February 10, 2023

South & Wellington Streets, Georgetown, Guyana  Year 118, No. 6

Church, Slave Trade and Reparations - p2

Letters to the Editor - p2

Pope calls for solidarity with Turkey, Syria after earthquakes - p3

A Christian Perspective on Social Issues - p4

Sunday Scripture - p5

Brazilian church provides aid to the Yanomami suffering from 'genocide' - p6

Gospel Reflection - p6

'Wonder' film series shows faith, science not at war, says Bishop Barron - p8

Journeying with the Word of God - p7

Growing in Grace - p8

Personal accompaniment key to Vatican’s expanded vision for marriage formation - p8

Children’s Page - p9

Papal farm, gardens will be home to new center promoting sustainability - 10

African nations 'comforted,' shaken by words of Pope Francis - p12

Saint of the Week - p12

The Diocesan Synod team has provided the following update on the Synodal Process: “Enlarge the space of your tent” (Is 54:2) is the theme of the

working Document for the Continental stage (DCS) which was produced and shared by the General Secretariat of the Synod on Synodality in October 2022.

The Diocese of Georgetown continues the journey of the Synod on Synodality in which Pope Francis has invited all the faithful of the church (please turn to p11)

Bishop’s Engagements

Sunday, Feb 12th

09:00 hrs – Confirmation in Itabac

Monday, Feb 13th

09:00 hrs – Return to Georgetown

Tuesday, Feb 14th

09:00 hrs – Meet with Diocesan Priests

Sunday, Feb 19th

07:30 hrs – Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Francis Alleyne OSB

Some of the participants of the Day of Prayer with the working Document for the Continental Stage of the Syndodal process during the closing Mass, January 5th 2023 .

The Church team of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary church, Little Diamond, EBD, was installed and blessed last Sunday, February 5th. (St. Joseph, Husband of Mary Roman Catholic Church Facebook page)

EDITORIAL

Church, Slave

By Mike James

In 1713, Queen Anne of England and King Philip V of Spain signed a treaty under which Spain granted a monopoly licence to England to conduct the slave trade from Africa to all the Spanish colonies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The very lucrative contract to supply a minimum of 4,800 slaves yearly went to the “South Sea Company” and enabled the British government to convert much of its then massive foreign debt into shares of the company.

A Harvard University historical study states that from the entry points to the continent, mainly in the Caribbean. the South Sea Company transported healthy captives to main Spanish ports and from there to further settlements inland. Less healthy individuals were sent to undeveloped areas or sold to traders locally. Many women and girls endured exploitation as sex workers.

“The company’s handling and sorting of people in Jamaica continued to convey to African migrants their captors’ dehumanized view of them Fear, anger, and sadness were commonplace, as the meaning of traders’ choices were imagined or became known through conversations with experienced slaves working the waterfronts or holding pens,” states the study.

Fastforwardto10January2023

The Church of England has pledged £100 million to "address past wrongs", after its investment fund was found to have historic links to slavery. The funding will be used to provide a "better and fairer future for all, particularly for communities affected by historic slavery".

A report last year found the Church had invested large amounts of money in the South Sea Company that transported slaves to the Caribbean and Latin America. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said it was "time to take action to address our shameful past". He had previously called the report's interim findings a "source of shame" in June 2022.

The investigation, which was initiated by the Church Commissioners, a charity managing the Church's investment portfolio, looked into the Church's investment fund, which back in the 18th century was known

Dear Editor,

The Lord’s Prayer is brief and to the point. It is too short and pregnant to be recited quickly.

At Mass, we join together as a community to pray in the way that Jesus taught us. We have prayed these words a thousand times before, but let us allow them to be always fresh and new. Let us focus on a particular word or phrase and allow it to permeate our whole being. If we are struggling to co -operate with God’s will, perhaps we will focus on “Thy will be done”. Or perhaps we have real and human needs that are not being met so our focus may fall on the words “Give us this day our daily bread.

The Lord’s Prayer

Perhaps we may feel the need to be forgiven for something which we may have said or done. “Forgive us our trespasses”.

Maybe we need the grace to forgive someone who has wronged us, “As we forgive those who trespass against us”.

Or perhaps we are struggling with a particular temptation in our life at this time; “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”.

At the Mass the priest asks God to grant us peace and unity. Nobody needs us to be reminded of how fractured our world and church have become, which makes this an especially powerful moment in the liturgy. Here we embrace the whole world. Jesus has loved us in this Eucharist by sharing his peace with us and now we share the peace and

the love of Jesus Christ with those around us. This is symbolic of the way we are called to take the peace and love of Jesus Christ into the world.

Everybody has had their hearts broken by something or someone. Jesus wants to soothe and heal our broken hearts. He offers his peace to us to heal our broken hearts and invites us to pass that piece on to others.

We offer that sign of peace to others around us at Mass.

At Mass the choir decides whether the Our Father will be sung or recited. At home I will sternly insist that the Our Father be said, slowly, along with the Hail Mary.

LeonJeetlall

as Queen Anne's Bounty. It found that by 1777, Queen Anne's Bounty had investments worth £406,942 (potentially equivalent to around £724 million in today's terms) in the South Sea Company.

The report estimated the company transported 34,000 slaves "in crowded, unsanitary, unsafe and inhumane conditions" during its 30 years of operation.

Forward to February 5 from BBC NewsGrenada

A UK family will publicly apologise to the people of the Caribbean island of Grenada, where its ancestors had more than 1,000 slaves in the 19th Century.

The aristocratic Trevelyan family, who owned six sugar plantations in Grenada, will also pay reparations.

BBC reporter Laura Trevelyan, a family member, visited Grenada in 2022 She was shocked that her ancestors had been compensated by the UK government when slavery was

For BBC producer Koralie Barrau, an American who's a descendant of slaves on Haiti, staring at these artefacts during a visit to Grenada last year for the BBC produced a visceral response. "It's sickening. I look at these neck braces, these handcuffs for children, these whips. And it could have been me. Five or six generations back. This is what my ancestors had to endure and it's very chilling."

abolished in 1833 - but freed Africanslaves got nothing.

Speaking to the BBC in a personal capacity on Saturday, Ms Trevelyan recalled her visit to the island for a

documentary. "It was really horrific... I saw for myself the plantations where slaves were punished, when I saw the instruments of torture that (please turn to page 3)

Children of St. Teresa’s parish, Campbellville, Georgetown, made their First Holy Communion on Sun. January 22nd.

Turkey, Syria after earthquakes

were used to restrain them." "I felt ashamed, and I also felt that it was my duty. You can't repair the past - but you can acknowledge the pain."

Ms Trevelyan said seven members of her family would travel to Grenada later in February to issue a public apology. The family will give £100,000 ($120,000) to establish a community fund for economic development on the impoverished island and in the eastern Caribbean. Ms Trevelyan said that in 1834, the Trevelyans received about £34,000 for the loss of their "property" on Grenadathe equivalent of about £3 million in today's money.

"For me to be giving £100,000 almost 200 years later... maybe that seems like really inadequate," she said. "But I hope that we're setting an example by apologising for what our ancestors did."

The Grenada National Reparations Commission described the gesture as commendable.

People stand in front of collapsed buildings following an earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey Feb. 6, 2023. Powerful 7.8 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes rocked areas of Turkey and Syria early that morning, destroying more than 3,000 buildings and killing many thousands of people, with a death toll of more than 23,000 as of Feb 10. (OSV News photo/Ihlas News Agency via Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope Francis urged all people to be in solidarity with the regions of Turkey and Syria struck by two powerful earthquakes early Feb. 6 and that are “in part already martyred by a long war.”

The two earthquakes, which both measured above 7.0 magnitude according to the United States Geological Survey, struck southern Turkey and impacted large swaths of neighboring Syria. As of midday Feb. 8 local time, the death toll had climbed over 11,200 and the number of dead was expected to climb further as rescue teams continued to search through the rubble of toppled buildings.

Pope Francis prayed for the thousands of dead and wounded at his general audience Feb. 8 and expressed his closeness to the victims, their families “and all who suffer from this devastating calamity.” The pope also thanked aid workers responding to the crisis.

Hundreds of foreign engineers, medical personnel and rescue workers have been sent to Turkey and Syria to search for people trapped under wreckage and aid the thousands without shelter in freezing winter conditions.

“Let us pray together so that these our brothers and sisters can go forth in the face of this tragedy, and let us ask Our Lady to protect them,” Pope Francis said. He then led the recitation of the Hail Mary with the thousands of visitors and pilgrims gathered for his general audience.

Hours after the earthquake Feb. 6, Pope Francis sent two telegrams to Turkey and Syria to express his spiritual closeness to those affected.

A variety of Catholic charitable and aid organizations are part of the relief efforts. Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organization of national Catholic charities, immediately launched a fundraising campaign and a request for donations of winter clothing especially for infants and young children. The charity has been active in Turkey since 1991 and in Syria since 2011, primarily providing aid to refugees.

Speaking to the L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, Bishop Paolo Bizzeti, apostolic vicar of Anatolia, said that the earthquakes were “a tragedy within a tragedy,” since the region is already “full of refugees from various countries who have fled terrible situations.”

While aid is being sent through Caritas Turkey, he said, “it is difficult to receive the aid necessary given the state of the roads.” Bishop Bizzeti added that the aid must be properly “spaced out” to ensure it lasts the duration of the relief efforts.

Aid to the Church in Need, a pontifical foundation that provides aid to Catholic communities worldwide, is supporting reparation projects in Aleppo, Syria, to allow people to return to their homes. The charity said an estimated 7,500 people slept in Aleppo’s churches, convents

and other locations the night of Feb. 7. The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States has also created a fund to support Catholic dioceses and partner organizations in Turkey and Syria.

Jesuit Father Tony O’Riordan arrived in Aleppo, Syria, Feb. 7 to lead Jesuit Refugee Service’s response to the crisis. In a statement, he said JRS’ priority is to reopen its health clinic in Aleppo and help protect people against the cold. The Jesuits have also opened their building in Aziziyé to host people without shelter.

The Middle East Council of Churches is calling for aid to be sent to the region, and for sanctions to be lifted on Syria to allow for access of relief materials.

The Catholic Near East Welfare Association launched an emergency campaign to shelter survivors and provide bedding, food, medicines, nursing formula, diapers and clothing to more than 2,000 families for three months in the Aleppo and Hama areas of northern Syria.

Catholic Relief Services, the overseas aid agency of the Catholic Church in the United States, was collecting funds to assist its local partners, Caritas Turkey and Caritas Syria, particularly in Aleppo and Lattakia, Syria, where extensive damage has been reported.❖

In 2021, following the BLM protests after George Floyd's murder, Grenada's government became the last in the Caribbean to set up a National Commission on Reparations for Slavery. That commission is chaired by Arley Gill, Grenada's Ambassador to Caricom, the Caribbean community of 20 countries.

The British government has never formally apologised for slavery or offered to pay reparations .❖

Segment II of the Lay Ministers' Formation Programme (February to April 2023) will be held via Zoom from 3 - 5pm every Saturday afternoon. All interested persons are invited to participate.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 815 5614 2686

Passcode: 445718

18 & 25 February, 04 March

First Session: Basic Pastoral Counselling: Sr. Katrina Charles, O. Carm.

Second Session: Liturgy II: Preparing for Lent & Easter: Andrew Kerry & Bro. Paschal Jordan, OSB

11, 18 & 25 March

First Session: Homilies for Holy Week & Easter Triduum: Msgr. Terrence Montrose.

Second Session: Liturgy II [cont'd] Holy Week Liturgies: Andrew Kerry & Bro. Paschal Jordan, OSB

01 April

Sessions 1 & 2: Retreat: Bp. Francis Alleyne, OSB

Easter Break: 08 - 15 April

Segment III - end of April to Junewill begin on Saturday 22 April

A Christian Perspective on Social Issues

tholicism, the rank and file were decimated to the point that whole communities stopped going out to public worship. These are not from newspaper accounts, but this eyewitness of a toll that was vast and bitter.

By GHK Lall

any times in recent years I have grappled with the issue, the question, the anguish regarding why the Church struggles to the extent that it does. At first, I thought it was Guyana mainly, given the envies, rivalries, jealousies; and from which flow almost reflexively the selfishness, the selfpromotion, self-aggrandizement that fuel much bickering and squabbling. I was wrong, for what is visible and familiar in Guyana tracks to other places with many perverse branches, and reaches, believe it or not, all the way to Rome.

The Mother Church is wounded and hurting; her deep bruises and dripping scars are not from the outside, but from the improprieties and imprudence within our hearts, our visions, and our calculations. Men at work, and the kind of work, sometimes, tears the body of Jesus into strips that must pain the Risen Savior even more. I can attest firsthand to some wrongs, for my spouse from another time, and her hundreds of colleagues, were put out of work. The liability protections were exhausted from paying for predatory behavior. Facilities had to be closed, like hospitals and schools, and of the latter I am familiar having had to deal with the children when I could spare the time. In Boston, a bastion of Ca-

MMen who should have been taught the error of their ways, called to book for their serial wrongdoings, were allowed to go elsewhere and continue their wretched practices, with many damaged, many losing faith, distancing from the Church. Surely, there had to be a broad and deep awareness of what was rampant in many places. Surely, the Holy See in Rome would be firm enough, faithful to the teachings of Jesus and scripture, and take the necessary corrective actions. The Congregations of this and that, the powerful Cardinals in charge of doctrine, teaching, and so much more, would be brave enough, spiritual enough to do what was right. They did not for the most part; and what they did was so little, as to be negligible. The Church hurt, the flock flinched first, then fled for succor wherever it could be found. The thinking was that this can’t be happening, except that it was, and in no small measure.

Worse still, there is this litany that encircles such harrowing developments as laundering, coverup, a man hanging himself in the United Kingdom, dirty money accepted from crime syndicates, subsidizing a movement, maybe more than one, in Eastern bloc countries, then under the dreadful communist yoke, and as has surfaced recently, a kidnapping and disappearance of decades, with names pinpointed deep inside the Vatican.

Is this what Christ came for, died for, left for us? Is this what my faith, my energies, my devotions (and that of countless others far better and much more faithful than myself) have come to, this agonizing terminal of selfsearching, of limping, and of longing for some righteous light? I doubt that much light, any kind of heavenly light, could pierce through when one Pope, now departed, was undermining the

groundbreaking work of another Vicar of Christ. It could not happen, not while he was given the consideration and courtesy of hospitality and proximity to the seat of power, but returned the favors with thoughtlessness, due to ideology, tradition, and what can only be categorized as lack of compassion, as Jesus himself had taught and lived.

When this has taken root in the hierarchy and leadership of the Church, then what could be expected at the lower levels, the dioceses and parishes scattered across the globe, where the devoted toil and worship. And where they also engage in constant quarreling and backstabbing and undermining of others, and at every level. It is an alarming picture, a landscape that is dismal and grim, and one from which inspirational fellowship is a deep void, a Holy Grail sought after, but which has proven to be largely elusive.

I have questioned the blanket of darkness, under which the shabby and rancid ways of the world flourish, both inside the Church, and in our hearts. How easily and uncaringly we ignore that scriptural counsel about being in the world, but not of the world. It is not that we don’t know of this in Guyana; it is where, as I see it, that we just don’t care, since all that matters is that we must have our selfserving ways.

When this is so, I wonder where is the way of Jesus? What happened to those loud oaths about making him and our lives a testimony to what he sacrificed for, what he left for us to fulfill? Oftentimes, I cringe at where we are, and how dogged we have become in continuing along the same troubled paths. The Church is in a rough place and era. I pray, I plead, Oh Lord God, for this time to pass, and for the Holy Spirit to come and flow freely in the Church and upon each one of us. Wash away these iniquities. Restore us to your grace.

Gracious and loving God, we thank your for the gift of our priests.

Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments. Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.

Set their souls on fire with love for your people.

Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel.

Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.

Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest. Amen

Counselling Services at Brickdam Presbytery

Carmelite Sisters are available for counselling on Mondays and Thursdays from 9:00am to 12 noon and 1:00pm to 2:00 pm, at theCathedral Presbytery.

They are also available by appointment. Persons are encouraged to avail themselves of these services. Kindly contact the Cathedral parish office on tel. no. 226-4631fordetails.

Pope’s Intentions

February Monthly Intention: For Parishes

We pray that parishes, placing communion at the centre, may increasingly become communities of faith, fraternity and welcome towards those most in need

The body of Christ in anguish

First Reading Ecclesiasticus 15:15-20

He never commanded anyone to be godless If you wish, you can keep the commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power. He has set fire and water before you; put out your hand to whichever you prefer. Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him. For vast is the wisdom of the Lord; he is almighty and all-seeing. His eyes are on those who fear him, he notes every action of man. He never commanded anyone to be godless, he has given no one permission to sin.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 118

Response: They are happy who follow God’s law!

1. They are happy whose life is blameless, who follow God’s law!

They are happy those who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts. Response

2. You have laid down your precepts to be obeyed with care. May my footsteps be firm to obey your statutes. Response

3. Bless your servant and I shall live and obey your word. Open my eyes that I may consider the wonders of your law. Response

4. Teach me the demands of your statutes and I will keep them to the end. Train me to observe your law, to keep it with my heart. Response

SecondReading

1Corinthians 2:6-10

God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began.

We have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end. The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God

predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. lt is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.

Today’s readings challenge us to reflect on the true state of our hearts as it relates to stewardship. Do we think of stewardship as something we

Gospel Matthew 5:17-37

You have learnt how it was said to your ancestors; but I say this to you.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

‘For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

take care of once a year, simply a matter of ticking off boxes on a commitment card or do we choose to embrace it as a spirituality and way of life that allows us to grow in conformity to Christ every day?

Our first reading, from the book of Ecclesiasticus , teaches that our good God has given us freedom to make this choice “Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.” The concept of stewardship helps us to

‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny. You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.

‘It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

‘Again, you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not break your oath, but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you: do not swear at all, either by heaven, since that is God’s throne; or by the earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.’❖

live out the fundamental choice to put God first. Stewardship is meant to be embraced as a way of life - a life that involves a continuous conversion of heart.

In our Gospel passage, from Matthew, Jesus illustrates the difference between an external observance of the law and a true conversion of heart, saying, “You have heard that it was said… you shall not kill… But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”

Our Lord is asking us not only for exterior acts, but for a true change of heart. In stewardship terms, that means seeing everything as a gift from Him, to be used for His glory and the good of others.

In the week ahead, let us examine the state of our hearts to ask ourselves if we have chosen to allow stewardship to become a way of life for us. Only then we will experience its true depth and heart-changing possibilities. The choice is ours.❖ [www.catholicsteward.com/blog/

Gospel Reflection

Brazilian church provides aid to the Yanomami suffering from 'genocide'

hundreds of deaths. According to Lula's Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sônia Guajajara, 570 Yanomami children died over the past four years- 100 of them in 2022.

Numerous denouncements of threats and violence against villagers have been made by the Yanomami organizations over the past years, but the Bolsonaro administration continually failed to take action.

In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus talking about the importance of the Commandments. And in the First Reading, written some two hundred years before Jesus was born, a Jewish wise man is convinced that it is impossible to live as God would have us live or to have true wisdom unless we obey God’s Commandments. He argues that God has given human beings free will, that is, the ability to choose life or death. Free will is basic to the belief of Christians for we are not robots who are programmed to act in an automatic and predetermined way. We are free and able to choose that which is good and life-giving and to reject what is evil and lifedestroying. Because of this we cannot escape the responsibility that rests on us. We are answerable for what we do because of the choices we have freely made.

Jesus saw that the commandments were being interpreted in a very negative way which could lead to people doing the barest minimum. He turned them around so that obedience to the law would not be rooted in fear. He wanted the law to be based on love. Therefore, instead of going against or doing away with the old law, the new law of love goes beyond and makes it perfect. So, instead of the negative outlook in “You must not kill” we have the positive “You must love your neighbour”. The sense of responsibility shifts when instead of “You must not steal” we think instead of “You must share your goods and time with your neighbour when he or she is in need.” Jesus said that all of God’s commandments could be reduced to only two: love of God and of neighbour. Actually, when you think of it, there is only one law – the law of love. ❖

[From: Journeying with the Word of God, The Religious Education Department, Diocese of Georgetown, Guyana ]

( OSV News ) - The severe health care and hunger crisis affecting the Yanomami indigenous people in Roraima state prompted the Brazilian church to coordinate help and to work side by side with government agencies and indigenous organizations to provide food and medical attention to the sick.

Beyond the emergency actions, a number of Catholic voices have been demanding that the authorities who allowed the situation to get to this point must be properly held accountable for their misdeeds. That includes former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been in Florida since his last day in office, Dec. 31.

The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) donated $70,000 to pay for food and medicine kits, with the support of Adveniat, the German episcopal charity-organization for Latin America and the Caribbean. Dioceses and church movements all over the South American country have been collecting funds among churchgoers and sending them to Roraima.

"There is a growing number of people asking the church to receive their donations to the Yanomami. Brazilian society is deeply mobilized with their problem and is willing to help," Antonio Eduardo de Oliveira, Secretary General of CNBB's Indigenous Missionary Council (known as CIMI), told OSV News.

On Jan. 31, Cardinal Leonardo Steiner, who heads the Archdioceses of Manaus, visited the Yanomami people in Boa Vista, Roraima’s capital, and gathered with indigenous leaders.

"In the hospitals, many Yanomami are still in critical condition due to malaria and starvation. But at the health clinics where some of the children are now located, we can already see them playing, which is a good sign of recovery," he told OSV News.

According to the Yanomami leaders heard by Cardinal Steiner, the current crisis is the result of the dismantling of

the health care services provided by the government to the Indigenous over the past few years and of the invasion of their territory by illegal miners.

"They told me that several health care units inside the Yanomami territory were abandoned over the past years. Part of them were even occupied by illegal miners," the cardinal said. There is an estimated number of 20,000 illegal miners operating in the region. According to analysts, they are backed by powerful financial groups, which provide machinery and airplanes to support their activities.

"They gradually destroy the rainforest and water streams. Most of the territory’s rivers are contaminated with mercury, directly impacting the Yanomami's health," Cardinal Steiner described.

The Yanomami have been living for centuries in a territory now divided between Brazil and Venezuela, in the Amazon. They established the first contact with the non-Indigenous Brazilian society in the first decades of the 20th century, but only in the 1960s a regular relationship mostly mediated by Catholic and Protestant missionaries was established.

Government-led initiatives of economic exploitation in their territory began during the Military dictatorship (196485) in the 1970s. Over the next decade, an estimated 40,000 illegal miners invaded the Yanomami territory in order to search for gold.

In the 1990s, most of them were taken out of the region. Over the past four years, a new wave of illegal mining began, this time with more machinery and air support. At least 26,000 illegal miners operated there during the Bolsonaro administration more than the number of Yanomami, estimated at 20,000 people.

The diseases brought by the miners including malaria and contamination by heavy metals have been causing

"Since his presidential campaign in 2018 and even before that Bolsonaro incentivized the illegal miners' actions. He always said that Roraima is seated on gold. He was elected in 2018 by promising them that they would be able to carry out their activities," Laurindo Lazzaretti, a former priest who lived among the Yanomami for over a decade and is now a pastoral agent in the region, told OSV News. The large pits provoked by mining in the Yanomami territory concentrate stormwater and create the perfect environment for the reproduction of malaria mosquitoes. That is why there has been a surge in the number of cases of the disease and in the number of deaths.

"The areas of mining also have bars and prostitution. Yanomami women have been continually subjected to sexual exploitation,” Cardinal Steiner lamented.

He described the case of a woman who was kidnapped, prostituted by the miners, and became pregnant. Shortly after birth, the child was taken by the criminals.

"The woman ended up committing suicide. That is the kind of human drama that has been occurring there," the cardinal said.

Both the local indigenous organizations and the church activists that work with them are now hopeful that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration will act to address the problems.

"We believe that we now have an opportunity. We need to promote the complete removal of the illegal miners from the Yanomami territory," CIMI’s de Oliveira told OSV News.

For Cardinal Steiner, it is also necessary to bring to justice and hold accountable the authorities who failed to act in the past.

"It is a faraway, inaccessible region. However, one cannot understand how, considering our current technological level and the means and resources that the country has, 570 Yanomami could be abandoned and left to die," Cardinal Steiner said.

De Oliveira believes that Bolsonaro and members of his administration may be accused and tried for genocide.

"They did not do anything to change the Yanomami situation and created the current chaos," he said.❖

A four-year-old Yanomami Indigenous child, who is treated for malnutrition, sits with his father in a hammock at the special yard for indigenous people of the Santo Antonio Children's Hospital in Boa Vista, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2023. (OSV News photo/Amanda Perobelli, Reuters)

science not at war, says Bishop Barron

Journeying with the Word of God

A group of five galaxies that appear close to each other in the sky is seen in this image released by NASA July 12, 2022. The galaxies are seen in a mosaic, or composite, of near and mid-infrared data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a revolutionary apparatus designed to peer through the cosmos to the dawn of the universe. The cosmos is among topics covered by "Wonder," a new five-part documentary from Word on Fire that explores the interplay between various aspects of science and Catholic tradition. (OSV News photo/NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team, Handout via Reuters)

(OSV News) - A new film series aims to show that faith and science are as interlinked as the double helix of a DNA molecule.

The Word on Fire evangelization ministry recently announced the release of "Wonder," a five-part documentary project that explores the interplay between various aspects of science and Catholic tradition.

Produced through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the episodes narrated by actor Jonathan Roumie will be released Feb. 13-17, one per day, on Word on Fire's website and YouTube channel.

The nature of light, Trinitarian traces in the cosmos, human and animal language, St. Augustine and evolution are among the topics on tap, along with a detailed look at how the geometry of Chartres Cathedral's North Rose Window in Chartres, France, points to the theology of salvation.

The films' release follows Word on Fire's Jan. 13-14 Wonder conference in Dallas, which featured an array of experts in physics,

philosophy, technology, theology and history.

Word on Fire founder Bishop Robert E. Barron of WinonaRochester, Minnesota, said in a Jan. 31 news release that he was ''ecstatic" over the "Wonder" series' release.

The ministry has dedicated considerable resources over the years "to show that the war between faith and science is untrue," said Bishop Barron in his statement.

The often oppositional relationship between scientific and religious worldviews "has been a perennial concern of Bishop Barron's apologetic and evangelization efforts for decades," said Word on Fire CEO Father Steve Grunow in an email to OSV News.

Faith often withers due to "perceived discrepancies" between religious belief and science, Father Grunow said.

The issue "is particularly evident in younger generational cohorts (inhibiting) religious belief and practice," he told OSV News.

Both scientists and theologians bear responsibility for "the false

perception that scientific and religious ways of knowing are innately conflictual," said Father Grunow. "We can all do much better at presenting our positions with clarity and charity."

He pointed out that Christianity actually helped to lay the groundwork for modern scientific inquiry by viewing the world as distinct from its Creator, rather than "an object of worship," and "created to be known" on its own terms.

Director Manny Marquez told OSV News the "Wonder" films which were "unlike anything else" he had worked on presented "an opportunity to make a difference in the conversation" between faith and science. But from a technical perspective, the task was not an easy one, he admitted.

"When you are talking about things ranging from the omegaminus particle to the Trinity, there will be challenges," Marquez told OSV News.

Marquez said he first spent more than a month reading the "amazing and densely academic" script (please turn to page 10)

MAKING THE WORD OF GOD YOUR OWN

Step 1: Lookattoday’sReadingsprayerfully.

1st Reading: This passage deals with the free will God has given to us, the freedom to choose between good and evil and the fact that we have to face the consequences of our choices.

2nd Reading: Paul compares the wisdom that comes from human philosophy with true wisdom that comes only to us from God’s Spirit.

Gospel: Jesus did not come to set aside God’s commandments but to give new meaning to them by showing that they are positive in outlook.

Step 2: ApplyingthevaluesoftheReadings toyourdailylife.

1.“Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.” What could have been the situation that prompted Jesus to use these words?

2.Jesus insists that if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Can this also refer to other things we just think about but do not do?

3.The First Reading says that keeping the commandments is a personal decision. Whether we keep them or not is all up to us individually. What do you think would be the consequences if we do not keep the commandments?

4.Moral behaviour is an important part to Christian living. Could you challenge the Church on any of its moral teachings?

Step 3: Accepting the message of God’s Wordinyourlifeoffaith

Jesus showed that the Commandments teach attitudes of reverence and respect – reverence for God, for God’s name and for God’s day, and respect for parents, for life, for the property of others, for truth, for the good name of another person, and for oneself. As Christians we must take responsibility for our own wrongdoing, rather than laying the blame on God or on others. We have the freedom to do what is wrong just as we have the freedom to do what is right.

Step 4: Somethingtothink&prayabout

1.Reflect honestly on your life. Would you say you have a lot of anger bottled up inside? Do you feel you need to deal with your anger? Does your anger erupt every now and then, making life difficult for those close to you? Is it possible to put your anger to good use?

2.Pray that you will keep God’s laws not because of fear of punishment, but because you are sure it is the right thing to do. ❖

[From: Journeying with the Word of God, The Religious Education Department, Diocese of Georgetown, Guyana ]

Personal accompaniment key to Vatican’s

Mentor couples are also recommended in the USCCB’s 2021 document “Called to the Joy of Love: National Pastoral Framework for Marriage and Family Life Ministry.”

Under many of these models, a pastor or parish marriage ministry coordinator assigns a married, programtrained mentor couple to an engaged couple. One popular marriage-formation apostolate, Witness to Love, has flipped that approach, encouraging the engaged couple themselves to choose a couple to mentor them so long as they meet certain criteria, such as regularly attending church, actively practicing their faith, and being married five years or more.

What faith can change

By Renika Anand

This is the first of a fortnightly column ‘Growing in Grace’ by Renika Anand, with topics pertaining to youths. Ms. Anand is a Sixth Form Student of Marian Academy

Blaise Pascal was a French philosopher and mathematician who once said that “It is the heart which perceives God and not the reason. That is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not by the reason.”

(OSV News) When Adriana Vasquez was working in marriage ministry for the Archdiocese of New York two decadesago,shehelpedenrichthetheology expressed in its materials and workshops for Spanish-speaking Catholics. She later discovered, however, that excellent content was not enough. “I was dismayed years later to find out that some of those couples who attended those workshops were later divorced,” she told OSV News.

As she has continued working in marriage ministry in several other dioceses, Vasquez has identified an approach that does make a powerful difference for engaged couples: evangelization through personal accompaniment.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day the most popular day for couples to get engaged, according to the wedding planning website WeddingWire marriage ministry experts say the practice of personal accompaniment could become a worldwide trend in Catholic marriage preparation, due to a renewed vision for marriage formation introduced last year in a document from the Holy See’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

First issued in Italian in June with an English translation published in October, “Catechumenal Pathways for Married Life” presents a three-stage approach to preparing men and women for Catholic marriage. It also addresses the wedding celebration and pastoral accompaniment for the couple’s first married years.

The approach aims not only to transmit doctrine, but also to “let the mystery of sacramental grace resonate among the spouses,” the document states.

In an introduction to “Catechumenal Pathways,” Pope Francis frames “accompaniment” as an important action of the Catholic Church as a whole, writing that “we have a primary duty to responsibly accompany those who manifest their intention to be united in marriage, so that they may be preserved from the trauma of separation and never lose faith in love.”

The document shares a vision of accompaniment tailored to each couple

by their parish s priests, pastoral workers and other married couples. It states that “it is not so much a matter of sharing notions or imparting skills. Rather, it is about guiding, assisting, and being close to couples along a path to walk together.”

The idea of a “marriage catechumenate” has roots in St. John Paul II’s writings about family life, and the language draws a connection to the church’s process for welcoming new members.

That is appropriate, because it allows an engaged couple to rediscover the mystery of the faith, said Julia Dezelski, assistant director of marriage and family life for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

The breakdown of marriages in the United States and worldwide, and its implication for children and family life, indicates that the Church should be investing more in engaged couples, she said.

According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington, the number of annual Catholic weddings in the United States fell 65 percent from 426,309 in 1969 to 148,134 in 2014 with a dramatic drop to 97,200 weddings in 2020 (the next available year of captured data).

Between 1969-2020, the selfidentified Catholic population grew from 54.1 million to 73.2 million.

A 2015 Pew Research study found that among Catholics who have ever been married, 34 percent have obtained a divorce. Meanwhile, 44 percent of Catholics report having cohabitated with a romantic partner outside of marriage.

“

The hope is that, by connecting with mentors they already trust and respect, the engaged couple will discuss their faith authentically, be more attracted to the church and open to personal conversion, and continue their relationship with their mentors beyond their wedding day. It also gives mentor couples an opportunity to evangelize, experience deeper conversionandstrengthentheirmarriages Witness to Love contains many aspects of what the “Catechumenal Pathways” document envisions for a marriage catechumenate, said MaryRose Verret, who founded the apostolate in 2011 with her husband, Ryan. The marriage catechumenate “isn’t an invitation (for dioceses and parishes) to fit something new into their existing process,” she said. “It’s a plea to completely rethink the way that they’re approaching forming couples getting married today. It’s obvious that the best content that’s ever been created in the history of church isn’t doing the trick. It’s not because it isn’t great content. It’s because ultimately evangelization moves at the pace of relationships.”

It is man’s nature to seek reason and facts before accepting something to be true. Now that our world has evolved into a scientific one, where evidence is valued above all else, and where the youth are accustomed to approaching life through thorough examination, faith is becoming a smaller and smaller part of the new generation’s life.

However, what we forget is that everything we do always involves the expression of faith. Every morsel of food that we consume is accompanied by the faith that it will nourish us and not harm us. Every morning, when we first wake up and rest our weight on the floor, we act on the faith that our feet will be met with solid ground. Every time that we leave our home, we leave with the faith that we will return safely. What meaning would life hold if all our actions were punctuated by doubt?

It’s crucial that we build stronger families and stronger marriages, starting with stronger marriages,” Dezelski said.

The current marriage preparation landscape among U.S. dioceses “varies somewhat drastically,” she said. However, Dezelski has observed more dioceses and parishes incorporating mentor couples for personal accompaniment in marriage formation. Several widely used marriage preparation programs require them.

Disappointed by a dearth of young couples in the pews and reports of divorces among recently married couples in their own Louisiana parish, Mary-Rose who has worked in marriage preparation on both diocesan and parish levels and Ryan began interviewing couples in 2008 about their marriage preparation. The testimonies of more than 400 couples convinced them that conventional marriage formation approaches are insufficient, and that trust and relationships are key factors missing from most couples’ marriage preparation experiences. That led the Verrets to make chosen mentor couples a hallmark of Witness to Love.

“This is calling people back to the basics of what we’ve always known as a church,” Verret said. “Friends bring friends to Christ.”

“It’s that encounter with Christ that the couple is desperately starved for: not just content about the sacrament, not just information, but the actual conversion experience to meet each couple where they are, in their own particular journey, individually and as a couple,” she said.❖

The truth about faith is that it ends in the moment that you begin to seek proof. Faith means to believe, not blindly, but completely. It means to place trust in something or someone without having the need for reciprocation or reward.

As young people, it is important to understand that the world is much more than it seems at a single glance. It is important to take a leap of faith and accept that every aspect of your life lies in the hands of God. Soon enough, we may discover not through our minds, but through our hearts, that God is present in everything that we do. This discovery will change the way that you see the world and help you see beauty in even the most mundane things. Faith is the bridge that can change the world from what it is, to what we believe it can be.

"Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that He is real and that He rewards those who truly want to find Him." - Hebrews 11:6 ❖

Dear Girls and Boys,

In today's Gospel reading from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said to people long ago, 'You must not murder. If you commit murder, you will be subject to judgement.' But I say, even if you are angry with your someone, you are subject to judgment." He went on to say that you will be face God's judgment if you call someone a bad name or curse them. What did Jesus say we should do if we are guilty of any of these things? He said, "If you are presenting your offering to God and you remember that you have said something that hurt another person, leave your gift at the altar and go and ask forgiveness from that person. Then come back and offer your gift to God."

Before we give our offerings at Mass each week, perhaps we should ask ourselves a few questions. Have I been angry with someone this week? Have I had any arguments lately? Have I called someone a bad name? Have I said something about someone that wasn't true? If so, we should ask God to forgive us and we should go to the person we have hurt and ask them to forgive us. When we have done that, God will be pleased with our offering. Heavenly Father, we would not think of committing murder, but we sometimes say things in anger that hurt other people. Help us to guard against hateful and hurtful words and forgive us as we ask those we have hurt to forgive us as well. In Jesus' namewepray, Amen.❖

Papal farm, gardens will be home to new center promoting sustainability

VATICAN CITY (CNS) The papal property at Castel Gandolfo, with its vast gardens and diverse livestock, will now be the home of a new scientific and educational center dedicated to promoting integral ecology, sustainability, and a circular and generative economy.

Pope Francis established the new Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education Feb. 2 because he wanted make a tangible contribution to the development of ecological education by opening a new space for training and raising awareness,” the Vatican City governor’s office said in a written news release.

The initiative, called the “Borgo Laudato Si'” project, will have “the beauty of the Villa Barberini gardens and the papal villas as the natural setting for developing a center for education in integral ecology, open to all people of goodwill,” it said.

Planned activities and initiatives will be announced in the coming months, it said; they will aim to “combine training in integral ecology, circular and generative economy, and environmental sustainability,” it said.

According to the “chirograph” or brief papal document establishing the center, the center will be “placed under (the pope’s) personal attention” and managed and run by its own governing bodies and staff.

The pope appointed: Scalabrinian Father Fabio Baggio, undersecretary

of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, to be the center’s new director general; Salesian Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the dicastery, and Francesca Romana Busnelli as members of the board of directors; and Antonio Errigo as secretary.

According to its new statutes, the center will actively seek ways to involve young people and those who are marginalized as well as the general public.

Its papal mandate focuses on developing specific projects that foster people’s holistic development and that promote education and training in economic and environmental sustainability, inspired by the principles in pope’s 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.”

In addition to sponsoring events, semconferences and study weeks, it also will organize visits for the general public that highlight “the natural, cultural and scientific patrimony” of the papal property, according to its stat-

Beyond research and education, the s activities also can include cultural events, “hospitality” and food services, utilizing traditional and advanced agricultural methods, and continuing the papal farm’s activities animal husbandry” and producing dairy products.

The papal property at Castel Gandolfo extends over 135 acres compared to the 108.7 acres of Vatican City. It includes 74 acres of gardens 17 of which are formal gardens 62 acres of farmland, three residences and a farm with chickens, hens, rabbits, assorted fowl, cows and a small dairy operation. There are fruit and olive orchards, vineyards, hayfields, vegetable patches, aromatic herbs, flowerbeds and plants that often are used to decorate the papal apartments and meeting rooms at the Vatican.

Pope Pius XI established the farm in the 1930s to be “a model of a genuine lifestyle, the same he was able to enjoy as a youth,” the Vatican newspaper reported in 2011, and to make use of the fertile pastures which had been abandoned after the loss of the Papal States in 1870 to provide fresh fare for the papal menu.❖

film series shows faith, science not at war, says Bishop Barron (From Page 7)

by Chris Baglow of the Science and Religion Initiative at the University of Notre Dame's McGrath Institute for Church Life. The trick was "deciphering what we could shoot, and then what would have to be created or animated," said Marquez, crediting animator and visual effects artist Carl Graham and cinematographer Rod Hassler for their roles in bringing the script to life.

Composer Sean Beeson's score and Roumie's narration were also among "the ingredients … for this (series) to be a powerful evangelical tool," said Marquez, a Catholic, adding that the series deepened his "understanding of God and nature."

"I have many friends that question my belief in God, because they are very much of the school of scientism.

Prayer for the Synod on Synodality

We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name.

With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts; Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it. We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder. Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions.

Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right.

All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever.

Amen

I felt that maybe this project could lead some of them to a change of heart," he said. "In the same manner, I have Catholic friends that are hostile to ideas of science. If we could show the goodness, truth and beauty of the two main topics combined, we would be achieving something worthwhile."❖

Lake Albano is seen from a window of the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo,

penned

'Wonder'

Synod on Synodality: Diocesan Continental Stage prep. (From Page 1)

to participate. The faithful in our diocese participated in our Diocesan consultation phase and a synthesis of these consultations was prepared and sent to the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC). The fruits of all Dioceses within the AEC form part of the DCS which has now been returned to all the people of God and local churches for further listening, encounter and discernment.

The Diocesan Synod team (which consists of Father Paul Martin S.J., Father Joel Thompson S.J., Sister Elizabeth Small RSM, Ms. Roxanne Douglas, Ms. Michella Abraham-Ali, Mr. Rocky Hanoman, Ms. Leah Casimero and Ms. Angie Sukhai) along with other collaborators participated in a day of prayer with the DCS on January 5th 2023 which was facilitated by Fr. Peter Mc Isaac, Superior of the Jesuits in Guyana and Jamaica). A synthesis of this day of prayer was submitted to the AEC.

All dioceses within the AEC have been encouraged to organized similar days of prayer with the document and will also submit their syntheses to the AEC which will form part of the discussion at a meeting organized by CELAM (Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops of Latin America) of which the Bishops of the AEC are members. The CELAM meeting will be held in Santo Domingo from February 20th-24th.

Leah Casimero, who hails from Aishalton and is a member of our synod team, has been selected by the AEC Bishops to attend this meeting. Leah is one of the team of seven who forms the AEC contingent. Other members of this AEC contingent are: Bishop Clyde Harvey- Diocese of Grenada, Fr. Don Chambers- AEC General Secretary, Sr. Maxine Mc Intosh- Diocese of Kingston, Ruby Alleyne- Arch diocese of Port of Spain, Christianne Paul- Diocese of Roseau and Deacon David Popo- Diocese of Castries.

Leah Casimero has been serving as a Parish Lay Assistant in her parish and is the academic coordinator for the Quality Bilingual Education Program for Wapichan children since 2017. She was an active participant in the process for the Synod on the Amazon, helping to organize the presynodal assembly held at St. Ignatius in 2018. She was one of a small number of women invited by Pope Francis to attend the full Synod meeting in Rome in 2019.

Meanwhile, at the diocesan level, the Synod team, together with Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB and our Pastoral leaders will be organizing similar gatherings in parishes/communities to pray with the DCS during Lent and beyond. The intent of this Continental stage is to deepen the discernment on what has emerged from the previous

diocesan stage with the aim of formulating open questions more accurately, and to better substantiate and flesh out the insights and overall vision, especially from a Continental perspective. It is also an opportunity to listen to those realities which may not have emerged or integrated in the previous stage and allow for personal

conversion which will prepare us to enlarge the space of our tent to accommodate others on the journey. More details will be forthcoming with regard to parish/community days of prayer in the diocese.❖

The Guyana contingent meeting Pope Francis on the first day of the Synod on the Amazon. From left are Mr. Silverius Perry, Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB, Pope Francis and Ms. Leah Casimero. The synod was held from October 6-27 2019.

shaken by words of Pope Francis

Saint of the Week

(OSV News) - While Pope Francis has returned to Rome after his sixday apostolic trip to Congo and South Sudan, the words he left there will resonate across the continent for a long time, church leaders and experts say.

Catholic bishops in Congo said the words of the Holy Father not only comforted but shook up the continent, reviving hope that the nations may overcome the significant challenges they face.

"The successor of Peter, Pope Francis, as a good shepherd who knows his sheep, left us with powerful words which have strengthened our faith, revived our hope, ignited our love and challenged our consciences," the bishops said in a Feb. 4 statement sent to OSV News.

Pope Francis spent four days in Congo, from Jan. 31-Feb. 3, before heading to South Sudan, from where he departed Feb.5.

In Congo, the pope spoke out against "economic colonialism" and called out developed nations against the wanton exploitation of Congo’s vast mineral resources.

"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa! Stop choking Africa, it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered," Pope Francis said to big applause.

Congo is rich in natural resources that have brought deadly conflict to the country.

The Holy Father also spoke about insecurity, and environmental destruction, and insisted on the need for love and tolerance in the world.

The spokesman for the Southern Africa Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, told OSV News that the "hands off" comment was not only relevant to Congo but to the whole continent.

"Africa is rich in resources and yet, by and large, remains poor and underdeveloped," he said, blaming economic colonialism for contributing to inequality through "the exploitation of those resources by foreign companies/countries with little benefit occurring to the local community."

Johan Viljoen is the director of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (the Catholic humanitarian foundation operating in South Africa named after the archbishop who was a critical voice of the church during the Apartheid). Viljoen told OSV News that across the continent, there is a "toxic cocktail" of gas and mineral resources; corrupt political elite; multinational corporations, "resulting in 'armed conflicts' (where, often, previously there were none) to drive local communities off their land."

Describing it as "the Second Scramble for Africa," he accused Western media of framing the story of Africa’s conflicts along ethno-religious lines, instead of focusing on the main root causes of conflict, which, according to Viljoen, is the scramble for Africa's raw materials.

He added that Pope Francis' comments are relevant to virtually every country in Africa.

"It is the voice of prophecy, the voice of God," Viljoen said, adding that the pope's message resonates around the continent. "From Mali to Mozambique, from Burkina Faso to the Central African Republic, people are saying: 'That is exactly what is happening here, to us.'"

Viljoen said the pontiff's message is particularly relevant because, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, "Western governments have been desperate to secure oil and gas deals, disregarding human rights in the process."

Political scientist and conflict resolution expert David Matsanga, CEO of Africa World Media, said in an online panel in which OSV News participated that the pope's visit puts a spotlight on the conflicts in Congo and South Sudan, which are "largely underreported or ignored by Western media."

"For the first time, the most influential religious leader flies to Africa to try and expose the exploitation of Africa and, to a certain degree, the failure of Africa itself to deal with the challenge of exploitation," Simba Chikanza, a journalist from Zimbabwe, said on the same panel, called "Twitter spaces."

And while Francis’ words have generated a "buzz" across the continent, resolving Africa’s problems remains the responsibility of Africans, said Viljoen.

He told OSV News that Africa can extricate itself from wanton exploitation by "overthrowing the repressive governments that are bleeding them dry."

He underscored the need for building a new, fair, just and egalitarian society where "all people will have access to the necessary means to live a fulfilled life, in which they are able to reach their full potential" a society, he added, "in which they will be empowered to resist attempts by outsiders to take over what is theirs."

In his weekly general audience Feb. 8, Pope Francis said, mentioning the second leg of his trip to South Sudan that "there are those who abuse the name of God to justify violence and oppression."

"This is why it is so important to bear witness that religion is fraternity, it is peace, it is communion; that God is the Father and always wants only life and the good of his children," Pope Francis said.❖

that unmarried soldiers fought better than

would have been much more popular than just one woman and one man living together. And yet some of them seemed to be attracted to the Christian faith. But obviously the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman for their life and that it was to be encouraged. And so it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this. The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict.

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned, tortured, and beheaded for performing marriage ceremonies against the command of the emperor.

St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of engaged couples, happy marriages, love, lovers, bee keepers, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, plague, travellers and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses and his feast day is celebrated on February 14.❖

[From http://www1.cbn.com/st-valentine-real-story & http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=159 ]

People sing before Pope Francis' celebration of Mass at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan, Feb. 5, 2023. (CNS photo)