Schoolchildren eagerly wait for the pope’s arrival outside of the apostolic prefecture on Sept. 1, 2023, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where Pope Francis will be staying for the duration of his four-day visit to the country. / Credit: Colm Flynn/EWTN News
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Sep 1, 2023 / 11:48 am (CNA).
Pope Francis received an enthusiastic welcome to Mongolia on Friday morning after a nearly 10-hour flight on the papal plane.
Upon his arrival at Chinggis Khaan International Airport at 9:52 a.m. local time on Friday, Sept. 1, Pope Francis was greeted with a bowl of Aaruul, dried curds that are a traditional food of Mongolia’s nomadic peoples.
Upon his arrival at Chinggis Khaan International Airport on Sept. 1, 2023, Pope Francis was welcomed with a bowl of Aaruul, dried curds which are a traditional food of Mongolian nomadic peoples. Credit: Vatican Media
A Mongolian cell service provider sent out a public service text message to all of its users to inform them of the pope’s arrival. The message said: “The Roman pope is visiting Mongolia for the first time in our history. Let’s welcome him with kind nomadic hospitality and enjoy the precious moments together.”
The 86-year-old pope was rolled in his wheelchair down a long red carpet flanked by the Mongolian State Honor Guard, who saluted the first pope to ever visit the Asian country.
The Mongolian State Honor Guard stands at attention for the pope’s arrival at Chinggis Khaan International Airport on Sept. 1, 2023. Pope Francis is the first pope in history to visit the Asian country. Credit: Vatican Media
Cardinal Giorgio Marengo was one of the first to welcome Pope Francis to Mongolia. Marengo is an Italian cardinal who has served as a missionary in Mongolia for nearly 20 years. He is the current apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and the world’s youngest cardinal.
Cardinal Giorgio Marengo was one of the first to welcome Pope Francis to Mongolia on Sept. 1, 2023. Marengo is an Italian cardinal who has served as a missionary in Mongolia for nearly 20 years. He is the current apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and the world’s youngest cardinal. Credit: Vatican Media
Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh also met with the pope before the pope was taken to the Mongolian apostolic prefecture.
Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh received Pope Francis at Chinggis Khaan International Airport and later met with him on his first day in Mongolia on Sept. 1, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media
At the apostolic prefecture, where Pope Francis will be staying for the duration of the four-day trip, he was greeted with enthusiasm by representatives of Mongolia’s small Catholic community of only 1,450 Catholics.
At the apostolic prefecture on Sept. 1, 2023, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where Pope Francis will be staying for the duration of the four-day trip, the pope is greeted with enthusiasm by representatives of Mongolia’s small Catholic community of only 1,450 Catholics. Credit: Colm Flynn/EWTN News
Schoolchildren eagerly waited for the pope’s arrival outside of the prefecture, where Marengo resides. Some children performed traditional Mongolian dances for the pope and were excited to receive rosary beads as a gift.
Two dancers who performed for Pope Francis upon his arrival at the apostolic prefecture in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Sept. 1, 2023, were proud to show the rosary beads the Holy Father gave them. Credit: Colm Flynn/EWTN News
After the welcome, Pope Francis spent his first day resting before his scheduled speeches and meetings on Saturday and Sunday.
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show.
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Cardinal-elect Stephen Chow, and other visiting clerics all participated in the festival.
Pope Francis’ first public event will be a welcome ceremony in the city’s Sükhbaatar Square with President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh on Sept. 2. He will later meet with the country’s small Catholic community in the city’s Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in the afternoon.
Pope Francis told journalists in the press corps traveling with him that to visit Mongolia is to encounter “a small people, but a big culture.”
“I think it will do us good to understand this silence … to understand what it means, but not intellectually, with the senses. Mongolia can be understood with the senses,” the pope said.
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Schoolchildren eagerly wait for the pope’s arrival outside of the apostolic prefecture on Sept. 1, 2023, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where Pope Francis will be staying for the duration of his four-day visit to the country. Credit: Colm Flynn/EWTN News
Pope Francis greets the crowds at the apostolic prefecture on Sept. 1, 2023, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where the pope will be staying for the duration of the four-day trip. The pope was met with enthusiasm by representatives of Mongolia’s small Catholic community of only 1,450 Catholics. Credit: Colm Flynn/EWTN News
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Cardinals, visiting Catholics, and the Vatican press corps were invited to experience Mongolian culture at a “Besreg Naadam” festival 24 miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, 2023. The festival was filled with traditional Mongolian dancing, a wrestling tournament, musical performances, an archery competition, and a daring equestrian acrobatics show. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
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Pope Francis meeting with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk and representatives of the Russian-Orthodox Church in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Sept. 14 2022 / Vatican Media Pool
Rome Newsroom, Sep 14, 2022 / 05:17 am (CNA).
Pope Francis met Wednes… […]
Melbourne, Australia, Aug 2, 2017 / 02:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholics and Christian leaders from several denominations have joined forces in the Australian state of Victoria to decry a bill in favor of assisted suicide, expected to be proposed and voted on later this year.
“Euthanasia and assisted suicide represent the abandonment of those who are in greatest need of our care and support,” read the letter, which was printed in The Herald Sun July 31.
The statement was written by leaders from the Greek and Coptic Orthodox churches, as well as Anglicans, Lutherans, and Catholics, including Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier, Orthodox Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis, and Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart.
The bill is expected to be introduced to Victoria’s parliament later this year, and is among the more strict in terms of protocol.
An expert panel chaired by the former president of the Australian Medical Association, Brian Owler, included 68 safeguards in his recommendations for the bill, making it one of the most conservative proposals in the world.
If the legislation is passed, assisted suicide would be a three-step process in the state of Victoria, with at least 10 days between the initial and final request. It would begin with a vocal request, a written request, and end with a final verbal request.
Despite this, no “’safeguards’ will ever guarantee that deaths under the proposed laws will be completely voluntary,” the Christian leaders said in their statement Monday. “There will always be a risk of error, fraud or coercion.”
“When euthanasia or assisted suicide is an ever-present – even if unspoken – option, how long will it be before the option becomes an expectation?”
In their letter, the leaders appealed to members of their faith, citing the 2.8 million Christians in Victoria, including 1.4 million Catholics and 530 thousand Anglicans, according to a 2016 statistic.
Last year, a cross-party committee of Victoria’s Members of Parliament recommended that a law be drafted to legalize assisted suicide, and a debate is expected to follow the bills introduction later this year.
With an exception to the Victoria’s Green party, all Victorian MP’s will not have to vote along party lines, but may vote according to their conscience.
Kottayam, India, Sep 4, 2018 / 11:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A Catholic priest in India spoke to a Muslim congregation on Friday to thank them for bringing food, water, and medicines for the more than 500 people who sought shelter in his church amid devastating flooding in Kerala in recent weeks.
Severe rains led to flash floods and landslides in Kerala in recent months, with some 400 people killed and more than 1 million displaced from their homes.
Press Trust of India reported that more than 580 people took refuge at Fr. Sanu Puthussery’s St. Antony’s parish in Achinakom, and the church soon ran out of food and water.
“I straightaway went to the Masjid, apprised the maulvi about our difficulty and requested his help. After the day’s prayers, Muslim brothers came to the church with a large quantity of food and water,” Fr. Puthussery told PTI.
“Pope Francis had said build bridges, not walls. The devastating floods has now given us an opportunity to destroy the walls and build the bridges of togetherness,” Fr. Puthussery told the 250 Muslims Aug. 31 at the Juma Masjid in Vechoor, about 15 miles northwest of Kottayam, during Friday prayers.
“I cannot express my gratitude to them in words,” the priest said, for the “help and support they had extended during the time of difficulties.”
He said youth of the mosque had also brought medicine to his parish.
Fr. Puthussery said he had gone to thank the Muslim leaders personally, but that “they invited me to their prayer hall and offered me their platform to speak. It was a rare gesture of togetherness.”
Those now returning to their flooded homes in the southwestern Indian state are encountering snakes and insects, contaminated water, and ruined crops.
Water-borne diseases are now a threat to Keralites. The state has declared a health alert, after 11 people died of leptospirosis, the BBC reported.
Thanks for the beautiful pictures of the rich and unique aspects of the Mongolian culture.