Bangui, Central African Republic, Nov 29, 2018 / 12:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The bishops of the Central African Republic have set aside a day of mourning and a day of prayer for victims of ongoing violence in the country.
December 1 will be a day of mourning. The date is significant, as it marks the anniversary of the Central African Republic’s establishment as a republic after French colonial rule.
In a communique, the bishops urged “men and women of good will to refrain from celebrating 1 December as a sign of mourning,” according to Vatican News.
On the following day, the first Sunday of Advent, prayers will be held in memory of the victims of violence in the country. The bishops said all donations collected on this Sunday will be given to support victims and their families.
The prayer and mourning initiative was announced at a Nov. 26 press conference in Bangui.
Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the archbishop of Bangui and president of the CAR bishops’ conference, said the appeal is a response to ongoing violence and an attempt to raise awareness about the situation in the country.
“Following the unfortunate and repetitive events that have plunged Central African families into mourning since 2012, the most recent of which are those of Bangui, Bambari, Batangafo and Alindao, the Central African Bishops' Conference is holding its extraordinary session on 24 November 2018 and hereby issues this communiqué,” he said, according to Vatican News.
The Central African Republic has suffered violence since December 2012, when several bands of mainly Muslim rebel groups formed an alliance, taking the name Seleka, and seized power.
In reaction to the Seleka's attacks, some Central Africans formed self-defense groups called anti-balaka. Some of these groups, mainly composed of Christians, began attacking Muslims out of revenge, and the conflict took on a sectarian character.
According to Reuters, the violence has displaced more than 1 million people and brought the country’s food security to a level four in the international food security classification system, one step away from “famine.” The U.N. humanitarian chief for CAR, Najat Rochdi, said nearly 3 million of the country’s 4.6 million population are in need of aid. More than half of them are in desperate need.
“If the situation is remaining the same and people are not going back to work their fields… it means that, yes, in a very few years we will have a famine in Central African Republic,” Rochidi said.
Recent acts of violence include the torching of several Christian internal displacement camps. At least 42 people – many of whom were refugees – died in a Nov.15 attack Thursday on the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Alindao.
At the press conference on Monday, Nzapalainga pointed to the Constitution of the Central African Republic, which states, “The human person is sacred and inviolable. All public officials, all organizations, have an absolute obligation to respect and protect it.”
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Khartoum, Sudan, Mar 10, 2017 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Christians who are criticizing government action against churches are facing pressure from Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services.
“They told me not to talk about the demolition of churches or the two church leaders who are in jail,” Rev. Mubarak Hamad, chairman of Sudan’s Council of Churches, told Radio Tamazuj, a broadcaster in Sudan and South Sudan.
The Sudanese government plans to demolish 25 church buildings in and near the capital of Khartoum, which it says were built on illegal lands which are zoned for other uses. The targeted churches include both Catholic and Protestant buildings.
The order to demolish the churches was made in June 2016. Government officials notified several congregations in September to vacate their property.
Christian officials have challenged the claims, saying the properties were legally obtained and have legal titles.
“This is not an isolated act but should be taken with wider perspective,” Yahia Abdelrahim Nalu, moderator of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church’s Sudan Evangelical Synod, told Morning Star News last month.
One Christian critic of the demolitions plan, Milad Musa, is allegedly facing retaliation. The security services have required him to report to their offices from 6 a.m. to midnight since Feb. 15. Sometimes he has food in his custody, sometimes he does not.
He is a member of the Sudanese Church of Christ.
Rev. Hamad faced similar requirements to report to the custody of the security services from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily after he held a press conference Feb. 11 calling on the government to reconsider the demolitions. He noted at the press conference that mosques in the same area were not ordered to be demolished.
Security services lifted that requirement Feb. 26, but then ordered him not to speak publicly about the persecution of Christians and the demolition of church buildings unless he had authorization from security forces.
Since 2012 Sudan has bulldozed church buildings and harrassed and expelled foreign Christians, according to Morning Star News. It was announced in April 2013 that no licenses would be granted to build new churches.
Two Christian leaders in Sudan have been sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of espionage.
At least 90 percent of Sudan’s population is Muslim, and sharia is the source of the nation’s legislation. Apostasy from Islam is punishable by the death penalty.
Since 1999, the U.S. state department has listed Sudan as a country of particular concern due to religious freedom violations.
International Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need noted in its 2016 Religious Freedom Report that Sudan’s constitution was amended to “widen and increase” the power of the National Intelligence and Security Services, which has impacted “human resources issues and the prosecution of individuals, media outlets and organisations for alleged breaches of the law.”
Sudan scored a 12 out of 100 in Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking ahead of only Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia.
On his second day in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, Feb. 1, 2023, Pope Francis listened to the stories of victims of violence from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s conflict-ridden eastern region. / Credit: Vatican Media
The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition cover the altar, just dedicated by the cardinal. The covering of the altar signifies that it is both the place of the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Lord’s table. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Sep 12, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
On Aug. 31, exactly 100 years after its dedication, the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant was reopened for worship on the hill of Kiryat Yearim, nine miles from Jerusalem.
The church, which was closed for four years for restoration work, stands atop the hill overlooking the (Muslim) village of Abu Gosh. From the top, visitors can see Jerusalem.
A view from the hill of Kiryat Yearim, where the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant stands. At the foot of the hill lies the Muslim village of Abu Gosh, with Jerusalem visible in the background, a little more than nine miles away. The place, mentioned in the Bible as “Kiriath-Jearim,” held an important role in the history of the Jewish people, as it was here that the Ark of the Covenant rested for about 20 years until King David brought it to Jerusalem. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The place, mentioned in the Bible as “Kiriath-Jearim,” has held an important role in the history of the Jewish people as it was here that the Ark of the Covenant rested after being recovered from the Philistines (see 1 Samuel 6).
The ark contained the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments — God’s covenant with the Jewish people — were inscribed and was the sign of God’s presence among his people.
According to the Bible, it was hosted in the house of Abinadab, where it remained for about 20 years (see 1 Samuel 7:1-2) until King David brought it to Jerusalem.
For this reason, even today, the site is visited by many groups of Jews.
A Byzantine basilica was built on the top hill around the fifth century. The current church, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1920, stands on the remains of that building. It was consecrated in 1924 by the then-Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Luigi Barlassina, and dedicated to Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant.
The Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim (exterior). The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, whom Christians also honor with the title of “Ark of the Covenant.” “The covenant of God with his people finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is no longer just the sign of God’s presence but God himself among us. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because she carried Christ himself in her womb,” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, in his homily. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the current Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, recently came to the basilica to dedicate its new altar on the occasion of the reopening of the church.
“This reopening is a moment of trust in the future, a desire to start anew, and this is what we need most at this time, when everything around us speaks of death and endings,” he told CNA after the celebration on Aug. 31.
The opening of the doors of the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim on Aug. 31, 2024, for the solemn celebration with the rite of dedication of the altar, presided over by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
“Climbing this mountain, blessed by the presence of the Lord,” he added, “invites us to have a broad and farsighted perspective on events and not to close ourselves off in the dramatic present moment.”
Hosting the event were the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, a French congregation founded in 1832 by Mother Emilie De Vialar, which owns and operates the church and surrounding property.
The complete details of how the land came to be acquired by the sisters are lost to history, but it centers on one of the order’s sisters who died in 1927. Sister Josephine Rumèbe, who is buried in the church, was reportedly endowed with special mystical gifts and managed to acquire the land on behalf of the sisters. The story goes that she had 5,000 francs at her disposal and sought the help of a clergyman for the purchase. To prevent a competing buyer from acquiring it, the cleric secured the entire hill for 20,372 francs. Miraculously, when Sister Josephine counted the gold coins hidden in her room, the amount matched exactly what she needed.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, pours the chrism oil on the new altar of the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim. On Aug. 31, 2024, he presided over the solemn Mass with the rite of dedication of the altar, marking the reopening of the church after four years of restoration and maintenance work. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The dedication of the new altar in the basilica took place after the recitation of the creed and chanting of the litanies. The cardinal placed relics in the altar, including that of Mother Emilie De Vialar, who was canonized a saint in 1951. This was followed by the anointing of the altar with chrism oil, the incensing of the altar, the covering of the altar, and the lighting of the altar.
The relics placed inside the new altar of the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim, which was dedicated by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, on Aug. 31, 2024. Among the relics are those of Mother Emilie De Vialar, founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, the order who owns the church and surrounding property. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“The covenant of God with his people finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is no longer just the sign of God’s presence but God himself among us. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because she carried Christ himself in her womb,” said the cardinal in his homily, inviting the faithful, following the example of the Virgin Mary, to renew their trust in God as the Lord of history and active within history.
Upon entering the church — whose iconographic elements were created by artists from the Ave Center of the Focolare Movement — the eye is drawn to the golden flame emanating from the center of the apse.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, celebrates the Eucharistic liturgy on the altar he dedicated in the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim on Aug. 31, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
A special decoration that, on one hand, evokes the biblical significance of fire, symbolizing the presence of God, and on the other, is connected to the history of this place and particularly to Sister Josephine’s vision of a “mountain of fire,” holds significance here.
When she was still a young postulant in France, during Eucharistic adoration, Sister Josephine had a vision of flames forming a mountain with Jesus above them instead of the host. The vision then vanished, and only 50 years later, at the time of laying the foundation stone of the church, it was revealed to her that the “mountain of fire” was indeed Kiryat Yearim, which she used to call “the Holy Mountain.”
Sister Valentina Sala, the current provincial of the congregation for the Holy Land, immediately felt a strong connection to this place. She recounted to CNA: “The first time I came here for a few weeks, a sister took me to Kiryat Yearim. I knelt at Sister Josephine’s tomb and prayed to return if that was God’s will.”
Sister Valentina Sala, the current provincial of the congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition for the Holy Land, prays at the tomb of Sister Josephine Rumèbe, founder of the convent and the church in Kiryat Yearim. “The first time I came here for a few weeks, a sister took me to Kiryat Yearim. I knelt at Sister Josephine’s tomb and prayed to return if that was God’s will,” she recounted to CNA. Credit: Marinella Bandini
On the centenary of the church’s dedication, Sister Valentina also emphasized the significance of this place for her congregation, whose charism is to serve the needs of people through works of charity.
“What is charity work? What people need today is not just health care or education; there is a hunger and thirst for God. We must be able to recognize this need, helping those who come here to listen to his voice. We need places where people can pause and rest with God,” she said.
When the construction of the church was nearly complete, Sister Josephine had a vision of the Virgin Mary, at the top of the church, facing Jerusalem with outstretched arms in a gesture of dispensing grace. A statue now stands above the church to recall that vision, facing away from those entering and directed toward Jerusalem.
“This place, which evokes the covenant, invites us to realign ourselves with God and to be under this blessing,” Sister Valentina concluded.
This is also the meaning of the words she addressed to those present — the vast majority of local faithful from Jerusalem as well as from Galilee — at the end of the Mass.
Hundreds of local faithful from Jerusalem and Galilee attend the solemn Mass with the rite of dedication of the altar, marking the reopening of the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim, on Aug. 31, 2024. A hundred years ago, Sister Josephine Rumèbe of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition wrote about having seen a vision of “a crowd rushing toward the basilica. I saw priests, sisters of our order, and then men and women of the world who were even more pleasing to God than all the others, holy souls shining like stars.” Credit: Marinella Bandini
“Sister Josephine had already seen you in various visions: ‘I saw a crowd rushing toward the basilica. I saw priests, sisters of our order, and then men and women of the world who were even more pleasing to God than all the others, holy souls shining like stars.’”
She continued: “And what if we are that vision? What if we are that future? Of course, we are! From now on, you will be the ones to bring life to this hill, to this covenant between God and his people. Come, rush, stay, feel at home. There is not only a newly renovated church to see but a Presence to discover: Take the time to dwell with the Lord. What could be more beautiful… Many graces await to be dispensed from here!”
Leave a Reply