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. …
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ Angelus address focused on the words of Jesus from Sunday’s Gospel, including the Lord’s “severe criticisms” of the scribes and Pharisees, and His directions to Christians “of all times,” including our own.
Christ’s saying that “the scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses” and His command to “do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you” means that they have the authority to teach what is in conformity to the Law of God, the Pope said. But, the Lord immediately adds, “do not follow their example; for they preach but they do not practice.” Pope Francis said this is a “frequent defect” of those in authority: They are demanding towards others, and they are often correct; but while their directions are just, they fail to practice them themselves. “This attitude is a wicked exercise of authority,” the Pope said, which should instead lead by good example, “helping others practice what is right and due, supporting them in the trials that they encounter on the path of goodness.” If authority is exercised badly, he said, “it becomes oppressive, it does not allow people to grow and it creates a climate of distrust and of hostility, and also brings corruption.”
The behaviours of the scribes and Pharisees, which Jesus denounced, are temptations that come from human pride, which the Pope said is not easy to overcome. “It is a temptation to live solely for appearances.”
“We disciples of Christ should not seek titles of honour, of authority, or of supremacy, because among us there ought to be a fraternal attitude,” Pope Francis said. “I tell you, it saddens me personally to see people psychologically running after the vanity of honorifics. We disciples of Christ should not do this, because among us there ought to be a simple and fraternal attitude. If we have received special gifts from God, “we should put them at the service of our brothers, and not profit by them for our personal satisfaction.”
As Christians, he concluded, we “should not consider ourselves superior to others; modesty is essential for an existence that wants to be conformed to the teaching of Christ, who is meek and humble of heart, and who came not to be served, but to serve. ”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) One of the organizations represented at this week’s conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University on the role and the responsibility of universities and educators in offering help – and hope – to the growing numbers of migrants and refugees was The University of the People .
And together with other conference participants, Shai Reshef , President of The University of the People, was also at the audience with Pope Francis on Saturday morning in the Vatican.
During that audience the Pope praised the commitment and the work of those present at “ Refugees and Migrants in a Globalized World: Responsibility and Responses of Universities ” conference and spoke of the need for “distance courses for those living in camps and reception centres” which happens to be one of the main missions of the The University of the People as Shai Reshef explained:
Listen :
“The University of the People is the first non-profit, tuition-free, accredited, online University for students who graduate from high school, are qualified for higher education but cannot attend higher education, either because they don’t have the money, either because they live in places where there aren’t enough universities, or they are deprived for political or cultural reasons such as refugees, women in some cultures… to all these people, we bring – through the internet – tuition-free university to enable them to get higher education, a better future for themselves, for their families, for their societies and hopefully for the world as a whole” he said.
Shai Reshef says that currently The University of the People counts over 10,000 students from countries from across the globe – many of them from Syria.
He describes the just ended conference in Rome as focusing on a very important aspect of the migration and refugee topic and said that bringing together different universities that deal with the issue of providing education to displaced people is the first of its kind giving life to an extremely relevant conversation.
“We were very fortunate to be encouraged by the Pope who met with us” he said.
“The people who came to the conference, Reshef pointed out, are the ones who believe in this goal of building a better future for all by providing access to education”.
Look at the Syrian refugees for example: “there are 200,000 Syrians who are left out of higher education” because of reasons caused by the conflict in their nation.
“If each university in the world would take ten Syrians – that’s not a lot. We can accommodate all of them!” he said.
Reshef said that at The University of the People “we are already doing it. We have taken over 1000 refugees and over 600 Syrian refugees. But each university could afford to take ten refugees and that’s basically what the Pope said: think about these people and see how you can address this issue”.
He said he is in total agreement with the Pope’s belief that this is a global co-responsibility and described Pope Francis as “a champion of resolving the issue and understanding that it is not ‘their’ problem: it’s ‘our’ problem”.
He pointed out that from a pragmatic point of view you can look at the issue not just as a human rights cause, but understanding that “if it is not resolved these people will continue to be miserable and being miserable means not only that they will not be productive members of society and are going to suffer, but the consequences of this we all are going to bear” he said.
“If these people have hope probably they will behave differently” he said.
He said that if you take people who strive for opportunity and you give them opportunity, they will go a long way and hopefully be builders of a better world.
Reshef said the conference contained promise for the future and it reinforced his belief that ‘on-line’ tuition is assuming a more and more important role in the discussion of the solution.
On-line is what can be relevant and offer a solution to every person he pointed out.
Concluding, Reshef specified that while the University of The People is tuition-free it is not free as fees are requested for exams unless the student cannot afford to pay; in that case (as often is the case for refugees and migrants) scholarships are offered.
Finally he said: “For me to shake the Pope’s hand and receive – as the University of the People – his blessing, was a very exciting moment and I am very happy to have it”.
For more information on The University of the People: www.uopeople.edu
(from Vatican Radio)…