedict said that the discussion should focus first on human dignity and religious freedom, since this implies the proposed topics. The forum meets every three years, alternating between the Vatican and a Muslim country. The 2011 event was held in Amman, the Jordanian capital. Initially, the delegations were composed of 24 members each, but the number was later reduced to 12 each. The head of the Catholic delegation is Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, while the Muslim delegation is headed by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan, president of the al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, and leading promoter of the letter of the 138. Due to the health reasons, Ghazi was not present at this week's gathering; the Muslim delegation was this time led by Seyyed Nossein Nasr of George Washington University, and included for the first time Omar Abboud, a long-time friend of Pope Francis'. Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Catholic News
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In