Nigeria on brink of extinction – Bishop Onaga

The CATHOLIC Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev Dr. Callistus Onaga, has bewailed the continuous challenges facing the country, saying Nigeria is on the brink of extinction.

Bishop Onaga

Bishop Onaga however charged Nigerians, especially Christians to use the occasion of Christmas celebration and pray for the Nigeria so that hope will be restored. Bishop Onaga gave the statement in his Christmas and New Year homily delivered in Enugu on Friday. According to him, Christmas, which is a commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ the Saviour, is a celebration of God’s love to mankind by making himself available on earth in the flesh of Jesus Christ. He said “It is a celebration of hope, especially in Nigeria of today that things are not going on well. Nigeria is sitting on the brink of extinction. So lets use the Christmas season to ask God to lead us to the land of hope. The love of Christmas should go to even our enemies. We should preach hope, love and not terror.” He charged journalists to use their various media platforms to give hope to the citizens instead of reporting sensational stories. He flayed the wide disparity in income earnings in the country, noting that it was wrong for some people to be earning as high as N15 million a month while others are begging to be paid N30,000 and yet, cannot get it. “So let’s come together to celebrate humanity, do something to somebody that would give him or her joy in this Christmas. Share in your own scarcity and that is Christmas. We must all come together to celebrate love in this Christmas. The herdsmen, robbers, kidnappers should please help us,” he pleaded. On the 2019 general elections, Bishop Onaga recalled that the church has been in the vanguard of campaigning and urging every eligible Nigerian voter  to obtain his or her voter’s card so that they can exercise their civic responsibilities. “People should exercise their franchise and make effort first and and not to embark on blame game. We ask that every Nigerian should vote according to his conscience. Priests should not be partisan but should vote for candidates of their choice. We should not use the pulpit to the advantage of one man,” Onaga stressed.

Pope Frances vows Church will ‘never again’ ignore abuse accusations

pope Frances

Pope Francis vowed Friday that the Catholic Church will never again treat abuse allegations without “seriousness and promptness”, calling on abusers to hand themselves in to police.

“The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case,” the pope said in his annual address to the Church’s governing Curia at the Vatican. “Let it be clear that before these abominations the Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes”.

A litany of child sexual abuse scandals has rocked the Roman Catholic Church, which has 1.3 billion followers around the world, with the pope as recently as Wednesday accepting the resignation of a US auxiliary bishop over his “misconduct” with a minor. “It is undeniable that some in the past, out of irresponsibility, disbelief, lack of training, inexperience, or spiritual and human short-sightedness, treated many cases without the seriousness and promptness that was due. “That must never happen again. This is the choice and the decision of the whole Church.” The pope on Friday also called on for anyone who has committed child abuse, including priests, to hand themselves over to justice. – ‘Prepare for justice’ – “To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice,” the pope told Curia. Francis has struggled to resolve the problem as the steady drip of scandal corrodes the church’s authority but fresh cases surface regularly against a background of sharp divisions in Rome over the issue. The pope last week removed two prominent cardinals from his inner circle months after they were tainted by paedophile scandals and ahead of a Church-wide meeting on the “protection of minors” next year. Australian Cardinal George Pell and Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz were both removed from the so-called C9 Council of Cardinals, an international advice body set up by Francis himself, the Vatican said on December 12. The last time the C9 met in September, Errazuriz, who is accused of ignoring reports of abuse in Chile, and Pell, who faces charges in Australia related to historical child sexual offences, were both absent, and the council said it was considering restructuring. Despite being removed from the C9, Pell, 77, remains in charge of Vatican finances, the third most powerful position in the Roman Catholic Church. The Church has been hit by a series of child abuse scandals in recent years, with widespread allegations of cover-ups, including against the pope himself. The pope told the Curia on Friday that there were still “consecrated men… who abuse the vulnerable, taking advantage of their position and their power of persuasion.” “They perform abominable acts yet continue to exercise their ministry as if nothing had happened. They have no fear of God or his judgement, but only of being found out and unmasked.”

“Often behind their boundless amiability, impeccable activity and angelic faces, they shamelessly conceal a vicious wolf ready to devour innocent souls.”

Breaking: Pope Francis declares murdered El Salvador’s Archbishop Romero Saint READ MORE https://360h.blogspot.com/2018/10/breaking-pope-francis-declares-murdered.html

Pope Francis declares murdered El Salvador’s Archbishop Romero Saint

Thousands of people are converging on the Vatican for the canonization of Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Oscar Romero, two of the towering figures of the 20th-century Catholic Church.

Pope Paul VI oversaw the modernising church reforms of the 1960s, while Archbishop Romero was a human rights icon murdered for his defense of El Salvador’s poor.

Pope Francis is to celebrate Sunday’s saint-making Mass wearing the blood-stained rope belt that Romero wore when he was gunned down in 1980 and using Paul VI’s staff, chalice and pallium vestment — evidence of the strong influence both men had on history’s first Latin American pope. Some 5,000 Salvadoran pilgrims travelled to Rome for the ceremony, and tens of thousands more stayed up all night to watch it on giant TV screens outside the San Salvador cathedral where Romero’s remains are entombed. For many it was the culmination of a fraught and politicized campaign to have the church formally honor a man who publicly denounced the repression by El Salvador’s military dictatorship at the start of the country’s 1980-1992 civil war. “I am here to give glory to Monsignor Romero. “He is a light for our people, an inspiration for all,” said Aida Guzman, a 68-year-old Salvadoran woman who carried photos of people killed during the war as she joined thousands in an evening procession in San Salvador.

Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador, was gunned down by right-wing death squads as he celebrated Mass on March 24, 1980, in a hospital chapel. A day before he was killed, he had delivered the latest in a series of sermons demanding an end to the army’s repression – sermons that had enraged El Salvador’s leaders. Almost immediately after his death, Romero became an icon of the South American left and is frequently listed along with Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi as one of the world’s most influential human rights campaigners. The United Nations commemorates the anniversary of his death each year. His influence continues to resonate with El Salvador’s youth as the country endures brutal gang violence that has made the Central American nation one of the most violent in the world — an scourge that Francis has frequently lamented. “He is my guide, and from what I have read about his life, I want to follow in his steps,” said Oscar Orellana, a 15-year-old who participated in the San Salvador procession wearing a white tunic like the one Romero used to wear.Paul VI, on his part, is best known for having presided over the final sessions of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 church meetings that opened up the Catholic Church to the world. Under his auspices, the church agreed to allow liturgy to be celebrated in the vernacular rather than in Latin and called for greater roles for the laity and improved relations with people of other faiths. Paul is also remembered for his two most important encyclicals, or teaching documents, that have had a profound effect on the church and Francis: One, “The Progress of Peoples” denounced the mounting inequality between rich and poor, and the other, “Humanae Vitae,” reaffirmed the Catholic church’s opposition to artificial contraception. The stark prohibition empowered conservatives but drove progressives away. Even today it remains one of the most contested and ignored of papal encyclicals, with studies showing that most Catholics use contraception anyway. Francis was deeply influenced by Paul, who was the pope of his formative years as a young priest in Argentina and was instrumental in giving rise to the Latin American church’s “preferential option for the poor.” Francis has styled his papacy on another of Paul’s exhortations, and has adopted the “church of the poor” ethos that Paul embodied when he formally renounced wearing the bejeweled papal tiara.

Who are Egypt’s Coptic Christians?

Egypt’s Copts, targets of an apparent church bombing north of Cairo on Sunday, are the Middle East’s largest Christian minority and one of the oldest. Making up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 90 million, the Coptic Orthodox form the largest Christian denomination in the Muslim-majority country.
Here is a recap of their history, their status today and recent attacks against them. – ‘Dawn of Christianity’ – The Copts trace their history to the dawn of Christianity, when Egypt was integrated into the Roman and later the Byzantine empire. The word “Copt” comes from the same root as the word for “Egyptian” in ancient Greek. The community’s decline started with the Arab invasions of the 7th century and the progressive Islamisation of the country, which today is largely Sunni Muslim. Several churches and monasteries in Egypt are built on sites Copts believe were visited by the Holy Family. The Bible says Joseph, Mary and Jesus sought refuge in Egypt after Christ’s birth to escape a massacre of newborns ordered by King Harod. – Copts today – Copts, represented in all social classes, are present across the whole country, with the strongest concentration in central and southern Egypt. Most adhere to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed since 2012 by Pope Tawadros II. A minority is divided between Coptic Catholics and various Coptic Protestant branches. Tawadros, who succeeded pope Shenuda III, was chosen by a blindfolded altar boy picking his name from a chalice, according to tradition. The Catholic Copts, who form part of the Church’s eastern rite, have been headed by patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak since 2013. The Vatican says some 165,000 Catholic Copts lived in Egypt in 2010. Poorly represented in government, Copts complain that they are sidelined from many posts in the justice system, universities and the police. Authorities often refuse to issue building permits for churches, arguing it would disturb the peace with their Muslim neighbours. – Deadly violence – Egypt’s Copts have been the target of several deadly attacks since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak. On January 1, 2011, more than 20 people died in the unclaimed bombing of a Coptic church in Egypt’s second city, Alexandria. In March the same year, 13 people were killed in clashes between Muslims and Copts in Cairo’s working class neighbourhood of Moqattam, where around 1,000 Christians had gathered to protest over the torching of a church. In May 2011, clashes between Muslims and Copts left 15 dead in the Cairo neighbourhood of Imbaba, where two churches were attacked. That October, almost 30 people — mostly Coptic Christians — were killed after the army charged at a protest in Cairo to denounce the torching of a church in southern Egypt. The 2013 ouster of Mubarak’s elected Islamist successor Mohamed Morsi after just one year in power sparked further attacks against Christians. Pro-Morsi Islamists accused the Christian community of supporting his overthrow. They pointed to the appearance of Tawadros alongside President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on television in July 2013 as the then army chief, also surrounded by Muslim and opposition figures, announced Morsi’s removal. The next month, security forces used deadly force to break up two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo. The following two weeks saw attacks against more than 40 churches across the country, according to Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International later said more than 200 Christian-owned properties were attacked and 43 churches seriously damaged, with at least four people killed. In December last year, a suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed 29 worshippers during a Sunday mass in Cairo. A spate of deadly jihadist-linked attacks in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula in February prompted some Coptic families to flee their homes. About 250 Christians took refuge in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya after IS released a video calling for attacks against the minority. Pope Francis is set to visit Cairo late this month for talks with the grand imam of the capital’s famed Al-Azhar mosque and to show solidarity with Coptic Christians.

First Palm Sunday since IS in Iraq’s main Christian town

Members of Iraq’s Christian minority celebrated Palm Sunday in the country’s main Christian town of Qaraqosh for the first time since it was retaken from the Islamic State group. Hundreds of faithful gathered in the town’s Tahira al-Kubra church for mass before starting the traditional Palm Sunday march, a procession during which palms are carried to commemorate Jesus’s entry to Jerusalem.

“Thank God, we are returning to our towns and churches after two years,” said Abu Naimat Anay, an Iraqi priest. Qaraqosh, with an overwhelmingly Christian population of around 50,000 before the jihadists took over the area in August 2014, was the largest Christian town in Iraq. It was retaken by Iraqi forces late last year as part of a massive offensive to wrest back the nearby city of Mosul from IS but it remains almost completely deserted. The area is now considered safe and the Palm Sunday mass and march were secured by the Nineveh Plain Protection Units, an Assyrian militia. The archbishop of Mosul, Yohanna Petros Mouche, moved back to the town last week but it needs to be extensively rebuilt and basic services restored before displaced Christians can return en masse. “Honestly, this makes the heart happy and sad at the same time, because we were torn away from our birthplace and this kind of devastation we didn’t even see during the wars of the ’80s and ’90s,” Aby Naymat Anay said. Many of the more 120,000 Christians believed to have fled their homes when IS swept across the region less than three years ago moved in with relatives or into camps in the nearby autonomous region of Kurdistan. “There is a mixed feeling but sadness dominates. We fled to Arbil and we are not back yet,” 62-year-old Yusef Nisan Hadaya said, referring to the Iraqi Kurdish capital.

Palm Sunday: Cleric urges leaders to emulate Christ’s sacrificial nature

Palm Sunday: Over 21 Christians bombed to death in Egypt

Palm Sunday has turned out bloody for Egypt’s Coptic Christians as 21 of them were bombed to death in a church in the Egyptian Nile Delta city of Tanta.

About 50 people were reportedly injured, state television said on Sunday.

No immediate claim of responsibility.

The explosive device was planted under a seat at St. George (Mar Girgis) Coptic church, where it detonated in the main prayer hall.

The attack came just one week before Coptic Easter and the same month as Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt.

“Terrorism hits Egypt again, this time on Palm Sunday. Another obnoxious but failed attempt against all Egyptians,” the foreign affairs ministry tweeted.

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and marks the start of Holy Week for Christians.

CNN reported that social media video showed crowds gathered outside the church shortly after the attack.

Copts face persecution and discrimination that has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak’s regime in 2011.

Dozens have been killed in sectarian clashes.

In December, an attack at a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people.

Pope Francis to discuss inter-faith dialogue, peace in 2-day visit to Egypt

Pope Francis is to discuss inter-faith dialogue and peace during a planned two-day visit to Egypt in April.

The pope’s itinerary includes speaking at an international peace conference at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, according to the programme released by the Vatican, on Monday.

After arriving in Cairo on April 28, Francis is first scheduled to meet with President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, and then with Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar.

Prope Francis is also set to meet Pope Tawadros II, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox church.

The pope is scheduled to celebrate Mass on Saturday, April 29, and then have lunch with Egyptian bishops, before returning to Rome.

In May 2016, al-Tayeb made an unprecedented visit to the Vatican and met Francis, a visit that marked an end to years of strained relations between the two institutions.

Al-Azhar broke off an interfaith dialogue with the Vatican in 2011 in protest at a call by Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, for Middle Eastern governments to take “effective measures for the protection of religious minorities.”

Al-Sissi, who ousted Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi in 2013, has courted the country’s Christian minority to an extent unseen for decades, visiting the main Orthodox cathedral during Christmas Mass for three straight years.

Islam is the state religion of Egypt.

Around 10 per cent of Egypt’s population of roughly 90 million are Coptic Christians, whose leader is Tawadros II, based in Alexandria. (NAN)

Russia seeks court to label Jehovah's Witness an extremist organisation

A report by the US Today says Russia's justice ministry is demanding that the Christian sect, Jehovah’s Witness be termed an extremist organisation.

The report said a lawsuit has been filed with Russia’s Supreme Court to declare the national headquarters of the country's Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist organization but that there was no date for legal action.

Also, in 2015, a Russian court ruled the group’s website was also an extremist publication. It is noted that the Jehovah’s Witness emerged from the Bible Student Movement, founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell with the formation of Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society.

Some members of the Jehovah's Witness carrying out evangelism.

The group's administrative center in Russia is located about 25 miles northwest of St. Petersburg.

US Today quoted the press office for the Russian branch of the Jehovah’s Witness as saying on its website that such a declaration would entail disastrous consequences for freedom of religion in Russia if it is successful.

According to the press office, the decision, if passed by the court, would directly affect about 175,000 followers at more than 2,000 congregations in the country.

"Extremism is deeply alien to the Bible-based beliefs and morality of Jehovah's Witnesses.

“Persecution of the faithful for peaceful anti-extremism legislation is built on frank fraud, incompetent individual 'experts' and, as a result, a miscarriage of justice,” the statement claimed.

The organisation’s website states that Jehovah's Witnesses was first legally registered as a religious group in Russia in 1991. It was re-registered in 1999.

Vasily Kalin, the chairman of the religious group's steering committee, said members want to oeacefully worship their God, “unfortunately, after more than 100 years in power, Russia violates its own legislation that guarantees us that right.

“In Stalin's time, when I was a child, the whole family was deported to Siberia only because we were Jehovah's Witnesses. It's a shame and sad that my children and grandchildren will be faced with something like that.”

Earlier court decisions have ruled against the religious organisation in the country.

For example, in 2009, a court ruled that the Russian-language version of the group’s publication, The Watchtower, is an extremist publication and barred it.

The name Jehovah’s witness was adopted in 1931 to distinguish it from other Bible student groups and symbolise a break with the legacy of Russell’s traditions.