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Catholic Priest, Father Peter Lopez of the Gambia Pastoral Institute (GPI) has told Antony Bushfield of UK’s Premier News that the defeat of President Yahya Jammeh in Gambia was totally unexpected. “We thought even if Gambians voted this man out, he would have found a way of rigging the elections and coming out as the winner…It is a shock result,” said Fr. Lopez who expressed a sigh of relief among Gambia’s minority Christians. In December 2015, Jammeh declared the Muslim-majority country to be an Islamic republic. It was expected that after elections Jammeh would move the country firmly in that direction. Fr. Lopez also spoke of pre-election anxiety among Christians about Jammeh’s other threat to close all Christian schools after elecions. The relief in Gambia is not only felt among Christians. Jammeh ruled the country with an iron fist.President-elect Adama Barrow told Associated Press that he would release all political prison...
(Vatican Radio) He who does not know the tenderness of God does not know the Christian doctrine. This was the concept at the core of Pope Francis’ homily at morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, a homily focused largely on the figure of Judas.Judas, an evangelical image of the lost sheepTaking his cue from the Gospel reading of the day which recounts the Parable of the lost sheep, Pope Francis spoke of how the Lord never stops looking for us.Describing the Lord as a kind of a judge, a judge who caresses and is full of tenderness, he said God does everything to save us.“He does not come to condemn, but to save” the Pope said, and he loves each and every one of us personally. He knows us by name and loves us for what we are.And speaking of the lost sheep Francis explained that it did not get lost because it didn’t have a compass but because it "had a sick heart" and was running away “to be distant from the Lord and was satiating an...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a Message to the participants in the XXI Joint Meeting of the Pontifical Academies.The Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, read the Message to participants gathered in the Apostolic Chancery on Tuesday afternoon to explore theme: sparks of beauty to give a more human visage to our cities, chosen and directed by the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi.“Taking care of people, starting with the smallest and weakest, and of their daily bonds," writes Pope Francis, “necessarily also means taking care of the environment in which they live. Small gestures, simple actions, small sparks of beauty and love can heal, 'mending' the often lacerated and divided human fabric [of society], as well as that of a city and of the environment, representing a concrete alternative to indifference and cynicism.”The Holy Father’s Message was addressed to Cardina...
(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors [PCPM] is launching a new website to provide information on the Commission and its Mission.The website –currently in a ‘beta’ format – has resources divided into four categories: “Healing and Care”, “Guidelines”, “Education”, and the “Day of Prayer [for the Victims and Survivors of Sexual Abuse]”.It also provides news and information about the Commission in an easily accessible format.Pope Francis formally appointed the first eight Members of the “Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors” on 22 March 2014, upon the suggestion of the Council of Cardinals.In a ‘Chirograph’ issued the same day, the Holy Father wrote that the Commission’s task is to advise the Roman Pontiff on effective policies for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults and educational programs for all who are involved in this wo...
Vatican City, Dec 6, 2016 / 06:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- For the first time, the works of Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn will be displayed at the Vatican.Organized by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Swedish Embassy, the art show falls about a month after Pope Francis’ visit to Sweden marking the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.The display, entitled “Rembrandt at the Vatican: Images from Heaven and Earth,” is an extension of that same ecumenism and desire for Christian unity, Arnold Nesselrath, curator of the Vatican Museums, told Rome Reports."Sweden is a particularly Protestant country. Holland is a particularly Protestant country. So if you want to set an ecumenical sign through creating events as we've seen on the 31st of October, this is what we wanted to contribute to with this exhibition,” he said.Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands and Queen Silvia of Sweden were both present at the launc...
Vatican City, Dec 6, 2016 / 06:16 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors launched a new website Tuesday, which is designed to help inform the public about their work, and includes resources for Church leaders on safeguarding children and caring for survivors.Announced by the Vatican Dec. 6, and coinciding with the feast of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, the website is considered to be in the “beta” stage and is still undergoing development.However, the website already includes information on the history, mission and members of the Commission, practical resources and Church documents on the topic of abuse, as well as past and upcoming programs of the commission, and news about their current work.The commission serves as an advisory body to the Pope, providing recommendations on how the Church can best protect minors and vulnerable adults. It consists of 17 men and women from around the world who work in the field of abuse ...
Vatican City, Dec 6, 2016 / 07:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday the Vatican announced that Bishop Wilfredo Pino Estévez, who has led the Cuban diocese of Guantánamo-Baracoa for the past 10 years, will now be taking over as the new Archbishop of Camagüey.Announced Dec. 6, the appointment of Pino as the new Archbishop of Camaguey comes after the prelate’s lengthy time in the diocese of Guantanamo-Baracoa diocese.Born in Camaguey Oct. 12, 1950, the bishop studied philosophy and theology at the Major Seminary of San Carlos y San Ambrosio in San Cristóbal de La Habana.He was ordained a priest Aug. 1, 1975, for the Archdiocese of Camaguey, where he then served in various capacities, including as Parochial Vicar of Nuevitas; Treasurer of the parish in Florida, Cuba; National Director of the Pontifical Missionary Works and as pastor of Sant Cruz del Sur.Pino was also on the diocesan committee that organized St. John Paul II’s visit to Cuba in 1998. In...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Catholic HeraldBy Patrick DownesHONOLULU (CNS) -- "Our beloved countryis at war. Our peaceful shores have been ruthlessly attacked, and all citizensare called upon to unite their efforts toward that peace for which we have allprayed, that peace which the world cannot give, and that peace which God willsurely bring about when mankind has seen its folly and conforms its ways to his."Those are the opening words ofthe front-page editorial of The Catholic Herald, the publication of the Dioceseof Honolulu, published Dec. 11, 1941, four days after the Japanese bombed PearlHarbor.This year marks the 75thanniversary of the attack.The smallest of editions, asingle tabloid sheet printed front and back, the newspaper was a somberreassurance of the faith, resolve and patriotism of Hawaii's Catholics."Our duty is clearly markedout," the editorial continued, "and will be faithfully executed. The pages ofhistory proclaim the love and loyalty of Catholics for their fatherland in tim...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Debbie HillBy Judith SudilovskyBETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) -- Even the Christmas decorationsseem more cheerful this year in Bethlehem.A new display of Santa's reindeer and sleigh were about toalight at the main traffic circle on Manger Street, and a big white Christmastree made of lights perched merrily next to them. The official Christmas treein Nativity Square was a focus of great commotion as pilgrims and locals struckposes for photos and selfies Dec. 5. A few days earlier, at the official treelighting ceremony, the square was packed with hundreds of onlookers ready to welcomethe Christmas season to the birthplace of Jesus.After two Christmas seasons in which the political realityhad overtaken holiday cheer, people seemed primed to finally feel somemerriment in Bethlehem. In 2014, the summer Gaza war was still keeping awaytourists, and last year a spate of stabbings and shootings overshadowed anyhope of holiday cheer.This year, the Israeli separation barrier cons...
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Grammy Awards are sipping all of Beyonce's lemonade....
