Image of St. John Paul II in his chapel in the Cathedral of Madrid / Credit: Archdiocese of Madrid
CNA Newsroom, Nov 16, 2022 / 08:30 am (CNA).
The cathedral of the Archdiocese of Madrid dedicated Nov. 13 a new chapel in honor of St. John Paul II, the pope who consecrated the church in 1993. The dean of the cathedral, Father Jorge Ávila, believes that thus “a debt” has been paid to the Polish pontiff.
The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Carlos Osoro, presided over the dedication ceremony. The cardinal was accompanied by the Polish ambassador to Spain, Anna Sroka, among other officials from the Slavic country.
To make room for the chapel dedicated to St. John Paul II, a space formerly used for confessions located next to the main sacristy was utilized. To maintain this penitential aspect, the new chapel also has a confessional.
Ávila noted that the previous space in honor of the saint was “very small” and was in “a corner” of the cathedral, as the archdiocese explained in a news release.
The entire theme of the chapel is “the primacy of Peter, the Church, and holiness,” as noted on the project’s website.
This is reflected primarily through the imposing three-ton black marble boulder placed at the entrance inscribed with the first words pronounced by the pontiff after his election: “Be not afraid. Open, even more, open wide the doors to Christ!”
On one side of the chapel, a reliquary with a vial of blood of St. John Paul II, which is kept in Madrid, has been placed, and photos of his travels can be seen.
Soon, with the help of a QR code, the faithful who come to the chapel will be able to hear the voice of St. John Paul II praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be in different languages.
Cardinal Osoro stressed that the new chapel will be a place to pray, confess, and “have the experience of a man who loved all men with all the consequences.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Springfield, Ill., Mar 16, 2021 / 10:45 am (CNA).- Some Illinois lawmakers want to repeal a law requiring abortion providers to notify parents of a minor who seeks an abortion, but their effort might not have the sympathy of voters.
Roman Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paray-le-Monial and cloister. View from the Bourbince River, 2023. / Credit: Sanctuaire du Sacré-Cœur/www.sacrecoeur-paray.org
Paris, France, Jul 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
For 18 months — beginning Dec. 27… […]
St. Paul’s Church, in Imphal, capital of Manipur state, after the church was set on fire in 2023. / Credit: Anto Akkara
Bangalore, India, Mar 28, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).
After Indian officials’ announcement that Easter Sunday would be a “working day” this year was met with widespread protests from Christians, the governor of the state of Manipur in northeast India issued a statement reestablishing the annual holiday.
The March 28 reversal by the Manipur government, which is led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came within 24 hours after Manipur Gov. Anusuiya Uikey canceled the Easter holiday.
“In partial modification of the government order … dated 27th March, 2024, the governor of Manipur is pleased to declare that only the 30th March 2024 [Saturday] will be working day for all government offices,” the order read.
The previous day the government had announced that “the governor of Manipur is pleased to declare 30th [Saturday] and 31st [Sunday] March 2024 as working days for all government offices.”
Christians account for nearly half of Manipur’s population of 3.7 million.
Archbishop Linus Neli, who heads the 100,000-strong Catholic Church in the state, told CNA that the Church had protested the cancellations of the Easter holiday to government officials.
“We are storming the competent authority, awaiting reply,” Neli said.
A half an hour later, the archbishop shared with CNA the government’s “revised order regarding [Easter] working day.”
Tribal dancers waiting their turn at the celebration following the installation Mass of the new archbishop of Imphal Archdiocese, Linus Neli. Credit: Anto Akkara
Prior to that, several Christian groups including those in Manipur had called for the cancellation of the order that stunned the Christians across the country.
“The decision to declare these sacred days as regular working days is not only insensitive but also disrespectful towards the religious sentiments of the significant portion of the population in Manipur,” lamented the Senapati District Catholic Union of Manipur in its condemnation of the governor’s order on the morning of March 28.
Of the 3.7 million Christians in Manipur state, 26% are ethnic Naga tribals, 16% are members of Kuki tribes, and more than 10% of the nearly 2 million Meiteis have also embraced the Christian faith in Manipur.
“By compelling government offices to operate on these holy days, the order not only disregards the religious rights of the Christian community but also fails to recognize the cultural diversity and religious pluralism that should be upheld and respected in democratic society,” the Senapati district Catholic forum pointed out.
“Height of insanity of the Manipur government,” a Christian pastor from Manipur who runs a theological college outside Manipur told CNA.
“What is happening is Manipur is nothing new,” John Dayal, an outspoken Catholic columnist and activist, told CNA.
“The BJP governments both at the national level and in several states had tried to insult and tinker with Christian holy days like Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter several times in the past,” Dayal pointed out.
“In 2002, I moved the Delhi High Court successfully against the bid to make Good Friday and Easter Sunday ‘working days’ against the Atal Behari Vajpayee [who was the BJP prime minister then],” said Dayal, a former member of the National Integration Council headed by the prime minister.
“This Manipur move is keeping with [Prime Minister] Modi’s consistent scheme to whittle away rights of Christianity and Islam in new ‘Bharat.’” (Bharat is the new name the Hindu nationalist BJP has proposed for India).
Since May 2023, Manipur has seen a protracted violent clash between the majority Meiteis, most of them Hindus, and the minority Kukis (all of them Christians) that has left more than 230 dead by the official conservative death toll. Over 50,000 Kuki Christians have been chased out from the Imphal valley along with over 10,000 Meiteis who were driven out from Kuki strongholds.
Amid the violence, over 600 churches have also been destroyed. The majority of them were Kuki, but 250 Meiti Christian churches were destroyed as well in what is seen as an attempt to stop Meiteis from embracing the Christian faith.
Meanwhile, in another piece of good news for the Christian community, Carmelite Sister Mercy, who had been arrested on a charge of “abetting the suicide” of a sixth-grade girl at the Carmel School in Ambikapur in central Chattisgarh state, was released on bail on March 28 by the trial court.
The girl student committed suicide at home after the nun had questioned her and two other girls for being together in the bathroom for a long period of time. After other students complained to the nun, she asked the girls to bring the parents to school the next day.
Following the suicide of the girl, Hindu nationalist organizations promptly organized a huge crowd to march to the school. Police were brought in and arrested the nun the next morning. Although the large crowd tried to storm the school on Feb. 8, police prevented an arson attack.
Reasons why St. (Pope) John Paul II should be officially named/proclaimed a “Doctor of the Church” – as of 2022 there are 37 officially proclaimed Doctors of the Church as well as the non-officially proclaimed “Doctors/Teachers of the Church”, the 12 Apostles and the 2 supreme Teachers – Jesus and Mary:
(1) On 13 May 1981 in an assassination attempt Saint John Paul II was wounded but forgave his would-be assassin and called him a brother thereby imitating Jesus’ act of forgiving His crucifiers; (2) On 25 March 1984, Saint John Paul II consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and in 1989 he met (Russia’s) Mikhail Gorbachev in Vatican heralding the end of deadly atheistic Marxism in Russia and elsewhere – in October 2004, months before his death in 2005, a Russian army choir feted Pope John Paul II in Vatican with Polish and Russian songs to honour his 26th anniversary as the Roman Pontiff; (3) Saint John Paul II mediated a serious border dispute (and a potential war) between Argentina and Chile which was successfully resolved with a Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Argentina and Chile on 29 November 1984; (4) In 1985, Saint John Paul II initiated the World Youth Day; (5) In 1991, St. John Paul II introduced a more realistic, biblically-based “VIA CRUCIS” or the Stations of the Cross instead of the old “VIA CRUCIS” whose 5 of the 14 stations depict ”imagined” events of Jesus’ Passion without biblical foundation but ignore some other highly significant events such as Jesus’ forgiving the Good Thief, “Behold your Mother” and piercing of Jesus’ side – St. John Paul II thus made “VIA CRUCIS” more meaningful and pastorally relevant especially for Protestant Christians; (6) Saint John Paul II was instrumental in the publication of the monumental “Catechism of the Catholic Church” in 1992; (7) In 1992, St. John Paul II apologized for the 17th century Church mistreatment of the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei and in 1999 he expressed regret for the 1415 Council of Constance burning at the stake of the Czech priest Jan Hus; during his papacy, St. John Paul II also apologized for historical Christian participation in the denigration and injustices against women, for Church abuses against the Natives of the Americas as well as for Christian slave trade and slavery in Africa and the Americas, et cetera; (8) in 1994, Saint John Paul II initiated the World Meeting of Families; (9) in 2000, Saint John Paul II established the Feast of the Divine Mercy to promote devotion to Jesus’ Divine Mercy; (10) In 2002, Saint John Paul II corrected a glaring deficiency in the inventory of the Rosary mysteries by adding significant events/mysteries from Jesus’ public life (except Jesus’ Passion), the 5 “Luminous Mysteries” – their seamless integration into the traditional Rosary framework of “150 Psalms and 15 promises” could still be done; (11) In 2003, Saint John Paul II foresaw the destructive consequences of the American invasion of Iraq (destructive especially for Christians) and he campaigned against it – but no Nobel Peace Prize for the Pope; (12) throughout his pontificate, especially by his liturgical profession of the original Nicene Creed, by apology for the European Crusaders’ sacking of Constantinople in 1204 and by the Apostolic letter “The Light of the East” (sublime beauty and utility of traditional sacred images/icons, et cetera), St. John Paul II promoted Church unity thus endeavouring, in a “Pentecostal” / multilingual way, to realize Jesus’ wish “that they may be one”, one holy, catholic and apostolic Church “breathing with 2 lungs”, western and eastern – Jesus, Peter and other apostles, whose Gospel enlightened western Christianity, Europe and the whole world, originated in Asia, in the Near/Middle East!
Reasons why St. (Pope) John Paul II should be officially named/proclaimed a “Doctor of the Church” – as of 2022 there are 37 officially proclaimed Doctors of the Church as well as the non-officially proclaimed “Doctors/Teachers of the Church”, the 12 Apostles and the 2 supreme Teachers – Jesus and Mary:
(1) On 13 May 1981 in an assassination attempt Saint John Paul II was wounded but forgave his would-be assassin and called him a brother thereby imitating Jesus’ act of forgiving His crucifiers; (2) On 25 March 1984, Saint John Paul II consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and in 1989 he met (Russia’s) Mikhail Gorbachev in Vatican heralding the end of deadly atheistic Marxism in Russia and elsewhere – in October 2004, months before his death in 2005, a Russian army choir feted Pope John Paul II in Vatican with Polish and Russian songs to honour his 26th anniversary as the Roman Pontiff; (3) Saint John Paul II mediated a serious border dispute (and a potential war) between Argentina and Chile which was successfully resolved with a Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Argentina and Chile on 29 November 1984; (4) In 1985, Saint John Paul II initiated the World Youth Day; (5) In 1991, St. John Paul II introduced a more realistic, biblically-based “VIA CRUCIS” or the Stations of the Cross instead of the old “VIA CRUCIS” whose 5 of the 14 stations depict ”imagined” events of Jesus’ Passion without biblical foundation but ignore some other highly significant events such as Jesus’ forgiving the Good Thief, “Behold your Mother” and piercing of Jesus’ side – St. John Paul II thus made “VIA CRUCIS” more meaningful and pastorally relevant especially for Protestant Christians; (6) Saint John Paul II was instrumental in the publication of the monumental “Catechism of the Catholic Church” in 1992; (7) In 1992, St. John Paul II apologized for the 17th century Church mistreatment of the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei and in 1999 he expressed regret for the 1415 Council of Constance burning at the stake of the Czech priest Jan Hus; during his papacy, St. John Paul II also apologized for historical Christian participation in the denigration and injustices against women, for Church abuses against the Natives of the Americas as well as for Christian slave trade and slavery in Africa and the Americas, et cetera; (8) in 1994, Saint John Paul II initiated the World Meeting of Families; (9) in 2000, Saint John Paul II established the Feast of the Divine Mercy to promote devotion to Jesus’ Divine Mercy; (10) In 2002, Saint John Paul II corrected a glaring deficiency in the inventory of the Rosary mysteries by adding significant events/mysteries from Jesus’ public life (except Jesus’ Passion), the 5 “Luminous Mysteries” – their seamless integration into the traditional Rosary framework of “150 Psalms and 15 promises” could still be done; (11) In 2003, Saint John Paul II foresaw the destructive consequences of the American invasion of Iraq (destructive especially for Christians) and he campaigned against it – but no Nobel Peace Prize for the Pope; (12) throughout his pontificate, especially by his liturgical profession of the original Nicene Creed, by apology for the European Crusaders’ sacking of Constantinople in 1204 and by the Apostolic letter “The Light of the East” (sublime beauty and utility of traditional sacred images/icons, et cetera), St. John Paul II promoted Church unity thus endeavouring, in a “Pentecostal” / multilingual way, to realize Jesus’ wish “that they may be one”, one holy, catholic and apostolic Church “breathing with 2 lungs”, western and eastern – Jesus, Peter and other apostles, whose Gospel enlightened western Christianity, Europe and the whole world, originated in Asia, in the Near/Middle East!