Archives

Pope: Religions Must be Purified of Extremism, Self-Righteousness

By Junno Arocho Esteves

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (CNS) — As war, violence and extremism in countries around the world threaten the lives of countless men, women and children, religions must rise above differences and be examples of peace and harmony, Pope Francis said.

“It is time to realize that fundamentalism defiles and corrupts every creed; time for open and compassionate hearts,” the pope said Sept. 14 at the plenary session of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

“We need religion in order to respond to the thirst for world peace and the thirst for the infinite that dwells in the heart of each man and woman,” he said.

On the second day of his visit to Kazakhstan, the pope addressed 80 religious leaders and hundreds of delegates participating in the interreligious meeting Sept. 14-15 in the Palace of Independence, a blue-glassed trapezoid-shaped building in the heart of the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan.

The congress, which is held every three years, was the initiative of Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, as a way of promoting dialogue among religions, the congress’ website stated. It also aims to prevent “the use of religious feelings of people for the escalation of conflicts and hostilities.”

Arriving at the meeting, the pope took his place at a huge round table with the other leaders and was immediately greeted by Sheikh Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar in Egypt. Smiling, the pope affectionately embraced him.

The event began with a moment of silent prayer.

After the formal session, Pope Francis held private meetings with a dozen of the leaders, including the sheikh, but also with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of external relations for the Russian Orthodox Church. The metropolitan took the place of Russian Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, who canceled his attendance at the congress.

Metropolitan Anthony told reporters his 15-minute meeting with the pope was “very cordial” and that the pope had asked him to pass his greetings to the patriarch, whom the pope had hoped to meet in Nur-Sultan. The patriarch’s withdrawal from the congress was seen by many observers as a protest of Pope Francis’ decision not to meet Patriarch Kirill in Jerusalem in June because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and of Patriarch Kirill’s support for the war.

“We had worked to prepare the second meeting (between a pope and patriarch — the first was in Havana in 2016), and then it was canceled by the Vatican,” Metropolitan Anthony told reporters at the Palace of Independence. “We’ll see what we can do” to arrange a new meeting time.

Asked if Patriarch Kirill was still bothered by Pope Francis’ comment in May to an Italian newspaper that “the patriarch cannot turn himself into Putin’s altar boy,” the metropolitan said, “I can say it was something very unexpected, this interview, and it is clear that expressions of this kind are not helpful for Christian unity.”

In his formal talk to the congress, Pope Francis said that “authentic religiosity” is needed to fight fundamentalism and extremism in religion and to show the world that it has no reason to distrust or have “contempt for religion as if it were a destabilizing force in modern society.”

Kazakhstan and other nations of the former Soviet Union “are all too familiar with the legacy of decades of state-imposed atheism: that oppressive and stifling mentality for which the mere mention of the word ‘religion’ was greeted with embarrassed silence,” the pope said.

Religion, he said, “is not a problem, but part of the solution for a more harmonious life in society.”

Focusing on the meeting’s theme, which reflected on the role of religious leaders “in the spiritual and social development of mankind in the post-pandemic period,” Pope Francis said the COVID-19 pandemic was among several challenges that “call all of us — and in a special way the religions — to greater unity of purpose.”

“COVID-19 put us all in the same boat,” he said. “All of us felt vulnerable, all of us in need of help, none of us completely independent, none completely self-sufficient.”

Now, he said, religions must not squander “the sense of solidarity” or act as “if nothing happened.”

Instead, the pope said, religious leaders must confront the urgent needs of the world and be “promoters of unity amid the grave challenges that risk dividing our human family even further.”

With the world “plagued by the scourge of war, by a climate of hostility and confrontation, by an inability to step back and hold out a hand to the other,” he said, it is time for religions to purify themselves from evil, particularly the “presumption of feeling self-righteous, with no need to learn anything from anyone.”

“Let us free ourselves of those reductive and destructive notions that offend the name of God by harshness, extremism and forms of fundamentalism, and profane it through hatred, fanaticism and terrorism, disfiguring the image of man as well,” he said.

“And let us learn also to be ashamed: yes, to experience that healthy shame born of compassion for those who suffer, sympathy and concern for their condition and for their fate, which we realize that we too share,” he said.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 09/13/22

People in New Jersey have the chance to venerate five of Padre Pio’s relics.

Pope Francis has begun his apostolic journey to Kazakhstan. He left Rome on Tuesday morning.

King Charles III will be in Northern Ireland today where people will honor the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

A cafeteria worker in Ohio is being called a hero after she saved a fourth grade student who was choking.

Arriving in Kazakhstan, Pope Makes Case for Peace

By Junno Arocho Esteves

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (CNS) — Arriving in Kazakhstan, a country that borders Russia, Pope Francis said he came as a “pilgrim of peace” at a time when “our world urgently needs peace; it needs to recover harmony.”

“I am visiting you in the course of the senseless and tragic war that broke out with the invasion of Ukraine, even as other conflicts and threats of conflict continue to imperil our times,” the pope said Sept. 13 in a speech to the country’s civil authorities, representatives of civic groups and members of the diplomatic corps.

“I have come to echo the plea of all those who cry out for peace, which is the essential path to development for our globalized world,” he said.

After a nearly seven-hour flight from Rome, Pope Francis arrived in the capital city, Nur-Sultan, where he will attend the Sept. 14-15 Congress of World and Traditional Religions. As he arrived in Kazakh airspace, his plane was escorted by fighter jets.

Arriving at the presidential palace, Pope Francis, who continues to suffer from knee pain, remained seated while Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stood next to him as an honor guard played the national anthems of Vatican City State and Kazakhstan.

Welcoming the pope, President Tokayev thanked him for his “tireless and dedicated efforts in the name of the human family around the world” at a “critical juncture in human history.”

As Islamophobia, antisemitism and Christian persecutions continue to rise, the president said, “humanity could really go one way or the other if we are not vigilant.”

“I believe it is high time for moderates from different cultures and religions to pool their wisdom and energy to unite people behind the ideas of peace, social harmony and mutual support,” he said.

Tokayev said the pope’s presence at the interreligious meeting would ensure its success “and instill a true joy and happiness in the hearts of all devout Catholics in Kazakhstan and beyond.”

Responding to the president and addressing the civil leaders, the pope reflected on the two-stringed “dombra,” a traditional Kazakh musical instrument, and noted its use for centuries, thus “linking the past to the present.”

“As a symbol of continuity in diversity, its rhythm accompanies your country’s memory,” he said. “It thus serves as a reminder of how important it is, amid today’s rapid economic and social changes, not to neglect the bonds that connect us to the lives of those who have gone before us.”

Because of its history, St. John Paul II regarded Kazakhstan as a “land of martyrs and of believers, land of deportees and of heroes, land of intellectuals and artists,” he said.

That history, the pope said, is one of “culture, humanity and suffering,” particularly during the Soviet era that brought prison camps and mass deportations.

Nevertheless, “Kazakhs did not let themselves remain prisoners of these injustices,” the pope said. “The memory of your seclusion led to a deep concern for inclusion.”

“In this land, traversed from ancient times by great displacements of peoples, may the memory of the sufferings and trials you endured be an indispensable part of your journey toward the future, inspiring you to give absolute priority to human dignity, the dignity of every man and woman, and of every ethnic, social and religious group,” he added.

Noting the hundreds of ethnic groups peacefully coexisting in Kazakhstan, the pope said he was honored to take part in the Congress of World and Traditional Religions to “emphasize the importance and the urgency of this aspect of encounter, to which religions are called especially to contribute.”

He also praised Kazakhstan’s constitution, which defines the country as a “secular state” and thus, “provides for freedom of religion and belief.”

“A healthy secularity, one that acknowledges the important and indispensable role of religion and resists the forms of extremism that disfigure it, represents an essential condition for the equal treatment of each citizen, while fostering a sense of loyalty to the country on the part of all its ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious groups,” he said.

Freedom also recognizes basic human rights, the pope said, praising the country’s abolition of the death penalty “in the name of each human being’s right to hope.”

The pope lauded Kazakhstan’s commitment to peace and expressed his appreciation for the country’s “decisive repudiation of nuclear weapons” as well as its environmental policies that invest in clean sources of energy.

“Together with a commitment to interreligious dialogue, these are concrete seeds of hope sown in the common soil of humanity,” Pope Francis said. “It is up to us to cultivate those seeds for the sake of coming generations, for the young, whose desires must be seriously considered as we make decisions affecting the present and the future.”

New York, Chicago, D.C. Mayors Take Different Approaches to Migrant Crisis as Busloads More Expected

By Jessica Easthope

From New York, to Chicago, to D.C., thousands of migrants have arrived on buses from Texas. The latest stop is Illinois where Craig Johnson, the mayor of Elk Grove Village a suburb of Chicago says he’s fed up. He’s accusing mayor Lori Lightfoot of playing politics when it comes to declaring the Windy City a sanctuary for migrants.

“She wants to proudly say politically I’m a sanctuary city, I welcome you with open arms but when reality checks and five busloads show up in her city she says give them to Elk Grove Village and that’s wrong,” Johnson said.

He said he wasn’t prepared to welcome the 90 migrants who arrived in his northwest suburb.

“We’re not against migrants,” said Johnson. “We’re not against helping them, but we should work together. Our frustration is, no well-advanced knowledge, no involvement in communication discussing how we can handle it.”

And over in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser wants city council to pass legislation codifying her public emergency declaration over the large influx of migrants into the city. The governors of Texas and Arizona have bused 9,000 migrants to D.C. since April. Bowser says a number of them were misled about the availability of jobs.

“How do we treat people humanely. It also allow us to make sure that our homeless services system to create affordable housing isn’t broken down by this crisis that we didn’t create,” she said.

And in New York City where approximately 8,000 migrants have arrived, Mayor Eric Adams is making resources available. According to the MTA, the city has requested two buses to be provided a day and will determine where the migrants are taken. The city has agreed to reimburse the MTA all costs.

As for where migrants will be taken next, Philadelphia is bracing to receive busloads of families from Texas.

Former MLB Pitcher Turned Port Authority Cop Killed En Route to 9/11 Memorial Ceremony

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Anthony Varvaro is dead at age 37.

Officials and the MLB confirmed in online posts that he was killed in a wrong-way crash on the New Jersey Turnpike near Jersey City Sunday while heading to Manhattan’s 9/11 ceremony.

Varvaro played for the St. John’s University Red Storm and graduated with a degree in criminal justice. He pitched professionally for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox over the course of a six year career.

Two days after pitching his final professional game he entered the Port Authority Police Academy and officially became an officer in December 2016.

Varvaro was a Staten Island native and was a member of the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame’s 2019 class.

He leaves behind a wife and four children.

Several 9/11 Memorials Held Around the Diocese of Brooklyn on 21st Anniversary of Terror Attacks

In Midwood, Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church held a special Mass for the firefighters who served the city following the 9/11 terror attacks. Members of the FDNY, both past and present, filled one side of the church as the parish prayed to the Lord to protect them.

FDNY firefighters also attended a memorial Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Williamsburg. Nearly 200 members of the department were in attendance, as well as the wife and daughter of Daniel Shear, a firefighter from Williamsburg who lost his life on September 11th.

There was also a tribute Mass at St Athanasius Church in Bensonhurst led by Bishop Raymond Chappetto. Parishioners Of St Athanasius laid down flowers to honor those who passed away 21 years ago. The church also processed a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows in their honor.

 

St. Pio Foundation Brings Padre Pio Relics to Newark

By Jessica Easthope

Crowds gathered outside the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, Monday to venerate five of Saint Pio’s relics.

“When people are in proximity of the relics they find an overwhelming sense of hope and peace and acceptance of what God’s will means,” said Luciano LaMonarca, the founder and CEO of the St. Pio Foundation.

For the last eight years Luciano has been educating the public about Saint Pio, or as many call him Padre Pio. He was an Italian priest most known for the stigmata he bore, five wounds in the same places where Jesus was nailed to the cross and pierced during his crucifixion that appeared on his body in 1918.

The relics on display for veneration include scabs from his wounds, gauze stained with his blood, locks of his hair, a piece of his mantle and a handkerchief drenched in his sweat.

“People come with an overwhelming sense of faith and devotion,” said Luciano. “Because this is their time when they can say I have been so close to Padre Pio the best I could.”

The relics exhibit is part of the “I Embrace You” tour that started in 2017. This is the first time they are on display for veneration in the Archdiocese of Newark. The relics invoked an emotional response, especially from friends Daria Waltz and Kathleen Latz.

“I feel like he’s my guardian angel. I have total faith that he’s there and he’s watching over me,” Daria said.

“He is an amazing intercessor and when you can feel heaven touch earth and know how powerful they are working for you it’s the mystery of faith,” said Katheleen.

Luciano says many come to the exhibit out of curiosity, but that real devotion is when people seek out more.

“Always look up more, study, learn about who Padre Pio was, the relics are just the beginning of a journey,” he said.

The St. Pio foundation estimates more than one million people have seen these relics. When they leave the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart they’ll travel to 23 more cities this year.