AUGUST 23, 2015, Vol 65, No 17

SUNDAY AUGUST 23, 2015

SINGAPORE $0.70 CENTS / WEST MALAYSIA RM$2.10

MCI (P) 009/08/2015

PPS 201/04/2013 (022940)

3ULVRQHUV WHHQV LQYLWHG to celebrate Year of Mercy VATICAN CITY – More than a dozen individual celebrations will be scheduled for the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy, giving pilgrims the chance to celebrate their own holy year with Pope Francis in Rome.

The year-long jubilee, which starts on Dec 8, will include a number of individual jubilee days, such as for consecrated men and women, deacons, priests, catechists, the sick and disabled, teenagers and prisoners. Young people will be able to celebrate their jubilee with the pope at World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland.

7KH 3RQWLÂżFDO &RXQFLO IRU 3URmoting New Evangelisation, which is organising events for the Holy Year of Mercy, published a full calendar of events at www.im.va.

Because the Holy Year is meant to be lived as a pilgrim-

age, people taking part are asked to prepare themselves with prayer DQG VDFULÂżFH DQG PDNH D SRUWLRQ of the journey on foot.

Efforts also will be made to offer concrete signs of God’s love and mercy by offering tangible assistance to those in need, and bishops and priests around the world are asked to conduct “similar symbolic gestures of communion with Pope Francis� in their dioceses by reaching out to those on the margins.

The motto, “Merciful Like the Father�, is an invitation to follow the merciful example of God, who asks people not to judge or condemn but to forgive and to give love, the council said.

The following is a list of some of the major events planned in Rome for the jubilee year: Dec 8, feast of the Immacu-

late Conception: Opening of the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica.

Jan 19-21: Jubilee for those involved with guiding or organising pilgrimages and religious tourism.

Feb 2, feast of the Presentation of the Lord: Jubilee for Consecrated Life and the closing of the Year for Consecrated Life.

March 4: “24 Hours for the Lord� with a penitential liturgy in St Peter’s Basilica.

April 3, Divine Mercy Sunday: Jubilee for those devoted to the Divine Mercy.

April 24: Jubilee for teens aged 13-16 to profess the faith and construct a culture of mercy.

June 3, feast of the Sacred

The year-long jubilee, which starts on Dec 8, will include jubilee days for consecrated men and women, priests, catechists, the sick, teenagers and prisoners.

Heart: Jubilee for priests.

June 12: Jubilee for those who are ill or who have disabilities.

July 26-31: Jubilee for youth, World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland.

Sept 4: Jubilee for workers and volunteers of mercy, the vigil of the memorial of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata.

Sept 25: Jubilee for catechists.

Oct 8-9: Marian Jubilee.

Nov 6: Jubilee for prisoners.

Nov 20, feast of Christ the King: Closing of the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica and the conclusion of the Jubilee of Mercy.

The Jubilee of Mercy also has a Twitter handle, @Jubilee_va; a Facebook page; and accounts on Instagram, Flickr and Google+.

7KH RI¿FLDO SUD\HU LV DW KWWS ZZZ LP YD FRQWHQW JGP HQ JLXELOHR SUHJKLHUD KWPO „ CNS Pope Francis greets young people in Asuncion, Paraguay, during his trip there in July.

VOL 65

NO. 17

INSIDE HOME Sharing SG50 joy with migrants Catholics visit Mandai dormitory „ Page 3

ASIA 0\DQPDU à RRGV Church to deliver more aid „ Page 6

WORLD Ferguson shooting one year on Church leaders call for forgiveness „ Page 9

86 3ODQQHG 3DUHQWKRRG VFDQGDO Senators asked to defund network „ Page 10

POPE FRANCIS Remembering Hiroshima, Nagasaki Pope urges end to weapons of mass destruction „ Page 13

Blessings that altar servers receive Pope lists a few „ Page 15

2 HOME

Sunday August 23, 2015 „ CatholicNews

What the Church teaches about divorce, separation, annulment A recent symposium sought to dispel common misconceptions on these issues Many people are aware of the biblical teaching on the permanence of marriage: “Therefore what God has joined together, no human beLQJ PXVW VHSDUDWH ´ 0DUN

However, when crisis hits and a civil divorce looms, some lose QRW RQO\ KRSH EXW DOVR IDLWK How then can one remain faithful to God and in full communion with His Church if a civil divorce happens?

This was the subject of a symposium titled What The Catholic Church Actually Teaches About Divorce, Separation and AnnulPHQW KHOG DW &DWKROLF -XQLRU &ROOHJH RQ -XO\ )RU WKH PRUH WKDQ VWURQJ audience, the event was an opSRUWXQLW\ WR VHHN DXWKRULWDWLYH DQVZHUV WR PDQ\ EXUQLQJ TXHVWLRQV Divorced and remarried Catholics “are and remainâ€? members of the Church “because they have received baptism and retain their Christian faithâ€?, judicial vicar Fr 7HUHQFH 3HUHLUD WROG WKH FURZG 2WKHU FRPPRQ PLVFRQFHStions were addressed, such as the notion that any person who had a civil divorce could not receive +RO\ &RPPXQLRQ ,Q UHDOLW\ WKH Church’s teaching is that there is no prohibition for a divorced perVRQ ZKR KDG QRW UHPDUULHG Another common misconception is that an annulment is just D &DWKROLF ZD\ WR JLYH D GLYRUFH The fact is that an annulment is a recognition or declaration by the Church that there wasn’t a valid PDUULDJH LQ WKH ÂżUVW SODFH

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Participants learnt that the grounds for divorce and judicial separation are identical, and all the remedies available in a divorce are DOVR DYDLODEOH LQ MXGLFLDO VHSDUDWLRQ ,Q WKH DIWHUQRRQ VHVVLRQ WKH IRcus shifted to pastoral care for those DIIHFWHG E\ VXFK FLUFXPVWDQFHV ,W LV LPSRUWDQW WR UHFRJQLVH WKH pain experienced by those going through a civil divorce or a separation and the coping mechanisms being used, said Ms Kelvyanne 7HRK D FRXQVHOORU Recognition of the inadequacies of the mechanisms or coping strategies and learning new ones will allow them to manage WKH WUDQVLWLRQ DQG ZRUN WRZDUGV D new normal, where they are able to meet the demands of their situa-

WLRQ DV ZHOO DV ORRN DIWHU WKHLU RZQ needs and those of the children in SURSHU EDODQFH VKH VKDUHG Following Ms Teohâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presentation, there were sharings by representatives from the Beginning ([SHULHQFH DQG IURP 5HWURXYDLOOH Beginning Experience conGXFWV VWD\ LQ ZHHNHQGV IRU SDUWLFipants to help them come to terms with their circumstances and learn KRZ WR PRYH RQ ZLWK WKHLU OLYHV Retrouvaille also conducts stayLQ ZHHNHQGV DQG KHOSV FRXSOHV WR ZRUN RQ WKHLU WURXEOHG PDUULDJHV 7R ÂżQG RXW PRUH DERXW WKH DQnulment process, call the Marriage 7ULEXQDO RIÂżFH DW Â&#x201E;

Archbishop William Goh also VHQW D PHVVDJH WR SDUWLFLSDQWV He reminded them that God loves everyone, and gave encouragement to those who were separated or divorced by citing the ZRUGV RI 6W -RKQ 3DXO ,, LQ KLV apostolic exhortation, Familiaris Consortio: â&#x20AC;&#x153;But it is also proper to recognise the value of the witness of those spouses who, even when abandoned by their partner, with the strength of faith and of Christian hope have not entered a new union: these spouses too give an auWKHQWLF ZLWQHVV WR ÂżGHOLW\ RI ZKLFK WKH ZRUOG WRGD\ KDV D JUHDW QHHG ´ Ms Peggy Sarah Yee, a practising lawyer, also explained to participants the process for civil divorce and separation, and how

Divorced and remarried Catholics â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;are and remainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; members of the Church â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;because they have received baptism and retain their Christian faithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, said judicial vicar Fr Terence Pereira. the courts handle cases involving FKLOGUHQ DQG DQFLOODU\ PDWWHUV She also explained judicial separation as an alternative to civil divorce for couples who do not want to divorce for religious RU PRUDO UHDVRQV

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5HOLJLRXV ODXQFK ZHEVLWH DQG URVDU\ DJDLQVW KXPDQ WUDIĂ&#x20AC;FNLQJ As part of the international Year of Consecrated Life, the Catholic Religious in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei have ramped up their FROODERUDWLYH HIIRUWV WR ÂżJKW KXPDQ WUDIÂżFNLQJ Moving from raising awareness to urging action, the Religious priests, Sisters and Brothers are urging Catholics in their min-

istries to pray a Rosary Against +XPDQ 7UDIÂżFNLQJ The special rosary prayers are based on the Sorrowful Mysteries, and can be downloaded from a new website created to spread the ZRUG DERXW KXPDQ WUDIÂżFNLQJ DQG WR PDNH WKH PDWHULDOV GHYHORSHG DYDLODEOH WR D ZLGHU DXGLHQFH 7KH website, http://saynotohumantraf-

ÂżFNLQJ LQIR ZHQW OLYH RQ -XO\ 81 :RUOG 'D\ $JDLQVW 7UDIÂżFNLQJ LQ 3HUVRQV The Conference of Religious Major Superiors of MalaysiaSingapore-Brunei (CRMS) unanimously approved the rosary prayers and website during their meeting held at Majodi Centre in -RKRU %DKUX 0DOD\VLD IURP -XO\

The rosary prayers and website are part of the CRMSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ongoing commitment against human WUDIÂżFNLQJ 7KH JURXS ÂżUVW WRRN D VWDQG DJDLQVW KXPDQ WUDIÂżFNLQJ LQ when they developed and disWULEXWHG D VHW RI ÂżYH LQIRUPDWLRQ OHDĂ&#x20AC;HWV RQ KXPDQ WUDIÂżFNLQJ GXULQJ $GYHQW ,Q WKH\ PDGH KXPDQ WUDIÂżFNLQJ WKH IRFXV RI a meeting of the leaders of ReliJLRXV RUGHUV LQ 6RXWKHDVW $VLD â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is part of our prophetic stance as a voice for the voiceOHVV ´ VDLG )UDQFLVFDQ )ULDU -RKQ :RQJ &506 3UHVLGHQW Âł,Q WKLV <HDU RI &RQVHFUDWHG

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Life, it is all the more important that Catholic Religious stand in solidarity with all who are suffering, and to VSHDN RXW RQ EHKDOI RI WKH ZRPHQ men and children who are caught up LQ WKH QHW RI PRGHUQ GD\ VODYHU\ ´ He noted that Pope Francis â&#x20AC;&#x153;has appealed to all men and

women of good will not to turn away from the sufferings of our fellow human beings who are deprived of their freedom and digniW\ :H DUH DGGLQJ RXU YRLFH WR KLV appeal by urging all Catholics in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, DQG EH\RQG WR WDNH VRPH DFWLRQ DJDLQVW KXPDQ WUDIÂżFNLQJ ´ Praying the Rosary Against +XPDQ 7UDIÂżFNLQJ LV RQH RI ÂżYH actions the CRMS suggests in its QHZ ZHEVLWH 2WKHUV LQFOXGLQJ signing a declaration to end slavery, raising awareness, and prayLQJ IRU YLFWLPV DQG VXUYLYRUV The Franciscan Friars have also FUHDWHG D VSHFLDO URVDU\ EUDFHOHW )ULDU -RKQ VDLG KH KRSHV WKH 5RVDU\ $JDLQVW +XPDQ 7UDIÂżFNLQJ EUDFHOHW ZLOO KHOS NHHS KXPDQ WUDIÂżFNLQJ in the minds of those who use it, and encourage people to say a rosary for all the men, women and children ZKR KDYH EHHQ WUDIÂżFNHG Â&#x201E; For more information, contact Karen Goh at karen@katherosconsulting.com

HOME 3

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Sharing SG50 joy with migrant workers in Singapore About 300 Catholics from various churches and ministries came together to distribute food packets to migrant workers over the jubilee weekend Volunteers working together to collate the food packets at the WestLite Dormitory lobby.

While Singapore celebrated the those living among us who are less nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 50th anniversary on Jubi- fortunate.â&#x20AC;? said Mr Paul Foo, preslee Weekend, a group of Catholics ident of SSVP National Council. came together to commemorate While many groups are wellthe occasion with the migrant organised with an established supcommunity in Singapore. port network, there are some that On Aug 8, 300 Catholics visit- are relatively on their own espeed the WestLite Dormitory at Man- cially the newly arrived migrants. dai to bring food packets to some It is for them that ACMI and 5,300 resident migrant workers.

SSVP are organising this food The packets comprised essen- basket project. tial items such as rice, noodles, â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the occasion of SG50, we sugar, sweeteners, energy drinks, should also recognise the contritoothpaste, soap and tea powder. butions of the migrant workers to Mr Aung Min Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s develTun, a shipyard suOn the occasion opment. pervisor from Myâ&#x20AC;&#x153;They have anmar, has been of SG50, we should VDFULÂżFHG PXFK working in Singaand we should also recognise pore for eight years thank them. This the contributions is also an opportunow and this is the ÂżUVW WLPH KHÂśV VHHQ nity for us to create of the migrant volunteers bring awareness of chalworkers to the special occasion lenges faced by right to their dormimigrant workers Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tory. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very hapand to reach out to development. py to see so many let them know that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mr Timothy Karl, people come over they can approach ACMI just to pack and us for help should give us these food they encounter any baskets,â&#x20AC;? he shared.

GLIÂżFXOWLHV RU SUREOHPV ´ VDLG 0U For Mr A Maguraj, a lift main- Timothy Karl, Executive Director tenance worker from India who of ACMI Singapore. has been here since 2009, he was Another positive outcome of â&#x20AC;&#x153;thrilled to receive this special the food project is the coming packâ&#x20AC;? and added that it made him together of various churches and â&#x20AC;&#x153;especially happy to see every- ministries, including the youth. body looking so happy as the naMany of the youth volunteered tion celebrates her 50th birthdayâ&#x20AC;?. to be distributors and were excited Organised by the Society of to personally present the food basSt Vincent de Paul (SSVP) and kets to the migrant workers. the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrant and Itinerant People (ACMI), the Food Basket Project brought together Vincentians, youth ministry members and parishioners from six churches (Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, St Vincent de Paul, Immaculate Heart of Mary, St Francis Xavier, St Mary Of The Angels and St Ignatius) â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is part of SSVPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to celebrate the Catholic Joy SG50 initiative across the island. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are organising a series of food projects with various parishes to provide thousands of meals to

A number of them took this time to chat with some of these workers and learn about their stories.

For many of them, this experience was a unique one. Said 21-year-old Alexandra Hofbauer, 7KLV LV P\ ÂżUVW WLPH KHOSLQJ RXW LQ such an event and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not what I

expected at all... Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really heartwarming to see so many people come together to volunteer their time on a Saturday.â&#x20AC;?

Ms Margaret Wong, one of the leaders of the Food Basket project VDLG Âł7KLV LV WKH ÂżUVW WLPH VXFK DQ activity is being carried out on a

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

A volunteer delivering food packets to a migrant worker in his dormitory.

large scale. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really a mammoth task to prepare and distribute 5,300 food packets in a single day, and we need to work out every single detail including receiving and packing the items, bringing the food packs to the migrant workers and interacting with them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very inspired to work among a group of like-minded Catholics. We may come from different parishes and ministries, but we are united in our efforts to live out our faith and passion to do our part to celebrate SG50 through this project.â&#x20AC;?

(DUOLHU LQ -XQH WHHQ FRQÂżUPDQWV and Vincentians from the Church of Christ the King visited Chip Ong Seng Dormitory at Tampines Road to distribute food baskets to 650 migrant worker residents. More food basket projects will be planned later in the year with other parishes. Â&#x201E; For more information, please check with your local SSVP conference.

4 HOME

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Left: Ursula Sum, a Sec 2 student from CHIJ St Theresaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Convent, showing Sr Maria Lau and principal Pauline Wong the Trexi dolls with Singapore themes at the Emblems of Sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;pore display.

Above: Sr Maria and Mrs Wong place tiles depicting CHIJMES and the St Theresaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Convent to complete the display.

Emblems of Sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;pore launched CHIJ St Theresaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Convent launched Emblems of Singapore, a showcase of student artworks as part of its SG50 celebrations.

7ZHQW\ ÂżYH RI WKH VFKRROÂśV pioneer teachers and members of the Kampong Bahru and Radin Mas community also attended the Aug 6 event.

Emblems of Singapore, located along one of the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corridors, includes a display of painted wooden tiles featuring Singapore WKHPHV 7UH[L ÂżJXULQHV GHpicting icons such as the Merlion and the NSman, and an 8.5-mlong silhouette of the Singapore skyline with interactive links on local monuments.

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The silhouette of CHIJMES also takes centrestage here, commemorating the establishment of WKH ÂżUVW ,- ,QIDQW -HVXV FRQYHQW on the island. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From the research that I conducted for my Trexi doll design, I learnt that it was through the hard work of our pioneers that Singapore grew from a country which started with nothing into the success story that we are today,â&#x20AC;? said Sec 2 student Shernane Foo, who based her design on the iconic Singapore Girl. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They did not give up during the hard times â&#x20AC;&#x201C; everyone worked together and they pulled through in the end.â&#x20AC;?

Staff, parents and invited guests also witnessed the Student Leadership Investiture Ceremony during which 273 student leaders were inaugurated into a leadership programme established in the tradition of growing girls to be lead-

I learnt that it was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC; through the hard work of our pioneers that Singapore grew from a country which started with nothing into the success story that we are today.

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sec 2 student Shernane Foo

ers and learners in the service of others.

During the celebration, guest of honour, Infant Jesus Sr Maria Lau, paid tribute to the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pioneer educators and members of the Kampong Bahru and Radin Mas community who helped the school establish an educational programme for girls in the 1950s.

In those decades, schooling for girls was not widely available and the Infant Jesus Sisters persevered in setting up a school on Radin Mas Hill to serve the daughters of workers at the port and the railway station.

Mrs Mabel Tan, a pioneer educator at the school from 19572002, recalled the 1950s and 1960s as a time where staff and

students would â&#x20AC;&#x153;pitch in, without JUXPEOLQJ DQG IHHO JUDWLÂżHG DW playing a part in building up the schoolâ&#x20AC;?.

Mrs Tan said she remembers WKH OLEUDU\ ZKHQ LW ZDV ÂżUVW EXLOW small, poorly equipped, with few books and no air-conditioning. In order to furnish the library with furniture and books, she and her students took it upon themselves to raise funds, through Job Week and selling food provided by parents at school fairs.

In three months, they raised $3,000 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no small sum for those days. The money allowed them WR LQVWDOO WKH ÂżUVW DLU FRQGLWLRQLQJ unit at the school, which made the library hugely popular among students. Â&#x201E;

Archbishop: Church needs to cope with change, or be deemed irrelevant

By Vincent Especkerman It was full house at the Church of the Risen Christ on Aug 7 as about 1,000 parishioners took part in a day of recollection conducted by Archbishop William Goh. The theme was the New Evangelisation.

In his talks, Archbishop Goh addressed mainly three issues: how to respond to a fast-changing world, bringing lost sheep back into the fold, and being equipped for the New Evangelisation.

Many changes have taken place in the world in the last decade, especially in areas such as technology, geopolitics and social media, and more changes are expected ahead. Archbishop Goh warned that the Church needs to be prepared to respond to the challenges brought about by these changes, or risk being overtaken or deemed irrelevant.

These changes include new laws on abortion, contraception, gay rights and same-sex marriage passed in other countries which

have divided communities around the world. The Catholic Church has not been spared.

Archbishop God said the Church needs to be more caring and sensitive to the needs of people with differing views. Many Catholic divorcees, single parents and people with same-sex attraction are in a moral dilemma, sometimes through no fault of theirs.

They want to remain in the Church.

Catholics should do what they can to reconcile these people to the Church instead of ostracising them.

Archbishop Goh said there is a need to reconsider how catechesis is being done. Children should no longer learn by rote. They are already exposed to all kinds of information through the Internet and social media, some of which are at variance with Church teachings.

7KH &KXUFK QHHGV WR ÂżQG QHZ ways to catechise and communicate with its children, and make catechism classes more engaging and interesting.

Archbishop stressed that in

Archbishop Goh speaking at the Church of the Risen Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day of recollection on Aug 7.

order to begin the work of evanJHOLVDWLRQ &DWKROLFV ÂżUVW QHHG to be holy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The reason why our efforts at evangelisation fail is because our ministries are more concerned with doing work than GLVFLSOHVKLS :H ÂżUVW QHHG WR EH convicted of the Word of God and become disciples before attempt-

ing to evangelise,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Mr Chris Soh, a parishioner, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was great to be coming together as a parish community to UHĂ&#x20AC;HFW RQ VRPHWKLQJ DV LPSRUWDQW as evangelisation.â&#x20AC;?

Mr Michael Chong, chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), said the day of recollection

â&#x20AC;&#x153;has raised the awareness of many parishioners of the urgency of the New Evangelisation, and on the need to be evangelised.â&#x20AC;?

He added that the PPC will be ORRNLQJ LQWR ZD\V WR ³¿OWHU GRZQ the spirit of the New Evangelisation to the various ministriesâ&#x20AC;? of the parish. Â&#x201E;

ASIA 5

Sunday August 23, 2015 CatholicNews

Students walk 300 km to mark Gabrielite Brothers’anniversary

The team in Batu Pahat, halfway through their walk in Malaysia. Photos: MUHD ZAIDI BIN MOHD JUPRI

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Jackies Low (extreme right) pressing on in the rain with his team mates despite an aching knee.

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CORRECTION: In the story, No Such Thing As A ‘Late Vocation’ (CN, Aug 9), on newly ordained -HVXLW )U 0DWWKHZ 7DQ WKH ¿IWK WR the seventh paragraphs should be UHSODFHG ZLWK WKH IROORZLQJ $IWHU FRPSOHWLQJ KLV XQLversity studies, he attended an DUFKGLRFHVDQ YRFDWLRQ FDPS ³, KHDUG VWRULHV RI KRZ IXO¿OOLQJ DQG PHDQLQJIXO WKH OLYHV RI priests and Religious were,” he UHFDOOHG

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%R\V¶ 7RZQ KDV KHOSHG PH D ORW , XVHG WR VNLS VFKRRO EXW QRZ ,¶YH OHDUQW WR KDYH VHOI GLVFLSOLQH DQG ZRUN KDUG ´ Another participant, a Boys’ Town Alternative Schooling ProJUDPPH 6HFRQGDU\ VWXGHQW VDLG ³6RPH RI P\ IULHQGV KDG PDQ\ blisters and were bleeding at their WRHV ,W ZDV KDUG IRU PH WR VHH WKHP LQ SDLQ “This trip brought us closer DQG WDXJKW PH WR ORRN RXW IRU P\ IULHQGV :KHQ LW ZDV GLI¿FXOW ZH did not give up and continued to ZDON WRJHWKHU 7KLV LV RXU WULEXWH WR WKH %URWKHUV ´ The Boy’s Town website is www.boystown.org.sg

6 ASIA

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Myanmar Church to deliver PRUH DLG WR Ă RRG KLW DUHDV YANGON â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Karuna Myanmar formed emergency response teams.

Social Services, the Catholic â&#x20AC;&#x153;We together with other Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social arm in the coun- NGOs will be distributing food try, is stepping in with emergency WR Ă&#x20AC;RRG DIIHFWHG FRPPXQLWLHV LQ relief as more areas risking being Hinthada, Myanaung and Kyan submerged by the rising waters of Khin township in the Irrawaddy the Irrawaddy River.

Delta,â&#x20AC;? said Fr Henry Eikhlein, 0\DQPDU KDV IDFHG Ă&#x20AC;RRGLQJ director of Karuna Pathein. strong winds and landslides in Karuna Pathein is already 12 states and regions, including experienced in relief operations, Christian-majority having helped durKaruna says it Chin state and Raing Cyclone Narkhine state, where gis, which devaswill focus on more than 100,000 tated the Irrawaddy distributing people previously Delta in 2008. displaced by secIn Hakha diofood and tarian violence cese in remote drinking water, were already living Chin state, more in basic camps. than 1,000 housegetting people The heavy holds are affected to temporary monsoon rains and homeless due have left at least 69 WR Ă&#x20AC;DVK Ă&#x20AC;RRGV DQG shelters and dead and seriously landslides. constructing affected 270,000 â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is the people, according temporary toilets. ÂżUVW WLPH WKDW VXFK to the state-run a bad situation ocGlobal New Light of Myanmar curred in Hakha, so we are not newspaper on Aug 6. prepared for the disaster,â&#x20AC;? Fr JoKaruna says its efforts will fo- seph, director of Karuna Hakha, cus on the distribution of food and said during a recent two-day drinking water, getting people to meeting at the Karuna Myanmar temporary shelters and construct- Social Services centre in Yangon. ing temporary toilets. It will use as Karuna Hakha has been evacmuch as US$28,000 (S$39,000) uating people since July 31, when from its Lenten Fund to help aid the state government asked for efforts in eight dioceses as well as KHOS LQ UHVSRQGLQJ WR WKH Ă&#x20AC;RRGV another US$12,000 for emergen- Access to remote areas remains cy supplies. a challenge and food prices are Karuna in Pathein diocese has high, the priest said. Â&#x201E; UCANEWS.COM

&DOO IRU SROLWLFDO G\QDVWLHV SRRU WR EH HOHFWLRQ LVVXHV MANILA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The head of the Phil-

ippine bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conference said helping the poor and getting rid of political dynasties should take centrestage in the months leading up to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elections next May. Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, conference president, said the poor should not be forgotten, especially since the country has made economic strides under President Benigno Aquino ,,,ÂśV DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ 7KH SDVW ÂżYH years have seen Philippine bonds UHDFK LQYHVWPHQW JUDGH IRU WKH ÂżUVW time ever, and the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy has consistently been one of Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top performers. Âł:KLOH WKHUH DUH ÂżJXUHV WR prove that investments have risen and that economic fundamentals are strong, as pastors we are deeply concerned with the inclusiveness of economic gain,â&#x20AC;? Archbishop Villegas said in an Aug 11 statement. Âł*RYHUQPHQW DQG FRUSRUDWH ÂżJXUHV remain items of cold statistics until they are translated into better lives by those now most disadvantaged.â&#x20AC;?

The prelate also expressed disappointment in proposed â&#x20AC;&#x153;anti-dynastyâ&#x20AC;? laws lingering in the Philippine Congress. Versions of the bill have failed because in the House about 150 of the more than 240 members are part of political families.

Archbishop Villegas also

Ordination ceremony of Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Zhang Yinlin of Anyang. UCANEWS.COM photo

&KLQHVH ELVKRS LV Ă&#x20AC;UVW WR EH RUGDLQHG SXEOLFO\ VLQFH Ordination approved by Vatican and government

Workers seen storing ballot boxes ahead of the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 2013 election. &16 ÂżOH SKRWR

pushed for including all sides in the debate over the passing of a proposed law that would see an autonomous Muslim-majority region on the island of Mindanao, after the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest Muslim rebel group and the government forged peace a year ago. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have always insisted that a peaceful and just settlement must be acceptable to all: Muslims and non-Muslims alike,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The archbishop reminded Catholic voters they should â&#x20AC;&#x153;be actively engaged in the apostolate of evangelising the political orderâ&#x20AC;? and that they should educate themselves on candidatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;platforms, plans, beliefs and convictionsâ&#x20AC;?. Â&#x201E; UCANEWS.COM

HONG KONG â&#x20AC;&#x201C; When Fr Joseph Zhang Yinlin was ordained coadjutor bishop of Anyang diocese, KH EHFDPH WKH ÂżUVW SXEOLFO\ RUdained Chinese bishop in three \HDUV DQG WKH ÂżUVW VLQFH WKH 9DWLcan and China restarted its dialogue in June 2014.

The new bishop was consecrated at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Anyang by three Vatican-approved and government-recognised bishops. Bishops not recognised by the Vatican were not present at the ordination, reported Asian Church news portal, ucanews.com.

Aug 4 was chosen as the ordination date because it is the feast of St John Vianney, patron saint of priests, ucanews.com reported. $FFRUGLQJ WR WKH RIÂżFLDO ZHEsite of the Henan Catholic Church, the ordination Mass was concelebrated by 75 priests and attended by about 1,400 people, including 120 nuns.

One Church source said authorities limited participants to 25 people from each of the dioceseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 17 parishes. Another source who attended the Mass told ucanews. com that those who did not have identity cards could not get into the venue.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The security check is strict, as at the airport. We were being checked twice,â&#x20AC;? the source said, adding that despite the rain, the government had â&#x20AC;&#x153;hundreds of SROLFH DQG ÂżUHPHQ WR PDLQWDLQ orderâ&#x20AC;?.

A priest who concelebrated the Mass told ucanews.com that nearly 500 people were turned away from the Mass by authorities and had to watch the ceremony on TV sets in parish classrooms.

Bishops not recognised by the Vatican were not present at the ordination ceremony.

Bishop Zhang was born in Henan province in 1971 and studied at the National Seminary in Beijing from 1992-1996.

After being ordained to the priesthood in 1996, he served as vicar general. He was elected coadjutor bishop on April 29 this year and approved for ordination by the Vatican.

Another Vatican-approved candidate for bishop, Fr Cosmos Ji Chengyi of Zhumadian, in the

same province of Henan, also attended the ordination. The date for his ordination has not been announced.

The last public episcopal ordination took place on July 7, 2012, when Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin was installed as an auxiliary in Shanghai. He had been approved by the Vatican and the Chinese government. Immediately after his ordination, he publicly quit the Catholic Patriotic Association, saying he wanted to devote himself to his ministry.

7KH DXWKRULWLHV KDYH FRQÂżQHG him to the compound of Shanghaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sheshan Seminary and he is prohibited from assuming his duties as bishop, although he often sends messages about the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s liturgical readings on his Weibo microblogging account.

On July 10, Bishop Martin Wu QinJing of Zhouzhi had his public ministry restored. The Vatican named him bishop in 2005 and he was quietly ordained. When this was made known publicly in 2007, he was restricted to the minor seminary in Xiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an, although he continued to have meetings with priests and laypeople and was occasionally allowed to return to Zhouzhi. Â&#x201E; UCANEWS.COM

ASIA

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Church faces uphill task in Vietnam as abortion levels soar HANOI â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Vietnamese Catholic Church has launched a number of initiatives to defend the lives of infants and counter the rising number of abortions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; often performed secretly to the detriment of young people and teenagers. ,Q %ŇłF 1LQK D VXIIUDJDQ diocese of the Archdiocese of +DQRL LQ WKH QRUWK RI WKH FRXQWU\ Caritas is promoting courses attended by at least 65 young men and women who will join the many volunteers already involved in six parish centres set up by the Church to help pregnant women bring their pregnancies to term.

7KH RIÂżFLDO QXPEHU RI abortions is cause for alarm.

6LQFH ZKHQ WKH JRYHUQPHQW OHJDOLVHG LW WKH QXPEHU RI FDVHV has grown exponentially. Today Vietnam has the highest abortion rate in South-East Asia and ranks ÂżIWK RYHUDOO LQ WKH ZRUOG (DFK \HDU PRUH WKDQ young women and teenagers between 15 and 19 resort to abortion. Many of them are high school and university students EHWZHHQ DQG SHU FHQW

,Q WKH FDSLWDO +DQRL WKH QXPEHU LV HYHQ KLJKHU DQG PDQ\ young women have an abortion VHYHUDO WLPHV DV LI LW ZHUH D contraceptive method.

Nuns receiving communion in Vietnam. The Church here has rallied to try and reduce abortion rates. &16 ÂżOH SKRWR

As many young people have VH[ EHIRUH PDUULDJH SUHJQDQFLHV are common in schools. ,Q PDQ\ FDVHV \RXQJ ZRPHQ and girls turn to private or illegal FOLQLFV ZKHUH VDQLWDU\ FRQGLWLRQV and medical procedures are substandard and can cause damage to womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health. ,Q YLHZ RI WKH HPHUJHQF\ pro-life groups are networking to stop abortion. The most active are Catholic movements and diocesan JURXSV OLNH WKH RQH VHW XS LQ %ŇłF 1LQK $W OHDVW HYHU\ WKUHH PRQWKV SDUWLFLSDQWV SUD\ DWWHQG 0DVV DQG

share experiences and problems.

Caritas also sponsors meetings to raise awareness.

Many non-Catholics appreciate WKLV ZRUN VD\LQJ WKDW WKH\ DUH â&#x20AC;&#x153;impressedâ&#x20AC;? by the spirit of VHOI VDFULÂżFH DQG FKDULW\ VKRZQ E\ &KXUFK YROXQWHHUV ZKLFK authorities often hamper. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Although the groups face REVWDFOHV DQG GLIÂżFXOWLHV IURP ORFDO DXWKRULWLHV ´ VDLG D &DWKROLF who asked for his name to be ZLWKKHOG ÂłWKH PRYHPHQW WR GHIHQG OLIH LQ WKH GLRFHVH RI %ŇłF 1LQK LV ZHOFRPHG DQG VWHS E\ VWHS KDV earned peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trust.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; ASIANEWS

7

8 ASIA

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

More protests over Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s removal of crosses from churches HONG KONG â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Church groups, both

inside and outside mainland China, are protesting the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s removal of Catholic and Protestant FKXUFK FURVVHV LQ =KHMLDQJ SURYLQFH On July 31, two separate groups of priests who graduated from the Central and Southern Seminary in Wuchang and the Sheshan Seminary in Shanghai condemned the campaign in public statements cirFXODWHG RQ WKH ,QWHUQHW One group comparing it to the persecution that occurred during WKH &XOWXUDO 5HYROXWLRQ One of the priests, who idenWLÂżHG KLPVHOI DV )U $PEURVH WROG XFDQHZV FRP WKDW KH DQG classmates from the 2001 class at Central and Southern Seminary lobbied their respective bishops to SURWHVW WKH FDPSDLJQ â&#x20AC;&#x153;The prelates may need more time to think over and consider WKH WLPLQJ RI WKHLU UHPDUNV ,Q RUder to not pressure them, we decided to speak out in the name of RXU JUDGXDWH FODVV ´ KH VDLG In a separate statement, nine priests who graduated from Sheshan Seminary in 2000, compared the cross-removal campaign to the killings of scholars during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), and the widespread persecution that occurred GXULQJ WKH &XOWXUDO 5HYROXWLRQ Three bishops from the â&#x20AC;&#x153;undergroundâ&#x20AC;? Church communities â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bishops John Wang Ruowang of Tianshui, Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar and Peter Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou â&#x20AC;&#x201C; have also joined the voices of several governmentapproved bishops, who protested DJDLQVW WKH FDPSDLJQ LQ ODWH -XO\ In Hong Kong, the Catholic diocesan Justice and Peace Commission and several Protestant churches held a prayer service

The cross of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, being removed on July 2. UCANEWS.COM photo

outside the central governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s /LDLVRQ 2IÂżFH RQ $XJ VD\LQJ the cross-removal campaign was D SHUVHFXWLRQ RI &KULVWLDQV Participants displayed crosses and banners that read â&#x20AC;&#x153;Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rePRYH WKH FURVV LQ RXU KHDUWV´ â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is unprecedented to see more and more Catholic groups and dioceses in China speaking out against the cross-removal campaign, as they used to be very lowkey,â&#x20AC;? Ms Or Yan-yan, commission SURMHFW RIÂżFHU WROG XFDQHZV FRP

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, some protesters face threats and arrest on political charges, yet the faithful still FKRRVH WR VSHDN RXW <RX FDQ LPagine how grave the situation is IRU WKHP ´ VKH VDLG In late 2013, the Chinese government embarked on a church demolition campaign in Zhejiang, ZLWK D QXPEHU RI KLJK SURÂżOH GHPROLWLRQV RI 3URWHVWDQW FKXUFKHV Many Protestant and Catholic churches have also had their crosses UHPRYHG VLQFH WKHQ Â&#x201E; UCANEWS.COM

Opposition to massive port project in southern Indian state THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Kerala state government is

now open to discussions with the Catholic Church after an archbishop said the multimillion-dollar port project because it would GLVSODFH WKRXVDQGV RI ÂżVKHUPHQ â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will continue our discussions and remove all their fears and grievances,â&#x20AC;? Mr K Babu, state PLQLVWHU IRU ÂżVKHULHV DQG SRUWV WROG XFDQHZV FRP DIWHU LQLWLDO GLVcussions with leaders of the LatinULWH 7ULYDQGUXP DUFKGLRFHVH He said that the Kerala government is open to dialogue on issues raised by the Catholic Church against implementing the Vizhinjam port project, which is expected to cost 7 billion rupees 6 PLOOLRQ

The ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comments fol-

lowed a pastoral letter issued by Latin-rite Archbishop Maria Calist Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum against the proposed Vizhinjam SRUW 7KH OHWWHU ZDV UHDG GXULQJ all Aug 2 Sunday Masses in his DUFKGLRFHVH In his letter, the archbishop warned the government that he could not condone the massive port project in its present form, as LW ZRXOG GLVSODFH ÂżVKLQJ YLOODJes in his archdiocese and adverseO\ DIIHFW VRPH IDPLOLHV If the project is implemented, coastal villages along a 13-km VWUHWFK ZLOO EH ZLSHG RXW KH VDLG Construction on the project is VFKHGXOHG WR VWDUW RQ $XJ Mr James Varghese, principal secretary to the Ministry of Ports, RQ WKH RWKHU KDQG WROG XFDQHZV

com, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The project has already been delayed for almost 24 years, but the government would initiate fresh rounds of talks with all agJULHYHG VWDNHKROGHUV ´ The project area covers the PDMRULW\ RI ÂżVKLQJ VHWWOHPHQWV XQGHU 7ULYDQGUXP DUFKGLRFHVH â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are viewing this as a KXPDQ ULJKWV LVVXH :H DUH QRW DJDLQVW GHYHORSPHQW :KDW ZH GHmand is the protection of the rights of a group that is going to suffer WKH PRVW ´ WKH DUFKELVKRS VDLG He added that he believes the government wants to ignore proWHVWV DQG JR DKHDG ZLWK WKH SURMHFW The Catholic Church in Kerala state is home to three Church rites, namely the Syro-Malabar, 6\UR 0DODQNDUD DQG /DWLQ ULWHV Â&#x201E; UCANEWS.COM

WORLD 9

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Forgiveness the key to healing in light of Ferguson anniversary ST LOUIS, MISSOURI â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Forgive-

ness. A simple word, a mere 11 letters but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at the heart of the Catholic faith, along with love, peace and justice. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jesus tells us that if we receive Him as the bread of life, we will have his life within us,â&#x20AC;?

Archbishop Robert J Carlson of St Louis, USA, said in his homily at a Mass for peace and justice on Aug 9 at the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He shows what this life means on the cross, when He forgives those who killed him.â&#x20AC;?

With a crowd topping 600, the 0DVV FRPPHPRUDWHG WKH ÂżUVW DQniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown, an African American teen, in a confrontation with D ZKLWH SROLFH RIÂżFHU â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know the events [in Ferguson] uncovered a culture of systemic racism, rage just below the surface of daily life, and a court system which failed to recognise institutional injustice in its manner of operation.â&#x20AC;? Archbishop Carlson said.

But after the release of pent-up rage, what comes next? The real work begins with forgiveness. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we receive Him as the bread of life,â&#x20AC;? the archbishop continued, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we can let go of hate and hurts and grievances and forgive one another â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a healing that inter-

connects with faith â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and is the ÂżUVW VWHS WRZDUG EXLOGLQJ UHODWLRQships and assisting those who live in poverty.â&#x20AC;?

No one should let their brothers and sisters â&#x20AC;&#x153;bear their suffering alone,â&#x20AC;? he said, citing the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reading as an example. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we read in the Old Testament, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is what Yahweh asks of you: Only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Archbishop Carlson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are being in-

we receive Him â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;asWhen the bread of life, we can let go of hate and hurts and grievances and forgive one another.

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Archbishop Robert J Carlson

YLWHG WR WDNH WKH ÂżUVW VWHS LQ D pilgrimage of trust, which begins when we are willing to admit our failures, ask pardon and seek the forgiveness of one another.

Forgiveness was also on the forefront of an ecumenical prayer service held four days earlier at the grotto at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Ferguson. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How does one console another who has experienced an unspeakable tragedy? Often, there

Archbishop Robert J Carlson (right) leading a candlelight procession with Fr John Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien on Aug 5.

The archbishop has urged people to let go of their grievances and to share in the suffering of others. CNS Photo

are no words,â&#x20AC;? Fr John Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien VDLG LQ D UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWLRQ DW WKH VHUYLFH â&#x20AC;&#x153;We express our presence and human connection; we bring food, we ask if they are getting enough rest, we pray for them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Forgive and prophesy,â&#x20AC;? the pastor said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are divine ob-

ligations, and as such, God will give us the strength to do them.

Father Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien acknowledged WKH GLIÂżFXOW\ RI IRUJLYHQHVV ÂłDIWHU taking so many beatings, and yet this is what the Gospel demands. ... Untie and loose the debt or it will keep doing harm. If you want

to put an end to it, let go of it or it will continue damaging you. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When another hurts us, it is not the pain that bothers us so much, it is the injustice. And injustice makes us want to respond with further injustice. But Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mercy allows us to respond with mercy,â&#x20AC;? he said. Â&#x201E; CNS

French, British bishops urge protection, Dozens of Christians care for migrants stuck in channel port feared to be among 230 French and kidnapped in Syria British Catholic bishops urged CNS photo

OXFORD, ENGLAND â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

their governments to settle a growing refugee crisis around the port of Calais, where highways have been blocked and migrants from Africa and the Middle East have died attempting illegal crossings of the Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel.

At least 5,000 migrants, many from Eritrea, Syria and Sudan, have been stranded in makeshift camps and shanty towns outside Calais.

At least 10 have died since June as they jumped aboard trains and trucks entering the 51 km tunnel, which opened in 1994 to the port of Dover, England. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These men and women crowded together in no manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land around the city of Calais, are not murderers or terrorists. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re often young and have risked eveU\WKLQJ IRU PRQWKV WR ÂżQG D EHWWHU OLIH IDU IURP WKH FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFWV DQG persecutions of their home-countries,â&#x20AC;? said Bishop Marc Stenger of Troyes, head of Franceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic Pax Christi movement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When an undersea tunnel linking two countries â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an astonishing technological feat â&#x20AC;&#x201C; becomes a place of tension, violence and death, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for us to wake up,â&#x20AC;? he said in an Aug 3 statement.

AMMAN, JORDAN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dozens of

French police face migrants next to a makeshift migrant camps in Calais, France.

Across the English Channel, the British bishop in charge of migrant issues also urged his government to recognise â&#x20AC;&#x153;the desperation of those seeking asylumâ&#x20AC;? and SURYLGH PRUH HIÂżFLHQW SURFHGXUHV for handling their claims. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The causes of this mass migration are complex â&#x20AC;&#x201C; armed FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFW FLYLO ZDU WKH ULVH RI WKH Islamic State, the failure of some states to function adequately, social deprivation and poverty,â&#x20AC;?

Auxiliary Bishop Patrick Lynch of Southwark wrote in an Aug 4 letter to Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daily Telegraph.

He urged the British govern-

ment to â&#x20AC;&#x153;work closely with humanitarian agencies and faith communities in the migrantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; countries of originsâ&#x20AC;? and said he welcomed a joint Aug 2 pledge by the British and French interior ministers to â&#x20AC;&#x153;provide protection IRU WKRVH JHQXLQHO\ Ă&#x20AC;HHLQJ IURP FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFW DQG WR SXUVXH WKH FDOORXV criminals who encourage so many to make this perilous journey.â&#x20AC;? $Q RIÂżFLDO RI WKH (QJOLVK DQG Welsh bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conference told Catholic News Service on Aug 5 that Bishop Lynchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s statement ÂłIXOO\ UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWHG´ WKH YLHZV RI RWKer Catholic bishops. Â&#x201E; CNS

Christians are feared to be among the 230 people abducted by Islamic State after the extremist groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s militants captured a central Syrian town in early August.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syria-based activist Bebars alTalawy said they have no information where militants took their captives after overrunning the heavily populated town of Qaryatain. Al-Talawy put the number of Christians abducted at 60.

It is believed that many of the &KULVWLDQV KDG SUHYLRXVO\ Ă&#x20AC;HG from Aleppo province in Syriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s north to seek refuge in Qaryatain.

A commentator for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said those abducted were wanted

by Islamic State for â&#x20AC;&#x153;collaborating with the regime,â&#x20AC;? and their names were on a list already prepared by the militants as they occupied the town. This has serious implications for those people and their lives could be in danger, warned the Christian rights group Middle East Concern.

Sources close to the Assyrian Orthodox metropolitan in Homs

reported to Middle East Concern that while Qaryatain was under Islamic State assault, another attack centred on the town of Hawwarin, 10 km away. This is an Assyrian village and approximately 2,000 Assyrian Christians were forced WR Ă&#x20AC;HH Middle East Concern said it believes these developments suggest that Islamic State is again starting to target local Christians in Syria.

In May, masked men kidnapped Syrian Fr Jacques Mourad from the Syriac Catholic Mar Elian monastery in Qaryatain.

Fr Mourad, who helped both Christians and Muslims, was preSDULQJ DLG IRU DQ LQĂ&#x20AC;X[ RI UHIXgees from Palmyra when he was abducted, and his whereabouts remain unknown. Pope Francis PHQWLRQHG KLP VSHFLÂżFDOO\ LQ public prayer on July 26.

While in February, Islamic State militants kidnapped more than 220 Assyrian Christians, after overrunning villages along the Khabur River in the northeastern Syrian province of Hassakeh.

Only a few have been released since that time while the fate of the others remains unknown. Â&#x201E; CNS

10 WORLD

Sunday August 23, 2015 CatholicNews

US Senators urged to defund abortion network WASHINGTON – The head of the

US bishops’ pro-life committee on Aug 3 urged US senators to take the federal money that goes to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and instead fund women’s health care providers that do not promote abortion.

“It has long been troubling to many Americans that the nation’s largest abortion network, performing over a third of all abortions, receives over half a billion taxpayer dollars a year,” said Boston Cardinal Sean P O’Malley.

“This concern has rightly grown in recent years,” he wrote in a letter to the senators.

“The most recent revelations about Planned Parenthood’s willLQJQHVV WR WUDI¿F LQ IRHWDO WLVVXH from abortions, and to alter abortion methods not for any reason related to women’s health but to

obtain more ‘intact’ organs, is the latest demonstration of a callousness towards women and their unborn children that is shocking to many Americans,” he said.

The cardinal is chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

He urged senators to support S. 1881, a measure that would defund Planned ParHQWKRRG DQG LWV DI¿OLDWHV +LV letter followed the release in mid-July of videos of the orJDQLVDWLRQ¶V RI¿FLDOV ¿OPHG XQGHUFRYHU E\ D QRQ SUR¿W California-based organisation called the Center for Medical Progress.

In two videos, top Planned Parenthood physicians describe how abortions are carried

A pro-life supporter seen outside a Planned Parenthood facility in St Louis, USA, in July. CNS photo

out to best salvage foetal tissue and organs for researchers and described a range of prices paid for different body parts.

A third video was of an interview with a technician talking about harvesting foetal body parts and included graphic footage. A fourth video was about to be released until Los Angeles Superior Court July 28 issued an order blocking its release.

Planned Parenthood receives more than US$500 (S$688) million of its US$1.3 billion annual budget from federal and state programmes.

According to 2013 data, the latest available, Planned Parenthood says abortions represent 3 percent of the total services its facilities provide.

On Capitol Hill, a number of

Republicans in the House and Senate have called for an end to federal funding of Planned Parenthood.

Several states also have launched investigations into the organisation.

Ms Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in a statement said that “allegations that Planned 3DUHQWKRRG SUR¿WV LQ DQ\ ZD\ from tissue donation is not true”.

She later apologised for “the tone” the physicians used in describing abortion procedures and also argued the videos had been heavily edited to distort the truth.

In his letter, Cardinal O’Malley added: “The Catholic Church comes to this issue from a perspective rooted in experience. Catholic charitable agencies and pregnancy help centres have helped countless SUHJQDQW ZRPHQ ¿QG OLIH DI¿UPing alternatives to abortion.” CNS

WORLD 11

Sunday August 23, 2015 CatholicNews

Help poor youths attend World Youth Day, bishop urges

6FUHHQJUDE IURP WKH RI¿FLDO ZHEVLWH RI :RUOG <RXWK 'D\ WARSAW, POLAND – The Polish

bishop overseeing preparations for World Youth Day 2016 has urged priests to ensure that no young people are excluded because of poverty.

Auxiliary Bishop Damian Muskus of Krakow, Poland, which is hosting the international celebration, said arranging for young people who might not be able to attend the event would be “our priestly gifts for youngsters in this Year of Mercy.”

“We’re well aware how much deprivation, unemployment and neglect there is, and this requires from us all sensitivity and solidarity with the poorest, so they won’t feel left out,” he said on July 31, as preparations continued for the event set for July 26-31 in the southern Polish city.

Any assistance to young people should, Bishop Muskus explained, UHÀHFW ³D FRPSURPLVH EHWZHHQ awareness of youth possibilities and organisational needs and costs,” but also should adhere to the event’s

theme, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

Pope Francis is scheduled to lead a televised Way of the Cross procession from the Krakow’s Divine Mercy Sanctuary, as well as a prayer vigil focusing on youth issues near the Wieliczka Salt Mine and a Mass in the city’s Blonia Park.

The event is expected to attract up to 2.5 million young people, as well as 20,000 priests and 1,200 bishops.

Requests have also been made to Poland’s Foreign Ministry to reduce visa charges for young participnats.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow said he was counting on participation by young people from all over the world,

We’re well aware how much ‘deprivation, unemployment and neglect there is, and this requires from us all sensitivity and solidarity with the poorest.

’

– Bishop Damian Muskus of Krakow

“and not only young Christians.”

“We need a new view of the Church, which is the risen Christ’s gift to the world and all generations.

But we also need enthusiasm in the faith, since this enthusiasm is often extinguished under the ashes of daily hardships and weaknesses,” he said in a homily.

Cardinal Dziwisz also said World Youth Day would emulate the pope’s wishes “that there’s greater Gospel joy, solidarity and love among us, and that the Church becomes a Church of the poor for the poor.”

“This will be a great celebration of faith for young people from the whole world, lived by the whole Church and not just by young Christians,” the cardinal said.

“As Christians, we are responsible for the fate of the world, and for ensuring greater fraternity, solidarity and peace. If we don’t live up to this challenge, then who will?” CNS The World Youth Day website is at www.krakow2016.com

12 WORLD

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Mass starvation reported LQ 8NUDLQH PLOOLRQV Ă HHLQJ WARSAW, POLAND â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Ukrainian bishop said a Russian-backed separatist rebellion has plunged his country into its worst humanitarian crisis since World War II and warned that â&#x20AC;&#x153;millions of refugeesâ&#x20AC;? could soon head for Europe to escape starvation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Huge numbers are now caught between hammer and anvil; the separatists arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t looking after them, and the Ukrainian government wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care for them because they havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t declared which side theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on,â&#x20AC;? said Auxiliary Bishop Jan Sobilo of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not since World War II have we seen such poverty and destitution,â&#x20AC;? he told Catholic News Service (CNS) on July 29. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People are continually arriving at our Catholic communities asking for food, medicines, money and shelterâ&#x20AC;?, he said, noting that they included young widows with small children whose husbands have stayed in the war zone or been killed.

The bishop spoke as the Catholic Caritas organisation also warned of growing starvation and desperation in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine.

Bishop Sobilo told CNS that lack of water currently posed the biggest problem in eastern Ukraine,

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

Many elderly educated people, who previously had jobs, have been unable to face begging on the streets and have thrown themselves from windows and bridges.

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Auxiliary Bishop Jan Sobilo of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia

3HRSOH GLVSODFHG E\ ÂżJKWLQJ LQ (DVWHUQ 8NUDLQH ZDLW WR HQWHU DQ DEDQGRQHG EXLOGLQJ WR UHFHLYH IRRG FORWKLQJ DQG RWKHU DLG LQ .LHY &16 ÂżOH SKRWR

where food prices were three times higher than in the rest of the country.

He added that local children would be unable to start the new school year because most schools were closed and said the Ukrainian authorities had hushed up a spiralling rate of suicides. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whereas family members and friends were ready to help for a

month or two, most have now exhausted their money and savings and had to ask the refugees to move on,â&#x20AC;? Bishop Sobilo told CNS. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many elderly educated people, who previously had jobs, have been unable to face begging on the streets and have thrown themselves from windows and bridges.

Such people often have no means

of survival and no one to turn to, and have ended up starving.â&#x20AC;?

Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied direct Russian involvement in Ukraine, Church leaders have repeatedly accused Moscow of military intervention in the war.

A June United Nations report said more than 6,400 people have died and 16,000 have been wounded.

In a July 28 interview with Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cologne-based Dom Radio, Mr Andrij Waskowycz, president of Caritas Ukraine, said 700,000 Ukrainians had now left the country, while 1.4 million more were LQWHUQDOO\ GLVSODFHG E\ WKH ÂżJKWLQJ and lacked basic necessities. +H VDLG D )HEUXDU\ FHDVHÂżUH agreement had failed to prevent GDLO\ VNLUPLVKHV DQG FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFWV adding that at least 100,000 people were now without water in the separatist-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Bishop Sobilo told CNS that Church leaders had been promised access to Catholics by separatist forces, but had been barred from visiting the â&#x20AC;&#x153;occupied territoriesâ&#x20AC;? by the Ukrainian troops controlling the makeshift borders. Â&#x201E; CNS

POPE FRANCIS 13

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Bombings anniversary a reminder to end war VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pope Francis repeated the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s call for a ban on all weapons of mass destruction.

Seventy years after the Aug 6, 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki three days later, â&#x20AC;&#x153;this tragic event still gives rise to horror and revulsion,â&#x20AC;? the pope said on Aug 9 after reciting the Angelus with visitors gathered in St Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Square.

The bombings of the two Japanese cities, he said, have become a symbol of â&#x20AC;&#x153;the vast destructive power of human beings when they PDNH GLVWRUWHG XVH RI VFLHQWLÂżF and technical progress.â&#x20AC;?

He also said the destruction

unleashed is a lasting call to humanity to reject war and â&#x20AC;&#x153;ban nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of all, the sad anniversary is a call to pray and work for peace, to spread throughout the world an ethic of brotherhood and a climate of serene coexistence among peoples,â&#x20AC;? Pope Francis said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From every land,â&#x20AC;? he prayed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;let one voice rise: no to war, no to violence, yes to dialogue, yes to peace!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The only way to win a war is not to make war,â&#x20AC;? the pope said.

Pope Francis also told the crowds gathered that he was following with deep concern the situation in El Salvador, where

&16 3KRWR

People pray at a memorial in Hiroshima, Japan, Aug 6, to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombing.

suffering is increasing because of JURZLQJ YLROHQFH HFRQRPLF GLIÂżculties and â&#x20AC;&#x153;acute social contrasts.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I encourage the dear Salvadoran people to persevere, united in hope, and I exhort all to pray that in the land of Blessed Oscar

7KH RQO\ ZD\ WR ZLQ D â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ZDU LV QRW WR PDNH ZDU â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope Francis

Romero justice and peace will bloom again,â&#x20AC;? he said.

In his main Angelus address, Pope Francis spoke about the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gospel reading, which includes Jesus telling the people, â&#x20AC;&#x153;No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him.â&#x20AC;?

Many people met Jesus during his lifetime â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and some even wanted to make Him king â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but in the end, they turned on Him and handed Him over to the authorities.

Pope Francis said that does not mean that God did not give them the gift of faith, but rather it means â&#x20AC;&#x153;their hearts were closed to the action of the spirit of God. And if you have a closed heart, faith cannot enter.â&#x20AC;?

The pope prayed that people would learn to leave their hearts open, like Mary did, to the gift of faith, â&#x20AC;&#x153;a gift that is not private â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but a gift to be shared. It is a gift for the life of the world.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; CNS

Sept 1 to be World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Catholics will

People Ă&#x20AC;HHLQJ violence in Ninevah, Iraq on Aug 8 last year. &16 ÂżOH SKRWR

Plea to reach out, pray for those who lost homes in Iraq VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The world con-

tinues to be silent in the face of widespread persecution of Christians and other religious minorities, Pope Francis said.

A year after Islamic State militants drove thousands of Iraqi Christians and Yezidis out of the country, Pope Francis prayed that people around the world would be more attentive and sensitive to the reality of religious persecution and that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the international community would not stand by mute and unresponsive before such unacceptable crimes.â&#x20AC;?

The pope sent his message to ,UDTL UHIXJHHV ZKR Ă&#x20AC;HG WR -RUGDQ after the Islamic State campaign in August 2014 sent tens of thousands RI SHRSOH Ă&#x20AC;HHLQJ WKHLU KRPHV LQ the Ninevah Plain of northern Iraq.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 57,000 Iraqis have

been given refuge in Jordan.

In his letter, Pope Francis thanked those â&#x20AC;&#x153;who took on the care of these brothers and sisters, not turning their gaze away.â&#x20AC;?

The Christian communities in Jordan who are assisting the refugees â&#x20AC;&#x153;proclaim the resurrection of Christ by sharing their suffering and giving them aid,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You bow down to their suffering, which risks suffocating hope.â&#x20AC;?

The popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message of consolation and encouragement was sent with Bishop Nunzio Galantino, secretary-general of the Italian bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conference, who traveled to Amman, Jordan, on Aug 6 to visit Iraqi refugees there and to attend a prayer service on Aug 8 â&#x20AC;&#x153;to UHPHPEHU WKH ÂżUVW ODUJH H[RGXV RI persecuted Christians.â&#x20AC;?

Pope Francis said he wanted to take advantage of the bishopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trip

to offer â&#x20AC;&#x153;a word of hope to those, oppressed by violence, who were forced to abandon their homes and their land.â&#x20AC;?

Too many times, in too many parts of the world, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;atrocious, inhuman and inexplicable persecutionâ&#x20AC;? of Christians and other minorities takes place â&#x20AC;&#x153;under the eyes and with the silence of all.â&#x20AC;?

The victims of â&#x20AC;&#x153;fanaticism and intoleranceâ&#x20AC;? are todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s martyrs, he said, murdered only for their ÂżGHOLW\ WR &KULVW Pope Francis said he hoped his words and his latest message would be â&#x20AC;&#x153;the sign of a Church that does not forget and does not abandon its children who were exiled because of their faith.â&#x20AC;?

The pope said he prays for the refugees each day and recognises â&#x20AC;&#x153;the witness of faith they offer us.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; CNS

formally mark Sept 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis has decided.

The day of prayer, the pope said, will give individuals and communities an opportunity to implore Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s help in protecting creation and an opportunity to ask Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forgiveness â&#x20AC;&#x153;for sins committed against the world in which we live.â&#x20AC;?

Pope Francis said he was instituting the prayer day for Catholics because he shares the concern of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who initiated a similar prayer day for the Orthodox Church in 1989.

The text of the letter was released by the Vatican on Aug 10.

He also said Christians want to make their special contribution to safeguarding creation, but to do that they must rediscover the spiritual foundations of their approach to earthly realities, beginning with an acknowledgment that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the life of the spirit is not dissociated from the body or from nature,â&#x20AC;? but lived in communion with all worldly realities.

Quoting his encyclical, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;living our vocation to be protectors of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue, it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.â&#x20AC;?

The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis said, will be a time for individuals and communities to â&#x20AC;&#x153;reDIÂżUP WKHLU SHUVRQDO YRFDWLRQ WR EH

Pope Francis has urged Catholics to safeguard nature.

stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which He has entrusted to our care, and to implore His help for the protection of creation as well as His pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live.â&#x20AC;?

The pope asked Cardinal Kurt .RFK SUHVLGHQW RI WKH 3RQWLÂżFDO Council for Promoting Christian Unity, to consult with and work with the Catholic Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ecumenical partners and the World Council of Churches to make sure the prayer day becomes a sign of Christiansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; commitment to work together to safeguard creation â&#x20AC;&#x153;in order to be more credible and effective.â&#x20AC;?

He also entrusted to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace the task of working with Catholic bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conferences and environmental organisations to publicise DQG FRRUGLQDWH WKH VSHFLÂżFV RI WKH celebration. Â&#x201E; CNS

14 POPE FRANCIS

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Church should support the divorced and remarried: pope VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Catholics who have divorced and are civilly remarried â&#x20AC;&#x153;are not, in fact, excommunicated â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they are not excommunicated â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and they absolutely must not be treated as if they were,â&#x20AC;? Pope Francis said.

Resuming his Wednesday general audiences on Aug 5 after a monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s break, Pope Francis returned to the series of talks he has been giving on the family. It was

the 100th general audience of his papacy.

At his last audience on June 24, he talked about the damage caused especially to children when FRXSOHV ÂżJKW DQG KXUW HDFK RWKHU â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today,â&#x20AC;? he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to draw our attention to another reality: how to care for those who, after the irreversible failure of the matrimonial bond, have undertaken a new union.â&#x20AC;?

Without an annulment of the sacramental marriage, â&#x20AC;&#x153;such a situation contradicts the Christian sacrament,â&#x20AC;? which is meant to be an indissoluble bond, the pope said.

According to Church teachings, in most cases such couples are not permitted to receive Communion.

But bishops at the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family last October and preparing for the general synod from Oct 4-25 have been studying and debating possibilities for allowing some couples in some situations to return to the sacraments.

The Church, Pope Francis said, must have â&#x20AC;&#x153;the heart of a mother, a heart that, animated by the Holy Spirit, always seeks the good and the salvation of persons.â&#x20AC;?

The children of such couples suffer most and deserve particular care, he said.

Newlyweds kiss after their wedding ceremony. For those whose marriage did not work out, Pope Francis stressed that it is essential that the Church encourage divorced and remarried couples to participate in Church life. &16 ÂżOH SKRWR

can share in some way â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Everyone in the life of the Church;

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

everyone can be part of the community.

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope Francis

â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can we tell these parents to do everything possible to raise their children in the Christian life, giving them the example of a convinced and lived faith, if we keep them at a distance from the life of the community as if they were excommunicated?â&#x20AC;? the pope asked.

Particularly over the past few decades, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the church has not been insensitive or lazyâ&#x20AC;? when it comes to providing pastoral care to the divorced and civilly remarried.

In his apostolic exhortation, Familiaris Consortio, St John Paul

II saw an â&#x20AC;&#x153;obligation, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;for love of the truth,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; to exercise a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;careful discernment of situations,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? noting for example â&#x20AC;&#x153;the difference between one who has endured a separation and one who provoked it,â&#x20AC;? Pope Francis said.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI also studied the question, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;calling for an attentive discernment and wise pastoral accompaniment, knowing that no â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;simple recipesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; exist.â&#x20AC;?

As the studies and discernment continue, Pope Francis

said it is essential that Catholic pastors â&#x20AC;&#x153;openly and coherently demonstrate the willingness of the community to welcome and encourageâ&#x20AC;? divorced and remarried couples and their families to participate in Church life.

Prayer, listening to the word of God, attending Mass, educating their children in the faith, serving the poor and working for justice and peace should be part of their lives, he said.

Quoting his apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis told those gathered, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open ... Everyone can share in some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; CNS

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be afraid or ashamed to go to confession, pope says VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Trusting in

*RGÂśV LQÂżQLWH PHUF\ SHRSOH should not be afraid or embarrassed to go to confession, Pope Francis said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are people who are afraid to go to confession, forgetting that they will not encounter a severe judge there, but the immensely merciful Father,â&#x20AC;? Pope Francis told thousands of people gathered in St Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Square on Aug 2 for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer.

He also told the people gathered under a scalding sun that â&#x20AC;&#x153;when we go to confession, we feel a bit ashamed. That happens to all of us, but we must remember that this shame is a grace that prepares us for the embrace of the Father, who always forgives and always forgives everything.â&#x20AC;?

In his main address the pope commented on the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gospel reading from the Gospel of St John, which recounts how the crowds followed Jesus after the

Priests hear confessions from young people during World Youth Day 2013. &16 ÂżOH SKRWR

miracle of the multiplication of WKH ORDYHV DQG ÂżVKHV â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those people followed him for the material bread that had placated their hunger the day before,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand that bread, broken for many, was the expression of the love of Jesus.â&#x20AC;?

He went on to say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;They gave more value to the bread than to the giver.â&#x20AC;?

Feeding the crowd, he said, Jesus wanted to lead people to the Father and to a life that was about more than just â&#x20AC;&#x153;the daily worries of eating, dressing, success or a career.â&#x20AC;?

Every person has within him or her a hunger for life, for meaning and for eternity, Pope )UDQFLV VDLG -HVXV VDWLVÂżHV WKDW hunger with the gift of Himself on the cross and in the Eucharist. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jesus does not eliminate preoccupations and the search for daily bread,â&#x20AC;? the pope said.

However, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jesus reminds us that the real meaning of our earthly existence is in the end â&#x20AC;&#x201C; eternity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the encounter with Him, who is gift and giver.â&#x20AC;?

In giving himself, Pope Francis said, Jesus also gives people a task â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;that we, in turn, satisfy the spiritual and material hunger of our brothers and sisters by proclaiming the Gospel everywhere.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; CNS

POPE FRANCIS 15

Sunday August 23, 2015 CatholicNews

Pope highlights blessings that altar servers receive closer you are ‘toThe the altar, the more

VATICAN CITY – Serving at the

altar is a privileged way to draw closer to Jesus, Pope Francis told young people recently. This “enables you to open yourselves to others, to journey together, to set GHPDQGLQJ JRDOV DQG WR ¿QG WKH strength to achieve them.

“The closer you are to the altar, the more you will remember to speak with Jesus in daily prayer,” he told some 9,000 altar servers at an evening meeting and prayer on Aug 4.

“The more you will be nourished by the word and the body of the Lord, the better able you will be to go out to others, bringing them the gift that you have received, giving in turn with enthusiasm the joy you have received.”

Pope Francis was speaking to large groups of young men and women from Austria, Germany and Italy at the end of his threeweek summer vacation.

He thanked them for braving Rome’s August heat. To deal with the high summer temperatures in the square, the young people stood under showers of cooling water provided by the hoses of the 9DWLFDQ ¿UH GHSDUWPHQW

you will remember to speak with Jesus in daily prayer; the more you will be nourished by the word and the body of the Lord.

’

– Pope Francis

Pope Francis waving to altar servers as he arrives in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Aug 4. CNS photo

The theme of the gathering was “Here I am! Send me” from the prophet Isaiah.

“You are more fortunate today than the prophet Isaiah,” Pope Francis told the youths.

In the Eucharist, Jesus is not “placed on an inaccessibly high throne, but in the bread and wine.” ,VDLDK ZDV SXUL¿HG DQG IRUJLYen by God and sent to bring God’s

word to others, the pope said.

“Isaiah realised that by entrusting himself into the hands of the Lord, his whole existence would be transformed.”

“In the Eucharist and in the other sacraments,” he said, “you experience the intimate closeness of Jesus, the sweetness and power of his presence.”

God’s word, the pope said, “does not shake the door posts,

but rather caresses the strings of the heart.”

Like Isaiah, Christians recognise that “it is always God who takes the lead, because it is He who created you and willed you into being,” the pope said. “It is He who, in your baptism, has made you into a new creation; He is always patiently waiting for your response to his initiative, offering forgiveness to whoever asks Him in humility.”

God’s call, the pope said, is a call to go out and share God’s mercy and the joy of faith. It cannot be lived or protected “in an underground bunker to which we ÀHH LQ GLI¿FXOW PRPHQWV ´ CNS

16 OPINION

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

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COMMENTARY

Dehumanising the person &16 ¿OH SKRWR

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FOCUS 17

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Theologians: accompany families in their situations, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t condemn Theologians share about ministering to families in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;irregular situationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, ahead of the world bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; meeting in October VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; In being a minister of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mercy and a guide on the path to holiness, the Catholic Church must develop better ways to â&#x20AC;&#x153;accompanyâ&#x20AC;? people in their family life and not simply condemn those who fail, said a diverse group of theologians, including the former theologian of the papal household.

Cardinal Georges Cottier, who served as the papal theologian from 1989 to 2005, said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;In rigorism, there is an innate brutality that is contrary to the delicacy with which God guides each personâ&#x20AC;?.

La Civilta Cattolica, a Jesuit journal reviewed at the Vatican prior to publication, published an interview on July 30 with Cardinal Cottier about mercy and the upcoming meeting of bishops in the Vatican from Oct 4-25 to discuss the family.

The cardinal said he was certain that the Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis ZRXOG LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQFH 6\QRG RI %LVKopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work, which has the task of proclaiming Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan for the human family and assisting all Catholics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including those in ZKDW WKH &KXUFK ZRXOG GHÂżQH DV â&#x20AC;&#x153;irregularâ&#x20AC;? situations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to grow in holiness. Âł6RPH SHRSOH KDYH EHHQ scandalised by the Church because of a negative judgment issued in an impersonal and soulless way,â&#x20AC;? Cardinal Cottier said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They have felt driven away, rejected in a serious manner.â&#x20AC;?

While the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ministers must uphold Church teaching, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;this must be presented and explained in a language that clearly transmits the maternal concern of the Churchâ&#x20AC;?.

Pope Francis greets family members as he leaves a gathering with young people in Piazza Vittorio in Turin, Italy.

The Synod of Bishops on the family is set to meet in October.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Through the voice of its pastors,â&#x20AC;? Cardinal Cottier said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Church always must demonstrate that it is guided by the requirements of divine mercy.â&#x20AC;?

Also in late July, the German bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conference posted on its website translations of papers from a theological study day on May 25, sponsored by the presidents of the bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conferences of Germany, France and 6ZLW]HUODQG ,Q SUHSDUDWLRQ IRU the synod, the bishops said they ZDQWHG WR KHDU WKH UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWLRQV RI theologians, biblical scholars and canon lawyers.

Most speakers insisted that while the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doctrine and

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

Some people have been scandalised by the Church because of a negative judgment issued in an impersonal and soulless way.

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Former papal theologian Cardinal Georges Cottier

canon law must speak in general terms, the pastoral applications of its teaching on marriage and family life must take into account the history and situation of the individuals involved and offer

them guidance and assistance in growing in holiness.

Ms Anne-Marie Pelletier, a theologian from Paris, told the bishops that the Gospel makes clear that Jesus saw the indissolubility of marriage as what God wanted for man and woman.

However, she said, the Church PXVW ÂżQG D ZD\ WR RIIHU KHDOLQJ and resurrection to those who, â&#x20AC;&#x153;after a failure or abandonment, make a commitment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for reasons inseparable from their personal stories, which are always unique â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to a second union.â&#x20AC;?

Fr Francois-Xavier Amherdt, D WKHRORJLDQ LQ )ULERXUJ 6ZLW]HUODQG VSRNH WR WKH ELVKRSV

about sexuality as an expression of love. He insisted on the importance of â&#x20AC;&#x153;refusing every discrimination against people who recognise themselves as homosexual,â&#x20AC;? but he also said the Church must PDNH ÂłDQ DIÂżUPDWLRQ RI QRQ equivalenceâ&#x20AC;? between heterosexuality and homosexuality.

In Genesis, Adam was able to say of Eve, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This one, at last, LV ERQH RI P\ ERQHV DQG Ă&#x20AC;HVK RI P\ Ă&#x20AC;HVK ´ EHFDXVH VKH ZDV ÂłQRW a copy, but what he was missing,â&#x20AC;? Fr Amherdt said. The malefemale difference is important, he said.

In situations where couples are not living the ideal of Catholic marriage, he said, the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pastoral practice must UHĂ&#x20AC;HFW ÂłD WKHRORJ\ RI JUDFH ´ which recognises what good does exist in their love for another and tries to build on that.

Jesuit Fr Alain Thomasset, who teaches in Paris, told the bishops that a Church approach focused more on recognising â&#x20AC;&#x153;intrinsically evilâ&#x20AC;? acts, rather than on promoting spiritual growth, is bound to fail today. It begins E\ ÂłFRQGHPQLQJ DUWLÂżFLDO FRQtraception, the sexual acts of the divorced and [civilly] remarried and of homosexual couples, even those who are stableâ&#x20AC;? in their commitment to one another.

Pastoral accompaniment, he said, is motivated by a belief that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the God of Jesus Christ is a God of love, who does not want death but life and happiness and who calls each person to progress on a journey of growth and holiness.â&#x20AC;?

Forgiveness and mercy are essential to the progress, he said. Â&#x201E; CNS

18 FAITH ALIVE!

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Learning from Holy Family, taking pride in our work

By Mike Nelson Tables and chess sets. Bookends and treasure boxes. All fashioned from good, solid wood, usually oak. Cut and shaped, sanded and smoothed, nailed and glued, polished and stained and lacquered, and sometimes enhanced with a velvet lining.

The works of human hands.

And boy, do they last.

They were made by my wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s late Uncle Joe, a kind and gentle man for whom woodworking was more hobby than occupation. But he spent a good deal of time at it, and he took pride in doing it well â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as is evident in the wonderful creations that today grace the homes of family and friends.

Like the little, dark brown lamp table that rests in my peripheral view as I type this. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maybe a foot high and a foot square, with a lower shelf for small books. Hardly imposing, and neither was Uncle Joe. But there is a noble simplicity and dignity about this little table, which speaks to the noble simplicity and dignity of Uncle Joe, and of the work he did.

Thinking of Uncle Joe reminds me of his saintly namesake who also worked with wood and, like Uncle Joe, raised a family: St Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, the patron saint of all workers and the principal subject of Redemptoris Custos, St John Paul IIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1989 apostolic exhortation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Work was the daily expression of love in the life of

We work because that LV D SDUW RI ZKR ZH DUH because that is who God, through His divine work, created us to be.

Painting of the Holy Family titled Sagrada Familia del pajarito, circa 1650.

the family of Nazareth,â&#x20AC;? noted St John Paul II in the document. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the redemption.â&#x20AC;?

And so Jesus â&#x20AC;&#x201C; known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the carpenterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sonâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; most certainly knew about the role and the dignity of work from both his parents:

Joseph, toiling as a carpenter, and Mary, maintaining a household. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the family of Nazareth is an example and model for human families, in the order of salvation and holiness,â&#x20AC;? said St John Paul, â&#x20AC;&#x153;so too, by analogy, is Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work at the side of Joseph the carpenter.â&#x20AC;?

Most of us â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I would hope all of us â&#x20AC;&#x201C; have an innate desire

to contribute in a positive way to the good of society, to help make the world a better place through the work we do, and not simply to earn a wage to support our families and pay our bills.

We work because that is a part of who we are, because that is who God, through his divine work, created us to be.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;More than mere obligation,â&#x20AC;? said Cardinal Donald W Wuerl of Washington, â&#x20AC;&#x153;human labor has a value and worth in itself because it represents a participation in the very creative action of God.â&#x20AC;?

When we are without work â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as I have been, on occasion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we feel less whole, like a part of us is missing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; our dignity, our value, our self-esteem. Such times, for me, are times for prayer.

1RW MXVW D VHOÂżVK SUD\HU WKDW VD\V Âł/RUG SOHDVH OHW PH ÂżQG a job.â&#x20AC;? There is also a prayer of appreciation and gratitude: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lord, I am grateful you have blessed me with skills and abilities to do good work, and to know what it means to contribute to the world.

Please, in my time of struggle, let me not forget that there are others without work who seek to contribute. Help them as well. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And let me always appreciate and respect not only the work that others do, but the God-given dignity of each person who works in his or her own way â&#x20AC;&#x201C; like Uncle Joe, and St Joseph â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to make the world better and more beautiful for us all.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; CNS Nelson is former editor of The Tidings, QHZVSDSHU RI WKH $UFKGLRFHVH RI /RV Angeles.

Finding dignity and purpose in work

By Daniel S Mulhall What is your attitude towards work? Do you work in order to live, or do you live in order to work? How do you express yourself through your work? Do you feel that you accomplish something of value most days, or do you feel that your labour is meaningless toil that only achieves your minimal pay cheque?

7KHVH TXHVWLRQV UHĂ&#x20AC;HFW VRPH of the many attitudes that people have towards work.

Catholic social teaching has much to say about the importance of work for the human person.

While recognising that people often perform jobs that may seem unimportant or even meaningless, the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teaching also notes that work helps to shape our character. Work also helps us to participate more actively in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creative activity.

The importance of work is IRXQG WKURXJKRXW WKH ÂżUVW VRFLDO encyclical, Rerum Novarum (On Capital and Labour), published by

Pope Leo XIII in 1891. The document was written when workers were moving from farming and crafting to being cogs on factory assembly lines.

3RSH /HR LGHQWLÂżHV D VHULHV RI rights that every worker is owed, including the right to a fair wage, reasonable work hours, decent working conditions and being able to form unions to negotiate for them with business owners.

The fullest presentation of the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social teaching about the dignity of work is found in St John Paul IIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1982 encyclical, Laborem Exercens (On Human Work). In this magisterial teaching he builds upon the foundation laid down by Rerum Novarum, published 90 years earlier.

The encyclical begins by stating the importance of work for society. For it is only through work that we earn a living, not just for ourselves but for a family. It is where we increase knowledge, where we help advance society through science and technology, and elevate â&#x20AC;&#x153;unceasingly the cul-

A woman working in the sewing department of her company. &16 ÂżOH SKRWR

tural and moral levelâ&#x20AC;? of society.

7KURXJK ZRUN ZH IXOÂżO RXU God-given responsibility to make the world a better place and to make visible â&#x20AC;&#x153;the invisible God.â&#x20AC;?

According to St John Paul, it is through work that we are distinguished from the rest of creation DQG IXOÂżO RXU ÂłYHU\ QDWXUH ´ St John Paul writes, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The primary basis of the value of work is

man himself, who is its subject.â&#x20AC;?

Therefore, work â&#x20AC;&#x153;is for manâ&#x20AC;? and not man â&#x20AC;&#x153;for workâ&#x20AC;?.

What makes work valuable is that it is done by the efforts of a human being, regardless of the produce or effort put in. When we turn our minds to work, we imbue it with dignity.

The most meaningless of jobs can have great worth simply by the

dignity of the workers who labour.

Work today in our daily lives can often be seen as a chore or obligation. However, it is meant to exist as a way for humans to express their God-given dignity; their dignity is not determined by the work they do.

That said, work is most valuable when it allows us to express this dignity and helps us to recognise that we are created with this dignity.

According to St John Paul: â&#x20AC;&#x153;If RQH ZLVKHV WR GHÂżQH PRUH FOHDUO\ the ethical meaning of work, it is this truth that one must particularly keep in mind. Work is a good thing for man â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a good thing for his humanity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; because through work man not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but KH DOVR DFKLHYHV IXOÂżOPHQW DV D KXman being and indeed, in a sense, becomes â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;more a human being.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

In so doing, we share in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work of creation. Â&#x201E; CNS Mulhall is a catechist for adults who lives in Laurel, Maryland, USA.

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

19

20

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

SPOTLIGHT ON SAINTS:

St Elizabeth Bichier des Ages (OL]DEHWK %LFKLHU

was the daughter of the lord of the manor of Ages, France, and a SXEOLF RIÂżFLDO $OWKRXJK OLWWOH LV known of her childhood, she went to school at a convent in Poitiers and she loved to build sand castles.

After the death of her father, (OL]DEHWK KDG WR VWXG\ ODZ IURP D SULYDWH WXWRU LQ RUGHU WR SUHYHQW DQ\ RI KHU IDPLO\ÂśV SURSHUW\ IURP EHLQJ VHL]HG E\ WKH JRYHUQPHQW EHcause her brother had left France to escape the French Revolution. :LWK WKH KHOS RI D SULHVW ZKR OLYHG PLOHV DZD\ (OL]DEHWK KHOSHG WR NHHS SUD\HUV DQG WKH IDLWK DOLYH LQ WKH )UHQFK IDUPHUV ZKRVH OLYHV KDG EHHQ VHYHUHO\ LPSDFWHG E\ WKH UHYROXWLRQ (OL]DEHWK HYHQWXDOO\ EHFDPH D QXQ DQG KHOSHG WR EXLOG DQG UH HVWDEOLVK PRUH WKDQ FRQYHQWV DFURVV )UDQFH :H KRQRXU KHU RQ $XJ Â&#x201E;

The representatives of the tribes of Israel replied to Joshua, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Far be it from us to forsake the Lord for the service of other gods. For it was the Lord, our God, who brought us and our faWKHUV XS RXW RI WKH ODQG RI (J\SW RXW RI D VWDWH RI VODYHU\ 7KHUHIRUH ZH DOVR will serve the Lord, for He is our God.â&#x20AC;?

Joshua made a covenant with Israel, and he wrote statutes and ordinances that he recorded in the book of the law of God. After placing a stone

DV D PRQXPHQW IRU ZKDW WKH\ KDG VDLG and done, Joshua dismissed the people and sent them home. Â&#x201E; Read more about it: Joshua 24

Q&A 1. Who did Joshua call to hear the words of the Lord?

2. What did the people agree to do after hearing Joshua speak?

Wordsearch: Â&#x201E; DWELL Â&#x201E; ARMY Â&#x201E; SPEAK

Â&#x201E; SERVE Â&#x201E; LORD Â&#x201E; LAW

Â&#x201E; RIVER Â&#x201E; SAFE Â&#x201E; LAND

Â&#x201E; STONE Â&#x201E; FALSE Â&#x201E; ELDERS

BIBLE TRIVIA: Joshua became the leader of the Israelites after the death of which Bible patriarch?

Bible Accent:

Answer to Bible Trivia: Moses

:KHQ ZH KHDU WKH QDPH Âł-RVKXD ´ LW LV HDV\ WR DVVRFLDWH KLP ZLWK WKH EDWWOH RI -HULFKR WKH FLW\ WKDW *RG KHOSHG WR GHIHDW DQG FRQTXHU %XW -RVKXD ZDV FKRVHQ E\ *RG WR EH the man who led the people of Israel into the Promised Land DIWHU WKH\ KDG ZDQGHUHG LQ WKH ZLOGHUQHVV IRU \HDUV *RG WROG -RVKXD &KDSWHU Âł, ZLOO GHOLYHU WR \RX HYHU\ SODFH ZKHUH \RX VHW IRRW ´ 7KH /RUG JXLGHG -RVKXD DV WKH\ FURVVHG WKH -RUGDQ 5LYHU LQWR &DQDDQ ZKLFK ZDV WKH 3URPLVHG /DQG 7KLV FURVVLQJ ZDV IROORZHG E\ WKH IDPRXV EDWWOH RI -HULFKR ZKLFK WKH ,VUDHOLWHV ZRQ E\ ZDONLQJ DURXQG WKH FLW\ IRU VHYHQ GD\V 2Q WKH VHYHQWK GD\ WKH ,VUDHOLWHV EOHZ WKHLU WUXPSHWV DQG VKRXWHG 7KH FLW\ÂśV ZDOOV FROODSVHG DQG WKH ,VUDHOLWHV ZHUH JLYHQ D YLFWRU\ E\ WKH /RUG Â&#x201E;

PUZZLE: Cross out the mysteries and prayers that are not part of the rosary: joyful mysteries sacramental mysteries Our Father Stations of the Cross sorrowful mysteries glorious mysteries mysteries of darkness mysteries of light prayer of vocation

Answer to Wordsearch

Joshua wanted to speak to the people of Israel, so he called for representatives of the 12 tribes to meet with him. The elders came, along with the leaders, the MXGJHV DQG WKH RIÂżFHUV 7KH\ VWRRG LQ ranks in order to hear the word of the Lord that had been given to Joshua.

Joshua reminded them that, even though at one time some of their ancestors had worshipped false gods, the Lord had chosen Abraham to be one of their leaders and after him, Isaac and Jacob and Moses, who led them RXW RI (J\SW DQG LQWR &DQDDQ :KHQ 3KDUDRKÂśV DUP\ ZDV FKDVLQJ WKHP the Red Sea swallowed the soldiers and their chariots, and Israel was safe. Âł, EURXJKW \RX LQWR WKH ODQG RI the Amorites,â&#x20AC;? Joshua said, speaking the words of the Lord, â&#x20AC;&#x153;who lived east RI WKH -RUGDQ 7KH\ IRXJKW DJDLQVW

\RX EXW , GHOLYHUHG WKHP LQWR \RXU power. You took possession of their ODQG DQG , GHVWUR\HG WKHP WKH WZR NLQJV RI WKH $PRULWHV EHIRUH \RX ´ After reminding the people of how God had saved and protected WKHP PDQ\ WLPHV LQ WKH SDVW WKH /RUG VDLG WR WKHP Âł, JDYH \RX D ODQG ZKLFK \RX KDG QRW WLOOHG DQG FLWLHV ZKLFK \RX KDG QRW EXLOW WR GZHOO LQ \RX KDYH HDWHQ RI YLQH\DUGV DQG ROLYH JURYHV ZKLFK \RX GLG QRW SODQW 1RZ therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him FRPSOHWHO\ DQG VLQFHUHO\ ´ Then Joshua declared his own faith, along with a challenge to the people of Israel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If it does not please \RX WR VHUYH WKH /RUG GHFLGH WRGD\ ZKRP \RX ZLOO VHUYH WKH JRGV \RXU IDWKHUV VHUYHG EH\RQG WKH ULYHU RU WKH JRGV RI WKH $PRULWHV LQ ZKRVH FRXQWU\ \RX DUH GZHOOLQJ $V IRU PH DQG P\ household, we will serve the Lord.â&#x20AC;?

Answer to puzzle: sacramental mysteries, Stations of the Cross, mysteries of darkness, prayer of vocation.

By Joe Sarnicola

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ON 21

Sunday August 23, 2015 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

EVENT SUBMISSIONS We welcome information of events happening in our local Church.

Please send your submission at least one month before the event.

Online submissions can be made at www.catholicnews.sg/whatson AUGUST 15 FINDING GOD IN MOVIES 2-5pm: Come and watch the movie, My Old Lady (Kelvin Kline with Maggie Smith). It includes a narrative of discovery, joy and sadness, of love, life and brokenness; and engage in conversation thereafter. Water and light refreshments will be provided.

Facilitators: Diana Koh and Diana Tan. Fee: $10. Organised by Kingsmead Centre. At Kingsmead Centre, at 8 Victoria Park Road. Register T: 64676072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com.

AUGUST 15 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TRAINING PROGRAMME (REAP) CONDUCTED BY BRISBANE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEAM 8.30am-2.30pm: There will be a training programme by Brisbaneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Religious education team for all Catholic educators and catechists. Fee (inclusive of resources, materials and meals): $45.

Organised by Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools. At CJCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Training and Development Centre, 129 Whitley Road. Register E: susie.lim@catholic.org. sg; W: www.accs.sg.

AUGUST 15 UNDERSTANDING GAMBLING ADDICTIONS 10am-noon: Gambling is as serious as, if not more than, any other forms of addictions. Yet only 10 percent of problem gamblers seek professional help.

When is gambling considered out of FRQWURO" :KDW EHKDYLRXU FRQÂżUPV WKDW" What are the ways to battle and quit this DGGLFWLRQ" &RPH MRLQ XV WR ÂżQG RXW PRUH so you can help yourself or someone you care about. Refreshments provided.

Fee: $10. Concession for THRIVE partners only. At Multi-Purpose Hall 1, Agape Village, 7A Lorong 8 Toa Payoh.

Register: T: 6757 7990 / 9710 3733; E: registration@clarity-singapore.org AUGUST 22 TO AUGUST 23 THEOLOGY OF THE BODY COURSE (10 HOURS) What is the Theology of the Body? Why did St John Paul II consider this the most appropriate method for manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s self understanding and education? How does it concern the whole scripture, the whole

Gospel, the whole teaching and the whole mission of Christ? A course in spirituality and sexuality. Essential information for those in catechesis and family and youth ministries. Venue: The Training Centre@ IP, 10 Anson Road, International Plaza, 29-03A.(Sat 7pm-10pm, Sun 9am-5pm).

Trainer: Andrew Kong. Cost: Love offering. Register E: andrewkong@ me.com or SMS: 96493893.

Web: www.catholic.sg/act

AUGUST 29 COMMUNICATING WELL 9am-10pm: Join us for a 4-hour workshop based on non-violent communication facilitated by Sr Rosalia Yeo. Fee: $35.

Organised by Lifesprings Canossian Spirituality Centre. At Lifesprings Canossian Spirituality, 100 Jalan Merbok.

T: 64662178 (Brenda); E: lifesprings@singnet.com.sg; W: lifespringscanossian.com.

AUGUST 22 INTRODUCTION TO AUTHENTIC CONVERSATIONS 9.30am-5pm:The dire lack of authentic conversation spaces have reduced many conversations to gossip, slander and the vulgar. How does one facilitate and nurture safe spaces for authentic conversation that is so critically needed in the Church and the world today? Listen to your call through the needs of the many who thirst for real conversation.

Facilitators: Lance Ng and Celina Lin. Fee (inclusive of lunch): $50. Organised

by Kingsmead Centre. At Kingsmead Centre, 8 Victoria Park Road. Register T: 6467 6072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com.

29 AUGUST 2015 SATURDAY SAME SEX ATTRACTION AND MARRIAGE What is the Catholic teaching on this and why is it a disorder? What causes SSA and what can one do about this orientation? Speaker: Andrew Kong, Cost: Free. Register http://tinyurl.com/ ACT-Talk-Signup. E: andrewkong@ me.com. SMS: 96493893. Venue: The Training Centre@IP, 10 Anson Road, 2903A, International Plaza Date: 29 August 2015 Saturday. Time:7pm-9pm. W: www. catholic.sg/avt

AUGUST 23 ANNUAL MASS AND BLESSING OF CATHOLIC NURSES, HEALTHCARE GIVERS AND PROFESSIONALS 5.30pm: Join us for a Mass and blessing of Catholic nurses, healthcare givers and professionals. There will be a buffet dinner after Mass. Fee: $10. Organised

by Catholic Nursesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Guild of Singapore.

At Church of Divine Mercy, 19 Pasir Ris Street 72. Register T: 9236 1047 (Theresa) / 9109 3391 (Doreen) / 8121 0988 (Yvonne) / 9785 4283 (Stephanie).

AUGUST 29 TO AUGUST 30 INKSPIREME! @ ST BERNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 10TH ANNIVERSARY PAINTING EXHIBITION Aug 29: 5pm-8pm; Aug 30: 9am-2pm.

InkspireME!@St Bernâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, a Chinese painting class under the tutelage of Mr Yap Sin Guan, a local Chinese artist with over 30 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an exhibition cum silent auction of paintings to raise funds for the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. The exhibition will be held over two days in the Parish Hall at Church of St Bernadette, 12 Zion Road.

Enquiries: 83514520 (Winnie).

SUNDAY 23 AUGUST 2015 PIMBY KG BAHRU Pilgrimage in My Back Yard (PIMBY).

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your chance to explore St Teresaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church and its surroundings. Acquaint yourself with the history of the church and the stories of our forefathers, and visit the Carmelite Convent. Date: Sunday 23 August 2015. Time: 2.15 pm (meet at the canteen of St Teresaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church) Register. E: canatheplacetobe2013@ gmail.com. T: 63384080

31 AUG - 12 OCT 2015 SFX LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR 2015 Mondays, 8pm-9.30pm. Saturday, 1.30pm-5.30pm. Venue: SFX Parish Hall.

For registration and further information, please contact the following: 1) Jean Toh, 90026616, liwahteo@ymail.com 2) Catherine Chew, 90663514, catherlee@gmail.com 3) Lidia Ko, 96331882, lidiako@yahoo.com.

Register W: www.sfxchurch.sg

27 AUGUST 2015 PRAISE IN THE CITY 6.30pm to 8.45pm. All are welcome!

Please bring along your friends for a wonderful experience of our Lord.

Programme includes Mass and Prayer Ministry for Healing. Organised by SACCRE. Venue: St Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church, Victoria Street. No registration required.

Enquiries: Marilyn Teo. T:94592450; E: marilyn8sep@yahoo.com

SEPTEMBER 5 2015 BUILDING A CULTURE OF LIFE Come join us for an interactive evening of discussion to understand the roots of the Culture of Death and how we can begin to build a Culture of Life.

Speaker: Andy Wee, administrator of the Prolife Singapore group. He is an instructor with Natural Family Planning and helps couples to overcome subfertility issues with the use of the

Creighton Model and NaproTechnology.

Venue: The training Room, 10 Anson Rd, 29-03A, International Plaza.

Details at catholic.sg/act. Cost: Free.

Register W: http://tinyurl.com/ACT-TalkSignu

session), 9 Bishan Street 22.

Register T: 6858 7080 (Shirley); E: accs@catholic.org.sg; W: http//www.accs.sg.

SEPTEMBER 15 SECULARISATION AND FAITH 7.30pm-9.30pm: We are all acutely aware of the dangers of the various forms of extremism in our world today.

We are probably less concerned or aware of the way in which the core of our human dignity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; our spiritual nature â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is undermined by a radical indifference to our â&#x20AC;&#x153;religious concernsâ&#x20AC;?.

Where do we identify forms of secularisation, and how do we respond as people of â&#x20AC;&#x153;faithâ&#x20AC;??

Facilitator: Fr Peter McIsaac, SJ. Organised by Kingsmead Centre.

At Kingsmead Centre, 8 Victoria Park Road. Fee: $30. Register T: 6467 6072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com.

SEPTEMBER 5 TO SEPTEMBER 7 CHILDRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DRAMA WORKSHOP 2015 Theatre of Gifts would like to welcome all children aged 6-12 to join this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Drama Workshop.

It will be held in the Parish of Christ the King (2221 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8, 569809). The workshop will be from DP SP RQ WKH ÂżUVW WZR GD\V DQG 8am-9pm on the last day.

For more information, feel free to contact William@91722784 or Timothy@97807923.

SEPTEMBER 8 WHAT IS SOCIAL ETHICS? 7.30pm-9.30pm: At the heart of who we are as humans and as Christians is our social/communal identity.

2XU UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWLRQ RQ VRFLDO HWKLFV WKHQ is more than an intellectual and â&#x20AC;&#x153;detachedâ&#x20AC;? consideration of our rights and responsibilities.

This seminar will show how our faith has a social dimension that is important for understanding both society and Church. Facilitator: Fr Peter McIsaac, SJ. Fee: $30. Organised by Kingsmead Centre. At Kingsmead Centre, 8 Victoria Park Road. Register T: 6467 6072; Email: cisc2664@gmail.com.

SEPT 27 (SUN) 2-5PM DIY COUNSELLING WORKSHOP Too expensive or awkward to see a counsellor? Learn a simple effective Skill & Process to help you manage life issues or confusions.

Organised by Lifesprings Canossian Spirituality Centre, 100 Jln Merbok Cost: $60. Register T:64662178 (Brenda) E: lifepsrings@singnet.com.sg.

W: www.lifespringscanossian.com OCTOBER 3 LIGHT UP YOUR LIFE RUN 2015 Assisi Hospice and Save Our Street Dogs are holding a charity run to raise funds for their operating expenses.

The fund will also go into raising awareness for Animal-Assisted Activites in Singapore. Organised by Assisi Hospice. At East Coast Park, East Coast Park Service Road.

Register W: http://www. lightupyourliferun.com/.

SEPTEMBER 10 TO SEPTEMBER 13 DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS 10am (Thursday)-5pm (Sunday): In this 4-day preached stay-in retreat, ZH ZLOO UHĂ&#x20AC;HFW DQG SUD\ WRJHWKHU WR discern the Spirit of God at work among us. We will focus our contemplation on Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;voiceâ&#x20AC;? in our desires and interior movements, with some attention to the rules offered in the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. Facilitator: Fr Peter McIsaac, SJ. Organised by Kingsmead Centre.

At Kingsmead Centre, 8 Victoria Park Road. Fee: $420 (non-aircon); $500 (aircon), including SD stipend.

Register T: 6467 6072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com.

16TH OCT-18TH OCT TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY (MONTFORTIAN EXPERIENCE RETREAT) A weekend live-in retreat based on the spirituality of St. Louis Marie de Montfort. To him, Mary is â&#x20AC;&#x153;the surest, easiest, shortest, and most perfect means by which to go to Jesus Christ.â&#x20AC;?

Discover for yourself the means given by God himself to bring us salvation, the way of Mary.

What better way than the way taught

by Jesus Christ to attain holiness.

Venue: Montfort Centre. Retreat Directors: Br Dominic Yeo Koh, SG, and Br John Albert, SG. Register with Henry Tan at enquiries@ montfortcentre.org or 67695711.

SEPTEMBER 12 TEACHERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; DAY EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION AND RECEPTION 4.30pm: Join us to celebrate the gift of teachers. Msgr Ambrose Vaz will be celebrating the Mass. Please inform all your friends and colleagues.

Organised by Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools (ACCS).

At Catholic High School (primary

Crossword Puzzle 1142 1

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56 59 62 www.wordgamesforcatholics.com

ACROSS 1 One of the seven deadly sins 6 Architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abbreviation 10 Alphabet string 14 Island inhabited by Circe 15 Condorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home 16 Medieval Spanish chest 17 Catholic singer and songwriter George M 18 Low in pitch 19 Catholic presidential hopeful Santorum 20 _____ under 22 It was built by Solomon 24 â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;Śhe sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to _____â&#x20AC;? (Lk 9:2) 25 What our bodies will do at the end of time 26 â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;Śat the name of Jesus ______ knee should bendâ&#x20AC;?

(Phil 2:10) 28 Undiplomatic %HQHÂżFLDULHV 33 Son of Jacob

34 Sticky substance 35 Energy units 36 Clique 37 Group of two 38 Neroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full deck?

39 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Are you calling me _____?â&#x20AC;?

40 Tenth letter of the Greek alphabet 41 Disorderly 43 South side?

44 Rowing implements 45 Son of Adam 46 Francisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hometown 49 Criminals 53 Germinated grain used in brewing 54 Jesus asked for this when he spoke of paying taxes 56 Company newbie 57 Native American 58 River through Firenze 59 Of necessity 60 Fortune teller 61 Cut of meat 62 Spring up DOWN 1 ___ cloth and ashes 2 Jaworski of Watergate fame

3 Diocese of Honolulu home 4 Tutors 5 Longs for 6 Place where language was confused, according to Genesis 7 A biblical sea 8 Monopoly quartet (abbr.)

9 ___ Body of Christ 10 Elijah held his challenge here 11 Faucet problem 12 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vanity of vanitiesâ&#x20AC;? source (abbr.)

13 Simulate 21 ___ Minister 23 Only OT book that never mentions God 25 Detection equipment 26 Scary 27 Easter ____ BBBB FDLQ WKH ÂżUVW metal worker (Gen 4:22) 7KH +HEUHZV Ă&#x20AC;HG from here 30 Lathers 31 Soft drink

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51 Clarets 52 Mobutu ___ Seko 55 Conquistadorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plunder

32 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our ____ and shieldâ&#x20AC;?

(Ps 33:20) 33 Alcatraz, and others 36 Pertaining to those who have received Orders 37 More delicate 39 Amo, ____, amat 40 Hindu deity 42 Linger aimlessly 43 Chatter

Solution to Crossword Puzzle No. 1141 B I N G

E L A L

C A N A

R E A M

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L R A E A R M A A R Y N E A P U S A D E R R A T S A M E R A S S C C D T E O R S E N T I T R D F A T I R E A D S N

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www.wordgamesforcatholics.com

24 POPE FRANCIS

Sunday August 23, 2015 CatholicNews

POPE FRANCIS’ UPCOMING TRIP: His visit to Cuba and the United States in September will be his 10th trip outside Italy.

PUBLISHED BY THE CATHOLIC NEWS, 2 HIGHLAND ROAD #01-03, SINGAPORE 549102. PRINTED BY TIMES PRINTERS PRIVATE LIMITED, 16 TUAS AVENUE 5, SINGAPORE 639340.