Catholics in southern India’s Kerala state have been urgedto show greater solidarity with the suffering Christians of Odisha state and spread the message of their exemplary witness. Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly who heads the eastern-rite Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, made the appeal on June 6 while releasing the Malayalam version of a book by rights advocate and journalist Anto Akkara that details the atrocities of the 2008 anti-Christian violence in Odisha’s Kandhamal district.
The riots orchestrated by Hindu extremists that raged for weeks claimed the lives of more than 100 Christians because they refused to abandon their faith. Over 6,000 Christian homes and 300 churches were plundered and torched leaving more than 56,000 homeless. Nearly 9 years after the violence, many Christians are still awaiting justice and compensation from the government. Many have not been able to return to their homes.
Akkara’s several books on the Kandhamal riots were the results of several visits to the district. The Kerala-born journalist has doggedly investigated the violence and meticulously recorded the witness and suffering of the Christians that followed the murder of Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda which Hindu fundamentalists blamed on Christians, , despite Maoist rebels claiming it.
“We have a duty to spread this message,” urged Card. Alencherry while releasing the Malayalam version, “Early Christians of 21st Century”. “The book brings out the brutality” Kandhamal Christians had to suffer. These revelations can touch human conscience and enlighten even non-Christians,” Cardinal Alencherry told the assembly of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) attended by over 40 Catholic bishops and 150 religious superiors.
”This book has touched the nerve centre of human conscience with graphic details of the suffering and witness of Kandhamal Christians who challenge us to ‘bear witness to the truth’ as Jesus taught,” observed. KCBC president Archbishop Maria Callist Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum.
”The incredible witness of Kandhamal Christians who carry the stamp of crucified Christ, brought out in this book, will aflame the Christian faith and witness in the readers,” said Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, the head of the eastern-rite Syro-Malankara Church and president of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI).
In his remarks, Akkara said his revised edition has included several new topics including a chapter on Kerala Christians’ strong bond with Kandhamal. “Hope this will lead to greater concern about Kandhamal in Kerala,” he said.
Seven innocent Christian men have been languishing in jail for the murder of Swami Laxmanananda. Akkara’s book, “Who killed Swami Laxmanananda?” busts the myth of a Christian conspiracy behind the murder. Apart from unveiling the Hindu nationalist fraud behind Kandhamal with tell-tale evidence, he has also launched an online signature campaign at www.release7innocents.com urging the authorities to release the 7 Christians.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday blessed an altar destined for a Marian sanctuary in South Korea during his General Audience.
The “ Adoratio Domini in unitate et pace ” will be placed in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary in Namyang, South Korea.
Pope Francis mentioned the altar in his greetings to Polish pilgrims.
He said the request for his blessing of the altar was made by the Queen of Peace Community Association in Radom, Poland.
The association is setting up 12 centers for Eucharistic Adoration and perpetual prayer for peace in “hotspots” around the world.
The Pope said the group drew its inspiration for the Adoration centers from the “12 stars in the crown of Mary, Queen of Peace”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) At the weekly General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis spoke on “The Fatherhood of God: the Wellspring of our Hope.” He was continuing his series of catechetical instruction on “ Christian Hope .”
Pope Francis’ catechesis focused on the Christian prayer par excellence, the Our Father. “The whole mystery of Christian prayer,” he said, “is summed up here, in having the courage to call God Father.”
The ability to call God Father, the Pope said, is not insignificant. It would be normal for humans to invoke God using the highest titles, on account of His infinite greatness; instead, the use of the word “Father” puts us “in a relationship of trust with Him, as a child who turns to his dad, knowing he is loved and cared for by him.” The mystery of God’s transcendence always fascinates us, and makes us feel small, but, he said, we are no longer afraid, we do not feel crushed or anguished.
God is a Father, the Pope continued, but he is not like human fathers; instead, Jesus offers the parable of the prodigal son, where the father welcomes his child with forgiveness and love. That, he says, is perhaps why St Paul, when referring to this mystery, prefers not to translate the term “abba,” which is more intimate than father, and might better be translated as “papa” or “daddy.”
“Dear brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis said, “we are never alone.” Even when we are distant or even hostile to God, even when we might claim to be “without God,” God the Father does not remain distant from us: “He will never be a God ‘without man.’” This providential plan of God is a great mystery. Whatever our needs, whatever our problems, the Pope reminded us that God is our Father, who is always watching over us with love, a Father who will never abandon us.”
Pope Francis concluded the audience by asking those in St Peter’s Square to think about their necessities, their problems, and to turn to God in confidence and hope, before leading them in the recitation of the Our Father.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will act as the “Commissioner for participation of the Holy See” during the inauguration of the EXPO 2017 Exposition “Future Energy” in Astana, Kazakhstan on 8-11 June.
A press release from the Dicastery said the exposition “explores the theme of energy for the future, interpreted as an opportunity for the promotion of humanity and the improvement of the ‘common home’ on the basis of an equitable and sustainable use of natural resources”.
Cardinal Turkson will be accompanied at the event by the Apostolic Nuncio in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt.
The statement says the Vatican’s exposition will develop four thematic areas: “The love of God as the origin of the creation of man and of the earth; energy as a tool placed in the hands of man, who has not always made adequate use of it; energy directed towards the development of the person and the care of the common home; and the strength of spirituality, with particular reference to prayer, the search for meaning, and interreligious dialogue.”
Please find below the full text of the press release:
From 8 to 11 June, Cardinal Peter K. A. Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will visit Astana, Kazakhstan, as the “Commissioner for participation of the Holy See” at the inauguration of the EXPO 2017 Exposition, “Future Energy”.
The Holy See, which has participated in the Universal Expositions since 1851, will be present with its own pavilion, entitled “Energy for the Common Good: Caring for our Common Home”, realized with the contribution from the local Church. It explores the theme of energy for the future, interpreted as an opportunity for the promotion of humanity and the improvement of the “common home” on the basis of an equitable and sustainable use of natural resources.
The display structure of the Holy See, which makes use of digital installations and will enable visitors to be accompanied along photographic, artistic, cultural and spiritual itineraries, develops four thematic areas: the love of God as the origin of the creation of man and of the earth; energy as a tool placed in the hands of man, who has not always made adequate use of it; energy directed towards the development of the person and the care of the common home; and the strength of spirituality, with particular reference to prayer, the search for meaning, and interreligious dialogue.
The inauguration of EXPO 2017 will take place on 9 June, and that of the Holy See pavilion in the morning of the following day. Cardinal Turkson will be accompanied by His Excellency Msgr. Francis Assisi Chullikatt, apostolic nuncio in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and by representatives of the local Church. The Holy See National Day is scheduled to take place on 2 September.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for prayers and international participation in the “One Minute for Peace” initiative to be held Thursday, 8 June, at 1:00 PM Rome time.
He said the initiative represents “a short moment of prayer on the recurrence of the meeting in the Vatican between me, the mourned Israeli President Peres, and the Palestinian President Abbas”.
Their encounter took place in the Vatican Gardens on 8 June 2014, during which the three men prayed together for peace.
The Holy Father said, “In our days, there is a great need to pray – Christians, Jews, and Muslims – for peace.”
His appeal came at the conclusion of his Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square.
(from Vatican Radio)…