Talibans attack catholic schools in Swat Valley
Islamabad, Pakistan, Oct.23,2007 (CINS/AsiaNews) – The process of talebanisation of Pakistan continues despite formal pledges by the central government and local authorities. Islamic extremism has in fact reached the Swat Valley, once known as the Switzerland of the Orient, this according to a report by Minorities Concern of Pakistan, a local organisation which monitors the situation of minorities and violations of the human rights of the population.
One of the cases cited in the report involves a Catholic-run public high school in Sangota, in the Swat Valley. In a recent letter, a group calling itself Janisaran-i-Islam (Sacrifices of Islam) attacked the school administration for allegedly “forcibly converting students” and “encouraging un-Islamic behaviour.”
The fundamentalist group calls for the firing of all Christians employed by the school and their replacement with fervent Muslims. It also threatens suicide bombers “if its orders are not followed.”
Instead of finding out what the school had to say, the local government agreed with the letter, and issued an order that all female students cover their heads in the school to preserve local Islamic morality from conversion and atheism.
Extremists enthusiastically welcomed the order, citing the case of the three young Christian women in Indonesia who were decapitated for not wearing the veil.
Worried by the turn of events, many parents pulled their daughters from the school, which was forced to shut down till next week when local authorities will send security agents to enforce security. However, only half of all non Muslim students are planning to come back. Many are actually thinking about leaving the country to avoid further violence.
What is happening does not worry the Christian minority alone. In the Swat Valley, a region much loved by Pakistanis and one of the country’s richest areas, greater Islamist pressures show that the government has failed to stem the flow of Talibans from neighbouring Afghanistan.
In an editorial article, the Daily Time says that the “government seems unable to control the militant groups, who have been controlling the different areas in the province and making people’s lives miserable,” opposed to everything that makes Pakistan a modern country.
On September 26 various Christian and Muslim non-governmental organisations operating in the country demonstrated in Islamabad against the rising tide of violence. They warned the government that if Islamic extremism is not stopped, humanitarian aid of any kind will dry up.
Progress in dialogue with Catholics, says Ecumenical Patriarchate
Istanbul, Turkey, Oct.19,2007 (CINS/AsiaNews) – The results of the latest talks by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches held in Ravenna (Italy) were definitely positive, this according to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Metropolitan Ioannis of Pergamon, one of Commission’s two co-chairs with Card Walter Kasper, expressed a similar opinion in talking to AsiaNews, thus confirming the positive assessment already made by the Holy See.
Ioannis’ statement comes on the eve of another meeting between Benedict XVI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, scheduled for Naples (Italy) where the Pope will be on a pastoral visit and where the Patriarch will be receive an honorary degree and be made an honorary citizen of Amalfi.
Ioannis, who played a key role in all the activities according to everyone present at Ravenna, including Catholics, said that the final paper from that meeting on collegiality and authority in the Church was unanimously approved and will be the basis for future sessions of the Unity Commission.
Mgr Eleuterio Fortino, under-secretary at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told Vatican Radio that the experts had started to discuss “an issue that is essential to the dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, a difficult issue,” explaining that “we’re starting to study in detail the evolution of the role of the Bishop of Rome in the Church.”
According to Ioannis, removing any reference to Church unity in the first millennium, which defined the Pope’s role as that of ‘co-operator’ whilst that of the patriarchs as ‘consenting,’ was one of the most important decisions taken. This was done to avoid differing interpretations by the two ecclesiologies, Western and Eastern; the first centred on the fact that the Pope prevails over others; the second which focuses on greater equality” among Church leaders.
“In the Eastern Church, the primacy goes to Constantinople,” he said; “not in terms of power but in terms of initiative and coordination. For the first time, the term primus was used, the meaning it held in the tradition of the first millennium, always within the synodal context.”
For the Orthodox, the conclusions reached by the Commission “were so important that they overshadowed the pullout by the Russian delegation,” due to the presence of the Estonian Apostolic Church, which Moscow does not recognise.
“We should remember that the issue goes back to 1996 when the Ecumenical Patriarchate in response to a demand by the Estonian Church recognised its autonomy which it had in 1923 and which was forcibly suppressed in 1945 by the Soviet army,” Ioannis explained.
“Despite the agreement with Constantinople reached in 1996 in Zurich and Berlin, the Moscow Patriarchate refuses to acknowledge the autonomy of the Estonian Church until the latter returns property belonging to Russian parishes. Constantinople has tried to mediate, but the Estonian government has refused on constitutional grounds. Thus the issue remains unresolved.”
A statement by Bishop Hilarion to the Interfax news agency best illustrates how deep the cleavage is. In it he questions the “legitimacy” of the conclusions reached in Ravenna since his patriarchate was absent. He said that Moscow “alone has more members than all the other Orthodox Churches combined.”
“Hilarion’s tough stance should be seen as an expression of authoritarianism whose goal is to exhibit the influence of the Moscow Church,” said Ioannis. “But like last year in Belgrade, all Moscow achieved was to isolate itself once more since no other Orthodox Church followed its lead, remaining instead faithful to Constantinople.”
Catholics, Sikhs Discuss Spirituality, Holiness, Saints at Retreat
Washington, USA, Oct. 19, 2007 (CINS/ USCCB) - Representatives of the World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR) and the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) met September 28-30 in Washington for a three-day Catholic-Sikh bilateral retreat.
The objective of this third meeting was for the communities to build on past retreats by exploring concepts of holiness and the spiritual path in the two communities.
The retreat opened with a presentation on interfaith understanding in Sikh belief, history, and practice by Dr. Tarunjit Singh, the leader of the Sikh delegation and Chair of the Interfaith Committee of the World Sikh Council – America Region. Additional sessions included a presentation on Catholic perspectives on spiritual progress by Father Francis Tiso, the leader of the Catholic delegation and Associate Director of the USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. Father Tiso surveyed New Testament and early monastic models of the stages of the spiritual life.
Sikhs and Catholics stress the common origin of humanity from God, from which is derived their respective teachings on the kinship of all people. Both hold that the path to holiness includes both inner conversion and outward manifestations of love for one’s neighbors.
In subsequent sessions, participants reflected on the lives of those recognized by the communities as holy people. Yashpal Singh gave a presentation on the biography of Bhai Kanhiaya, who served water to both Sikh and Moghul warriors wounded during a battle in which the Moghul army had surrounded a Sikh city. Savraj Singh then introduced the group to Bhagat Puran Singh, a contemporary holy man known as the Sikh “Mother Teresa” for his radical
service to the poor, sick, and elderly. Neil Sloan spoke of Saint Gianna Berretta Molla, a 20th century married saint and medical doctor, who lost her life to save her unborn child.
Throughout the weekend, Catholics and Sikhs shared their personal narratives of seeking holiness. A tour of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was organized for participants. The many Marian shrines, which reflect the diversity to be found in the Catholic faith, sparked conversation about the unique characteristics of religious faith in the Americas, where immigrants who have sought to harmonize the rich diversity of cultures and religions have found a home.
Catholic and Sikh participants attended each other’s prayer services throughout the weekend. Both communities found the dialogue beneficial in building trust among the two faiths. Their next retreat is slated for early 2009 on the theme of “The Nature of God: Convergence and Divergence in Our Spiritual Paths.”
About half of the representatives of the delegations were young adults, age 35 or younger. The Catholic delegation was headed by Father Tiso, also included Neil Sloan, Program Assistant of the USCCB Ecumenical and Interfaith Secretariat; Father Donald Rooney, Ecumenical Officer of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia; Benedict ine Father Philip Simo, St. Anselm’s Abbey, Washington; Charles Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America; Julie Heldt, graduate of the master of theological studies program at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family; and Stephanie Almozara, candidate for the master of divinity degree at Harvard Divinity School.
The Sikh delegation was led by Dr. Tarunjit Singh. Other Sikh representatives included Dr. Manohar Singh, Chairperson of WSC-AR; Kavneet Singh, Chair of the Human Rights and Religious Freedom Committee of the WSC-AR; Yashpal Singh of the Philadelphia Gurdwara Sahib; Manjit Kaur Bains of the Philadelphia Sikh Society; Upneet Kaur, Student at Temple University; Gobind Singh Sethi of the Commonwealth of Virginia; Savraj Singh of the Gurdwara Sahib in Lawrenceville, New Jersey; Anhad Singh of the Palatine Gurdwara Sahib in Chicago; and Kamaljit Kaur.
For additional information, please contact Father Tiso at 202-541-3022, ftiso@usccb.org; or Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia, Chair of the Interfaith Committee, WSC-AR, 614-210-0591, butalia.1@osu.edu.
Ayyash appointed Bishop for Roman Catholic of the Parish of Petra, Philadelphia and entire Jordan
Amman, Oct. 14 (CINS/JNA) - Bishop Yasser Hanna Ayyash was appointed a new Jordanian Bishop for the Roman Catholic of the Parish of Petra, Philadelphia and entire Jordan.
Ayyash is the first Jordanian to be appointed Bishop in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
His appointment was announced at the Melkite Roman Catholic Cathedral Mass the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch His Beatitude Gregorios III Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem and the entire East.
Vietnam Prime Minister meets with Catholic Bishops
Ha Noi, Vietnam, Oct.14,2007 (CINS/VNS) — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with representatives at the 10th Viet Nam Bishops’ Conference on friday.
On behalf of the Government, he congratulated the conference for their successes and highlighted key points in the country’s socio-economic development.
He stressed the Party and State’s policy of promoting the great national unity, with great care for Catholics.
Dung praised the conference’s contributions to national development, especially their efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS, reducing traffic accidents, and improving education.
Nguyen Van Nhon, chairman of the Viet Nam Bishops’ Conference, said the organisation would mobilise Catholics to help develop the country, and encourage people to further better education, health care, and traffic safety.