News Briefs

Vatican City, Oct 26, 2017 / 12:53 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis conversed with astronauts orbiting earth on the International Space Station on Thursday, discussing questions as diverse as man’s place in the universe, the fragility of life and the planet, and international cooperation.

“Astronomy makes us contemplate the horizons of the universe and raises questions in us: Where did we come from? Where are we going?” the Pope said.

His first question to the astronauts: “What is your thought on man’s place in the universe?”

Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli responded, saying that man’s place in the universe is a “complex question,” especially for him since his specialties are in the technical realm.

However, he noted that being in space has helped him to realize that the more humanity learns, the more clearly we can see how much we still do not know.

“I would love for people like you, not just engineers, not just physicists, but people like you (Holy Father) – theologians, philosophers, poets, writers… – to come here in space, and this will surely happen in the future, I would love (for them) to come here to explore what it means to have a human being in space,” he said.

Pope Francis contacted NASA’s International Space Station via a satellite call from the Vatican on Oct. 26. Aboard the space station are a total of six astronauts, including three Americans, two Russians and one Italian, who have been orbiting the earth, about 220 miles away.

Three will return to earth in December of this year, and the other three in February 2018.

Josef Aschbacher, director of the earth observation programs (ESA), told journalists after the call that for the astronauts, speaking with the Pope was an “experience of a lifetime.”

He said the Pope’s questions were all “very interesting” because they have to do with “our life, as humanity.”

For example, Francis asked the team what motivated them to become astronauts, and what they enjoy about being in space.

“Traveling in space modifies so many things that are taken for granted in everyday life, for example the idea of ??up and down,” he said, also asking if there is anything about living in the space station that has surprised them.

American Randolph Bresnik said that what gives him the greatest joy in space is being able “to look outside and see God’s creation maybe a little bit from his perspective. People cannot come up here and see the indescribable beauty of our earth and not be touched in their souls.”

There’s an incredible peace and serenity to our planet when you see it in orbit, he said, and there are “no borders, no conflict, it’s just peaceful.”

He also said that from space you can see “the thinness of the atmosphere, and it makes you realize how fragile our existence here is.”

Pope Francis responded by saying that he loved that answer, how Bresnik had pointed out the earth’s fragility, how it’s a “passing moment,” the earth turning at a rate of 10 km per second.

The astronauts also spoke with Francis about their own diversity and how it is an asset in their work on the International Space Station.

“As we work here on the space station and in our international partnership, we hope that the example of what we can achieve together is an example for all the world and humanity,” Bresnik said.

Francis said that although our society is very individualistic, cooperation is essential in life, asking about examples of collaboration in their work.

The International Space Station is a great example of international collaboration, American Joseph Acaba replied, because the crew members are from different countries and cultures, and they work together, also communicating on a daily basis with control centers in the U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada, and nine different countries in Europe.

“It’s our diversity that makes us stronger,” Acaba said. “And I think we need to embrace who we are as individuals and respect those around us. And by working together we can do things much better than we can as individuals.”

The other astronauts on the call were American Mark T. Vande Hei, and Russians Aleksandr Misurkin and Sergey Ryazanskiy.

The encounter between the astronauts on the space station and the Pope was a fascinating intersection between religion and science, said Aschbacher, noting that science can assist in the search for God through its curiosity to better understand our world.

Science asks some of the same questions as religion, such as, “where we are from and where we are going and where do we live,” he said.

Roberto Battiston, president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), added that “there is no doubt that science is a way of searching for the truth” and though religion and science may have different ways of searching, they still have the same goal.

Pope Francis’ call marks the second time a pope has contacted astronauts in space. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI became the first when he called the International Space Station via satellite link, speaking with 12 astronauts for about 20 minutes.

In the call, Benedict asked the astronauts questions about what it is like to view the earth from outer space and if it gave them a new perspective on the importance of promoting peace and caring for our planet’s resources.

[…]

Vatican City, Oct 26, 2017 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In her own words, Bridget Brown is “a self-advocate, an inclusion advocate, an actress… and a young woman with Down syndrome.” She also loves her life and wants others to know that each and every person is precious.

“The world needs to know that I don’t ‘suffer’ from Down syndrome,” she wrote in a letter to Pope Francis. “I have a full and wonderful life, and I am filled with joy to be alive.”

“I absolutely love my life.”

Brown met Pope Francis Oct. 21 as part of a Vatican-sponsored conference dedicated to catechesis for those with intellectual disabilities.

Titled “Catechesis and Persons with Disabilities: A Necessary Engagement in the Daily Pastoral Life of the Church,” the conference took place Oct. 20-22 at the Pontifical Urbanianum University in Rome.

Brown told CNA Oct. 20 that she was very excited to meet the Pope with her parents. She was also looking forward to speaking with him about “the right to life of babies with Down syndrome.”

Tragically, children with Down syndrome are often aborted, she said, pointing to the example of an August article from CBS News declaring that Iceland is “eradicating Down syndrome” through abortion.

“People with Down syndrome are so precious,” she said. “I love babies, and I especially love babies with Down syndrome.”

In a letter to Pope Francis, she said that her heart breaks when she thinks that she might be part of the last generation of people with Down syndrome and that “the world will never again benefit from our gifts.”

Brown noted that people with disabilities are often the first to be killed during genocides, and observed that Adolph Hitler’s mass killings began with the murder of disabled children.

“It seems to me we are doing the same thing to children with disabilities today in our country,” she said.

Even though Brown finds this to be discouraging at times, she said she still has hope, praying for those who think people with disabilities don’t have the right to live.  

“I believe in the sacred dignity of all people. And most people I know with disabilities can lead full and productive lives, just like me,” she said.

The right to life of people with disabilities should never be disregarded, Brown told CNA. “God said…that we have a purpose, no matter who we are. It’s not right to exclude or kill anybody, because we are part of the human race.”

Quoting Meister Eckhart, a medieval Dominican theologian, she said, “If the only prayer I say in my life is ‘thank you,’ that would be enough.”

Brown, who spoke at the conference Oct. 21, noted that she attended to help promote inclusion in parishes, hoping they will open their doors “to allow people with disabilities to be included in the Church.”

She hopes people walk away from the conference with a deeper realization that “people with disabilities have a purpose.”

More than that, she wants to move the conversation about people with disabilities beyond inclusion.

It’s about more than just the right to survive, she said, but about being able “to dwell in the possibilities, to have fun and full, exciting lives,” just like anyone else.

…..

Related news:

#Iceland is ‘eradicating’ Down syndrome…by aborting everyone who has it https://t.co/tGRZFpj8rN

— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) August 17, 2017

[…]

Vatican City, Oct 25, 2017 / 05:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis on Wednesday spoke about the hope Christians have at the end of life, which is found in God’s promise to be with us at the moment of our death, and to give us eternal life with … […]

Vatican City, Oct 25, 2017 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- For one member of “the Pope’s Choir,” the Catholic Church, while appreciating sacred music, has in some respects lost the art of singing it in her parishes, prompting the need for a revival of traditional style across the world.

“Coming from the UK, I’m used to a choral tradition, it’s a great Anglican tradition,” Mark Spyropoulos told CNA, noting that much of the sacred music they sing is written for great Catholic choirs, but “generally, across Europe at least, we’ve lost touch with that.”

“The cathedrals are mostly silent,” he said, and while the Vatican is an exception, “from a personal stance, as a choral singer, I would like to see that tradition revived” in Catholic choirs “because it’s absolutely wonderful.”

Originally from London, Spyropoulos has been a member of the Sistine Chapel Choir for two and a half years, and is the first person from Britain to join the choir, which just returned from a tour in the United States, the first in 30 years, which included stops in Washington D.C., New York and Detroit.

“I would like to see our touring also promote something of a revival of great Catholic choirs,” he said.
 
He was present for the Oct. 24 presentation of the choir’s annual CD, which this year is titled “Veni Domine: Advent and Christmas at the Sistine Chapel.”

When it comes to sacred music, Spyropoulos said he believes it has “a huge place” in the Church, and has much to offer, even outside of an ecclesial context.

Sacred music, he said, “puts young singers in touch with their history, their culture, and it’s an inspirational thing to do, not just to be part of it, but to hear it.”

Whenever the choir sings, “our intention is that it should inspire people, that people would listen to it and be transported away from the mundane and the banal, and that their minds would be directed to something that is spiritual, beautiful and transcendent,” he said.

The singer shared that in his experience, there isn’t just a need for sacred music, but also a desire for it, because “when we sing, people seem to be amazed.”

Simply being “the Pope’s choir” is enough to attract people, Spyropoulos said, while adding that there also seems to be “more than that” fueling peoples’ interest.

“This music has such a deep power to it,” he said. Using the image of a fresco as an example, he said that when people look at one, “it’s incredibly beautiful, but when you sing this music it’s not like looking at a fresco, it’s like being in a fresco, it’s like being painted in it – you have to create it, and people listen to that.”

Recalling the choir’s recent tour of the United States, the singer said each of their venues were packed, and that highlights from the trip for him were singing in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, where they got “a standing ovation from thousands of people, that was wonderful.”

He also reflected on singing Evensong in the Anglican parish of St. Thomas on First Avenue, which he said was “a very special moment” given his own background and formation in the Anglican choral tradition.

The people they met in each city, he said, “were so kind and so generous to us all the way through… we were really welcomed so warmly. We had a great time.”

While no official plans have been made, Spyropoulos said there are rumors the choir will return to the U.S., perhaps traveling along the West Coast.

[…]