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Last Updated: 23 September 2015

CWN - Stating that “we can do almost everything except growing tropical fruit,” the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said that economic sanctions against Russia may benefit the nation by promoting self-sufficiency.

“When you see the riches of our country, with colossal opportunities, then you wonder why there is a topic of substituting import,” said Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, according to a report from the Interfax news agency.

The patriarch described sanctions as a form of “shock therapy” that encourages Russians “to work a little bit, to break the habit of cheap money, the habit of earning money from the difference between loan rates-- between those provided by Western banks and those we extended to our own people and our manufacturers.”

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Last Updated: 23 September 2015

CWN - The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has issued a report on human rights violations in Crimea, a portion of Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in March 2014.

The 100-page report refers twice to the Catholic Church:

At the time of annexation, over 1,400 religious communities were formally registered as legal entities under Ukrainian law, and 674 additional communities (mostly belonging to the Muftiate) operated informally without registration. Prior to the first deadline of 1 January 2015, 150 applications had reportedly been rejected for technical reasons, including all 20 applications by the Jehova’s [sic] Witness community, and the applications of the Catholic Church due to providing some documents in the Ukrainian language …

Soon after the 2014 Russian Federation annexation of Crimea, several places of worship inside what were previously Ukrainian military bases were seized. These were churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate, such as St. Clement’s Church in the Nakhimov Naval Academy in Sevastopol, and the Greek Catholic Church.405 The Kyiv Patriarchate reportedly claimed that five of its ten priests in the region had been forced to leave Crimea. Greek Catholic priests also fled Crimea following these church seizures, fearing for their safety.

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Last Updated: 21 September 2015

CWN - Expressing hope that “our continuing friendship and dialogue may be further developed and deepened,” Pope Francis has sent a message to Mar Gewargis III, who was elected head of the Assyrian Church of the East on September 18.

The Iraqi-born Gewargis previously served as metropolitan of Iraq, Jordan, and Russia.

The church, which has 400,000 members, ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See following the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431). It is now headquartered in the Chicago area.

“It is my prayer that Your Holiness may be an inspirational pastor for the flock entrusted to your care and an untiring builder of peace and harmony, serving the common good and the good of the entire Middle East,” Pope Francis said in his message, which was released on September 21.

“I join Your Holiness in prayer and solidarity with all who suffer because of the tragic situation in the Middle East, especially our Christian brothers and sisters and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria,” the Pope added. “With you, I ask the Lord to grant them strength so that they may persevere in their Christian witness.”

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Last Updated: 21 September 2015

CWN - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has sent a message to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on his fiftieth birthday.

“Being notable for your professional competence and responsibility, you strive to achieve your goals, performing manifold and difficult service for the benefit of the homeland,” Patriarch Kirill of Moscow said of Medvedev, who also served as Russia's president from 2008 to 2012.

“It is gratifying to note your attention to various initiatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and to the preservation of spiritual, historical and cultural heritage of our country,” the patriarch added. “I particularly appreciate the active support you render to the dialogue between the state and the Church.”

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Last Updated: 18 September 2015

CWN - On the evening of September 17, Pope Francis and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke by phone about the escalating violence in Jerusalem, the Italian news agency SIR reported.

The Pope told Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) that he was concerned that a political question was being transformed into a religious conflict and warned against intolerance and extremisim.

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Last Updated: 18 September 2015

CWN - Calling upon European nations not to give preference to Christian refugees, Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako warned in a recent interview that “there is a very real risk now of the Middle East, Iraq, Syria losing all its Christians.”

“European countries must give shelter to those who really need it, regardless of religion,” the prelate told La Stampa’s Vatican Insider. “I can confirm that it is not just displaced people who are fleeing.”

“Priests tell me that there are also people who aren’t too badly off financially, people who work at banks, for example, who are leaving,” he added. “People who don’t really need to leave. They feel that a window of opportunity has opened up, and they fear this window will soon close, so they take advantage of it.”