At Pope Francis’s Mass in Ulaanbaatar on September 3 Sunday afternoon, which was attended by nearly 200 people from mainland China, one young Catholic from the mainland said life for the Church in his country is extremely difficult and asked that the pope help “save” them.
Speaking to Crux in broken English, the young man, named Li, said that if he had the chance to say something to Pope Francis, his message would be, “Pope, please save our Chinese (Church)!”
“Here (in Mongolia) everyone has no fear, they are not controlled. We have a Church in China, but if there’s a church you see around, it works for the government,” he said, saying there are still many Catholics in China who belong to the so-called “underground” Church, despite the pope’s efforts to heal the divide with a controversial 2018 agreement on the appointment of bishops.
Li said his family comes from Inner Mongolia, a northern region in China that borders Mongolia, and that he and his family have business in Mongolia, so it was easier for them to travel to attend the papal events.
Pope Francis is currently closing a four-day visit to Mongolia, the first a pope has ever made to the country, where Catholics number fewer than 1,500, one of the Church’s smallest flocks.
Archbishop Licenses Priests to Confer ‘Gay Blessings’
The archbishop of Berlin has released an official statement permitting priests under his jurisdiction to administer blessings to same-sex couples, emphasizing that his directive aligns with the intentions of Pope Francis.
Quoting Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia in a letter dated Aug. 21, Abp. Heiner Koch notes that “it is no longer possible to say that all who are in any so-called irregular situation are in a state of mortal sin and have lost sanctifying grace.”
“Pope Francis emphatically calls for pastoral discernment,” Koch writes. While rejecting “the legal equality of same-sex partnerships with marriage,” Francis “gives the local churches, the pastors, a lot of leeway in dealing with people in so-called ‘irregular’ situations.”
Koch also cites Amoris Laetitia §297 on inclusion: “It’s about including everyone; you have to help everyone to find their own way, to participate in ecclesial communion so that he may feel himself a recipient of an undeserved, unconditional and unrequited mercy.”
Further, the senior prelate notes that the prefect-designate of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Abp. Víctor Manuel Fernández, has expressed an “openness” to reflecting on same-sex blessings provided they are not confused with the sacrament of marriage.
“What Pope Francis says about the sacrament of the Eucharist in his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium applies to all sacraments, including marriage, and even more so to a sacramental such as blessing: ‘It is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak,’” Koch stresses.
“Blessing, therefore, does not have the meaning of ‘legitimize, approve, bless,’” the prelate insists. “As the blessed, we all remain guilty people who need the edifying grace of God for our path in life.”
The permanent diaconate comes to the Philippines
Pope Francis has approved the establishment of the permanent diaconate in the Philippines.
In a letter dated 17 August 2023, the Vatican’s Secretariat of State informed Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Philippine Bishops’ Conference (CBCP), that the Holy Father has allowed the establishment of the permanent diaconate in the ecclesiastical circumscription of the country, as per the Church’s rules and documents.
Gorakhpur diocese in Uttar Pradesh gets new bishop
Pope Francis on August 26 appointed Father Mathew Nellikunnel as the bishop of Gorakhpur diocese in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The new bishop was vested with the insignia of the episcopal office by the cardinal and Bishop Thuruthimattam.
He is elder brother of Bishop John Nellikunnel of Idukki, Kerala.
Kandhamal survivors, supporters demand justice on martyrs’ day
The survivors of Odisha’s anti-Christian violence and their supporters have demanded the implementation of the Supreme Court’s 2016 order on compensation to the Kandhamal victims.
They demanded in a memorandum prepared by about 2,000 people who observed on August 31 the 15th Kandhamal Martyrs’ Day Baliguda, a town in Kandhamal, a district in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.
Delegation from Mother Teresa’s birthplace visits Kolkata
Sept 1, 2023: A delegation from Skopje in North Macedonia, the birthplace of Saint Mother Teresa visited Kolkata, the base of her charity works around the world. The delegation visited the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity to pay their homage to the saint.
Delhi priest celebrates private Mass with US president
A private Mass was celebrated in a luxury hotel for United States President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic.
The US embassy in the Indian capital requested Father Nicholas Dias, secretary of the liturgy commission of the archdiocese of Delhi, to offer the private Mass with Biden.
Father Dias celebrated the Mass at 9 am on September 9 at Maurya Sheraton Hotel where the US president stayed during the G20 Summit.
President Biden sought divine blessings ahead of the Summit in the Indian capital.
A few Catholics also attended the Mass celebrated in the private room of the president.
President Biden reportedly wanted to receive the Holy Communion before the September 9-10 summit began.
The president also read the intercessory prayers. Father Dias and President Biden also shared about the Catholic faith.
Threat to Christian institutions on rise: Catholic educators
Christians and their institutions are increasingly facing hatred being spread by the Hindutva fringe elements in the country, says Father Suresh Mathew, editor of Indian Currents weekly, published from New Delhi.
The Capuchin priest was addressing a seminar in connection with the annual general body meeting of the Association of Catholic Educational Institutions in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
More than 200 principals from various Catholic educational institutions in the two northern Indian states attended the Sept 6-7 program designed to stress how Catholic institutions should read the signs of times and act accordingly.
The event at St. Peter’s College, Agra, took a close look at the rising attacks on educational institutions, especially in northern India.
Talking on the topic “Public Relations and Crisis Management,” Father Mathew, through video presentations, threw light on several potential perils faced by the educational institutions run by Christians and suggested remedies to overcome them.
He stressed the need for public relations officers in every school to deal with the situation whenever the institution faces problems from the Hindutva forces. “The PRO should gather facts, assess situation and prepare appropriate information to offer to the media,” the priest added.
On many occasions, problems are created by the idiosyncrasies of the institutions, Father Mathew said and urged the institution heads to put their houses in order first.
Sharing this view, chief guest Keshav Chaudhary, Additional Commissioner of Police, said children should be taught how to combat injustice in society and be the voice of the voiceless.
Most Asians relate religion to nationality, says survey
Religion and nationality are inseparable for most people living in South and Southeast Asian nations, confirms a report of a survey Pew Research Center released on Sept. 12.
In Buddhist majority countries of Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, more than 90 % people believe religion and their national identity are linked, and being Buddhist is important to be part of their nation, said the report of the Pew survey conducted in 2022 in six countries in South and Southeast Asia.
In the same manner, almost all respondents in Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia believe being Muslim is important to be truly Indonesian or Malaysian, the report said.
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The only exception was multi-religious Singapore, where 56 % respondents said living among people of different religions, ethnic groups and cultures makes their country a better place to live. However, a small percentage (4 %) said it makes their country a worse place to live.
In the three Buddhist-majority nations, more than 90 % of the people said Buddhism is “a religion one chooses to follow.”
The majority in these three nations (80 % and above) also said Buddhism is “a culture one is part of” and “a family tradition one should follow.” They also (more than 75 %) said Buddhism was “an ethnicity one is born into.”
Northeast Church studies Fratelli Tutti to promote brotherhood
The Church in North East India came together to study Pope Francis’ latest encyclical Fratelli Tutti to promote universal brotherhood and fraternity within the Church and with the people of other faiths.
Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati, who heads the Church in the region, says the Pope’s encyclical published in 2020 is “relevant today in our context more than ever.”
The prelate was inaugurating the annual regional pastoral conference at North East Diocesan Social Service Society Hall in Guwahati, Assam.
As many as 180 delegates from the 15 dioceses of the region attended the September 8-10 program.
The archbishop, who is president of the North East India Regional Bishops’ Council (NEIRBC), expressed solidarity with the people of Manipur who have suffered the four month ethnic violence,
“We are living a time when there is increased hatred, communal tensions, killings, polarization, and vandalism in our region, across the country and around the world. Pope Francis’ Fratelli Tutti can serve as a handbook to restore peace, brotherhood and sisterhood and social friendship among the people,” the prelate said.
Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore and the chairman for Commission for Laity of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India, too spoke on the importance of brotherhood and a deep-rooted commitment for peace in the society, in the context of humanitarian crisis caused by large scale migration due to ethnic violence and religious polarisation.