News from around the Catholic world for the week ending 25 July.
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• Pope Francis calls for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East
• Iraqi Christians face ultimatum: leave or die
• The world remembers those lost on flight MH17
• Another attempt in the Senate to redefine marriage
• International AIDS Conference wraps up in Melbourne.
TRANSCRIPT
BOBBIE: Pope Francis has once again called for peace in the Middle East in Sunday’s Angeles Address, expressing a particular concern for Christians who are being persecuted in places they have lived since the beginning of Christianity.
Vatican Radio has that report.
VATICAN RADIO: With a special reference to the Iraqi town of Mosul from where all Christians have fled and the episcopal residence burnt to the ground by Islamic extremists, Pope Francis said “Today our brothers are persecuted. They are banished from their homes and forced to flee without even being able to take their belongings!”
Assuring them of his closeness and constant prayer, the Pope said: “My dear brothers and sisters who are persecuted, I know how much you suffer; I know that you are deprived of all. I am with you in faith in He who conquered evil”.
And with a special mention of the Middle East and Ukraine, the Pope appealed to all – to those present in the Square and far beyond – to persevere in praying for peace in all situations of tension and conflict in the world.
“May the God of peace” – Francis said – “arouse in all an authentic desire for dialogue and reconciliation. Violence cannot be overcome with violence. Violence is overcome with peace!”
Hear the full story at news.va
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600,000 people have been forced from their homes, and thousands killed, as Iraqi Christians face an ultimatum set by Islamic extremist group, ISIS.
On July 14th two Chaldean Sisters released from ISIS captivity were given the following message for the Christians of Mosul:
“You have three choices: To be converted into Islam, to pay “Aljizya” (a tax) to ISIS, or to flee Mosul without any possessions.”
The tax required from those wishing to stay is double the average monthly income for a typical resident.
Last Friday Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-appointed head of the Islamic State, released a formal statement, saying that those who refuse and do not abide by these conditions by Saturday September 23rd have only the ‘edge of the sword’ to answer to.
Despite the already existing refugee crisis in the region, the majority of Christians began evacuation two days after being advised to leave as soon as possible. Possessions were confiscated by ISIS as they left, including passports and cars; some, including children and the elderly, were forced to continue their journey by foot.
The properties of both Christians and Muslims have been taken over and marked with a symbol that identifies inhabitants as being either a Christian or one who rejects ISIS rule.
Many places of worship have been burnt to the ground, including the tomb of the prophet Jonah in Nineveh and more recently, an 1,800 year old church.
On Sunday Pope Francis called the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church Ignatius Youssef III Younan to assure him that he has been following the news closely and is praying for peace and security for Iraqi Christians.
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Memorial services have taken place across the world to remember those lost in last Friday’s Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 tragedy, which left 298 people dead. Among the deceased were 37 Australian citizens and residents including a Sydney nun, Sister Philomene Tiernan, who taught at Kincoppal-Rose Bay School in Sydney.
Sister Philomene, who was on her way home from a retreat in France, has been remembered by her school community as a caring, much-loved friend.
On Sunday Sydney’s Apostolic Administrator Bishop Peter Comensoli offered a special Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral to pray for the deceased. Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie joined Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove at the Mass.
A special Mass has also been held in Melbourne for the International AIDS conference delegates who perished, as well as in Hobart.
Prime Minister Abbott and Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten both offered moving speeches in Parliament on Friday, and Labor offered bipartisan support for the government to deal with the disaster.
Mr Abbott issued a statement on Wednesday confirming the victims were on a train on Tuesday night en-route to the Netherlands for identification and repatriation. He also announced that Sir Peter Cosgrove left for the Netherlands on Tuesday night to represent Australia.
“It is important for the families and for our nation, that our people be received by one of our own,” Mr Abbott said.
Mr Abbott also noted that once identification is complete, the Government will transport families to the Netherlands if they wish to accompany their loved ones home.
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The Australian Federal Senate is accepting submissions from the public on a bill which seeks to redefine marriage in Australia through the recognition of overseas same-sex marriages.
The Bill, titled “Recognition of Foreign Marriages Bill 2014”, was introduced by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young in May earlier this year. If passed it will amend the existing Federal Marriage Act to remove the prohibition of the recognition of same-sex unions solemnised as marriages in other nations.
Currently the Bill is being considered by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, which is taking submissions from the public. The contents of the Bill remain unchanged from an earlier bill rejected by the Senate last year, titled “Marriage Act Amendment (Recognition of Foreign Marriages for Same-Sex Couples) Bill 2013”.
The 2013 bill was described by one supporting senator as a backdoor approach to introducing same-sex marriage laws in Australia.
In the Senate in June last year, Liberal Senator Sue Boyce said concerning the bill, “I’m not normally in favour of backdoor ways of doing things, which is what this bill is – it is a backdoor way to try to increase pressure for same-sex marriage in Australia.”
The Australian Christian Lobby have called upon Australian voters to oppose the bill through submissions to the Senate Inquiry, through their website entitled “Preserving Marriage”.
ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton said, “Senate inquiries take notice of what the public say.”
“They are very democratic,” he said.
Submissions close on July 31st and can be made through preservingmarriage.acl.org.au.
Details via Australian Christian Lobby
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Catholics have gathered from around the world for the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia.
The annual conference, which has taken the theme “Stepping up the pace”, has attracted 14,000 international delegates, including former U.S. president Bill Clinton and UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé.
Catholics at the conference have raised concerns about decreases to funding by developed nations to combat the disease.
Speaking to Catholic News Service, international Catholic HIV & AIDS Network head Fr Rick Bauer said that a lack of recognition of HIV/AIDS by the public has hurt recent efforts.
Fr Bauer said, “People in the airport ask me what my red ribbon means. Fifteen years ago, everyone knew what it symbolised. Now it’s different. The media has dropped us.”
Caritas Internationalis special HIV & AIDS advisor Msgr Robert J. Vitillo said that many, including doctors, mistakenly believe that AIDS is no longer a fatal disease.
Msgr Vitillo also said that a misguided economic approach to AIDS by Western governments has hurt the ability to treat AIDS in developing nations.
Msgr Vitillo said, “Donor governments want to consolidate their funding and only give big grants and want to give those to government programs.”
“In Asia, for example, more and more governments are being recognized as middle-income economies… It’s true that a small number of people are getting richer and richer, and the country’s GNP may have risen into the middle-income category, but the situation of the poor is often worse,” he said.
The conference concludes today.
Music Credit: Waking Up by Dexter Britain.
