(Vatican Radio) A new report entitled “Religious Freedom in the World report 2014” will have its British launch later Tuesday in the House of Lords in London and will include a video message by the Prince of Wales.
The document which looks at 196 countries around the world and is an assessment of the state of religious freedom for all people of faith, was released on Monday in Paris by the French arm of the Catholic Charity Aid to the Church in Need.
It covers the period from autumn 2012 to summer 2014.
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need
The findings reveal that top of the list of the worst offending countries is North Korea, but countries with a high level of persecution included Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
But according to the Head of Press at Aid to the Church in Need John Pontifex there is room for optimism.
“The report highlights individual countries where there has indeed been change for the better and notably we’ve got countries such as Iran and Zimbabwe and Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Cuba where we would say that the situation has improved over the lifetime of the report…”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican) While increasing urbanization brings us physically and economically closer together in cities, it often simultaneously accelerates social, cultural, religious and economic isolation, segregation and generates other evils. What is needed is a renewed commitment to promote people-centered integral development and eliminate the fear of the other. Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, made the suggestion on Friday at a conference on “People-Centered Urbanization: Managing Ethnic Diversity in Today’s Cities” at the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The event was organized to mark the UN’s first “World Cities Day”, Oct. 31. Archbishop Auza noted that while cities offer tremendous opportunities, the context of big cities also breeds various forms of corruption and criminal activities, like human trafficking, the drug trade and drug abuse, the exploitation of the weak. To counteract these evils, people-centered integral development is needed, not only to address necessary economic and political development, but also to promote authentic human development through promoting cultural, spiritual, social and physical development. Noting that migration-driven mega-cities give birth to vast slums, which are areas of lawlessness, greater marginalization and socio-economic inequality, the Holy See representative said cooperation and solidarity are needed to integrate people from various backgrounds. One must move away from the fear of the other, of the new people in the block, towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, he said.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Anti-trafficking experts from across the Anglican world are meeting in Rome this week to coordinate their efforts more closely with partner organisations in the Catholic Church. The November 3rd to 7th meeting, which will be attended by members of the Caritas network, is focusing on the most effective ways of protecting survivors of slavery and trafficking, prosecuting the perpetrators and advocating for better policies within governments and the private sector.
The plight of an estimated 30 million people caught up in the global trafficking trade has been repeatedly described by Pope Francis as a crime against humanity and has also been identified as a priority for the worldwide Anglican Communion. Among those taking part in the meeting is the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, who also serves on the executive board of the Global Freedom Network, set up to coordinate a more effective ecumenical and interfaith response to this growing international problem.
Individuals or churches interested in finding out more about these efforts are invited to join the discussion on Thursday November 6th when they can take part in a ‘webinar’ or online link up with experts from over 20 countries around the world. To deepen the spiritual foundations of their work, participants will also spend a day in Assisi, reflecting on the ministry of St Francis to the most vulnerable and oppressed of his time.
To find out more, Philippa Hitchen spoke with Rev Rachel Carnegie, co-director of the Anglican Alliance which is convening the 5 day consultation…
Listen:
“As with Pope Francis, when he met with Archbishop Justin, they jointly recognised that modern slavery was a crime against humanity and jointly committed and had a vision of how churches and other faith groups could work in partnership with the wider world to end this deplorable scourge….
The gift of churches and faith groups is that presence in every community and to be the eyes and ears on the ground, to be aware of where people are being trafficked….and the more joined up we are, the more we can help to monitor where people are being moved, to help on prevention….and to work alongside law enforcement groups for care and support of survivors….
Local church groups, if they’re aware of cases of trafficking, must refer those to law enforcement groups…..but as importantly churches can help in raising awareness….if somebody is looking to travel to another country for work, what are the safeguards to be put in place, what kind of checks they need to do on recruitment agencies….
As consumers we can ask really important questions about supply chains that businesses have, we can raise awareness about the risks of people moving from one place to another so we do a lot of work on prevention, while also pressing governments and authorities to take action to get really robust legislation in place…
Of course the key distinction that churches bring is the power of prayer, so one thing we’ll be discussing this week is how to help churches to reflect spiritually on slavery and trafficking, to look at texts and stories in the bible and to be there alongside, imaginatively, the victims who are suffering ….”
Churches, individuals and communities worldwide are invited to join a one-hour global webinar held on Thursday 6th November 2014 at 1pm GMT, by clicking on this link to register and join the discussion: http://view6.workcast.net/register?pak=1441731768223198
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday, November 3, celebrated Mass in remembrance of all the Cardinals and Bishops who died during the past year.
During the Mass, which was held in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope reminded us that thanks to the Resurrection of Jesus our faith is full of the joy of truth and eternal life.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
Reflecting on the reading from the second Book of Maccabees in which the ruler of Jerusalem collects “two thousand silver drachmas for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection” (2 Mac 12, 43-46), – the Pope said – that thanks to God’s Word this celebration is enlightened by our faith in the Resurrection.
The whole of Divine Revelation – he said – is the fruit of dialogue between God and his people, and faith too is bound to this dialogue that accompanies the people of God in history.
It is no wonder – Pope Francis said – that such a great, important and superhuman mystery as the Resurrection required such a long journey in time, up until the coming of Jesus Christ.
Jesus can say: “I am the Resurrection and the life” (John 11, 25) because in Him this mystery not only is fully revealed, through Him, for the first time, it becomes reality.
And recalling the Gospel of Mark that tells of the death of Jesus and of the empty tomb, the Pope pointed out that this episode represents the culmination of that journey in time: the event of the Resurrection that responds to the quest of God’s people, to the quest of every man and of the whole of humanity.
Each of us – Pope Francis said – is invited to be part of this event. We are called to stand before the Cross of Jesus, like Mary, like the women, like the centurion listening to his cry, to his last breath and finally to the silence; that silence that persists throughout Holy Saturday. And then we are called to go to the tomb to see that the large stone has been rolled back and to listen to the news: “He has been raised, he is not here” (Mark 16, 6). That is where the answer is, that is where the foundation is, the rock. Not in “wise and persuasive words” – the Pope said – but in the living Word of the Cross and in the Resurrection of Christ.
This is what the Apostle Paul preaches – the Pope continued – the Resurrection of the crucified Jesus Christ. If He has not risen, our faith is empty and inconsistent. But seeing that He has risen, that He is the Resurrection, then our faith is full of truth and eternal life.
So – Pope Francis concluded – renewing tradition today we offer the Sacrifice of the Eucharist in suffrage of our brother Cardinals and Bishops who have died during the past twelve months. And our prayer is enriched by the sentiments, the memories, and the gratitude for the testimonies of people we have known, and with whom we have shared service within the Church. Many of their faces – he said – are before our eyes, and all of them are lovingly and mercifully looked upon by our heavenly Father.
And invoking the intercession of our celestial Mother for these beloved sons of Hers, Pope Francis prayed that they may relish the joy of the New Jerusalem together with all the faithful that have served on earth.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) At sunset on Sunday, Pope Francis descended into the grottoes beneath the high altar of St Peter’s basilica to pray, as is tradition on the Feast of All Souls, before the tombs of his predecessors.
The moment of prayer began at 6pm Rome time with a reading from Scripture and the recitation of the prayer for the dead by Pope Francis.
The Pope then paused for a moment of silent prayer before the tombs of his predecessors beginning with that of St. Peter.
Positioned just below the Renaissance basilica and above Constantine’s 4th century basilica, the grottos contain chapels dedicated to various saints and tombs of kings, queens and popes, dating from the 10th century.
The holiest place is Peter’s tomb, containing the “memory”, built in the 4th century by the Emperor Constantine, on the spot were the Apostle’s tomb is venerated.
(from Vatican Radio)…