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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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Benedict XVI Invited Them to Be Apostles to Their Peers
VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Only the person who experiences God's love can be a disciple and missionary, says Benedict XVI as he recalled the message he gave youth during his trip to Brazil.
The Pope summarized his May 9-14 apostolic trip to South America during today's general audience today in St. Peter's Square.
An "important moment of the journey was, without a doubt, the meeting with young people; hope not only for the future, but a vital force also for the present -- for the Church and for society," the Holy Father said.
During his meeting with the youth, he reflected on Matthew 19:16, which tells of the rich young man who asked Christ what he must do to inherit eternal life.
At the general audience, the Pontiff summarized his message: "Jesus points out, above all, the commandments as the way of life, and then invites him to leave everything to follow him.
"The Church does the same thing today: First of all, it proposes the commandments, the true education of freedom for personal and social good; and, above all, it proposes the 'first commandment,' that of love, because without love even the commandments cannot give full meaning to life and procure true happiness.
"Only the person who experiences the love of God in Christ and places himself on this path to live it among humanity, becomes his disciple and missionary."
Benedict XVI said he offered the youth some challenges: "I invited the young people to be apostles of their peers; and to therefore take great care of their own human and spiritual formation; to have great esteem for marriage and the way that leads to marriage, in chastity and responsibility; to be open to the call to consecrated life for God's kingdom.
"To summarize, I encouraged them to take advantage of the great 'riches' of their youth, to be the young face of the Church."
Code: ZE07052302
Date: 2007-05-23
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But Notes That Divine Grace Still Did Wonders in the New World
VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI acknowledges that shortcomings accompanied the work of evangelization in the New World, but that the reality of these wrongful acts shouldn't overshadow the work of divine grace.
The Pope said this today during the general audience in St. Peter's Square. He dedicated his address to a reflection on his May 9-14 apostolic trip to Brazil.
The Holy Father explained: "The theme of the relationship between faith and culture was always in the hearts of my venerated predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II.
"I also wished to take up this theme to confirm the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean in their walk of faith that has been and still is a living history -- as we see in popular piety, art, in dialogue with the rich pre-Columbian traditions as well as numerous European influences and influences from other continents."
The Pontiff's inaugural message at the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean drew some criticism from leaders of indigenous groups.
Though Benedict XVI acknowledged dark moments in the history of the New World's evangelization, he called for gratitude to God for the work of grace among those peoples.
"A look back at a glorious past cannot ignore the shadows that accompanied the work of evangelization of the Latin American continent," the Pope said. "It is impossible to forget the sufferings and injustices inflicted by colonizers on the indigenous peoples, who often had their basic human rights trampled on.
"But the very mention of these unjustifiable crimes -- crimes that were condemned at the time by missionaries such as Bartolomé de Las Casas and theologians such as Francisco de Vitoria of the University of Salamanca -- must not stop us from expressing gratitude for the wonderful work carried out by divine grace among those populations in these past five centuries."
Today
The Holy Father also reflected on present-day challenges affecting the country: "Brazil is a great country that has deeply rooted Christian values, but is experiencing enormous social and economic problems.
"To help resolve these problems, the Church must mobilize all of the moral and spiritual energies of its communities, to find points of convergence with the healthy energies of the country."
Benedict XVI reiterated his closeness to Brazil's prelates: "Conveying to them the support of the Successor of Peter was one of the major goals of my mission, because I know the great challenges that the proclamation of the Gospel faces in that country.
"I encouraged them to recover the style of life of the first Christian community, described in the Acts of the Apostles: dedicated to catechesis, the sacramental life and works of charity."
The Holy Father said he thanked God "for allowing me to deepen my communion with the Brazilian bishops and I continue to remember them in my prayers."
Code: ZE07052301
Date: 2007-05-23
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23.05.2007, [11:04] // Conflict // RISU.ORG.UA
Ternopil – For 16 years, the community of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in the village of Dubivtsi, in western Ukraine’s Ternopil Region, has been denied access to the church building by the community of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). The Church of St. Michael the Archangel was constructed in 1906, but UGCC faithful have to celebrate Liturgies in the church yard all year round. Only on major holidays is the UGCC community allowed to serve Liturgies in the local school. The report of RISU correspondent Volodymyr Moroz was posted on 22 May 2007.
“We were told that we will not be allowed to bury [our faithful] in the cemetery,” said Bohdan Redkva, a leader of the UGCC community. “I have known all the administration heads, Boiko, Kosenko, and Kolomiichuk, since 1991, and had a chance to talk to them personally. All of them promised to solve the dispute. Back in 1998 the head of the regional administration ordered the district administration to organize alternating Liturgies for 10 days. However, nothing has been done in that respect so far.”
According to Redkva, the Greek Catholics have no intention of possessing the church building and are ready to conduct alternating Liturgies, to coordinate time for the use of the church building with the UAOC community, but the latter does not agree.
According to government estimates, Greek Catholics in Dubivtsi are in the minority, 60 people versus 570 faithful of the UAOC. All in all, 770 residents are registered in the village, and 150 of those are abroad. A fairly large number of local residents are retired and the UGCC does not have enough resources to construct a new church building, said Dubivtsi Mayor Mykola Duma. In addition, most young Greek Catholics have moved to the regional center, the city of Ternopil, and visit their parents on weekends or holidays. Redkva agrees with the numbers, noting that the number of parishioners coming to the church yard for services on major holy days reaches 80 people, and 20 people on Sundays. Mykola Zozulia, a community leader of the UAOC, said that in Dubivtsi their community claims 90% of the residents, and the Greek Catholics 10%, but he refused to go into detail.
According to Oksana Kozibroda, village secretary, the faithful of the UAOC do not stress their denominational adherence much and just go to church. She said that local women who attend services “in the church building” consider the “stubborn” Greek Catholics to be somewhat “strange” due to their unwillingness to do the same.
“I cannot understand how someone baptized Greek Catholic can support autocephaly, which is not canonical and not recognized by anyone,” argued Redkva.
The village mayor considers that the best option would be if the communities could see eye to eye on alternating Liturgies and notes that the ongoing conflict is just a problem of the local priests, Fr. Myroslav Khudiak and Fr. Andrii Yatsiuk.
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23.05.2007, [11:02] // Church-state relations // RISU.ORG.UA
Kyiv – Ukraine is now going through a religious renaissance. So said Mykola Novychenko, assistant head of Ukraine’s State Committee on Matters of Nationalities and Religions, at a press conference on 21 May 2007.
According to Novychenko, the large number of registered religious communities only proves that Ukraine is experiencing a real religious revival. All in all, there are over 33,000 of them in Ukraine, he said.
In addition, Tetiana Pylypenko, director of the Department on Matters of Nationalities and Information, informed journalists that no religious organization of a destructive character has been registered in Ukraine.
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23.05.2007, [10:53] // Orthodox // RISU.ORG.UA
Kyiv-Istanbul – Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople gave his blessing to Ukraine on 17 May 2007 at his residence during a meeting with representatives of Ukrainian civic organizations. They addressed him with the request to support the creation of a single national church in Ukraine. The patriarch voiced his support for the union of the Orthodox churches in Ukraine again and wished peace and union to the whole Ukrainian people.
Vice-Admiral Borys Kozhyn, director of the charity fund Ukrainian Order: Marine Cross and head of the delegation, said: “It was a pleasant meeting. In the name of the public we awarded him a Ukrainian order, the marine cross. In addition, we told the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate strives for the union of all citizens around its church.”
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May. 23, 2007 - CWNews.com
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