News
Byzcath.org News provides news focusing on the Christian East from varous sources and offers links to other sites dedicated to providing the news about the Church.
Churches and organizations that provide news about the Eastern Churches are invited to submit their news stories to us for publication here (use the contact page for submission)..
Materials from the Vatican Information Service, Zenit, CWNews.com and other sources are published here with permission of their owners but may not be republished further without the permission of their original publishers. Please visit these sites to obtain additional general news about the Church. In addition to these sources EWTN News also provides a good general news summary.
Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
- Details
Liturgy to Include Blessing of Sick
The Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, located at 448, East 116th St. has announced plans for a Coptic Liturgy to be celebrated as part of the events during the 133rd Annual Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Liturgy will be celebrated on Sunday, July 9th at 5 PM. The priests who serve at the Shrine are members of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, commonly known as the Pallottines. Their founder, St. Vincent Pallotti was a confessor to the Eastern Rite Colleges in Rome. He developed a great love for what he termed “The treasures of the East.” He instituted the Epiphany Octave during which time a different Eastern Rite was celebrated in the Pallottine churches. In tribute of the desires of their founder, and to draw attention to the plight of the Eastern Churches, the Shrine began to include an Eastern Liturgy in its patronal celebrations. Father Fayez of the Coptic Catholic Church of the Resurrection will be the celebrant, assisted by members of his congregation. It will conclude with a blessing of the sick.
- Details
CWN - The Synod of the Melkite Catholic Church convened on June 19 in Ain Traz, Lebanon, to choose a new Patriarch.
The resignation of Patriarch Gregory III Laham, who is 82 years old, was accepted by Pope Francis in June. After a day of prayer and reflection, the Melkite bishops will begin voting on June 20 to elect a successor. The new Patriarch will be announced after the vote receives papal recognition.
- Details
CWN - Maronite Catholic Patriarch Bechara Rai expressed concern about “deficiencies in the pastoral and spiritual formation of priests,” in his address to the Synod of Maronite bishops last week.
The Lebanese prelate saw “a significant drop in the level of scientific and theological competence” among his priests, and consequently a “slacking off in the theological, dogmatic, and moral teaching” of the Maronite community. He observed that too many priests are offering opinions—sometimes online, without proper authorization—that do not correspond to Church teachings, and are consequently “scandalizing the faithful.”
The Maronite Patriarch also voiced his concern about the incidence of marital breakdown. “Our courts are allowing annulments for psychological reasons all too easily,” he said. Rather than accepting the collapse of marriages, he said, the Church should seek out new ways to defend marital unions through “intensive pastoral care, and the creation of centers for marriage preparation and centers for counseling and reconciliation.”
References:
- Details
CWN - The number of Christians living in Syria and Iraq has been cut in half—and perhaps significantly further—since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011, according to a new report.
The report by Open Doors and Middle East Concern finds that Syria’s Christian population, which stood at 2 million before the civil war, is now perhaps 1 million. In Iraq, where an offensive by the Islamic State drove Christians out of the Nineveh Valley, at least 100,000 have fled the country. Of course who remain, many are now displaced; some are considering a return to their homes now that the Iraqi government has regained control of the Nineveh Valley.
References:
- Details
CWN - In a speech to Latin American ambassadors to Russia, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow emphasized the ties that bind Russian Orthodox Christians to Christians in Latin America.
“I have always felt, especially at that time, that Russia and Latin America have many things in common,” he said. “First, the very strong living Christian faith; it is really a faith of millions. Christianity in our country and in Latin America is an important factor of not only people’s spiritual but also intellectual life.”
He continued:
Just as in our country, in Latin America I have seen overcrowded churches, examples of remarkable Christian mission, also amidst the poor. I noted the great interest in Russia wherever we met with very warm and emotional manifestations of sympathy towards us.
The nations of Western Europe and North America, on the other hand,
used to be leaders of the Christian world, but they are ceasing to be such. Unlike them, in Latin America churches are not sold to accommodate some secular institutions in them, nor are churches closed but, on the contrary, are being built in a great number in Russia. We have the religious life on the rise, and it is what Russia and Latin American countries have in common.
References:
- Details
risu.org.ua - The Divine Liturgy and the burial rite of blessed memory Lubomyr (Husar) was held in the Resurrection Cathedral of the UGCC in Kyiv. The hierarchs of the UGCC participated in the service led by Patriarch Sviatoslav Archbishop Cyril (Basil), personal envoy of Pope Francis, Apostolic Nuncio Claudio Gugerotti, Secretary of the Congregation for Eastern Churches.
Clergymen (about 600 priests), monastics and faithful from all over Ukraine and abroad came to pay the last tribute to His Beatitude Lubomyr. Many public figures, government officials and politicians came on this day to honor the former head of the UGCC at the Patriarchal Cathedral. The latter represented different political forces.