Aid to the Church in Need
MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE
Hope and Hell
HOPE AND HELL
MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE
CONTENTS PAGE Hope and Hell...................................................................J F Declan Quinn..........................1 God Speaks to Us ..........................................................Fr. Martin Barta.............................2 Nothing to Fear.................................................................Patti Armstrong............................4 The Devil’s Greatest Trick.....................................................................................................6 Something Big for the Family..............................................................................................9 God’s Masterpieces........................................................Pakistan...................................... 10 The Riches of Catholic Teachings..............................Honduras................................... 12 ‘I Pray with every Page’.................................................Brazil........................................... 14 ‘Jesus Invites Us’.............................................................Senegal....................................... 15 ‘The Shared Love of God’s Children Unites Us’........Madagascar............................... 16 Sharing the Joy of the Gospel.....................................Cuba........................................... 17 Replanting the Faith in Nineveh...................................John Pontifex............................. 18 ‘I want to rebuild my life’................................................Iraq.............................................. 22 Salvific Suffering ..............................................................Egypt........................................... 26
‘If there be a true way that leads to the Everlasting Kingdom, it is most certainly that of suffering, patiently endured’ ST. COLETTE Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: ACN International, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acninternational.org
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HOPE AND HELL A chairde,
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e are living in confused, confusing and dangerous times. For many people, old truths are no longer truths. Indeed, it is now rather fashionable to deny the existence of God, the existence of the Devil, the existence of Heaven and the existence of Hell. Boys can legally become girls and legally marriage is not defined as being between a man and a woman, it can be virtually anything. Recently it was reported that three men in Colombia married each other.
Dear Friends, today practising Christians the world over are living under tyranny, a ‘Tyranny of Relativism’ a tyranny of outright lies, of half-truths and of ‘fake news’. Practising Christians are being persecuted everywhere. Throughout the Middle East, large tracts of Africa and of Asia, Christians are being violently persecuted. Throughout the Western world a ‘velvet’ persecution is being waged. Behind all these persecutions is the same entity, the Evil One. I mention this in the main because recently a senior ‘man of the cloth’ appeared to question the actual existence of the Devil while another scholar suggested that Satan is not evil but is nearly misunderstood. As I say, we are living in confused, confusing and dangerous times.
Indeed, the Pope Emeritus, when speaking of the state of the Church today, felt compelled to remind us that ‘the Lord does not abandon His Church, even when sometimes the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing’. Yes, these are dangerous times when confusion has made its masterpiece. The Church and its teachings on Hope and on Hell, on Jesus and on Joy are under such relentless attack from outside and from within that we fear for the future. But ‘the Lord does not abandon His Church’. Indeed Lord does not abandon His Children. God became Man to lead us to the Truth, the Gospel Truth, and He founded His Church to accompany us in the Truth. And the Truth is that there is no Hope in Hell but all of us baptised Christians can have Hope in the Resurrection and the Life that is to come.
Beir Beannacht
J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Ire)
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GOD SPEAKS TO US Dear Friends,
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he Bible is a book of superlatives. It is the most translated, the most widely published, most widely purchased and also most widely read book in the world. And yet it is much more than just a book that one reads once and then leaves to gather dust on the bookshelf. The Bible speaks about God, but above all it is about God speaking to us – the Word of God to us. In the Holy Scriptures God is speaking personally to me, as though in a text message or, still more beautifully, in a love letter. Who would not wish to receive a letter or a message directly from God?
The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the authors of the various books of the Bible were men of their own time and accordingly used their own human language to express the divine truths. Consequently, the texts have to be read in their own historical and cultural context. Nonetheless, the faith of the Church enables us to perceive, beneath the many different textual layers of the writing, something greater than a mere literary work. Our faith in Jesus, the Son of God confers an inner unity on the Bible and is the key to the interpretation of all the Sacred Scriptures. In the historical person of Jesus the Word of God takes flesh and in doing so breaks the bounds of human thinking. Only when we have the confidence that the Gospel is describing the real Jesus for us do the Scriptures open themselves up to us as the wonderful history of the divine plan of Salvation. ‘For the Word of God is alive and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword’ (Hebrews 4:12). The Word of God stands in judgement over political manifestos, refutes ideologies, and penetrates the very movements of our hearts. ‘The Bible is a book like fire’, says Pope Francis in his preface to the Youth Bible, published by YOUCAT. And he quotes Mahatma Gandhi as saying:
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‘You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilisation to pieces, turn the world up-side down, and bring peace to a battle-torn planet. But you treat it as though it were nothing more than a piece of literature.’ Yes, and it is because of this dynamic power of the Scriptures that Christians in many countries are persecuted, imprisoned and put to death, simply for possessing a Bible or proclaiming the Word of God. Dear Friends, nobody would die just for a book – but for a declaration of love they surely might! So let us once more give the Holy Bible an honoured place in our homes, let us read it often and pray with its help. The more we treasure the words of God, like Mary, and ponder them in our hearts and put them into practice, the more the meaning of the Scriptures will be opened to us and we will be able to recognise the fullness of God’s love for us.
With my blessings
grateful
prayers
and
Father Martin M. Barta, ACN Ecclesiastical Assistant
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NOTHING TO FEAR: AN EXORCIST REFLECTS ON ARMAGEDDON1 PATTI ARMSTRONG
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he makings of Armageddon are afoot. According to the Book of Revelation, Armageddon will be the gathering of armies for a battle of good and evil during the end times.
‘I would go to Scripture,’ Father Lampert said and referred to Matthew 24:36. ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’
Today our culture seems bent on forcing God’s hand. Daily we wince as the outrageous becomes the norm and humanity becomes the exception. Can End-times be far off?
‘God warns us not to get involved in the End Times,’ he said. ‘Instead, it’s important, every day, to live our life as God calls us.’
Interviewing Father Vincent Lampert, the designated exorcist for the archdiocese of Indianapolis, I was curious what he thought about Armageddon.
The end itself is not even something we should fear, according to him. ‘If we are living our lives the way God calls us, then whenever He does call, He will find us worthy,’ he explained. ‘Talk of Armageddon often instills fear, but an authentic relationship with God is one of love and mercy.’
1 Adapted and edited from ‘An Exorcist Talks About Armageddon’ by Patti Armstrong http://www.ncregister.com/blog/armstrong/ an-exorcist-talks-about-armageddon BLOGS | AUG. 4, 2017
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL Pope Leo XIII
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
AMEN
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Fear is the enemy of true faith, Father Lampert pointed out. ‘I don’t think faith is authentic if we are living in fear,’ he said. ‘Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, but that is about being in awe of God. Worrying about the End Times is about the loss of hope, and it brings fear, and anxiety, and destruction. All of those things are contrary to faith.’ Although he fights evil head on, Father Lampert said his ministry is about restoring hope. ‘I do that as a parish priest as well,’ he said. ‘It’s about helping people discover hope and joy and love.’ How does an exorcist and parish priest find peace and comfort during these times? ‘I always find my sense of solace in the
Do not Fear St. Francis de Sales
fact that God is in charge,’ he said. ‘It puts everything in perspective, and then the worry and fear dissipates.’ Putting God in charge gives us the strength not to let the world overwhelm us, Father Lampert explained. ‘The human person is made for more than this life,’ he said. ‘A relationship with God is what gives us true freedom. But freedom doesn’t mean we get to do whatever we want. It means having the freedom to be obedient to God. Otherwise we become slaves to our own passions.’ And when we have such a relationship with God, Father Lampert said we have nothing to fear. •
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow; The same everlasting Father who cares for you today, Will take care of you then and everyday. He will either shield you from suffering, or Will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, and Put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination.
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THE DEVIL’S GREATEST TRICK2
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t’s been said that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And the new head of the Jesuit order seems to have fallen for it.
Fr. Arturo Sosa Abascal, the Jesuit’s Superior General, said in an interview with the Spanish paper El Mundo3 that Satan is a ‘symbolic figure’ who doesn’t really exist. ‘We have created symbolic figures, such as the Devil, in order to express [the reality of] evil,’ said Fr. Abascal when asked if he believes evil is a process of human psychology or comes from a higher being. The Catholic Church however teaches, that Satan is a real being, a fallen angel who was cast from Heaven into Hell after rebelling against God.
‘The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: “The Devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing.”’ states the Catechism of the Catholic Church. ‘Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels. This ‘fall’ consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign,’ it adds. Fr. Abascal in referring to the devil as a symbol follows a current trend within the Church of downplaying and even denying the existence of hell altogether. Cardinal Francis Arinze however strongly urges4 those who disregard hell as a place ‘invented’ to scare people into acting a certain way need to listen to the message from Our Lady of Fatima. Sr. Lucia recounts that in one of the visions Our Lady showed the three children hell. They saw a ‘great sea of fire’ into which were plunged demons. ‘The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful
Cardinal Francis Arinze.
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2 Adapted and edited from an article in LifeSiteNews June 2, 2017. 3 May 31, 2017 4 LifeSiteNews interview May 2017
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FATIMA PRAYER O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.
and unknown animals, all black and transparent,’ she recounted. ‘There are people who don’t want us to talk of hell. But hell is not something that was invented in the Vatican,’ Arinze said. Arinze said that Jesus Himself confirms in the Gospels the reality of hell as a place ‘where are there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ‘Christ himself said that. He spoke of those who would be thrown out into the exterior darkness. He spoke of those who would be punished for always. And Christ is the son of God. If anybody is merciful, it is He. So, if He said that to us, it is in our own interest to take it seriously,’ he said. In the Gospels Jesus is clear, that Satan exists. He cast out numerous demons (Mk. 5:9. Matt. 8:28-34). Referring to the fall of the angels, Jesus told His disciples that He saw ‘Satan fall like lightning from heaven’ (Lk. 10:18). And Jesus constantly warned His listeners about the reality of hell in His preaching and parables. Those who in unrighteous anger call their brother ‘fool’ are ‘liable to the hell of fire’ (Matt 5:22).
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Speaking about the seriousness of sin He said it is better to lose part of your body than for your whole body to be ‘thrown into hell’ (Matt. 5:29). Calling His followers to Holy fear, He urged them to be afraid of being destroyed ‘both body and soul in hell’ (Matt. 10:28). He spoke of a day of judgment in one parable where the weeds are separated from the wheat, tied into bundles, and ‘burned’ (Matt. 13: 24-30). On many occasions Jesus spoke of a place where there will be ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matt. 22:1-14, 24: 36-51, 25: 26-30, and Lk. 13:22-30). In the parable of the sheep and goats He spoke of a place of ‘eternal fire’ and ‘eternal punishment’ for those who failed to love God in their neighbour. He warned that giving scandal could lead sinners to a place where ‘the worms
that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched’ (Mark 9:42-48). In the story of Lazarus and Dives, the rich man is on one side of a ‘great chasm’ and in ‘agony in this fire’ for his selfishness (Luke 16:19-31). Venerable Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen warned about the great lengths to which Satan will go to convince the world of his nonexistence so he can work as he pleases. ‘Nowhere in Sacred Scripture do we find warrant for the popular myth of the devil as a buffoon. Rather is he described as a fallen angel, and as ‘the Prince of this world’ whose business it is to tell us that there is no other world,’ he said. ‘His logic is simple: if there is no heaven there is no hell; if there is no hell, there is no sin; if there is no sin, there is no judge, and if there is no judgment then evil is good and good is evil,’ he added. The Devil’s greatest trick is to hide in plain sight and not been seen because his existence, the existence of Hell and the reality of sin are denied or being dismissed far too lightly. •
‘To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it.’ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
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MOTHER TERESA
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SOMETHING BIG FOR THE FAMILY ‘We need to do something big for the family, something like the Child’s Bible.’
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ather Werenfried, ACN’s founder, often expressed this wish. He could see the connection between the Gospel message, life, the family and the young people of the Church. Today ACN Child’s Bible has been published 51 million times in 187 languages and 202 different countries or regions. And for young people we also have the YOUCAT series, now in a number of different titles – a catechism, a youth Bible, a prayer book, a Confirmation book, a Confession book, and as DOCAT, a practical summary of Catholic social teaching. The publication of this series
is supported by the pontifical foundation ACN. The YOUCAT catechism alone has now reached 4 million copies in over 150 different countries. Last year, thanks to your generosity we were also able to fund the publication of numerous other liturgical and religious writings and books in a total printing of some 1.5 million copies. We are trying to do what Father Werenfried wanted: Something big for the family. The Holy Bible remains the most widely read book in the world, with an estimated total printing of around 3 billion copies. •
God speaks to his children in Kenya.
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GOD’S MASTERPIECES
PAKISTAN & CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
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or Pope Francis the family is a ‘masterpiece of God’, rooted in our very human nature. This divine masterwork still needs helpers to shape and support it. The situation varies from country to country. Here are two examples: In the diocese of Hyderabad in Pakistan there are around 50,000 Catholics living among 28 million Muslims. In such an overwhelmingly Islamic environment Christian married couples have a prophetic role to play. It is hard to teach the sacrament of marriage – the equal dignity of husband and wife, the mutual respect and love, the indissolubility of marriage and lifelong fidelity.
And still more so when the families concerned belong to the poorest section of society. Yet it is here that the helpers of God’s masterpiece are visiting families and organising courses, teaching couples how to communicate with love, how to resist outside pressures through the grace of the sacraments, and how to resolve conflicts within the family. They are preparing young couples for marriage and teaching them how to behave towards each other, to respect and understand the femininity and masculinity of the other.
So that families can live in love – marriage counsellors in Pakistan.
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Six Catholic couples have offered up their time and energy to train for this family apostolate and now they are passing on their knowledge to other couples. 17 parishes are still waiting for helpers, as the courses cost money which the diocese does not have. Bishop Samson Shukardin has asked our help, and we have promised to help him so that he can fund the programme for the next three years and this support and nurture this ‘masterpiece of God’. This same nurturing is also important for the archdiocese of Bangui in the Central African Republic. Here they face additional problems – AIDS, very young mothers, numerous war orphans and
lone parents as a result of the three-year civil war. The training to be given to the 78 married couples – who will subsequently work as pastoral assistants in the parishes and accompany and support the families and mothers – will be based on the papal teachings, including Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI, Familiaris Consortio by St. John Paul II and Amoris Laetitiae by Pope Francis. These 78 couples are a task force for peace. For as John Paul II wrote, ‘The family creates the peace of the human family’. We have promised the Archbishop the support he needs for this masterpiece of Peace in Bangui. •
Welcome into the family of the Church – Baptism in Central Africa.
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THE RICHES OF CATHOLIC TEACHINGS HONDURAS
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arried love, therefore, requires of husband and wife the full awareness of their obligations in the matter of responsible parenthood’, states the encyclical Humanae Vitae of Pope Paul VI, adding that the Church ‘cannot do otherwise than teach the law… of human life restored to its native truth and guided by the Spirit of God’. Communicating a proper understanding of these obligations and the teachings of the Church about them is the goal of a campaign by the ‘Centre for Education and Family Life’ in the archdiocese of Tegucigalpa in Honduras. Launched in April 2017, it is to continue throughout the year. As in the encyclical
itself, this is not just about sexuality and conception, but about recognising the wider connections between parenthood and family, sexuality and love, emotions and intellect, dignity and the welfare of the married couple and of society. Today these natural connections are being deliberately obscured by ideologies such as gender mainstreaming, feminism and relativism. For these ideologies are working for the destruction of marriage and the family, often aided and abetted by the media.
Learn first, then teach: pioneering work in Honduras.
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The Church is fighting back against these tendencies and has identified four specific areas that are ‘hostile’ to Christian values: parenthood without responsibility, pregnancies and abortions among children and young people, the conflict between decadent ideologies and traditional values, and AIDS among the young. The aim of the campaign is to prevent these tragedies. With its 25 years of experience the centre also hopes to have an impact on society generally. This media coverage is achieved with 1,200 radio and 720 TV adverts, 16 major advertisements in magazines and 50 banners on internet portals. This is striving to convey the human riches of Catholic social teaching as against the consumerist mentality and trivialisation of sexuality in society.
Marriage vows in Peru – as ministers of the Sacrament.
This is a pioneering project. With the help of the parents the diocese is aiming to challenge the state, which in the field of education and also in sexual matters is attempting to call in question the natural right of parents to be the primary educators of their children. At the same time the centre is promoting natural family planning, using simple pictorial images and showing for example how, just as ‘Mother Earth’ has its fertile and infertile seasons, so too the ‘woman as mother’ has similar monthly cycles. Understanding our own human nature is one precondition for responsible parenthood, but teaching it costs money. Given the worldwide confusion with these issues, we want to help, and so we have promised our help for the programme in Tegucigalpa. •
Dedication and hard work: marriage preparation course in Colombia.
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‘I PRAY WITH EVERY PAGE’
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nd the Word became flesh’, we read in Saint John’s Gospel. This is a Word with hands and feet, who lives and gives life. And brings light and healing to every corner of the world. There is no place where this Word cannot work. Those working in the prison apostolate in Brazil have seen it for themselves. ‘Love never fails’, says Father Valdir João. ‘Loving concern and respect always succeed, even though it sometimes doesn’t seem that way.’ And Father Valdir knows what he’s talking about, for he coordinates the prison outreach in São Paulo. The Brazilian prisons are truly on the fringe of society, places without hope. But the Good News of the Gospel brings many prisoners a glimmer of light, of inner freedom. And these conversions do happen behind bars. One little thing that helps the pastoral
visitors in their work is the magazine Mundo e Missão. The stories in it touch the hearts of many inmates. One of them writes, ‘I thank God when this magazine arrives. I pray with every page.’ Another says thank you for the ‘tough report about the prisons. It is all true; we are living it’. The prisoners can’t afford to subscribe, so you are helping, so that Father Valdir and the other pastoral visitors can pay for 250 copies. Sadly, it is little more than a drop in the ocean among the 600,000 prisoners in the system, even though every copy passes through a dozen hands. But each issue brings light into these dark corners, each word does its work, sowing seeds of healing and salvation. •
Behind bars: learning for a better life.
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BRAZIL
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JESUS INVITES US
SENEGAL
‘Every one of the baptised needs and has the right to an appropriate catechesis.’
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his is the motto of the catechetical department of the diocese of Dakar and Medina in Senegal. Its goal is to support the Church-run Catholic schools in the country. Here, where 90% of the population are Muslims and just 5% are Christians, and where three in every five people are younger than 20, the catechism ensures spiritual survival. Only a few young people here have access to mobile phones or other modern means of communications, so books are essential. As many people are still illiterate the books help to teach them. ‘Our Church is young and dynamic’, says Father Raymond Ndione, who is responsible for distributing the catechism. And he adheres closely to what Rome says – that
the catechism must be appropriate in its methods and must strengthen the Faith. This is exactly what the 72-page catechism book ‘Jesus, you invite me’ is and does for the classes of 7 to 8-year-old pupils. The need is great, and now he has to print 6,000 more copies. In many cases it is the only book these schoolchildren have, and even though it only costs less than one euro, they still cannot afford it. So we have promised Father Raymond to cover the cost of a reprint, so that the pupils can respond to the invitation of Jesus. • ‘Close your ears to the whisperings of Hell and bravely oppose its onslaughts’ SAINT CLARE OF ASSISI
‘Jesus, you invite me’: schoolchildren in Dakar with the catechism.
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‘THE SHARED LOVE OF GOD’S CHILDREN UNITES US’ MADAGASCAR
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ister Solange of the Daughters of Saint Paul in Madagascar is happy to see her apostolate bearing fruit. The ACN Little Catechism in French and the Rosary booklet in Malagasy, the language of Madagascar, are very much in demand. ‘The Rosary booklet for children is used in the schools as a teaching book, and the Rosary booklet for the older ones is very popular both with adults and young people for their personal prayer or in their prayer groups’, she writes. In fact she is already starting to run out of these booklets. And here the Faith is growing.
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Sister Solange thanks you from the bottom of her heart for your help, which is making a difference. ‘The shared love of the children of God unites us’, she writes. She is so happy for this, and so grateful. •
‘Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.’ SAINT JEROME
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SHARING THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL CUBA
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esus himself was a man from the periphery, from that Galilee far from the power centres of the Roman Empire… Yet his word was… the start of a spiritual and human revolution, the Good News of a Lord who died and rose for us. And we want to share this treasure!’ Pope Francis wastes no opportunity reminding the Church, reminding us all, of our missionary vocation. Sharing the treasure of the Good News means, more often than not, sharing the grinding poverty at the peripheries of society. The Sisters of the congregation of the Misioneras de Jesus Verbo y Victima (Missionaries of Jesus Word and Victim) do just this in areas where there is a shortage of priests. Places like Guasimal in Cuba, where five Sisters of the congregation minister to 30 remote rural villages. For decades now, the hostile, anti-Christian communist regime has sown the seeds of poverty and despair, and
now the sects are springing up everywhere, finding an easy prey in suffering souls thirsting for God. There is also the devastating plague of alcohol. The five Sisters of the congregation are bringing the light of the Gospel to this area and to the 9,000 souls waiting for them. They are constantly on the road, covering the journeys of over 20 km between the villages in a 25-year-old minibus. They are aflame with the love of Christ. But they have no way of supporting themselves financially in this impoverished area, and as a young congregation they have no financial reserves either. Mother Maria Veronica has asked our help for the cost of food, clothing, water and electric power so that ‘the joy of the Gospel may reach to the ends of the earth, illuminating even the fringes of our world’ 6 including those on the fringes of Cuba. • 6 Evangelii gaudium,288
Teaching the faith. Girls in Cuba learning the catechism.
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REPLANTING THE FAITH IN NINEVEH JOHN PONTIFEX7
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hen I first met Martin Banni in 2014, he had just fled northern Iraq’s Nineveh Plains, which had been seized by ISIS in a single night. Arriving in Kurdish northern Iraq, the future priest and 120,000 others were entirely dependent on the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and other organisations for help. Now that ISIS has been forced out of Nineveh and is suffering losses across the region, there is an urgent need for Fr Martin and the displaced community to return to their homelands while they have the chance. But preparing the way is a huge task. The relief the displaced communities felt after ISIS left Nineveh last autumn quickly turned to shock when they saw the devastation the Islamists had left behind.
Since then, ACN has developed plans to repair and rebuild, and the people’s confidence has begun to return, with more than 80 per cent now interested in returning home. Essential to this is repairing homes. Although as many as 12,900 homes were damaged, nearly two thirds received only partial damage and the charity has plans to repair as many as possible. The challenge is to introduce the scheme alongside ACN’s existing commitment to provide emergency help for displaced communities in Kurdistan. Since the displaced families took refuge in the semi-autonomous region, 46 per cent of emergency help (food, shelter, medicine and schooling) delivered through the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil has come from ACN. J F Declan Quinn, the national director of ACN (Ire), says: ‘The benefactors of ACN have been wonderful in their response to providing help for Iraqi Christians driven from their homes.’ ACN project partners have repeatedly asked the charity for help, reporting that the UN has provided only limited help since the 7 John Pontifex is head of press and information at Aid to the Church in Need (UK).
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crisis broke, some tents and other emergency aid. As the repair bill for the return of Christians and other minority groups to Nineveh continues to rise, ACN has been working with other mainly Christian charities to appeal to the national Governments and multi-national agencies to offer needed assistance. Quinn points out that ‘there is a critical need to help the Christians survive and to begin to return to their villages in Nineveh. If more help is not provided, this moment of opportunity will be lost.’ Church leaders want the Christians to re-establish themselves quickly so they are a recognised as a major constituent group in the political settlement in Nineveh post-ISIS. Soon after the Islamists left Nineveh, it emerged that Christians had a better chance of resettling in northern Nineveh, which has fallen under Kurdish influence, than in the south, where the Baghdad federal government has asserted military control.
Destruction, by ISIS, of The Sacred Heart Church which belongs to the Chaldean Church in the town of Telkef, which lies (8km) to the north east of Mosul and the famous ruins of Nineveh.
But while the political future of Nineveh is under review – amid plans for a possible referendum on Kurdistan independence in September – Church leaders stress the need for Christians to reclaim their presence, including in areas where so far their return has not been welcomed by the occupying forces.
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Stressing the need for resettlement at the earliest feasible opportunity, Stephen Rasche, aid relief funding manager for the Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil, has repeatedly highlighted the risk that, without significant progress with the ‘Right to Return’ scheme, the displaced community could lose heart and abandon the region. ‘The future really does hang in the balance,’ he says. ‘Much of it depends on the continued support and assistance that [Iraqi Christians] receive from the West over the next 12 months.’ For ACN, the urgency of the situation could not be clearer. With the charity’s ongoing commitment to catechesis, Mass stipends for priests and support for seminarians, ACN is determined to help the faithful replant the faith back in the soil toiled by so many generations of Christians.
As a token of this, ACN presented olive trees for Christians to plant close to the homes of the first 105 houses the charity is renovating, in the towns of Bartella, Qaraqosh and Karamles. In Karamles, the new saplings – replacing ones destroyed by ISIS – stand not far from the Chaldean Church of St Addai. It was from this church that, just hours before ISIS forces appeared in 2014, Martin Banni took the Blessed Sacrament away, whisking it to safety. Ordained as priest only last autumn, Fr Banni has now been able to bring the Blessed Sacrament back to St Addai’s. This was a poignant moment that symbolised not only the return of the Catholic faith to the region, but also the priest’s intention to encourage the people – living stones of faith – to return to their home town. •
Destruction, by ISIS, of The Sacred Heart Church which belongs to the Chaldean Church in the town of Telkef, which lies (8km) to the north east of Mosul and the famous ruins of Nineveh.
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BRINGING CHRISTIAN FAMILIES HOME: THE NINEVEH PROJECT As the tyranny of Islamic State comes to an end in Iraq, the devastation they have wrought against Christian communities there becomes shockingly more apparent. As Christians, our resolve to respond to persecution and murder with prayer and love must as a result grow stronger - but this requires a sustainable Christian witness in those lands. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), being true to its mission to help the suffering and persecuted Church, seeks to ensure that those Christian families in Nineveh that survived the destruction of their homes can now return to rebuild their lives and live their faith without fear. ACN, together with local Christian churches, have formed the Nineveh Project to raise the funds needed (€200 million+).
WITHOUT THIS HELP
One of the most ancient Christian homelands will be permanently without a Christian presence.
Christians will not be able to repair their Churches, their houses, their schools, or their hospitals - at present nearly 13,000 families (95,000 people) need to go home.
With your prayers and your generosity, together we can help rebuild the lives of our fellow Christians - and in so doing we can help rebuild our Church.
‘ACN is determined to help the faithful replant the faith back in the soil toiled by so many generations of Christians’ Cardinal Mauro Piacenza
FIND MORE INFORMATION ON THE NINEVEH PROJECT GO TO
ACNIRELAND.ORG/NINEVEH
HOPE AND HELL
NINEVEH: ‘I WANT TO REBUILD MY LIFE’ JACO KLAMER8
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don’t understand how people can harm each other so much,’ sighs security guard Louis Petrus. Louis has just returned to his hometown for the first time: the Christian city of Qaraqosh, near Mosul, which he had to flee on 6 August 2014, when Islamic State (IS) occupied the city.
The IS terrorists have destroyed a lot of my possessions, but I am still quite well off, considering the damage that I can see in my neighbours’ houses: many houses have been burned or even completely destroyed. I have been blessed.’
‘Look at my house: it is damaged, most of my furniture has been stolen and my household effects are broken. Other inhabitants of Qaraqosh had prepared me for what I would find in the city. I had heard stories and seen pictures of the destruction caused by the jihadists. Now that I am seeing the city with my own eyes, I do not know what to feel.
Fr. Sharbil Eeso a 72-year-old Catholic priest has also just returned home to the liberated city of Qaraqosh, which he was forced to leave on 17 August 2014. It is chaos in the seminary and the associated office. In their search for hidden treasures, IS militants tore down ceilings, destroyed statues and trashed the place. ‘We are not allowed to clear up the mess yet,’ he says, while he shakes off the dust from his recently recovered priestly headwear. ‘First, the damage needs to be assessed carefully and documented thoroughly, and that can only start when the city is safe. Just the other week, a young 13 year old jihadist emerged from the tunnel system which IS has built underneath the city.’ During their occupation the jihadists enthusiastically desecrated the Catholic churches in Qaraqosh, going so far as to 8 Adapted from an earlier article prepared on behalf of Aid to the Church in Need by Jaco Klamer.
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writing battle instructions on the walls and transforming St. George’s Church Syrian Catholic into a bomb factory. When the town was liberated, hundreds of bombs and grenades, of all shapes and sizes, were found lying there, waiting to be fired. Also discovered in the Church were the recipes needed to turn the chemicals which were stashed in the Church into deadly explosives. ‘Despite all the damage, I have hope for the future,’ says Father Sharbil smiling. ‘If our security is guaranteed, Christians can continue to live in Iraq. Our fellow Christians in the West should do their best to keep us safe. I want to return to Qaraqosh when there is electricity and water again, although I think
that safety is the main condition for returning. Louis Petrus also firmly intends to return to Qaraqosh: ‘I don’t want to leave Iraq, unless all the inhabitants stay away and leave. But if two or three families return to Qaraqosh, I will too. This is my country. As soon as it is safe in the city and we receive permission to live here again, I want to rebuild my life in Qaraqosh. This is my place, I shall remain here until I die.’ The Assyrian Member of Parliament Yacoob G. Yaco travels to liberated territory almost on a daily basis, to stay informed on the progress at the front and the security situation in the liberated territory. As one of
Destruction made by ISIS of the Christian village of Qaraqosh in the Nineveh Plains.
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the five permanent Christian members of the Kurdish parliament, Yacoob represents the Iraqi Christian community.
plain. Many Christians suspect that this border is not temporary, but the start of a permanent border correction.’
‘There is a lot of unrest among Iraqi Christians. The Kurds support Iraq in their battle against IS and the recapture of Mosul and the surrounding cities and villages. The inhabitants appreciate that, but many of the Christians suspect the Iraqi government of giving the Kurds land in return.
‘We really want to return to Qaraqosh, with our children,’ says the mayor of Qaraqosh, Nisan Karromi (59). However he points out that since the jihadists had no respect for life or property ‘it will be a long time before all damages will be repaired.’
The Kurds dig deep canals and build high fences that, according to them, are meant to stop IS. In the meantime, the Kurds and the Iraqi government deny being promised territory for support and they assure the Christians that no deals were made about the land. But the canals and fences are not built on Kurdish land, but on the Nineveh
‘Some of the townspeople lost everything because of the IS invasion, others have had their house burnt and some are even less fortunate, even though everyone had to leave this city for over two years. We not only have to reconstruct and rebuild this city, but we also have to help the people and their families recover from the damages they have suffered. Since the Iraqi government remains in crisis, we must rely on the international community to help us make Iraq habitable again.’ ‘Before we can start picking up the pieces, the damage will have to be carefully recorded’, explains the mayor. ‘Besides, we cannot start to rebuild, because the security service suspects that there are still IS warriors in the passageways beneath the city. Not every house has been searched yet for the presence of those secret passageways. Recently two foreign-
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looking jihadists were identified in Qaraqosh, but they disappeared before we were able to arrest them.’ In the meantime, Manal Matti visits t h e blackened church of the Immaculate Conception. She is surprised by the mannequins that are spread out across the church grounds, shot through with bullets. ‘The jihadists used the church as a shooting range and the mannequins as targets,’ she tells us, horrified. ‘The mannequins are completely riddled!’ Manal Matti used to run a beauty salon, just steps away from the church. She ponders: ‘I do not know when I will ever be able to see the inhabitants of Qaraqosh coming again to my beauty salon.’ •
The ‘Olive Tree’ ceremony in the Nineveh Plains. Three towns planted the trees close to their homes as a symbol of peace, hope and reconciliation.
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SALVIFIC SUFFERING
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eclaring the power of salvific suffering, the Apostle Paul says: ‘In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church’.
EGYPT the churches. Everyone wants to join in this prayer. They are praying for the survival of the Church of the Nile, of the Body of Christ in Egypt. Let us not forget them in our prayers. •
So begins Salvifici Doloris, the apostolic letter on suffering by Saint John Paul II. Christians in Egypt are living out Saint Paul’s words in their daily lives. They are one of the earliest Christian communities of all, yet time and time again they are the targets of murderous attacks against them. Their churches are bombed and burned, their young girls abducted and raped by Islamists. Christians on the Nile are walking a Way of the Cross leading them through unknown terrain. Yet they are determined to stay on in their native homeland, despite everything. Many of them even have the courage to profess their faith openly by having a cross tattooed on their forearm. For they know that the Gospel message also embraces the Passion. The Coptic Catholic patriarchate wants to teach the true meaning of this suffering and thereby help the faithful to bear it. Christ is their example to follow, His Passion is the doorway to redemption. The patriarchate has asked our help to print 5,000 copies of a Way of the Cross booklet. It will be given to the faithful in all
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STAND UP FOR FAITH AND FREEDOM ON
# RED WEDNESDAY 22nd of November 2017 Wear Red - Light Red
To promote awareness of and solidarity with persecuted Christians, Archbishop Eamon Martin and ACN Ireland invite you on #RedWednesday to: REMEMBER the witness and sacrifice of past and
present martyrs by praying the Angelus at 12pm and 6pm.
WEAR a red tie or a red scarf as a symbolic reminder
of all those Christians who have suffered and died for their Christian faith.
#RedWednesday will see many landmarks illuminated in red worldwide, including Armagh Cathedral. If you wish to find out more, please contact redwednesday@acnireland.org or go to
acnireland.org/redwednesday
HOPE AND HELL
YOUR THOUGHTS... AN IRREPLACEABLE MISSION I am firmly convinced that the building of churches and the financial support and training of priests and religious Sisters is enormously important – above all in areas where there is massive persecution of Christians. It is mission by example, mission by spreading the Word of Christ, mission through good works. ACN and all it does are an irreplaceable part of this mission. A benefactor and friend in Austria ROSARY BOOKLETS FOR THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLES For the first time in my 14 years living in this Indigenous township in central Queensland two of the women wish to pray the Rosary together every weekday and I can see many blessings to flow out of that.
WHAT THE SAINTS SAY...
I’d like to order 10 of your beautiful
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2003 booklet ‘The Rosary’ with the 20 Mysteries, scripture, mediations and prayers. It is just so well done and the women love it. From a religious Sister working in Queensland, Australia A DONATION INSTEAD OF A PARTY My little daughter has just been baptised, and my husband and I have decided not to have a christening party but instead to donate the money we would have spent on the party for people in need. After all it is very easy to be Catholics where we live, isn’t it? It is very important to us to help other people who are suffering religious persecution. We are grateful to you for helping us by steering our donation to the best purpose. A married couple in Brazil
‘We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.’ St. Teresa of Avila Quote selected by Eddie Cotter, founder
ead heologians ociety www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com Aid to the Church in Need
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...AND OUR THANKS Dear Friends,
E
ver since that first Pentecost we have known that languages are no barrier to the spread of the Good GOD SPEAKS TO News. Of course not HIS CHILDREN all of us can speak ‘in many tongues’, but the translations of our Child’s Bible, Little Catechism and other religious books into so many different languages and dialects are undoubtedly smoothing the path to the understanding of the Gospel message. Texts from the Bible
There is a book that speaks one particular language, the language of youth, the YOUCAT catechism. It is wonderful how many young people actually love to read it and devour it – especially at the World Youth Days where we hand it out by the tens of thousands. It has already been translated into many languages and printed in around 4 million copies.
ACN has assumed overall sponsorship of this worldwide project, and our work in over 140 countries makes it easier to disseminate it. Now several other books have joined the YOUCAT series, not least the Book of Books – in the form of a Youth Bible. It’s Good News goes out to young people in every nation, including the Arab nations. A great success, also due to your generosity. In fact we can even say that, thanks to you, the Church is still young!
Johannes Freiherr Heereman,
Executive President of ACN International
WHERE TO SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTION FOR THE CHURCH IN NEED Please use the Freepost envelope.
IBAN IE32 BOFI 9005 7890 6993 28 BIC BOFI IE2D
Aid to the Church in Need,
info@acnireland.org
If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This MIRROR is for your interest and information.
www.acnireland.org
Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620.
151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.
(01) 837 7516
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WE ARE CALLED TO BE MISSIONARIES OF JOY
‘Because of the Scriptures, Christians in many countries are persecuted and put to death.’ ACN Ecclesiastical Assistant
‘What would happen were we to treat the Bible as we treat our mobile phone? Were we to open it several times a day; were we to read God’s messages contained in the Bible... what would happen?’
Angelus message, March 5, 2017.
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THE MIRROR IS AVAILABLE TO READ AT ACNIRELAND.ORG/MIRROR
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MIRROR
MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE
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Putting Love into Practice
Rays of Hope
Giving Hope, Giving Joy in Africa
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