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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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New York - On Saturday, November 12, 2016 – Hundreds of Ukrainians, guests and supporters gathered, at Manhattan’s iconic St. Patrick Cathedral for an ecumenical requiem service and commemorative program dedicated to the memory of Ukraine’s Holodomor, Stalin’s genocide of millions of Ukrainians in 1932-1933.
As has become tradition, the requiem service was led by His Eminence Metropolitan Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., along with Bishop Paul Chomnycky and Bishop Emeritus Basil Losten of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, with the participation of the Dumka Chorus of New York, under the direction of Vasyl Hrechynsky.
Bishop Paul Chomnycky was the first to address the attendees, explaining in brief the context of the ceremony to the cathedral’s many visitors. He was then joined by present Hierarchs in leading the traditional Panahyda.
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CWN - Following the recent liberation of areas of Iraq from ISIS control, some Iraqi Christians who were unable to flee the Islamic State’s 2014 advance spoke with Agence France-Presse about their life the past two years, which in some cases involved conversion to Islam.
A 14-year-old recounted that an ISIS fighter told his mother that they would shoot him unless they both converted to Islam.“So we converted,” he said, but later, “if they found that I hadn’t been to the mosque to pray, I sometimes got lashes.”
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CWN - The place of worship was the square in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Shkodër. The beatification Holy Mass was led on behalf of Pope Francis by the Prefect of Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, the press service of Mukachevo Greek Catholic Diocese reported.
The solemn beatification ceremony was attended by Archbishop Angelo Massafra of Shkodër-Pult, bishops from Kosovo, Montenegro, Italy, Croatia and many other countries, more than 300 priests and thousands of faithful from all over Albania, Kosovo, of Albanian diaspora, as well as representatives of government and heads of the religious communities of the country.
The newly blessed martyrs include two bishops, among them Archbishop Vincenc Prennushi of Durres that belonged to the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, 32 priests - 7 Friars Minor Franciscans, 3 Jesuit fathers, 1 seminarian and 4 lay people, including a 22-year old girl, Maria Tuzzi, teacher and candidate to the Congregation of the Sisters Stigmatines.
Albania, declaring itself a completely atheistic country, went in for a brutal persecution of all believers, Catholics, Orthodox, and Muslims. Catholics suffered special persecution for their pastoral dynamism and unwavering faith identity.
In September 2014, summing up his visit to Albania, Pope Francis said that when he moved along the road that leads from the airport to the central square of the Albanian capital, he saw posters with portraits of priests who were killed during the communist dictatorship and who are subject to the beatification process. But hundreds of Christian and Muslim clerics should be added, who were killed, subjected to torture, were imprisoned and deported just because they believed in God. During the said period, thousands of churches and mosques were destroyed or turned into warehouses and cinemas, which advanced by Marxist ideology, religious books were destroyed.
“The memory of these tragic events is essential for the future of the people,” the Holy Father said. “The memory of the martyrs who persevered in faith is the key to the fate of Albania, because their blood is not shed in vain, but became seeds, which will bring the fruits of peace and brotherly cooperation. Martyrs have not lost - they are winners. Their heroic testimony shows the omnipotence of the Lord God who always comforts his people, opening new paths and horizons of hope.”
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, said that the torture of Bishop Franjo Ginny lasted almost 2 years. Bishop was accused of anticommunist propaganda, after the arrest was subjected to harsh torture, he was subject to food and water deprivation, hung on a tree in the yard of security agency office, beaten with sticks until he lost consciousness and was thrown into a sewer. However, the bishop has continued to stay alive and was further shot together with others.
And in his sermon during the beatification Mass Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints said: “Thanks to God's Providence, the Tree of Cross, which suffered beating during the communist regime, following the example of Christ, crucified and risen, flourished anew in Albania with the new energy. The Church, remembering Christ's words: “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” (Jn 15,18-20), revived after the persecution in even greater glory, being also supported by the testimony of her children martyrs.
On April 25, 1993, visiting Albania, St. John Paul II blessed the cornerstone of the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Good Council, the heavenly patron of Albania. The Albanian Church with its bishops, priests and faithful, can be compared to the age oak that was not moved by the winds and storms of history, but remained firmly rooted in the faith of Christ.”
Talking about the attitude towards the inhuman and bloody dictatorship, Cardinal Angelo Amato said that we have to learn the words of Pope Francis: “Do not forget the wounds, but do not seek revenge. Go ahead working with the hope of a great future.”
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CWN - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has offered his congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump.
“Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your election as President of the United States of America,” Patiarch Kirill of Moscow said in a November 9 message to Trump. “The choice made by the American people is a sign of their great trust in you and of the hope they pin on you for the development of the country and for the changes both in domestic policy and foreign affairs.”
“Over many years of your intensive work you have gained wide experience that will help you deal with the matters pertaining to the life of the state and society, as well as to the cooperation with other countries,” he continued.
Patriarch Kirill added: The world is facing serious challenges today, and the United States of America have an important role to play in responding to them. It is only through the concerted efforts that people can oppose extremism and terrorism and defend the fundamental values of the lofty moral ideals, upon which the human rights and dignity are based.
It is my hope that the long-standing relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the United States of America will continue to develop for the benefit of our peoples united by the common history and by the Christian values. I wish you strength, God’s help and every success in your future lofty and important ministry.
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CWN - The Custos of the Holy Land said that Christians in Aleppo, Syria, feel abandoned and believe that other Christians are unconcerned about their plight.
As Custos, Father David Patton serves as provincial superior of the Franciscans in the Middle East and is entrusted with the pastoral care of pilgrims to the Holy Land’s shrines.
“They feel often abandoned by the other Christians,” he said. “They feel that many Christians are not interested in their suffering or what they are doing to remain Christian there. Many of them have lost everything. The only thing they haven’t lost is the faith.”
Father Patton said that Aleppo’s Christian population has fallen from 250,000-300,000 to 30,000-40,000 during the past five years. Nonetheless, “there are many, many signs of hope, but we need eyes to see the signs of hope. Where to buy lexapro online no prescription?”
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CWN - Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, has concluded a four-day visit to Cyprus.
Archbishop Gallagher met with Archbishop Chrysostomos II, the head of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, and delivered a message from Pope Francis on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Archbishop Chrysostomos’ election.
Archbishop Gallagher also met with the nation’s president, Nicos Anastasiades, and celebrated Mass for the Maronite Catholic community.
The nation of 1.1 million is 89% Orthodox, 2% Catholic, and 2% Protestant.
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