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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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CWN - Speaking at a rally in Moscow, a leading Russian Orthodox official denounced economic oligarchies and the “kingdom of freedom.”
“We need a virtuous, self-disciplined Russia, strong in its faith, independent, free, not depending on any outside centers of power,” said Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, chairman of the Synodal Department for the Cooperation of Church and Society of the Moscow Patriarchate, according to a report by a Russian news agency.
“We need Holy Rus’, not a kingdom of managers and foul mouths, not the kingdom of freedom, which enslaves people,” he added. “We need to speak again about the things which are inacceptable for us in the country’s life, including the usurpation of economics by a few people who are not controlled by anyone and were not elected, the monopoly of immorality, various silly shows in the cultural and informational field, unlimited encouragement of abortions, promotion of perversions, the industry of vice existing in our society.”
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CWN - Christian leaders in Odessa, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, have called upon the city’s mayor to prevent a gay pride parade from taking place on August 15.
Ukrainian Orthodox and Protestant leaders joined Roman-rite and Ukrainian Greek Catholic leaders in signing the appeal, the Religious Information Service of Ukraine reported.
“We strongly believe that such events blur the clear distinction established by God, undermining the foundation of the family and marriage and destroying the biblical family institution,” the Christian leaders said in their joint statement.
“A society that accepts homosexuality is doomed to extinction,” they continued. “Homosexuality kills true love and gives rise to hatred; it leads to the inevitable degradation of an individual; it is the reason for many, including incurable diseases. Homosexuality is a sin.”
“We understand that the views of the LGBT community are their personal choice,” they added. “However, promoting and imposing antibiblical and antitraditional views is unacceptable and leads to the destruction of our society … We pray for the salvation of these people so that the light of Divine Truth enlightens their minds.”
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CWN - Launching a new peace initiative, the Southern Sudan Council of Churches again called upon belligerents in the nation’s 20-month civil war to lay down their arms.
“War has made people indifferent to human life,” said Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro of Juba, according to the Fides news agency. “People are dying and nobody cares.”
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CWN - Twenty-two elderly Christians abducted by the Islamic State have been released after nearly six months in captivity.
Islamic State militants took 253 Christians hostage as they swept through Syria’s Al-Hasakah Governorate in February. According to the Assyrian International News Agency, 70 hostages were previously released between March and June.
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CWN - The Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbil, Iraq, has told the Fides news agency that “our vibrant Church life is dissolving in front of our eyes” because of mass emigration.
“We who are part of the Church hierarchy are very often tempted to encourage our parishioners to stay – keep the presence of Christ alive in this special land,” said Archbishop Bashar Warda. “But truly I and my brother bishops and priests can do no more than to advise young mothers and fathers to take all the necessary considerations into account and to pray long and hard before taking such a momentous, and perhaps perilous, decision.”
“It is no secret that hatred of minorities has intensified in certain quarters over the past few years. It is difficult to understand this hate,” he added. We are hated because we persist in wanting to exist as Christians. In other words, we are hated because we persist in demanding a basic human right.”
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Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate
Of Antioch and All the East
Of Alexandria and of Jerusalem
Opening of the cause for the beatification and canonisation
of the Apostle of Upper Egypt
“Boutros Wadih Kassab was the apostle of Upper Egypt and the apostle of youth,”
says Gregorios III
On Friday 7 August 2015, at the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Cairo, HB Gregorios III, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem, presided over the solemn opening of the cause for beatification and canonisation of Boutros Wadih Kassab (1913-86), the apostle of Upper Egypt.
“It gives us great joy to open the process of the cause for beatification and canonisation of Boutros Wadih Kassab, a great Christian layman deeply committed to his faith, which led him to found and work for very many Catholic associations dedicated to serving young people. This was the lynchpin of his life and life-long commitment… not to mention his involvement, on the one hand, in the Saint Vincent de Paul Society that illuminated his Christian life and which he chaired for very many years, and on the other, his commitment to the institutions particular to his Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Cairo, such as its Upper Council...
“We have read and studied with great interest the testimonies of French and Egyptian Melkite Christians and Muslims describing meetings with Boutros Kassab… Despite their different backgrounds, they all testify to Boutros Kassab’s readiness to serve or lead any spiritual, ecumenical and ecclesial commitment to youth service. … There can be no doubt that he was the most influential lay-person in the Church in Egypt… as he always used to say, `Working in the Catholic Youth Association is my whole life!`