Fides News - English

VATICAN - Pope Francis inaugurates the Jubilee Audiences: in the pilgrimage of Christian hope it is always possible to “start anew”

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 21:23:38 +0100

Vatican City - In the pilgrimage of Christian life a new beginning is always possible. It is always possible to start anew. This was repeated by the Fathers of the Church, such as Saint Irenaeus of Lyon. Pope Francis repeated this today, January 11, as he inaugurated the "Saturday Jubilee audiences", similar in structure to the Wednesday General Audiences, which will mark the coming months and allow the Bishop of Rome to "ideally welcome and embrace all those who are coming from all over the world in search of a new beginning. Indeed, the Jubilee is a new beginning, the possibility for everyone to start anew from God". In a playful manner, Pope Francis, taking his cue from the various passages of his reflection, invited the multitude gathered in the Paul VI Hall several times during the Audience to chant the word ‘Start again!’ all together.

The common thread of the special cycle of Jubilee Audiences will be that of Hope, the key word of the Holy Year 2025.

Hope - explained the Pope, repeating what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches - is "a theological virtue", that is, "a strength that comes from God. Hope, therefore, is not a habit or a character trait – that you either have or you don’t – but a strength to be asked for. That is why we make ourselves pilgrims: we come to ask for a gift, to start again on life’s journey".

Taking inspiration from the feast of the Baptism of Jesus, which is celebrated tomorrow, Pope Francis recalled the figure of "that great prophet of hope who was John the Baptist". Many people recalled the Pope - "flocked to him, longing for a new beginning, longing to start over". Jesus himself - continued the Successor of Peter, quoting the words reported in the Gospel of Luke - said that "among those born of women, no one is greater than John". But he also added that "the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he". "Here is the surprise", commented the Pope: "welcoming the Kingdom of God leads us to a new order of greatness".

Like John the Baptist, who in prison, before being beheaded on Herod's orders, was "full of questions", "we too", the Pope continued, "bring many questions on our pilgrimage, because there are many “Herods” who still oppose the Kingdom of God. Jesus, however, shows us the new path, the path of the Beatitudes, which are the surprising law of the Gospel". And we can always start again "from this originality of God, which shone in Jesus and which now binds us to serve, to love fraternally, to acknowledge ourselves as small. And to see the least, to listen to them and to be their voice. Here - concluded the Pontiff - is the new beginning, our Jubilee. And so we must…" And the multitude, at the urging of Pope Francis, once again repeated, all together, the word "Begin again!".

VATICAN - Cardinal Battaglia appointed Member of the Dicastery for Evangelization

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 20:59:38 +0100

Vatican City - The Holy Father Francis has appointed Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, Archbishop of Naples, as Member of the Dicastery for Evangelization .

AFRICA/CAMEROON - Appointment of bishop of Yokadouma

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 20:55:34 +0100

Vatican City - The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Justin Georges Ebengue, of the clergy of Batouri, until now rector of the Notre Dame de l’Espérance Interdiocesan Major Seminary of Bertoua, as bishop of Yokadouma, Cameroon.
Msgr. Justin Georges Ebengue was born on 18 May 1970. He attended the Saint Jean-Baptiste Preparatory Seminary of Doumé, and studied philosophy and theology at the Notre Dame de l’Espérance Interdiocesan Major Seminary of Bertoua, receiving a licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of Central African in Yaoundé.
He was ordained a priest on 18 February 2006 for the diocese of Batouri.
He has held the following offices: parish vicar, parish priest, rector of the minor seminary of Doumé, chancellor of the diocese of Doumé-Abong’ Mbang, head of diocesan pastoral care and catechesis, diocesan administrator of Batouri , rector of the Cathedral of Batouri, chaplain of the Bary Catholic College, member of the College of Consultors, the Presbyteral Council and the Council for Economic Affairs, member of the administration of the diocesan Procuratorate, vicar general of Batouri.
Since 2023 he has been rector of the Notre-Dame de l’Espérance Interdiocesan Major Seminary of Bertoua.

ASIA/THAILANDIA - Appointment of metropolitan archbishop of Bangkok

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 20:53:49 +0100

Vatican City - The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana, until now bishop of Chiang Mai and apostolic administrator of Bangkok, as metropolitan archbishop of Bangkok, Thailand.

EUROPE/ITALY - Blessed Father Giovanni Merlini, the missionary who spoke to the Pope and the bandits (of the Papal State)

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 18:55:36 +0100

by Fabio Beretta

Rome - "There is someone who loves you even before you deserve it." Disobeying the orders of the papal legate, Father Giovanni Merlini did not condemn or attack anyone in his homilies. Not even the bandits who, with their misdeeds, disturbed the order and internal peace of the Papal State.
According to him, violent repression was not the right way to resolve the problems of the lands of central Italy that had seen the invasion of Napoleonic French troops. His words also pierced like a bullet the hearts of the hardened criminals who sowed terror in the countryside. Thus, some bandits, through Father Giovanni, wrote a letter to the Pope asking for forgiveness.

Exactly two centuries after writing this letter, dated 1825, Father Giovanni Merlini, missionary of the Precious Blood, is proclaimed blessed. The beatification liturgy, which will be presided over on Sunday, January 12 by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, will not take place in Spoleto, his hometown, nor in Albano, a town in the Castelli Romani where Father Merlini lived, but in the Cathedral of Rome, the Lateran, where he will be elevated to the honors of the altars. A missionary in the lands of the Papal States, he was accused several times of collusion with bandits and of disobedience to the Church he served. He was also the advisor to a Pope, Blessed Pius IX.

And his holiness lies precisely in his way of living in the world with what Father Valerio Volpi, director of the Pastoral Office for Youth and Vocations of the Italian Province of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, co-author of the latest biography of Father Merlini, defines in an interview with Fides as "a disconcerting inner freedom".

"In a Church that sometimes pursues pastoral success, that questions itself saying: if people don't come, we fail, the example of Father Giovanni is enlightening. He trusted that God would do the rest", adds Father Valerio, recalling the words that Blessed Merlini addressed to his spiritual daughter, Maria de Mattias, today a saint: "You worry about many things, I worry only about the will of God. Always remember that we are channels and not sources".

The source of his work "is all there". And this freedom of action led him to embark on great projects, sometimes crazy, such as telling the Pope, who had then left Rome because of the insurrection of 1848: "Your Holiness, if you want to return to Rome, extend the feast of the Precious Blood to the entire universal Church. If you do so, you will have the possibility of returning to Rome before the feast . Pius IX did not make a vow but a simple promise", recounts Father Valerio. And in fact, on June 30, on the eve of the feast of the Precious Blood, the battle that, de facto, sanctioned the end of the Roman Republic took place. On 10 August 1849, faithful to the promise made in Gaeta, Pius IX issued the bull Redempti sumus with which the feast of the Precious Blood was extended to the entire Church, fixing it on the first Sunday of July .

Father Merlini, the 'biographer' continues, acted in this way because he was convinced that it was God's will. If God wanted it that way, he would have had the means and ways to carry out his will”. This way of doing things also won over Pius IX.

"Father Merlini's reputation as a spiritual director preceded him. Like all the initiatives he took in the context of his mission to "retransmit the love of God in the lands of the Papal States, where large sections of the population live," explains Father Valerio. "They did not need to know Jesus by name. Everyone knew who he was and what he had done. What they lacked was to experience that this Jesus loved them so much that he gave his life for each one of them, even if they were bandits or poor people."

And Merlini was listened to by these people because, as Father Volpi points out, "he used dialogue." With Saint Gaspare del Bufalo, he undertook the construction of several mission houses in the territories of the Papal States. Saint Gaspare chose Father Merlini because he was very practical and because he was an architect. Many of these houses were built outside the inhabited areas to facilitate the encounter and dialogue with the bandits. Father Giovanni spoke to them and the bandits listened to him. Often, in the evening, when everyone returned to the camps after working in the countryside, he offered water to everyone, without distinction. He never used an armed escort”.

And it was precisely this way of doing things that led Pius IX to want him as an advisor. And the Pope, in order to listen to him, did not bring him to Rome: “It was the Pontiff who went to Albano to speak to Father Giovanni. It was not unusual for the Pope to arrive while he was in the chicken coop feeding the animals. Tasks that, in the congregation, certainly did not belong to a high-ranking member”, explains Father Valerio to Fides. Merlini, in fact, was elected third Moderator General of the Congregation of the Precious Blood in 1847, a position he held until his death. Under his leadership, the Congregation founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo took on the structural aspect that we know today.

Father Merlini, a missionary in the lands of the Pope, is also the first blessed of the Jubilee 2025, dedicated to the theme of hope. This too, concludes Father Valerio Volpi, “is a strong message. As Christians, we sometimes take ourselves a little for granted, while Father Giovanni tells us that we must not take anything for granted. Father Giovanni also helps us to experience Rome, a city with a thousand-year-old tradition of faith, through his desire to follow God’s will. He helps us to recognize that there is no situation in which we live where God cannot teach us something.”

ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Jubilee with the inmates of the vocational training center, in the name of Saint Joseph and Mary

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 18:31:28 +0100

Suwon - The Jubilee of 2025 is also celebrated in prisons. The Detention Center for Vocational Training in the city of Hwaseong celebrated the beginning of the Jubilee in recent days with a blessing ceremony and the delivery of two statues installed inside the facility, with the intention of expressing the closeness and attention of the Catholic community, which will continue various initiatives throughout the Jubilee period. The Hwaseong center is a special detention-work institute where about 1,000 inmates receive vocational training , preparing them for economic independence and reintegration into society after their release.
As Fides learns from local sources, thanks to the collection of the faithful of the Catholic parish of Cheolsan, in the diocese of Suwon, and the contribution of an anonymous donor, the male section of the vocational center received a statue of St. Joseph in the guise of a carpenter and of the Holy Family; and, in the female section, a statue of the Virgin with the baby Jesus was brought to express the warmth and love of a mother.
Father Yoo Jeong-su, deputy director of the Pastoral Commission for Prisoners of the diocese of Suwon, explained: "In the bull proclaiming the Jubilee, the Pope encourages everyone, including government authorities, to pay special attention to those who are in prisons. We installed two statues so that prisoners can live their stay in the facility with hope, rather than discouragement or distrust." Father Yoo Jeong-su asked for attention and prayers for the inmates, saying, “How we treat the disadvantaged or marginalized is an indicator of the health of a society. It is the responsibility of the entire society to prevent crime and create conditions for those who have committed wrongdoing to recover, reintegrate, find acceptance and solidarity.”
The inmates, for the most part, realize their mistakes, express regret, and diligently pursue vocational training to become good citizens again after their release,” said Paul Jaesul Kim, director of Hwaseong Prison, who praised the Catholic Church’s initiative and remarked, “I believe the Holy Family of Nazareth will help reawaken the importance of family, and the statue of the Virgin Mary will help evoke noble maternal love.”
The director noted that the event took place without any opposition from staff or inmates of other religious faiths, thanks to the time spent for the preparation by volunteers from the local Church, who explained well the spirit and meaning of these gestures.
A number of Catholic inmates also contributed to the handicraft of the statues, grateful "to be able to apply the skills acquired in prison to a sacred work and thus participate in the Jubilee". All those present at the installation ceremony - priests and faithful, surveillance personnel, representatives of the inmates - expressed the hope that "this gesture will open a new path to healing and hope for the inmates, and will serve to sensitize Korean society to the idea of extending a helping hand to those in prison".

AMERICA/HAITI - Father Massimo Miraglio: “We too want to be pilgrims of hope”

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 18:19:50 +0100

by Antonella Prenna

Port au Prince - "The situation in Haiti has become really difficult, not only in the capital but also in the surrounding areas, where gangs dictate the law. Even in the provinces there are beginning to be great difficulties," said Father Massimo Miraglio to Fides about the current situation in which the Haitian population is preparing for the Holy Year that has just begun.
The missionary is parish priest of the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Pourcine Pic Makaya, a remote village in the mountainous hinterland of Jeremie, 300 km from Port au Prince.

"Here in Pourcine we want to become pilgrims of hope. And we want to move forward on this difficult path.”

Father Massimo describes the enormous difficulties of a country. “Jeremy hardly receives any supplies from the capital anymore, except in extremely difficult conditions and at very high costs, which obviously affects fuel, the cost of living and a whole series of essential goods,” says the missionary. “The lack of fuel also prevents the fruits of the earth produced in the hinterland from reaching the markets of Jeremy.” He adds, “The rains of the last few weeks have made the roads and transport very, very difficult, and even in our community the difficulties are increasing day by day. The roads to the valley floor have now become almost impassable and transporting the products to Jeremy is extremely difficult and expensive. The same applies to deliveries from the capital of Jeremy to the hinterland. Unfortunately, the recent rains have also caused the failure of the bean harvest, the main source of income for the population. Despite everything, we continue to work, we move forward with hope, we try to set up small agricultural projects to support farmers, we continue with the nursery school. In 2025 we also want to move forward with the project for the location of the health clinic, which is essential in such a remote area, and the second section of the water pipeline, which will allow us to bring drinking water to some regions where it does not exist.”

““It is in this context of hope, of desire to live, of returning to a normal life and of planning for the future, that we prepare to live the Jubilee. The Holy Year has just begun,” said Father Massimo.

“Last week, early in the morning, we went down to the valley with a small delegation of believers from the parish to receive the Jubilee Cross that the bishop Pierre-André Dumas had distributed to each parish,” affirms the missionary, “It was not an easy journey on uneven and very, very slippery paths due to the incessant rain of the last few weeks. We had to walk for almost five hours before meeting a seminarian with another group who had come after Jeremy. Together we held a short time of prayer and then went in procession up the mountain towards the parish. When we arrived at the river that represents the entrance to the territory of our parish, we stopped and thanked the Lord once again in a moment of prayer for all the good that we managed to achieve in 2024. We asked the Lord to continue to inspire us and guide us in this Jubilee Year so that each of us can deepen and embody the theme of hope chosen by Pope Francis.
After the prayer, we set off again on the last, most demanding and steepest part of the path that led to the parish. In total, it was eight hours there and back. When we arrived at the gates of the village, part of the population also joined the procession. We entered the very simple building where we celebrate Mass and placed the Jubilee Cross next to the altar, which will accompany us throughout the year, inspire our actions, guide our words and, above all, be a source of hope for the implementation of good projects and all that the Lord has planned for us.”

“The Catholic community of Pourcine Pic Makaya,” concluded Father Massimo, “will live this Jubilee Year with great faith and great hope. We too want to participate from afar, from our small parish isolated in the mountains, we too feel part of this Catholic universal Church, and with the entire Catholic universal Church we want to celebrate this Jubilee Year, a Holy Year, a Year of Hope, a year in which we want to renew our commitments as Christians. A year in which we want to make a special commitment to continue building the community as a place of fraternity, solidarity and sharing."

VATICAN - Pope Francis at the “Congés Misión”: our hope is Christ, and it does not belong to us

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 20:51:47 +0100

Vatican City - “Christ is our hope”. And “this hope – it is curious – does not belong to us,” because “hope is not a possession you can put in your pocket. No, it does not belong to us. It is a gift to share, a light to transmit. And if hope is not shared, it falls.”

With these words, Pope Francis has indicated once again the source of hope, the theological virtue that is the guiding thread of the Holy Year 2025 that has just begun. He did so by addressing the leaders of the “Congés Misión”, a network of initiatives - congresses, workshops, conferences, meetings - which was created in France in 2015 with the aim of helping everyone discover how to proclaim the Gospel and become a missionary in the way that best suits their own person and temperament.

In his speech, Pope Francis also recalled the dynamism that unites hope, evangelical joy and missionary zeal. “Joy, dear friends,” the Pontiff said, “is inseparable from hope, and it is also inseparable from mission; a joy that is not reduced to the enthusiasm of the moment, but that is born of the encounter with Christ and directs us towards our brothers and sisters. Being pilgrims means walking together in the Church, but also having the courage to go out, to encounter others”. Going “where men and women live out their joys and their sufferings. This is how you bring hope, both in your communities and in the places where the Church at times seems tired or withdrawn.”

The Pope thanked the leaders of the Congés Misión "for the missionary fraternity you weave patiently and faithfully across France. France, la fille aînée de l’Église. And the enemies of France say, yes, la fille aînée de l’Église, but not the most faithful… this is not true! France has many saints, many saints!"

In another “off the cuff” addition, the Bishop of Rome invited the leaders of “Congés Misión” to “let themselves be shaken by the Holy Spirit,” and to read “the first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles,” where we see that “it is the Spirit who guides the Church, He stirs hearts. And hope is born here. At times, letting oneself be shaken by the Holy Spirit can mean coming out of our habitual mindsets and even accepting to “mess up”. The Holy Spirit is the Master.”

To recall the reality of the Holy Spirit as the protagonist of missionary work, Pope Francis added a personal anecdote: “I remember a Mass for children, when I was a parish priest in the neighbourhood of San Miguel, where almost two hundred children came to Mass every Sunday. One day, it was Pentecost, I said to the children: “Do you know who the Holy Spirit is?”. “Pick me, me, me…!”. “You”. “The paralytic!” [Laughter]. “No! The Paraclite! What does it mean? “Me, me, me…!”. “You”. “The one who makes a mess!”. It is true, the Holy Spirit makes a mess. The Holy Spirit urges creativity!

Pope Francis also invited us to look at the lives of the saints, “all creative, because there is the Spirit within! The Holy Spirit invites us to proclaim the Gospel not only in consolidated structures, but everywhere our brothers and sisters find themselves: proclaiming the Gospel in everyday life, in their joys, in their wounds, in their questions.” He then quoted in this regard the words of a French Blessed, Father Antoine Chevrier, founder of the Work Providence of Prado: “Love for God and neighbour is the principle, it is the lifeblood of everything, which must produce everything in us; when there is this in a soul, there is everything. Charity without exteriority is worth more than an exteriority without charity. Better disorder with love than order without love.”

The “Congés Misión” network will hold its next major gathering in Bercy in November.

ASIA/LEBANON - General Aoun elected President. Father Zgheib: "positive neutrality" is now the key formula

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 20:32:20 +0100

Beirut - General Joseph Aoun, commander of the Lebanese army since 2017, has been elected President of the Republic, a position that had been vacant for more than two years. He succeeds Michel Aoun, who also has a past as a general during the years of the Lebanese civil war.
Joseph Aoun is the fourth General to occupy the post of Head of the Nation since 1990, after the end of the civil war.
The candidacy of Joseph Aoun - geopolitical analysts agree - has been supported at the international level by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Before the vote, the US envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, and the Saudi envoy, Yazid bin Mohammed bin Fahd Al-Farhan, had arrived in Beirut to meet with Lebanese political leaders.

In recent weeks, Lebanese analysts and commentators have continued to consider the World Bank senior executive Jihad Azour, who has good connections with international financial networks, as the only potential alternative to General Aoun.
The Lebanese institutional order provides that the office of President of the Republic is reserved for a Christian belonging to the Maronite Church.
The new President was elected on Thursday, January 9, by the deputies of the Beirut Parliament during a second session, with a majority of 99 votes out of 128. For his election, while a simple majority of 65 votes was sufficient, the support of the deputies of the Shiite political parties Hezbollah and Amal, who had cast at least 30 blank ballots during the first vote, was also significant. Support for the new President came above all from the Lebanese Forces of Samir Geagea, while he was not supported by the Free Patriotic Movement, the other Christian party founded by Michel Aoun, which had been part of the government majority with Hezbollah in recent years.
Joseph Aoun has enjoyed popular approval since the protests that began in October 2019 and targeted the entire Lebanese political nomenclature, in relation to which his figure was presented as "non-collusive". His military culture, according to some analysts, qualifies him to manage the delicate phase that began with the ceasefire in force since November 27, after Israeli military operations on Lebanese territory aimed at targeting Hezbollah bases and installations. Among the conditions to be met to transform the truce into an end to hostilities is the withdrawal of Hezbollah militias beyond the Litani River, 30 kilometers from the border with Israel.
Consultations for the new government begin next week. According to rumors circulating in the Lebanese media, the Shiite parties are aiming to obtain the leadership of the crucial Ministry of Economy.
"If we consider the present and the future of the country, the striking fact is that the international community has once again become involved in Lebanon. There is now the possibility of triggering processes to end the crisis, but the players on the national chessboard are still the same," underlines the Maronite priest Rouphael Zgheib, director of the Lebanese Pontifical Mission Societies and professor at the Jesuit University of Saint Joseph, in an interview with Fides. "We must hope," adds Father Zgheib, "that the evolution of international scenarios will help Lebanon to settle into a condition of "positive neutrality", as Patriarch Bechara Boutros Raï has long suggested and hoped for. The new President also spoke of "positive neutrality". It seems to me that this is now the key word."

Regarding the role of Hezbollah and the slogans of Western commentators who speak of its "dismantling" caused by the Israeli military offensives, Father Zgheib believes that it is useful to keep in mind that the Shiite party "is not just an armed group and is not something imported from outside, it has popular roots in Lebanon." And reaching an agreement on the disarmament of the Hezbollah militias is one of the difficult tasks that await the new General President.

ASIA/PAKISTAN - "Bringing hope to the poor": the Jubilee of Hope among brick kiln workers

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 14:26:14 +0100

Lahore - A place of suffering and death can become a place of life and hope. In this spirit, the Jubilee Year 2025 began for the people of Kot Radha Kishan, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, a place where clay is mined and bricks are baked by hand. Capuchin Fathers from the nearby town of Bhai Pheru, together with young Catholics, visited the brick kiln in Kot Radha Kishan, where in 2014 two Christian couples, Shama and Shazad Bibi, were lynched and burned alive because they were wrongly accused of blasphemy.
"We wanted to share hope with the needy and marginalized of society," said Father Qaiser Feroz to Fides. "This is how we wanted to start the Jubilee of Hope in Pakistan: by sharing solidarity and closeness with the very poor families of the brick kiln workers in the village of Chak 69 in Kot Radha Kishan. Right where the Christian couple was murdered, goodness is now sprouting." Capuchin Fathers and volunteers distributed food parcels as a gesture of hope and love and sought dialogue with the brick kiln workers to encourage them and pray together. The families expressed joy and gratitude. Addressing the workers, who often work in semi-slavery or "debt slavery," Father Feroz said: "Christ is our hope and yours: He is always with you, you are never alone in this struggle of everyday life." The Capuchin, parish priest in Bhai Pheru in the Kasur district, is also director of the Social Communications Commission of the Pakistani Bishops' Conference. He was accompanied by other religious, a deacon and young people from his parish who wanted to "bring hope to the poor and marginalized" at the beginning of the Holy Year.
At that place, recalls Arif, a Christian from Kot Radha Kishan, "the two spouses were targeted by a mob on false charges and neither the owner of the furnace nor the police could prevent the lynching. The owner of the furnace could not cope with the shock a few days after the incident and died. The brutal act was instigated by an imam who accused the couple of desecrating the Koran over the mosque's loudspeaker. The entire community was shocked and frightened for a long time. Now we hope that these wounds will be healed and a seed of hope will blossom again."
In Pakistan, in the Jubilee Year of 2025, Catholic communities, particularly in the province of Punjab, have made it a pastoral priority to help families caught in the web of "slave labor" widespread in the clay factories of Pakistani Punjab. The families affected often include young people, but also the elderly, women and children: all of them are trapped by the practice of "peshgi", an advance on wages that the worker receives from the employer for his own use and which becomes a debt. This debt accumulates and, due to the interest, creates a system of permanent dependency that becomes a modern, legalized form of slavery. The phenomenon is widespread in Pakistan, a country ranked sixth on the index compiled by "Global Slavery", where 2.3 million slaves were counted in the country, representing 1.13% of the total Pakistani population.
Often, Christian and Hindu families in particular, who are among the poorest sections of the Pakistani population, are victims of the system and become "debt slaves" who have to spend their entire lives at the mercy of unscrupulous employers. For example, one of these families takes a loan from an employer for medical treatment. Years of work without rights are required to repay the sum owed: the worker is unable to pay the debt, which is sometimes not even extinguished by his death, but is passed on to the next generation, creating generations of slaves.

AFRICA/DR CONGO - In North Kivu: heavy fighting between the army and the M23

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 14:12:37 +0100

Kinshasa - More than 290,000 people were forced to flee in December due to fighting in the Lubero region of North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is what the latest report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs shows. These people are in addition to those already previously displaced from various areas in North Kivu. According to OCHA, the total number of displaced people in the Congolese province is 2.7 million.
According to the report, “the humanitarian situation in the Lubero region of North Kivu continued to deteriorate in December 2024 due to ongoing armed clashes linked to the activities of the M23 rebel movement. The resumption of armed attacks by the rebel group ADF against the civilian population has exacerbated the vulnerability of the already weakened and repeatedly displaced population. In southern Lubero, ongoing fighting between the FARDC and the M23 has displaced more than 290,000 people in the north, northeast, northwest and south of the area."
The two rebel groups referred to in the report have different origins. The ADF is a Ugandan rebel group that has long established itself in North Kivu and Ituri and terrorizes the local population. In 2019, the ADF announced its affiliation with the Islamic State, underlining its Islamist orientation .
The M23 is a group supported by Rwanda with weapons and its own soldiers, according to the report of the UN group of experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo of December 27, which documents the decisive support of Rwandan troops to the Congolese armed rebel movement and the equipment of "high-tech" weapons and intelligence in the continuation of its territorial conquests in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Since the beginning of the year, fighting in the province has intensified, also in the context of the failure of the peace talks in Luanda in mid-December . In particular, it concerns the control of Masisi, the capital of the homonymous territory, which has changed hands three times in recent days between the M23 and the soldiers of the Congolese army, supported by pro-government "Wazalendo" militias. While the city is back in government hands, the rebels control the hills above the city, from which they can launch new attacks. The regular army and pro-government militiamen are now trying to regain control of the hills to secure the city.
The city of Masisi is 80 km from the capital of North Kivu, Goma, which has been surrounded by M23 forces for months.

ASIA/BAHRAIN - Churches chosen for Jubilee 2025: a shrine for pilgrims of hope

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 14:05:30 +0100

Manama - The Jubilee churches and Cathedrals of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia are ready to welcome all those who seek inspiration, healing and a new sense of belonging: the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali , the Co-Cathedral of the Holy Family in Kuwait City and the Shrine of Our Lady of Arabia in Ahmadi, both in Kuwait, and the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Doha . The shrines named by Pope Francis on May 9, 2024 in the Bull "Spes non confundit" invite all pilgrims of the Vicariate, which includes the three countries and Saudi Arabia, to a pilgrimage of faith, salvation and spiritual renewal.

"We must express our 'hope' in this difficult world and be witnesses of our faith and its rebirth. This year we are invited to be witnesses of 'Hope', to take part in the pilgrimage, to root our faith in Christ and to be united with the universal Church," said Apostolic Vicar Aldo Berardi O.SS.T. in his homily at the opening Mass of the Jubilee held at the OLA Cathedral.

Other solemn services were held in Qatar and then in Kuwait, where the Apostolic Nuncio Eugene Martin Nugent presided over the Holy Mass.

According to the oldest traditions, the Jubilee celebrations have always held a special place in the Catholic tradition, as they represent a time of mercy, reflection and pilgrimage. By naming specific churches, Pope Francis invites people to experience the deep love of God, where pilgrims can find refuge in their prayers and spirit of community, according to a statement from the head of the press office of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia.

The naming of Jubilee churches and cathedrals is of particular importance given the complexity of modern life. The message of hope becomes a beacon in a world often darkened by despair and division. The meaning of the Holy Father's "Bull" is not limited to the walls of these Jubilee churches; it is an invitation to all to recognize the universal character of God's mercy and love. An invitation to embrace the spirit of welcoming and to cultivate a culture of mercy within our communities.

VATICAN - The Pope to ambassadors: a "Diplomacy of hope" is needed to overcome the logic of conflict

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 16:37:14 +0100

Vatican City - To be "heralds" of a "diplomacy of hope" that gives all the nations of the planet the opportunity to "overcome the logic of conflict" and "embrace" that of "encounter", thus realizing the principles of the Jubilee. This is the hope that Pope Francis addresses to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See in the usual meeting of greetings at the beginning of the year, held in the Hall of Benediction.

To date, 184 states maintain full diplomatic relations with the Holy See. To these must be added the European Union and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. There are 90 diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See with headquarters in Rome, including those of the European Union and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The Offices accredited to the Holy See of the League of Arab States, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees are also based in Rome.

The Pontiff, who arrived in a wheelchair and was accompanied by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Gallagher, and several officials from the Secretariat of State, wove his speech following the red thread of the Jubilee of Hope, recalling that the very meaning of the Jubilee is to “step back” from the “frenzied pace of daily life in order to be refreshed and nourished by what is truly essential”, that is, “to rediscover ourselves, in him, as children of God and as brothers and sisters, to pardon offences, to support the weak and the poor in our midst, to give rest and relief to the earth, to practise justice and to recover hope. This is a summons to all those who serve the common good and who exercise that lofty expression of charity – perhaps the highest form of charity – that is politics”.

Due to a cold, the Bishop of Rome handed over the reading of the long speech to Msgr. Filippo Ciampanelli, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches.

Among the opening themes of the speech was a brief summary of the Holy See's diplomatic actions: from the more than thirty Heads of State received in the Vatican by the Pontiff to the many trips made by the Pope, without forgetting the agreements with some countries, including the one of 22 October signed between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China with which it was decided to extend for a further four years the validity of the Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops, signed on 22 September 2018 and already renewed on 22 October 2020 and 22 October 2022, “a sign of the desire to continue a respectful and constructive dialogue in view of the good of the Catholic Church in the country and of all the Chinese people”.

Dialogue with all parties, including those interlocutors considered less “convenient”

Looking instead at the new year, “the world finds itself rent by numerous conflicts, large and small, more or less known, but also by the resumption of heinous acts of terror”. At the same time, the Pope recalled, “in many countries there are growing conflictual social and political tensions”. And this “is aggravated by the continuous creation and spread of fake news, which not only distorts facts but also perceptions. This phenomenon generates false images of reality, a climate of suspicion that foments hate, undermines people’s sense of security and compromises civil coexistence and the stability of entire nations. Tragic examples of this are the attacks on the Chairman of the Government of the Slovak Republic and the President-elect of the United States of America”.

A climate that the Bishop of Rome defined as “of insecurity” that “leads us to the erection of new barriers and the drawing of new borders, whereas others, such as the one that has divided the island of Cyprus for over fifty years and the one that has cut in two the Korean peninsula for over seventy, remain firmly in place, separating families and splitting up homes and cities”. And this is truly paradoxical: the word border, in fact, “does not mean a place that separates, but one that unites, , where one can meet others, get to know them and enter into dialogue with them”.

The Pope's other wish is that the Jubilee may represent for everyone, “Christians and non-Christians alike” “an opportunity also to rethink the relationships that bind us to one another, as human beings and political communities”.
Furthermore, “in the face of the increasingly concrete threat of a world war, the vocation of diplomacy is to foster dialogue with all parties, including those interlocutors considered less “convenient” or not considered legitimized to negotiate. Only in this way is it possible to break the chains of hatred and vengeance that bind and to defuse the explosive power of human selfishness, pride and arrogance, which are the root of every destructive determination to wage war”.

Politicians at the service of the common good

From these reflections, the Pope highlighted “some responsibilities that every political leader should bear in mind” in fulfilling his or her responsibilities, which ought to be directed towards pursuing the common good
in a time undermined by ‘miseries’: “More than ever before, humanity has come to know progress, development and wealth, yet perhaps never before has it found itself so lonely and lost, even at times preferring pets to children”.

And if “human beings are endowed with an innate thirst for truth”, “in our time the denial of self-evident truths seems to have gained the upper hand. Some distrust rational argumentation, believing it to be a tool in the hands of some unseen power, while others believe that they unequivocally possess a truth of their own making, and are thus exempt from discussion and dialogue with those who think differently. Others tend to invent their own “truth”, disregarding the objectivity of reality. These tendencies can be amplified by the modern communications media and by artificial intelligence; they can be misused to manipulate minds for economic, political and ideological ends”.

In this perspective, the “diplomacy of hope is consequently, above all, a diplomacy of truth. If the link between reality, truth and knowledge is missing, human beings will no longer be able to speak and understand one another, because the foundations of a common language, anchored in the reality of things and therefore universally comprehensible, are lacking”.

“The purpose of language is communication, which is only successful if words are precise and the meaning of terms is generally accepted”. As a result, “the attempt to manipulate multilateral documents – by changing the meaning of terms or unilaterally reinterpreting the content of human rights treaties – in order to advance divisive ideologies that trample on the values and beliefs of peoples is particularly worrying”.

"This represents a form of genuine ideological colonization that attempts, in accordance with carefully planned agendas, to uproot the traditions, history and religious bonds of peoples. In this regard, it is unacceptable, for example, to speak of an alleged “right to abortion” that contradicts human rights, particularly the right to life. All life must be protected, at every moment, from conception to natural death, because no child is a mistake or guilty of existing, just as no elderly or sick person may be deprived of hope and discarded”, the Bishop of Rome stressed.

To recover the “spirit of Helsinki”

For the Pope, it is more ‘urgent than ever to recover the “spirit of Helsinki” with which opposing states, considered “enemies”’, succeeded in creating a space of encounter and did not abandon dialogue as a means of resolving conflicts.

Speaking of wars, the Pontiff's thoughts went first to Ukraine, then to the Middle East: “My wish for the year 2025 is that the entire international community will work above all to end the conflict that, for almost three years now, has caused so much bloodshed in war-torn Ukraine and has taken an enormous toll of lives, including those of many civilians. Some encouraging signs have appeared on the horizon, but much work must still be done to create the conditions for a just and lasting peace and to heal the wounds inflicted by the aggression.
Similarly, I renew my appeal for a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, where there is a very serious and shameful humanitarian situation, and I ask that the Palestinian population receive all the aid it needs. My prayerful hope is that Israelis and Palestinians can rebuild the bridges of dialogue and mutual trust, starting with the smallest, so that future generations can live side by side in the two States, in peace and security, and that Jerusalem can be the “city of encounter”, where Christians, Jews and Muslims live together in harmony and respect”.

The Bishop of Rome then turned the spotlight back on the “continued proliferation of ever more sophisticated and destructive weapons”, which fuels these wars where more and more civilians and non-war infrastructures are involved, asking the international community to ensure that international humanitarian law is always respected: “If we have forgotten what lies at the very foundation of our existence, the sacredness of life, the principles that move the world, how can we think that this right is effectively respected?”.

The “delicate forms” of persecution

As in the Christmas Urbi et Orbi, the Pope then listed all the other conflicts tearing the planet apart, starting with Africa: Sudan, Sahel, Horn of Africa, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo. And then Myanmar, Haiti, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia and Nicaragua, “where the Holy See, which is always open to respectful and constructive dialogue, follows with concern the measures taken against individuals and institutions of the Church and asks that religious freedom and other fundamental rights be adequately guaranteed to all”.

“In the end, there can be no true peace without the guarantee of religious freedom, which entails respect for the conscience of individuals and the possibility of publicly manifesting one’s faith and membership in a community. In this regard, the growing expressions of anti-Semitism, which I strongly condemn, and which affect an increasing number of Jewish communities around the world, are a source of deep concern”, the Pontiff stressed, adding: “I cannot remain silent about the numerous persecutions against various Christian communities, often perpetrated by terrorist groups especially in Africa and Asia. Nor, for that matter, about the more “discreet” forms of restriction on religious freedom that at times are found also in Europe, where legal norms and administrative practices are growing that “limit or in fact annul the rights formally recognized by the Constitution for individual believers and religious groups”. On the contrary, he reiterated, “religious freedom constitutes “an achievement of a sound political and juridical culture”, because when it is acknowledged, the dignity of the human person is respected at its root, and the ethos and institutions of peoples are strengthened”.

Christians, in fact, “desire actively to contribute to the building up of the societies in which they live. Even where they are not a majority in society, they are citizens in their own right, especially in those lands where they have lived from time immemorial”. The Pope's reference is to Syria, “which after years of war and devastation, seems to be pursuing a path of stability. I hope that the territorial integrity, the unity of the Syrian people and the necessary constitutional reforms will not be compromised by anyone, and that the international community will help Syria to be a land of peaceful coexistence where all Syrians, including the Christian community, can feel themselves to be full citizens and share in the common good of that beloved nation”.

“I think too of beloved Lebanon, and express my hope that the country, with the decisive help of its Christian community, can possess the necessary institutional stability needed to address the grave economic and social situation, to rebuild the south of the country affected by war, and fully to implement the Constitution and the Taif Agreement. May all Lebanese work to ensure that the country of the great cedars is never disfigured by division, but rather distinguished for “living together”. May Lebanon remain a country and a message of coexistence and peace”, the Bishop of Rome added, who in conclusion asked not to remain indifferent to the drama of the “many forms of slavery” of our time, starting with “the seldom acknowledged but widely practised form of slavery that involves labour” or “the horrific slavery of drug addiction, which affects young people in particular”. The “most dreadful”, however, remains “that practiced by human traffickers”. The latter issue is linked to that of migration, “still shrouded in a dark cloud of mistrust, rather than being seen as a source of empowerment”.

Finally, a new appeal, already made in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee and repeatedly stressed in recent days, on the remission of foreign debt and to commute the sentences of prisoners.

ASIA/CHINA - Chinese Catholic communities help the earthquake-stricken populations of Tibet, in the spirit of the “Jubilee of Hope”

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 14:32:15 +0100

Beijing - More than 120 dead, almost 200 injured, 50 thousand displaced, tens of thousands of homes destroyed or damaged. This is the preliminary toll of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Dingri county and the urban area of Shigatse, in the Chinese autonomous province of Tibet, on Tuesday 7 January at 9:05 a.m.
In the face of the natural disaster, which Pope Francis also mentioned in his address today to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, the Chinese Catholic communities are also actively participating in the solidarity initiatives launched to support the affected population.
“During the Christmas season and on the occasion of the Holy Year that has just begun, we can take the opportunity to remember the Lord’s teaching: ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’ ,” reads the appeal from the Diocese of Beijing, which calls on everyone to “do the good works of the Jubilee Year and give generously so that people in the earthquake-affected areas can also experience the joy of the Christmas season and the warmth and strength of Christian hope in the Jubilee Year.”

All parishes in the Diocese of Beijing are invited to ask for donations for the earthquake victims and to send the funds to the diocesan collection point by January 15. The diocesan charity named after the Divine Mercy will manage the sending and distribution of the donations.

The diocese of Shanthou has also made an appeal to all Catholic communities to collect donations for the earthquake victims in Tibet, pointing to the Holy Year of Hope as a favorable opportunity to put into practice the material and spiritual works of mercy.

The information released by the local authorities coordinating the mobilization of aid by the city of Shanghai states that among the first donations received was a sum of 500,000 yuan, made available by the diocese of Shanghai to support relief efforts for those affected by the disaster.

VATICAN - Cardinal Tagle, on the occasion of the patronal feast of the Pontifical Urban College: "The pilgrimage of hope indicates the initiative of God that leads us to Jesus

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 13:40:01 +0100

Vatican City - It was in a joyful atmosphere, between prayers and convivial moments, that the patronal feast of the Pontifical Urban College took place on the evening of Tuesday, January 7. Founded at the beginning of the 17th century, precisely in 1627 with the papal bull "Immortalis Dei Filius" of Urban VIII, the Pontifical Urban College continues today to respond to its initial objective: to form future priests of mission territories and young Churches. During the opening Mass, which opened the celebrations, Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization , in the wake of the Solemnity of the Epiphany that has just ended, used the image of the Magi during his homily to invite all participants to make their daily lives a pilgrimage to Jesus, following their example. The Magi undertook a long journey attracted and guided by the light of the star. "The formation of seminarians and the ongoing formation of priests, nuns and professors," Cardinal Tagle stressed, "must be a pilgrimage that prepares us to be docile and available to listen to the will of God".
The Mass, concelebrated by Monsignor Salvatore Pennacchio, President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, and attended by officials of the Dicastery, rectors of the Roman colleges, some former formators, former students, professors, religious sisters and many other guests, was followed by the traditional festive dinner which was enlivened by the songs of some groups: the SIMPATIV group , the group from Nigeria and the choir of the College, East Timor and Venezuela).
Don Armando Nugnes, Rector of the Pontifical Urban College, thanking Cardinal Tagle for his paternal presence and his example of missionary life, also expressed his gratitude to all the guests not only for their participation, but also for the valuable role they have played in different capacities and in different ways in accompanying future missionary priests, and finally urged the seminarians to continue their journey in faith and hope.

ASIA/MYANMAR - Cardinal Bo: "May the Jubilee Year be a year of reconciliation and resettlement of displaced persons"

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 13:20:57 +0100

Yangon - Over 600 members of the various Christian denominations in Myanmar gathered in Yangon for a celebration and dinner to celebrate Christmas and to express their best wishes for the New Year, together with government officials, members of the government and the head of the ruling military junta, General Min Aung Hlaing. The celebration, held in the complex of the Catholic "St. Mary's" Cathedral in Yangon, was intended as an opportunity to discuss peace, justice and prosperity in the country and to keep a channel open with the current leaders in the government, reported Fides sources. But it was not a moment when the leaders of the Christian churches, including the Catholic Church, "entered into an alliance with the military power," as some media outlets wrote about the event, which was also criticized by some Burmese priests and lay people living abroad who are members of the Independent Catholics for Justice in Myanmar network.
The celebration, which traditionally takes place at the end of the year, was held in the Catholic St. Mary's Cathedral in Yangon and was jointly organized by four Christian church organizations: the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar, the Myanmar Council of Churches, the Council of the Evangelical Association of Myanmar and the Myanmar Sabbath Mission Association.
The Archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Bo, welcomed the guests, including General Min Aung Hlaing. According to the faithful present, the meeting was an opportunity to talk about and pray for peace, as was also emphasized by Cardinal Bo, who in his address to those present quoted excerpts from Pope Francis' Message for the World Day of Peace, addressing the issue of foreign debt and the responsibility of richer countries towards people who are impoverished for various reasons. The cardinal further stressed that Christmas and the Jubilee Year "proclaim a message of joy and love that must urgently be applied in the context of Myanmar." "Our beloved country longs for peace and needs it," he said, calling on all parties to end the violence. "May 2025 be a year of reconciliation and resettlement of our people's refugees," said the archbishop, referring to the more than three million people displaced as a result of the country's civil war, a number that has been rising for at least three years. Finally, the Archbishop of Yangon called on the government to facilitate the distribution of aid to the displaced and to commute the sentences of prisoners sentenced to death on the occasion of the jubilee Year. Such an appeal is also contained in a joint statement by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, published in recent days and co-signed by the governments of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland and Timor-Leste. "We call on the military regime and all armed actors in Myanmar to limit violence, respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law, protect the civilian population and allow full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access so that assistance can be provided to all those in need," the document says. It refers to "human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law committed against the civilian population in the context of the conflict," such as forced kidnapping and recruitment of children, aerial bombardments of civilians and civilian infrastructure, burning of homes, attacks on humanitarian workers and structures. The statement reiterates: "full support for the central role of ASEAN in finding a solution to the crisis and the role of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Myanmar".

AFRICA/CHAD - Doubts and many questions after the mysterious attack on the presidential palace

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:52:30 +0100

N'Djamena - "It is difficult to know exactly what happened last night," local sources in N'Djamena tell Fides. In the capital of Chad, an armed group attacked the presidential palace yesterday evening, January 8. The attack was repelled and Abderaman Koulamallah, Foreign Minister and government spokesman, published a video on social media in which he can be seen with a gun on his belt in the courtyard of the presidential palace, surrounded by soldiers, declaring that the attack had been repelled and the situation was calm.
The government had initially claimed that the attack had been carried out by members of the jihadist militia "Boko Haram", but later downgraded it to a simple criminal act committed by some bandits armed only with machetes and knives. "Among the 24 attackers in the commando, there were 18 dead and six injured," the spokesman later clarified.
"The versions presented by the government are not confirmed by independent sources," our sources say. "What we can report is that the area of the capital where we were was calm last night; there were no troop movements or special checkpoints of the security forces. Even this morning, everything seems calm in N'Djamena: there are no special movements of the military or police, while people go to work normally."
The attack on the presidential palace took place during the visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister and less than a month before the completion of the withdrawal of French troops from Chad. "The decision announced at the end of November by President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno to end the defense agreement with France and withdraw the French military was completely unexpected ," the observers say. "It is not known what prompted the Chadian president to end more than ten years of military relations with the former colonial power. There are unconfirmed rumors linking the decision to the visit of the French Foreign Minister a few hours earlier, who is said to have urged the Chadian authorities to respect human rights."
"Among other things, the withdrawal of the French military, which was originally scheduled to take place in about six months, has been accelerated under pressure from Chad. The soldiers from France are to complete the repatriation operations by the end of January," they say.
"What is certain," our sources continue, "is that the Chadian army must act alone to ensure the stability of the country, which is threatened by internal rebellions, Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region and the consequences of the civil war in neighboring Sudan." "In addition, a food crisis is expected this year as a result of the drought of the last few months, which has led to a sharp drop in harvests," they warn. "So far, French troops have always intervened to support the ruling regime, as they did in 2008 and 2019. Now, in the event of a new attack on the capital, the Chadian army will be on its own," the sources said. The other three neighboring countries in the Sahel governed by military juntas, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, have imposed the withdrawal of French troops from their territory. After Chad, the two West African countries of Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire have now also asked France to withdraw its troops from military bases on their soil.

AFRICA/ANGOLA - Angolan faithful pray for the Mozambican population: "The true battlefield is the human heart, from which evil and peace arise"

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 11:08:25 +0100

Luanda - "Let us pray for Mozambique caught in a spiral of violence that is not the remedy for our fractured world. Violence breeds more violence, causing suffering, anguish, and forced migration," Fr. Celestino Epalanga said during the January 3 Eucharistic celebration that was held at Our Lady of Fatima Parish of the Catholic Archdiocese of Luanda.

In his homily during the “Vigil for Peace” that concluded the three-day spiritual initiative, the Executive Secretary of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Angola and São Tomé highlighted the far-reaching consequences of violence in Mozambique and across the globe.

The Triduum Prayer initiative of the members of the Bishops’ Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe for the people of God in Mozambique amid post-election violent conflicts has concluded with a call to end violence in the Southern African nation .

" Responding to violence with violence leads to displacement, as seen with Mozambican refugees seeking safety in neighboring countries".

Fr. Epalanga invited Angolans to reflect on the plight of Mozambique’s most vulnerable, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly. "Jesus lived in violent times and taught that the true battlefield is the human heart, from which evil and peace arise. The response Jesus offers is radical and positive. He preached God’s unconditional love and followed the path of non-violence to the cross, bringing peace and destroying hostility," the Jesuit further stated. "Peace is God’s dream for humanity. Non-violence is a choice worth making and that it not a sign of weakness or passivity. It is a powerful tool to build peace and dismantle hatred. Non-violence, when practiced consistently, has achieved remarkable outcomes."

"Prayer is powerful. The Church is committed to non-violent strategies for peace in many nations. This mission belongs not only to the Catholic Church but to all faith traditions that value compassion and non-violence," Fr. Celestino concluded, highlighting the value of prayer in seeking peace in Mozambique.

Participants at the event in Luanda brought candles, lighting them from the altar’s flame as a symbolic offering of peace. The candles were placed in the church courtyard, where an improvised outdoor altar was prepared for the vigil’s Eucharistic celebration.
The three-day spiritual initiative, that CCJP of CEAST organized, were held in all Catholic parishes in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, was part of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, which Pope Francis officially launched on Christmas Eve by opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

AFRICA/NIGERIA - Two nuns kidnapped in southeastern Nigeria

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 10:42:18 +0100

Abuja - Two members of the Sisters’ Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of Christ in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria were abducted on the evening of Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
Sr. Vincentia Maria Nwankwo, the Principal of Archbishop Charles Heerey Memorial Model Secondary School in Ufuma, and Sr. Grace Mariette Okoli, a teacher at Immaculata Girls Model Secondary School in Nnewi, were kidnapped along Ufuma road on their way back from their Vocational Association's meeting at Ogboji.
A police spokesperson said that a joint security operation has begun to track down and free the two nuns.

VATICAN/GENERAL AUDIENCE - The Pope: «In every part of the globe there are children who are exploited by an economy that does not respect life»

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 13:35:06 +0100

Vatican City - «I wish to dedicate this and the next catechesis to children, and to reflect in particular on the scourge of child labour», said Pope Francis, who interrupts the cycle of catecheses dedicated to the Jubilee, which began shortly before the Christmas holidays, to reflect on the scourge of child labor and abused children who see their childhood stolen by those who should have protected and cared for them.

«Nowadays we want to turn our gaze towards Mars or towards virtual worlds, but we struggle to look in the eyes of a child who has been left at the margins and who is exploited or abused. The century that generates artificial intelligence and plans multiplanetary existences has not yet reckoned with the scourge of humiliated, exploited, mortally wounded childhood», said the Pope, recalling the words of Jesus in the Gospel: «Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these».

Today, too «there are too many children forced to work. But a child who does not smile, a child who does not dream cannot know or nurture his or her talents. In every part of the globe there are children who are exploited by an economy that does not respect life; an economy that, in so doing, consumes our greatest store of hope and love», warned the Bishop of Rome, who concluded: «those who recognize themselves as children of God, cannot remain indifferent; they cannot accept that our little sisters and brothers, instead of being loved and protected, are robbed of their childhood, of their dreams, victims of exploitation and marginalization».