Washington D.C., Oct 9, 2014 / 11:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholics praying the rosary must rediscover the contemplative nature of the prayer and not just recite it speedily if they wish for it to truly transform their lives, said a Dominican priest in... Read more
Monrovia, Liberia, Oct 9, 2014 / 11:51 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With hundreds dead from the devastating Ebola virus and no signs of relief on the horizon, one archbishop in Liberia says the people’s faith is what helps them maintain hope. “T... Read more
Aleppo, Syria, Oct 9, 2014 / 10:19 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Custody of the Holy Land announced Thursday that the Franciscan priest who was abducted in Syria by rebels over the weekend has been released, and is under house arrest at the convent in his town. “Fr. Hanna Jallouf has been released this morning,” the Custody of the Holy Land said in an Oct. 9 statement, adding that “he is under House Arrest” at the convent of Qunaya. Fr. Jallouf, O.F.M., is 62 and a Syrian native. He was kidnapped the night of Oct. 5 by militants linked to al-Nusra Front. The priest was abducted along with some 20 parishioners from the village of Qunaya, located in Idlib province 29 miles west of Idlib and 75 miles northwest of Hamah. He has spent 12 years ministering in Qunaya. There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the others who were kidnapped along with the Franciscan. Bishop Georges Abou Khazen, O.F.M, vicar apostolic of Aleppo, told Fides Oct. 9 that “we know that (Fr. Jallouf) is well, and this is important, but there is no news of the release of the men who were kidnapped with him.” According to Fides, four women were among those abducted, and they were released Oct. 8. Fides added that it had been told by local sources that Fr. Jallouf's house arrest “was ordered by the Islamic Court.” Agence France-Presse reported Oct. 9 that “a Franciscan spokeswoman … confirmed to AFP that the other captives were also released,” after the Custody's initial announcement that Fr. Jallouf had been released. When the priest and parishioners were kidnapped, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., Customs of the Holy Land, said the militants accused the victims of collaborating with the government of president Bashar al-Assad, a claim he denied. One source told Agence France-Presse that the rebels were angry with Fr. Jallouf because he refused to give them olives harvested from trees on the convent’s land. A Syrian activist reported that al-Nusra Front had been trying to take control of some Franciscan properties in the Qunaya, resulting in Fr. Jallouf making a complaint to a religious court. The Franciscans have been present in Syria for 800 years, and established a presence in Qunaya in 1878. The kidnapping was the latest in a series of attacks on Christian religious in the Syrian civil war. In April, Fr. Frans van der Lugt, S.J., was murdered in Homs as he cared for the fewer than 30 Christians who remained in the city, which had been blockaded by the Syrian regime for nearly two years. A Dutchman, he had worked in Syria since 1967, was involved in interreligious dialogue, and had built a spirituality center which housed some 40 children with mental disabilities. In December 2013, a group of Greek Orthodox nuns as well as women from their convent's orphanage were abducted by al-Nusra Front in Ma'loula, 35 miles north of Damascus. They were returned, unharmed, in March. In July 2013, Fr. Paolo Dall'Oglio, S.J., was abducted from Raqqa, a city controlled by the Islamic State. He had served the people of Syria for more than 30 years, and had been exiled by the regime in 2012 after criticizing Assad. While in Rome in September 2012, Fr. Dall'Oglio spoke to CNA with hope for Syria's future. Though officially exiled, he soon returned to minister in rebel-held areas of Syria. In October 2013, three months after his kidnapping, he was reported to be alive, but he remains missing. In April 2013, both the Greek and Syriac Orthodox bishops of Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi and Yuhanna Ibrahim, were kidnapped. Their driver, Deacon Fatha' Allah Kabboud, was killed. The bishops remain missing, though it has been rumored that only one of them is still alive. And in October 2013, seven relief workers from the Red Cross and Red Crescent were abducted. Four were released one day after their capture, but three remain missing. The Syrian conflict began in March, 2011 when demonstrations sprang up nationwide against Assad's rule. In April of that year, the Syrian army began to deploy to put down the uprisings, firing on protesters. Since then, the violence has morphed into a civil war which has claimed the lives of more than 191,000 people. The civil war is being fought among the Syrian regime and a number of rebel groups. The rebels include moderates, such as the Free Syrian Army; Islamists such as al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State; and Kurdish separatists. The war has resulted in more than 3 million Syrian refugees in nearby countries, most of them in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. An additional 6.5 million Syrian people are believed to have been internally displaced by the war. Read more
Vatican City, Oct 9, 2014 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Father Ghazwan Yousif Baho had the option to stay in Italy when he recently accompanied an elderly Iraqi couple to an audience with Pope Francis. But he has decided to go back because he can't leave his people. “One of them told me, 'Father, I saw you always from afar, but this week I found out who you are, and it has given me so much strength (to know) that you are a priest in the middle of your people,'” he told CNA Oct. 4. “Sometimes I thought about leaving Iraq, but now I say, 'I don't leave my village anymore.'” Fr. Baho is the parish priest in Alqosh, Iraq as well as a guest professor at the Pontifical Urbanianum University in Rome, where he teaches two months out of the year. While in Rome, he also serves as pastor in the city's Joachim and Ann parish. He was present in Rome to accompany an elderly Iraqi couple, Mubarack and Agnese Hano, to an audience Pope Francis held with elderly and grandparents on Sept. 28. He will return to Alqosh, which sits only 10 kilometers – around six miles – from the ISIS-controlled city of Qaraqosh, this weekend. The militant Sunni Islamist organization was among the rebels fighting in the Syrian civil war. In June it spread its operations to Iraq, taking control of Mosul and swaths of territory in the country's north and west, as well as in northern Syria. It has now declared a caliphate, which is defined as an Islamic state controlled by a religious and political leader known as a caliph or “successor” to Muhammad. In Syria on Aug. 13, ISIS seized a string of towns located northeast of Aleppo and near the Turkish border, including Akhtarin. On Aug. 11 it had seized the Iraqi town of Jalawla, located 90 miles northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province. All non-Sunni persons have been persecuted by the Islamic State – tens of thousands of Christians, Yazidis, and Shia Muslims have fled the territory. Since the night of Aug. 6 when ISIS forces entered the city of Qaraqosh, formerly referred to as the Christian capital of Iraq, many have fled and are living in tents as refugees in camps, the priest noted. Despite having lived in these circumstances for two months, many have maintained a strong faith, he explained. “I’ve met very few people who had lost faith and hope. So many suffered, so the sorrowful mysteries for us a daily act. But despite all this suffering, I’ve seen very few people who’ve lost the faith.” When ISIS attacked the city of Mosul, 40 kilometers from Alqosh, many lost everything including their homes, their jobs, their money and even their wedding rings, which militants would take from persons fleeing the city. However, when he met with families “they would tell me ‘Father, we are safe and all our children are with us. The rest will come later. But we thank God that the Lord has saved us. We have lost everything, but we are saved.’” “I heard this phrase from so many people. Desperate, but they never lost their faith. And these sorrowful mysteries of the rosary for us are a daily reality, but they also give us the strength to keep going.” Fr. Baho then recalled how he and a few of the others who had fled the city as ISIS approached the nearby Qaraqosh returned after a week to ring the bells of their parish, which had been silent since the Aug. 6 attack. “After a week of this silence of all the bells of the churches on the plains of Nineveh, and they still are in many villages, with a group of guys from the parish, we challenged the fear and we went (back) into the village.” The priest, along with 20 or 30 people who were on guard that night, entered Alqosh again on Sept. 15, where they rang the bells of the parish once again and celebrated Mass. “For me that Mass was a culmination of Christian faith, and with so much pain, with so much fear, we finished the Mass and we returned back to the Kurdish area,” Fr. Baho said. On the way back, Father said he saw one young man that was with him when he initially fled. This young man told him: “Father, I saw you always from afar, but this week I found out who you are, and it has given me so much strength (to know) that you are a priest in the middle of your people.” Father also said he had written to his fellow priest from his parish in Rome about what they were planning to do: “Today I need to ring the bells that for a week haven’t sounded. I have to do this, even if it’s last time the bells ring, I will do it.” As they were entering Alqosh to celebrate the Mass, the priest recounted how one young man told him “Father, today we see you a little stronger.” Referring to how his fellow priest had promised to pray a rosary for them, he responded that “Yes, there are people who pray for us, even if they are far, they are united to us in prayer.” “For me this was the day of salvation. From there the people began to have more hope. Different families returned to the city. Also, the war is 10 kilometers from the city, but the people returned. So when I return I’ll go there, to the parish next week,” he said. In his homily during the Mass, Fr. Baho explained how often times we seek miracles in order know whether or not God is with us, but that the great miracle happened for them when more than 100,000 people escaped at the same time and all managed to get out “sane and safe.” “It was an exodus, exactly an exodus. The third exodus here. The Lord is truly with us. This is a true miracle,” the priest continued, observing how when they all fled from the Plains of Nineveh around 10 p.m. the only thing visible were the lights of the other cars. “If you can imagine 100,000 people leaving together and not even an accident happens, this is a true miracle.” Many who attended the courageous Mass in Alqosh filmed the event, the video of which was presented to Pope Francis by Fr. Baho and the Hano couple during their encounter with him in his audience with the elderly. “This also gave us the strength, he made us feel that he is very close to us, and he has said many times, and he said it that day, 'I am always close to you. I hear your sufferings and I am united with you in prayer.'” The sounding of the Alqosh church bells in St. Peter’s Square in front of the more than 4,000 people present that day, as well as their broadcast to millions throughout the world, gave witness to the Christian presence in Iraq for more than 2,000 years, the priest said. “So that voice that they wanted to silence rang out even stronger. And this also gave hope.” Read more
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Oct 9, 2014 / 02:53 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the run-up to national elections, the bishops of Bosnia and Herzegovina are encouraging the nation's citizens to vote for the rule of law, in hopes of bringing the country out of the instability which sparked violent protests earlier this year. “We need more justice, reconciliation and willingness to work together. We bishops have therefore invited everyone to go to the polls to cast their vote for law and justice and to make sure the country does not get stuck in this disastrous situation,” Bishop Franjo Komarica of Banja Luka told Aid to the Church in Need Oct. 7. Bosnia and Herzegovina will hold national elections Oct. 12, for both members of the bicameral parliament and for the three-member presidency. The Bosnian presidency is a four-year term, with a rotating chairmanship among the members. One member of the presidency is elected from each of Bosnia and Herzegovina's main ethnic groups: a Bosniak, a Croat, and a Serb. Ethno-religious tensions have historically contributed much to instability in the country. Following its independence upon the break-up of Yugoslavia, the country was embroiled in the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995 in which genocide and ethnic cleansing took place. The Muslim Bosniaks constitute some 48 percent of the population; Orthodox Serbs 37 percent; and Catholic Croats 15 percent. Bishop Komarica is concerned that the instability in his country could radicalize some factions there. “There are people here who could exploit the instability,” he said. “And we mustn't ignore the dark clouds arising to the south east. Destructive, radical forces from the Arab world can very easily settle and flourish here.” He said that Bosnians “are living in an absurd situation.” “Bosnia-Herzegovina is not moving forward, either politically or economically. The country has a number of constitutions which obstruct one another. The number of ministers is astronomical, an indulgence which no other nation allows itself. The people are longing for a new organization of the state.” In February, protestors in several cities, including Banja Luka, Tuzla, and Sarajevo attacked government buildings, setting fire to them. Hundreds were injured, and police used rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons to quell the protests. Srecko Latal, of Social Overview Service in Sarajevo, told The New York Times in February that “we haven’t seen violent scenes like this since the war in the 1990s. People are fed up with what has become total political chaos in Bosnia, with infighting over power, a dire economic situation and a feeling that there is little hope for the future. The protests are a wake-up call for the international community not to disengage from Bosnia.” Bosnians' complaints include existing unemployment – between 40 and 50 percent – and the protests were sparked by factory closings in Tuzla. Unemployment rates are higher among the youth, with nearly 75 percent unable to find work. Bosnia and Herzegovina's per capita GDP, adjusted for purchasing power, is less than $9,000. In Transparency International's 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index, Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked 72 – tied with Brazil, Serbia, and South Africa – out of 175 rankings. Its ranking suggests it is slightly more corrupt than Bulgaria and Tunisia, and slightly less corrupt than Italy and Romania. In the face of these problems, Bishop Komarica stressed his country's need for political reform, urging the greater international involvement, particularly from the European Union – which Bosnia and Herzegovina is trying to join. Read more
Geneva, Switzerland, Oct 9, 2014 / 12:50 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Noting an alarming increase in forcibly-displaced migrants around the world, the Holy See has asked the United Nations to take a more proactive role in working to prevent displacements. &... Read more
Bangkok, Thailand, Oct 8, 2014 / 07:04 pm (CNA).- Married couples in Thailand recently met at a workshop reflecting on pastoral challenges confronting their vocation, which emphazised the role of the Holy Family as their guide. “The seminar engaged the couples in exploring the sanctity of marriage, the art of communication, and enhancing their relationship, keeping the Holy Family of Nazareth as the center of their love,” Fr. Ignazio Adisak Somsangsuang, parish priest St. Peter Church in Sam Phran, told CNA Oct. 8. “Families are the fundamental cells of union, and of hope of a future,” Fr. Somsangsuang continued. “Keeping the Holy Family of Nazareth in mind, they can be fruitful and will contribute to their personal development, and the social development of our society and country.” St. Peter's hosted the seminar aimed at making saints of these couples – a fitting location, as the parish, located in a suburb of Bangkok, was the home of Blessed Nicholas Boonkerd Kitbamrung. The parish holds the relics of the priest who was martyred in 1944, and baptized more than 60 fellow prisoners when he was held by the government, accused of assisting foreign powers. The seminar was held for young Catholic couples to help them identify the roles and responsibilities given them through their participation in the sacrament of marriage. Fr. Somsangsuang noted the concurrent Synod on the Family being held in Rome to discuss pastoral challenges to the family throughout the world. “But in our own parish context,” he reflected, “we have the responsibility to help them understand, to prepare families, to ignite their vocation and faith, for the building-up of our Church and society.” The couples attending the workshop prayed for the Synod on the Family, asking God that it would be a successful gathering of the world's bishops. Fr. Somsangsuang remarked that “family relationships are becoming more fragile” in Thailand, noting the isolation brought on by such factors as work stress and the often impersonal nature of social media. “We need to revive family bonds, interpersonal communications, and their relationship as couples, and with their children and society,” Fr. Somsangsuang explained. Christian families in Thailand face particular challenges, as they form fewer than one percent of the population of the largely Buddhist nation. Mixed marriages and adult catechumens are common, and these need support and regular catechesis on the integration of culture and faith; parish life in Thailand is sensitive to understanding these challenges. Read more
Washington D.C., Oct 8, 2014 / 05:24 pm (CNA).- The first Catholic health care sharing ministry in the U.S. will promote the “Gospel of Life” in health care, leaders announced at the ministry’s Oct. 2 launch in Washington, D.C. Lou... Read more
Vatican City, Oct 8, 2014 / 04:46 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, Nigeria, has high hopes for the outcome of the current bishops’ synod, noting the contributions of the African Church despite extreme violence and other lo... Read more
Newark, N.J., Oct 8, 2014 / 09:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Michael Mencer should have been blind for 50 years by now. As a third grader, Mencer was diagnosed with juvenile macular degeneration and was given six months before he would completely lose his ... Read more
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