Ukraine’s top Catholic prelate says the surprise visit of US President Joe Biden on Monday has given the country’s people new hope on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Speaking via Zoom with a handful of Italian journalists, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said “the Russian army has literally sentenced us to death,” but that the many visits of heads of state to Kyiv in the past year, including that of Joe Biden, “gives us hope that this sentence will not be carried out.”
The solidarity shown by these visits, Shevchuk said, gives the Ukrainian people hope “that we will be able not only to survive but also to defend ourselves and build a free and democratic society.”
“A year ago, at this very moment, all diplomatic representatives were leaving Kyiv. The Americans themselves called on their fellow citizens to leave Ukrainian territory,” Shevchuk said, noting that when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, only two diplomatic representatives remained in Kyiv: The Vatican’s envoy, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, and the ambassador of Poland.
“All the others fled. A year later, not only has everyone returned, but the president of the United States has even arrived,” Shevchuk said, issuing a plea to the international community: “Don’t leave us alone, don’t abandon us.”
Francis says Popes, Jesuit generals normally should reign ‘for life’
Pope Francis revealed a slightly wary take on papal resignations in a candid conversation with his fellow Jesuits during a recent trip to Africa, saying he believes the papacy is for life and that stepping down should not become a habit in Catholicism.
The pope was in Africa Jan. 31-Feb. 5, visiting both the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. He was originally supposed to make the trip last summer but was unable to do so due to his ongoing knee troubles.
During the trip, he met privately with Jesuits serving in both the DRC and South Sudan. In each meeting, he was asked about his thoughts on papal resignation and whether he was considering it himself, and in each meeting, he said no.
Speaking to 82 Jesuits gathered for his Feb. 2 meeting in Kinshasa, Francis said, as he has in past interviews, that he wrote a letter of resignation two months after his March 2013 election and gave it to his then-secretary of state, Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in case his health ever prevented him from exercising his office and he wasn’t fully conscious to resign in that moment.
“However, this does not at all mean that resigning popes should become, let’s say, a ‘fashion,’ a normal thing,” he said.
Pointing to his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who made history in 2013 when he became the first pope to resign the papacy in 600 years, Pope Francis said Benedict “had the courage to do it because he did not feel up to continuing due to his health.”
“I for the moment do not have that on my agenda,” he said, voicing his belief that “the pope’s ministry is ad vitam (for life). I see no reason why it should not be so.”
“Historical tradition is important. If, on the other hand, we are listening to the ‘chatter,’ well, then we should change popes every six months!” he said.
Francis said he also believes the appointment of the head of the Jesuit order, the Father General, should be for life. Traditonally a lifelong appointment, this has changed in recent years, with the past two Jesuit Father Generals stepping down voluntarily.
“On this I am ‘conservative.’ It has to be for life,” he said.
He reiterated the point on papal resignation to the Jesuits in South Sudan, saying the thought of resigning “has not crossed my mind,” despite previous statements that he would resign if he ever felt that it was the right decision.
Indonesian minister against closing church under harsh fiat
Indonesia’s minister of religious affairs has joined Church groups in condemning the disruption of Christian worship in Lampung province on Sumatra Island by citing a controversial government decree.
A local mob on Feb. 19 forcibly stopped congregational worship at the David Tabernacle Christian Church in Rajabasa saying the place of worship did not meet the criteria prescribed under the 2006 Joint Decree of the Minister of Religion and the Minister of Home Affairs.
A minimum of 90 people need to attend the services before establishing a place of worship under the decree. However, the Church reportedly has only 70 members.
The signatures of 60 members of other religious communities are also needed before setting up a church along with a recommendation from the local Religious Harmony Forum.
Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said in an official statement on Feb. 21 that “there is no need for dissolution or banning” worship at the church.
“All parties are responsible for creating harmony” and any problems “must be resolved by deliberation,” Qoumas added.
According to advocacy groups, the decree only adds to the long list of obstacles being laid for minority communities and their faith practices in the world’s largest Muslim nation.
Muslim, Catholic pilgrimages share commonalities in Java
Indonesian Jesuit Father Bagus Laksana teaches theology and cultural studies at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyaka-rta. His research revolves around Christian-Muslim relations in the context of Javanese culture. In 2004 he published a book titled, Muslim and Catholic Pilgrimage Practices: Explorations through Java.
It presents Muslim and Catholic pilgrimages around Java island and shows an underlining rich ethnography and how Javanese culture is shaping those pilgrimages. His work suggests that Christian-Muslim relations should not be seen as an abstract dialogue, or even as a binary reality, but it must be seen in the backdrop of the particular social-cultural context, which shapes their encounter and interactions. Capuchin Bishop Paul Hinder, former Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia speaks about a thriving Church in the conflict-torn region, and also recalls the kidnapping of Indian Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil and the murder of four Missionaries of Charity nuns while he headed the vicariate
“What I see here is also a distinctive way of communing with God. With the sacred past, with the local holy figures, but also with others, including the non-Muslims here. So, it’s a very rich, very hybrid religiosity and it has some value for our world today.
“But here for Muslims and Catholics alike, these saintly figures are considered to a certain degree as ancestors, part of the community’s past that continues to be respected today.” Jesuit Father Bagus Laksana said.
“Then pilgrimage is also a devotion and a spiritual quest for peace and well-being. It’s not just a pious visit, but people are looking for something deeper, something that is keeping them through peace and well-being. Then the sacramentality of space, time, and things. This is very much there in the pilgrim tradition. Our encounter with God and our encounter with spirituality happen through space, time, and things. That is the specificity of the pilgrims’ tradition.”
Cambodian PM slams supporters of Church-backed news outlet
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has fired angry broadsides at diplomats, non-government organizations (NGOs), outlawed politicians and journalists while at the same time opening the door to delay a transfer of power for his oldest son Hun Manet by another three to four years.
The daily outbursts escalated amid a continued backlash over the forced closure of the Church-backed independent news outlet Voice of Democracy (VOD) in response to a disputed quote which Hun Sen said “could have led to internal conflict in the cabinet, and I cannot forgive them for that.”
It was a frank admission of a potential split in the cabinet as the prime minister prepares for elections in July, which only his long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) can win, and a widely expected handover of power to Hun Manet.
However, on that note, according to the government mouthpiece Fresh News, Hun Sen has been asked by French President Emmanuel Macron to remain in office for another three to four years in order to support Cambodian-French relations, made during a working dinner inside the Elysee Palace in December.
Hun Sen did not say whether he intended to stay on, nevertheless, his intentions of establishing a family dynasty were implicit in a separate attack on Sam Rainsy, exiled leader of the outlawed Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) .
Indonesia’s no nation for children
Violence against children in Indonesia has reached a critical stage, with new incidents of abuse continuing to occur. Ironically, it happens amid intensified campaigns by the government and civil society groups, including churches.
Cases of girls and boys being raped, kidnapped, and tortured make media headlines almost every day.
A disturbing incident happened last month in Makassar, South Sulawesi. An 11-year-old boy was kidnapped and killed by two teenage boys. Local authorities said they did so after being lured by an internet advert offering to pay a high price for human organs.
The offer vanished immediately after the murder case became public.
Sexual abuse of children is rampant in the Muslim-majority nation and almost all regions have reported a number of cases.
In Catholic-majority East Nusa Tenggara province, a former member of the local assembly was arrested last month for fondling a three-year-old girl. A would-be-Protestant minister from the same province was nabbed for sexually abusing a dozen Sunday school girls.
Such incidents give Indonesia the distinction of having one of the highest rates of child abuse in Southeast Asia.
Regrettably, child sexual abuse seems to have a knock-on effect as reports show many offenders were also abused in the past.Government data show that the number of poor people in Indonesia increased significantly from 24.7 million in 2019 to 26.3 million in 2022. Unemployment also rose from 7 million to 8.4 million.
Can Taiwan’s new Catholic PM change its future course?
Taiwan’s former vice president, Chen Chien-jen, a Catholic, who became the country’s new prime minister at the end of January, can do a lot. But his term in office will be short as the East Asian nation goes to presidential and parliamentary polls next year.
Beneath all the harsh words and military manoeuvrings, Taiwan enjoys robust ties with China, which wants to annex it, and the US, which will come to its aid in case of an attack by the communist nation.
China, which lays claim to Taiwan as its renegade province, takes in 37 percent of all Taiwanese exports, which rose by 14.2% last year. China also provides 20 percent of Taiwan’s imports, which increased by 9.5 % in 2022.
As neighbours, they face a raft of mutual risks from the depletion of marine stocks to global supply chain challenges. So, they cooperate one way or the other.
But still, Chen has to worry because there are enough strategic reasons why China won’t consider Taiwanese independence from the mainland.
Though the appellation “Taiwan” appears in brackets after the Republic of China, (the official name of Taiwan) and only 14 nations, including the Vatican, have diplomatic ties with it, Taiwan proudly occupies the United States’ eighth-largest trading partner position among the nearly 200 nations in the world.
“Chen will have to lift the fortunes of the party before presidential and parliamentary polls next year”
Though about 267 times smaller than China in size, Taiwan’s trade ties with the US are constantly strengthening.
A devout Catholic, Chen, who attended Pope Benedict’s funeral at the Vatican as the president’s envoy, took up the new assignment as part of a reshuffle by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after it suffered heavy losses during local elections four months ago.
Catholic school in Gujarat seeks police protection
The Catholic Church in the western Indian state of Gujarat state has sought police protection after one of its schools faced a ruckus by a right wing Hindu mob.
“We request you to take necessary action against such unruly elements and grant us police protection so that no untoward situation occurs in our premises or to any member of our institution,” Father Teles Fernandes, secretary of the Gujarat Education Board of Catholic Institutions, wrote to state Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The February 20 letter also urged him to provide protection to St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School in Amreli, some 245 km southwest of Ahmedabad, the state’s commercial capital.
The mob on February 20 insisted installing the pictures of Hindu deities in classrooms and the principal’s office.
School principal Father Binu Kunnel told Matters India on February 22, “The crowd spent the whole day in the school campus insisting on their demand, however, did not unleash any violence.”
The principal also added that the ruckus seemed to be part of a planned operation to tarnish the school’s image.
Father Fernandes’ letter said the “unruly large group” comprised members of the vishwa Hindu Parishad (world Hindu council) and Bajrang Dal (Brigade of Lord Hanuman).
Catholic social worker wins Jain center’s first life-time achievement award
A Catholic social worker, who has campaigned against substance abuse for three decades, on February 15 received the first “Life Time Achievement award” instituted by a Jain center in Karnataka.
Dharmasthala conferred the award on Thomas Scaria, who heads the Ecolink Institute of Well-being, for his outstanding contributions to prevent and manage substance abuse.
Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot gave away the award at a function at Dharmasthala, some 75 km east of Mangaluru, a port town in the southern Indian state. It comprises a citation, memento and a cash award of 25,000 rupees.
Veerendra Heggade, the Dharmadhikari (head) of Dharmasthala who instituted the award, pointed out that Scaria was the first recipient of the award. He congratulated the winner for his contributions to the community management of addiction and capacity building of the work force.
Scaria, who is also a senior journalist, has spent three decades in campaigning against drugs and alcoholism and training hundreds of addiction professionals globally.
The governor, a former federal minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, underlined the need for more committed people to work among drug users and alcohol dependents. “Substance Use Disorder is growing day by day, and only a movement can curb its growth,” he asserted.
Scaria started his mission on drug prevention in 1991 by initiating a students’ movement against addiction called Link Anti Addiction Action Group and later co-founding the Link Rehabilitation Center, where he served as its director for 20 years.
He joined Colombo Plan in 2010 and coordinated several projects in addiction management and capacity building in more than 25 countries for almost 10 years before returning to India.
Currently, he is engaged in training addiction professionals from nearly 20 countries as the approved training provider of the Colombo Plan and as a global trainer under the UNODC.
Indian archdiocese alleges minorities cut from voter list
Several thousand voters belonging to religious minorities such as Christians and Muslims have been allegedly removed from electoral rolls in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, say Catholic leaders.
The state, where the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) runs the government, is headed for polls in May and Christian leaders suspect deleting minority voters could be a strategy to retain power.
A delegation from Bangalore archdiocese on Feb. 15 submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer (CEO) saying a total of 9,195 voters’ names were removed from electoral rolls of the Shivajinagar constituency in the state capital, Bengaluru.
At least Some 8,000 names were of Christians and Muslims, the memorandum said.
“We fear that [voters lists for] many constituencies across Bengaluru city could have tampered with impunity. If such mischief is allowed to carry on unchecked, the confidence of the people in the electoral process will be destroyed beyond measure,” J. A. Kanthraj, public relations officer of the Archdiocese of Bangalore, told UCA News.