By Devin Watkins
Maurizio Maggiani, an Italian author who writes romance novels, recently discovered that his books are printed by exploiting people in slave-like conditions in Pakistan.
The Ligurian writer then wrote an open letter to Pope Francis—published on the online news site Il Secolo XIX—asking: “Is it worth producing beauty thanks to the work of slaves?”
The Pope took up the invitation and wrote a letter of his own, which was published on Friday on the same website.
In the letter dated 9 August, Pope Francis took up the author’s open question, and praised him for courageously confronting a problem which “many would have kept quiet about.”
“I was struck by your words,” wrote the Pope. “Yours is no idle question, because what is at stake is human dignity, a dignity which is today too often and easily trampled upon through ‘slave labor’ and the silent complicity of many people.”
He recalled how the early days of last year’s Covid-19 lockdowns revealed that much food was being produced by relying on day-laborers who lacked basic rights.
Pope Francis said Maggiani’s question has revealed an even more striking point. “Even literature—bread of souls and expression of the human spirit—is wounded by the voracity of exploitation which takes place in the shadows, wiping out faces and names.”
The Pope said he thinks that “publishing beautiful and edifying texts while creating injustices is an inherently unjust act.”
“And for a Christian,” he added, “every form of exploitation is a sin.”
Yet, he said, “renouncing beauty would be a form of retreat that is also unjust, an omission of the good.”
The Pope went on to urge Maggiani, along with all in the field of literature, to take action against the practice of using slave labor to print books.
“However, the pen—or the computer keyboard—offers us another possibility: that of reporting and writing uncomfortable things that can shake us out of indifference, to stimulate consciences”.
Pope Francis added that he loves Dostoevskij both for his religious sense and for his habit of writing about “humiliated, pained, and poor lives.”
According to the Italian author’s letter, Maggiani also writes about “the stories of those who are silent, the last, and the humiliated.”
The Pope praised this inclination and Maggiani’s act of “putting the inconvenient voice of conscience in black-on-white.”
Pope Francis also called on everyone to “renounce”—not cultural works and literature—but “attitudes and advantages which… we discover that promote perverse machinations of exploitation, which damage the dignity of our brothers and sisters.”
And he thanked the Italian author for bringing this important problem to his attention and for his “helpful reporting.”
“Thanks to all who undertake good renunciations and make objections of conscience to promote human dignity.”
By Nathan Morley
The situation in Afghanistan is now desperate as Taliban forces have taken control nine of the country’s 34 provincial capitals.
Even more shocking is that the Washington Post newspaper – citing unnamed officials – reports the capital Kabul could fall to the Taliban within the next three months.
In an attempt to rally troops, President Ghani has flown to Mazar-i-Sharif as Taliban militants close in on the city.
In Kunduz, hundreds of government soldiers have surrendered to the Taliban at the city’s airport. At the same time, fighting continuing in other parts of the country.
Speaking to reporters, US President Joe Biden said he did not regret withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after 20 years but insisted the US was keeping the commitments it had made to the Kabul government.
A US-led military campaign began in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks but now most of the foreign troops have pulled out.
The UN says more than 1,000 civilians have been killed amid fighting between the Taliban and government forces in the past month.
By Devin Watkins
Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo died in the Vatican on Tuesday at the age of 94, following a long and distinguished career at the Holy See.
In recognition of the late Cardinal’s years of service, Pope Francis sent his condolences on Wednesday in a telegram addressed to Msgr. Fernando Loza Martinez, his nephew.
“I wish to express my closeness to you, to your relatives, and to all who knew and esteemed [the late Cardinal Martinez Somalo], warmly remembering his spiritually-fruitful witness,” wrote the Pope.
He recalled the late Cardinal’s “long and rich experience” of diligent service to “six of my predecessors who entrusted him with delicate and important offices.”
Pope Francis also thanked God for his “faithful and generous service to the Church and the Holy See.”
“I ask the Lord, through the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, to welcome him into our heavenly homeland to enjoy the blessed promise of the faithful servants of the Gospel,” said the Pope.
Cardinal Martinez Somalo began his service at the Vatican in 1956, where he served in a host of important roles.
He acted as the Camerlengo (“Chamberlain”) during the sede vacante in 2005 following the death of Pope St. John Paul II.
The funeral for Cardinal Martinez Somalo will be held on Friday morning at St. Peter’s Basilica, and will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
By Robin Gomes
Six months after seizing power in a coup, Myanmar’s military leaders are now trying to legitimize their grip on power, the United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar said on Tuesday.
Christine Schraner Burgener also said the situation in Myanmar “is still very worrisome”, amid a “severe” third wave of Covid-19 infections. Addressing reporters at a video press conference organized in New York, she gave an overall view of the critical situation in the country.
The political crisis unleashed by the 1 February coup took a new turn when junta leader senior army general Min Aung Hlaing on 1 August declared himself Prime Minister, pledging to hold elections by 2023. He thus annulled the election of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD).
“In my view, the Commander-in-Chief appears determined to solidify his grip on power with the latest caretaker government announcement; also, with the formal annulment of the election result from last year and declaration of the Commander-in-Chief to be Prime Minister of the country,” the UN envoy said, speaking from Bern, Switzerland.
Burgener also expressed fear that the National League of Democracy (NLD), which won the November 2020 election, could also soon be forcibly disbanded.
“This is an attempt to promote legitimacy against lack of international action taken,” she said. “And I have to make (it) clear that the UN does not recognize Governments, so it’s up to the Member States.”
The UN envoy underlined that as long as UN Member States do not make any decision, Myanmar’s Permanent Representative in New York, Kyaw Moe Tun, remains the country’s legitimate UN Ambassador, while Suu Kyi and President Myint are its leaders at the world body.
She expressed shock at the news of an alleged plot to kill or injure Ambassador Tun, who has denounced the coup at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The situation on the ground in Myanmar remains “very difficult”, she reported. “There is no freedom of speech, and I have still grave concerns about attacks against the free press,” she said, adding she has always urged “the army to release political prisoners, including many media workers.”
Up to Tuesday, she said, 962 people have been killed since the protest began following the coup. Another 7,082 have been arrested, including foreigners, 5,526 are still detained, including 104 children.
Meanwhile, clashes between the army and local defense forces continue. Violence has risen, and the defense groups are increasingly using “professional weapons”. This widening conflict, including with armed ethnic groups, has driven a large number of people from their homes.
At the same time, people are reeling under a “severe third wave of Covid-19 in Myanmar”. “Entire families are falling sick with Covid-19, with relatives desperately struggling to access treatment, emergency oxygen and other supplies, while prices have skyrocketed.”
With many doctors and healthcare workers joining the civil disobedience movement, the military-controlled Health Ministry is unable to provide even the most basic healthcare in many places. Many loathe or are suspicious of the Ministry’s services.
Burgener said UN agencies and its partners are working for the resumption of health assistance, with priority given to vaccine rollout through the global solidarity initiative, COVAX, and to revitalizing immunizations generally.
Burgener said she is continuing her engagement to find a peaceful solution to the political crisis in Myanmar, although she has yet to be allowed to travel there.
The UN Special Envoy has been holding talks with the military, ethnic armed organizations, and other stakeholders, who include the National Unity Government (NUG), formed by exiled lawmakers ousted in the coup. Representatives come from the NLD, other parties and ethnic armed groups.
Burgner said she really hopes that dialogue really takes place “to avoid a breakout of full-scale civil war”. (Source: UN)
By Vatican News staff reporter
Migrants attempting to enter Latvia were being met with military patrols on Wednesday, a day after the eastern European country declared a state of emergency along its border.
According to the Baltic News Service, border guards, armed forces and police will be authorized to instruct illegal immigrants to return to the country they came from, and use physical force if they refuse.
It also reports that some 283 people have been detained for illegally crossing into Latvia from Belarus since August 6, bringing the total for the year to 343 people.
The state of emergency runs from August 11 until November 10.
In neighbouring Lithuania, authorities have erected a fence to deter entry.
So far this year, 4,026 people have illegally crossed into Lithuania from Belarus, compared with 74 in total in 2020.
The Lithuanian parliament also voted to allow the military to patrol the border alongside frontier guards and to turn back people deemed to have crossed illegally.
Those wanting to claim asylum must now do so at an official border crossing or at an embassy.
Lithuania says Belarus allows migrants to make their way to the Lithuanian border after they have landed in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.
Both countries accuse Belarus of allowing migrants to cross illegally into their territories and of using the issue of migration to push the European Union to reverse sanctions imposed.
Poland, which has also seen an influx of migrants into its territory, says Belarus is retaliating against Warsaw’s decision this week to give refuge to a Belarusian athlete who refused to return home from the Tokyo Olympics.
In May of this year, Belarus decided to let migrants enter Lithuania in retaliation for EU sanctions imposed after Minsk forced a Ryanair flight to land on its soil and arrested a dissident blogger on board.
The majority of migrants come from Iraq, followed by the Republic of Congo and Cameroon.
Paul Samasumo – Vatican City.
Some of Zambia’s Catholic Bishops have addressed the faithful in their dioceses and called upon them to turn out in numbers and vote for their preferred candidates.
Former President of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), Bishop George Zumaire Cosmas Lungu, the Bishop of Chipata Diocese, writing to parishioners in his diocese called for free and credible elections.
“To start with, I wish to reiterate the call for free, fair, peaceful, credible and transparent elections…It is surely unfortunate that in the campaign period, life was sacrificed, and property was lost. Therefore, let 12 August also be a day of special remembrance in honour of all those who lost their lives and whose property was destroyed, assuring them that nothing was lost in vain,” said Bishop Lungu. He was referring to pre-election violence that has engulfed the country. Authorities in Zambia have since deployed the military onto the streets.
Amidst fears that voters might shun the electoral exercise for fear of violent political vigilantes, known locally as ‘party cadres,’ Bishop Lungu added, “I extend my earnest appeal to all Zambians to realise that voting is one of their fundamental rights and duties. It is also a Christian duty. Let us, therefore, turn out In numbers and peacefully cast our votes and wait for the outcome, “said the Chjpata prelate.
For his part, in the Western Province of Zambia, Bishop Evans Chinyama Chinyemba, OMI, of Mongu Diocese, also wrote to his diocese and recorded a video message that has been widely shared on WhatsApp and Facebook platforms.
Addressing himself to Zambian politicians, Bishop Chinyemba challenged their consciences.
“Banabehesu (dear brothers and sisters), my dear politicians; having gone round the country and constituencies and addressed various political meetings and other forms of gatherings, you now know what shape the country is in. In such meetings and gatherings, you were privileged to address many people. Are the people you met in all those meetings happy? Are they contented? Are they encouraged by your words and promises? Have you encountered people who are desperate, hungry, illiterate, and impoverished? Did you see the marks of pain and suffering and anxiety written on their faces? As aspiring leaders, what vision and hope can you hold up to such a people?” challenged Bishop Chinyemba.
Turning to parishioners in the diocese, Bishop Chinyemba told them, “Banabahesu, you are not just members of the Church, you are also ‘faithful citizens’ who are motivated by faith and gospel values which Christ died for…. I call upon you to go out and vote. After all, it is your civic duty. Make your vote reflect your informed conscience. May your vote speak for the many young people and others who are unable to vote because of age and other circumstances beyond their control. Let the 12 August 2021 elections reflect a mature electorate who cast their ballot responsibly for the nation’s well-being and future good. May the Holy Spirit enlighten you as you go in peace to cast your ballot,” said Bishop Chinyemba.
President Edgar Chagwa Lungu of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) is seeking re-election. His main challenger is the President of Zambia’s major opposition political party, the United Party for National Development (UPND).
By Vatican News staff reporter
The Holy Father has appointed the distinguished Professor Jennifer Anne Doudna, , as ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Professor Jennifer Doudna was born on 19 February 1964 in Washington, D.C. (USA). She studied biochemistry at Pomona College in Claremont, California, and earned her doctorate in Biological Chemistry at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge. Later, she continued her studies at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She is currently Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 2020, together with Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 genomic editing method.
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences was originally founded in 1603 and re-established by Bd Pius IX in 1847. Pope Pius XI gave the Academy its current name and statutes in 1936.
The mission of the Academy is to honour pure science wherever it may be found, ensure its freedom and encourage research for the progress of science.
By Benedict Mayaki, SJ
The US Senate passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Tuesday. This $1.2 trillion infrastructure package will go towards shoring up the nation’s infrastructure with funding for roads, bridges and railroads.
It will also extend toward providing access to high-speed internet to Americans, providing clean drinking water and upgrading the power grid, while creating job opportunities.
In a statement signed by USCCB committee chairman on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Archbishop Paul Coakley, the US Bishops welcomed the development and expressed gratitude for the bipartisan efforts of members of the Senate to pass the bill.
They also reiterated their interest, earlier stated in a letter to Congress in April, in seeing “how the package affects those on the margins of society and protects God’s creation.”
“Aware that our environmental challenges are too big for any one bill,” the bishops said, “we are pleased that the legislation reflects an integral ecology, with historic investments in public transit, rail, bridges, and clean drinking water, and emphases on climate change mitigation, carbon capture and climate resilience. It is also very good to see expanded broadband internet access and the creation of new jobs.”
The bishops went on to draw the attention of Congress to other areas that need intervention, including “investing in decent housing and rental assistance, continuing the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, making the Child Tax Credit permanently refundable, expanding access to in-home care for family members, and ensuring quality and affordable childcare options.”
The statement also urged the lawmakers to work toward ensuring “paid sick leave, parental leave, and other supports for families, as well as legalization and a path to citizenship for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status/Deferred Enforced Departure holders, migrant agricultural workers, and other undocumented essential workers.”
In addition, the bishops reiterated Pope Francis’ recent appeal for universal access to good and affordable health care.
The bishops then restated their resolute insistence that “no taxpayer funding go to abortion,” stressing that “it is critical that any proposal to expand health care coverage avoid an expansion of taxpayer funding” for it.
They also lamented a provision in the current legislation that “would advance a false understanding of gender and sexuality,” and affirmed that “Catholic institutions must be free to serve everyone with respect and dignity in accordance with our beliefs.”
“As work continues,” the bishops said,” we ask Congress to give consideration to these views and work together to promote the common good and the dignity of every human person.”
Vatican City, Aug 11, 2021 / 04:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis made an unknown phone call at the end of his weekly general audience on Wednesday.
A livestream video of the Aug. 11 audience in the Vatican’s Pope Paul VI Hall showed the pope giving his apostolic blessing, then being approached by one of his assistants. The two could be seen speaking together for a moment before Pope Francis was handed a cellphone which he put to his ear.
According to people present in the hall, the pope spoke on the phone for around two minutes, then gestured to the crowd that he would return soon and left the room. He came back shortly afterward to greet the people gathered to see him.
Pope gets a phone call during the Audience. Haven’t seen this before. Then he quickly leaves and says he will be back. pic.twitter.com/npCuPzdnxP
— The Catholic Traveler (@MountainButorac) August 11, 2021
No other information is currently known about the mysterious phone call.
The moment took place at the end of Pope Francis’ Wednesday general audience, after the Our Father was prayed in Latin.
The papal audiences were paused during July for a summer break, but have resumed this month.
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Vatican City, Aug 11, 2021 / 03:08 am (CNA).
Pope Francis said on Wednesday he is sorrowful at the news of the Aug. 9 murder of French priest Fr. Olivier Maire, as he extended his condolences to the priest’s family, community, and all Catholics in France.
During his general audience Aug. 11, the pope said he learned of the murder of the priest in western France “with great sorrow.”
Fr. Olivier Maire, 61, was the French provincial superior of the Montfort Missionaries (the Company of Mary). His murder was announced on Aug. 9 by the country’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
“I extend my condolences to the Montfortian religious community in Saint laurent-sur-Sèvre, in Vendée, to his family and to all the Catholics of France,” Pope Francis said. “I assure you of my sympathy and my spiritual closeness. To all, my blessing.”
Pope Francis spoke about Fr. Maire during his greeting to French-speaking pilgrims at his weekly public audience. After a summer break in July, Francis has resumed the meetings this month.
Maire was killed in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, a commune in the Vendée department, western France. The town is home to the Basilica of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, where the founder is buried and where St. John Paul II preached in 1996.
The French bishops’ conference and the Conference of Religious of France said in a joint statement on Aug. 9 that the man suspected of killing the priest “was staying with Fr. Olivier Maire” at the time of the murder.
Media named the suspect as Emmanuel Abayisenga, a 40-year-old man of Rwandan origin who is also suspected of starting the fire at Nantes cathedral in July 2020.
Abayisenga was questioned by police Aug. 9 in connection with the murder.
French media reported that the suspect walked into a police station in Mortagne-sur-Sèvre on Monday morning and told officers that he had killed a priest.
Abayisenga reportedly met Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2016, four years before he was arrested by police and later released on bail following the fire on July 18, 2020, at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul of Nantes, where he worked as a volunteer warden.
A photograph taken on Nov. 11, 2016, first published by the French Catholic newspaper La Croix on July 15, showed a man identified as Abayisenga greeting Pope Francis during an audience with socially excluded people in the Vatican.
La Croix confirmed in its Aug. 9 report on the murder of Fr. Maire that Abayisenga “had met with Pope Francis in 2016 in Rome.”
The pope is believed to have met with Abayisenga during a gathering for the European Festival of Joy and Mercy in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
The event for socially excluded people was organized by the French organization Fratello, as part of the Catholic Church’s year-long Jubilee of Mercy. Around 3,600 people attended, including many from France, Poland, and Rome.
According to La Croix, Abayisenga traveled to Rome with a group from Nantes. He had been under the protection of the local Christian community after arriving in the city in 2012, the Catholic newspaper said.
In his general audience address Aug. 11, Pope Francis reflected on the law of God, noting that adherence to the law should bring us into encounter with Jesus Christ, which “is more important than all of the Commandments.”
“All those who have faith in Jesus Christ are called to live in the Holy Spirit, who liberates from the Law and, at the same time, brings it to fulfillment according to the commandment of love,” he said.
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By Devin Watkins
As he greeted the French-speaking faithful at the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis took the opportunity to offer his condolences for the death of a French priest.
“I learned of the murder of Father Olivier Maire with great sorrow,” he said. “I extend my condolences to the religious community of the Monfortians in Saint-laurent-sur-Sèvre, Vendée, to his family and to all Catholics in France.”
The Pope also assured those affected by his death of his spiritual nearness.
French Bishops and religious have also expressed their admiration for the generosity of the slain priest.
Fr. Olivier Maire was the provincial superior of the Company of Mary in France.
He and his religious community had been offering shelter to a 40-year-old Rwandan immigrant who is a suspect in the arson attack on the Cathedral of Nantes in June 2020.
On Monday, the man turned himself in to police, confessing to the murder of Fr. Maire. Police have detained him and are treating him as a suspect in the ongoing investigation.
An autopsy revealed that Fr. Maire died after “violent blows” to the head, according to the prosecutor of La-Roche-sur-Yon.
“The victim had six lesions, all to the head, inflicted by violent blows,” reads the autopsy report, which was unable to determine the weapon used to strike the priest.
By Devin Watkins
“Why the law?” Pope Francis chose to focus his catechesis at the weekly General Audience on that question from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (3:19.21-22).
The Pope said the aim of his reflections would be to “recognize the newness of the Christian life enlivened by the Holy Spirit.”
Writing to the Galatians, St. Paul was seeking to refute his detractors’ argument that Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians had to follow all prescriptions of the Mosaic Law, something the Apostles had already decided against at the “first council” of Jerusalem (Acts 15:28-29).
Pope Francis explained that the Mosaic Law was related to the Covenant that God had established with His People.
Contained in the Torah—the first five books of the Old Testament—the Law was the means by which the Jewish people maintained their bond with God and respected the Covenant.
“Several times, especially in the prophetic books,” said the Pope, “it is noted that not observing the precepts of the Law constituted a real betrayal of the Covenant, provoking God’s wrath as a consequence.”
This close connection meant the Covenant and the Law were often understood as two inseparable realities.
However, St. Paul consistently argued that this was not the case for the disciples of Christ.
“The Apostle explains to the Galatians that, in reality, the Covenant and the Law are not linked indissolubly,” said Pope Francis.
He based his argument on the fact that God’s Covenant with Abraham came “430 years before” God gave the Law to Moses.
St. Paul noted that the Covenant is grounded “on faith in the fulfillment of the promise.”
Pope Francis said St. Paul was not opposed to the Mosaic Law, often defending its divine origin and “well-defined role in the history of salvation” in several of his letters.
“The Law, however, does not give life. It does not offer the fulfillment of the promise because it is not capable of being able to fulfill it,” he said. “Those who seek life need to look to the promise and to its fulfillment in Christ.”
In conclusion, the Pope urged those present at the General Audience to welcome the “radical newness of the Christian life.”
“All those who have faith in Jesus Christ are called to live in the Holy Spirit,” he said, “who liberates from the Law and, at the same time, brings it to fulfillment according to the commandment of love.”
Pope Francis added that the commandments and the Law direct us toward Christ.
“May the Lord help us journey along the path of the commandments, while looking to the love of Christ and knowing that the encounter with Jesus is more important than all the commandments.”
By Vatican News staff reporter
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed a sixth term as president following last year’s disputed presidential elections, leading to massive protests throughout the country.
In response, security forces launched a nation-wide crackdown, with more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten and jailed.
On the anniversary of the election, US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Belarusian entities, including state-owned businesses, the Belarusian National Olympic committee, and private companies with ties to Lukashenko’s regime.
“It is the responsibility of all those who care about human rights, free and fair elections and freedom of expression to stand against this oppression,” Biden said in a statement. “The United States will continue to stand up for human rights and free expression, while holding the Lukashenka regime accountable, in concert with our allies and partners.”
In his statement, Biden called on Belarus to release all political prisoners and to begin talks with the opposition for a free and fair election that would be observed by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Other nations, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also announced new sanctions. In response to a question from journalists specifically about the British sanctions, Lukashenko said, “You in Britain can choke on these sanctions.”
The anniversary was also marked by a statement by the European Union, describing the presidential elections as “fraudulent.” “On 9 August 2020, the people of Belarus saw their hopes to elect a legitimate leader of the country brutally dashed,” the statement reads. “Since then, the people of Belarus have continuously and bravely stood up for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
The statement notes the regime’s crackdown on dissent, which it says is “consistently deepening the rift with the Belarusian people.”
It continues, “Together with like-minded partners, the EU has been vocal and united in calling on the Lukashenko regime to end its repressive practices. In line with its gradual approach, the EU stands ready to consider further measures in light of the regime’s blatant disregard of international commitments. The only way to end the political crisis is through an inclusive national dialogue.”
The European Union, it states, continues to support the Belarusian people. It “will continue to support a democratic, independent, sovereign, prosperous and stable Belarus”. The statement concludes, “The voices and the will of the people of Belarus will not be silenced.”
Vatican City, Aug 10, 2021 / 08:15 am (CNA).
Cardinal Eduardo Martínez Somalo, a former camerlengo of the Catholic Church, has died at his home in Rome.
The 94-year-old Martínez suffered a heart attack last month. He had a history of cardiovascular disease and had undergone a triple bypass surgery in 2003, according to Spanish magazine Vida Nueva.
Originally from the Rioja province of Spain, Martínez managed the administration of the Holy See as camerlengo between the death of St. Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
His duties also included overseeing the preparations for the papal conclave.
The cardinal had a long career in the Roman Curia under the papacy of John Paul II, whom he joined on his many trips in Italy and abroad.
Martínez’s death on the morning of Aug. 10 was confirmed to Spanish news agency Europa Press by the Diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño.
The diocese said the cardinal’s body will be brought to his hometown of Baños de Río Tobía in Spain for his funeral Mass.
“We convey our sincere condolences to all his dear family, and we commend the good and faithful servant who dedicated his entire life to the service of God and the Church. Rest in peace,” the diocese wrote on Twitter.
St. Pope John Paul II made Martínez a cardinal in June 1988, after he served as sostituto, or the second-in-command, in the Secretariat of State for nine years.
Martínez was prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments from 1988 to 1992, before being named camerlengo, a position he held from 1993 to 2007.
The cardinal resigned as camerlengo on his 80th birthday, March 31, 2007. Pope Benedict XVI wrote to him several days later, recalling “the long and dedicated service that closely bound your priestly and episcopal ministry to the Apostolic See.”
“I would like to express to you my warm gratitude for the diligence, competence and love with which you have carried out this delicate task at the service of the Holy See and of the universal Church,” Benedict wrote.
He said: “As your high office as Camerlengo and your other important offices in the various Dicasteries of the Roman Curia come to an end, I am sure that the memory of all the good you have done will be a comfort to you and a cause of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord.”
Martínez also served as prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life from 1992 until 2004.
As a cardinal, he presided over two assemblies of the Synod of Bishops as president delegate: the first special assembly for Europe in 1991 and the ninth general assembly on consecrated life in 1994.
The Spaniard first came to Rome as a seminarian to study at the Pontifical Spanish College and the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he received a licentiate in theology and canon law.
He was ordained a priest in 1950 in his home diocese before being sent to Rome again to attend the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, a training college for priests serving in the Holy See’s diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State.
Martínez also received a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University.
He worked in the Secretariat of State from 1956 until 1970, when he spent a few months as counselor of the apostolic delegation to Great Britain.
In October 1970 he returned to Rome in the role of assessor of the Secretariat of State. He was apostolic nuncio in Colombia from 1974 to 1979.
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By Alessandro De Carolis
“Great dignity” and “solemn sobriety”: Those words offer a photograph of the qualities of the late Cardinal Martinez Somalo, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI.
Shortly before his 80th birthday, on 31 March 2007, Eduardo Martínez Somalo, then Cardinal Chamberlain (or Camerlengo) of the Holy Roman Church, wrote to Benedict XVI to offer his resignation from the post due to the age limit. The Pope sent him a letter that revealed his great esteem.
Pope Benedict, now emeritus, in his letter dated 4 April 2007, used a series of nouns and adjectives to describe the retiring Cardinal, including “diligence”, “competence”, and “love” spent in the service of the Holy See.
He also noted the attitudes of solemn sobriety and dignity shown by the Chamberlain at the time when, following the death of Pope St. John Paul II, he became the highest authority pro tempore of the Church. Everything in that letter confirms “sincere appreciation” towards a priest and a bishop who remained “intimately connected” to the mission in the Apostolic See.
In fact, the story of Cardinal Martinez Somalo – who died late Tuesday morning in the Vatican -where he resided – often took him to and from Rome, ever since the dawn of his ministry.
Even before his priestly ordination he was sent from Spain – he was originally from Baños de Río Tobía, province of La Rioja – to complete his studies at the Pontifical Spanish College and the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he graduated with degrees in Theology and Canon Law.
The future cardinal was ordained a priest in 1950, afterwards returned to his native diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño, and then returned to Rome again, this time to attend courses at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the school for future diplomats of the Holy See.
In August 1956, he became an official at the Secretariat of State, and was made responsible for the Spanish section. For this reason, he was at Pope St. Paul VI’s side in August 1968 during his Apostolic Journey to Colombia for the 39th International Eucharistic Congress.
He spent 14 years in the Vatican, then in April 1970 he was appointed counselor of the Apostolic Delegation to Great Britain. But just six months later, in October, the Secretariat of State called him back as an assessor and then as a direct collaborator of the then-substitute, Archbishop Giovanni Benelli.
Another five years of service in the Vatican, during which Martinez Somalo always found a way to divide his time between the Vatican offices, where many also appreciated his sense of humor, and his closeness to the people, in particular to those who suffer.
Then, on 12 November 1975, Paul VI appointed him as a titular archbishop and sent him as Apostolic Nuncio to Colombia. He then returned to the Holy See after four years.
The Pope who recalled him in May 1979 was John Paul II, who appointed him as substitute of the Secretariat of State, a position he held until 1988, when the Polish Pope created him cardinal.
In the same year he was also appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a post that Cardinal Martínez Somalo left in 1992 to dedicate himself to leading the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, of which he became Prefect Emeritus in 2004.
By Robin Gomes
The United Nations rights chief has expressed alarm over the rising violence and perpetration of human rights violations in Afghanistan, saying they are having disastrous consequences on the people. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday expressed her concern as civilian casualties continue to mount and reports of violations that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity continued to emerge.
“Parties to the conflict must stop fighting to prevent more bloodshed. The Taliban must cease their military operations in cities,” Bachelet stressed. She warned that “unless all parties return to the negotiating table and reach a peaceful settlement, the already atrocious situation for so many Afghans will become much worse”.
After 20 years of war, which started as a response to the 9/11 attacks on the US, foreign forces are pulling out of Afghanistan following a deal between the US and the Taliban militants they removed from power back in 2001. The Taliban have pledged not to allow Afghanistan to become a base for terrorists who could threaten the West.
But the manner and speed with which the Taliban are wresting control of territories from government troops, indicate the country is slipping into a worsening humanitarian crisis and civil war.
The Taliban’s sweeping takeover of at least 6 provincial capitals, 192 district administrative centres and attacks on other provincial capitals has “struck fear and dread into the population,” the High Commissioner pointed out.
She particularly drew attention to the high number of casualties in urban areas. Since July 9, in four cities alone – Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, Herat and Kunduz at least 183 civilians have been killed and 1,181 injured, warning that even before the latest Taliban military offensives on urban centres, the UN had documented a steep increase in civilian casualties.
Reports by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office, show that most of the civilian harm is being caused by ground engagements. In addition, since the start of the May Taliban offensive, at least 241,000 people have been displaced, and the protracted fighting in the cities has resulted in damage to essential infrastructures like roads and bridges, and other civilian objects.
Earlier on Monday, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) expressed shock at the rapid escalation of grave violations against children in Afghanistan, following the deaths of 27 children in the country in the past 72 hours, and 136 who were injured. “All of them are children whose right to protection, under international humanitarian law, has been disregarded by warring parties,” said UNICEF Afghanistan Representative Hervé Ludovic De Lys, in a statement.
Newly appointed UN Humanitarian Affairs chief and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, also joined UN Secretary-General António Guterres and members of the Security Council in condemning attacks against civilians and called for a ceasefire. In a statement, Griffiths said, “Fighting across the country, which has claimed the lives of over 40,000 people since 2009 when UN reporting began, needs to stop.” “People have suffered enough,” he added. More than 1,000 people were been killed or injured due to indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Helmand, Kandahar and Herat provinces in July alone.
Vatican News staff writer
The committee meeting of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity brought together the judges who are reviewing submissions and eventually choosing the winners of the 2022 prestigious prize.
Among them, Cardinal Michael Czerny, head of the Vatican’s Migrants and Refugees Section, said he looked forward “to cooperating with the committee to advance fraternity with all its human, social, and societal values”, as the committee begins its review process. The closing date for entry submissions is December 1st this year with the award recipient(s) scheduled to be announced on February 4, 2022.
The former President of Niger H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou also expressed his joy at being a member of the judging committee and said this “great responsibility” can be guided by the example of late founder of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the values of the historic Document on Human Fraternity, signed by His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Professor Ahmed Al-Tayeb.
Another juror on the committee, the President of the Aladdin Project Leah Pisar expressed her “deep honor and humility” in her role as a juror. Member H.E. José Ramos Horta, a Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of East Timor, said he was pleased to join this global initiative that aims to promote human fraternity worldwide. UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka thanked the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity for the opportunity to be part of the new chapter of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity and stressed the importance of the award’s mission to highlight and support humanitarian efforts.
The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity promotes the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity and is an independent international committee instituted to promote the values of human fraternity around the world and to fulfill the aspirations of the Document on Human Fraternity which was co-signed by His Eminence Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Professor Ahmed Al-Tayeb and His Holiness Pope Francis on February 4, 2019, in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity was established in February 2019 to mark the historic meeting between Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Professor Ahmed Al-Tayeb, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, where the two great figures became the first honorary recipients of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.
The 2021 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity honorees were United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Latifa Ibn Ziaten, founder of the IMAD Association and an activist against extremism.
By Giada Aquilino – Vatican City
Bruno, one of the inmates of the Ragusa prison, had the idea of planting a Laudato si’ vegetable garden when he received a packet of seeds of typical Sicilian “tinniruma” courgettes as a gift. The gift brought to his mind the teachings of his farmer father, and he asked to plant them in the grounds of the prison. The seeds were donated to him, with the approval of the prison authorities, by an association of social workers that has been offering its services to prisons, hospital patients, oncological clinics and children’s wards as well as to disabled persons and to the elderly since 2007.
Fabio Ferrito, president of the “Ci Ridiamo Sù” association, himself a social worker who specializes in performing arts, told Vatican News that “In April last year, during the pandemic, a project was launched that involved the local prison in Ragusa. The project was to make masks for the community to be donated to hospitals and centers for the disabled.” With the help of his colleague, Alessandro Vitrano, and other social workers, he said “we gave a sewing machine to the 180 inmates of the penitentiary as a gift, along with useful material for the production of the masks. About a thousand masks were made and, to thank the inmates for their work, we gave them the ‘tinniruma’ seeds: delicate symbols of the delicacy they expressed in producing the masks”.
Everything else followed suite: with Bruno’s help, part of the prison grounds, that had not been used, was set aside and “the seeds were planted, almost as a game. A garden of tender courgettes was born”,’ Ferrito explained, “we are talking about almost 100 plants.” Then, in agreement with the director of the prison, Giovanna Maltese, “we suggested planting more greenery, including trees. Thus, with the help of sponsors, we bought 1,500 plants. That’s when we realized that we could create a vegetable garden and the project took-off” with the name Libere Tenerezze- Laudato sì – after Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical.
The aim, the president of the Association explained, is to give prison inmates “the chance to express themselves, to be able to go beyond a sense of isolation, frustration, personal and collective tensions. We have called it a ‘humorous garden’, because we are ‘clowns’ that try to foster new relationships based on dialogue, exchange and openness to the community, while also providing the detainees with the opportunity to acquire professional skills.” Especially in prison, he said, we need to remember that “Work is a necessity, part of the meaning of life on this earth, a path to growth, human development and personal fulfilment” as the Pontiff points out in Laudato si’ (128).
During the pandemic, “every activity project came to a halt,” he observed. “The inmates’ external contacts, especially with their families, were cancelled, and the only time they could get together was for Sunday Mass”, celebrated by the chaplain, Father Carmelo Mollica.
The vegetable garden project has evolved over time, taking on a very particular connotation: “with the help of an agronomist, Alessandro Scrofani, we have chosen to use probiotics and biodynamic farming techniques, aiming for a garden that ensures the quality of the produce and respect for the earth. We recognize ourselves in Laudato si’,” Ferrito pointed out, explaining that the “vegetable garden is a closed-cycle project because it uses kitchen waste and organic waste. No chemicals, fungicides or antibiotics are utilized, but everything is recycled using a compost bin to avoid the dispersion of aggressive minerals in the soil which can be a source of pollution for groundwater. We also use nettle and garlic insect-repellents, organic fertilizers and manure to stabilize the crop and prevent bacteria and fungi from attacking it.”
In little more than a year, on the three plots of land granted by the prison authorities, seasonal vegetables are being grown, from tomatoes to salads, from aubergines to fennel. In the largest of the three, some 2,500 square meters, “an experiment with legumes, artichokes, tropical and subtropical plants, such as mangoes, papayas, avocados, as well as kiwis and gooseberries has been started.” The association and the inmates are also proud of the fact that they have built a greenhouse “for strawberries, with hydroponic cultivation, using quantum music: it has been observed that certain sound frequencies have a positive effect on the health of the plants, facilitating germination, growth and greater resistance to disease. It is also a very fascinating initiative for children, because it conveys a message of equilibrium between man and nature. Among other things, those involved in the gardening are acquiring a very high level of competence that can also be useful in the future,” with a view to offer them “a dignified life through work” (128).
In the world of agriculture there is no lack of hard work. There is, however, the need for profound knowledge and an uncommon capacity for innovation. The operators of the “Ci Ridiamo Sù” association work side by side with the inmates – not all of them, of course, but those who have received authorization to do so: Bruno has recently been joined by Antonino – also because, as Laudato si’ notes, “every form of work is a concept of the relationship which we can and must have with what is other than ourselves.” (125).
“We do everything together,” Ferrito explained: “we plan the garden, choose the plants, make the irrigation systems, work the land, fertilize it, sow the seeds and harvest the crops. These are men who “appreciate working together, and the fact that we relate to them without filters, and we joke with them, when a smile breaks the fatigue of a day in the fields, the true selves of each other really emerge.” These are people who “have not seen their children for a long time: they have long jail sentences.” He noted that some, like Bruno, who left his children when they were toddlers and now they are teenagers, manage to keep up a constant and continuous relationship, even though he sees them very little. “I would dare say, more than a father who sees his son 24-hours a day: he writes them a letter every day and the children confide in him, ask his advice as if he were home with them. These are impromptu tales born of daily work”, commitment and above all, trust, Ferrito said: this is what the detainees have found in the Ragusa prison, “a prison with an all-female staff,” including the director and the commander of the Penitentiary Police.
Prison Director, Giovanna Maltese, was struck by the significance of the Libere Tenerezze – Laudato si’ vegetable garden project during the pandemic lockdown, because thanks to the project “the inmates were able to have “continuity of contact with the earth and its values”. An opportunity, she said, “to escape idleness” and to enjoy “the concreteness of results, every time a seedling was successful”, producing its own fruit. The project has been included in the three-year planning of the 2021-2023 Sicilian Regional Penitentiary Administration.
Rosetta Noto, head of what was known as the Educational Area of the Ragusa prison, that is the sector that deals with the recovery and social reintegration of inmates, hopes “that it will continue and become a structural project for the prison, so that other inmates can have this opportunity in the future”. Passing on the knowledge of biodynamic agriculture “is very important,” Noto emphasized, “especially for those inmates who do not have a high level of education: it is we, who give them the training so that when they leave prison they can find employment more easily.” Bruno himself, she says, has “great hopes in the project. He understands its value and hopes that once he has served his sentence, he will be able to find a job with the experience he will have acquired.” The Prison Director agrees, adding that an experience such as this could lead to new professional opportunities in the farming industry, including the possibility of starting one’s own business with the contribution of a law introduced in the year 2000 (Legge Smuraglia) that favours the employment of former prison inmates. This is Bruno’s dream, as well as that of many other Ragusa detainees. They have another dream as well, Fabio Ferrito pointed out: that “of being able to make a delivery of their produce as soon as possible to Pope Francis.”
By Vatican News staff writer
Pope Francis has appointed Professor Emmanuelle Marie Charpentier, founder and director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin, Germany, as the newest ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Prof Charpentier is also the recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Born on December 11, 1968 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France, Charpentier specialized in Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry and Genetics at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris.
She is the founding director, and scientific and administrative director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, Germany, and an honorary professor of Microbiology at the Institut für Biologie of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She has also taught at Umeå University, Sweden.
In 2020, Professor Charpentier, along with American biochemist Jennifer Anne Doudna, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of the CRISPR/Cas9 method of genome editing.
By Devin Watkins
The Catholic Bishops and religious of France have expressed their “immense sadness and horror” at the murder of Father Olivier Maire, Provincial Superior of the Montfort Missionaries.
The body of the French priest was found at his home in Saint-Laurent-Sur-Sevre, in the western Vendée region.
A 40-year-old Rwandan immigrant handed himself in to police, confessing to Fr. Maire’s murder. He is being treated as the prime suspect in the investigation.
The man, who had been refused political asylum, was already under investigation for setting fire to the Cathedral of Nantes last June. Fr. Maire had been offering the man assistance and housing him in the Montfortian community since the end of May.
The French Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Conference of Religious released a statement on Monday in response to the killing.
They assure Fr. Maire’s “parents, family, Montfort Missionaries, community of the Basilica of St. Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort in Saint-Laurent-Sur-Sevre, and the entire Montfortian religious family of their prayers.”
French President Emmanuel Macron took to Twitter to pay tribute to the slain priest. He wrote that Fr. Maire’s “generosity and love for others were reflected in his facial features.”
Speaking to Vatican News’ Olivier Bonnel, Sister Véronique Margron said the religious community of France feels great pain “to think that a man of peace was murdered in the name of hospitality.”
“In addition to the fear, there is also a feeling of incomprehension and powerlessness,” added the Dominican nun, who serves as the president of the Conference of Religious in France.
She said the Montfortians had offered the Rwandan man shelter out of evangelical concern.
“Now is not the time to add fuel to the fire with calls for his expulsion, since he was not deported because he was in the midst of a judicial process,” said Sr. Margron. “This situation was truly not the problem of the brothers who welcomed him.”
The late Fr. Maire took in the man who would allegedly become his murderer, an act which recalls the Paschal mystery, according to the nun.
“We must remember that the virtue of hospitality is the greatest and first of the biblical virtues,” she said. “There is no higher virtue in the whole of the Old Testament.”
Sr. Margron added that the Montfortians were not naïve in taking the man in. “They did this with full knowledge of the facts, welcoming advice; yet no one told them that this man could be so dangerous.”
Christians in France, concluded the Dominican nun, should gather spiritually round those connected with Fr. Maire, sharing their sorrow and recalling his generosity.
The Bishop of Luçon, François Jacolin, also expressed his appreciation for the work of the slain priest.
“He was a victim of his generosity,” said the Bishop. “We hope that this tragedy might not destroy the ideal of hospitality and sharing.”
Rádio Nova de Maria, Cabo Verde and Vatican News English Africa Service.
Augusta Teixeira, together with her husband José Teixeira, are representatives of the Commission coordinating couples of the Catholic Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde in the city of Praia. The coordinating office is known as the Diocesan Secretariat for the Promotion of Family Values (SDPV). Augusta recently told Vatican News that the Fifth Diocesan Family Forum was open to couples whose marriages are blessed in Church, young people preparing for marriage, newlyweds and married couples whose marriages are recognised by the state.
According to Augusta, the Forum was an event for sharing and disseminating information about the importance of Christian family life as lived in Cabo Verde.
Families, for example, were updated about the status of Moral and Religious Education in school. The topic generated much discussion.
Father Bruno Varela, who also works with the Diocesan SDPV office, added that the Diocese wants to draw attention to the current need for children’s faith development within the family. He said, notwithstanding the various transformations happening in Cabo Verdean society, and in the words of Pope Francis, the family continues to be “the first and essential place of education.” It is in the family that Christian values are first imparted and planted.
“Family: salt of the earth and light of the world” was the theme of the Fourth Diocesan Family Forum, held in April 2018, at the Parish of Santo Amaro Abade, in the municipality of Tarrafal, Santiago Island.
By Robin Gomes
Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters on Sunday marked the anniversary of the bloody suppression of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising against a previous junta that had held the impoverished nation hostage for almost 6 decades under brutal military rule. The uprising, which began as a student movement, was violently put down with the military firing openly against the protesters and jailing thousands. The revolt has become known as the 8888 Uprising in reference to its date, August 8, 1988. Opponents of the military say an estimated 3,000 people were killed during that crackdown.
The uprising, 33 years ago, had brought to prominence Aung San Suu Kyi, whom the current military junta deposed along with her elected government on February 1. The coup has unleashed a nationwide protest and civil disobedience movement, with a brutal crackdown by security forces on demonstrators and dissidents.
The crisis has roiled the nation with disastrous consequences on the nation’s 54 million, who are hit by an acute food crisis, lack of essential commodities and services and displacement.
Meanwhile, the current surge in Covid-19 cases is wreaking havoc on the people with healthcare services by the military practically non-existent. The Ministry of Health, which is under the control of the government, said on Monday the total number of deaths has now risen to
12,014, while infections surged to 333,127. Experts say the official figures are an undercount.
To avoid being arrested, protesters held flash mobs and marches on Sunday in various parts of the country, including in the two biggest cities of Yangon and Mandalay. Following the calls of an online campaign, red-clad protesters flashed an eight-finger salute and carried banners that read: “Let’s return the old blood debt of 1988 in 2021”. Reuters cited at least 6 separate protests documented on Facebook. “The old debt from 88, we must get it all in this 21,” chanted protesters in Wundwin township in Mandalay region, recorded on Facebook videos. Another anti-protest in Myaing township featured placards reading: “Let’s struggle together toward the unfinished 8.8.88 people’s liberation.”
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has suffered long under the rule of an oppressive military junta from 1962 to 2011. During the nearly 5 decades, almost all dissent was suppressed with gross human rights abuse, which drew international condemnation and sanctions. A gradual liberalization began in 2010, leading to free elections in 2015 and the installation of a government led by Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party the following year.
However, the military coup, 6 months ago, by the current junta leader general Min Aung Hlaing, ended Myanmar’s brief, decade-long experiment with democracy, after decades of isolation and poverty.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a non-governmental organization that documents and compiles a list of persons killed by the junta, on Saturday reported 960 deaths.
On August 1, Hlaing marked 6 months of the coup by declaring himself the prime minister of a newly formed caretaker government. The military-backed State Administration Council (SAC) that was formed after the Feb. 1 coup, has now been reformed as a caretaker government. The junta leader promised fresh multi-party elections in 2 years.
The United Nations denounced the measure as a move in the wrong direction from international calls for the restoration of democracy. “It’s moving us further away from what we have been calling for, member states have been calling for, which is a return to democratic rule, a release of all … political prisoners, a halt on the violence and the crackdown,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on August 2.
The military junta has proved itself intransigent and uncompromising, paying no heed to international calls for a return to democracy.
In recent months, Pope Francis has made several appeals for peace through dialogue and a return to democracy and civilian rule, in respect for the will of the people. He has also prayed and appealed for prayers for the troubled nation.
When he visited the southeast Asian nation in November 2015, he held meetings with the country’s political and religious leaders to help foster a more tolerant, inclusive and peaceful society.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church of Myanmar has made several appeals for peace and an end to the bloodshed. At the same time, the Church has made available many of its facilities and places of worship as shelters for the displaced and for treatment of Covid-19 cases. Cardinal Charles Bo, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar (CBCM), on August 2 called for a national prayer campaign for at least 2 weeks, appealing to followers of all religions to pray in order to “melt the hearts of all people and bring healing, peace and reconciliation”.
Some 88 percent of Myanmar’s 53 million population is Buddhist. Christians form 6.2 percent (including 750,000 Catholics), with Muslims making up 4.3 percent and the rest are Hindu and animist.
Gabriella Ceraso – Vatican City
Father Olivier Maire, provincial superior of the Montfortians, was murdered in the Vendée, in Saint-Laurent-Sur-Sevre, where his body was found by the gendarmerie and where the Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, is about to go. The Minister expressed all his support for the Catholics of France.
According media reports, the body was found after a man handed himself in to police and confessed to the priest’s murder. According to the newspaper La Croix, the 40-year-old Rwandan-born man is Emmanuel Abayisenga, the main suspect in the arson attack on the Nantes Cathedral in July 2020. Charged with the crime, he was released under judicial supervision at the beginning of June and had found shelter in a religious community, of which the murdered priest was a member, while awaiting trial in 2022. His lawyer had already said, he was a “physically and psychologically fragile” man.
By Vatican News staff writer
A recent survey carried out by Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia and Western Sydney University’s Translational Health Research Institute (THRI) has drawn attention to the difficult situation of people seeking asylum amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many of them, face “considerable financial hardship and high levels of homelessness during the first twelve months of the pandemic,” said a statement from JRS.
Of the over one hundred respondents seeking asylum and living in predominantly West and Southwest Sydney,” 55% of respondents had experienced some form of homelessness since arriving in Australia, 9% of respondents had slept rough, in a car, or in another improvised dwelling, and 14% had stayed in emergency accommodation.”
In 2020, the Australian government declared a moratorium on evictions, however, 29% of the respondents said they had been evicted or moved from their accommodations because of their inability to pay rent. This was largely because many asylum seekers are employed in cash-in-hand jobs and thus, find it different for them to demonstrate loss of employment to landlords.
Dr. Elizabeth Conroy, Senior Research Fellow at Western Sydney University and co-author, said that these findings “highlight how much more prevalent experiences of homelessness are for people seeking asylum relative to the mainstream population” and provide “potential new insights into the hidden homelessness and destitution” which deserves further consideration in public policy.
The data from the survey also provides insights into how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the financial circumstances and housing stability of people seeking asylum: 36% of them reported having difficulty in paying rent and 34% in paying electricity and gas bills in the preceding 12 months. More so, 45% said they had run out of food in the previous three months.
Nishadh Rego, Policy and Advocacy Manager at JRS Australia, said, “these findings show that significant numbers of people seeking asylum in Western Sydney were living in situations of poverty and homelessness even before this latest lockdown began. Our experience shows that struggles to put food on the table, pay rent, and buy medication have intensified in the last month.”
“Lockdown or not,” he continued, “there is an urgent need for the Federal Government to provide all people seeking safety in Australia with access to ongoing income support if they are unable to find safe and sustainable employment.”
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