Abuja, Nigeria, Feb 1, 2017 / 09:46 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- For one Catholic bishop in Nigeria, social media and family life are two keys for evangelization and sharing the values of the Catholic Church.
“We need to invent new means of forming people’s consciences. We need to form new means of confronting the agents of non-values that are among us. We need to form new means of colonizing the media so that people can hear the voice of the Church,” said Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of Oyo.
The interview, conducted by Catholic News Agency for Africa, was released after the bishops’ conference in Nigeria last week.
Bishop Badejo is the chair of the Pan-African Episcopal Committee of Social Communications and is director of communications for the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria. This year he is celebrating his 30th year as a priest and 9th year as a bishop.
The bishop warned of sometimes inappropriate use and malicious intent behind main stream media. Social media can divide communities, exploit, and promote evil, he continued to say, explaining the role of the individual to create and distribute news.
“It depends on the man who is behind the camera, nor can the pen decide what to write, it depends on the one who is holding the pen.”
This does not mean that the Church is anti-media, he clarified. For decades, the Church has been stressing the importance of communication, he said, adding that social media is a positive gift with the ability to advance a mutual benefit for all humanity.
Bishop Badejo also said that “teaching and making the voice of the Church heard…is one of the highest responsibilities that the conference can undertake” because it is one of the highest sources of witnessing Christ.
“The family will remain the first environment where the child learns to appreciate humanity. The family is the first humanizing organization. The Church has the privilege of being the interpreter of revelation but the family is the cradle where all that has to be prepared.”
Because the family is the first source of education, it is dangerous to leave learning solely in the hands of media and education system. Appreciation of humanity comes with the family, he said, but secular media strongly opposes and weakens the family.
And while the family is natural ally to the Church, he warned, it has been weakened.
He spoke out against efforts to lead parishioners away from the truth, and said that hypocrisy and anti-values are sometimes even preached to the people from homilies. To fix this, he said, we must realize “the pulpit has moved to anywhere human beings gather, or can listen to anything.”
In earlier times, the Church was the leading voice in answers regarding morality, Bishop Badejo said, but now people seek answers in music and videos instead, ignoring the Church’s wisdom and contribution.
“People tend to completely ignore the effort the Church has consistently made to affect the Nigerian society in her mission of education,” he said. “The setting up of schools, educational institutes, formation centers, even seminaries and formation houses are activities of the Church that have transformed the society.”
The good work of the Church needs to be shown to the world, as does the reality of those in poverty, the bishop said. He highlighted the need to show the plight of those without a voice and to take a strong stance in favor of truth and human dignity.
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Karamlesh, Iraq, May 23, 2017 / 12:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Martin Baani was just 24 years old when he risked his life as a seminarian to rescue the Blessed Sacrament from the imminent invasion of Islamic State terrorists in his hometown.
Now, he is returning to his native village as a priest, ready to serve the people through the Eucharist.
On August 6, 2014, Baani received a call from a friend who warned that a nearby village had fallen into the hands of ISIS, and that his hometown of Karamlesh would be next.
Baani promptly headed to the San Addai church and took the Blessed Sacrament, to prevent the jihadists from desecrating it. That day, he fled in a car along with his pastor, Fr. Thabet and three other priests.
“I was the last one to leave Karamlesh, with the Blessed Sacrament in my hands,” he told the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need.
Despite threats from ISIS, Baani chose to stay in Iraq instead of fleeing with his family to the United States. He continued his studies at Saint Peter’s Seminary in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
In September 2016, Baani was ordained a priest along with six other men.
Around 500 people attended the ordination, which was presided over by the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Raphael Sako.
A few months before his ordination, Baani told Aid to the Church in Need: “Every day I go to the refugee camps to accompany the families. We are Christian refugees. ISIS wants to eliminate Christianity from Iraq but I have decided to stay. I love Jesus and I don’t want our history to disappear.”
Almost a year later, following the liberation of the villages of the Plain of Nineveh from ISIS control, Fr. Banni confirmed his decision to stay in Iraq in order to “serve my people and our Church.”
“Now I am happy to celebrate Holy Mass in Iraq,” he said.
Aid to the Church in Need has currently planned the reconstruction of about 13,000 Christian homes that were destroyed by ISIS.
Several weeks ago, the foundation held an “olive tree ceremony” where they delivered an olive plant to the homeowners of 105 Christian homes in the villages of Bartella, Karmalesh and Qaraqosh as a symbol of peace and reconciliation.
Pope Francis interacted with an energetic crowd of 65,000 young adults and catechists at Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 2, 2023. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Feb 2, 2023 / 05:45 am (CNA).
To bring about peace, “prayer is the most powerful weapon there is,” Pope Francis told thousands of young adults and catechism teachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday.
The meeting in Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa, the capital city of the DRC, took place on Feb. 2, the third day of the pope’s visit to the central African country. On Feb. 3, Francis will fly to Juba, South Sudan, for the second leg of his peace pilgrimage.
Pope Francis on Thursday interacted with an enthusiastic crowd of about 65,000 young people and adults, some of whom traveled days to be present for the papal visit.
Pope Francis interacted with an energetic crowd of 65,000 young adults and catechists at Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 2, 2023. Vatican Media
“Yes, prayer conquers fear and enables us to take our future into our hands. Do you believe this?” the pope said. “Do you want to make prayer your secret, as refreshing water for the soul, as the one weapon you carry, as a traveling companion on each day’s journey?”
During the second half of his speech, the pope was repeatedly drowned out by the energetic audience, which broke out in cheering, singing, and dancing despite the hot weather.
Pope Francis interacted with an energetic crowd of 65,000 young adults and catechists at Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 2, 2023. Vatican Media
In his talk, Francis used the imagery of the hand to speak about the future of the DRC.
“God has placed the gift of life, the future of society and the future of this great country in those hands of yours,” he said.
“Dear brother, dear sister, do your hands not seem small and frail, empty and unsuited to so great a task? It’s true,” he said. “Let me tell you something: your hands all look alike, they all look alike, but none of them is exactly the same. No one has hands just like yours, and that is a sign that you are a unique treasure, an unrepeatable and incomparable treasure.”
He invited those present in the stadium to open and close their hands while meditating on whether they wanted to choose peace or violence.
Pope Francis interacted with an energetic crowd of 65,000 young adults and catechists at Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 2, 2023. Vatican Media
“Notice how you can squeeze your hand, closing it to make a fist. Or you can open it, to offer it to God and to others,” he said.
“You who dream of a different future: from your hands, tomorrow can be born, tomorrow can be born from your hands, from your hands peace so lacking in this country can at last come about.”
Bishop Donatien Bafuidinsoni Maloko-Mana from the Diocese of Inongo, in western DRC, was at the meeting.
He told EWTN News that people from his diocese traveled in boats on the Congo River for two to four days to arrive in Kinshasa.
Bafuidinsoni said the Congolese people were disappointed last year when the pope’s visit was canceled, but “now that the pope is here it’s a big joy for us all.”
Even those who are following the trip from home “are really happy,” he added. “It’s a message of joy, of peace, and of hope for all.”
Sister Asterie Neema, 29, is from Rutshuru in eastern DRC, where her brother was brutally killed last year. Elias Turk/CNA
Sister Asterie Neema, 29, is from Rutshuru in eastern Congo, where, she told EWTN News, they are under the control of an armed group called M23.
Neema said her older brother was killed in 2022 by unidentified rebels in front of his 12- and 7-year-old children.
In her 29 years of life, she said, her region of the DRC has never seen peace. Neema added that she has forgiven her brother’s killers, but she hopes for peace in her country.
Not everyone in the audience was Catholic. Two young Muslim men also attended the youth gathering with Pope Francis.
Yassine Mumbere, from Butembo in eastern DRC, told EWTN News that he came to the event because all young people were invited. He also studied at a Catholic school.
Muslim Yassine Mumbere, 35, from Butembo in eastern Congo, (R) with his friend (L) at the youth gathering with Pope Francis in Kinshasa, DRC on Feb. 2, 2023. Elias Turk/CNA
The 35-year-old Muslim Scout leader said he hopes the pope’s trip will help bring peace to the DRC’s eastern region.
In his speech, Pope Francis encouraged those present to be careful of the temptation to point fingers at people, or to exclude others because of “regionalism, tribalism, or anything that makes you feel secure in your own group, but at the same time is unconcerned with the life of the community.”
“You know what happens: first, you believe in prejudices about others, then you justify hatred, then violence, and in the end, you find yourself in the middle of a war,” he said.
To create a concrete sign of community, Francis invited the crowd to hold hands with those beside them and to sing a song together: “Imagine yourselves as one Church, a single people, holding hands.”
Pope Francis interacted with an energetic crowd of 65,000 young adults and catechists at Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 2, 2023. Vatican Media
“Yes, brother and sister, you are indispensable and you are responsible for your Church and for your country,” he said after the song. “You are part of a greater history, one that calls you to take an active role as a builder of communion, a champion of fraternity, an indomitable dreamer of a more united world.”
After Pope Francis spoke against corruption — inviting everyone to shout together, “Go away, corruption!” — the stadium broke out in loud singing and cheering.
The event’s emcee had to invite the crowd to quiet down before the pope could continue speaking.
Francis also drew attention to two Congolese martyrs and their examples of faith: Blessed Isidore Bakanja and Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite.
Statues of Blessed Isidore Bakanja and Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite, young Congolese martyrs beatified by Pope John Paul II, in Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa, DRC, on Feb. 2, 2023. Elias Turk/CNA
Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Family, was killed during the civil war in 1964 at the age of 24. Anuarite was beatified by Pope John Paul II during his visit to the DRC, then known as the Republic of Zaire, in 1985.
Blessed Isidore Bakanja was a Catholic convert at the age of 18. He became a catechist and was devoted to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. He died in 1909, around the age of 21 or 22, after succumbing to an infection caused by a beating and other torture he received at the hands of a European manager for refusing to remove his brown scapular at work. Bakanja was beatified in 1994 by Pope John Paul II.
Statues of the two blesseds were present at the youth meeting, where people in the crowd shouted and held signs asking the pope to make them “santi subito!”
The pope pointed to another example of virtue from the DRC, Floribert Bwana Chui, who was killed in 2007 in Goma.
The 26-year-old man, who worked as a customs manager, was killed for refusing to cooperate with corruption; specifically, he did not allow the passage of expired food products.
A spectator at Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa, DRC, on Feb. 2, 2023, holds a sign with the phrase “santi subito” in reference to two Congolese blesseds. Elias Turk/CNA
“He could easily have turned a blind eye; nobody would have found out, and he might even have gotten ahead as a result,” Francis said. “But, since he was a Christian, he prayed. He thought of others and he chose to be honest, saying no to the filth of corruption.”
“Now I want to tell you something important,” he added. “Listen closely: If someone offers you a bribe, or promises you favors and lots of money, do not fall into the trap. Do not be deceived; do not be sucked into the swamp of evil. Do not be overcome by evil!”
Kigali, Rwanda, Apr 25, 2019 / 11:47 am (CNA).- The Catholic bishops of Rwanda have apologized for calling for the release of old and ill prisoners convicted for crimes committed during the country’s 1994 genocide.
“We wrote to Christians, encouraging them to continue promoting unity and reconciliation, while also seeking forgiveness,” the bishops said in an April 7 statement signed by Bishop Phillippe Rukamba of Butare, the president of the Rwandan bishops’ conference.
“This letter caused a lot of hurt, especially for what we requested on behalf of the elderly and sickest who are still in prison for the crime of genocide. We are saddened it offended people – this was not what we intended,” the bishops said.
The bishops had issued a pastoral letter March 25 commemorating the victims of the genocide, urging reconciliation and forgiveness in the face of violence, but including a sentence exhorting those responsible for older or sick perpetrators to “examine whether their sentences can be reduced.”
Twenty-five years ago this month, ethnic tensions in Rwanda boiled over as members of the Hutu ethnic majority took up machetes and turned on their minority Tutsi neighbors, friends, and colleagues, killing them based on the color of their skin and the width of their nose.
In the 100-day genocide that followed, it is estimated that 1 million people were slaughtered.
Rwandans marked the anniversary of the tragedy April 7 at the Genocide Memorial Center in the capital city of Kigali. President Paul Kagame and leaders from Africa and the European Union were in attendance, the Catholic Information Service for Africa reported.
The bishops apologized for issuing the pastoral letter during the period of commemoration.
“After this tragedy of genocide against the Tutsis, the light of the Lord’s resurrection was not quenched –asking and giving forgiveness can become a means of building a tomorrow for everyone,” the bishops said.
In the 1994 genocide, clergy members were included in the ranks of both perpetrators and victims. In some cases, Hutu priests, bishops. and religious helped to hide and protect Tutsis. In other cases, they took up arms against them, ushering them into church buildings with false promises of security and then trapping and betraying them, facilitating their massacre.
The Church has since played a large role in helping to promote reconciliation and forgiveness. More than half of Rwanda’s population is Catholic.
The country’s bishops in November 2016 issued an official apology for Christians’ role in the genocide.
“We apologize for all the wrongs the Church committed. We apologize on behalf of all Christians for all forms of wrongs we committed. We regret that church members violated (their) oath of allegiance to God’s commandments,” they wrote.
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