| International |
2010.02.07 |
Holocaust memory demands respect for all says pope
A survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp attends a January 27 ceremony in Oswiecim, Poland, marking the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi camp by Soviet troops. Survivors from Auschwitz, veterans and international leaders participated in the Holocaust Remembrance Day observance. Photo: CNS/Reuters
VATICAN CITY (CNS): Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, Pope Benedict XVI prayed that honouring the memory of the six million Jews who died in the Nazi death camps would lead everyone to greater respect for each human being.
Speaking at the end of his weekly general audience, the pope said: “Deeply moved, we remember the innumerable victims of the blind racial and religious hatred, who suffered deportation, prison and death in those repugnant and inhuman places.” He told the crowd of around 5,000 people at the general audience that the day marked the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp at Oswiecim, Poland, and the rescue of the few survivors.
The pope said, “That event and the testimony of the survivors revealed to the world the heinous crimes of an unheard-of cruelty that were committed in the extermination camps created by Nazi Germany.”......
European Union delegation to visit riot-torn India but asked not to talk
NEW DELHI (UCAN): Gouri Kumar Rath, the secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) in Orissa, India, has asked the state government to withdraw permission for a human rights delegation from the European Union to visit the district of Kandhamal in India from February 2 to 5, which Christians describe as not having yet returned to normal after experiencing seven straight weeks of anti-Christian violence in 2008.
“Outside elements have no business studying the situation in any part of the country. It is the responsibility of our government to deal with the problem,” Rath told media on January 31.
“These groups were part of the violence. How could we expect them to support moves for justice,” asked Father Dibya Parichha, spokesperson of the Cuttuck-Bhubaneshwar archdiocese.
He added that some Hindu groups are afraid that the visit will expose the real situation in Kandhamal, where he said hundreds of people are still homeless, living in fear of fanatic violence and afraid of speaking out. He accused the lobby of “trying to cover up their violent face. The riot showed that the state was incapable of protecting its people. What happened in Orissa was not an internal matter. It was a global issue of human rights violation.”
Father Parichha said Catholic groups are preparing to meet with the EU delegation, but do not have any official information on its itinerary. The European visitors are expected to meet with Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, but as of February 1, no date had been confirmed.
Father Parichha said the Church hopes the visit would put some “pressure on the state to expedite its action toward getting justice to the victims,” in the form of compensation, help to rebuild homes and a guarantee of safety and religious freedom.
The state government refused the visit on January 27, but later relented. Reports say that the delegation has been asked not to publish an official report or speak to the media.
Pope proposes a new model for priests
VATICAN CITY (Agencies): At his January 25 Angelus in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI proposed a Spanish martyr and priest, Blessed Josep Samsó i Elias, as a model both for priests and laity.
The pope expressed his wish that the example of the priest may “serve as a stimulus to presbyters in the solicitous exercise of their pastoral ministry and encourage the faithful to give at all times courageous and convinced witness of their faith. For priests, especially for parish priests, he constitutes a model of dedication to catechesis and to charity to the poor.”
Zenit.org reported that the pope spoke in Catalan.
Father Josep Samsó i Elias was martyred during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and was beatified on January 24 at St. Mary’s Basilica in the city of Mataro, near Barcelona, where he was a parish priest. The beatification was attended by some 1,500 people, including some 20 bishops and 450 priests.
Pope Benedict described the new blessed as a “true witness of Christ” who “died forgiving his persecutors. In his martyrdom, he generously gave his life to the Lord with words and gestures of forgiveness and mercy.”Vatican dedicates profit from stamp to Haiti
VATICAN CITY (Agencies): The Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Governorate of Vatican City State has issued a special stamp, the sales of which will be used for the benefit of the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti, a Vatican press release says.
The stamp is dedicated to the 1,500th anniversary of the shrine of Our Lady of Grace, better known as the shrine of Mentorella, located in the Italian region of Lazio. A series of 900,000 stamps, with a face value of €0.65 each, will be sold at €0.85, which, if the entire series goes, will leave €150,000 ($168,625) to be donated to the devastated country’s recovery.
The €0.20 surplus will be used to aid victims of the earthquake.Poorer nations should have greater voice says Caritas
DAVOS (CWNews.com): Speaking the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the secretary general of Caritas Internationalis, Lesley-Anne Knight, said that poorer nations should have a greater voice in the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation, and that wealthier nations should assist poorer ones in paying for the cost of climate-related disasters.
She said that “finance has been focussed on financial mechanisms, profits and bonuses (but) human beings were left out with dire consequences for us all, especially the poor. For humanitarian organisations, such as Caritas, the human person must be at the heart of everything we do. But this should equally be applied to economic systems, which are also ultimately at the service of humanity.”
Knight also expressed concern at the failure of recent climate-change talks in Copenhagen. She said, “The richer nations of the world must provide assistance for developing countries who are bearing the brunt of climate-related disaster. Economic growth and development must have regard for inter-generational justice. Rich countries have profited the most from the industrialisation that has led to climate change and now they must pay the costs of adapting and mitigating the damage.”Britain’s House of Lords backs Church on Equality Bill amendment
LONDON (CNS): Britain’s House of Lords rejected government proposals that the country’s Catholic bishops said could have forced the Church to accept women, sexually active gays and transsexuals into the priesthood.
Members voted 216-178 in favour of an amendment to the Equality Bill to protect the existing rights of Churches to insist that clergy and high-profile lay employees live a life that is consistent with Christian moral teaching.
Two attempts by the government to reverse the vote were defeated during the January 25 debate. It has not yet said if it will challenge the amendment when the bill returns to the House of Commons later this year.
The amendment deleted a paragraph that said an exemption would apply solely to those people who spent most of their work life leading worship and teaching doctrine. Catholic, Anglican and evangelical Church leaders said it would narrow the definition of a ministry so radically that no cleric would be able to qualify for an exemption. They said priests spent the majority of their time involved in pastoral work, private prayer and study, administration and building maintenance.
The bishops said the bill meant the Churches could be sued by anyone who was turned away as a candidate for the priesthood on grounds of gender or sexual lifestyle and that they would be powerless to stop priests from entering into legally recognised same-sex unions, leading promiscuous lifestyles or having sex-change operations.
Caritas workers in Haiti bring aid to at least 50,000 people
A woman sits at a tent constructed of cardboard and sheets in a makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 26. According to the government, more than a million people were left homeless by the January 12 earthquake. Photo: CNS/Reuters
VATICAN CITY (CNS): The major Catholic aid agencies in Haiti continued to step up their assistance to the devastated country, feeding tens of thousands of people as the rebuilding effort begins.
In a January 28 statement, Caritas Internationalis reported that Caritas Haiti and the United States of America-based Catholic Relief Services (CRS) delivered nearly 100 tons of food to Port-au-Prince during the week of January 25 to feed at least 50,000 people in one of the city’s biggest camps, Petionville Club.
Caritas said that food, water, medicine and other supplies had been brought to more than 25,000 people in the two weeks following the January 12 earthquake that flattened Port-au-Prince. It said serious challenges remain in logistics, communication and security, and that people were becoming more desperate for food, but the aid was getting through. As of January 26, donors worldwide had contributed more than US$63 million ($489.3 million) to Caritas for relief efforts in Haiti.
The statement noted that, before distribution began in large camps, the safety of the sites had to be assured and that those most in need—the injured and elderly—received help first. To ensure the safety of both beneficiaries and staff members, Caritas distributed coloured tickets to people according to which part of the camp they live in. Food and supplies were given to assigned quadrants each day according to code colour........
Beatification cause for Matteo Ricci reopens
MACERATA (Agencies): The first session of the Diocesan Tribunal for the Cause of Beatification for the great 16th century missionary to China, Father Matteo Ricci sj was launched at a Mass, celebrated by Bishop Claudio Giuliodori in the Cathedral of San Giuliano in his hometown of Macerata, Italy, on January 24, Agenzia Fides reported.
In the 400th year since his death, the process, which originally began in April 1984, when he was declared a servant of God, is being resurrected. The ecclesiastical court has been commissioned to hear evidence from a number of witnesses to ascertain where to take the process next.
An historical commission has been established to collect all the writings and documents attributed to Father Ricci, along with those that make some reference to him. The commission’s work will conclude with a critical study of the writings of the Jesuit priest, as well as make a judgment on the authenticity and value of documents written about him.
UCA News reported that the tribunal’s main task is to ascertain whether people considered Father Ricci to have been a holy man during his lifetime and whether this consideration still exists today.
He was born in Macerata in 1552 and died on 11 May 1610 in Beijing.
At the launch, officials, including the new postulator for the Cause, Jesuit Father Tony Witwer, were sworn in.
Bishop Giuliodori said in October last year that he hopes this new phase will lead the Church to quickly recognise the missionary genius and spiritual stature of Father Ricci and beatify him. He is scheduled to lead a pilgrimage from Macerata to Beijing in July 2010 to pray at Father Ricci’s tomb.
An exhibition in Beijing, to celebrate the anniversary of his death, opened on February 6. It is entitled, Matteo Ricci: the Encounter of Civilisations in China of the Ming. It will move to Shanghai on April 2 and Nanjing on June 4.
