6 December 2012
A refugee child's drawing depicts the violence from which hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled. The drawing was made in a psycho-social support group in Kamid al lawz, a town in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. (photo: CNS/Paul Jeffrey)
Clashes over Syrian war continue in northern Lebanon (Lebanon Daily Star) Fighting intensified Thursday between opponents and supporters of President Bashar Assad in northern Lebanon, as sniper shots left people ducking for cover in downtown Tripoli, raising concern that the fighting might take over the whole city. Fighters exchanged rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun fire in the city for a third day while rockets fired from Syria landed in nearby Lebanese border towns. Security sources told The Daily Star on Thursday that the death toll rose to eight from the fighting between the neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen, whose residents largely support Assad, and Bab al Tabbaneh, where residents oppose the embattled Syrian leader…
Opposing camps clash in Cairo (Der Spiegel) Late into Wednesday night, followers of President Mohammed Morsi battled on the streets of Cairo with opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood leader. For hours, the two camps fought in front of the presidential palace, with both sides throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. People were savagely beaten and several cars were set on fire. At least five were killed in the overnight clashes and some 450 were injured. On Thursday morning, the Egyptian army was deployed in front of the presidential palace, including several tanks and other military vehicles, to protect the compound…
King of Jordan visits West Bank in support of Palestinian statehood (Washington Post) Jordan’s King Abdullah II paid a rare visit to the West Bank on Thursday in a show of support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s successful bid for the United Nations’ recognition of a Palestinian state. The Jordanians spoke out sharply against Israel’s latest plans to build thousands of new settler homes in response to the Palestinian move, including initial plans to revive a contentious project east of Jerusalem. The project, known as E1, would separate the West Bank from east Jerusalem, the Palestinians’ hoped-for capital, and drive a big wedge between the northern and southern flanks of the West Bank. “The settlement policy is not only rejected from our side as Arabs and Palestinians, but also by the whole world,” said the king’s foreign minister, Nasser Judeh…
Ethiopian prime minister willing to reopen dialogue with Eritrea (Al Jazeera) Hailemariam Desalegn, Ethiopia’s prime minister, has said that he is willing to hold talks with neighboring Eritrea, with whom Addis Ababa fought a border war that ended in 2000. If Desalgen follows through with Wednesday’s statement, it will be the first time a leader in Addis Ababa has held talks with Issaias Afeworki, the Eritrean president, since the end of the conflict which left at least 70,000 people dead. The two countries remain at odds over the flashpoint town of Badme, awarded to Eritrea by a U.N.-backed boundary commission, but still controlled by Ethiopia. “The most important thing for us is to fight poverty ... to have regional integration. If we two do that, it will be much more productive,” Hailemariam added. Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year struggle, that is considered among the continent’s longest and most bitter…
Bishop Zaki cautions church leaders on referendum boycott (Fides) The new Constitution, for which President Morsi seeks a popular referendum on 15 December, “divides the country” and fails to properly represent the diverse interests of the nation, says Bishop Adel Zaki, O.F.M., apostolic vicar of Alexandria in Egypt. Nevertheless, the bishop adds that it is not appropriate that church leaders give direct indication to boycott the referendum. “Churches must enlighten consciences and encourage discernment based on principles of justice and safeguard the common good,” warns Bishop Zaki, “but then everyone has to choose according to their conscience, in full freedom. Churches cannot ask Christians to boycott the referendum”…
The precarious state of religious freedom in Ethiopia (Nazret) A statement issued by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) last month expressed “deep concern about the increasing deterioration of religious freedoms for Muslims in Ethiopia.” According to the USCIRF Statement, “since July 2011, the Ethiopian government has sought to impose the al Ahbash Islamic sect on the country’s Muslim community, a community that traditionally has practiced the Sufi form of Islam. The government also has manipulated the election of the new leaders of the Ethiopia Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC). Previously viewed as an independent body, EIASC is now viewed as a government-controlled institution. The arrests, terrorism charges and takeover of EIASC signify a troubling escalation in the government’s attempts to control Ethiopia’s Muslim community and provide further evidence of a decline in religious freedom in Ethiopia.” The ruling regime has produced no evidence to support its claims of subversion, terrorism and other allegations of criminality by those protesting official interference…
Tags: Lebanon Egypt Ethiopia Palestine Syrian Civil War
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5 December 2012
In April 2010, the CNEWA Board of Directors, led by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, right, visited the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Ignatius IV Hazim at the Latin Patriarchate in Damascus. (photo: CNEWA)
The CNEWA family learned today of the death of one of its primary partners in the Middle East, Patriarch Ignatius IV of the Orthodox Patriarchal Church of Antioch. On Monday, he suffered a stroke and was rushed to St. George Hospital in Beirut, where he died today. He was 91 years old.
Since the 1940’s, he had been in the forefront of pastoral activity. He founded a youth movement dedicated to catechesis and formation. He reached out to the New World and set up structures here to encourage growth among the Antiochene Orthodox community. Back home, he reached out to non-Christians, establishing strong relationships with the Alawi, Druze and Sunni and Shiite Muslim communities. But it is perhaps his commitment to healing the ancient church of Antioch, once led by the Apostle Peter, for which he is known and loved.
Elected in 1979, Patriarch Ignatius established a warm relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius I, who was elected in 1980 and also lived in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The two worked together to understand the Christological nuances of their particular tradition — nuances that have divided the Antiochene church since 451 — agreeing to provisions for intercommunion of the faithful and even the concelebration of the eucharistic liturgy.
He deepened, too, ties with the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, which shares the same rites and traditions and remains in full communion with the church of Rome. The “Church of Antioch Initiative” pushed the ecumenical envelope for the healing of the church. Such advances include the sharing of churches, including the 2005 construction of Sts. Peter and Paul in the Damascus suburb of Doumar, which CNEWA assisted in developing.
Antioch’s Orthodox and Melkite Greek Catholic patriarchs, Ignatius IV and Gregory III, jointly consecrated Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Doumar, Damascus, in February 2005. (photo: CNEWA)
Another highlight during his patriarchate was the visit of Pope John Paul II to Syria in May 2001. The pope was cohosted by the Greek and Syriac Orthodox patriarchs, as well as the Melkite Greek Catholic patriarch, Gregory III. Msgr. Robert Stern, then CNEWA’s secretary general, participated in the trip and wrote that the pope was welcomed to the Antiochene Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, where he was “warmly welcomed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Ignatius IV. Two other patriarchs of Antioch stood at his side: Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I and Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III.
“The packed cathedral included not only the Catholic and Orthodox bishops of Syria, but most of the other Catholic patriarchs, many of the Greek and Syriac Orthodox bishops of the two patriarchates from other countries around the world and an enthusiastic congregation.
“Beautiful symbols of unity were a joint profession of the Creed, warm and loving words from both the Greek Orthodox Patriarch and the pope, a mutual embrace or kiss of peace and the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer by all.
“Sometimes,” he concluded, “we talk so much about the need for Christian unity we almost forget how much real unity already exists.”
May this loving apostle of unity rest in the peace of Christ.
Tags: Middle East Unity Ecumenism Orthodox Church Patriarchs
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5 December 2012
Syrian children are seen at the Turkish border fence as members of the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party exchange gunfire in northern Syria. (photo: CNS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Reuters)
Vatican Radio today reported on the deepening crisis in Syria, with special attention devoted to the suffering children. The report noted that more than 200,000 children are at risk from cold and disease. Charities are calling for urgent funding — and that includes CNEWA.
We started sending aid to Syria when the crisis developed last spring. Our first focus was Christian children and families who were cast out of the city of Homs. But as more Christians flee from other cities, we are enlarging the scope of our concern. As of the last report I’ve seen, we’ve helped to provide emergency aid to 1,851 families and an additional 2,514 babies and children.
I’m especially pleased we’ve started to give away Winter Survival Kits — enough warm clothes and heating oil to protect a family from the winter cold. So far, 350 vulnerable Christian families have gratefully received these kits.
And that is only the start. We aim to help at least 2,000 families before the worst of winter is here. But we’ll need $210 to help each family before it’s too late. Please check out our special page devoted to the crisis in Syria to learn how you can help.
Tags: Syria Children Syrian Civil War Refugees Relief
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5 December 2012
Anticipating the feast of St. Nicholas on 6 December, a man dressed as the saint attends Pope Benedict XVI's general audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Read more about the papal audience here. (photo: CNS/Paul Haring)
Tags: Pope Benedict XVI Vatican Saints
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5 December 2012
A Syrian man carries a child as displaced people cross the border from the Syrian town of Ras al Ain to the town of Ceylanpinar, Turkey, on 4 December. (photo: CNS/Laszlo Balogh, Reuters)
Syria’s civil war spills into Lebanon (Vatican Radio) Gunmen loyal to opposite sides in neighboring Syria’s civil war battled in the streets of northern Lebanon on Wednesday. At least 5 people have been killed and 45 wounded from two days of fighting. The conflict, which has spilled out into Lebanon, brought Lebanese troops out in force to the streets of the city of Tripoli to calm the fighting…
New call issued for aid to help Syrian children (Vatican Radio) More than 200,000 Syrian children — many with little more than the clothes they fled the fighting in — are at risk from cold and disease, according to Save The Children. The charity is calling for urgent funding to be made available to prepare refugees for winter and ensure that children and their families have proper shelter and enough warm clothing, warm food, hot and clean water, blankets and heating fuel to survive the cold months…
Clashes in Egypt with anti-Morsi protestors (Vatican Radio) More than 100,000 Egyptians protested outside the presidential palace in Cairo yesterday, fueling tensions over Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi’s seizure of nearly unrestricted powers and the adoption by his allies of a controversial draft constitution. Egyptian police fired tear gas at protestors gathered outside the presidential palace in Cairo…
New film about Jesus in Hindi to debut in India (Fides) It is an initiative that “will help to communicate the Christian faith, to spread the real face of Christ and the Church to the people of India.” This is what Father Dominic D’Abreo, spokesman of the Indian Bishops’ Conference, told Fides about the new film on Jesus in the Hindi language, which has just been released to the Indian public in honor of the Year of Faith…
Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch dies at 91 (OCA.org) Two days after he was admitted to Saint George Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch and All the East fell asleep in the Lord on Wednesday, 5 December 2012. Patriarch Ignatius IV had suffered a severe stroke on Monday, December 3, and had been under the care of physicians in the hospital’s intensive care unit. He was 91 years old. Upon learning of the patriarch's repose, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon called upon the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America to remember him in prayer, that our Lord will grant him rest “where there is neither sickness, sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting”...
Tags: India Lebanon Syria Egypt Syrian Civil War
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4 December 2012
Sister Jiji Puthuparambil, D.D.S., makes her nightly rounds in the female ward of Deivadan Center in Kerala, India. To learn more about the remarkable work she and other sisters are doing, check out Peter Lemieux’s story Fearless Grace in the July 2010 issue of ONE. (photo: Peter Lemieux)
Tags: India Sisters Kerala Health Care Mental health/ mental illness
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4 December 2012
A refugee child from Syria stands outside a makeshift shelter in the village of Jeb Jennine, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. No one is sure how many refugees from Syria have already arrived in Lebanon. (photo: CNS/Paul Jeffrey)
Church in England, Wales launches day of prayer for Middle East (Vatican Radio) The bishops of England and Wales have invited the faithful in the United Kingdom to set aside Tuesday, 4 December 2012, as a day of prayer in solidarity with all those suffering injustice in the Middle East and North Africa. The bishops made the announcement after their November plenary assembly in which they reflected on the tragedy unfolding in Syria and Gaza…
U.S. Warns Syria against use of chemical weapons (Vatican Radio) Intelligence sources in the United States government are saying they have evidence Syrian government engineers have mixed the precursor chemicals to make Sarin gas. The gas could be delivered against targets — including civilian populations — by airplane…
Patriarch: Christians are inspired by ‘Arab renaissance’ of 19th century (Fides) In the great upheavals that are shaking the Middle East, the historical precedent in which even Christians can find inspiration is Nahda, the cultural and political renaissance experienced by the Arab peoples in the 19th century. Maronite Patriarch Bechara Peter referenced this in his speech during the opening session of the Assembly of Patriarchs and Catholic Bishops of the Middle East, which began yesterday afternoon, 3 December…
Pope calls for world authority as ‘moral force’ (Catholic News Service) The world authority envisioned by two popes as a way to ensure global peace and justice would not be a superpower, but primarily a moral force with limited jurisdiction, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope made his remarks 3 December to a plenary session of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which was scheduled to meet for three days to discuss the theme of “political authority and global governance.” In his address, Pope Benedict recalled that Blessed John XXIII had called for the “construction of a world community, with a corresponding authority,” to serve the “common good of the human family”…
Church beatifies first lay martyr in India (Business Standard of India) Devasahayam Pillai, the 18th century martyr who sacrificed his life for the faith in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, was beatified by the Catholic Church on 2 December. Pillai is the first layperson to be elevated to the rank of the “Blessed” in India, one step away from sainthood under Canon Law. Apart from representatives of the Vatican, Indian cardinals, senior bishops, priests, religious and a large congregation of lay devotees attended the function at the Carmer Higher Secondary School operated under the Kottar Diocese…
Tags: Pope Benedict XVI Middle East Syrian Civil War Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai Indian Christians
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3 December 2012
Pope Benedict XVI, who is known for his love of cats, greets one on Saturday, petting a lion cub during an audience with circus performers in Paul VI hall at the Vatican.
(photo: CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Tags: Pope Benedict XVI
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3 December 2012
A statue stands outside a destroyed Jesuit church in Homs, Syria, on 30 November. Activists said the church had been bombed by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Assad.
(photo: CNS/Yazan Homsy, Reuters)
Syrian violence reaches Turkey, Lebanon (Associated Press) Syrian warplanes on Monday bombed a security building that had been taken over by rebels along the Turkish border, killing at least one person, wounding 20 more and sending dozens of civilians fleeing across the frontier, a Turkish official said. The conflict also spilled into Syria’s eastern neighbor, Lebanon, after Lebanese troops exchanged fire with rebels across the border late Sunday. Violence from Syria’s 20-month-old uprising has on several occasions touched neighboring countries, fueling concerns that the Arab Spring’s longest and deadliest revolt could touch off a regional war...
Syrian democracy a dream (Catholic Register) The Armenian Orthodox Primate of Damascus sees little hope the Syrian civil war will end with a democratic regime in power and questions Western support for rebel groups. The bishop is touring Armenian expatriate communities in North America asking for donations through Church channels. One of the most effective Church agencies working with internally displaced Syrians has been the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, known as the Pontifical Mission Society in the Middle East, said Nalbandian...
Pope to begin tweeting next week (Reuters) The secret’s out. Pope Benedict’s new handle on Twitter will be @pontifex, beating out other contenders that had been considered to showcase the thoughts of one of the world’s most visible leaders. Benedict already has 1.2 billion “followers” in the standard sense of the word but next week he will have another type when he enters what for any 85-year old is the brave new world of Twitter. The Vatican said on Monday that the pope will start tweeting on 12 December. “The handle is a good one. It means ‘pope’ and it also means ‘bridge builder’,” said Greg Burke, senior media advisor to the Vatican...
Russia may soften religion law (Reuters) Russian lawmakers are reworking a draft law introducing prison terms for religious offences after signs that Vladimir Putin is concerned it could undermine the delicate balance between the country’s many religions...
Date set for primate to be enthroned (OCA.org) His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, will be enthroned as the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Washington, DC on Sunday, 27 January 2013. The announcement was issued by the Holy Synod of Bishops on Friday, November 30, 2012. Metropolitan Tikhon was elected at the 17th All-American Council in Parma, OH 13 November...
Patriarch Gregorios III releases statement on Palestinian recognition (byzcath.org) Patriarch Gregorios III greatly appreciated the UN resolution granting observer status to the Palestinian state. He said: “Thank God, who waits but never forgets.” He also thanked the countries that voted for the resolution, whilst censuring countries voting against it, some of which seek to be in the defending vanguard of nations’ freedom and dignity...
VIDEO: Cardinal Thottunkal: We have to laugh more and spread joy (Rome Reports) He is now the youngest member of the College of Cardinals, his name, Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, from India. He admits it is a great responsibility, but above all, a chance for his Church to work hand in hand with the Pope to spread a message of joy...
Tags: Lebanon Syria Pope Benedict XVI Palestine Turkey
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30 November 2012
With Gaza very much in the news this week, we thought it would be helpful to look at some of the region’s remarkable history — and share a few little-known facts. So here are five things to know:
The area now known as the Gaza Strip got its name from the ancient city of Gaza. Gaza has been on the stage of world history for almost 4,000 years. The area of what is now the Gaza Strip was the site of several Egyptian fortresses from the end of the Early Bronze Age (3000-2100 B.C.) through the Middle Bronze Age (2100-1550 B.C.).
The city of Gaza is mentioned several times in the Old Testament and once in the New. Gaza was one of the five Philistine cities that Judah was unable to conquer (Judges 1:18). It was the city where Samson was held captive after having been betrayed by Delilah. It was in Gaza that Samson caused a temple to collapse, killing himself and his Philistine captors (Judges 16:21-51).
The present Gaza Strip consists of 139 square miles (360 square kilometers) and is slightly more than twice the size of Washington, D.C.
The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas in the world with 1,710,257 people as of July 2012. According to UN statistics, 43.8 percent of the population is under 14 years of age; half of the population is under 18 years old and unemployment is above 40 percent. The vast majority of the population is Muslim; only about 3,000 Christians live there today.
The Pontifical Mission for Palestine, CNEWA’s operating agency in the region, is working with the local church in Gaza to provide on-the-job-training to young people and jobs for women who have graduated from school. Our Jerusalem-based staff are also working to help educate handicapped children in Gaza. Last summer, we shared here some of the work being done by CNEWA to help meet the health needs of the people. You can help the families of Gaza now. Click here to learn more.
Tags: Palestine Holy Land Israel Gaza Strip/West Bank
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