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The new bishop of Hong Kong officially assumed office at an evening Mass on Saturday in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in the presence of some 100 priests and nearly 1000 faithful.  Coadjutor Bishop Michael Yeung succeeded Cardinal John Tong as Bishop of Hong Kong, after Pope Francis on August 1 accepted the resignation of the 78-year old cardinal.   

Among those present at the Eucharistic celebration were the two retired bishops of Hong Kong, Cards. Tong and  Joseph Zen, Bishop Stephen Lee Bin Sang of Macau, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha of Hong Kong, a hundred priests and representatives of other Christian communities of Hong Kong.   Among government authorities were Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and a few other ministers.

After a brief exhortation at the installation ceremony at the start of the Mass, retired Card. Tong accompanied Bishop Yeung to his 'cathedra' or the bishop’s chair, the symbol of his office. Hong Kong’s priests, missionaries, religious and faithful then pledged their fidelity to their new head, promising to preserve the unity of the community and ‎their commitment to evangelize.  Visibly moved, Bishop Yeung embraced each one who came an bowed in reverence before him.

Compassion and accompaniment

In his homily,  Bishop Yeung reflected on Sunday’s Gospel of the Transfiguration of Jesus, stressing that "without the Cross we are not disciples of the ‎Lord."  Showing "compassion and ‎accompaniment" to "the last, the least and the lost," was what, he indicated, would be the mark of his mission as head of the Catholic Church of Hong Kong.  The poverty that must be cared for is not only ‎economic, but also spiritual, of those who are not loved and are not welcomed, he said.  

The 71-year old bishop said the ‎areas which need more attention include the elderly, many of whom are abandoned, homeless, ‎in difficult economic situations. But he also mentioned the youth, recalling that they are also suffering ‎from abandonment, their rejection of authority and, their lack of hope in a possible future.‎  The people of Hong Kong should not concern itself only with the economy, but also ‎housing, education, the environment and political reforms, Bishop Yeung stressed.   (Source: AsiaNews)

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday sent a message of condolences following an attack at a Church in southeastern Nigeria. At least 11 people were killed and 18 others were wounded when gunmen opened fire on worshippers who had gathered early on Sunday at St Philip’s Catholic church in Ozubulu near the city of Onitsha.

In the message, signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the pope says he is “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury”. He extends his “heartfelt condolences” to the local bishop and to “all the faithful of the diocese of Nnewi, in particular the families of the deceased and all those affected by this tragedy.”

Police said they believe the attack may have been linked to drug trafficking and was carried out following a feud between local residents and member of the community living outside Nigeria.

Please see below the full text of the message from Pope Francis to the bishop of the diocese of Nnewi in Nigeria

The Right Reverend Hilary Paul Odili Okeke

Bishop of Nnewi

Deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury following the violent attack in Saint Philip’s Catholic Church, Ozubulu, His Holiness Pope Francis extends heartfelt condolences to you and to all the faithful of the Diocese of Nnewi, in particular the families of the deceased and all those affected by this tragedy. Upon the entire Diocese, His Holiness willingly invokes the divine blessings of consolation and strength.

                                                                 Cardinal Pietro Parolin

                                                                Secretary of State

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(Vatican Radio)  The next Asian Youth Day will take place in India in 2020, the second time the South Asian nation will be hosting the continental-level Catholic Church event since 2003.  Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias made the announcement on Sunday at the end of the concluding Mass  of the 7th Asian Youth Day (AYD7), which he presided over in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  The venue of the AYD8 will be discussed and decided upon by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).  Card. Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, together with Indian Church officials and some of the Indian youth delegation received the simple bamboo AYD cross from their Indonesian counterparts for the next AYD to take place in 3 years’ time.    

Differences cannot separate us

Among those who flanked Card. Gracias, the main celebrant, at the altar were Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila and Arch. Ignatius Suharyo of Jakarta, who delivered the homily in Bahasa Indonesia.  “We do realize our differences: We are of different nationalities, different languages, different cultures, and so on,” noted the archbishop who is president of Indonesia’s bishops’ conference (KWI).  “However, in this event, we do realize and experience that those differences cannot separate us, but the differences show the richness of the united humanity instead. It proves that the power of faith, hope and love unites us.”  Arch Suharyo wished that the AYD7 help the young people to “diligently and faithfully live out the Gospel so that we may be filled with the joy of the Gospel.”   “Thus, our life could mirror the glory of the Lord, which changes our lives,”  he said.

AYD7

The Asian Youth Day in Indonesia, on the theme, “Joyful Asian Youth! Living The Gospel in Multicultural Asia,” was divided into three phases.  It began with over 2000 participants  from 21 Asian countries living with local families in the country’s 11 dioceses, July 30-August 2.  The delegates then converged in Yogyakarta, Indonesia’s cultural and intellectual heartland, for the main event, Aug. 2-6, which concluded on Sunday with a Mass, marked by a rich display of cultural diversity that both Indonesia and Asia are famous for.  This was evident in the flags, including of the Vatican, traditional and ethnic costumes, decoration, singing, music and dancing accompanied by traditional musical and percussion instruments, both during and after the final Mass. 

While the young people headed back home, the youth animators and ministers remained behind for the final phase of the AYD7 – the Asian Youth Ministers’ Meeting (AYMM) in Yogyakarta, Aug. 6-9.   

AYD mandate 

The AYD featured talks and workshops on aimed at building mutual respect in Asia's diverse, multicultural population, caring for the environment and learning how to be missionaries in a digital world.   As part of the multicultural aspect and in an effort to address growing fundamentalism in the area, the event hosted several encounters between Christian, Islamic and other religious leaders.

AYD leadership

Among the participants in the AYD7 were 52 bishops 6 cardinals, 158 priests and 41 men and women religious. Among Asia’s prominent Catholic leaders at the meet were Cardinal Gracias, the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and member of the Pope's “C9” council of cardinal advisers, Bangladeshi Card. Patrick D’Rozario of Dhaka, the chairman of FABC’s Office of Laity and Family, under which comes the Youth Desk that organizes the AYDs in collaboration with the host bishops’ conference, and Card. Tagle, the president of Caritas Internationalis, the federation of national Catholic charity organizations worldwide.

Among several Indonesian government authorities at the closing Mass were Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla and Governor Sultan Hamengku Buwono X of Yogyakarta. 

Held for the first time in Hua Hin, Thailand, in 1999, AYDs have been held in intervals of 2, 3 ‎and 5 years.   Taipei, Taiwan hosted it in 2001, followed by Bangalore, India in 2003, Hong Kong in 2006,  Imus, the Philippines in 2009 and Daejeon, South Korea, in 2014, which Pope Francis attended. 

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Vatican City, Aug 7, 2017 / 07:26 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After a bloody attack at a Catholic Church in southern Nigeria left 11 dead and several more wounded, Pope Francis conveyed his sympathy to the victims and their families, assuring the community of his prayer.

In an Aug. 7 telegram addressed to Bishop Hilary Paul Odili Okeke of Nnewi, Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury following the violent attack in Saint Philip’s Catholic Church, Ozubulu.”

The Pope extended his “heartfelt condolences to you and to all the faithful of the Diocese of Nnewi, in particular the families of the deceased and all those affected by this tragedy,” and offered blessings of “consolation and strength” upon the entire diocese.

The telegram, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, came after gunmen stormed St Philip's Catholic Church in the city of Ozubulu early Sunday morning, killing at least 11 people and wounding 18 more.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. According to BBC News, local terror group Boko Haram, which has burned hundreds of churches and killed thousands during it's more than decade-long insurgency in the country's north-eastern region, was not involved.

Rather, the attack is believed to have been the result of either a private feud or that it was linked to drug-trafficking.

Reports conflict as to whether there were one or two gunmen involved, however, police have begun a manhunt in the area in the hopes of finding those responsible.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Lâ??Osservatore Romano

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Summertime can and should be a time for extra prayer, a moment of peace that allows Christians to savor the joy of their relationship with Jesus and find new strength to reach out with love to others, Pope Francis said.

Before reciting the Angelus Aug. 6, the feast of the Transfiguration, Pope Francis talked about the Gospel story of the disciples going up Mount Tabor with Jesus, "detaching themselves from mundane things" and contemplating the transfigured Lord.

Today, too, Christ's disciples need to "rediscover the pacifying and regenerating silence" that comes from prayer and meditating on a Gospel passage.

"When we put ourselves in this situation, with the Bible in hand, in silence, we begin to feel this interior beauty, this joy that the word of God generates in us," the pope said.

With high temperatures still plaguing Rome and most of southern Europe, many tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter's Square came armed with umbrellas or bought paper parasols from wandering venders outside the square.

Pope Francis said he knew the students in the square were in the midst of their summer holidays and many of the other people in the square were on vacation. He told them, "It's important that in the period of rest and breaking away from daily concerns, you restore the energies of your body and soul, deepening your spiritual journey."

The disciples who saw Jesus' transfigured, he said, were changed by the event and descended the mountain, back into their daily lives, "with eyes and hearts transfigured by their encounter with the Lord. We, too, can follow this path."

An encounter with the Lord, he said, should inspire further steps of conversion and a greater witness of charity.

"Transformed by the presence of Christ and by the warmth of his words, we will be a concrete sign of the life-giving love of God for all our brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer, find themselves alone and abandoned, are sick, and for the multitude of men and women who, in different parts of the world, are humiliated by injustice, abuse and violence."

Pope Francis prayed that Mary would watch over people on vacation, but also that she would care for "those who cannot take a vacation because they are impeded by age, health or work, by economic difficulties or other problems."

Earlier that morning, Pope Francis went to the grotto under St. Peter's Basilica to pray at the tomb of Blessed Paul VI, who died Aug. 6, 1978.

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