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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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risu.org.ua - The 21st Regular Sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA ran from October 19-22, 2016.
His Eminence Metropolitan Antony, Metropolitan & Prime Hierarch of UOC of the USA and Diaspora, His Eminence Metropolitan Yurij, Metropolitan of Canada and Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, His Eminence Archbishop Jeremiah, Ruling Hierarch of the Eparchy of South America and His Grace Bishop Daniel, Ruling hierarch of the Western Eparchy and President of the Consistory of the UOC of USA participated in the Sobor.
Metropolitan Antony presented the formal greeting from His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. "...as you gather to contemplate ways of spiritual and administrative growth, we encourage you in all you do to keep this standard of love in your hearts. Love for God and neighbor grows in accordance with keeping His commandments – for true love springs forth from LOVE itself – that is, from Christ. Learn to abide in Him so that you may learn to love even more, in order that you may with faith, love and the fear of God, truly draw near to Him ad to each other", reads the letter.
The main topic of the Sobor was the Strategy of the UOC in the USA development. "Our once vibrant Church has suffered from the secularism of our world. We have lost too many of our youth for various reasons, which are not just due to outside influences and societal changes, but, because of how we practice our Faith. How we behave in our parishes and how we treat each other impact how our children view our Faith. Our behavior – in any manner – has consequences in the lives of others. We need to impart a new vigor in to the life of our Church through revival in our individual and collective lives", stated in his sppech Metropolitan Antony. Metropolitan Antony introduced the Strategic Plan explaining how crucial it is that everyone participate in order for it to be successful. The Plan will be introduced at the parish level over the coming weeks and months when individuals within each parish are sought out as volunteers to coordinate efforts with the goal captains, chairpersons and our hierarchs.
The plenary sessions heard the reports of all the ministries of the Church including the Offices of Stewardship, Christian Charity, Youth & Adult Ministry, Religious Education, Liturgical Publications, Public Relations, Cultural Affairs, Archives, External Affairs, Clergy Development, St. Sophia Seminary Library, St. Andrew Cemetery, and All Saints Camp. While the reports were lengthy, they were nonetheless informative and received positively. The Sobor body learned of the various successes that the ministries of the Church have experienced over the years.
During the Sobor metropolian Anthony informed the participants that bishop Daniel Zelinskyj is be nominated for elevation to Archbishop. The nomination will be presented to His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholmew and the Holy Synod for formal election and inclusion in the Dyptychs of the Holy Ecumenical Church.
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CWN - The Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor in Israel was desecrated during the night on October 24.
Thieves entered the church, broke open the tabernacle, scattered the Blessed Sacrament on the floor, damaged icons and statues, and stole chalices and some money.
“Seeing the damage was really a cause of pain and sorrow,” said Auxiliary Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo of Jerusalem. “An official act of reparation will be held in the coming weeks. This will confirm our love for the place, our sense of the sacred and devotion to Our Lady.”
“Although the incident took place at the end of Sukkot celebrations, I don’t think it is sectarian in nature,” the prelate added. “It is more likely a case of petty crime.”
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CWN - The Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbi said that the United States government bears a moral responsibility towards Christians and other minorities in Iraq.
Over 100,000 Christians fled to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, as the Islamic State advanced on Mosul in 2014.
Calling for American aid to the Mosul region as it is liberated from the Islamic State, Archbishop Bashar Warda said that the US government should “play a role in protecting the minorities, because we’ve seen that, due to this American intervention in 2003, they have a moral responsibility, really, to finish the whole job in a decent and a dignified way.”
“Minorities have suffered a lot because of all this intervention,” he said in an interview with Catholic News Service. “I’m not blaming (the US) directly, but ... they are responsible, morally responsible for what happened.”
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CWN - The Irish bishops have invited Catholics to pray for peace in Syria on October 31.
“Innocent men, women and children are paying the ultimate price in the continuing conflict raging in Syria, especially in Aleppo, where they are caught in the crossfire,” said Bishop William Crean of Cloyne. “I join with Pope Francis in urging governments to find a political solution to the war in Syria.”
The bishops have asked the faithful to pray at the same hour that Pope Francis, joined by Lutheran leaders, will be praying for the same intention during the papal visit to Sweden.
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By John E. Usalis / Published: October 25, 2016 | republicanherald.com
MAHANOY CITY — St. Mary Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) Church begins its celebration of its 125th anniversary this Sunday as parishioners remember the past and look toward the future.
The parish will mark its quasquicentennial throughout the year in its regular events that will include some aspect of the jubilee.
On Sunday, a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 3 p.m., with the Most Rev. Kurt Burnette, bishop (eparch) of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy, Passaic, New Jersey, as the main celebrant. Concelebrants will include the Rev. James Carroll, OFM, pastor, and other priests of the eparchy, including some from the Holy Dormition Byzantine Franciscan Friary in Sybertsville near Hazleton. Carroll said the Rev. James Gannon, OFM, provincial vicar of the Assumption BVM Province, may travel from Franklin, Wisconsin.
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risu.org.ua - In the Catholic Church, the faithful of the Latin rite as well as the faithful of the Oriental Catholic Churches are always at home wherever they are on the European continent. They are all children of one Church and together they proclaim the joy of the Gospel of Christ. This strong sense of belonging to a single universal Church and sharing the same mission of evangelization accompanied the conclusion of the Meeting of the Bishops of the Oriental Catholic Churches in Europe who gathered in this Year of Mercy in Fatima (October 20-23) along with the representatives of some Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Western countries (France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal) on the theme, The Pastoral Care of the Faithful of the Oriental Catholic Churches in Western European Countries.
After the opening session, which was held in Lisbon and was attended by the local Archbishop-Patriarch, Cardinal Manuel Clemente, the participants started their meeting-pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, which in 2017 will commemorate the centenary of the apparitions.
At Fatima, the fifty-seven bishops participants have begun by analysing in-depth the basic reasons of the migration of many faithful of the Oriental Catholic Churches. Then they focused on the pastoral challenges of integration, both at a social and ecclesial level, and at the end they discussed the theme of dialogue between Churches of different rites within the Catholic Church.
The meeting took place in an atmosphere of cordiality and friendship. The work, which was held in the form of pilgrimage, has been enriched by the visit of the places related to Marian apparitions at Fatima. Prayer and the daily celebration of the Divine Liturgy were made easier by the atmosphere of recollection and prayer at the Shrine of Fatima. After a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Nossa Senhora da Nazaré (Our Lady of Nazareth), in the afternoon of Saturday, October 22, the bishops gathered at the Shrine of Fatima for a prayer to the Mother of God, presided over by Archbishop Cyril Vasil', Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. In the evening, they participated in the traditional Saturday Marian Vigil with the procession of the candles and the recitation of the Holy Rosary.
The meeting also included a presentation by a Vatican journalist of Radio Renaçenza, Ms. Aura Miguel, about the history and meaning of the three parts of the secret related to the Marian apparitions at Fatima, especially in relation to the pontificate of St. John Paul II, the Pope who, especially after the assassination attempt he suffered in 1981, had a very close relationship with the Portuguese shrine.
The meeting, organized by the Council of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) - represented at Fatima by its president, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, was also attended by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; His Beatitude the Patriarch Gregorios III Laham of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites; the Apostolic Nuncio in Portugal, H. Ex. Mgr. Rino Passigato; and the Archbishop of Braga, H. Ex. Mgr. Jorge Ortiga.
The meeting ended on Sunday, October 23, with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Church presided over by His Beatitude Svlatoslav Schevchuk.
The next meeting will take place in autumn 2017 in London (United Kingdom) at the invitation of H. Ex. Mgr. Hlib Lonchyna, Bishop of the Eparchy of the Holy Family of London of the Ukrainians and Apostolic Visitor for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic faithful in Ireland.
Final Message at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the
Oriental Catholic Bishops of Europe
"I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Mt 25:35)
We, the bishops of the Oriental Catholic Churches in Europe, gathered in Fatima (Portugal) from the 20th to the 23rd of October, 2016 for our annual meeting which also included the participation of representatives of some Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, in communion of prayer and spiritual brotherhood, reflected on the challenges of the pastoral care of the Oriental Catholic faithful who migrate to Western countries and, often, to places where they find themselves without their own pastors.
In our work we have been inspired and guided by the Word of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who has personally experienced the harrowing experience of those forced to leave their own homeland in search of new horizons. As we approach the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy we feel that these words of Jesus spiritually weld the ecclesial communities which are connected to each other by the experience of migration. "I was a stranger" is a word addressed to our faithful, who are often forced to migrate. "You welcomed me" emphasizes the human and Christian attitude of the ecclesial and civil communities that receive them.
Today's migration, then, is an opportunity for the Church, because it opens to the gift of welcoming others, as Pope Francis reminds us. And in this way we put into practice what we believe in, that is, that the Church is not a reality closed in on herself but it is permanently open to missionary and ecumenical endeavour, for She is sent to the world to proclaim and witness, to make relevant and disseminate the mystery of communion which is its very essence: to gather everything and everyone in Christ, and to be for all an "inseparable sacrament of unity" (Communionis notio, 4). In fact, the mobility of our faithful fosters the culture of encounter and testifies a spiritual unity lived in Europe.
First of all, we want to express our gratitude to the local pastors and parish communities of the Latin Church in these Countries for their fatherly care and hospitality of our people, belonging to the Oriental Catholic Churches. We want to thank in a special way for the appreciation of the spiritual life that these faithful have brought in their new residential countries. We are grateful to the local pastors who consider them as operators of the New Evangelization, giving witness to the faith with their Christian life. We also want to thank the Bishops of the Latin Church who appreciate the traditions of the East, to which our faithful belong (cfr. Can. 40 § 1 CCEO). We are grateful for their care in ensuring that our faithful receive a pastoral care according to their rite of belonging, in welcoming the priests who came from the Mother Church to serve our faithful, in creating chaplaincies, and even personal parishes, being aware of our need to have the appropriate ecclesiastical structures for our faithful in the countries where they are living now (cfr. Can. 383 § 2 CIC).
We, Oriental Catholic Bishops of Europe, are aware of our responsibility towards the faithful who are outside the borders of their Mother Church (cfr. Can. 148 § 1 CCEO). We want to support and confirm each of them and their families. We give a particular attention to the families who are divided because of migration, in order to emphasize the beauty of the family and how much it is crucial to humanity. We are close to the most vulnerable and isolated so that they do not become prey to trafficking in human beings. We commit ourselves to promote enthusiastically the transmission of the faith to young people and children, in the certitude that it is an indispensable gift for the fullness of life.
With this message we want to declare our willingness and our desire to cooperate more closely with the Latin pastors to provide a more and more appropriate pastoral care to our faithful who are living in their jurisdiction (Can. 916 § 5 CCEO; Instruction Erga migrantes caritas Christi, Chap. II, artt. 4-11), as well as to promote the formation and awareness of the Latin clergy vis-à-vis the Oriental traditions, to more adequately train our own priests who have been sent to take upon themselves the pastoral care of our faithful. It is also desirable that the most appropriate ways be found in view of a greater sharing of pastoral structures and activities.
We also want to state that our commitment and pastoral care of the faithful is based on the principle of integration, not assimilation. We deem it very important that our faithful, organized in their pastoral centres, are well integrated into the local Church of the host country, because we are certain that the Oriental Christian traditions are a gift for the Latin communities too. Only by integrating in the local Church - without being assimilated and without remaining isolated – it will be possible to share the heritage of our traditions and witness together that the Catholic Church is "the unity of faith in the diversity of traditions."
However, even the Oriental traditions have to face the great challenge of secularism, which wants to pervert our Christian life. Therefore, the effort to incarnate the Gospel in the culture of our peoples, who are often prisoners of the present, will help us to make more vivid the perception of being part of a history that precedes and follows us (cfr. St. John Paul II, Orientale lumen 8).
In this historical moment we are close to those severely suffering because of violence and war that continues to affect many peoples, in particular in Ukraine and in the Middle East. Our Holy Father Francis teaches us that the words of peace are forgiveness, dialogue, and reconciliation, because without a conversion of the heart there is no peace. So we want to be agents of reconciliation and peace, and strive to rebuild harmony where it is broken. Following the heroic example of the shepherd children of Fatima, we want to continue to pray and do penance to invoke from Christ the gift of his peace, tirelessly, hoping for a peace not separate from the demands of justice, and fuelled by sacrifice, love, and mercy .
To Mary, Mother of God and of men, who appeared here in Fatima a hundred years ago, we entrust our Churches, the families, the youth, the sick, the elderly, the unemployed, and the suffering, because she, as a very tender Mother, knows every suffering, every pain, every deprivation, and she embraces all with love.
"Let everyone get closer to the time of peace and freedom, the time of truth, justice, and hope" (cfr. Act of Entrustment to Our Lady of Fatima).
Fatima, October 23, 2016
- The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church opened 225 communities in Western European countries
- Diversity is not a danger, but a treasure for the whole Church, European Eastern Catholic bishops
- Syrian Catholics fear Islamic takeover, plead for West to stop arming rebels
- Papal laments cruel violence in Iraq