Monday, June 6, 2011

105,000 Christians martyred yearly, says European official
RSSFacebookJune 06, 2011

Every year 105,000 Christians are killed because of their faith.

This shocking figure was disclosed by Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne, representative of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians, at the "International Conference on Inter-religious dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims," sponsored the Hungarian presidency of the European Union (EU) in Gödöllo, near Budapest.

"Every five minutes", Introvigne said in his speech, "a Christian is killed for [their] faith." The figure does not include the victims of civil wars, or wars between nations, but only the people put to death because they are Christians.

"If these figures are not cried out to the world, if this massacre is not stopped," Introvigne continued; "if it is not recognized that the persecution against Christians is the first worldwide emergency with regard to religious discrimination and violence, dialogue between religions will only produce wonderful symposia but no concrete results."

The conference on peaceful coexistence between religions was hosted by the Hungarian government as a highlight of its EU presidency of the European Union and saw among its participants Cardinal Péter Erdo of Budapest; the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa; Archbishop Antonio Maria Vegliò, president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants; Maronite Archbishop of Beirut Paul Matar; Metropolitan Hilarion, "foreign minister" of the Russian Orthodox Church; the representative of the European Jewish Congress Gusztáv Zoltai, that of the Organization of Islamic Conference Ömür Orhun; and the general secretary of the Committee for Islamic-Christian dialogue in Lebanon, Chakib Hares Chehab.

The Egyptian diplomat Mahmoud Aly assured participants that his country is about to pass laws that will protect Christian minorities, by prosecuting crimes as hate speech and banning hostile gatherings outside churches.

"But the danger is for many Christian communities in the Middle East to die out for emigration," Cardinal Erdo said. "For all Christians will [choose to] escape feeling threatened. And Europe should be preparing for a new wave of emigration, this time of Christians fleeing persecution." Metropolitan Hilarion, for his part, recalled that "at least one million" of the Christians enduring persecution in the world are children.

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In Croatia, Pope warns: Europe without faith will collapse
RSSFacebookJune 06, 2011

During a weekend visit to Croatia on June 4-5, Pope Benedict XVI repeatedly emphasized the Christian roots of European civilization, suggesting that Croatian entry into the European Union might help to combat the forces of secularization and rationalism that undermine European unity.

Pope Benedict also issued a resounding call for defense of family life, at a Mass celebrated for the National Day of Croatian Catholic Families. (See today's separate CWN headline story.)

Arriving in Zagreb on Saturday, June 4, the Holy Father was welcomed by Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and by Cardinal Josip Bozanic of Zagreb and Archbishop Marin Srakic, the president of the Croatian bishops' conference. At the airport welcoming ceremony, the Pope immediately addressed the question of Croatia's role in preserving the European identity. "From its earliest days your nation has formed part of Europe, and has contributed, in its unique way, to the spiritual and moral values that for centuries have shaped the daily lives and the personal and national identity of Europe's sons and daughters," the Pope said. "In the face of the challenges posed by today's culture--marked as it is by social differentiation and instability, and by an individualism that gives rise to a vision of life without obligations and a constant search for 'private space'--there is a need for convinced witness and active dynamism aimed at promoting the fundamental moral values that underpin social living and the identity of the Old Continent."

The Pontiff went on to voice his hope that Croatia would "help to steer the European Union toward a fuller appreciation of those spiritual and cultural treasures" that rise from Europe's Christian heritage.

Later, in a meeting with Croatian civic and cultural leaders, the Pope returned to the question of European secularization, using strong language to warn that the attempt to make an absolute separation between religious and political affairs is a danger to Europe's future. "If, in keeping with the prevailing modern idea, conscience is reduced to the subjective field to which religion and morality have been banished, then the crisis of the West has no remedy and Europe is destined to collapse in on itself," the Pope warned.

Again, during a prayer vigil with young people, the Pope spoke about the importance of recognizing spiritual matters, noiting that "all too often we realize that we put our trust in things that cannot fulfill" our true desires. "At such moments we recognize our need for something greater, capable of giving meaning to our daily lives," he said.

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Ordinariate growing: 54 ordinations in England; Anglican parish in Maryland to enter
RSSFacebookJune 06, 2011

On Pentecost Sunday more than 50 former Anglican clerics will be ordained as Catholic priests for the English ordinariate of Our Lady of Walshingham.

Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark will preside at the first in a series of ordination, as the newly established ordinariate receives its first priests. Msgr. Keith Newton, who heads the ordinariate, says that nearly 1,000 lay people have made the move into the Catholic Church. "Every week somebody writes or emails asking how they can join the ordinariate," he reports.

In the US, meanwhile, the Episcopal parish of St. Luke's in Bladensburg, Maryland, has opted to join the first US ordinariate. The pastor, Rev. Mark Lewis, said that the entry of the 100-member parish into the Catholic Church was a step to "heal a wound that has existed between Rome and Anglicanism for nearly 500 years."

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