Friday, 28th April 2006

VENEZUELA: Fear of manipulation against the Church

Königstein/Ts The assassination of Father Jorge Pinago, Undersecretary of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference (CEV), has found differing opinions in the country’s public discussion. Regarding the statements of some politicians, “it is obvious that interested circles are trying to destroy the good reputation of the Church,” said the Vice President of the CEV, Archbishop Roberto Lückert. “The manner in which this discussion and also the Police investigations are being conducted reminds me of similar cases in Latin American dictatorships such as in Chile or in Guatemala,” Xavier Legorreta, head of Aid to the Church in Need’s (ACN) Latin America I section stated this morning.

The expert added: “Without going into details about the current investigations – but the way how the murdered priest is being talked about and how the details are being presented is quite similar to what happened when Bishop Gerardi was killed 7 years ago in Guatemala. I am afraid, that this case might allow the justice system and the politicians in Venezuela to take advantage of the crime for manipulating against the Church.”

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Thursday, 27th April 2006

SRI LANKA: Bishop launches appeal for prayer for peace

Königstein/Ts. Mgr. Joseph Kingsley Swampillai, Bishop of Tricomalee and Batticaloa, has called upon all people of good will to pray for peace in the east of Sri Lanka. Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) this morning, the prelate commented the latest fighting between government troops and Tamil Tigers: “The situation in Tricomalee is now calming down, but the city is paralysed after a bomb explosion left 15 people dead.”

He added: “Around Muttur, a border zone controlled by the rebels and hardest hit by the air raids, people are looking for shelter in churches and schools. Priests and sisters are trying their best in order to assist the refugees.” Expressing his hope that peace negotiations between the government and the Tamil Tigers may soon be resumed, Bishop Swampillai said: “I urgently ask ACN, all the charity’s friends and benefactors and all people of good will to pray for peace in Sri Lanka.

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Photo: Thomas Pinzka

Wednesday, 26th April 2006

UKRAINE: Church commemorates Chornobyl disaster

Königstein/Ts On the eve of the 20^th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear accident (April 26, 1986), Father Ihor Yatsiv, press officer of Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), gave an exclusive interview to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). He explained that – along with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church – Patriarch Lubomyr invited all Ukrainians to reflect on how far mankind may go in its urge to rule over this world and whether it can afford to neglect Our Lord’s directives and counsel. Furthermore – according to the Patriarch – the commemoration of the Chornobyl tragedy must be an occasion to “clean the contaminated spiritual air which our souls breathe.”

Fr Yatsiv added that “the Church in Ukraine prays that Chornobyl will be understood as a warning to strive for responsible use of new technologies – not with a desire to dominate the world according to human plans, but to foster growth and progress in harmony with God’s will for all mankind.”

Twenty years ago, the nuclear power plant in Chornobyl exploded and radioactively contaminated large parts of Eastern and Central Europe. The long-term contamination continues to affect hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine, Belarus and other European countries. Chornobyl is one of the heaviest burdens that independent Ukraine inherited from the former Soviet Union.

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Tuesday, 25th April 2006

BRAZIL: Bishop observes „loss of faith, religious ignorance“

Königstein/Ts “Most people in my diocese have lost their faith and suffer from complete religious ignorance. Therefore, evangelisation is a matter of first priority” Dom Carlos Verzeletti, Bishop of Castanhal (in the north Brazilian state of Pará), told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) recently when he met the charity’s head of Latin America II section, Ulrich Kny in Belém. The prelate, a missionary from Brescia, Italy, praised ACN’s “Little Catechism. I believe” as an “optimal” tool for catechetical work among adults. He went on to explain: “Soon after taking office, I founded a centre of formation in Castanhal, where last year about 5,000 Catholics attended catechetical courses.”

On the other hand -according to Dom Carlos - Castanhal diocese has “numerous vocations to the priesthood,” despite the fact that “there is a rigorous selection.” He added: “Still, there is no accommodation for these candidates. With support from ACN, I would like to establish a pre- seminary for at least 25 students in order to prepare them well for formation in the major seminary.”

Castanhal diocese, located east of Belém, the capital of Pará, was erected in 2005 and has about 700,000 inhabitants, some 400,000 of them Catholics. Currently, 36 priests are serving the faithful.

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Monday, 24th April 2006

SUDAN: Cardinal Zubeir Wako: Keep faith with peace process

Königstein/Ts. – Sutton The Archbishop of Khartoum, Gabriel Cardinal Zubeir Wako, has called for a new “push” to break the deadlock in the country’s struggle towards a lasting peace. Hinting at the dashed hopes following last year’s peace agreement between the north and the south of Sudan, the Cardinal used his Easter message – a copy of which was sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) – to renew his plea for “forgiveness and reconciliation.”

In his message, the Cardinal wrote: “our society, our communities and families are still heavily marked with cruelty, violence, revenge, tribalism, corruption, selfishness and disregard for the poor and the weak. It needs courageous and truly free people who choose deliberately to swim against the current scatter to scatter the seeds of understanding and friendship among our people.”

The message comes as the latest reports point to renewed uncertainty over the direction of the peace process, with a continuing crisis in Darfur and instability in the south. Amid growing scepticism about the peace process, Cardinal Zubeir’s words will be seen as a sign of the Church’s concern at the loss of momentum. He also wrote in his Easter message: “Last year… we still carried the scars of war, oppression and misery, with the accompanying frustration, anger and bitterness. This year, we should push on further on the way of forgiveness and reconciliation.”

Sudan has been one of ACN’s  priority countries for many years. The charity’s initiatives in the country include help for displaced children in and around the capital, Khartoum, Mass stipends for priests and support for religious sisters. ACN is also providing vital aid for St Paul’s Major Seminary, also in the capital.

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Thursday, 20th April 2006

UKRAINE: International Congress for the Family to be held in Kyiv

Königstein/Ts. From 9-11.05.06 Kyiv hosts the XXIIth International Congress for the Family under the motto “The Family, a Community of Love“. Family in Ukraine still bears the consequences of an atheist regime, which rooted the Christian values out of the family and endangers their existence, as Aid to the Church in Need has been informed through the organizers. They act out of the urgent need to bring moral sanity to this emerging democracy.

For the first time the Congress is under the responsibility of Patriarch Lubomyr Husar. Among the guests, representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Kyivan Patriarchate, the Evangelical Church and the Muslim and Jewish communities are expected.

Among the foreign speakers, a representative of the General Council of the International Charity Aid to the Church in Need shall attend, with the speech “The parents, first teachers of love”.

Such topics as “The family – the cornerstone of a civilized society”, “Natural family planning”, “The dignity of human life”,  “Children, the wealth of nations” will be treated.

The country proclaimed 2006 as a year of Right Protection of the Child and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in cooperation with the Christian Churches launched 2006 as a year of Spiritual Protection of the Child.

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Wednesday, 19th April 2006

BRAZIL: Ponta de Pedras needs vocations, Bishop says

Königstein/Ts. Bishop Dom Alessio Saccardo received shortly the visit of Ulrich Kny, Head of Latin-America section II, in his small diocese of Ponta de Pedras situated in the south of the Amazonian island Marajó. “Ponta de Pedras needs vocations”, he said appealing for help to foster vocations in this highly endangered region. “Let us pray for the young seminarian to be ordained in June, this year” he said. According to him, the 115.000 inhabitants, mainly poor fishermen families, are exposed to rubbing, drugs and alcohol and their consequences. “You may reach them mostly on the back of a water buffalo or on a boot, and the communities are so distant from each other” so ACN’s expert Ulrich Kny. “Such distances are challenging not only for children, who need more than three hours to get to school, but also for the families to find a church and for the priests to minister”, he added.

As for now, 9 courageous priests are serving in six parishes with some 50-60 missionary stations each. 21 Sisters out of 7 congregations and a few catechists are the pastoral rescue for this population.

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Tuesday, 18th April 2006

FRANCE: XXth Century Martyrs celebrated at Sacred Heart Basilica

Königstein/Mareil-Marly.  The persecuted Church was at the core of the Minute of silence and prayer of the Church in Need at the sacred Heart  Basilica in Paris, on April 11, 2006. Amidst the banners of the XXth century martyrs, a rosary procession honored the memory of Bishops, priests, religious and laics assassinated last year.   Those were the 26 bearers for their faith who lost their life for Christ, and whose name is added to the long martyrs list of the universal Church. ACN’s French Ecclesiastical Assistant, Fr Bernard de Frileuse stressed in his appalling homily the role of today’s martyrs, which get rid of that what they cherish most, life.” Along with him, an Iraqi Fr Khalid Karomi, Director of the Syriak mission in France appealed to prayer for all our persecuted brothers, especially of the oriental Churches.

All friends and benefactors were invited to take part to the renewal of the Consecration of the Charity to Our Lady, on May 18^th in the famous chapel of the Miraculous Medal, rue du Bac, 14, in Paris.

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Thursday, 13th April 2006

FRANCE: ACN’s national director reflects on charity’s mission

Königstein/Ts. – Rome. „We must not forget our brothers ‚at the front,’ between Gethsemane and Golgotha,“ Marc Fromager, 37, new director of Aid to the Church in Need’s (ACN) French office, said earlier this week in an interview with the Rome-based ZENIT news agency. He stressed the fact that the Church “is still being persecuted in numerous countries” and added: “These (persecuted Christians) are God’s elite. Father Werenfried (Founder of ACN) once reported that a soviet general told him: ‘we are the elite of Satan, but you, are you really God’s elite?’ ACN must serve this poor and abandoned elite.”

Emphasising the impact of ACN’s support for the suffering Church in the world, he gave an example: “Never, in the history of the Church, have there been so many seminarians, more than 110,000. And every 7^th of them is being supported by ACN. Is not that a reason for joy?” Concluding his remarks, Fromager said: “We believe that every gesture of charity for the suffering Church, in prayer or in sharing earthly goods, will bear fruit.”

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Wednesday, 12th April 2006

BRAZIL: Sects omnipresent in East Amazon region, expert says

Königstein/Ts. Ulrich Kny, head of Aid to the Church in Need’s (ACN) Latin American II section, has voiced concern about the massive and rampantly growing presence and influence of Protestant sects in Brazil’s East Amazon region. “One of the sects has built some 300 places of worship in the region, just during this year’s Carnival season,” the pundit said April 12 upon return from a visit to Brazil. He added: “Some sect members who hold high-ranking positions in public life even use massive political pressure by banning Catholics from public offices.”

Kny went on to explain: “In some quarters of Belém, the regional metropolis, followers of sects constitute up to 80 percent of the population. Often, the ‘success’ of the sects is due to a lack of ‘Church infrastructure’ and personnel. Another reason is widespread religious ignorance: The less Catholics know about their faith the easier they fall prey to sects, syncretism and Afro-Brazilian cults.” He stressed the need for a solid religious formation of laity, for which “ACN publications, such as the Bible for children or the Little Catechism, are excellent tools.”

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Tuesday, 11th April 2006

INDIA: Boom of vocations

Königstein/Ts. – Sutton. Vocations in India are booming as never before with increasing numbers of young men stepping forward to prepare for the priesthood. In a recent interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Father Ignatius Prasad, rector of the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Chennai (formerly Madras, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu), gave this optimistic assessment of the Church. The priest explained that his seminary now boasted 286 students and that – due to a lack of space – he had to turn away 23 candidates, who have been forced to continue their training elsewhere.

The seminary is one of four in southern India with a combined total of almost 800 students from 28 dioceses. More than 60 of them are due to be ordained to the priesthood next month. In an indication of the increase in vocations, Fr Prasad explained that in Chennai, there were now more than 30 students in each year group in the seminary’s theology section, double the number in the late 1980s. He said: “Vocations are going up – this has been the case for the last five years or so. We find it difficult to admit all the applicants and set a tight deadline for them to get their papers in on time.”

Fr Prasad added that there was growing “political pressure” to limit the growth of the Church with a new anti-conversion law introduced in Tamil Nadu: Preaching in public is forbidden and would-be converts to Christianity now face a barrage of paperwork thrust upon them by government officials. Fr Prasad said that people were turning to the Church in protest against the new regulations: “The more pressure they put on people, the more they feel like proclaiming their faith.” He went on to explain that lively youth programmes were drawing people to the faith and encouraging men to discern a possible vocation to the priesthood. According to the priest, retreats, sodalities and altar serving had all helped to boost the number of seminarians.

“What we feel is so important,” he added, “is to help the students to realise what they are learning about is not so much an academic subject but a mystery, something that is very personal and with a strong human dimension to it.” Concluding his remarks, Fr Prasad praised the work of ACN, describing how the charity had supported key training for seminary staff, Mass intentions, library books and a generator.

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Monday, 10th April 2006

CUBA: Authorities allow two bishops to hold Easter speeches on the radio

Königstein/Ts. According to a message that Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) received from Mgr Emilio Aranguren, Bishop of Holguín, the Office of Religious Affairs (“Oficina de Atención de los Asuntos Religiosos”), affiliated with the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist party, permitted the prelate as well as the Bishop of Bayamo-Manzanillo, Mgr Dionisio García Ibánez, to broadcast radio messages for the beginning of the Holy Week in their respective dioceses.

In Holguín, it was the first time in 46 years that this happened. When Mgr Aranguren informed his faithful at the end of the Chrism Mass on Saturday, April 8, those who attended got up from their seats and expressed their happiness with a storm of applause. Bishop Aranguren said: “When I visit the sick in their homes, I realise the large majority of them picks up foreign radio stations in order to hear religious messages because they need it for the faith they have and in order to face the needs that they have in their daily life. For this reason I have asked the authorities to let me address the sick in order to encourage them to celebrate the great events in the life of Jesus Christ: His Passion, Death and Resurrection. God willing, may I do that every week.”

In his 12-minute radio speech, broadcast on Palm Sunday, the bishop also addressed the elderly, telling them: “I want to bring you a message of consolation, of strength, of hope. I know that you need this just like all of us. When you hold a Crucifix in your hands or look at Jesus Christ on the cross, I invite you to renew your trust in Him. You will find a new disposition, a spiritual aptitude to continue to carry your cross with confidence, bravery, dignity and hope.”

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Friday, 7th April 2006

ALBANIA: CRTN presents film about missionary’s „daily grind“

Königstein/Ts. “My Wonderful Daily Grind” is the title of a film recently launched by the Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN), an organisation affiliated to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). The film deals with the life and work of Fr. Leonardo, a Polish missionary devoted to serve some 120 Catholics in Iballe, a remote village in the north Albanian mountainside that belongs to the Archdiocese of Shkoder.

“The motivation to make this film is twofold: Firstly, to show the reality of the Catholics living in the mountainous region of Albania, their difficult living conditions and the rediscovery of their faith after decades of communist oppression. And, secondly, to depict the daily life of a missionary and what it means to be a missionary today,” Mark von Riedeman, director of CRTN explained. “Today, many people see missionaries as passé, while, in fact, they are not: The Church needs them as much as ever. The missionary is vital in order to bring the faith to the people,” he added. “My Wonderful Daily Grind” is available in English, French, German and Spanish.

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Thursday, 6th April 2006

CHINA: Missionary stresses importance of intercultural dialogue

Königstein/Ts. Father Benoît Vermander, SJ, director of the Taipei-based Matteo Ricci Institute and chief editor of „Renlai“ monthly magazine, has stressed the importance of an intercultural dialogue via cultural, social and spiritual issues: “In recent months, our magazine has published articles about reconciliation between peoples, the role of women in modern societies, ecological problems such as water pollution and neo-paganism, including shamanism. In our times of globalisation, when public opinions regarding China oscillate between admiration for the country’s enormous economic potential and unease about China’s future role in the world, dialogue is of utmost importance,” the Jesuit missionary said during a recent visit to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Fr Vermander praised the role of Hong Kong Catholics in dialogue between Christian and modern Chinese culture: “Many of the faithful there are excellent, very active and able to take responsibility in public life.” Asked about current challenges China has to face, the French priest listed illnesses like AIDS and leprosy as well as drug-addiction, prostitution and the demographic problem.

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© bradi barth before publication contact bildarchiv@kirche-in-not.org


Wednesday, 5th April 2006

MEXICO: ACN’s Rosary booklet strengthens pastoral work during jubilee year

Königstein/Ts. Mgr Hipólito Reyes Larios, Bishop of Orizaba, has expressed his gratitude for 20,000 copies of the booklet “The Rosary: Joy, Light, Sorrow, Glory” that the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) sent to the central Mexican diocese: “The copies of the Rosary booklet will strengthen the pastoral work in our diocese in a very particular moment since, this year, we are celebrating the 475^th anniversary of the Marian apparitions in Guadalupe,” the prelate wrote in a message to ACN. Norberto Cardinal Rivera Carreras, Archbishop of Mexico City, had proclaimed the jubilee year on Dec. 12, 2005.

So far, ACN has distributed more than 500,000 copies of its Rosary booklet in Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America.

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Tuesday, 4th April 2006

PERU: Young congregation shows impressive growth

Königstein/Ts. “Our congregation, which was founded in 1998 in Peru as part of the ‘Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana’ movement, has been growing considerably over the past few years: Today, there are about 100 sisters working in six countries of Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe,” Sister Elisabeth Sánchez of the Servants of the Plan of God (“Hermanas Siervas del Plan de Dios”) told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) during a recent visit to the charity’s headquarters.

According to Sister Elisabeth, the congregation began its work by supporting and providing education for street children in Peru and expanded its activities into Chile, Colombia, Angola and the Philippines. “Today, we also have a formation centre in Rome and we will send 4 sisters to the diocese of Bacau, East Timor, by the end of this year,” Sister Elisabeth explained. She listed formation and the promotion of vocations as the congregation’s current priorities and thanked ACN for its support that the sisters received right from the beginning.

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Monday, 3rd April 2006

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: The Church “is young and vibrant,” archbishop says