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in the church
November 29, 2016 | The Valley Catholic
U.S. Bishops Urged to Bring Wider Attention to Christian Persecution
By Dennis Sadowski
Catholic News Service
BALTIMORE (CNS) – Maronite Bishop Gregory J. Mansour called on the bishops of the United States to bring wider
attention to the persecution of Christians
in the Middle East to their parishes and
political leaders.
Addressing the fall general assembly
Maronite Bishop Gregory J. Mansour of Brooklyn, N.Y., speaks Nov. 15 during the annual
of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishfall general assembly of the U.S. Conference
ops Nov. 15, the Maronite leader said he
of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (CNS photo/
hoped that the new four-year strategic
courtesy Jeffrey Bruno, EWTN)
plan adopted by the conference earlier
in the day would incorporate a robust
advocacy for religious freedom in the
munion with our brothers and sisters
rest of the world.
there” including raising funds for the
“People do look to America and relihumanitarian work of organizations
gious freedom is our greatest freedom
such as Catholic Relief Services, Aid to
and we ought to be able to export it ...The
the Church in Need, the Catholic Near
more we export it throughout the world,
East Welfare Association and the Knights
the happier our world will be,” said
of Columbus.
Bishop Mansour, who heads the Eparchy
He also said the U.S. church could
of St. Maron in Brooklyn, New York.
play a major role in developing a plan
While referring to the acts of kidnapwith Catholic bishops around the world
ping, torture and killings by the Islamic
to rebuild churches and restore the liveliState group in Iraq and Syria, Bishop
hoods of Christians in the region.
Mansour said that attention must be givA third suggestion revolved around
en to attacks on the religious freedom of
the possibility of organizing a program
Christians throughout the Middle East.
in which U.S. parishes match up with
He encouraged
the
bishops
to
take
parishes
to
create 7:41
bonds
of unity and
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several steps to “increase our comsolidarity. Such an effort, he said, could
be extended to Orthodox, Protestant and
other Christian congregations.
Bishop Mansour also called for advocacy with the U.S. Department of State
to boost aid for refugees and displaced
people who do not find their way to established camps but are taken in by individual families, hospitals and churches.
In response, several bishops acknowledged the importance of raising the
profile of Christian persecution in the
world. The leader of a Syriac Catholic
diocese in the U.S. urged bolder action
in their dioceses.
“Now you should continue your work
not in the parish only, but the media end
and to lead your parishioners to pray, to
pray,” said Bishop Yousif B. Habash of
Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic
Diocese of the U.S. and Canada, which is
based in New Jersey.
“Today it’s a big privilege for the
Catholic Church in America to support
the persecuted Christians, the African
Church, the Latin American Church ...
to be a strong church, not just to make
America great, but to make great peace
for the world,” Bishop Habash said. “This
is our task. This the task of you, of the
Catholic Church ... to make a peaceful
world.”
Archbishop Alexander K. Sample
of Portland, Oregon, said the suffering
of Middle East Christians is not often
acknowledged as a pressing issue for the
church to consider.
“My hope is that we as a conference
will keep the issue of religious freedom
in the Middle East and the suffering of
our brothers and sisters always before
our eyes. I think it would be a great mistake to let this fade into the background.”
He describe d a pin that he wears on
his lapel. It depicts the Arabic symbol
for the letter ‛N’ – a marking that often
appears on the homes of Christians to
single them out for persecution, he said.
When asked about the pin, the archbishop said, he explains its meaning and
shares the story of the dwindling population of Middle East Christians.
Bishop Francis Kalabat of St. Thomas
the Apostle Chaldean Catholic Eparchy
of the United States based in Detroit
described a September visit to Iraq, including Baghdad and the Kurdish region
in the north, where he met some of
the “most beautiful people on earth”
despite the violence.
He said he met with lay Christians
running a home for the elderly and a
Missionaries of Charity home for orphaned and abandoned children, most
of whom are Muslim.
Kenya’s Bishops say
More Must be Done to Stop Corruption
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NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) – Kenya’s Catholic bishops urged the government to
intensify its efforts to eliminate corruption in the country. The bishops said “the
disease of corruption ... seems to be perpetrated without shame or fear. That now
there are allegations of mismanagement of funds meant for health services yet again
brings the country to another low. We are left wondering what is exactly going on,”
they said in a statement issued Nov. 11, after their meeting in Kakamega. They said
they wondered if Kenyans were “being treated to propaganda as a campaign tool for
2017,” when Kenya holds its next general elections. The bishops also warned against
pre-election violence and hate speech and noted that candidates have abandoned
their responsibilities to campaign full time. “We must never allow ourselves to be
used for political expediency every election period, only to be left wounded, maimed,
hopeless and divided more than ever before,” the bishops said.
U.S. Church Prepares for 2018 Encuentro in Fort Worth
BALTIMORE (CNS) – The Catholic Church in the United States is gearing up
for the fifth National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry, to be held in September 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. The effort got a personal endorsement from Pope
Francis during a Nov. 15 video message to the U.S. bishops at their fall general
assembly in Baltimore. “The church in America as elsewhere is called to go out
from its comfort zone and be a leaven of communion – communion among ourselves, with our fellow Christians, and with all who seek a future of hope,” Pope
Francis said in the message. “The Christian community is meant to be a sign of
prophecy, of God’s plan for the entire human family,” the pope said. “We are
called to be bearers of good news for a society gripped by disconcerting social,
cultural and spiritual shifts and increasing polarization.” The theme for the “V
Encuentro,” as it is known in shorthand, is “Missionary Disciples: Witnesses of
God’s Love,” according to Auxiliary Bishop Nelson J. Perez of Rockville Centre,
New York, chairman of the bishops’ Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs. “It is a
great opportunity for the church to reach out to our Hispanic brothers and sisters
with Christ’s message of hope and love,” he said.