VATICAN - The Pope tells teachers and students from the University of Parma: “Truly free, according to the Gospel and the tradition of the Church, is the person, community or institution that fully responds to its own nature and goals, and the vocation of the University is the scientific and cultural formation of the person for the progress of the entire community.”
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father Benedict XVI focused on the spiritual inheritance left by the great reformer Saint Peter Damian in his address to teachers and students from the University of Parma, whom he received in an audience on December 1, to commemorate the ancient roots of the School of Parma,” being inspired by Saint Peter Damian, whose 1,000th anniversary of his birth was recently celebrated, and who was a student and later a teacher at the schools in Parma.
Quoting a letter sent to the Camaldolese Congregation of the Order of St. Benedict last year, the Pope recalled how he had mentioned that it is “the central characteristic of his personality is of particular value for our time: that happy blend of hermit life and ecclesial activity, the harmonious tension between the two fundamental poles of human existence: solitude and communion.” In our day, which is dominated by the new information technologies, the new generations run the risk of “ growing reduction in their capacity for concentration and mental application on an individual level; on the other, that of isolating themselves individually in an increasingly virtual reality. In this way the social dimension is dispersed in a thousand fragments, while the individual dimension turns in on itself and tends to close off to constructive relations with others. The University, by nature, lives according to the balance between the individual moment and that of the community, between the research and reflection of each person and the open exchange and dialogue with others, in a horizon that is tendentially universal.”
Benedict XVI then highlighted the “lack of unifying principles” present even in our day, challenging the academic studies in the effort to “contribute to the quality of education in society, not only in terms of scientific research in the strict sense, but also in a more general sense, in offering the youth the possibility of maturing intellectually, morally, and civilly, confronting the great questions that concern modern man.”
Saint Peter Damian is counted among the great “reformers” of the Church after the year 1,000, and questioning as to the “genuine concept of reform,” the Pope pointed out that “every authentic reform should above all be spiritual and moral, and thus, be rooted in the conscience. Oftentimes today, including in Italy, people speak of university reform. I believe that, within reason, this lesson is always valid: structural and technical changes are efficient to the degree in which they are accompanied by a serious examination of conscience on the part of those responsible on all levels, by every teacher, every student, by every technical and administrative aid.” If we want a human environment to improve, “we must first of all ensure that each person begins by reforming him or herself, correcting that which can harm the common good or hinder it in any way,” the Pope said.
Benedict XVI linked the concept of reform to that of freedom. Saint Peter Damian wanted the Church to be freer, on both a spiritual and historical plain. “In the same way, the validity of university reform finds its confirmation in freedom. Freedom to teach, freedom to pursue research, freedom of the academic institution from economic and political power. This does not mean isolating the university from society ... nor pursuit of private interests by profiting from public resources. This is certainly not Christian freedom. Truly free, according to the Gospel and the tradition of the Church, is the person, community or institution that fully responds to its own nature and goals.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
Links:
Complete text of the Holy Father's address, in Italian
http://www.evangelizatio.org/portale/adgentes/pontefici/pontefice.php?id=1296
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EUROPE/ITALY - Youth Missionary Congress for the Year of Saint Paul: “Following Christ’s footsteps in the world - Paul’s Secret”
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – In the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of the Apostle to the Gentiles, inspired by the Holy Father’s proposal, all youth are invited to attend the Youth Missionary Congress 2009, scheduled to take place April 30 – May 3, in Assisi (Italy). The event is being organized by the Youth Missionary Movement and organized by the “Fondazione di Religione Missio,” the Pontifical Mission Societies, the Diocesan Missionary Centers, Missionary Institutes, and Missionary Communities and Associations.
According to Rocco Negri, Secretary of the Youth Missionary Movement, “the objective is to reaffirm, in our time, the urgency of announcing the moving message of the Gospel, to the ends of the earth. Through moment of prayer, dialogue, group study, hearing testimonies from all over the world, our youth will be invited to discover that Christ is the criteria for evaluating all other events, and everything else. He is the objective of every effort that is made to preach the Gospel, the great passion that sustains our steps along the paths of the world. We are sure that the secret of Paul is also in the universal reach of his message, capable of speaking to men and women on every continent, every time, and every culture.”
Registration opens December 3, 2008, Feast of Saint Francis Xavier, Patron of the Missions. One can register on the website or by filling out the forms distributed to the Diocesan Missionary Centers, Missionary Institutes, and Missionary Communities and Associations. For more information: Missio – Pontifical Mission Societies - National Secretariate MGM. Tel. 06.6650.2639-640; e-mail: mgm@operemissionarie.it. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
Links:
Youth Missionary Movement website, with registration form
www.mgm.operemissionarie.it
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AFRICA/DR CONGO - “The international community has the duty to intervene in bringing peace to eastern Congo,” the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN in Geneva says.
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “The international community cannot remain inactive and should speak clearly. It is of utmost importance that the international community restore order and seek the common good.” These were the words spoken by Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Specialized Agencies in Geneva, in asking the international organizations and all interested countries in intervening to end the conflict in North Kivu (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo).
On November 28, Archbishop Tomasi gave an address at the 8th Session of the Human Rights Council working on the situation in eastern Congo. In his talk, the text of which has been sent to Agenzia Fides, Archbishop Tomasi expressed the “Holy See's denunciation of the atrocious levels of serious human and humanitarian rights violations. The Holy See abhors the recruitment of children and adolescents as soldiers. It is extremely concerned at the diverse forms of torture and other cruel practices, which are inhumane and degrading, including the frequent sexual violations against women and young girls which are being committed by all parties involved in the conflict. The international community should intervene quickly in response to these grave human rights violations.”
The Holy See, the Permanent Representative said, likewise denounces the illicit trafficking of arms, especially handguns in the DRC. This trafficking contributes to augmenting the violence and threat to human life, and the integrity of countless innocent people.
After recalling the denouncement made by the Congolese Bishops (see Fides 14/11/2008) and the appeal launched by Pope Benedict XVI in the Angelus on November 9, Archbishop Tomasi focused on the dramatic humanitarian situation in eastern Congo: “According to the most recent information, there are nearly 2 million people being forced to flee their homes. Their right to food, water, decent work and adequate housing, education, and health is being seriously compromised. Many refugees have been taken in by camps, where they are assisted by international humanitarian aid organizations. However, there are others who are less fortunate and cannot be assisted by humanitarian agents, due to the conflict among the various parties. According to the most recent reports, nearly 200,000 people are forced to live in the forest and there is very little known regarding their situation.”
“My delegation is making appeals to all the parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo, asking that they respect the ceasefire and to comply with previously signed peace agreements. The people of Congo, as all the other people of our planet, have a right to peace. Stable peace can only be founded upon dialogue, reconciliation, and justice,” the Permanent Representative of the Holy See concluded. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
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AFRICA/ZIMBABWE - Fighting between police and military soldiers; cholera, anthrax, and AIDS: the Zimbabwean crisis continues to worsen
Harare (Agenzia Fides) – The extremely serious economic, political, and health crisis taking place in Zimbabwe is worsening every day. In response to the government's decision to hold a credit freeze, due to the lack of bills, a group of military soldiers attacked a group of money-exchangers in Harare, clashing with the police and men of the CIO (Central Intelligence Organization, i.e. Mugabe's secret service men).
The soldiers, as ordinary citizens, are finding difficulty in extracting their salary money from the bank. The country is suffering under a hyperinflation (with a rate of 230 million) and the nominal value of the local currency must be updated with greater frequency (as the people shop with million dollar bills). This is also having a grave effect on state spending and in a drop in the rate of circulation of bills (printed outside the country). The people are having to use foreign currency, centering the system in the money-exchangers.
The soldiers, after having uselessly waited in a bank, to extract their salary, decided to attack the exchangers and the businesses with first aid materials, which are increasingly harder to find.
The revolt of the military, considered on of the pillars of the Mugabe regime, is a disturbing sign for the government, which is now facing an extremely serious health emergency from a cholera epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, since August, the cholera has left 473 people dead. There are over 11,000 registered cases in the country's 10 provinces.
The authorities have been forced to halt water supply to various areas, due to a lack of disinfectant. In the rural areas of northern Zimbabwe, an anthrax epidemic has also broken out, which threatens over 60,000 cattle. Three people who ate meat from the infected animals have died from the illness.
Zimbabwe is also the country with the fourth highest incident of the HIV virus in the world: 15.6% of adults between 15 and 49 are infected. There are 3,200 deaths from AIDS per week, in a population of just a little over 13 million. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
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ASIA/CHINA - Chinese parishes now using the Advent Wreath; faithful make preparations for the feast of Saint Francis Xavier
Beijing (Agenzia Fides) – Chinese Catholics on the mainland celebrated the beginning of the liturgical year, with the First Sunday of Advent, in union with the Holy Father and the Universal Church, preparing for the Lord's coming. In addition, for the Chinese community this time of the year is of special of importance, as it includes the feast of St. Francis Xavier, Patron of the Missions and of the mission in China, in this Year of St. Paul, which is being celebrated by the entire Church. Many communities, mainly thanks to the priests and religious who have studied outside the country, have adopted the Advent Wreath as a symbol of the four Sundays of Advent.
The faithful of the parish of Qing Cun, in Shaghai have made their first Advent Wreath by hand, following the instructions of the religious sisters there. It is also the first time that the faithful there have ever seen an Advent Wreath. During the Mass for the First Sunday of Advent, the priest explained the meaning of the wreath, and all the parishioners were surprised and amazed. During the celebration held on the evening of November 29, in the parish of Quan Zhou (Province of Fu Jian), the Advent Wreath was blessed and the priest encouraged the faithful to use the wreath in praying for the Lord's coming.
The Advent Wreath proceeds from a Lutheran tradition from eastern Germany, being used as a symbol of Advent by Christians since the 16th century. The wreath announces the nearing of the Christmas, inspiring community prayer. Just as in the natural world, the light dispels the darkness, Christ is the true light that arrives and overcomes the darkness of evil and death. The wreath is normally made of branches of fir or pine trees, symbolizing hope and life. The circle formed by the branches of the wreath is a symbol of eternity and unity. According to tradition, the four candles represent: the Prophesy, Bethlehem, the Shepherds, and the Angels. The candles are lit, one for each week, on Saturday evening or on Sunday, in the presence of the community or in the family. The lighting of the candles is accompanied by songs and invocations for the Lord's coming and later concludes with a song to Our Blessed Mother. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
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ASIA - “Seminarians, testimonies of dialogue and peace in Muslim society,”: the experience of Indonesia and Bangladesh at the Course for Spiritual Directors organized by CIAM
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “Formation and spiritual direction for seminarians, in a nation and environment of Muslim majority, as is Indonesia, is a delicate task. However, we try to live in harmony with the society around us.” This was what Agenzia Fides was told by Fr. Hubertus Leteng, Vice-Rector and Spiritual Director of the Interdiocesan Seminary of Maumere, Flores Island (Indonesia). Fr. Hubertus participated in the Course for Spiritual Directors recently held in the Vatican, organized by CIAM (International Center for Missionary Animation), which was attended by 20 priests from missionary countries who came together to reflect on the issues and problems of spiritual direction and formation for seminarians.
The Interdiocesan Seminary of Maumere includes seminarians from 5 dioceses and is one of the largest in Indonesia. There are over 2,000 seminarians taking courses in theology, philosophy, spirituality, and pastoral ministry. “We follow their human and spiritual development closely, providing them with intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral formation in preparation for the priesthood,” Fr. Hubert told Fides.
“Among the difficulties that we find are the widespread mentalities of hedonism and consumerism among the youth, the influence (which can be negative) of the new technologies, the pretext of wanting 'everything fast,' the lack of a spirit of sacrifice, and lack of discipline. We know that the work of spiritual direction is very important and delicate, as we have seen in this Course organized by CIAM. It has been a useful experience in improving our formation programs, and I have gotten a lot of new ideas from it.”
On the relations with the Muslim environment in which they live, Fr. Hubert says that “we have no difficulties or conflicts. If there are problems, they are rare and isolated cases. We live in harmony with the land and the people of other religions. In terms of the leaders, we have interreligious dialogue...we live in close harmony, in a dialogue of life.”
The missionary animation of the seminarians takes place in the formation course, but also on a pastoral level, especially in the World Mission Sundays, when the seminarians are called to “offer their testimony of life.”
An important obstacle is that of communications: “Our work could be improved if we had a telephone line: that is why we are asking the Church to help us,” the Indonesian priest concluded.
Similar life experiences of living among a Muslim majority was seen in the Major Seminary in Dacca (capital of Bangladesh), which has 64 diocesan seminarians and nearly 200 students. Fr. Gabriel Corraya, who is both Rector and Spiritual Director, tells Fides: “Sometimes, we find difficulties in being a small minority of believers in Christ in an Islamic nation, but not always. We have positive experience of dialogue with the Muslims, as well.”
Commenting on the recent days of the CIAM Course, Fr. Gabriel noted that “this Course has been very important for our formation, for clearing up our doubts and expressing our difficulties, especially in sharing experiences in group.”
As for the situation in Bangladesh, “there is a need for more and better trained formators in the Church. It is very important to spend time with the seminarians, guide them in every moment.” “One of the main challenges for us is that of education,” he said. “The majority of the youth and children are illiterate. Thus, we insist on our seminarians' effort in studies, in dialogue with the Muslims, and in charity. There are also evangelization programs in new tribal areas, with non-Muslims. Now 50% of our seminarians are from tribal areas.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
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ASIA/VIETNAM - Prayer is considered “disorder in public area”: Thai Ha Catholics on trial
Hanoi (Agenzia Fides) – Agenzia Fides has received a desperate plea from Fr. Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, Provincial Superior of the Redemptorists in Vietnam, explaining that this December 8, 8 parishioners of the parish in Thai Ha (Hanoi) will be on trial in a City Court for “damaging state property and creating disorder in public area.” Those facing trial are six men and two women, all Catholics, who are “innocent faithful from a human and juridical perspective. In spite of this, they will be judged and found guilty,” says the text of a letter written by the Provincial Superior to his brothers and the faithful of the parish.
The eight people have simply prayed on land that once belonged to the parish run by the Redemptorits and that was later taken over by the government in the 50s. Since 1996, the Redemptorist Order has been asking for legitimate restitution, however without any success. When word got out that the government had sold the land to private owners, spontaneous groups of people began organizing prayerful “demonstrations” outside the property lines in early 2008. Some of the faithful were arrested for stepping over the line of property and for having brought icons and statues, and now they will be subject to trial with the risk of being sent to prison. The area has has since become a public park, with nighttime workers.
“In these painful circumstances, we will be in communion with them and praying for those who must bear with the injustice. The Beatitudes invite us to overcome adversities and abandon ourselves to the Lord. He makes good come from all that happens, for those who love Him.”
Fr. Vincent is asking all the faithful to pray “for our brothers and sister, for all those who hold positions of power in our country, for our beloved Church in Vietnam.” “May the Lord, who is rich in mercy and infinitely just, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, grant us the grace we need,” the Letter concludes.
“The Catholics of Thai Ha are innocent victims of human rights violations,” says a statement from the Federation of Catholic Media in Vietnam, which includes radios, magazines, and websites of the Vietnamese living outside the country. Many priests in the Federation have made a special petition for the liberation of the eight persons.
In addition, the community of the Redemptorists in Thai Ha says that for the second time in two months, the Chapel of Saint Gerard of the Redemptorist Monastery has been attacked and looted by a group of people that shout threats and hate slogans against the Catholic Church. They are “grave acts of intimidation that place religious liberty in the country on the line,” the Federation says, asking that believers be respected and calling for an end to the anti-Catholic media campaign. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
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AMERICA/CUBA - Beatification of Fr. Jose Olallo Valdes is “a landmark event for the Church in Cuba, and for the entire nation of Cuba.”
Camagüey (Agenzia Fides) – The “Plaza de la Caridad” in Camagüey was filled on November 29, by thousands of people arriving from all the Cuban dioceses to celebrate the Beatification of Jose Olallo Valdes, Hospitaller Brother of Saint John of God. The Mass was covered by many media sources in Cuba and re-transmitted by the government-run television station.
The celebration was presided by Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, accompanied by Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, Archbishop Juan Garcia of Camagüey, and Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, Apostolic Nuncio in Cuba. Also participating were all the Cuban Bishops, as well as Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Estevez of Miami, Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Varela of Panama City, and Archbishop Octavio Ruiz, Vice-President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and priests, deacons, religious, including a numerous group of Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of God, led by their Superior General, Fray Donatus Forkan. The ceremony was also attended by President Raul Castro along with several of his closest collaborators, Ms. Caridad Diego, Director of the Office for Religious Affairs of the Central Committee, and civil authorities of Camagüey.
In his homily, Cardinal Saraiva communicated the greeting and blessing of the Holy Father Benedict XVI. In his words, he recalled that Fr. Olallo's life, although he lived in the 19th century, continues to be an example even today as it springs forth from the eternal youth that characterizes Christian charity, of which the blesseds and saints are the most convincing witnesses. Speaking of the Blessed, he mentioned “his enthusiastic fidelity to his vocation as a Hospitaller Brother, as a diligent and attentive male nurse, who was close to everyone who knew him, dedicating his life especially to the marginalized and the sick, working for their physical, social, psychological, and spiritual recovery in a historical time period in which the people of Camagüey suffered great poverty and misery.” “He has been rightly described as 'a champion of Christian charity,' in solidarity with those whom he called 'his favorite brothers.'”
The Cardinal referred to the Beatification of Fr. Olallo as “a landmark event for the Church in Cuba, and for the entire nation of Cuba,” who desires and needs to trust in God, even more so today, “in response to the materialistic culture that is being imposed and that casts aside the vulnerable and weak.” In this sense, he asked all present to “learn from Blessed Olallo the virtue of confidence in God, of loving others in a universal manner.”
At the close of the Beatification Ceremony, the people of Camagüey joined all the other Cubans from all over the country who had come for the event, to accompany the relics of Father Olallo to the Hospital of Saint John of God, where he spent over 50 years of his life caring for the poor and needy of Puerto Principe. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
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AMERICA/EL SALVADOR - Final Message of the Bishops' Secretariat of Central America (SEDAC) “There can be no person, group, or institution in the Church whose formation and activity are not geared towards the mission.”
San Salvador (Agenzia Fides) - “The joy of being disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ,” is the title of the Final Message issued by the Bishops' Secretariat of Central America (SEDAC), celebrated on November 24-27 in the city of San Salvador.
In their message, the Bishops remind everyone of their calling to be disciples and to be sent out, in light of the Great Continental Mission that was called for in Aparecida and that is “more than just a certain event at a given time; it means placing the entire Church in a permanent state of Mission.” This call to the mission, the Message says, “needs the cooperation of people and ecclesial bodies in order to go beyond a merely conservationist pastoral ministry to a decisive missionary action,” which implies that there “can be no person, group, or institution in the Church whose formation and activity are not geared towards the mission.” There is a need, therefore, “to awaken the consciences of our communities, so as to take advantage of this time of grace; live a second Pentecost that enlivens the missionary vocation and action of the baptized.”
They also recall the fact that every disciple and missionary “should be a promoter of life.” In this sense, they give thanks to all the priests and religious who “serve in our dioceses with fidelity to their vocation and generous surrender to the People of God,” in addition to the catechists, delegates of the Word, those who serve the sick, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, all of whom “dedicate their lives so generously to the preaching of the Gospel.” And they ask the laity to “take up their vocation of spreading the spirit of the Gospel in society, in the culture, in economics, and in politics, so that the entire population may be transformed.”
“We accompany our many brothers and sisters who have been deported from the US and Mexico, who have been treated in a manner that is not in accord with their condition as human persons,” the Bishops say. They also thank the Bishops of the United States for their support, “in finding immigration reform with a human face.” As for the political arena, the Bishops ask that more steps be taken in democratic processes, “not only in the emission and counting of votes, which is necessary, but also in the conducting of campaigns, the drafting of government programs, and in giving an account of public affairs.” They also recall that political power is legitimate when “it is accompanied by the desire to serve the common good, and by an effort to find effective solutions to the problems that afflict the population, especially the poor and marginalized.”
Another theme that worries Bishops is the family, which is suffering a growing deterioration, “caused by the negative messages and attitudes presented to children and youth by the mass media.” In response, they propose that there be “a dynamic family ministry, which invites people to discover the beauty of their vocation to Christian marriage, to defend life from conception until natural death, and to build homes in which children are raised in a love for the truth of the Gospel and for solid human values.”
Lastly, the Bishops recall the visit they made during their meeting, to the tomb of Archbishop Romero, manifesting their hope that his testimony be officially recognized by the Church. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
Links:
Complete text of the SEDAC's Message
http://www.fides.org/spa/documents/Mensaje_final_SEDAC.doc
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AMERICA/EL SALVADOR - Reflections from the Apostolic Vicar of Darien on the SEDAC Assembly: “Our Church in Central America seeks to carry out the process of evangelization that makes Christ more present among us.”
San Salvador (Agenzia Fides) - “It has been the most attended meeting in the last four years; 49 bishops from various ecclesial provinces of Central America have come together,” said Bishop Pedro Hernandez Cantarero, Apostolic Vicar of Darien (Panama) in sharing his reflections with Agenzia Fides, on the annual meeting of the Bishops' Secretariat of Central America (SEDAC). “Every one of the ecclesial provinces is living its own situation, having recently held elections or preparing for upcoming elections. Thus, the meeting has helped us to support one another and continue forward on the right foot, carrying out the mission that the Lord has placed in our hands.”
During the Assembly, Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes of Managua (Nicaragua) was elected President of the SEDAC for the next four years. Archbishop Brenes will substitute Costa Rican Bishop Jose Francisco Ulloa Rojas. Elected as Secretary General of SEDAC is Bishop Jorge Solorzano of Matagalpa (Nicaragua). With this election, “we give our moral support in response to what is taking place in Nicaragua in this moment in history. The Bishops of Costa Rica have also felt support in facing the moral persecution that is being lived out on national level,” the Apostolic Vicar of Darien explained.
Among the themes treated in the encounter are “the immediate preparation for the Great Continental Mission, as a continental commitment that several ecclesial provinces have already launched and that many others are about to launch. We were able to address important themes like climate changes and all the consequences being suffered as a result of man-made destruction, things that are already being seen, such as the extreme floods in Costa Rica and Panama right now. We have also addressed the theme of the financial crisis of our peoples. We also reflected on the figure of Saint Paul, in this his Jubilee Year, which is of great importance for the continental mission and that leads us forward in working for the good of our people in the missionary dimension, and in preaching the Gospel with every available means.”
Moreover, during this Assembly “we were granted the possibility of connecting to all the Central American provinces, in placing 85 web-transmitters, so as to communicate this message to our land, as part of the effort being made to keep the faithful informed of all the Bishops are doing for the good of our people.”
In addition, the first Central American Colloquium on Canon Law also came to a close during these days. The event was being held in honor of the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law. The theme was the experience of Church tribunals and the problem of marriage annulments in the Church. There were various talks on the issue, given by specialists from the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Dean of Faculty of the Canon Law Department at the Pontifical “Javeriana” University in Bogota (Colombia), several specialists from El Salvador who work in the Church Tribunal in San Salvador, including the Ambassador of Guatemala in El Salvador and the Ambassador of the Order of Malta, in addition to members of the Church Tribunal of Guatemala, Honduras, and Santa Ana (El Salvador). “They were two full days, which kept us all on the edge of our seats. We have seen the need to continue reflecting on these issues and inviting other people, both laity and clergy, to help to instill the use of canonical norms that will help have a more authentic pastoral work, filled with love and mercy - above all, for who feel estranged from the Church for having contracted marital separations and re-marriage without taking the proper measures within the Church and who feel Christ's presence far from them.”
“Our Church in Central America seeks to carry out the process of evangelization that makes Christ more present among us,” Bishop Pedro Hernandez concluded. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 2/11/2008)
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