Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 16, 2020 / 12:32 pm (CNA).- The recent series of attacks on church buildings and property continued Tuesday night, as a statue of Christ was toppled and beheaded at a Miami parish and a statue of Mary was daubed with red … […]
Rome, Italy, Jul 16, 2020 / 11:10 am (CNA).- A Catholic community welcomed Thursday the first refugees to arrive in Rome via a humanitarian corridor through the island of Lesbos since Italy’s coronavirus lockdown.
The 10 refugees from Afghanistan had been stuck in transit in the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island. The camp — originally intended to hold 3,000 refugees — now has more than 19,000 people.
“Moria is known as the hell of Europe,” one refugee, Razieh Gholami, told journalists upon her arrival in Rome July 16, four months after Italy closed its borders completely to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“The refugees who live in Moria live in a difficult, frightening condition where fundamental rights are repressed and they have no way of returning or moving forward,” she said.
Pope Francis had advocated for the relocation of these refugees in Italy via a humanitarian corridor organized at his request through the collaboration of the Office of Papal Charities and the Italian and Greek authorities to help young people and families seek asylum in Italy.
These Afghan refugees are the final part of a group of 67 migrants brought to Italy since 2016 by the humanitarian efforts of the Holy See and the Catholic Community of Sant’Egidio, which also provides support for the refugees’ integration into Italian society.
For Gholami, the help that she received from the Catholic Church to enable her to travel to Italy was a godsend. She said that she had begun to ask herself in the camp why God would allow human beings to suffer so much.
“Then suddenly I saw guardian angels with a heart full of affection for others,” she said. “They came from God to help the refugees.”
Gholami, who has been recognized for her art painted inside of the refugee camp, presented the Sant’Egidio community with one of her paintings. It depicts Christ sending an angel from heaven to fly to the refugee camp.
“I dedicate this painting to those angels of the Sant’Egidio community, always ready to help the desperate,” she said.
More than 3,000 refugees from the Middle East and Africa have arrived in Europe via the humanitarian corridor made possible by the Greek and Italian authorities, according to Sant’Egidio.
Catholic volunteers in Rome welcome Afghan refugee families, who arrived today after months of waiting in a refugee camp on the island of Lesbos.
They are among the first refugees to arrive after Italy’s lockdown. pic.twitter.com/nnJskOzl5g
— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) July 16, 2020
Formerly relocated refugees were present to welcome the new arrivals with a volunteer-made lunch. Among them was Majid Alshakarji, a dentistry student in Rome who escaped the Syrian War in 2016 at the age of 15 with the help of Pope Francis.
“It’s a bad feeling when you have to leave your country by force. Because it’s not your choice, you just have to leave,” Alshakarji told CNA.
“In Aleppo it was a fairly difficult journey, where you had to walk maybe 8 kilometers (five miles) with bombs underground and even bombing above,” he said.
After passing through Aleppo, his family fled to Tunisia, where he said they faced many problems leading them to return to Syria in order to leave for Turkey.
“Then we went to Greece. In Greece we had to stay 50 days which were not easy living in the camp … then came the pope, who wanted to be a witness for everyone,” he said.
Alshakarji’s family was one of the three Syrian refugee families who came to Rome with Pope Francis at the end of the pope’s visit to the island of Lesbos in 2016. He has now lived in Rome for four years and is studying at a local university to become a dentist.
“We have been allowed to have a new life in a new country … It is a beautiful experience,” he said.
St. Paul, Minn., Jul 16, 2020 / 10:32 am (CNA).- A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement directive that would have forced thousands of international students to leave the country has been rescinded after it was challenged by a litany of lawsuits.
The directive, which was announced July 6, denied visas to international students with an exclusively online course load. It came after many colleges and universities announced plans to conduct the fall semester online, throwing the fate of international students into turmoil.
Catholic institutions praised the reversal of the directive.
The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities said in a statement that they were “heartened by the agreement” reached in the lawsuit between Harvard-MIT and the government.
“Our institutions’ ongoing advocacy stems from valuing global collaboration and having a keen awareness that the Jesuit mission of forming persons who are charged with making the world a better place is one that has no borders or boundaries,” said the AJCU.
President John J. DeGioia of Georgetown University, who signed an amicus brief in support of the Harvard-MIT lawsuit, told the university’s press that he was “thankful for the news” of the reversal. Previously he had called the ICE directive a “reckless action” on the part of the government.
The directive “creates new and unnecessary barriers for international students and puts their health, stability and academic progress at risk if they are unable to participate in classes in person,” DeGioia said. It failed to “recognize the invaluable contributions of our international students within our community and the impacts of this abrupt change during an ongoing pandemic.”
The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities also spoke out against the directive, calling it a “heartless” policy.
“These are young people fully vetted by the U.S. government, given clearance to study here, and now partway through their programs. Sending them home, without a degree, would force them to start their lives over simply because a university is trying to keep its faculty and students safe as contagion levels continue to be unpredictable,” the ACCU stated. “There are difficult decisions to make in challenging times, but this is not one of those.”
Shivam Mishra came to the U.S. from Jamshedpur, India, to study accounting at the University of Dallas, a Catholic University in Dallas, Texas. Although the university plans to open for in-person classes in the fall, it is prepared to go online if it is overwhelmed with cases.
For Mishra, who is working towards a masters in accounting, the ICE mandate would have threatened his ability to earn his license as a Certified Public Accountant.
“I have invested my time, money, and then I was away from my family, my parents and everyone,” Mishra told CNA. “I came to the US just to have better opportunities.”
Rahul Ashok Lobo, a rising junior who is majoring in economics and political science at Notre Dame University, led the international student response to the university’s dealings with international students and the ICE mandate.
Lobo, who was born in India, grew up in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and now holds a passport from the United Kingdom, said that the policy changes “throw any sort of semblance of planning out the window.”
“Information hasn’t been very forthcoming recently, and that really leaves us and our imaginations to run wild in terms of what the fall semester is going to look like,” Lobo told CNA.
Even after the ICE policy was rescinded, Lobo said that a lot of uncertainty remains. Since the university has stressed the value of the in-person experience, it may continue to encourage international students, especially first year students, to take a leave of absence.
The ACCU also voiced concern for first year students.
“Yesterday’s decision resolved these issues for existing international students. We hope the administration will address the needs of new international students using the same flexibility during this pandemic,” the organization said in a statement.
Lobo said that not only are international students enriched by the campus experience, but the campus is enriched by a diverse student body. This fall, though, the campus will likely not be as diverse.
International students offer “a diversity of thought, opinion, background, and experience,” said Lobo. “But the way things are looking, much of what Notre Dame prides in terms of diversity will simply be absent from fall semester on campus.”
Julie Sullivan, President of St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota, said in a statement that international students are an “integral and cherished part of the fabric of our community.”
“We are very grateful for the diverse, global perspectives our international students bring to the St. Thomas community, our state and our country,” Sullivan said.
Vatican City, Jul 16, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued Thursday a manual to help bishops and dioceses follow Church procedure in respect to accusations of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric.
The vade… […]
CNA Staff, Jul 16, 2020 / 05:45 am (CNA).- A German archdiocese is pressing ahead with plans to dramatically reduce the number of its parishes despite the Vatican’s decision to block a similar plan in another diocese.
CNA Deutsch, CNA’s Ge… […]
Vatican City, Jul 16, 2020 / 04:20 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Thursday named Bishop Edward C. Malesic of Greensburg, Pa, to lead the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio.
In Cleveland, he fills the vacant see left by Archbishop Nelson Perez’s appointment to … […]
CNA Staff, Jul 16, 2020 / 04:10 am (CNA).- Catholic bishops have urged the U.K.’s finance minister to press for the cancelation of debts owed by the world’s poorest countries at this weekend’s G20 finance summit.
The bishops si… […]
CNA Staff, Jul 16, 2020 / 03:00 am (CNA).- After a violent incident between South Sudanese tribal members in a previously peaceful refugee camp in Uganda, a local priest says that tribes must provide conflict management and education, not produce division.
“Tribes, which can be a good medium to learn cultures, languages and traditions, should not be misused to fuel hatred and discord,” said Fr. Lazar Arasu, the Director of Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Services.
Arasu, a native of southern India’s Tamil Nadu State, is a Salesian priest who has lived in East Africa for three decades.
Most people tend to have only a superficial knowledge of their cultures and traditions, he explained. He underscored the need for people to learn the deeper meaning of culture, tradition and their history in the right way in order to have the right attitude to the institution of tribes and cultures.
The Church, the priest said, “should be an umbrella embracing under her shade people of all tribes and differences. When they remain neutral, they remain the true voice of God.”
The Palabek Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda in the Archdiocese of Gulu. It is home to about 55,000 refugees from nearby South Sudan, the world’s youngest country.
The settlement woke to a rude shock after a violent incident left one person dead and at least 20 injured.
The June 23 incident occurred between two communities of South Sudanese refugees. The clash over a piece of land involved members from the Lango and Nuer communities who live alongside 12 other South Sudanese tribes that have been coexisting at the camp for years.
Arasu is concerned that the background of unresolved conflicts in South Sudan has helped push people into mistrust and suspicion of each other. The mood for conflicts among the South Sudanese, including those living in refugee camps, is heightened by the fact that past conflicts have never been resolved,
“In between the wars, no community dialogue was encouraged; often the peace talks involved only political leaders who held ‘synthetic’ peace deals. Full pledged wars had roots in communities at grassroots,” Arasu said in his reflection, “Building Bridges of Peace in South Sudan,” provided to ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner.
He called for capacity building among leaders to help them learn the right attitudes to tribes, ethnic differences, and conflict management. This will help end protracted violence.
The Salesians in Uganda participate in peace meetings, counseling and casual visits to the families. This help makes progress to restore peace, especially among refugees seeking safety in the country. The Salesians have assured settlement authorities and security forces of their support and assistance, Arasu said.
“May God continue to help us to build bridges of peace and help us to be bridges of peace and harmony,” said the priest.
Members of the Salesians of Don Bosco have been ministering at the refugee settlement in Palabek for three years.
“They are taking steps to be close to the people, especially those affected by violence, by way of reaching out to them with food and a few other necessities,” said the priest.
At the Palabek Refugee Settlement, the Salesians report, the Acholi are the largest community at 45 percent, followed by the Lutuku at 15 percent and the Lango at 10 percent. Other tribes such as the Nuer make up 3 percent or less.
The Salesians help provide psycho-social support and pastoral care for thousands of Christians. Their four nursery schools educate over 1,000 children, more than 700 children are enrolled in Salesian primary and secondary schools, and other initiatives help support 700 families.
At their vocational training center, 400 refugees and 50 host community Ugandans are students seeking work skills, the Salesians’ news service Mission Newswire reports.
South Sudan’s five-year civil war began shortly after South Sudan gained independence in 2011.
Different parties to the conflict deliberately prevented humanitarian aid from reaching civilians. The policy of deliberate starvation along ethnic and humanitarian lines caused acute food security problems for 55% of the population.
The war killed hundreds of thousands of people and left 2.1 million people internally displaced, with another 2.5 million as refugees abroad, according to the United Nations.
People in South Sudan continue to face serious humanitarian concerns, exacerbated by government corruption, locust swarms, and floods in October that destroyed crops and livestock.
Arasu blamed the protracted violence in South Sudan on tribal politics and “deep rooted tribal hatred”.
He attributed this tribal hatred to several factors. The British colonists sowed disunity among the various communities in South Sudan and favored some tribes over others, a situation that continues to manifest itself in incidences of violence to date.
“This instilled prejudice, jealousy, suspicion and hatred on tribes with larger populations,” Fr. Arasu said.
Under Arab rule, he said, the Sudanese indigenous tribes and people were suppressed on racial and religious grounds.
There has been systematic looting of native wealth and other human rights abuses, perpetrated both by foreigners and by native rulers.
In addition, the priest sees natural tension between different communities based on their different ways of life, such as conflict between pastoral tribes who herd livestock and agrarian tribes focused on agriculture.
Suspicion and mistrust mingled with prejudice can cause irritation and annoyance that can trigger war, causing enormous damage even lasting for years, said Arasu. The danger is “any small incidents such as a little misunderstanding at water-points, playgrounds and markets can be blown into full-fledged war.”
“Having witnessed the bloody past, it is difficult to believe the coming of peace. Down through the decades, numerous peace agreements have been signed and discarded thoughtlessly,” he said.
“Until peace is restored at grassroots there can be no meaningful peace at the national level,” he said. “South Sudan needs peace more than anything else.”
Tribal animosity caused some problems for the appointment of the new Catholic Archbishop of Juba Stephen Ameyu. Some critics presented themselves as leaders of the Bari tribe and objected that he was not a member of the tribe. However, in December 2019 the Juba-based Bari Community Association made clear that these critics’ position did not speak for the entire community.
In January the Republic of South Sudan and the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance signed a peace declaration in Rome. Under the peace agreement facilitated by the Catholic community of Sant’Egidio, opposition groups and the South Sudanese government recommitted to cease hostilities, pursue political dialogue, and allow humanitarian aid for the people of South Sudan.
A new government was sworn into office in February.
A version of this story was first published by ACI Africa. It has been adapted by CNA.
CNA Staff, Jul 16, 2020 / 12:30 am (CNA).- National news media cannot ignore intolerance against Catholics, the Ancient Order of Hibernians has said, citing recent attacks on Catholic churches and vandalism of statues of saints.
The group cited an incident at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Ocala, Florida, where a man crashed a minivan into the church and then lit it on fire with gasoline early on Saturday, July 11 while people were inside preparing for morning Mass.
“The Hibernians are appalled at the conspicuous lack of national news coverage, particularly among the national broadcast networks, surrounding this blatant attack. The absence of national reporting concerning such an egregious attack against a Catholic church is at stark variance with past coverage of similar despicable attacks against other faiths,” the group said July 13.
“This absence of coverage is particularly glaring given that this attack is only the latest in a wave of wanton destruction targeting Catholics including the vandalism of a Catholic church in Boston, a Catholic school in New York and the ongoing investigation of a fire that destroyed the historic 249-year-old San Gabriel Mission and over the same weekend.”
The Ancient Order of Hibernians was founded in 1836, based on similar groups in Ireland. It is the oldest and largest Irish Catholic organization in the U.S. and claims membership in all 50 states.
The Hibernians’ statement cited the ancient legal principle “silence implies consent,” criticizing the national media for showing “silence on the rising tide of anti-Catholic violence.”
“The Hibernians ask why such an outrageous attack targeting Catholics is less worthy of reporting than an attack on a house of worship of another faith or a public institution? The news media needs to take accountability for its apathy and blatant double standard and the creation of a shameful ‘hierarchy of outrage’ in which hate targeting Catholics is not ‘newsworthy’,” the group said.
The story of the attack and Shields’ arrest was covered by Fox News and the Associated Press, whose account was carried by the New York Times and Washington Post websites. However, a CNA review of ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN news websites found no additional coverage.
Stephen Anthony Shields, 24, of Dunnellon, Florida was apprehended by police and charged with attempted murder, arson, burglary, and evading arrest in connection with the Florida church attack.
According to local media, Shields told police he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia but is not currently taking prescribed medication. He said that he awoke on Saturday morning with a “mission.”
Shields also quoted scripture, especially the Book of Revelation, to officers, and told them his objections to the Catholic Church.
In 2019, Shields was arrested after swinging a crowbar at a woman and saying he wanted to kill her.
Also last weekend, in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the church of the Mission San Gabriel was destroyed by fire. The 18th century mission was founded by St. Junipero Serra, whom Pope Francis canonized during his 2015 visit to the U.S. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Several statues of Serra have been torn down in recent unrest, with some critics claiming he committed violence against Native Americans. Demonstrators toppled his statues in Sacramento and San Francisco, while some institutions with statues of Serra have removed them from the public for safekeeping.
Serra was an advocate for native people and a champion of human rights, and was often at odds with Spanish authorities over the treatment of natives, according to historians. He helped convert thousands of native Californians to Christianity, and taught them new agricultural technologies.
Many natives showed an outpouring of grief at Serra’s death in 1784.
Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles defended the saint in his June 29 column for Angelus News, published before the fire at the mission.
“The real St. Junipero fought a colonial system where natives were regarded as ‘barbarians’ and ‘savages,’ whose only value was to serve the appetites of the white man. For St. Junipero, this colonial ideology was a blasphemy against the God who has ‘created (all men and women) and redeemed them with the most precious blood of his Son’,” Archbishop Gomez said.
Other acts of vandalism have also taken place recently at Catholic institutions. Several Catholic churches and cathedrals have faced graffiti and broken windows in recent riots.
Boston police are investigating an arson attack late July 11 on a statue of the Virgin Mary outside the church of St. Peter’s Parish in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. An unknown individual had set fire to plastic flowers in the hands of the statue, causing smoke and flame damage to the face, head, and upper body of the statue.
In the New York City borough of Queens, early Friday morning on July 10, a vandal spray-painted the word “idol” on the statue of the Virgin Mary at Cathedral Prep School and Seminary.
In a third incident, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was beheaded last weekend at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
CNA Staff, Jul 15, 2020 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has written a response to an Associated Press report that characterized Catholic participation in the federal Paycheck Protection Program as an “aggressive pursuit of f… […]
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