Denver, Colo., Oct 24, 2017 / 03:51 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The growing problem of teen suicide is one that should be met with prayer and efforts to help young people develop healthy use of social media, said Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver in a recent... Read more
Byblos, Lebanon, Oct 24, 2017 / 03:35 pm (Aid to the Church in Need).- The Church in Lebanon is working to aid the 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, the great majority of whom are Muslim, and the Bishop of the Maronite Eparchy of Jbeil recently told Aid to the Church in Need about these efforts. Bishop Michel Aoun teaches sacramental theology at the Holy Spirit University in Beirut and serves as the liaison for the country’s Catholic patriarchs and bishops with Caritas Lebanon. He spoke with papal charity Aid to the Church in Need on a recent visit to New York. He spoke in particular on the local Churches' role in coming to the aid of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, an influx that has posed enormous challenges for a country whose own population is just 4.5 million. Please read below the text of Aid to the Church in Need's interview with Bishop Aoun:What is the situation at present—are the refugees being integrated somehow? The refugees are everywhere, along the border with Syria, and in every town and village across the entire country. They are not in refugee camps. These people get some support from international organizations, but they also are seeking work. That is a problem: a Syrian will work for a lot less money than would a Lebanese. As a result, the country is getting poorer. For Caritas it is a special challenge; we are called to help the Syrians, which upsets the Lebanese, who are saying they themselves increasingly need support. Syrian Christians, on the other hand, have local connections, are helped by Churches, etc. The Muslim refugees pose the biggest challenge.What has been the approach of Caritas in Lebanon? In conjunction with our partners in Europe and elsewhere, we are allotting at least 30 percent or sometimes even 40 percent of our budget to fund projects in support of vulnerable Lebanese – for example, in supporting schools. That is a good thing. We are also focusing on projects that benefit the Lebanese, as well as the Syrian refugees. In addition, we support Lebanese communities that have a particularly hard time coping, such as those living along the Syrian border; we help them with modest economic development, education, or supply of water, so that local residents are not forced to migrate to the big cities like Beirut. It is important to keep these villages vibrant, so that they simply do not lose all their residents.With violence abating, to some extent, in Syria, is the refugee crisis in Lebanon easing? Are Syrians – Muslims and Christians – beginning to return home? That process has not yet begun, much as we want that to happen. Those Muslims who are in Lebanon are opposed to the Assad regime; the majority is Sunni. They await action on the part of the international community so that they can be sure that they will be given protection from being persecuted by the Syrian regime. There is another issue. These refugees have now spent some four years in Lebanon and have gotten used to a better way of life than the one they left behind. Some are reluctant to leave also because Lebanon offers certain liberties that the dictatorship in Syria, a totalitarian system, would never allow.Is the additional Sunni presence in Lebanon a threat to Lebanon’s stability? Lebanon must preserve a certain balance, an equilibrium. Absorbing such a large number of Sunnis could thus pose a threat to that equilibrium. Neither the Shiites nor the Christians of Lebanon could accept that; a solution to the refugee crisis must be found.Are there tensions in Lebanon between Christians and Muslims? No, there is a long history of harmony between the two communities, which dates back many decades, up to a century. That culture of living side-by-side is inscribed in the hearts of our people. They work side-by-side and, in Catholic schools, often there are 15 percent or 20 percent, or more, of the students who are Muslim. Muslim parents are eager to have their children taught certain basic values at our schools.Could Lebanon be a model for the Middle East in this regard? Yes, St. John Paul II declared that Lebanon, with its conviviality among Christians and Muslims, has a message for the region. Citizens here have the same rights and obligations. It is therefore crucial for the world to help Lebanon preserve this unique state of affairs that shows the world that Christians and Muslims can live together.Given the upheaval and wars in the region, is Lebanon at risk of losing its privileged position in this regard? The greatest risk is that Christians will leave Lebanon, also that they do not have many children. That is crucial for maintaining this equilibrium. Christians should not become a small minority. Right now, approximately 38 percent of Lebanese are Christians, with Muslims comprising 62 percent, more or less half Sunnis and half Shiites, not counting the refugees.What does the Maronite Church in Lebanon want Churches in the West to do? It would be great if Christians in the West would petition their government so that, for example, the US government take account of the importance of Christians in the Middle East. It seems that sometimes that economic considerations have precedence, as has been the case in Iraq, for example. Western policy should ensure that Christians remain in the Middle East – their presence is vital. The Lebanese example shows why: Lebanese Muslims are very much influenced by Christians – they are different than Muslims in Syria or Iraq, because they have lived side by side with many Christians and have been exposed to Christian values, including their support for democracy, and tolerance. That is a vital, indispensable gift Christians have to offer the region. Read more
Austin, Texas, Oct 25, 2017 / 09:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- This article has been updated. Following the approval of a federal court, an undocumented teen girl in Texas has had an abortion, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. Yesterday, a federal appeals court had ordered that the government must assist a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant, detained in federal custody in Texas, to obtain the abortion. In a 6-3 decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an Oct. 20 decision from a three-judge panel – which delayed a decision on the requested abortion – ordering instead that an adult custodian be found for the teenager, which would remove her from federal custody. The previous ruling had won praise from from pro-life leaders and bishops. In a statement, the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops said that “federal and Texas state officials are to be commended for defending the life of an innocent unborn child in a recent case involving an unaccompanied pregnant minor in federal immigration custody.” They also said a lower court’s Oct. 18 ruling allowing the girl to get an abortion would “require the government to facilitate and participate in ending the innocent life of the unborn child.” “Indeed, this case, one of many brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), has as its objective compelling others to perform, facilitate, or pay for abortion who do not wish to do so. This objective is unconscionable. No one —the government, private individuals or organizations — should be forced to be complicit in abortion,” the bishops urged. The case revolved around the question of whether the federal government would facilitate an abortion for a 17-year-old from Central America, known only as “Jane Doe.” Since September, the minor has been in federal custody in a Texas shelter operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement – an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. Under Texas law, minors must have either parental consent or a state permission to obtain an abortion. Doe received state permission Sept. 25, 2017. However, the Department of Health and Human Services had objected to transporting the minor to abortion appointments. The government argued that since she is a minor in their custody, it has the right to determine what is in the best interest of the teen, and also stated that it has an interest in not creating incentives for minors to cross international borders in order to obtain abortions. On Oct. 20, a three-judge appellate panel ruled that Doe would not be allowed immediately to obtain the abortion. This overruled a Texas district court’s ruling that Doe should be allowed to access an abortion immediately. About 16 weeks pregnant, Doe had secured outside funding for the abortion. Abortion is prohibited in Texas after 20 weeks. Texas' bishops objected to the ACLU’s ongoing attempts to require cooperation in abortion, and noted that religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, are involved in immigration efforts for unaccompanied minors and work with pregnant mothers. They also decried the ALCU’s previous litigation seeking to bar the reception of funds from faith based-organizations, saying such actions are “thwarting the delivery of vital human services by organizations with the competence and experience to provide them.” Read more
Santa Fe, N.M., Oct 24, 2017 / 01:57 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The release of court records related to sex abuse allegations against three Catholic priests several decades ago will serve as “an additional step in healing for survivors, their families,... Read more
Nashville, Tenn., Oct 24, 2017 / 12:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The administrator of the Diocese of Nashville has called on the local community to pray for the conversions of white nationalists who are organizing two rallies in Tennessee later this month. ... Read more
Vatican City, Oct 24, 2017 / 11:16 am (CNA/EWTN News).- For the third year in a row, the Sistine Chapel Choir has released a new CD, which this year is dedicated to Advent and Christmas, and features unique scores based on historic manuscripts from the Vatican Library. Created in partnership with the classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, the album will be released Oct. 27 in Italy and is titled “Veni Domine: Advent and Christmas at the Sistine Chapel.” It will be released to the rest of the world a week later, on Nov. 3. Music featured in the album includes a repertoire of scores from several Renaissance manuscripts from the Sistine Chapel reserve of the Vatican library. A sample of singing we'll hear on the new Sistine Chapel Choir CD #music #Vatican pic.twitter.com/E0vYEkqZ6X — Elise Harris (@eharris_it) October 24, 2017 It also features Perotin's “Beata Viscera Mariae Virginis.” Perotin, also known as “Perotin the Great,” was a European composer, likely French, who lived from around 1160-1230, and became one of the most well-known composers of his time. The 16-track album also features the voice of Cecilia Bartoli, an Italian mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist, who is the first woman to have ever recorded with the choir. Like previous albums, the CD includes several scores written by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, an Italian Renaissance sacred music composer who lived from 1525-1594, and is perhaps one of the most well-known composers of sacred polyphony. The CD was presented Oct. 24 inside the Vatican Press Office by Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the Pontifical Household; Mirko Gratton, director of the Classical and Jazz Division of Universal Music Italia; and Msgr. Massimo Palombella, director of the Sistine Chapel Choir. In his comments during the presentation, Ganswein said that when the choir first decided to record CDs three years ago, he never imagined they would enjoy so much success. The selection of songs included on the new disc, he said, “inspire an intimate joy and immerse us in a horizon of rare beauty that expresses, as St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori says, the joy of creation and of man for the birth of the Savior.” What is especially unique about the Christmas album, he said, is that it is based on “translating into music the manuscripts present in the Sistine Chapel reserve of the Vatican Library.” Ganswein noted that the Sistine Chapel reserve is “one of the largest archives of Renaissance music in the world,” where manuscripts from the greatest composers of this era can be found. However, apart from shedding light on the historical significance of the music featured, Ganswein said the deeper reason for the CD is the “ecclesial service” the choir, like the rest of the Church, is called to undertake. “A record production of this type is, in fact, an announcement of the Good News which acts through art, specifically music,” he said, adding that it hopes to inspire “a growth in the spiritual path and even a first questioning about He who is the origin of every beauty.” It is also through music that the Church is able to go to the existential “peripheries” of the world and “offer to all a concrete possibility of encounter with a God who loves, forgives and wants for each one of us a life in abundance,” he said. In comments to CNA, Palombella said this year's CD is important specifically because it uses the ancient manuscripts from the archive of the Vatican Library. At times, study and research are seen as being opposed to music, he said. However, research actually helps improve the musical product, so that it is “accessible to everyone.” Without study or research, a person can do pastoral work for the Church, but it will only be “for the moment” and cannot go deeper, he said. Noting how retired Pope Benedict XVI has a strong appreciation for music, Palombella said Pope Francis “ is absolutely in continuity” on this point, and has both supported and encouraged their work because “it is directed toward evangelization.” Music, he said, echoing Archbishop Ganswein, also has the ability to reach people on the peripheries, “because many people would never have access to evangelization if it weren't through music and art.” As in previous years, all funds collected from sales of the CD will go directly to the papal charities. Read more
Vatican City, Oct 24, 2017 / 06:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An initiative from the Vatican this month is inviting people to virtually connect with Pope Francis and learn more about Church missions and how to support them. MissioBot is an automatic chat system on Facebook Messenger, which helps guide users through a chat experience with words from Pope Francis. Through any computer or smart phone with the Facebook Messenger app, users can learn about mission projects around the world. The participant then has the opportunity to pray for particular intentions or donate to specific causes, such as orphans or victims of famine. People will also be able to click on “Papal Wisdom” to receive snippets of advice from Pope Francis. MissioBot is available for the entire month of October in commemoration of World Mission Sunday, Oct. 22. In a press conference on Saturday, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, emphasized that mission work is an essential aspect of the Christian faith. “In the Christian faith, there is a pulse that gives life to the body. If the pulse stops, we enter into crisis, shock,” said Cardinal Filoni, adding that the pulse of faith is mission work. Every Christian is called to be a missionary in some way, he said, pointing to Saint Francis Xavier, who spread the Gospel by traveling to Japan, and Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, who supported missionaries through prayer. World Mission Sunday was begun in 1926 by the Congregation for Divine Worship and is now promoted by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Mission Societies. The Pope's message for the 91st World Mission Day was published by the Vatican earlier this year. Pope Francis said that World Mission Day “is a good opportunity for enabling the missionary heart of Christian communities to join in prayer, testimony of life and communion of goods, in responding to the vast and pressing needs of evangelization.” Read more
Austin, Texas, Oct 23, 2017 / 03:21 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Texas' bishops have welcomed the decision of an appeals court delaying the government-assisted procurement of an abortion by an undocumented teenager who is under federal custody in the state. However, a request for a review of the appeal has been filed, again opening up the question of whether the government will be forced to facilitate an abortion for the unaccompanied minor. “Federal and Texas state officials are to be commended for defending the life of an innocent unborn child in a recent case involving an unaccompanied pregnant minor in federal immigration custody,” the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops stated Oct. 20. They said a lower court’s Oct. 18 ruling allowing the girl to get an abortion would “require the government to facilitate and participate in ending the innocent life of the unborn child.” “Indeed, this case, one of many brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), has as its objective compelling others to perform, facilitate, or pay for abortion who do not wish to do so. This objective is unconscionable. No one —the government, private individuals or organizations — should be forced to be complicit in abortion,” the bishops urged. The bishops’ statement came in response to an Oct. 20 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals. The case revolves around the question of whether the federal government will facilitate an abortion for a 17-year-old from Central America, known only as “Jane Doe.” Since September, the minor has been in federal custody in a Texas shelter operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement – an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. Under Texas law, minors must have either parental consent or a state permission to obtain an abortion. Doe received state permission Sept. 25, 2017. However, the Department of Health and Human Services has objected to transporting the minor to abortion appointments. The government argues that since she is a minor in their custody, it has the right to determine what is in the best interest of the teen, and also states it has an interest in not creating incentives for minors to cross international borders in order to obtain abortions. On Oct. 20, a three-judge appellate panel ruled that Doe would not be allowed immediately to obtain the abortion. This overruled a Texas district court’s ruling that Doe should be allowed to access an abortion immediately. Instead, the appeals court said, a sponsor must be found for the minor, and she must be released from federal custody into the custody of the sponsor. She would then be allowed to obtain the abortion by herself, with the sponsor taking her to and from the appointment. The government has until Oct. 31 to find a sponsor. As of last week’s ruling, Doe is 15 weeks pregnant and has secured outside funding for the abortion. Abortion is prohibited in Texas after 20 weeks. The ACLU, who is representing Doe, has filed an emergency petition asking for a full review of the case by all 10 judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The Trump administration has asked the appeals court to deny the petition, saying the court will review the case Oct. 31 if no sponsor is found. The administration also stated that the teen can return to her home country in order to seek an abortion. Texas' bishops objected to the ACLU’s ongoing attempts to require cooperation in abortion, and noted that religious organizations, such at the Catholic Church, are involved in immigration efforts for unaccompanied minors and work with pregnant mothers. They also decried the ALCU’s previous litigation seeking to bar the reception of funds from faith based-organizations, saying such actions are “thwarting the delivery of vital human services by organizations with the competence and experience to provide them.” “As this case continues through the legal process, we pray for this young mother and her unborn child, so both may enjoy the protection and refuge the United States offers.” Read more
Vatican City, Oct 23, 2017 / 10:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis preached Monday about the idolatry of money, which causes us to ignore those in need, allowing others to go hungry and die while we turn money and worldly possessions into false gods. Today there are people who are greedy for more money and worldly goods, people who have “so much,” but walk by “hungry children who have no medicine, who have no education, who are abandoned,” he said Oct. 23 during his homily at Mass at the chapel of the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta. This is “an idolatry that kills,” that makes “human sacrifices” to the god of money, the Pope said. “This idolatry causes so many people to starve,” he stated, pointing to the example of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people who have been displaced from their home in Burma, also known as Myanmar, due to ethno-religious persecution. There are 800,000 Rohingya people in refugee camps, the Pope said. And of these, 200,000 are children. They are “malnourished, without medicine,” he said. “Even today this happens,” he emphasized, noting how our prayers against idolatry “must be strong.” We should pray: “Lord, please, touch the hearts of these people who worship… the god of money. Touch also my heart so I do not fall into” the same thing, that I can see everything clearly, he said. The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group who reside in the Rakhine state of majority-Buddhist Burma. They have been denied citizenship for nearly 40 years, and their persecution by the government has intensified in recent years. Pope Francis has spoken out on behalf of the minority many times in recent years. In November he will visit Burma, as well as Bangladesh, where he will undoubtedly speak out for the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. In his homily, he reflected on the words of Christ in the day’s Gospel from St. Luke: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” God who ultimately puts a limit on our attachment to money, Pope Francis said, since at the end of life it becomes worthless. Many men worship money and make money their god, he continued, but their life has no meaning. “Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God,” Francis said, quoting from the Gospel of Luke. God underlines this with “gentleness” in the end, he said. To make ourselves rich in what matters to God, “that is the only way. Wealth, [yes], but in God.” Read more
Vatican City, Oct 23, 2017 / 09:54 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a video message to participants in a youth forum in Canada, Pope Francis told young people to meet Jesus in prayer, letting Christ direct their lives – thus leading them on an incredible ... Read more
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