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NEW DELHI (AP) -- I was 9 the first time I traveled on an airplane, in 1986. We were headed to Pakistan, a country that was foreign yet held a part of us....
FARMINGVILLE, N.Y. (AP) -- A high school football player lifting a large log with teammates as part of a Navy SEALs-style drill was hit in the head by the log and died Thursday, raising questions about adapting such military training to young athletes....
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro said he wants a meeting with President Donald Trump, the same man he ridicules as a crass imperial magnate, as the U.S. weighs slapping crippling economic sanctions on his socialist administration....
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- With North Korea threatening to send a salvo of ballistic missiles close to a U.S. military hub in the Pacific, pressure could grow for Washington to put its multibillion-dollar missile defense system into use and shoot them out of the air before they can pose a real threat....
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Not backing down, President Donald Trump warned Kim Jong Un's government on Thursday to "get their act together" or face extraordinary trouble, and suggested he had been too mild when he vowed to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea if it continued to threaten the U.S....
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Aug 10, 2017 / 03:21 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The National Police of the Dominican Republic have arrested a priest on suspicion of killing a teenager, who was allegedly sexually abused by the cleric while serving as an altar boy.Fernely Carrión had been missing since Aug. 4, after a taxi driver dropped the 16 year-old boy off with Father Elvin Taveras.The boy’s body was later found along the road of Los Mina, a sector located outside of Santo Domingo Este. Reports indicate the teen was stabbed several times.The young man had lived in El Torito and Villa Mella, where the priest said Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Carrión began altar serving for Father Elvin at 10 years-old.Father Elvin has also been accused of molesting Carrión, who was allegedly being paid by the priest to remain silent.According to a Aug. 8 statement by the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, the priest will be suspended from his duties and the church will fu...
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Aug 10, 2017 / 03:21 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The National Police of the Dominican Republic have arrested a priest on suspicion of killing a teenager, who was allegedly sexually abused by the cleric while serving as an altar boy.
Fernely Carrión had been missing since Aug. 4, after a taxi driver dropped the 16 year-old boy off with Father Elvin Taveras.
The boy’s body was later found along the road of Los Mina, a sector located outside of Santo Domingo Este. Reports indicate the teen was stabbed several times.
The young man had lived in El Torito and Villa Mella, where the priest said Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Carrión began altar serving for Father Elvin at 10 years-old.
Father Elvin has also been accused of molesting Carrión, who was allegedly being paid by the priest to remain silent.
According to a Aug. 8 statement by the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, the priest will be suspended from his duties and the church will fully cooperate with the police.
The victim's family was distraught over the news but relieved that the priest is in custody and that plans for legal action are underway, reported Hoy Digital.
Freddy Carrión, the father of the victim, said “justice has been done, a person who does something like that is not a priest,” according to the news agency.
Prosecutor Olga Diná Llaverías said that both he and the victim’s family will be aiming for “the maximum sentence of 30 years” for the priest.
Belfast, Northern Ireland, Aug 10, 2017 / 04:23 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Recent changes in U.K. politics have meant a renewed push against Northern Ireland’s pro-life laws, advocates say.“It is so incredibly important to lobby for life at this present point in time because of the stark threat to unborn children here as Northern Ireland faces a great deal of political instability,” said the Northern Ireland pro-life group Precious Life.Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster said that Northern Ireland is under pressure to change these laws. Foster said the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – her party, which became a key part of Northern Ireland’s governing coalition in the last U.K. elections – would do “everything in our power” to safeguard current laws. Speaking to Youth for Life NI, Precious Life’s youth organization, she also discussed the need to improve perinatal hospice care.Foster’s DUP is traditionally...
Belfast, Northern Ireland, Aug 10, 2017 / 04:23 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Recent changes in U.K. politics have meant a renewed push against Northern Ireland’s pro-life laws, advocates say.
“It is so incredibly important to lobby for life at this present point in time because of the stark threat to unborn children here as Northern Ireland faces a great deal of political instability,” said the Northern Ireland pro-life group Precious Life.
Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster said that Northern Ireland is under pressure to change these laws. Foster said the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – her party, which became a key part of Northern Ireland’s governing coalition in the last U.K. elections – would do “everything in our power” to safeguard current laws.
Speaking to Youth for Life NI, Precious Life’s youth organization, she also discussed the need to improve perinatal hospice care.
Foster’s DUP is traditionally strongly Protestant and anti-Catholic, but also opposes abortion and same-sex marriage. According to the U.K. newspaper The Catholic Herald, the party has attracted support from some Catholics.
Unlike other parts of the U.K., Northern Ireland’s laws only permit abortion in cases where a woman’s life is at risk, or where there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health.
The U.K.’s equalities minister Justine Greening has said that Northern Irish women who travel to England for abortions will be able to have them for free under the National Health Service.
Labour MP Stella Creasy of London, who was key in securing the free abortions, spoke at a Family Planning Association event in Northern Ireland Aug. 8. She has said she plans to push for funding the travel expenses of Northern Irish women seeking these abortions.
Precious Life’s Youth For Life NI group also met with leaders of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and the Ulster Unionist Party, the other pro-life parties in Ireland. The lobbying effort aimed to remind them that “without the right to life, all other rights are meaningless,” Precious Life said.
“Unborn children cannot speak for themselves so they need us to be their voice – it was vital that we made our voices heard unequivocally loud and clear to ensure that our politicians protect the right to life of all unborn children,” Precious Life said.
There is also a strong push to repeal the Republic of Ireland’s strongly pro-life Eighth Amendment of its national constitution.
Shanghai, China, Aug 10, 2017 / 05:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A cardinal who helped change Catholic missionary work in China is now a possible candidate for beatification. Cardinal Celso Costantini became the first apostolic delegate to China in 1922.The situation in China was particularly complex in the wake of European colonialism and the end of the opium trade. Christian missionaries were suspected of being foreign agents. Tens of thousands of Christian civilians, predominantly Chinese Catholics, were killed in the Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901.For its part, France considered the Catholic missions in the land to be under its direct protection, despite its recently approved constitution rigidly separating Church and State.Then-Bishop Costantini was called not only to navigate the complex political situation, but also to work for a change in the mentality with which the missionary work was being carried out. His appointment to China came not long after Pope Benedict XV’...
Shanghai, China, Aug 10, 2017 / 05:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A cardinal who helped change Catholic missionary work in China is now a possible candidate for beatification.
Cardinal Celso Costantini became the first apostolic delegate to China in 1922.
The situation in China was particularly complex in the wake of European colonialism and the end of the opium trade. Christian missionaries were suspected of being foreign agents. Tens of thousands of Christian civilians, predominantly Chinese Catholics, were killed in the Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901.
For its part, France considered the Catholic missions in the land to be under its direct protection, despite its recently approved constitution rigidly separating Church and State.
Then-Bishop Costantini was called not only to navigate the complex political situation, but also to work for a change in the mentality with which the missionary work was being carried out.
His appointment to China came not long after Pope Benedict XV’s 1919 apostolic letter “Maximum Illud,” which many believe changed forever the idea of Catholic missions.
The novelty of the apostolic letter was that “Benedict XV underscored that mission territory was not about a place or a religion to be conquered, but rather a place to proclaim the Gospel in order to give all the people a chance to hear the Word of God,” Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People, told CNA.
Cardinal Costantini implemented this vision in China
In his apostolic letter, Benedict XV asked bishops and superiors in charge of Catholic missions to train, educate and ordain local clergy, and reminded missionaries that they have no other goal than the spiritual one.
Then-Bishop Costantini called the first Chinese National Council, which took place in the Xuijaui Cathedral in Shanghai from May 14 to June 12, 1924.
The council gathered 44 ordinary bishops coming from all over China. No political matters were discussed during that meeting.
The gathering approved a final document with 861 canons (paragraphs) that addressed the need to train a local Church with a local clergy. It voiced hope that Chinese-born bishops would be appointed soon, and recognized that missionaries were just transients. The document noted the importance for missionaries to learn the Chinese language and the need to respect the Chinese tradition.
Although it received little attention elsewhere, the Chinese National Council paved the way to a renewed organization of the Church in China.
According to Cardinal Costantini’s postulators, if the Church in China was able to go underground after the Communist revolution and remain strong until now, is mostly due to the work of the missionary bishop.
The opening of the diocesan phase for his beatification has consequences today: it is reviving the discussion around the difficult current situation between China and the Holy See.
The cardinal was born in 1876 and ordained a priest in 1899. He led an ordinary priestly ministry in his native region of Veneto for 14 years. Then in 1920 he was sent as apostolic delegate to Fiume, a former Italian city that came under Yugoslavia administration after the First World War.
Ordained a bishop in 1921, he was appointed the first apostolic delegate to China the next year.
His time in China witnessed continued changes.
In June 15, 1926, Pope Pius XI sent to the Church of China the letter “Ab Ipsia,” in which he emphasized that missionaries did not serve the interest of foreign nations. He announced that soon native-born bishops would be ordained. The new bishop, the Pope said, had the task to cooperate with apostolic vicars in China for the prosperity of their country.
Pius XI ordained the first six Chinese bishops Oct. 28, 1926, at St. Peter’s Basilica.
The ordination of Chinese-born bishops drew varied reactions among missionaries in China. Some of them, like Bishop Costantini, welcomed the move, while others showed some hostility to the Pope’s decision. Parts of the Diocese of China were directly entrusted to missionary orders, some of which felt they were losing “territory.”
As for the Church’s missionary vision, in February 1926, Pius XI issued the encyclical “Rerum Ecclesiae,” which confirmed the guidelines established by “Maximum Illud.”
Bishop Costantini returned to Italy in 1933, but he kept on working for the cause of the Church in China.
Appointed secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, he backed the translation of the missal into Chinese in order to help faithful to understand the Mass, which at the time was said only in Latin.
After a few years, he saw the fruits of his work.
In 1941 and 1942 came two decrees of the Holy Office, now known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. These approved the use of the local language to celebrate the sacraments in New Guinea, China, Japan, Indochina, India and Africa. Then in 1949 the Holy Office approved the use of Chinese language in the celebration of the Mass.
The Holy See established the ordinary ecclesiastical hierarchy in China in 1946. The Chinese territory was divided in 20 archdioceses, 85 dioceses and 34 apostolic prefectures.
In 1953, Celso Costantini was made a cardinal by Pius XII. He passed away in 1958.
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler OrsburnBy Dennis SadowskiWASHINGTON(CNS) -- Diplomacy and political engagement are necessary to resolve thedifferences between the United States and North Korea and avoid a militaryconflict, the chairman of a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committee saidin a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.WritingAug. 10, Bishop Oscar Cantu ofLas Cruces, New Mexico, chairman of the bishops' Committee on InternationalJustice and Peace, echoed a recent call from the Korean bishops'conference to support talks to secure the peaceful future of the Korean Peninsula.BishopCantu acknowledged that the escalating threat of violence from North Korea'sleaders cannot be "underestimated or ignored," but that the"high certainty of catastrophic death and destruction from any militaryaction must prompt the United States to work with others in the internationalcommunity for a diplomatic and political solution based on dialogue."Theletter follows days of back-and-forth threats b...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn
By Dennis Sadowski
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Diplomacy and political engagement are necessary to resolve the differences between the United States and North Korea and avoid a military conflict, the chairman of a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committee said in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Writing Aug. 10, Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, New Mexico, chairman of the bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, echoed a recent call from the Korean bishops' conference to support talks to secure the peaceful future of the Korean Peninsula.
Bishop Cantu acknowledged that the escalating threat of violence from North Korea's leaders cannot be "underestimated or ignored," but that the "high certainty of catastrophic death and destruction from any military action must prompt the United States to work with others in the international community for a diplomatic and political solution based on dialogue."
The letter follows days of back-and-forth threats between President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un. Trump has threatened to unleash "fire and fury like the world has never seen" in response to Kim's warnings of imminent attacks on the U.S. Meanwhile, Kim has said his country was preparing to fire missiles into waters around Guam, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean with two military bases.
The angry talk between the leaders has escalated since the Aug. 5 passage at the United Nations of new economic sanctions threatening to cut off a third of North Korea's exports. Russia and China, two of Pyongyang's few economic trading partners, supported the sanctions. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations also adopted a statement expressing "grave concern" over North Korea's actions related to the development of nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems.
Bishop Cantu's letter said his committee agreed with the stance of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea in its support for South Korean President Moon Jae-in's proposal for humanitarian and military talks with North Korea.
"In solidarity with the Catholic Church in Korea and the efforts of the South Korean government, we urge the United States to encourage and support these talks," Bishop Cantu wrote. "This avenue, unlike most others, offers the Korean Peninsula a future free from military conflicts or crises, which could simultaneously threaten entire nations and millions of lives in the region."
A former Vatican diplomat supported such talks.
In an interview with Vatican Radio Aug. 9, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, former Vatican representative to U.N. agencies in Geneva, said that "instead of building walls and creating dissidence or admitting the possibility of recourse to violence," both countries must have a constructive approach that benefits the people.
A former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring and implementing North Korea sanctions also called for calm and a negotiated solution to the differences between the two countries.
George A. Lopez, chair emeritus of peace studies at the University of Notre Dame, told Catholic News Service Aug. 10 the interests of both countries can be addressed at the negotiating table.
"We need somebody to talk about what are the underlying security needs of both North Korea and the United States and is there a forum to talk about that," Lopez said. "If the U.S. issued a simple pledge that we seek no first use against North Koreans, we seek some way to bargain this out, you'd get some response to that."
Asian nations want stability rather than uncertainty and that will require that talks get underway to assure the peaceful co-existence of both countries, Lopez said. "So how do we get there?" he asked.
Bishop Cantu's letter reminded Tillerson that "this crisis reminds us that nuclear deterrence and mutually assured destruction do not ensure security or peace. Instead, they exacerbate tensions and produce and arms races as countries acquire more weapons of mass destruction in an attempt to intimidate or threaten other nations."
The bishop also cited a call in July by agencies of the U.S. and European Catholic bishops for all nations to develop a plan to eliminate nuclear weapons from their military arsenals.
A joint declaration released by the USCCB and the Conference of European Justice and Peace Commissions called upon the U.S. and European nations to work with other nations to "map out a credible, verifiable and enforceable strategy for the total elimination of nuclear weapons."
Bishop Cantu and Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, conference president, signed the statement.
Marie Dennis, co-president of Pax Christi International, the Catholic peace organization, told CNS the organization was praying that both nations would step away from potential confrontation. She said Aug. 9 Pax Christi expected to release a statement on the situation within days.
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Follow Sadowski on Twitter: @DennisSadowski.
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- An emerging debate about whether elected officials violate people's free speech rights by blocking them on social media is spreading across the U.S. as groups sue or warn politicians to stop the practice....
