Year: 2017

No Picture
News Briefs

Video shows ISIS destroying Catholic church, threatening Rome

August 25, 2017 CNA Daily News 2

Marawi, Philippines, Aug 25, 2017 / 10:49 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A new video has been released showing ISIS militants in the Philippines threatening to come to Rome as they desecrate a Catholic church.

Filmed in the Philippine city of Marawi, the video shows militants shooting and setting fires within a church, as they destroy a crucifix and statues of Mary and St. Joseph.

One jihadist tears up photos of Pope Francis and Benedict XVI while saying, “Remember this, you kuffar [non-Muslims] – we will be in Rome, we will be in Rome, inshallah [god willing].”

Over the footage, another narrator can be heard saying “after all their efforts, it would be the religion of the cross that would be broken. The crusaders’ enmity toward the Muslims only served to embolden a generation of youth.”

The video, distributed by the pro-ISIS media organization Al Hayat, also contains graphic footage of fighting in the besieged Philippine city, including dead Philippine soldiers and militants shooting AK-47s as a narrator encourages Muslims in East Asia to come to the city “to perform jihad.”

Since May 23, militants of the Maute group, which formed in 2012 and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2015, have been fighting against government forces for control of the city of Marawi on the island of Mindanao.

Violence began after a failed army and police raid to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a local Islamist leader. The initial attack launched by Maute burned several buildings, including the Catholic cathedral and the bishop’s residence.

The majority of the city’s 200,000 people – mostly Muslim – have fled since its occupation. At least 400 people have been killed in the fighting as of mid-July, though numbers haven’t been updated since.

On Aug. 24, government forces recaptured the city’s Grand Mosque, where it had been believed that as many as 40 civilian hostages were being held by militants, though no militants or hostages were found.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said in a briefing that the retaking of the Grand Mosque, located in the central area of Marawi, was “a significant development,” despite recovering no hostages.

The government has said some of the militants fighting in Marawi appear to be from abroad, including countries like Russia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Officials say there are also indications that other slain militants have come from the Middle East.

The fighting has fueled fears that the Islamic State is attempting to set up a regional base in Southeast Asia.  

 

[…]

No Picture
News Briefs

From addiction to ordination: a homeless man’s journey to priesthood

August 25, 2017 CNA Daily News 3

Montreal, Canada, Aug 25, 2017 / 03:25 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Claude Paradis was impoverished and homeless, living on the streets of Montreal, Canada. He struggled with addiction to both alcohol and drugs, with a future so bleak, he considered ending his own life.

He did not end his life, however, and today he is a priest who dedicates his time to serving the physical and spiritual needs of those trapped in poverty, prison and prostitution. 

“The street brought me to the Church and the Church in the end brought me back to the street,” the priest told the Journal Metro.

Last December, as a sign of his closeness and solidarity with the homeless, Fr. Paradis decided to sleep on the street for the whole month, to care for the homeless people there with solidarity and charity.

His hope was that he could accompany people in a difficult situation while also making the citizens of Montreal aware of the harsh reality faced by those living on the street.

Fr. Paradi founded an institution called Notre-Dame-de-la-rue (Our Lady of the Street). Each night, he goes out to bring food and shelter to those living on the streets. He also administers the sacraments, celebrates the Eucharist and even presides at funerals.

The priest is accompanied by one of his co-workers, Kevin Cardin, who also was addicted to drugs, but found help, changed his life and now has a family.

Notre-Dame-de-la-rue has the support of the Archbishop Christian Lépine of Montreal, who has described the initiative as “a presence of the Church to give encouragement.” It also has the support of the city.

“Our mission is especially to give encouragement. Unlike the shelters, we go out to the people, a bit like a door-to-door service. We talk to them, sometimes we pray together before they go back to face the harshness of the street.”

Fr. Paradis knows how hard life on the street is. After growing up in the Gaspé region and working in Cowansville as a nurse, he came to Montreal 25 years ago.

However, he was unable to find a job. “Isolation and despair took hold of me,” he said.

Living on the street, he thought about committing suicide. “I started doing cocaine and then crack,” he recalled.

In a letter posted on the website of La Victoire de l’Amour (the Victory of Love), Fr. Paradis tells how he met the Lord.

“I had the privilege of meeting God just at the moment I was doubting Him. On a little back street in Montreal, abandoned by people, there was nobody there. Passing by the old church, impelled by I don’t know what instinct, I turned back in there.”

At that moment, he had a deep and intense encounter with God. He realized he did not want to die, but rather wanted to become “a man of the Church.” 

Fr. Paradis went on to fight his addictions and now ministers to many people who face the same challenges he struggled with years ago.

The 57-year-old priest has dedicated the rest of his life to serving the poor, saying “on the street is where I want to be, until I die.”

 

This article was originally published on CNA Jan. 17, 2017.

[…]

No Picture
News Briefs

Australian priest rips confession proposal as government ‘intrusion’

August 24, 2017 CNA Daily News 3

Rome, Italy, Aug 25, 2017 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An Australian priest has called the Royal Commission’s recent proposal to enforce law requiring that clergy face criminal charges if they do not disclose details of sexual abuse revealed in the confessional a breach of religious tolerance.

Fr. Kelvin Lovegrove, Episcopal Vicar for Clergy in the Archdiocese of Sydney, told CNA Aug. 24 that he was “surprised” by the suggestion made by the Royal Commission that priests be forced “to break the law in regard to the Seal of Confession.”

“Australia is religiously tolerant country, and many people have emigrated to Australia from other countries so that they can freely practice their faith,” he said, calling the proposal “an intrusion by the Government into the realm of the spiritual relationship between priest and penitent, which up until has been sacrosanct.”

He said the proposal is out of step with expectations for others who maintain similar confidential relationships, noting that “other professionals such as psychologists, lawyers and journalists are not required to break confidences in regard to confidential information between them and their clients.”

Fr.  Lovegrove’s comments come less than two weeks after Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, established in 2013, on Aug. 14 released a sweeping 85 proposed changes to the country’s criminal justice system.

In addition to several other suggestions for abuse prevention, the commissiona recommended that the failure to report sexual abuse, even in religious confessions, be made “a criminal offense.”

“Clergy should not be able to refuse to report because the information was received during confession,” the report said, adding that if persons in institutions are aware of possible child abuse or suspect it, they ought to report it right away.

The commission cited cases brought before them in which perpetrators who had confessed the sexual abuse of children to a priest then “went on to re-offend and seek forgiveness.”

Therefore, while it recognized the importance of Confession to the Catholic Church, “the report recommends there be no exemption, excuse, protection or privilege from the offense granted to clergy for failing to report information disclosed in connection with a religious confession.”

According to the Church’s canon law, “the sacramental seal is inviolable. Therefore, it is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray the penitent, for any reason whatsoever, whether by word or in any other manner.”

A priest who directly violates the “Seal of Confession” incurs a “latae senentiae” excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See, which can only be lifted by the Pope himself.

Despite hearing the testimony of several bishops during their investigative phase, who pledged full cooperation with civil authorities, but drew a line when it came to the confessional, the commission insisted on the proposal to break the seal anyway.

In his comments, Fr. Lovegrove noted that “few perpetrators confess such a sin or crime as pedophilia.”

However, if the commission’s suggestion is adopted as law, priests who do hear such confessions are still “bound by the Seal of the Confessional,” he said, “and if the law were enacted, then yes they would face criminal prosecution.”

As it stands, the pastoral approach between a priest and penitent is for the priest to meet the penitent, whether perpetrator or victim, outside of the confessional, in order to “look at ways in which they might approach the civil authorities and resolve the dilemma in that way,” Fr. Lovegrove said.

Until now there has been no concrete advice from the bishops on how to respond to the proposal, he said, but explained that they are discussing the matter, “and will advise clergy as to the most appropriate course of action to take in regard to upholding the seal of confession.”

The priest stressed that in Australia, the Church and State have always maintained “a fairly amicable relationship” on topics related to religious freedom, and that as far as possible, both parties would seek to continue this relationship.

“Hopefully, there will be an agreeable outcome to this dilemma,” he said, noting that Church officials have already apologized publicly for sexual abuse within the Church, which continues to support the victims and their families.

“The Church has always sought to co-operate in any way with the civil authorities, especially regarding this situation,” he said. “It would be my hope that continuing dialogue between the Church and State may be able to resolve the proposed law in a way which respects the work of the Church in society.”

The Church, he said, “has been at the forefront of education, health care and social work in Australia,” and it would be “in the best interest of all to try and continue to work together for the betterment of all Australians.”

[…]

No Picture
News Briefs

Hate speech is vocal pornography, says Archbishop Gregory

August 24, 2017 CNA Daily News 0

Atlanta, Ga., Aug 24, 2017 / 04:38 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Archbishop of Atlanta said this week that racism must be solved through encounter, and stressed that ignorance is the fuel to bigotry and hate speech, which he likened to a type of pornography.

“Such harsh and insulting language has too often given rise to acts of violence that destroy any sense of civility and public decorum. We should call such speech what it is: pornographic violence,” said the Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory in an interview with the Georgia Bulletin.

“We need more opportunities to encounter one another, and thus our metropolitan community provides a unique environment to counter the ignorance that fuels and too often ignites racism and violence.”

He expressed gratitude for the many religious leaders who have fought for civil rights and desegregation, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Archbishop Paul Hallinan, and Rabbi Jacob Rothschild.

“These remarkable personalities offered opportunities for people to meet one another as persons of dignity and this has helped immensely,” said Archbishop Gregory, noting, however, that he is not blind to areas in need of improvement, even within his own diocese.

The archbishop’s interview comes following the white nationalist “Unite the Right” rallies in Charlottesville, Va. on August 11-12, which drew members of neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan groups, as well as other white supremacists.

Organizers said the event was to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, but attendees also chanted racist messages.

On Saturday, a 20-year-old man from Ohio drove a car into the counter-protest which featured a diverse array of groups including religious leaders, Black Lives Matter, and the anarchist group Antifa. One woman was killed and 19 people were injured in the incident. The driver was charged with second-degree murder.

The U.S. bishops have condemned the violence and announced the creation of a new Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism to focus on galvanizing the Church and society to fight the evil of racism and minister to its victims.

Archbishop Gregory identified the racial violence in recent events as part of a “’post-polite’ world where rude and offensive language – that too frequently has led to brutal behavior – has been given free rein.”

Likening certain types of illegal pornographic material to hate speech, he said individuals and organizations must take a stand against such violent speech, and he drew special attention to “civil discourse.”

Archbishop Gregory pointed to some of the multicultural festivals which parishes throughout his archdiocese have hosted. When good food, family, music, and dance come together, he said, there is a universal love which not only exposes the uniqueness of individuals and cultures, but also our “similar dreams, needs and fears.”

“We really are the same,” he said, stressing that ignorance of each other is the oxygen which allows racism to thrive.

“Wherever people are disconnected from one another, there is the possibility that they will begin to develop misconceptions about one another – flawed fantasies that have no bearing in reality.”

He added that the archdiocese is proud of its steps toward better interracial and interreligious relations, mentioning events with their Jewish brothers and sisters, as well as how the Chancery staff deals with diversity issues.

Still, the archbishop continued, there is room for improvement.

Specifically, he mentioned the 1979 “Brothers and Sisters to Us,” a document written by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops highlighting the evils of racism. Currently under revision, the archbishop said the document will be broadened to focus on additional communities “who find themselves demeaningly labeled as ‘other’” in order to denounce this exclusion as well.

Archbishop Gregory lamented the stories he has heard of people ostracized in his parishes for the color of their skin, their religion, or their struggle with same-sex attraction, and he expressed a particular concern about the xenophobia that sometimes accompanies discussion on immigration.

Poor treatment of U.S. immigrants is no different than other forms of racism, he said. Self-entitlement or fear of losing one’s privilege may be reasons for this behavior, he said, but America was founded as a “nation comprised of people who mostly have come here from other places” and cultures, who have struggled to establish themselves.  

He called it “especially concerning when this despicable behavior comes from fellow Catholics who should well remember how we Catholics were victimized in the recent past, simply because we were Catholic.”

 

[…]