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The Archbishop of Tokyo on Sunday dedicated a shrine inside the cathedral that includes relics of two famous Polish apostles of Divine Mercy as a perpetual commemoration of the Year of Mercy. During a Mass on Nov. 13 marking the close of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Archbishop Takeo Okada declared that St. Mary's Cathedral would be the archdiocesan Shrine of the Divine Mercy. Following Mass, Archbishop Okada enshrined the relics of Sts. Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament and Pope John Paul II in the cathedral. The relics were sent from the Archdiocese of Krakow, Poland, last December. Before being enshrined, the relics toured dioceses throughout the country during the jubilee year, which also marked the 35th anniversary of St. John Paul's visit to Japan. In giving his blessing at the ceremony, Archbishop Okada said, "I pray that all who trust in the Divine Mercy may grow spiritually here."The cathedral has two other...
Kenya’s Catholic Bishops have issued a pastoral statement released Monday to the media. Among other things affecting Kenyan society, the Bishops, in particular, call on Kenyans to unite and live in harmony notwithstanding the looming 2017 general election. The pastoral statement signed by Homa Bay Bishop and President of the Episcopal Conference, Philip Anyolo together with other Bishops, makes a strong appeal to priests and the faithful not to allow politicians make political statements in Churches or at Church functions.“We have further stated in our earlier statements that as Catholic Bishops we are not going to allow our Churches and Church functions to be used as campaign platforms and forums of hate speech. As much as politicians and those aspiring to elective positions are free to worship and pray where they want, they should not use such opportunities to make their campaign statements. Consequently, politicians should not be allowed to address the congregations...
(Vatican Radio) A so-called “Ecological Island” has sprung up in the Vatican with the aim to recycle and dispose waste in the most sustainable manner.As from Monday, 14 November, a special area has been set aside inside Vatican City State to optimize waste management in accordance with the most advanced waste legislation and technological means available.Although the Vatican’s territory is extremely small, the tiniest State in the world does produce waste and started a formal waste and recycling collection program back in 2008.More than 200 drop-off containers for household trash and recyclables were strategically placed throughout the 110-acres that make up Vatican City State. 42% percent of those were designated for source-separated paper, glass, plastic and aluminum containers. The newly inaugurated ‘ecological island’ provides a space where all types of waste will be dealt with and disposed of according to the specific indications of its cate...
Indonesian police on Monday arrested five people in connection with an Islamic militant's attack on Sunday on a church on the island of Borneo that killed one infant and injured three. East Kalimantan police spokesman Fajar Setiawan said 2-year-old Ade Intan Marbun died on Monday from complications after suffering burns to more than three quarters of her body. President Joko Widodo said that “the bomb case in Samarinda has to be investigated thoroughly.”The attacker, identified by police as Johanda a 32-year-old former terror convict from the West Java town of Bogor, who on Sunday threw a Molotov cocktail from a motorcycle as he rode past Oikumene Church in Samarinda, the provincial capital of East Kalimantan province. The man was captured by locals after jumping into a nearby river. TV footage showed the injured man lying on the deck of a motorboat. He was wearing a black shirt emblazoned with the words ``Jihad, Way of Life.'' ...
The United Nations on Sunday appealed for $152 million to provide shelter, sanitation and food for a huge influx of refugees returning to Afghanistan from Pakistan. Pakistan has stepped up the pressure for its 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees to return home, citing security concerns. Thousands are crossing the Torkham border with Pakistan each day, said the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN's food assistance branch.Last month, the U.N. said nearly 170,000 Afghans had returned this year, many of them citing harassment by Pakistani authorities. The flow of returnees from not only Pakistan, but also Iran, is straining the capacity of the government and aid agencies as yet more Afghans are uprooted by the war between Taliban insurgents and Afghan troops. "We need sufficient and timely funds, in the coming weeks and months, to ensure that we can help returnees as rapidly and efficiently as possible," said Mick Lorentzen, WFP's country di...
Pope Francis on Sunday raised Auxiliary Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung of Hong Kong to the rank of Coadjutor Bishop of the same diocese. A coadjutor bishop has the right to succession, meaning that on the retirement, death or stepping down of a current bishop, the coadjutor bishop automatically becomes the new bishop without any separate appointment by the Pope. Bishop Yeung, who is 71, will succeed Hong Kong Bishop, Card. John Tong Hon, who is 78 years old. The canonical retirement age of a bishop is 75 but Pope Francis extended Card. Tong's tenure for another three years, until 2017. When the appointment was announced at the end of the closing mass of the Year of Mercy in Hong Kong’s Immaculate Conception cathedral on Sunday, Bishop Yeung knelt in front of Card. Tong and then in front of Card. Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong. Addressing the faithful, Bishop Yeung confessed to having many defects and t...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Remo Casilli, ReutersBy Carol GlatzVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- People who follow Christ do notlisten to "prophets of doom," silly horoscopes or sermons thatfrighten and divide people, Pope Francis said.Christians persevere in hope and love -- no matter whatupheavals and difficulties arise, he said in a homily Nov. 13 in St. Peter'sBasilica. "This is important to distinguish the word of wisdomthat God speaks to us each day from the shouting of those who seek in God'sname to frighten, to nourish division and fear," he said.The pope's remarks came during a Mass for the poor andsocially excluded -- "the Lazaruses of today" -- as part of the Yearof Mercy celebrations at the Vatican. The pope reminded those gathered for Mass -- many of themfacing precarious living conditions -- that for those who "are materiallypoor but rich in God, the sun of justice will rise.""Your presence here helps us to be attuned to God'swavelength, to see what he sees," which is not mere appearances, ...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Diego Azubel, EPABy Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Four cardinals said they formallyasked Pope Francis to clarify his teaching on Communion for the divorced andcivilly remarried and, not receiving a response after two months, they releasedtheir letter to the press."We have noted a grave disorientation and greatconfusion of many faithful regarding extremely important matters for the lifeof the church," the cardinals said. "Even within the episcopalcollege, there are contrasting interpretations of Chapter 8 of 'Amoris Laetitia,'" thechapter dealing with ministry to the divorced in his exhortation on the family.The four who signed the letter are: Cardinals Walter Brandmuller, a German andformer president of the Pontifical Commission for Historical Sciences; Raymond L. Burke, a U.S.cardinal and patron of theKnights of Malta; CarloCaffarra, retired archbishop of Bologna, Italy; and Joachim Meisner, retiredarchbishop of Cologne, Germany.In releasing their letter and a...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Oscar Martinez, ReutersBy David AgrenMEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Anoutspoken priest who had been reported missing in the state of Veracruz wasfound alive, but with signs of torture. Father Jose Luis Sanchez Ruiz,pastor of Twelve Apostles parish in Catemaco -- a town known for witchcraft,some 340 miles southeast of Mexico City -- was reported missing Nov. 11, sparkingunrest and the ransacking and burning of the city hall by residents impatientwith the police response.A statement from the Diocese ofSan Andres Tuxtla said Father Sanchez was found "abandoned" Nov. 13 "withnotable signs of torture."Father AaronReyes Natividad, diocesan spokesman, told local media that Father Sanchez had received threats viaWhatsApp and Facebook, while the doors to the church also appear to have beenopened with force. He denounced crime and corruption in Veracruz -- where aformer governor is currently on the lam for funneling millions of dollars ofstate money into shell companies -- and also ral...
By Mark PattisonBALTIMORE(CNS) -- In small and often intimate gestures, there are big lessons forbishops to learn as they exercise their ministry, said Archbishop Joseph E.Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, in his final address as president of the U.S.bishops' conference."Nowords of Jesus are more concrete in capturing God's mercy at work in ourbishops' conference than his call in Matthew 25: 'What you did for one of myleast, you did for me,'" he said in remarks prepared for delivery Nov. 14 inBaltimore at the U.S. bishops' annual fall general assembly.Archbishop Kurtz noted different encounters he hadduring his three-year tenure as president, each with a lesson learned.In one instance, a Filipina woman in Tacloban,Philippines, after the devastation wrought by Typhoon Yolanda, explained what her neighbors and the whole community now faced with "no hintin her voice of seeking her own good," he said. Instead "she was seeking the common good.""Bishops are called always to seek the common ...
