News from around the Catholic world for the week ending 20 June.
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• Pope Francis meets with the Archbishop of Canterbury
• Venerable Fulton Sheen one step closer to being declared a saint
• Christians flee Iraq following ISIS take-over
• Caritas Australia recognised by UN for work in the Solomon Islands
• Australian Churches Refugee Task Force calls on government to move offshore detention centers to Tasmania.
TRANSCRIPT
BOBBIE: Pope Francis has met with the Anglican Communion’s Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in Rome on Monday, with discussions focusing on the topics of Christian unity and human suffering.
Vatican Radio spoke to Archbishop Welby before the audience.
ARCHBISHOP WELBY: This is essentially a fraternal visit, and it’s developing on the progress we have made over the last year. The key aspect to what we’re sharing is the commitment to work together on issues of human suffering. We’ve seen that in the Global Freedom Network and the Declaration on Trafficking – and I’m expecting and hoping that we will continue to see further joint work in areas of human suffering and great poverty and struggle.
In an address to Archbishop Welby, Pope Francis lamented the disunity of the followers of Christ, highlighting our poor response to God’s call for us to be one.
Pope Francis said, “Beneath [The Lord’s] merciful gaze, we cannot claim that our division is anything less than a scandal and an obstacle to our proclaiming the Gospel of salvation to the world.”
Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby also spoke about their joint efforts in combatting human trafficking. Pope Francis thanked Archbishop Welby for his leadership in the area, and voiced his desire to maintain the fight against slavery.
The Holy Father said, “Let us persevere in our commitment to combat new forms of enslavement, in the hope that we can help provide relief to victims and oppose this deplorable trade.”
“I thank God that, as disciples sent to heal a wounded world, we stand together, with perseverance and determination, in opposing this grave evil,” he said.
See Pope Francis’ full address via news.va.
See Archbishop Welby’s address on his website.
Hear the full story on Vatican Radio’s website.
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Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen is one step closer to being declared a saint, with a Vatican panel of theologians this week unanimously recommending that the well-known stillborn miracle of 2010 be attributed to his intercession.
Bonnie Engstrom sought the intercession of Venerable Fulton Sheen in September 2010, when her son was born limp and blue with a knot in his umbilical cord. As they waited for an ambulance the child was baptised James Fulton by his father.
For 60 minutes baby James Fulton had no pulse, and fearing he was dead, the parents prayed fervently to Venerable Fulton Sheen while the doctors attempted to restart his heart. Soon after, the child was declared dead. After 61 minutes, the baby was restored to life and is still medication free and functioning normally.
In March of this year, Vatican medical experts declared no natural explanation for the restarting of the heart so long after the still-birth, and in light of this evidence, the investigation conducted by the theological commission found the miracle to be sound evidence for the beatification of Venerable Fulton Sheen.
The committee of experts would have had to determine its miraculous nature by investigating whether it could be attributed to medical documents and witness testimonies, while taking into consideration the seriousness of the condition, whether or not health was actually restored, and if the condition has resurfaced since the event.
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints will now review the case before the Pope makes a final decision as to whether Sheen will be beatified.
More information is available via the website for the cause of the Venerable Fulton Sheen.
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Islamic terrorist group ISIS, an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, has taken over a large part of Iraq over the last week, causing civilians to flee the area.
The BBC reports that ISIS, which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, wants to create an Islamist state spreading from Northern Iraq to North-West Syria.
In addition to attacks on the general population, there has been direct violence targeted at Christians. Before this week’s attacks 300,000 Christians were estimated to live in Iraq, down from more than 1.2 million in the early 1990s. Since then, large numbers have fled to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, or to the northern Kurdish region as a result of Islamic violence.
Mosul’s Archbishop Amel Nona said that in the 11 years following the 2003 US-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the number of Christians in his Archdiocese had declined from 35,000 to 3,000. This week Mosul’s last remaining Christians left their homes due to church attacks, killings, robberies, rapes and kidnappings.
Discussing the attacks to four churches and a monastery in Mosul, the Archbishop said: “We received threats… [and]now all the faithful have fled the city. I wonder if they will ever return there.”
Julie Bishop, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, has pledged to provide assistance if requested by Iraq.
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Caritas Australia’s efforts in the Solomon Islands have been recognised with an award from the United Nations.
The Pacific Innovation and Leadership Award for Resilience was awarded to Caritas Australia on Wednesday for their contribution to natural disaster risk reduction in the region.
Caritas Australia have assisted in natural disaster preparation by creating programs with local residents in the Solomon Islands, particularly in vulnerable communities. One such program, known as the Nursery Rhyme Program, uses songs and rhymes to teach children about how they can respond to disaster.
Speaking on the Nursery Rhyme Program, Solomon Islands program officer Mary Malagela said “[i]t is really important to teach young kids simple and effective [Disaster Risk Reduction] messages, ones they will be able to share with their friends and family.”
“It is something that is easy to remember, even during a stressful situation like a disaster event, and it can help kids feel safe, knowing what to do to protect themselves in a disaster,” she said.
The Nursery Rhyme Program has been implemented in the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, helping 4000 children thus far. The Solomon Islands is frequently struck by natural disasters, typically through floods, earthquakes and tsunamis.
In February last year at least nine people were killed and a number of villages were destroyed after a tsunami in the region.
More on that story via The Catholic Leader.
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The Australian Churches Refugee Task Force has called on the Abbott Government to consider moving offshore detention centers to Tasmania as a more cost-effective and humane alternative to Manus Island and Nauru.
Anglican Bishop John Harrower and CEO of the Taskforce Ms Misha Coleman raised their concerns with offshore processing at a meeting with state and federal politicians in Tasmania ahead of this week’s Refugee Week events.
Ms Coleman cited estimates that the offshore facilities are costing taxpayers $3,744 per person per day, with offshore processing being the fastest growing area of expenditure in the Australian budget.
“We’re the only country in the world that wastes money in this way,” Ms Coleman said.
“The Taskforce has estimated that thousands of jobs could be created by processing asylum seekers in Tasmania – without the inhumane conditions that have led to suicide attempts and violence in the offshore centres,“ she said.
Bishop Harrower, who is patron of the Taskforce said that caring for refugees in Tasmania would be better stewardship of taxpayer money.
“Based on Tasmania’s record of caring for asylum seekers and refugees, we’d get a more ethical, humane and legal approach to the care of asylum seekers,” Bishop Harrower said, “as opposed to the cruelty that is being inflicted in the offshore camps”.
Australia commemorates Refugee Week to coincide with World Refugee Day on the 20th of June each year.
Music Credit: Waking Up by Dexter Britain.
