Zamboanga – “National Youth Day” in the Philippines begins today, November 6. The so-called “national WYD”, which will last from 6 to 10 November, will see the presence of over 2,300 young people from all over the country. The chosen theme is based on the words of the Magnificat: “The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name” “. The participants are young people between the ages of 13 and 39 who, during the various meetings and celebrations, will reflect on issues relevant to young people’s lives, such as social challenges, social media, human trafficking, promotion of social education, art and culture… The national gathering returns to Mindanao Island after 11 years: the last time it was held in Davao City in 2006. The event sees the fruitful collaboration of the Catholic community with civilian civil authorities, in a phase where the Martial Law, proclaimed by President Duterte after the Marawi crisis, is still in force on the island of Mindanao. “It is an opportunity to express the desire of young people to embrace Christ’s mission among their peers”, said the Mayor of Zamboanga, Catholic Mary Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, offering full organizational support to the event. The Archdiocese of Zamboanga, organizer of the event, together with the Commission for Youth pastoral within the Episcopal Conference, has set up a detailed program of activities: on the opening day the young people will walk together, in a colorful and peaceful prayer procession, in the streets of the city. Other processions and public processions on November 7 and November 9th. The days are marked by prayer encounters, liturgical celebrations, artistic and musical representations, sharing. “The local Church is very happy to host the event”, says Anthony Saavedra, co-ordinator of the Youth Pastoral Committee in the Archdiocese of Zamboanga. “My hope is that Youth Day will allow young people from different places to meet in order to announce to the world how beautiful, precious and vital youth is. Young people participate with the desire to get to know God better and become pilgrims and apostles, to share with others the relationship with him”, said Archbishop De La Cruz to Agenzia Fides. “This event – continues the Archbishop – contributes to strengthening youth pastoral care. Everyone gradually becomes more aware and appreciates the role of young people in the Church. Youth Day offers opportunities to express the desire of young people to embrace Christ’s mission. The Day celebrates a gift, the gift of being young and followers of Christ. It calls our youth pastoral leaders to be attentive to the signs of our times, to be involved and engaged in the works promoted by the Church”. “The Day is a way to accompany young people in their way of life, so that they can be loved by Christ”, explains Fr. William Garcia, a priest who is participating in the event. The city of Zamboanga has a lot to offer young pilgrims: diverse cultural, ethnic and religious traditions that come from three communities, the Christian, Islamic and Indigenous communities. The Peninsula of Zamboanga is a historic mission area for the Philippine Church: in this city, Christian missionaries played a key role in promoting faith and justice. “At the end of this five-day celebration of faith, our dream is that young people recognize themselves as ‘agents of change’ for our Church and our country. Therefore, it is our hope that this encounter will help form our young people as future leaders and as missionaries of the Gospel in the world”, says to Fides Fr. Wilfred Samson, local priest. From 1987 to 1990, the event was always held in Manila. Since 1991, however, it has been celebrated in several dioceses of the country. …
Jalingo – Many ethnic groups live in the state of Taraba, one of Nigeria’s 36 States situated in the eastern part of the Country, bordering Cameroon. Tribes are divided into settled farmers, mostly Catholics, who cultivate cereals, tea, coffee, and nomadic populations of Muslim origin. What happens more and more often is that when farmers need new grazing land to feed their herds, they forcefully confiscate farmland. Tribes of nomadic herdsmen confiscate, with violence, the fields of settled farmers, forcing them to flee. Clashes begin, entire villages are destroyed, houses are severely damaged, and residents, including newborns, women and the elderly, are forced to flee. Thousands of people from rural areas are thus pouring into the outskirts of the city of Jalingo seeking help. Tired of everything, they find themselves living in refugee camps where hygiene conditions are bad: many children are bitten by snakes and insects, they get malaria and infections related to dirt and malnutrition. The situation worsens, and the Augustinian Fathers , present in the Country for more than 50 years, are working to help refugees with a support project in co-operation with the local diocese. “Our plan involves two phases”, explains Father Michael Walsh, OSA, in a note sent to Fides, “the first regarding emergency support, in particular aimed at children, to provide food and basic necessities; the second regarding development, aimed at making households economically autonomous, allowing them to start a productive, agricultural or commercial activity on the outskirts of the city”, concludes Father Michael, who has been in Nigeria for over 20 years. The Augustinian Irish brothers arrived in the country in 1938 and founded the first community in 1966. Although in Nigeria there is an important mining sector, it is also the most populous Country on the continent, with about 177 millions of inhabitants, and life expectancy is about 52 years and 70% of the population lives below the poverty line . In addition, the presence of the Boko Haram terrorist group and ongoing inter-ethnic clashes make the Country one of the most dangerous on the African continent. Despite this, the Augustinian Friars continue their work in fields such as education, health care, work formation for women and the youth, and peace building. …
Astana – “Kazakhstan comes from a tradition of peaceful coexistence. If active politics of control of religion are being carried out today, it is because of the fears of instigators who often come from abroad, who finance the construction of large Islamic mosques. We recall, for example, that part of the capital Astana was built by the Bin Laden family. For a question of apparent fairness, therefore, the Kazakh government also controls all other religions”. This is what Don Edoardo Canetta reports to Agenzia Fides, who for many years was a missionary in Kazakhstan, and also Apostolic Vicar for Central Asia and a professor at the Islamic University of Almaty, the National Eurasian University of Astana and Kazakh’s Diplomatic Academy. Don Canetta, now a priest of the diocese of Milan and a professor at Ambrosiana University, explains to Fides how in the largest state of the Central Asian region “a law where no religious function can be celebrated with the exception of some places agreed with the state was approved already in 2011: for example, one cannot organize processions or liturgies outside the church territory. In addition, cameras have been installed at various places of worship because, in the event of an attack or violence, it is possible to identify the perpetrators”. This tendency, according to Don Canetta, is a step backwards: after the achievement of independence in 1991, in fact, professing a faith had “become fashionable” in reaction to the persecutions of the communist regime which imposed atheism. Now as then, however, religious belonging is a minor aspect compared to the ethnic element: “the results of the first census of the Kazakh Republic, carried out in 1995, four years after independence were explicative, in this sense. With regards to religion, 70% of the population claimed they did not believe in God; at the same time, 50% professed the Muslim faith. In Kazakhstan, an atheist but of Russian origin, feels he formally belongs to the Orthodox Church; if he is Kazakh he defines himself as a Muslim, if he is German or Polish he is also Catholic and so on”. In this interweaving of ethnicities and religions, he says, “coexistence has always been absolutely peaceful. I was Vicar General of all Central Asia for five years and when I went to open a new parish, it was often the country’s mullah who hosted me. “On the other hand, Kazakh Islam comes from a moderate tradition: originally rejected by the nomads in the area, it was accepted only at the end of 1300, thanks to the mediation of Ahmed Hadgi Jassavy, great Sufi master of Turkestan. This led to the spread of a Muslim religion based, for example, on prayers in Kazakh language or on a cult of non-Islamic deaths. Even the civil and criminal code moves away from the sharia because it provides, among other things, the possibility of baptism or substitution of jail and death penalty with a series of mediations”. “When the Soviet Union fell”, the priest said, “the preachers from Saudi Arabia arrived and claimed that this was not true Islam. That is why there is today a debate between those who support the Kazakh tradition and the so-called ‘fundamentalists’. Of course, however, when it comes to Islamic fundamentalism, one must absolutely distinguish it from terrorism: it is the latter phenomenon that worries the state. In fact, just like in European countries, there are several foreign fighters in Central Asia as well”. This is confirmed by the birth date of the authors of recent attacks: the last in order of time is Sayfullo Saipov, the Uzbek who hit New York last October 31. The attackers of Stockholm and Istanbul also came from Central Asia, as well as one of the child killers in the video released by ISIS in August 2016. …
Vatican City – On November 4, 2017, the Holy Father appointed as Bishop of the diocese of Franceville , the Rev. Jean-Patrick Iba-Ba, currently rector of the “Saint Augustin” national major seminary in Libreville. The new Bishop was born on 18 April 1966 in Libreville. He attended primary school from 1973 to 1979 in Port-Gentil; then, from 1979 to 1989, secondary school in Libreville. His formation to priesthood began at Cardinal Emile Biayenda Major Seminary, in Brazzaville, capital of Congo, where his Archbishop had sent him. In the years 1993-1998 he attended the Urbaniana University in Rome, as a pupil of the Pontifical Urbano College. He was ordained a priest on July 19, 1998 for the Archdiocese of Libreville. Since his ordination he has carried out the following pastoral and academic roles: 1998-1999: Vice-Rector of Saint Augustin Major Seminary in Libreville; 1999-2001: Rector of Saint Jean Minor Seminary in Libreville; 2001-2004: Parish priest of Saint Michel parish of Ndjole; 2004-2009: Degree in Canon Law at the Pontifical Urbaniana University; 2009-2012: Vice-Rector of Saint Augustin Major Seminary in Libreville; 2010-2012: Adjunct National Director of Catholic Schools and General Chaplain of Catholic Education Institutes; from 2012 to present Rector of the Saint Augustin national major seminary in Libreville. …