(Vatican Radio) On Saturday, August 29 th , the venerable Servant of God, Flavyānus Mikhayil Melkī is to be beatified. Melkī was an Eastern Catholic prelate of the Brothers of Saint Ephrem, who became the Syrian Catholic eparch of Gazarta – or what is Cizre in modern-day Turkey, and was was killed in Gazarta during the sayfo or “putting to the sword” of Syrians in 1915, after he refused to convert to Islam.
Earlier in August, Pope Francis approved Melkī’s beatification after he determined that Melkī was killed in hatred of the faith. Thus, the beatification date of August 29 th has been set to coincide with the centenary of his martyrdom.
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In an exclusive interview with Vatican Radio, the Prefect of the Congregations for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, said that the soon-to-be Blessed Flavyānus Mikhayil Melkī is a model of holiness for our time, in which once again the Christian communities of very ancient standing face the threat of extinction. “Today, as it was one hundred years ago,” said Cardinal Amato, “darkness has fallen in many countries of ancient Christian civilization: the faithful are discriminated against, persecuted, expelled, killed; their houses are not marked with the blood of the Passover lamb to be saved, but with the red ‘Nu’,” for Nasrani or ‘One belonging to the Nazarene,’ “meaning Christians, as the mark of their sentence.” Cardinal Amato went on to say, “As it was one hundred years ago, at the time of the martyrdom of bishop Melkī, Christians are denied every liberty, they are forced to leave their homeland, or to convert or die.”
“In fact,” the Cardinal-Prefect explained, “death reigns supreme in the persecutors’ minds and hearts of stone, who cannot stand the Christian civilization of liberty, respect for others, fraternity justice, charity.”
The Beatification ceremony is to be celebrated by the Syrian Catholic Patriarch, His Beatitude Ignatius Youssef III, in Harissa, in the presence of Cardinal Amato and with the participation of Patriarchs and other Church leaders from many rites.
(from Vatican Radio)…
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has published a proposal to
encourage the faithful to organize in their particular Churches an hour of
Eucharistic Adoration on the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on 1
September. The proposal, which opens with a 5-minute audio-visual welcome, is
offered on the Dicastery’s website, www.iustitiaetpax.va , under the special
section dedicated to the Laudato Si’ . It is available for download in
English. The proposed programme
for the hour of Eucharistic Adoration offers an introductory Collect from the
Orthodox tradition, to be followed by selected passages of the Word of God.
First and foremost are passages from Genesis (1:26-2:3 and 2:15), which provide
the narrative of Creation and of God’s will to take man “and put him in the
garden of Eden to till it and keep it”. This reading is followed by Psalm 148,
in which all creatures are called to give praise for the wonders created on the
earth: “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the
heights!”. Also proposed is a passage from the Gospel according to Matthew
(6:25-33), in which Jesus says that our life is worth more than food, and our body more than clothing:
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”. Three passages from the
Laudato Si’ then follow: in the first (nn. 8-9), the Pope recalls
that Patriarch Bartholomew “has spoken in particular of the need for each of us to
repent of the ways we have harmed the planet, … ‘inasmuch as we all generate
small ecological damage’”. In the second (n. 236), the Pontiff highlights that
in the Eucharist “all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation”. In
the third (nn. 241-242), the Pope refers to Mary and Joseph, pointing out of
the Virgin in particular, that: “Just as her pierced heart mourned the death of
Jesus, so now she grieves for the sufferings of the crucified poor and for the
creatures of this world laid waste by human power”. The
Intercessions call for prayer that Christians seek first God’s kingdom, strive
to grow in spirit, to bear much fruit, to work for the good of the Church, and
that all generations may share in the goods of creation. The proposed programme
concludes with the recitation of the Our Father, the concluding blessing, and a
passage from the Pope’s letter of 6 August to Cardinal Turkson and Cardinal
Koch for the establishment of the World Day ….
(Vatican Radio) In his Wednesday general audiences throughout this year, Pope Francis has been reflecting on family life, ahead of the Synod of Bishops on the family, due to take place here in the Vatican from October 4th to 25th.
In these weekly reflections, the Pope has spoken extensively about the role of parents and particularly about the changing role of women in contemporary society. It is essential, he said, that “women not only be more listened to, but that her voice has real weight, a recognized authoritativeness” both in society and in the Church
Among those listening carefully to the Pope’s words is author and theologian Tina Beattie, who teaches Catholic Studies and heads a research centre for Religion, Society and Human Flourishing at the University of Roehampton in southern England. She talked to Philippa Hitchen about her hopes for a more incisive presence of women in the Catholic Church today…..
Listen:
Professor Beattie says that this year has seen “a surge of activity around these issues”, adding that she believe Pope Francis has “made it alright to address these issues and created spaces in which we can speak more freely than we’ve been able to do for a while”….
Asked about her hopes for the coming months, Beattie says sheI would like to see more women in positions of leadership, suggesting that the Pope “could add some women advisors to the nine cardinals who’re advising him – why not?” as well as including more women in the two new congregations that have been spoken about at part of the Curial reform programme. ” We can leave out the most sensitive issues of ordination and still do a great deal to include women, she says.
Reacting to the Pope’s call for “a profound theology of women”, Beattie expresses caution: noting that such a call is really saying the Church lacks a profound theology of the human. “And that’s true”, she continues, “this will be the catalyst for a whole new way of understanding theological anthropology…there are many women theologians qualified to contribute – so far not one has ever been quoted or included in formation of official Church teaching.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written a letter to Fr. David Neuhaus, SJ, who heads the St. James Vicariate for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel, on the occasion of the 60 th anniversary of the founding of the Vicariate as the Work of St. James – so named after the Apostle who led the Church at Jerusalem in the founding generation. Signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, the letters states, “The Holy Father was pleased to learn of the celebrations marking the sixtieth anniversary of the Apostolate of Saint James and he sends cordial good wishes to you and the priests, religious and Hebrew speaking Catholics of the Saint James Vicariate.”
The letter goes on to promise prayers for the continued and constant spiritual renewal of the Vicariate and its members. “In this way, not only will the Vicariate community be strengthened,” the letter reads, “it will also become an ever more effective instrument of dialogue and peace within broader society and a sign of Christ’s love for those most in need.”
Please find the text of the letter in Enlgish, below
“The Holy Father was pleased to learn of the celebrations marking the sixtieth anniversary of the Apostolate of Saint James and he sends cordial good wishes to you and the priests, religious and Hebrew speaking Catholics of the Saint James Vicariate. As you reflect on the many graces bestowed by God upon the Apostolate and Vicariate throughout these years, His Holiness prays that all of you may be renewed in your joyful witness to the Gospel, “not only with words, but above all by lives transfigured by God’s presence” ( Evangelii Gaudium , 259). In this way, not only will the Vicariate community be strengthened, it will also become an ever more effective instrument of dialogue and peace within broader society and a sign of Christ’s love for those most in need. Commending the Saint James Vicariate to the maternal intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, Pope Francis willingly imparts his Apostolic Blessing as pledge of peace and joy in the Lord.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) At the end of his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis recalled that next Tuesday, September 1st, the Church will mark the first World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Following in the footsteps of the Orthodox Church, Catholics are encouraged to organize prayer and practical initiatives to combat the environmental crisis facing our planet. Noting that local Churches around the world are planning events to reflect on the ways our lifestyles impact the environment, the Pope said he will be joining bishops, priests, religious and lay people for a special Liturgy of the Word in St Peter’s Basilica, to which local people and visiting pilgrims are warmly invited to attend. (from Vatican Radio)…