SEPTEMBER 07, 2014, Vol 64, No 18

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

SINGAPORE 50 CENTS / WEST MALAYSIA RM$1.20

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Pope

Francis told Korean Catholics that WKH UHXQLÂżFDWLRQ RI WKHLU GLYLGHG peninsula as well as the harmony RI 6RXWK .RUHDQ VRFLHW\ GHSHQG RQ WKH SUDFWLFH RI *RVSHO YLUWXHV HVSHFLDOO\ FKDULW\ DQG IRUJLYHQHVV *RGÂśV SURPLVH WR UHVWRUH XQLW\ and prosperity to “a people disSHUVHG E\ GLVDVWHU DQG GLYLVLRQ is inseparably tied to a command: WKH FRPPDQG WR UHWXUQ WR *RG DQG wholeheartedly obey his lawâ€?, 3RSH )UDQFLV VDLG In a homily on Aug 18, during D 0DVV IRU SHDFH DQG UHFRQFLOLDtion at Seoul’s Myongdong Cathedral, Pope Francis said Jesus DVNHG SHRSOH ÂłWR EHOLHYH WKDW IRUgiveness is the door which leads WR UHFRQFLOLDWLRQ´ The Mass was closed to the SXEOLF *XHVWV LQFOXGHG 6RXWK .RUHDQ 3UHVLGHQW 3DUN *HXQ hye, women who were sold into sexual slavery during World War ,, 1RUWK .RUHDQ GHIHFWRUV WKRVH ZKRVH IDPLOLHV ZHUH NLGQDSSHG and taken to North Korea and 12 FOHULFV IURP YDULRXV IDLWKV %HIRUH WKH 0DVV WKH SRSH PHW ZLWK VHYHQ IRUPHU ÂłFRPIRUW ZRPHQ´ ZKR ZHUH IRUFHG LQWR SURVWLWXWLRQ E\ WKH -DSDQHVH EHIRUH DQG GXULQJ :RUOG :DU ,, 2QH ZRPDQ JDYH WKH SRSH D EXWWHUĂ€\ SLQ V\PEROLVLQJ WKHLU FDOO IRU MXVWLFH DQG WKH SRSH ZRUH LW GXULQJ WKH 0DVV Âł7RGD\ÂśV 0DVV LV ÂżUVW DQG IRUHPRVW D SUD\HU IRU UHFRQFLOLDWLRQ LQ WKLV .RUHDQ IDPLO\ ´ VDLG WKH SRSH +H VXJJHVWHG WKH QHHG IRU UHFonciliation lay not only between South Korea and the communist North, which have been divided VLQFH WKH HQG RI WKH .RUHDQ :DU in 1953, but within South Korea LWVHOI WKH ZRUOGÂśV WK ODUJHVW economy, where prosperity has EURXJKW LQFUHDVLQJ LQHTXDOLW\ Âł*RGÂśV XUJHQW VXPPRQV to conversion also challenges &KULVWÂśV IROORZHUV LQ .RUHD WR H[-

VOL 64

NO. 18

INSIDE HOME Social Mission Conference Catholics learn about serving the needy „ Page 2

Coming to grips with human WUDIÀFNLQJ Speakers discuss situation in S’pore, elsewhere „ Page 3

Concerns over Iraq, Syria Local Church groups hold prayers „ Page 9 Pope Francis greets several former ‘comfort women’ before celebrating Mass at Myongdong cathedral in Seoul.

‘

Believe that forgiveness is the door which leads to reconciliation.

DPLQH WKH TXDOLW\ RI WKHLU RZQ FRQWULEXWLRQ WR WKH EXLOGLQJ RI D WUXO\ MXVW DQG KXPDQH VRFLHW\ ´ KH VDLG The pope urged Korean Catholics to “show evangelical conFHUQ IRU WKH OHVV IRUWXQDWH WKH

’

marginalised, those without work and those who do not share in the SURVSHULW\ RI WKH PDQ\´ %HIRUH WKH 0DVV 3RSH )UDQFLV PHW ZLWK %XGGKLVW 2UWKRGR[ /Xtheran and other Protestant lead-

HUV +H DVNHG WKHP WR SUD\ IRU him, and said: “I believe that we have to walk together with other brothers and sisters in the presHQFH RI *RG $QG VR , DP VLQFHUHO\ JUDWHIXO IRU DOO RI WKH OHDGHUV RI YDULRXV UHOLJLRQV ,W LV D SDWK WKDW ZH ZDON WRJHWKHU ´ „ More stories on Pages 12-15

Lunchtime Masses in Changi Latest venue: Changi Business Park „ Page 11

WORLD Ferguson turmoil Catholics try to come to terms with tragedy, unrest „ Page 17

Pope Francis meets with religious leaders in the old archdiocesan headquarters building in Seoul.

FEATURE S’pore poet on her faith and poetry Lee Tzu Pheng enthrals audience at talk „ Page 23

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Sunday September 7, 2014 „ CatholicNews

Reaching out to the marginalised in society The Social Mission Conference discussed ways that Catholics can serve the needy

By Lorna O’Hara Participants who attended the recent Social Mission Conference organised by Caritas Singapore say it has inspired them to help the poor in society. “It’s enlightening,� said Mr Vinod Savio, 34. “My charity work before was about donations.

This conference was a good avenue for me to discover on a deeper level what it means to give back.�

Another participant, Ms Lina Rawung, 50, said the event “has nourished my faith and encouraged me to move forward to help the poor�.

Mr Savio and Ms Rawung were among about 750 people who attended the fourth social mission conference held at Catholic Junior College on Aug 23.

The event aimed to deepen Catholics’ understanding of the Church’s VRFLDO PLVVLRQ DQG WR UHĂ€HFW RQ WKH theme, “A Church which is poor and for the poorâ€?, which is from one of Pope Francis’ statements.

In his opening address, Archbishop William Goh told the crowd, “If you want to reach out to the poor, then you must experience what it means to be poor.�

He added, “If you know what is suffering, you will learn compassion. God’s love is always concrete.�

Before the conference speakers gave their presentations, two women, speaking in dialect, shared about their lives and families.

One of them, speaking in Cantonese, gave a gritty account of growing up poverty-stricken in post-war Singapore. In addition to working in various jobs such as running food stalls and being a part-time cleaner, she had to look after her husband and grandson.

The woman, speaking in Hokkien, shared that she was devastated when her son died in an accident some 20 years ago.

Now her family is struggling as she suffers from chronic ill-

nesses and her husband needs dialysis three times a week.

Assoc Prof Irene Ng, from National University of Singapore’s social work department then spoke on the Social Realities of the Poor.

She had surveyed 440 Singaporeans and found out that locals “do have some compassion� when it came to poverty. However, despite the government’s efforts on providing training, low wages, rising debt from home ownership and job conditions make it hard for the poor “to get out of the poverty cycle�, she said.

She also noted that a 2013 study showed that 23-26 percent of Singapore households live with a monthly income of less than $3,000.

An member of the audience at the Social Mission Conference asking a question. Photo: Martin Yong

a truly missionary Church.

Bishop Isao said he agreed with Pope Francis that in a globalised world, “we have fallen into a globalisation of indifference�, where there is a “lack of sensitivity to people other than ourselves�.

Bishop Isao also spoke about “compassion fatigue�, such as in the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami. “Everyone has forgotten us,� he said, quoting an elderly lady from Pondicherry, India, who was

slum there and found it extremely challenging. “At that moment, I knew my ‘poverty’,� she said. “If we have friends among the poor, it won’t be a one-time visit but instead a friendship, a relationship with the poor,� she added.

She advised the audience to reach out to the underprivileged on a personal level and not conÂżQH VXFK RXWUHDFK WR SURMHFWV Âł'R WKH QHFHVVDU\ UHĂ€HFWLRQ ´ she urged. “In your workplaces,

Photo: Martin Yong

Locals ‘do have some compassion’ when it came to poverty. – Assoc Prof Irene Ng

Bishop Isao Kikuchi, president of Caritas Asia, highlighted excerpts from Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), in which he laid out his hopes for

FROM THE ARCHBISHOP’S OFFICE: His Grace, Arch-

bishop William Goh, will be away in Rome for a seminar for new bishops, for the period Sept 6-24, 2014. Prior to that he will be on personal leave from Sept 1-5. In his absence, Vicar General (Pastoral), Msgr Ambrose Vaz, will oversee all diocesan matters.

Everyone ‘ has forgotten us.’

– Bishop Isao Kikuchi on ‘compassion fatigue’ in the wake of the 2004 tsunami

affected by the natural disaster, and who he visited in 2005.

He said that four months after the disaster, many NGOs began to halt their services.

Ms Wendy Louis, executive secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences Of¿FH RI /DLW\ DQG )DPLO\ :RPHQœV Desk, shared about the time she was a volunteer teacher in Bihar, northeast India.

She said she knew nothing of “what it meant to be a missionary� then when she went to live in a

If we have friends ‘ among the poor, it won’t be a one-time visit but instead a friendship.

’

– Ms Wendy Louis

talk about it.�

Jesuit Br Matthew Tan, currently on attachment to Caritas 6LQJDSRUH ÀDVKHG RQ WKH VFUHHQ the story of the Good Samaritan and said that this biblical hero was probably robbed before, and thus he understood what it was like to be poor.

Br Matthew then went on to give tips on how to reach out to the poor. “It’s not about giving but walking alongside [the poor]‌ Make sure we are not patronising

or condescending‌we are with them,� he said.

The audience were then given a choice of four breakout sessions to attend.

In the session, Youth At Risk, conducted by Catholic organisations Beyond Social Services and Hope House, participants discussed supporting at-risk youths and shared their own experiences.

In the group discussing Low Income Families, participants were invited to pen their thoughts on the homeless.

Three facilitators then presentHG ÂżQGLQJV EDVHG RQ FOLHQWV that the Marine Parade Family Service Centre saw from October 2011 to November 2013.

They shared that unemployment and homelessness are interrelated issues and that 36 percent of clients were unemployed at the point of referral.

In the session on Migrant Workers, the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ACMI) presented the challenges faced by migrant workers and the services that ACMI offers.

An ACMI member shared that the organisation needs volunteers who can facilitate counselling services and language courses for workers from Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam.

In the session on the marginalised, Ms Grace Ang, executive director of Clarity, a Church organisation that provides mental health services, shared that 10 percent of the population in Singapore suffers from conditions such as major depression, anxiety disorders and addiction.

She said those with mental health issues have to deal with additional burdens such as shame and fear and added that a listening ear and understanding response are needed to engage them.

For more information on Caritas Singapore, visit www.caritassingapore.org „ lorna.ohara@catholic.org.sg

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Sunday September 7, 2014 „ CatholicNews

/HDUQLQJ DERXW KXPDQ WUDIĂ€FNLQJ A talk on the phenomenon was an eye opener for participants Photos: ADRIAN SOH

(PDQFLS$VLD IRXQGHU 6\OYLD /HH VSHDNLQJ DW WKH HYHQW WLWOHG 7KH )ORXULVKLQJ 7UDGH RI +XPDQ 7UDIÂżFNLQJ

By Lorna O’Hara Some 100 people learnt more DERXW KXPDQ WUDI¿FNLQJ LQFOXGing the situation in Singapore, during a forum organised by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS).

JRS aims to advocate and educate the public on this issue “because we found out that many 6LQJDSRUHDQV GRQÂśW NQRZ DERXW thisâ€?, JRS country director Gordon Pinto told Catholic News.

On Aug 14, JRS, together with (PDQFLS$VLD D QRW IRU SURÂżW ERG\ which raises awareness about the isVXH RUJDQLVHG D WDON RQ 7KH )ORXULVKLQJ 7UDGH RI +XPDQ 7UDIÂżFNLQJ The event was held at the Church of St Ignatius.

In Singapore, 53 cases of sex WUDIÂżFNLQJ DQG FDVHV RI ODERXU WUDIÂżFNLQJ ZHUH UHSRUWHG LQ revealed EmancipAsia founder Sylvia Lee. ,Q KHU WDON VKH VKDUHG H[DPSOHV RI KXPDQ WUDIÂżFNLQJ LQ 6LQJDSRUH such as the case of an indebted Indonesian woman who stood on the streets of Geylang to sell her body.

7ZR QXQV DOVR VSRNH DERXW WKHLU PLQLVWU\ WR WUDIÂżFNLQJ YLFWLPV Sr Sylvia Ng from the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, togethHU ZLWK RWKHU YROXQWHHUV has been bringing the “presence of God to Geylangâ€?, she shared.

She described the scene there as similar to a pasar malam or QLJKW PDUNHW ZKHUH WKURQJV RI PRVWO\ IRUHLJQ ZRPHQ ZDON WKH streets in search of customers. “It’s not that they are desperate.

They have no choice,� she said.

Sr Sylvia said that some of the VH[ ZRUNHUV DUH RQ WKHLU IHHW IRU as long as 11 hours and on empty stomachs.

The nun says she and her volunteers pray with some of the women. Some of the volunteers FDQ VSHDN ³¿YH RU VL[ ODQJXDJHV´ including Telugu and Vietnamese. “The universal gesture for prayer is understood,â€? she said, DGGLQJ WKDW WKH ,QGLDQ VH[ ZRUNers there “really want to prayâ€?.

Some of these women also bring along their scripture and “pray in the morning for protection�.

However, the pimps get angry

53 cases of sex WUDIÂżFNLQJ DQG FDVHV RI ODERXU WUDIÂżFNLQJ were reported in Singapore in 2013. at the volunteers as they are seen to be distracting the women from WKHLU ZRUN VKH VDLG Apart from prayer, the volunteers also assist the women mateULDOO\ VXFK DV KDQGLQJ RXW GULQNV VQDFNV DQG EDQGDJHV WR WKHP $ volunteer nurse also gives paracetemol to those who are ill. “We do what we can,â€? said Sr Sylvia.

6SHDNLQJ WR &DWKROLF1HZV later, Sr Sylvia revealed that her JURXSÂśV 3HDFHZDON 2XWUHDFK 0LVVLRQ ZDV ODXQFKHG LQ She also shared that the pimps in Geylang are good at “covering WKHLU WUDFNV´ Good Shepherd Sr Jantana

Jantorn, leader of the Anti-Human 7UDIÂżFNLQJ WHDP IRU &DULWDV 7KDLland, told the crowd that there are centres housing young women and FKLOGUHQ ZKR KDYH EHHQ WUDIÂżFNHG WR FLWLHV VXFK DV 3DWWD\D DQG 3KXNHW &HQWUH ZRUNHUV WDNH VXFK JLUOV who come from countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, off the streets and give them education, EDVLF VNLOOV WUDLQLQJ DQG FRXQVHOling, she said.

The Fatima Self Help Centre LQ %DQJNRN DOVR SURYLGHV VNLOOV training and basic Thai lessons for such people, she added.

The women are taught dressPDNLQJ DQG KRZ WR PDNH KDQGLcrafts so that they “can learn selfrespect� and “be independent�, said Sr Jantana.

Similarly, the Youth Centre in Chiangrai which is home to JLUOV SURYLGHV HGXFDWLRQ VNLOO training and counselling, she said.

After the presentations, the audience was invited to share their IHHOLQJV DQG DVN TXHVWLRQV 2QH male participant said he found ZKDW KH KDG OHDUQW ³YHU\ VKRFNing, interesting and disturbing�.

Mr Pinto told CatholicNews he hopes more people would become DZDUH RI WKH WUDI¿FNLQJ VLWXDWLRQ DQG ³WDNH DFWLRQ WR GR VRPHWKLQJ´ Currently, members of the Good Shepherd Sisters and FranFLVFDQ 0LVVLRQDULHV RI 0DU\ ORRN DIWHU WUDI¿FNHG YLFWLPV LQ D VKHOWHU To contact JRS, email admin@ jrssg.org, or call Gordon (96153447) „ lorna.ohara@catholic.org.sg

Malaysia’s nuncio warns of fraud The Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia has sent a message to the bishops of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, warning them about an individual who has been soliciting funds for fraudulent projects.

Archbishop Joseph Marino, in a letter dated Aug 13, said that “a certain ‘Rev Father Jonathan

Mahajire, OSB Cam’, presenting himself as the Superior of the Camaldolese Benedictines of the Diocese of Kondoa, has been soliciting funds for various projects�. “Please be advised that this person is fraudulent and the projects are false,� said Archbishop Marino. „

*RRG 6KHSKHUG 6U -DQWDQD -DQWRUQ OHDGHU RI WKH $QWL +XPDQ 7UDIÂżFNLQJ WHDP IRU &DULWDV 7KDLODQG VSHDNLQJ DW WKH WDON

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Sunday September 7, 2014 „ CatholicNews

Reaching out to those who stopped attending church

By Lorna O’Hara “It’s really good. I like the fact that they don’t push us to come back. They respect our feelings and we have time to think before making a choice.�

Mr Richard Pillai, 52, made these comments after attending an event held by Landings, an organisation that aims to reach out to Catholics who have been away from church.

About 50 participants attended

the Landings-Returned! session held at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour on Aug 16.

Parish priest Fr Gregoire van Giang, in his opening address, encouraged participants in their journey, and urged them to picture God as “an old father, waiting at the gate for his son to come back�.

Several Landings volunteers then shared their stories of how they returned to church after an absence.

Mr Marcus Wong shared that

it was a painful experience that made him drift away from church – the ending of his eight-year relationship with his girlfriend. “I could not see any light in the darkness,â€? he said. However, since ÂżQGLQJ RXW DERXW /DQGLQJV LQ 2013, he has come back to church.

Now he is a Landings volunteer, helping fellow Catholics who have been away from church return to it.

Another sharer, Mr David &KRQJ GUHZ VQLIĂ€HV IURP WKH crowd with his story.

He recalled that his “faith jourQH\ FDPH RXW RI VHOÂżVK UHDVRQV´ When his father fell ill in 2004, he “struck a bargain with Godâ€?. “If God healed my dad, then I would convert and become a Catholic,â€? he said. Soon after, his father’s condition stabilised and Mr Chong was baptised in 2005.

However, he later faced crises which tested his faith. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer and lost his job twice.

However, with encouragement from family and Landings members, he realised that “God was

Fr Gregoire van Giang speaking at the Landings-Returned! session. He encouraged participants to picture God as a father waiting for his son to return.

giving me an anchor in my faith‌ There’s no need to bargain but to trust and obey God.�

Ms Constance Nonis, a cradle Catholic who returned to church after almost 30 years, said it was her father-in-law’s death in November 2013 that made her ask herself, “How much of a Catholic am I to deserve a Catholic funeral?�

She shared that after visiting her parents’ niche, and buying a rosary at the Church of the Holy Trinity bookshop, she picked up a bulletin and saw an announce-

ment by Landings.

That was what started her journey back to church in Jan 2014.

Landings was established in 2007.

A new Landings journey will begin on Sept 8 at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and Church of the Holy Spirit, and at Blessed Sacrament Church on Oct 7. For more information, email returning@landings.org.sg. „ lorna.ohara@catholic.org.sg

Sunday September 7, 2014 CatholicNews

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Sunday September 7, 2014 CatholicNews

Assumption English School looks forward to new building Assumption English School (AES) students can look forward to better facilities and more educational resources when they return to their Bukit Timah campus, a move scheduled for next June.

The school is presently at its temporary location in Queensway, having moved there in December 2012.

The Catholic secondary school is currently undergoing PRIME, the Education Ministry’s Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing Schools.

“With the increase in the number of classrooms, the school will be able to further customise the teaching and learning pedagogies to cater to students with differing needs and abilities, guiding them to excel academically,” said principal Mabel Leong.

Upgraded facilities include an indoor sports hall, while an

amphitheatre will allow dance, speech, drama and music performing arts groups to showcase their artistic talents.

The school held a charity gala dinner at a hotel on Aug 2 to raise funds for the upgraded school building.

Mr Lim Boon Heng, chairman of Temasek and Patron of St Gabriel’s Foundation, was guestof-honour.

Popular Taiwanese artiste Wakin Chau performed live at the event.

AES will hold a carnival in conjunction with the annual School Open House on Nov 22 at its temporary campus at 121 Queensway. Proceeds will go to the school upgrading project.

AES, formerly known as Boys’ Town English School (BTES), was founded in 1953 by the Montfort Brothers of St Gabriel. The institution is one of

Artist’s impression of the new Assumption English School.

seven schools under the St Gabriel’s Foundation, and also caters to students from disadvantaged backgrounds as well as those with special needs.

To donate to the school’s building project, you may send a cheque payable to “Assumption English School” and state “PRIME Project” behind it. For tax deductible purposes, indicate your NRIC or UEN number.

For enquiries, contact Madam Calynn Soh at aesfundraising@aes.edu.sg or 6572-9100.

Students performing at the charity gala dinner.

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Sunday September 7, 2014 „ CatholicNews

Retreat launches evangelisation course Over the National Day weekend from Aug 8-10, more than 70 people attended a retreat at 2 Highland Road to celebrate the power of the Cross in their lives.

The retreat is part of the Evangelisation and Mission course, orJDQLVHG E\ WKH 2IÂżFH IRU WKH 1HZ Evangelisation (ONE). )RU WKH ÂżUVW WLPH WKH FRXUVH was opened not only to catechists, but also to those in the RCIA ministry, Christian communities and neighbourhood groups.

Almost 40 percent of the retreatants who participated in the non stay-in retreat were non-catechists who came from parishes across all the four districts.

On Friday evening, there was the proclamation of the Kerygma.

Kerygma (from the Greek keryssein, “to proclaim�, and keryx, “herald�), refers to the initial and essential proclamation of the Gospel.

After announcing the Kerygma, participants were given time IRU UHĂ€HFWLRQ They also participated in communal prayers such as the Divine 2IÂżFH DQG WKH 6DFUDPHQW RI 5HFonciliation.

Members from the NeocateFKXPHQDO :D\ DQG WKH 6LQJDSRUH Archdiocesan Catholic CharisPDWLF 5HQHZDO 6$&&5( DOVR shared and prayed with the retreatants.

Participants of the ONE Evangelisation and Mission Retreat with Fr Erbin Fernandez (centre), Episcopal Vicar for the New Evangelisation.

The retreat concluded with a 0DVV RQ 6XQGD\ Mr Kenneth Chew, a catechist from the Church of the Holy Cross said, “For a long time I have not

felt God, but this morning I experienced that God is real and alive in my life.�

Ms Claire Yip, a youth catechist from the Church of the Na-

a long time I have not felt God, ‘For but this morning, I experienced that God is real and alive in my life.’

– Mr Kenneth Chew, catechist from the Church of the Holy Cross

tivity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Ms Catherine David, a children’s catechist from Our Lady 6WDU RI WKH 6HD &KXUFK VDLG WKH\ experienced healing.

They said they experienced a sense of inner freedom to live and love as God had intended them to.

Three follow-up sessions have been scheduled to impart the basic skills of evangelisation.

ONE will be organising more evangelisation retreats in 2015.

For more updates, visit www.one. org.sg. „

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Sunday September 7, 2014 „ CatholicNews

Coming up: Archdiocesan Catholic Family Dialogue From left to right: Daughters of St Paul Srs Jocelyn Kwek, Wendy Ooi and Aeran Kim singing onstage.

Nuns sing to raise funds for new convent

By Kathleen Sim To help raise funds for a new convent, the Daughters of St Paul KHOG WKHLU ÂżUVW IXQGUDLVLQJ HYHQW at SAFRA Toa Payoh on Aug 10.

Onstage in front of 650 guests during the lunch event, three Sisters sang and danced to We Are One, a song composed by their Superior, Sr Wendy Ooi. The song is one of 12 songs in a CD titled

Unconditional, which is on sale.

On the Daughters of St Paul’s Facebook page, the lease on their present convent at Jurong West ends in December 2015. Till then, “the lunch is only one of several activities we are initiating. There will be more exciting ones next year,� said Sr Wendy. )RU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ RQ WKH 'DXJKWHUV RI 6W 3DXO YLVLW ZZZ SDXOLQHV RUJ VJ „

The Archdiocesan Commission for the Family (ACF) is holding an Archdiocesan Catholic Family Dialogue (ACFD) which will be held on Oct 22, a public holiday, at the Catholic Junior College Performing Arts Centre.

ACF which was established in February 2014, came about after Archbishop William Goh asked the Family Life Society (FLS) board to set up a committee to lead, manage and coordinate all archdiocesan organisations in the family life apostolate.

Vicar General Msgr Ambrose Vaz is ACF’s spiritual director. “Many families are hurting.

We need to rediscover and reclaim God’s plan for our families, a plan that leads to peace, joy, hope and love that our families are meant

0DQ\ IDPLOLHV DUH KXUWLQJ ‘ :H QHHG WR UHGLVFRYHU DQG UHFODLP *RGÂśV SODQ IRU RXU IDPLOLHV D SODQ WKDW OHDGV WR SHDFH MR\ KRSH DQG ORYH WKDW RXU IDPLOLHV DUH PHDQW IRU :H KRSH PDQ\ &DWKROLFV ZLOO MRLQ XV DQG EH SDUW RI WKLV HYHQW DQG MRXUQH\ ’ – ACF chairman, John Hui

for, said ACF chairman, Mr John Hui. “We hope many Catholics will join us and be part of this event and journey.�

The dialogue hopes to explore how the Catholic Church can provide clarity, guidance and

support in a world that seeks to change the meaning and value of the family.

The programme which lasts from 8.30am-4pm, includes a Mass celebrated by Archbishop William Goh, a panel discussion, a question-and-answer session, and a performance by singer Corrine May. “As the three core areas of our work are life, marriage and the family, FLS and ACF complement each other in looking after the needs of the Catholic community, said FLS chairman John Ooi. “We see the ACFD as a good start to identifying practical means of supporting the family in these challenging times.�

Tickets are priced at $15 per SHUVRQ 7R ¿QG RXW PRUH DERXW WKH GLDORJXH DQG WR UHJLVWHU YLVLW ZZZ FDWKROLFIDPLO\ VJ GLDORJXH „

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Sunday September 7, 2014 CatholicNews

Fr Augustine Tay presiding at the Traditional Latin Mass to pray for those persecuted by extremists.

Prayers held for Iraq, Syria crises Two Church communities held a special Mass and a day of prayer in response to the crisis in the Middle East.

On Aug 18, more than 100 Catholics attended a Mass in the Extraordinary Form, or Traditional Latin Mass, at St Joseph’s Church (Victoria St).

The Mass was held to pray for the safety of Christians and others persecuted by Islamist extremists in Iraq and Syria.

Fr Augustine Tay, who is in charge of the Latin Mass community, was the celebrant.

The Mass texts spoke of a suffering Church that trusted God to come to its aid. Additional prayers were also prayed for the release of captured Christians in the affected countries.

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour parishioner Estella Young, who

attended the Mass, commented, “Although we are so far away, we must support our Christian brethren with prayer and material aid.”

Meanwhile, a day of prayer was held by the Jesuit-run Kingsmead Centre at Victoria Park Road on Aug 14.

Invitations to pray at the St Francis Xavier Chapel there was sent out to staff and friends of the centre, as well as various prayer groups of the Church of St Ignatius, located within the same compound.

The groups were invited to come at designated time slots during the day to pray. A prayer OHDÀHW ZLWK VXJJHVWLRQV IRU SUD\HU was also prepared.

According to an organiser, the response “was very spontaneous and enthusiastic, and many came to spend time with the Lord in prayer”.

People praying in the St Francis Xavier Chapel at Kingsmead Centre.

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Sunday September 7, 2014 „ CatholicNews

Students from St Anthony’s Canossian Primary and Secondary schools performing a musical called The Canossian Spirit.

Franciscan Friar John-Paul Tan blessing the primary school’s St Francis Garden.

Canossian schools mark anniversary, re-opening after upgrading

By Monica Menon Aug 15 was a long-awaited day for staff, students, alumni and stakeholders of St Anthony’s Canossian Primary and Secondary schools.

Their 135th Anniversary cum Opening Ceremony marked the RI¿FLDO RSHQLQJ RI WKH WZR LQVWLWXtions, in Bedok North, after they underwent PRIME, the Education Ministry’s Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing Schools.

The celebration also marked

the 120th year of the presence of the Canossian Sisters in Singapore.

During a Mass at the schools’ St Anthony’s Chapel, Archbishop William Goh emphasised that Catholic education must equip students with the capacity to make solid moral choices and decisions in faith, amidst growing secularism and relativism.

The schools’ motto, VIA, VERITAS, VITA – Jesus as the Way, Truth and Life – should give purpose, direction and hope to students, inspiring them to

become people of integrity and compassion, ready to serve all in society, especially the poor and underprivileged, he said.

Guest-of-honour, Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law and Education, visited the schools’ Heritage Gallery, libraries, the primary school’s St Francis Garden and the secondary school’s Black Box theatre.

In her speech later at the secondary school hall, she spoke of the support the schools could give to the Education Ministry in providing holistic and integrated education. She also highlighted that the strong presence of old girls in the teaching staff was testimony to the unique appeal of a Canossian education.

Sr Theresa Seow, Provincial Leader of the Canossian Sisters, noted in her speech that “today, we can offer new and expanded premises for sports, performing arts, ICT [Information and Communication Technology] and all

other learning experiences for our students�.

Mrs Fiona Ong Oliveiro, whose three daughters attended both schools, shared how her belief in the Canossian education never

Today, we can offer ‘new and expanded premises for sports, performing arts, ICT and all other learning experiences for our students.

’

– Sr Theresa Seow, Provincial Leader of the Canossian Sisters

once made her regret allowing her youngest daughter, who had scored well in her PSLE, to remain in the St Anthony’s Canossian family.

This was even though she was encouraged to consider other more “prestigious� options, said

Mrs Oliveiro, who is chairperson of the Parents’ Support Group at the secondary school.

Guests were then treated to a dinner theatre. Some 100 students from both schools presented a musical, The Canossian Spirit, IHDWXULQJ VLJQLÂżFDQW SHRSOH SDVW and present, who through their shared philosophy and beliefs, embodied the Canossian values.

The St Anthony’s Canossian Primary and Secondary schools had their origins in 1879 when the Portuguese Missions started a school. It was called St Anna’s 6FKRRO DQG ZDV ¿UVW ORFDWHG LQ D shop house at Middle Road.

The name was changed to St Anthony’s Boys’ and Girls’ School in 1886 as St Anthony was a favourite saint of the Portuguese.

This co-educational school later separated to become St Anthony’s Boys’ and St Anthony’s Girls’ School. Four Canossian Sisters, who arrived in 1894, took over the running of the girls’ school. „

Unveiling of the schools’ plaque by Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law and Education (third from right). Looking on are (from left), primary school principal Eugenie Tan, Ms Chua Bee Choo (acting chairperson, Canossian Schools Board of Management), Sr Cecily Pavri (Supervisor of Schools), Sr Theresa Seow (Provincial Leader of the Canossian Sisters) and secondary school principal Mak Lai Ying.

ASIA 11

Sunday September 7, 2014 „ CatholicNews

Lunchtime Masses in Changi Other Catholic Prayer Society lunchtime Masses Orchard. Grand Hyatt Hotel, 10 Scotts Road (see event board for room allocation).

Fridays: 12.40 pm, 1.20 pm.

Outram. Level 1 Auditorium, Alumni Medical Centre, 2 College Road, SGH Campus.

Wednesdays: 12.15 pm. )U 7HUHQFH 3HUHLUD FHOHEUDWLQJ WKH &DWKROLF 3UD\HU 6RFLHW\ÂśV LQDXJXUDO OXQFKWLPH 0DVV DW &KDQJL %XVLQHVV 3DUN

Catholics working in the Changi Business Park can now attend weekday lunchtime Masses just OLNH WKHLU RIÂżFH FRXQWHUSDUWV LQ other areas in Singapore.

About 110 workers attended the Catholic Prayer Society’s (CPS) inaugural lunchtime Mass, held at the business park’s UE Convention Centre’s Meeting Room on Aug 20.

In his homily, Fr Terence Pereira, the society’s spiritual director, noted that in today’s world, things are seldom fair. Some are paid more, while others less. As believers, Catholics should simply do the work they are called to do, because what matters to God in the end when we meet Him is what we, and

not what others, have done, he said.

The new lunchtime Mass at Changi was welcomed by those who attended.

It is “a good break from our busy work schedules and it allows us to praise God�, said one participant, Ms Casilda Kwok.

Another participant, Mr Lawrence Thambyiah, said he enjoys the fellowship which comes from a “smaller congregation and the warmth of the smiles from total strangers�.

The idea to have lunchtime 0DVVHV LQ &KDQJL ZDV ÂżUVW PRRWed by some members of Couples IRU &KULVW ZKR ZRUN LQ RIÂżFHV DW the Changi Business Park, and

who had previously attended CPS lunchtime Masses in the city.

Some Masses were then held from May to July to gauge the availability of venues and the response of working Catholics in the Changi area. The response was good, with attendance averaging 100 for each Mass.

The service team then decided to continue holding the lunchtime Masses.

The weekly Masses are held at 12.15pm every Wednesday and on days of obligation at the UE Convention Centre’s Meeting Room or the Auditorium. For more details, contact Irene (9690-2712) or Ode (9649-6517). „

5DIĂ€HV The 3rd Space, #B105, 18 Cross Street, China Square Central. Wednesdays: 11.30 am, 12.15 pm, 1.15 pm.

6KHQWRQ :D\ Level 2 Sectional Practice Room, Singapore Conference Hall, 7 Shenton Way. Fridays: 12.20 pm, 1.20 pm.

6XQWHF &LW\ Kids Performing Academy of the Arts, #02 5DIĂ€HV %RXOHYDUG Millenia Walk. Tuesdays: 12.15 pm, 1.15 pm.

-XURQJ (DVW Munich Room, German Centre, 25 International Business Park (check CPS website for availability).

Fridays: 12.15 pm.

Lunchtime Masses are also held on days of obligation at the same times. Visit www.cps. org.sg for more information on CPS, and http://www.cps. org.sg/centres/mass.php for updates. „

12 POPE IN KOREA

Sunday September 7, 2014 „ CatholicNews

Pope Francis makes h

He meets with various groups and stress

PDUW\UV EHDWLÀHG SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Pope

Francis placed 124 Korean martyrs on the last step toward saintKRRG LQ D EHDWLÂżFDWLRQ 0DVV RQ Aug 16 that brought elation to the 800,000 people in attendance.

The sun was searing as Bishop Francis Ahn Myong-ok of Masan, president of the commission for WKH EHDWLÂżFDWLRQ DVNHG WKH SRSH WR pronounce the martyrs blessed.

After hearing a brief collective biography of 124 of the original founders of the Korean Catholic Church, Pope Francis pronounced WKH IRUPXOD RI EHDWLÂżFDWLRQ With his words, trumpets blared and a huge swath depicting a watercolour of the newly blessed martyrs in heaven was unfurled on the side of a large building facing the square where the faithful gathered. “It was very great to see Papa Francis,â€? Ms Sophia Moon, 26, told Catholic News Service (CNS). “He was very touching to us because in Korea there have been very hard times and there were [people who became martyrs].â€?

The 124 were killed for their beliefs, setting off a 100-year period in the 18th and 19th centuries when the Korean government went after about 10,000 faithful ZKR SOHGJHG ÂżOLDO SLHW\ WR *RG

not the king of Joseon. Among this group was Paul Yun Ji-Chung, the YHU\ ÂżUVW .RUHDQ WR EH H[HFXWHG for his faith after he buried his mother using Catholic rites that completely went against the norms of the heavily Confucian society.

In his homily, the pope said, “The martyrs call out to us to put &KULVW ÂżUVW DQG WR VHH DOO HOVH LQ

‘7KH PDW\UV FDOO RXW to us to put Christ ÂżUVW DQG WR VHH DOO HOVH LQ WKLV ZRUOG LQ UHODWLRQ WR +LP DQG +LV HWHUQDO NLQJGRP

’

– Pope Francis

this world in relation to Him and His eternal kingdom. They challenge us to think about what, if anything, we ourselves would be willing to die for,� he said.

Ms Seyeon Jeong, 26, told Catholic News Service she had an 18th-century ancestor who “actuDOO\ VDFULÂżFHG KLPVHOI DV D &DWKRlicâ€? but was not among the newly blessed. “I was born a Catholic and I

have been living as a Catholic, but through this Mass I can actually realise the meaning, I mean the IXOO PHDQLQJ RI ZKDW WKH VDFULÂżFH meant here,â€? she said. “I could actually feel my ancestor’s spirit.â€?

Pope Francis credited the martyrs with showing the “importance of charity in the life of faith�, since their belief in the “equal dignity of all the baptised� led them to challenge the “rigid social structures of their day�.

Among those who attended the Mass were 400 family members of the victims of the Sewol ferry accident, which left more than 300 dead in April.

The Sewol group had been demanding that a special law be passed for an independent investigation into the accident. They were determined to remain during WKH EHDWL¿FDWLRQ 0DVV LQ KRSHV RI an encounter with the pope. After days of negotiations, the committee handling the pope’s visit granted access, and they got their wish.

Mr Kim Young-oh, father of a teenage girl who died in the capsized ferry, gave the pope a letter and the pope nodded and tucked it into his cassock. “I was really prepared to meet the pope,� said Mr Kim through an interpreter. „ CNS

3RSH )UDQFLV JLYHV WKH KRPLO\ DW WKH EHDWLÂżFDWLRQ 0DVV RI 3DXO <XQ -L FKXQJ and 123 matyred companions in Seoul, South Korea. CNS photos

Pope tells Koreans to resist materialism â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Celebrating Mass before some 50,000 people, Pope Francis prayed that Christian values overcome demoralisation in economically successful societies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The hope held out by the Gospel is the antidote to the spirit of despair that seems to grow like cancer in societies which are outwardly DIĂ&#x20AC;XHQW \HW RIWHQ H[SHULHQFH LQner sadness and emptiness,â&#x20AC;? the pope said on Aug 15 in his homily at the World Cup Stadium in Daejeon.

The pope voiced his hope that Christians in South Korea, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 13th-largest economy, might â&#x20AC;&#x153;combat the allure of a mateULDOLVP WKDW VWLĂ&#x20AC;HV DXWKHQWLF VSLULWXal and cultural values and the spirit of unbridled competition, which JHQHUDWHV VHOÂżVKQHVV DQG VWULIH´ â&#x20AC;&#x153;May they also reject inhumane economic models which create new forms of poverty and marginalise workers, and the culture of

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

the allure â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Combat of a materialism WKDW VWLĂ&#x20AC;HV DXWKHQWLF VSLULWXDO DQG FXOWXUDO YDOXHV DQG WKH VSLULW RI XQEULGOHG FRPSHWLWLRQ ZKLFK JHQHUDWHV VHOÂżVKQHVV DQG VWULIH

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope Francis

Survivors and relatives of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster attending Mass in the World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, South Korea on Aug 15.

death which devalues the image of God, the God of life, and violates the dignity of every man, woman and child,â&#x20AC;? he said.

One man, who had been preparing for two years to become a Catholic, said he had suffered deeply because his son had died in

the April Sewol ferry disaster.

He asked the pope to baptise him, and Pope Francis agreed to do so privately at the nunciature on Aug 16, before the Mass to beatify 124 Korean martyrs.

At the end of Mass, before praying the Angelus, the pope mourned those killed when the Sewol sank. â&#x20AC;&#x153;May this tragic event, which

has brought all Koreans together in JULHI FRQÂżUP WKHLU FRPPLWPHQW WR work together in solidarity for the common good,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Pope Francisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sobering words stood in contrast to the ebullience of the crowd, and of the pope himself, as he entered the stadium in an open-sided popemobile. The pope had travelled to Seoul by train instead of helicopter as originally planned.

As he entered the stadium, he was greeted by thousands of people performing the wave and holding signs of welcome, including a banner reading â&#x20AC;&#x153;we love youâ&#x20AC;? in Italian.

The day was overcast but warm and humid. Many women wore white lace veils, a tradition still widely practiced in Korea.

The pope celebrated the Mass, for the feast of the Assumption, in Latin, with the readings and responses in Korean. He delivered his homily in Italian. Â&#x201E; CNS

POPE IN KOREA 13

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

historic trip to Korea

sses peace, dialogue and evangelisation Pontiff meets laypeople, Religious, disabled KKOTTONGNAE, SOUTH KOREA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope Francis visited a set of Ko-

rean Catholic institutions exemplifying some of his highest priorities for the Church, including engagement of laypeople and dedication to the needy.

The popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aug 16 visit to the hilltop complex of the Kkottongnae community, south of Seoul, included time with disabled children and adults, speeches to members of Religious orders and lay activists, and a moment of silent prayer at a symbolic cemetery for aborted children. It took place on the third GD\ RI KLV ÂżYH GD\ YLVLW WR 6RXWK Korea. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To assist the poor is good and necessary, but it is not enough,â&#x20AC;? the pope told about 150 leaders of various Catholic lay organisations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Multiply your efforts in the area of human promotion, so that every man and every woman can know the joy which comes from the dignity of earning their daily bread and supporting their family.â&#x20AC;?

The Kkottongnae community was founded in the 1970s by Fr John Oh Woong Jin, a member of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and now operates in 10 countries

Pope Francis greets a young person during a visit to a rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities on Aug 16.

The pope prays at symbolic cemetery for aborted children in Kkottongnae, South Korea.

RXWVLGH .RUHD 7KH SRSHÂśV ÂżUVW event at the complex was a meeting with about 70 disabled adults and children, some of them in wheelchairs or hospital beds. Before going inside, he removed his shoes as a sign of respect, according to custom at the centre.

He stopped and greeted the patients one by one, embracing them or placing his hands on their heads for a blessing, and watched a brief dance performance by the children.

A small boy in a wheelchair greeted the pope with a bouquet of Ă&#x20AC;RZHUV ZKLFK WKH SRSH SODFHG DW the foot of a statue of Mary. For the rest of his visit to the rehabilitation FHQWUH KH ZRUH D QHFNODFH RI Ă&#x20AC;RZers he had been given.

Pope Francis spent the better part of an hour with the disabled, longer than planned, then visited the Garden of Aborted Children, where crosses mark the symbolic graves of the unborn. The pope prayed there

Catholics urged to dialogue with China SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Speak-

ing at the execution site of anonymous Korean martyrs, Pope Francis told Catholic bishops and young laypeople from across Asia to evangelise their continent through dialogue and openness.

But he also urged them to challenge aspects of their cultures incompatible with Christian values.

The pope spoke on Aug 17 at Haemi Castle, south of Seoul, where thousands of Catholics were imprisoned and tortured during the 19th century, and at a nearby shrine commemorating those killed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On this vast continent which is home to a great variety of cultures, the Church is called to be versatile and creative in her witness to the Gospel through dialogue and openness to all,â&#x20AC;? Pope Francis told several hundred Asian bishops, leaders of the Church in a region that is only 3 percent Catholic.

The pope then offered an example of his desired approach. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this spirit of openness to others, I earnestly hope that those countries of your continent with whom the Holy See does not yet enjoy a full relationship may not hesitate to further a dialogue for the EHQHÂżW RI DOO ´ WKH SRSH VDLG

Pope Francis baptises Mr Lee Hojin, father of a Sewol ferry victim.

His statement was obviously an overture to China, which has not had formal relations with the Vatican since shortly after the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1949 communist revolution.

It was the latest of Pope Francisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; several diplomatic gestures to Beijing since the start of his trip WR .RUHD 'XULQJ WKH SDSDO Ă&#x20AC;LJKW

from Rome on Aug 14, he sent a telegram of prayers and greetings to Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s President Xi Jinping.

Pope Francis also evoked the attitude he hoped such countries would adopt to the Church: â&#x20AC;&#x153;These Christians ... donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come to take away our identity. They bring us theirs, but want to travel with us.â&#x20AC;?

Speaking with reporters after the popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speech, Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, noted that the Vatican does not have diplomatic relations with several Asian countries, including North Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Brunei and Bhutan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This offer of the pope of dialogue is related to all these lands, and not just China, even if China is the biggest, as we know,â&#x20AC;? Fr Lombardi said.

Fittingly, Pope Francis started the day by baptising a Korean man, Mr Lee Hojin, in a brief ceremony at the nunciature in Seoul where the pope has been staying.

Mr Lee, whose son was among more than 300 people killed in the sinking of the Sewol ferry, met the pope on Aug 15 along with other family members and survivors of the disaster. He took the baptismal name of Francis. Â&#x201E; CNS

with Br Lee Gu-won, a missionary who was born without arms or legs and was abandoned at birth.

To get back on schedule, the pope cancelled a celebration of vespers with members of Religious Orders, at which he had been scheduled to read an opening greeting and a closing benediction in Korean.

But the pope urged them to reDIÂżUP WKHLU YRZV RI FKDVWLW\ SRYerty and obedience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mature and generous obedi-

ence requires that you cling in prayer to Christ who, taking the form of a servant, learned obedience through what He suffered,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are no shortcuts: God desires our hearts completely.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chastity expresses your singleminded dedication to the love of God,â&#x20AC;? the pope added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We all know what a personal and demanding commitment this entails. Temptations in this area call for humble trust in God, vigilance and perseverance.â&#x20AC;?

The popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strongest words concerned threats to the vow of poverty, as he warned against â&#x20AC;&#x153;all things which can distract you and cause bewilderment and scandal to othersâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The hypocrisy of those consecrated men and women who profess vows of poverty, yet live like the rich, wounds the souls of the faithful and harms the Church,â&#x20AC;? the pope said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Think, too, of how dangerous a temptation it is to adopt a purely functional, worldly mentality which leads to placing our hope in human means alone and destroys the witness of poverty which our Lord Jesus Christ lived and taught us.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; CNS

Korean bishops told: keep evangelisation as primary mission SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope Francis warned South Koreaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic bishops not to let their countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;prosperous, yet increasingly secularised and materialistic societyâ&#x20AC;? distract the Church from its essential duty to evangelise. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In such circumstances, it is tempting for pastoral ministers to adopt not only effective models of management, planning and organisation drawn from the business world, but also a lifestyle and mentality guided more by worldly criteria of success, and indeed power, than by the criteria which Jesus sets out in the Gospel,â&#x20AC;? the pope said on Aug 14 at the headquarters of the Catholic Bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Conference of Korea.

The pope told the bishops the life and mission of the Korean Church must be measured in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;clear light of the Gospel and its call to conversion to the person of Jesus Christ.â&#x20AC;?

7KH ÂżUVW .RUHDQ &KULVWLDQV ÂłGLG not have the temptation of clericalism, they were able to go on aloneâ&#x20AC;? to found the Church, the pope said.

The pope said the 10,000 Koreans martyred for their faith in the 18th and 19th centuries now offer an example of Christian hope to

If the face of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;&KXUFK LV ÂżUVW DQG foremost a face of love, PRUH DQG PRUH \RXQJ SHRSOH ZLOO EH GUDZQ to the heart of Jesus.

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope Francis

a â&#x20AC;&#x153;world that, for all its material prosperity, is seeking something more, something greater, someWKLQJ DXWKHQWLF DQG IXOÂżOOLQJ´ â&#x20AC;&#x153;You and your brother priests offer this hope by your mystery of VDQFWLÂżFDWLRQ ZKLFK QRW RQO\ OHDGV the faithful to the sources of grace in the liturgy and the sacraments, but also urges them to press forward in response to the upward call of God,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am convinced that if the face RI WKH &KXUFK LV ÂżUVW DQG IRUHPRVW D face of love, more and more young people will be drawn to the heart of -HVXV HYHU DĂ&#x20AC;DPH ZLWK GLYLQH ORYH in the communion of his mystical body,â&#x20AC;? the pontiff added. Â&#x201E; CNS Â&#x201E; Page 14: Pope on democracy, social justice

14 POPE IN KOREA

ASIAN YOUTH DAY

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Pope Francis arrives with South Korean President Park Geun-hye for a welcoming ceremony in the garden of the Blue House in Seoul on Aug 14.

Pope calls for peace, democracy and social justice SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope

Francis urged South Korean political and civic leaders to seek peace on their divided peninsula and strengthen their nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to democracy and social justice. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Peace is not simply the absence of war, but the work of justice,â&#x20AC;? the pope said on Aug 14 in a speech at Seoulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Blue House, WKH RIÂżFLDO UHVLGHQFH RI 3UHVLGHQW Park Geun-hye.

Addressing some 200 governPHQW RIÂżFLDOV 3RSH )UDQFLV QRWHG that the country, divided between North and South since the end of the Korean War in 1953, â&#x20AC;&#x153;has long suffered because of a lack of peaceâ&#x20AC;?, and he praised â&#x20AC;&#x153;efforts being made in favor of reconciliation and stabilityâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Koreaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quest for peace is a cause close to our hearts, for it affects the stability of the entire area,â&#x20AC;? the pope said.

He told diplomats in the audience, who included envoys of other Asian countries, that they faced the â&#x20AC;&#x153;perennial challenge of breaking down the walls of distrust and hatred by promoting a culture of reconciliation and solidarityâ&#x20AC;?.

That task, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;demands that we not forget past injustices but overcome them through forgiveness, tolerance and cooperationâ&#x20AC;?.

In his speech to the South Korean authorities, the pope noted some

of their countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s domestic problems, including â&#x20AC;&#x153;political divisions, economic inequities and concerns about the responsible stewardship of the natural environmentâ&#x20AC;?.

Addressing such challenges, he said, requires that the â&#x20AC;&#x153;voice of every member of society be heard, and that a spirit of open communication, dialogue and cooperation be fosteredâ&#x20AC;?.

The pope urged the leaders to show â&#x20AC;&#x153;special concernâ&#x20AC;? for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;poor, the vulnerable and those

The pope said that a spirit of open communication, dialogue and cooperation should be fostered. who have no voice, not only by meeting their immediate needs but also by assisting them in their human and cultural advancementâ&#x20AC;?.

He said South Korea, should be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;leader also in the globalisation of solidarity which is so necessary today: one which looks to the integral development of every member of our human familyâ&#x20AC;?. Â&#x201E; CNS Â&#x201E; Page 20: Former comfort woman feels impact of her meeting with pope

An honour guard marches in advance of Pope Francisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; arrival at the welcoming ceremony.

Young people pray as Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass of the sixth Asian Youth Day at Haemi Castle in Haemi, South Korea, on Aug 17.

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Pope tells young A to Christ in all asp SEOSAN, SOUTH KOREA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope

Francis told young Asian Catholic leaders to witness to Christ in everything they do.

The pontiff celebrated the closing Mass for the Asian Youth Day on Aug 17 at an altar made up of 16 wooden crosses that locked together like wooden blocks and were decorated by the youth.

During his homily on the muddy grounds of Haemi Fortress, Pope Francis urged more than 40,000 people â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including young Catholic leaders from 22 Asian countries â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to ÂłUHĂ&#x20AC;HFW *RGÂśV ORYH´ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do not be afraid to bring the wis-

dom of faith to every aspect of social life,â&#x20AC;? the pontiff said. He also urged them to discern â&#x20AC;&#x153;what is incompatible with your Catholic faith ... and what aspects of contemporary culture are sinful, corrupt and lead to deathâ&#x20AC;?.

Young people are always choosing their social lives over other things, and this makes it complicated to â&#x20AC;&#x153;grow up in their faith alsoâ&#x20AC;?, said Ms Montira Hokjareon, a youth coordinator in Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Udon Thani Diocese.

She said it was especially hard for young Thai Catholics to practise their faith in a predominantly Buddhist country where less than half of 1 percent of the population is Catholic.

Asians may â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Theanyoung extraordinary mo

and they also may have of courage and hope f

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bishop Peter K Catho

Pope Francis emphasised the theme of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gathering, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Asian Youth Wake Up, the Glory of the Martyrs Shines on You.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no good when I see young people who sleep,â&#x20AC;? said the pontiff.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;N

yo er or ria

Pontiff says forgiveness key t SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ad-

dressing young people from Korea and other Asian countries on their concerns about the future, Pope Francis said the best hope for reunification of the divided Korean peninsula lay in brotherly love and a spirit of forgiveness. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You are brothers who speak the same language,â&#x20AC;? the pope said on Aug 15. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you speak the same language in a family, there is also a human hope.â&#x20AC;?

The popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remarks came in response to a question from a young Korean woman, Ms Marina Park, attending an Asian Youth Day gathering in Solmoe.

At the gathering, Pope Francis went off script and gave up several hours of his time to about 6,000 young people from 30 Asian coun-

tries.

Ms Park asked the pope how young South Korean Catholics should view communist North Korea after six decades of â&#x20AC;&#x153;reciprocal hatredâ&#x20AC;? between the two countries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Are there two Koreas?â&#x20AC;? Pope Francis asked in response. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, there is one, but it is divided, the family is divided.â&#x20AC;?

7R SURPRWH UHXQLÂżFDWLRQ WKH pope said he had one piece of advice to offer and one reason for hope. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My advice is to pray, pray for our brothers in the North,â&#x20AC;? he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;that there might not be victors and defeated, only one family.â&#x20AC;?

He then led the audience of some 6,000 people in silent prayer IRU .RUHDQ UHXQLÂżFDWLRQ To illustrate his reason for hope, Pope Francis cited the Gos-

Young women wait for Pope Francis to arr the sixth Asian Youth Day.

pel parable of the prodigal son, a familiar reference in his preaching.

The prodigal sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father em-

br dia he

ASIAN YOUTH DAY 15

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

CNS photos

Youth delegates from Hong Kong hold banners bearing the Asian Youth Day theme in Dangjin, South Korea, on Aug 15.

Asians to witness pects of life

may have experienced moment of grace, ave acquired the seed pe for their future.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

ter Kang U-il of Jeju, president of the Catholic Bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Conference of Korea

â&#x20AC;&#x153;No. Wake up! Go! Go!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;As young Christians, whether you are workers or students, whether you have already begun a career or have answered the call to marriage, Religious life or the priest-

hood, you are not only a part of the future of the Church, you are also a necessary and beloved part of the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s present,â&#x20AC;? he said.

He told young Asians to build â&#x20AC;&#x153;a Church which loves and worships God by seeking to serve the poor, WKH ORQHO\ WKH LQÂżUP DQG WKH PDUginalisedâ&#x20AC;?.

Bishop Peter Kang U-il of Jeju, president of the Catholic Bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Conference of Korea, noted that WKLV ZDV WKH ÂżUVW $VLDQ <RXWK 'D\ attended by a pope. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The young Asians may have experienced an extraordinary moment of grace, and they also may

have acquired the seed of courage and hope for their future,â&#x20AC;? he told Pope Francis at the Mass.

The three characteristics the SRSH LGHQWLÂżHG IRU WKH &KXUFK LQ Asia are â&#x20AC;&#x153;holier, more missionary and humbler,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those are words I would carry with me and also with my work in the Church.â&#x20AC;?

A day before the closing Mass, 3RSH )UDQFLV EHDWLÂżHG RI WKH founders of the Korean Catholic Church, moving them a step closer to sainthood.

Organisers announced that Indonesia would host the 2017 Asian Youth Day. Â&#x201E; CNS

to reconciling divided Korea

o arrive to celebrate the closing Mass of

braced his repentant son immediately, â&#x20AC;&#x153;he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let him speak, he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even let him ask for par-

donâ&#x20AC;?, the pope said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He celebrated.â&#x20AC;?

He added that â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can do very ugly things, but please donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t despair,â&#x20AC;? as â&#x20AC;&#x153;there is always the Father who waits for us.â&#x20AC;?

He also answered the question of a young Cambodian woman, Ms Leap Lakaraksmey, who said she was trying to choose between entering Religious life and continuing her university studies in order to help the poor in her native village. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When the Lord calls, He always calls us to do good for others,â&#x20AC;? the pope said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But you shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t choose. The Lord chooses. You have to ask: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lord, what should I do?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

The pope appeared at the Solmoe event that day, after a lunch with Asian Youth Day partici-

pants from various countries and a visit to the reconstructed birthSODFH RI 6W $QGUHZ .LP WKH ÂżUVW native-born Korean priest, who was martyred in 1846 at the age of 25.

On his way into the tent set up for his meeting with young people, the pope was greeted with cheers and outstretched hands, many holding tablets and cell phone cameras.

Before stepping up to the stage, he stopped and allowed one member of the audience to attach a yellowribbon pin to his cassock.

The pin has been adopted by family members of those killed in the April sinking of the Sewol ferry, some of whom the pope met earlier in the day, who are pressing the South Korean government to appoint an independent investigation of the disaster. Â&#x201E; CNS

Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass of the sixth Asian Youth Day.

Asian youths inspired after popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit

A young woman smiles as she waits for Pope Francisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; arrival for the closing Mass.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;After this event, my faith will be stronger.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

really made â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;myHeday, he really made my life.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;He said we have the

[The pope] â&#x20AC;&#x2DC; said to wake up

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Duc Dinh Nguyen, 28, from Vietnam

same language, and language has the power [to change the problems] we have in our divided nation.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Lauren Kim, 19, from South Korea

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Alexander John, 27, from Pakistan

and a lot of people can come together, and we could be one nation.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Michael Hwang, 17, from South Korea

16 WORLD

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Cardinal tells pope about the hopes and trials of the displaced in Iraq VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Cardinal Fernan-

do Filoni said Pope Francis â&#x20AC;&#x153;was really takenâ&#x20AC;? by the cardinalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s description of Christians and other minorities forced from their homes in northwestern Iraq by militias belonging to the Islamic State terrorist group.

The pope met Cardinal Filoni early Aug 21, the morning after the cardinal returned to the Vatican following an Aug 13-20 visit to Iraq as the popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s envoy to besieged minorities there. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was very attentive,â&#x20AC;? the cardinal said of the pope, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and he let me speak at length. He took to heart all the situations I spoke about: the expectations of our Christians and their worries, as well as the approach taken by the local churchesâ&#x20AC;?.

Cardinal Filoni, a former Vatican nuncio to Iraq and current prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, spoke to Vatican Radio after his meeting with Pope Francis.

The cardinal was able to meet with the displaced on the lawns of churches, inside church buildings and schools, and in the camps where they have received initial assistance. He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have to realise that this is the warmest period of the year,â&#x20AC;? when temperatures regularly exceed 43 degrees celsius, so shade and water are extremely important.

Once the immediate needs are met, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;everyone asks: How long will this go on? What awaits them?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The most vivid images that will stay with me are of those people who have lost everythingâ&#x20AC;? yet count themselves lucky if no one in their immediate family was killed by the Islamic State forces, he said.

Most of the members of the minority Yezidi religious community were not so fortunate, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This was agonising. Their faces were blank.â&#x20AC;? They had seen

Muslim leaders explain Islamic extremism JAKARTA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; In light of the rise in

Islamic extremism in Indonesia and with fears of a Caliphate, the Indonesian Church launched an initiative aimed at a better understanding the jihadist phenomenon and its possible repercussions.

On Aug 22, the Catholic Bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Conference (KWI) sponsored a seminar, open to bishops, priests, and nuns as well as lay Catholics and Protestants. Organised by the Episcopal Commission for the Laity and held at the KWI headquarters in Central Jakarta, it also saw the participation of three leading 0XVOLP ÂżJXUHV One of them was Prof Irfan Idris, head of the Department of Counterterrorism in charge of radical movements, who highlighted the role played by â&#x20AC;&#x153;social injustice, poverty, and political vendettasâ&#x20AC;?, stressing the importance of breathing new life into the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core values (Pancasila) based on pluralism and religious freedom.

The expert said that he hopes to see a law that would strip Indonesians of their citizenship if they pledge allegiance to foreign groups or authorities.

Mr Ihsan Ali-Fauzi, a lecturer at Paramadina Islamic University in South Jakarta where he teaches a course on Religion and Democ-

racy, warned that discourses that feed hatred are an example of how â&#x20AC;&#x153;political Islamâ&#x20AC;? is boosted through propaganda in mosques and by religious radicals. Hence, he wants better laws to ensure that police has the authority to counter the slide towards violence.

For Mr Abdul Moqsith Ghazali, from the Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah in South

Prof Irfan Idris, hopes to see a law that would strip Indonesians of their citizenship if they pledge allegiance to foreign groups or authorities.

Tangerang (Banten province), Islamic fundamentalism â&#x20AC;&#x153;is notâ&#x20AC;? a new phenomenon, but has been present from the earliest times following the death of Prophet Mohammad.

He also noted that radical Islam has many faces: al Qaeda, Wahhabism, the Islamic State.

Indonesia, he explained, imported both extremist as well as conciliatory views of the Muslim religion. Â&#x201E; ASIANEWS.COM

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many of the men in their villages murdered and many of the women â&#x20AC;&#x153;kidnapped, raped and soldâ&#x20AC;?.

Cardinal Filoni told Vatican Radio his hope â&#x20AC;&#x153;is the hope of these peopleâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that they can return home with some form of internationally guaranteed â&#x20AC;&#x153;security cordonâ&#x20AC;? around their villages.

Cardinal Filoni has been talking about his trip with Vatican Radio each day. He spent Aug

15 with displaced Christians in a camp in Duhok and meeting Yezidi community leaders.

The Yezidi community is â&#x20AC;&#x153;suffering terribly because of the deaths they have had, the kidnapping of their women and their houses being stolen. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where to goâ&#x20AC;?, the cardinal said.

Chaldean Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona of Mosul, Iraq, told Vatican Radio the Islamic

State militants â&#x20AC;&#x153;think that anyone who is different from them does not deserve to liveâ&#x20AC;?, which is why, under the threat of violence, they tell Christians and Yezidis to FRQYHUW RU Ă&#x20AC;HH â&#x20AC;&#x153;They [militants] represent a great threat to humanity,â&#x20AC;? the archbishop said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These groups donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just want to conquer a piece of territory and stay there. Their objective is the whole world.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; CNS

Indian Church supports govt initiatives NEW DELHI, INDIA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The presi-

dent of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic bishops Cardinal Baselios Cleemis (Isaac) Thottunkal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pledging the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support for government education, health care and antipoverty programmes.

The Indian Church extended its support to Mr Modi for his agenda of good governance and appealed to all Indians to set aside their religious differences for development, Cardinal Thottunkal, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday, a day after his meeting with Mr Modi.

The cardinal said his 22-min-

ute meeting with Mr Modi, was â&#x20AC;&#x153;very cordial and a proper conversationâ&#x20AC;?.

Mr Modi, who came to power in May in a landslide Bharatiya Janata Party election victory, was earlier seen as a Hindu hardliner, who supported making India a Hindu nation. He also was accused of tacitly supporting violence against Christians and Muslims. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I assured the prime minister of the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support in three areas of governance: education, healthcare and eradication of poverty from rural areas,â&#x20AC;? Cardinal Thottunkal told ucanews.com.

The cardinal added that Mr Modi was aware of the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

role in rebuilding earthquakehit villages in his home state of Gujarat. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was aware of the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work and in fact offered praise for the work,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The cardinal presented Mr Modi with a plaque depicting the Last Supper. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He happily accepted the gift,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The cardinal also suggested to the prime minister that he develop stronger economic assistance programs for Dalit Christians, the poorest among Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ChrisWLDQV &RQVWLWXWLRQDO EHQHÂżWV such as quotas in jobs, college admissions and state-sponsored welfare, are denied to them. Â&#x201E; UCANEWS.COM

Kachin bishops call for end to civil war MANDALAY, MYANMAR â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Three

bishops in Myanmar issued a statement on Aug 15 calling for an end to civil war in Kachin and Shan states. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We strongly urge the parties to return to meaningful political talks under the supervision of the international community,â&#x20AC;? said the statement signed by Bishops Raymond Sumlut Gam and Francis Daw Tang in Kachin state and Bishop Philip Zahawng in Shan state.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hope this will chart a roadmap for a true federal solution. Ending this war with dignity is a must for the future of all people living in Kachin and Shan areas and all the people of Myanmar. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Peace based on justice is the only way forward for all of us.

The Church prays for durable peace and assures all that it will work with all sections of Myanmar society to achieve that much desired goal.â&#x20AC;?

Church leaders in the country rarely speak out about Myanmarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PDQ\ LQVXUJHQW FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFWV IRU IHDU of retribution from a regime that, until recently, demonstrated a low tolerance for dissent of any kind. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We call on the concerned parties to bring about a genuine, durable peace in the region,â&#x20AC;? said Bishop Sumlut Gam. More than 120,000 people have been displaced since June 2011. Â&#x201E; UCANEWS.COM

WORLD

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Catholics pray, try to come to terms with Ferguson tragedy ST LOUIS, MISSOURI, USA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Res-

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Above: Protesters raise their hands during a demonstration. Right: Fr Rosebrough prays during a service for Michael Brown. CNS photos

just have to put â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We it in Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hands, and He will heal us.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ms Cathy Cunningham, a member of a church near Ferguson

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17

18 WORLD

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Pope phones family of slain US journalist VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3RSH )UDQFLV

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Church organisations warn of funding for such research WASHINGTON â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7KH $/6 ,FH

US journalist James Foley is seen in Tripoli, Libya, in 2011. He was killed on Aug 19 by Islamic State militants in Syria. CNS photo

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Pope prays for peace on Ukraineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Independence Day

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Ice bucket challenge sparks embryonic stem-cell concerns

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Two educators from a Catholic high school seen taking part in the ice bucket challenge. Proceeds were donated to the John Paul II Medical Research Institute in Iowa City, Iowa, which sponsors ALS research without using embryonic stem cells. CNS photo

that donations â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ensure from participation are being utilised to support morally licit research.

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Statement from the Archdiocese of St Louis

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POPE FRANCIS 19

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Pope talks about Iraq, health, US visit ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM SEOUL â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope Francis

said the use of force can be jusWL¿HG WR VWRS ³XQMXVW DJJUHVVRUV´ such as Islamic State militants in northeastern Iraq, but he declined to endorse US military airstrikes DJDLQVW WKH PLOLWDQWV DQG VDLG such humanitarian interventions should not be decided on by any VLQJOH FRXQWU\ The pope also said he was ZLOOLQJ WR WUDYHO WR WKH ZDU ]RQH LI QHFHVVDU\ WR VWRS WKH YLROHQFH Pope Francis made his rePDUNV RQ $XJ GXULQJ DQ KRXUORQJ LQÃ&#x20AC;LJKW QHZV FRQIHUHQFH RQ KLV ZD\ EDFN IURP 6RXWK .RUHD In response to other questions, WKH SRSH DFNQRZOHGJHG D QHHG WR OLJKWHQ KLV ZRUN VFKHGXOH IRU the sake of his health and said he PLJKW PDNH D FRPELQHG YLVLW WR WKH 86 DQG 0H[LFR LQ When a reporter on the plane asked Pope Francis whether he DSSURYHG RI WKH DLUVWULNHV DJDLQVW the Islamic State, he replied: ³,Q WKHVH FDVHV ZKHUH WKHUH LV XQMXVW DJJUHVVLRQ , FDQ RQO\ VD\ that it is licit to stop the unjust DJJUHVVRU , XQGHUVFRUH WKH YHUE â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;stopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;; I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say bomb, make ZDU ± VWRS KLP 7KH PHDQV E\ which he may be stopped should EH HYDOXDWHG ³7R VWRS WKH XQMXVW DJJUHVVRU is licit, but we nevertheless need to remember how many times, XVLQJ WKLV H[FXVH RI VWRSSLQJ DQ XQMXVW DJJUHVVRU WKH SRZHUIXO QDtions have dominated other peoSOHV PDGH D UHDO ZDU RI FRQTXHVW ³$ VLQJOH QDWLRQ FDQQRW MXGJH how to stop this, how to stop an XQMXVW DJJUHVVRU $IWHU WKH 6HFRQG World War, there arose the idea of WKH 8QLWHG 1DWLRQV 7KDW LV ZKHUH we should discuss: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Is there an unMXVW DJJUHVVRU" ,W VHHPV WKHUH LV +RZ GR ZH VWRS KLP"¶ %XW RQO\ WKDW QRWKLQJ PRUH ´ The pope said his recent apSHDO WR WKH 81 WR ³WDNH DFWLRQ WR HQG WKH KXPDQLWDULDQ WUDJHG\ QRZ XQGHUZD\ LQ ,UDT´ ZDV RQH RI D series of measures he had considHUHG ZLWK 9DWLFDQ RI¿FLDOV LQFOXGLQJ KLV GHFLVLRQ WR VHQG &DUGLQDO )HUQDQGR )LORQL WR WKH UHJLRQ WR PHHW ZLWK FKXUFK DQG JRYHUQPHQW RI¿FLDOV DQG UHIXJHHV ³,Q WKH HQG ZH VDLG VKRXOG LW EH QHFHVVDU\ ZKHQ ZH JHW EDFN IURP .RUHD , FDQ JR WKHUH ´ KH VDLG ³$W WKLV PRPHQW LW LV QRW WKH EHVW WKLQJ WR GR EXW , DP ZLOOLQJ ´ $VNHG ZKHWKHU KH ZDV NHHSLQJ an excessively busy schedule, the SRSH DGPLWWHG WKDW ³RQH RI P\ QHXroses is that I am too attached to P\ KDELWDW´ VR KH KDV QRW WDNHQ DQ RXW RI WRZQ YDFDWLRQ VLQFH 7KH SRSH VDLG KH UHJXODUO\ takes the equivalent of a vacaWLRQ KRZHYHU E\ WDNLQJ LW HDVLHU DW KRPH ³, FKDQJH SDFH , UHDG WKLQJV

Pope thanks people for prayers for his family VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope Francis,

3RSH )UDQFLV VSHDNV WR MRXUQDOLVWV DERDUG WKH SDSDO Ã&#x20AC;LJKW IURP 6HRXO WR 5RPH RQ $XJ CNS photo

cases where there is unjust aggression, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In theseI can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor. I underscore the verb â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;stopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;; I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say bomb, make war â&#x20AC;&#x201C; stop him.

The means by which he may be stopped should be evaluated.

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

I like, I listen to music, I pray PRUH DQG WKDW PDNHV PH UHVWHG ´ The pope showed little conFHUQ IRU KLV ORQJHYLW\ KRZHYHU SUHGLFWLQJ ZLWK D ODXJK WKDW KLV SRQWL¿FDWH ZRXOG ODVW ³WZR RU three years, and then to the house RI WKH )DWKHU´ Asked about other possible IRUHLJQ WUDYHO EHVLGHV RI¿FLDOO\ announced trips to Albania in September and Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January, Pope Francis said he had received invitations to Spain and Japan but that QRWKLQJ KDG EHHQ GHFLGHG \HW 7KH SRSH VDLG KH ZRXOG JODGO\

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pope Francis

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LQ PRXUQLQJ IRU WKH GHDWKV RI his nephewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife and two small children, thanked people at his ZHHNO\ JHQHUDO DXGLHQFH RQ $XJ IRU WKHLU SUD\HUV After each of the priests who translated the popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s words offered him condolences for the WUDJHG\ WKDW VWUXFN KLV IDPily, Pope Francis explained to WKH SHRSOH ³7KH SRSH KDV D IDPLO\ WRR :H ZHUH ¿YH VLEOLQJV DQG , KDYH QLHFHV DQG QHSKHZV 2QH RI WKHVH QHSKHZV ZDV LQ DQ DFFLGHQW +LV ZLIH GLHG DORQJ ZLWK KLV WZR VPDOO FKLOGUHQ ´ 2Q $XJ 3RSH )UDQFLV had asked people to join him in prayer after he learned that two RI KLV OLWWOH JUHDW QHSKHZV $QWRQLR %HUJRJOLR PRQWKV DQG -RVHSK %HUJRJOLR DQG WKHLU PRWKHU 9DOHULD &DUPRQD KDG GLHG LQ D FDU FUDVK LQ $UJHQWLQD $FFRUGLQJ WR $UJHQWLQH QHZV reports, the crash happened in the HDUO\ KRXUV RI WKH PRUQLQJ RQ WKH KLJKZD\ EHWZHHQ 5RVDULR DQG &RUGRED The pope said that after the DFFLGHQW KLV \HDU ROG QHSKHZ 0U (PDQXHO +RUDFLR %HUJRJOLR ³LV LQ FULWLFDO FRQGLWLRQ ULJKW QRZ I thank you, I thank you very much, for your condolences and SUD\HUV´ $UJHQWLQH QHZV DOVR UHSRUWHG WKDW 0U %HUJRJOLR XQGHUZHQW HPHUJHQF\ VXUJHU\ DQG ZDV RQ D UHVSLUDWRU Â&#x201E; CNS

20 OPINION

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Fortnightly newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore

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Telephone: 6858 3055. Fax: 6858 2055.

Website: www.catholicnews.sg Facebook: www.facebook.com/catholicnews MANAGING EDITOR: Father Richards Ambrose: ra@catholic.org.sg

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3OHDVH LQFOXGH \RXU IXOO QDPH DGGUHVV DQG phone no. for all letters to the editor. $OO GHFLVLRQV RQ VXEPLVVLRQV UHVW ZLWK WKH &DWKROLF1HZV Published submissions will be edited.

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Former â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;comfort womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; feels impact of meeting with pope SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A day

after Pope Francis left South KoUHD D IRUPHU VH[ VODYH ZKR VSHQW a few minutes with the pontiff said she still felt the impact of their meeting. ,Q DQ LQWHUYLHZ ZLWK &DWKROLF 1HZV 6HUYLFH 0V .LP %RN GRQJ VDLG WKURXJK DQ LQWHUpreter she told Pope Francis that VKH ZLVKHG IRU ³D ZRUOG ZLWKRXW ZDU´ $QG WKHQ VKH DVNHG KLP WR XUJH WKH -DSDQHVH JRYHUQPHQW ³µ3OHDVH DSRORJLVH WR WKH YLFtims and then resolve the comfort ZRPHQ LVVXHV ¶´ ³$QG WKHQ , ZLOO Ã&#x20AC;\ OLNH D EXWWHUÃ&#x20AC;\ ´ VDLG 0V .LP ZKR QRZ lives in a womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shelter in Seoul.

She was among seven former ³FRPIRUW ZRPHQ´ ZKR KDG D SULvate audience with Pope Francis EHIRUH KLV ¿QDO 0DVV GXULQJ KLV last day in South Korea on Aug 7KH ZRPHQ ZHUH IRUFHG LQWR SURVWLWXWLRQ E\ WKH -DSDQHVH LQ WKH years leading up to World War II and also throughout the war.

She gave Pope Francis a goldFRORXUHG PHWDO EXWWHUÃ&#x20AC;\ SLQ DQG he promptly pinned it above his left breast and kept it there WKURXJKRXW WKH 0DVV 7KH SLQ LV a symbol of the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s call for justice.

She also said she told the pope that she wished the Korean SHQLQVXOD ZRXOG EH ³D SHDFHIXO QDWLRQ´ EHFDXVH LI WKHUH LV QR ZDU WKHUH ZLOO EH QR FKDQFH IRU women to end up like she did. :KHQ VKH ZDV .LP ZKR grew up in a farming family near %XVDQ ZDV IRUFHG WR ZRUN IRU WKH -DSDQHVH PLOLWDU\ 6KH VDLG her family was threatened with being banished if she did not go into their service. She was a sex VODYH IRU HLJKW \HDUV DQG VKH never married because she said KHU ERG\ ³ZDV UXLQHG´ DIWHU ZKDW happened. Instead she worked her way up from being a waitress to restaurant owner when she was LQ KHU HDUO\ V 7KH ¿UVW ZRPDQ WR FRPH RXW publicly about being a sex slave JDYH 0V .LP FRXUDJH WR GR WKH

Ms Kim Bok-dong, 88, poses for a photo in her room at a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shelter for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;comfort womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug 19. CNS photo

Kim told Pope Francis that she wished for a world without war.

VDPH DQG VKH KDV EHHQ D YRFDO activist ever since.

6KH KDV FRPSDUHG KHU ³SDLQIXO OLIH´ WR WKDW RI D FDWHUSLOODU LQ a cocoon waiting out the long period before it can break through LWV VKHOO DQG Ã&#x20AC;\ DZD\ She said the pope encourDJHG KHU WR NHHS XS WKH ¿JKW DQG VKH IHOW ³YHU\ WKDQNIXO´ DQG ZDV ³GHHSO\ WRXFKHG DQG YHU\ LPSUHVVHG´ E\ KLP 6KH DGGHG VKH felt comforted by his embrace. )RU QHDUO\ \HDUV .RUHD¶V IRUPHU ³FRPIRUW ZRPHQ´ KDYH been demanding reparations from WKH -DSDQHVH JRYHUQPHQW KROGing protests every Wednesday in IURQW RI WKH -DSDQHVH (PEDVV\

,Q WKH -DSDQHVH JRYernment acknowledged military involvement in carrying out a V\VWHP RI SURVWLWXWLRQ EXW LW GLG not admit complicity in the system. The government created a womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s compensation fund that was funded by private entities DQG FDXVHG FRQWURYHUV\ EHFDXVH some in government felt it was unnecessary while the women felt the government skirted its responsibility.

According to a womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advocacy organisation in South KoUHD IRUPHU FRPIRUW ZRPHQ remain in South Korea. It said PRUH WKDQ .RUHDQ ZRPHQ RI¿FLDOO\ UHJLVWHUHG ZLWK WKH JRYHUQPHQW DOWKRXJK LW HVWLPDWHV XS WR $VLDQ ZRPHQ ZHUH -DSDQHVH VH[ VODYHV Women from several other countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia also were forced into prostitution during World War II. Â&#x201E; CNS

Walking on water and sinking like a stone FAITH isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t something you ever simply achieve. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not something that you ever nail down as a fait accompli. Faith works this way: Some days you walk on water and other days you sink like a stone.

Faith invariably gives way to doubt before it again UHFRYHUV LWV FRQ¿GHQFH WKHQ LW ORVHV LW DJDLQ We see this graphically illustrated in the famous story in the Gospels of Peter walking on water. The story goes this way: The disciples had just witnessed D PDMRU PLUDFOH -HVXV IHHGLQJ PRUH WKDQ SHRSOH ZLWK ¿YH ORDYHV RI EUHDG DQG WZR ¿VKHV +DYLQJ MXVW ZLWQHVVHG D PLUDFOH WKHLU IDLWK ZDV VWURQJ 6RRQ DIWHUZDUGV WKH\ JHW LQWR D ERDW WR FURVV D ODNH -HVXV LV QRW ZLWK WKHP $ IHZ PLOHV RXW WKH\ UXQ LQWR D ¿HUFH VWRUP DQG EHJLQ WR SDQLF -HVXV FRPHV walking towards them on the water.

Initially theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re frightened and take him for a ghost. But he calms WKHLU IHDU E\ WHOOLQJ WKHP ULJKW IURP WKH FHQWHU RI WKH VWRUP WKDW KH LV QRW MXVW -HVXV EXW WKDW KH LV *RG¶V YHU\ SUHVHQFH 3HWHU LV LPPHGLDWHO\ EXR\HG XS LQ KLV IDLWK DQG DVNV -HVXV WR OHW KLP WRR ZDON RQ WKH ZDWHU -HVXV LQYLWHV KLP WR GR VR DQG 3HWHU JHWV RXW RI WKH ERDW FRQ¿GHQWO\ DQG EHJLQV WR ZDON RQ WKH ZDWHU %XW WKHQ UHDOLVLQJ ZKDW KH ZDV GRLQJ DQG WKH LQFUHGXORXV QDWXUH RI LW KH LPPHGLDWHO\ VWDUWV WR VLQN FULHV RXW IRU KHOS DQG -HVXV KDV WR reach out and rescue him from drowning.

What we see illustrated here are two things that lie at the heart of RXU H[SHULHQFH RI IDLWK QDPHO\ WKDW IDLWK OLWHUDOO\ KDV LWV XSV DQG downs and that it works best when we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t confuse it with our own powers. )DLWK KDV LWV XSV DQG GRZQV :H VHH WKLV DOPRVW SLFWRULDOO\ LOOXVWUDWHG LQ WKH LQFLGHQW RI 3HWHU ZDONLQJ RQ WKH ZDWHU ,QLWLDOO\ KLV IDLWK IHHOV VWURQJ DQG KH FRQ¿GHQWO\ VWHSV RQWR WKH VHD DQG EHJLQV WR ZDON %XW DOPRVW LPPHGLDWHO\ XSRQ UHDOLVLQJ ZKDW KH ZDV GRLQJ KH VWDUWV WR VLQN 2XU RZQ IDLWK ZRUNV H[DFWO\ OLNH WKDW DW WLPHV LW OHWV XV ZDON RQ water and at other times we sink like a stone. The Gospel-image of Peter walking on the sea speaks for itself.

However if we feel discouraged because our faith vacillates in this ZD\ ZH FDQ WDNH FRQVRODWLRQ IURP WKHVH ZRUGV IURP &KULVWLDQ P\VWLF -XOLDQ RI 1RUZLFK 'HVFULELQJ RQH RI KHU YLVLRQV VKH ZULWHV ³$IWHU WKLV +H >-HVXV@ showed a most excellent spiritual pleasure in my soul: I was completeO\ ¿OOHG ZLWK HYHUODVWLQJ FHUWDLQW\ SRZHUIXOO\ VXVWDLQHG ZLWKRXW DQ\ painful fear. ³7KLV IHHOLQJ ZDV VR MR\IXO DQG VR VSLULWXDO WKDW , ZDV ZKROO\ LQ peace and in repose and there was nothing on earth that would have grieved me. ³7KLV ODVWHG RQO\ D ZKLOH DQG , ZDV FKDQJHG DQG OHIW WR P\VHOI LQ VXFK VDGQHVV DQG ZHDULQHVV RI P\ OLIH DQG DQQR\DQFH ZLWK P\VHOI WKDW scarcely was I able to have patience to live. â&#x20AC;¦ And immediately after WKLV RXU %OHVVHG /RUG JDYH PH DJDLQ WKH FRPIRUW DQG WKH UHVW LQ P\ VRXO LQ GHOLJKW DQG LQ VHFXULW\ VR EOLVVIXO DQG VR SRZHUIXO WKDW QR IHDU QR VRUURZ QR ERGLO\ SDLQ WKDW FRXOG EH VXIIHUHG ZRXOG KDYH GLVWUHVVHG me. ³$QG WKHQ SDLQ VKRZHG DJDLQ WR P\ IHHOLQJ DQG WKHQ WKH MR\ DQG GHOLJKW DQG QRZ WKH RQH DQG QRZ WKH RWKHU YDULRXV WLPHV ´ 6KRZLQJV

-XOLDQ RI 1RUZLFK ZLWK DQ H[FHSWLRQDO IDLWK DQG \HW OLNH 3HWHU VKH too vacillated between walking on water and sinking like a stone. Her FRQ¿GHQW IHHOLQJV FDPH ± EXW WKH\ DOVR OHIW $V ZHOO IDLWK ZRUNV EHVW ZKHQ ZH GRQ¶W FRQIXVH LW ZLWK RXU RZQ HIIRUWV )RU H[DPSOH %ULWLVK KLVWRULDQ DQG WKHRORJLDQ 'RQDOG 1LFKROO LQ KLV ERRN +ROLQHVV VKDUHV D VWRU\ RI D %ULWLVK PLVVLRQDU\ ZRUNLQJ in Africa. $W RQH SRLQW HDUO\ RQ LQ KLV VWD\ WKHUH WKH PLVVLRQDU\ ZDV FDOOHG upon to mediate a dispute between two tribes. He had no preparation IRU WKLV ZDV QDwYH DQG WRWDOO\ RXW RI KLV GHSWK %XW KH JDYH KLPVHOI RYHU WR WKH WDVN LQ IDLWK DQG VXUSULVLQJO\ UHFRQFLOHG WKH WZR WULEHV $IWHUZDUGV EXR\HG E\ WKLV VXFFHVV KH EHJDQ WR IDQF\ KLPVHOI DV mediator and began to present himself as an arbiter of disputes. But QRZ KRZHYHU KLV HIIRUWV ZHUH LQYDULDEO\ XQKHOSIXO +HUH¶V WKH LURQ\ ZKHQ KH GLGQ¶W NQRZ ZKDW KH ZDV GRLQJ EXW WUXVWHG VROHO\ LQ *RG KH ZDV DEOH WR ZDON RQ ZDWHU DV VRRQ DV KH EHJDQ WR ZUDS KLPVHOI LQ WKH SURFHVV KH VDQN OLNH D VWRQH )DLWK ZRUNV like that: We can walk on water only as long as we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think that we are doing it with our own strength.

7KH 6X¿ P\VWLF 5XPL RQFH ZURWH WKDW ZH OLYH ZLWK D GHHS VHFUHW WKDW VRPHWLPHV ZH NQRZ DQG WKHQ QRW DQG WKHQ ZH NQRZ LW DJDLQ )DLWK ZRUNV OLNH WKDW VRPH GD\V ZH ZDON RQ ZDWHU RWKHU GD\V ZH VLQN OLNH D VWRQH DQG WKHQ ODWHU ZH ZDON RQ ZDWHU DJDLQ Â&#x201E;

FOCUS 21

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

US priest visits North Korea as silent â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;apostle of peaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Fr Gerard Hammond has visited the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hermit kingdomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; many times to give humanitarian aid

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INCE the end of the Korean War in 1953, no Catholic priest has resided in the North of this divided peninsula, where autonomous religious activity is effectively forbidden. And no enemy of the communist regime WKHUH LV PRUH GHWHVWHG RU ÂżHUFHly denounced than the United States.

Nevertheless, one of the few outsiders to have penetrated the so-called hermit kingdom of the North is an 81-year-old Catholic priest from West Philadelphia.

Maryknoll Fr Gerard Hammond, 81, who has lived in South .RUHD VLQFH ÂżUVW FURVVHG over into the North in 1995 and since then has made 51 trips.

During Pope Francisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Aug 14-18 visit to South Korea, the pope met Fr Hammond and personally thanked him for his work in the North.

The priest says he goes there as an â&#x20AC;&#x153;apostle of peace, an apostle of hopeâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not to evangelise directly, which the government would not allow, but to bring humanitarian assistance. That assistance came ÂżUVW LQ WKH IRUP RI IRRG DLG PRUH recently, in the form of medicines for people with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.

The government admits Fr Hammond and his colleagues, Catholic and Protestant missionaries supported by the US-based Eugene Bell Foundation â&#x20AC;&#x153;because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re putting people back into the working forceâ&#x20AC;?, he said. They have cured more than 70 percent of their patients, he said, compared with a worldwide cure rate of only 48 percent.

But for Fr Hammond, who still serves as superior general for his order in Korea, a trip across the demilitarised zone is not RQO\ D FKDQFH WR KHOS WKH QHHG\ it is also a â&#x20AC;&#x153;spiritual experienceâ&#x20AC;?.

The soft-spoken priest describes the moment of taking a sputum sample from a tuberculosis patient in almost sacramental terms. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You hear the cough of the person,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You give them a cup of water, all that symbolism behind it. They drink the water so they can bring the sputum up. They stand there, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also in a most vulnerable position.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the most contagious moment,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we should be doing as priests anyhow. Why should a married person thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on the delegation with us or even a North Korean who has a family do that?â&#x20AC;?

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â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fr Gerard Hammond

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ESPITE this sort of intimacy, Father Hammond says conversations with patients are highly restricted, and never take place out of earshot of government minders. He says he never talks about religion or politics unless asked, and almost never is.

Yet, since everyone he deals with there knows him to be a priest bearing medicines marked as donations of the Catholic Church, he says his silent witness serves as a kind of â&#x20AC;&#x153;apostolate of presenceâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re present to a people whom you cannot speak to and they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t speak to you, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the old adage, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;heart speaks to heart,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They see compassion. Well, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in a country where theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re told that [the late dictator] Kim Jong Il gives them everything. But then they see, well, in this case he isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. So youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also creating a thought pattern in their own life: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What do these people help bring us? What are they doing here?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

Poverty in the North is dire, Fr Hammond says, though no worse than what he encountered in South Korea upon his arrival 54 years ago: â&#x20AC;&#x153;thousands of refugees, bridges were down, roads were awful, no running waterâ&#x20AC;?.

Today, South Korea is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 13th-largest economy, yet prosperity has brought it own woes, the missionary says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like to say it, but the Church is divided here because of the rich and the poor,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With a lot of material progress, the poor get forgotten.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; CNS

A North Korean soldier keeps watch south in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas. &16 ÂżOH SKRWR

22 FAITH ALIVE!

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

Persecution and its many forms throughout the life of the Church These can thrive in places where people with different beliefs refuse to work together %\ 'DYLG *LEVRQ One of the greatest Christian leaders of all time greatly persecuted the followers of Jesus, for a time.

St Paul, known then as Saul, was present when St Stephen, the ÂżUVW &KULVWLDQ PDUW\U ZDV VWRQHG outside Jerusalemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s walls. Saul â&#x20AC;&#x153;was consentingâ&#x20AC;? to the execution, we learn from the book of the Acts of the Apostles (8:1).

It is hard to imagine Paul, whose letters to early Christian communities remain so vital in the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s VHOI XQGHUVWDQGLQJ ÂżHUFHO\ SHUVHcuting those who belonged to â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Way,â&#x20AC;? a name the early Christian community gave itself. Yet, when â&#x20AC;&#x153;a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalemâ&#x20AC;? broke out after Stephenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s execution, Saul â&#x20AC;&#x153;was trying to destroy the Churchâ&#x20AC;? (Acts 8:3).

He confesses he persecuted the Way â&#x20AC;&#x153;to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to SULVRQ´ $FWV +H DSSDUHQWO\ believed their faith threatened his convictions about Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s law.

That changed with Saulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conversion, after which he became known as Paul. Interestingly, his earthshaking encounter with the Lord occurred as he made his way to Damascus, intent on capturing members of the Way and taking them away in chains (Acts 9:2). â&#x20AC;&#x153;A light from the sky suddenly Ă&#x20AC;DVKHG DURXQG´ 6DXO DV KH QHDUHG Damascus. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Saul asked, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Who are you, sir?â&#x20AC;? The voice replied, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am Jesus, whom you are persecutingâ&#x20AC;?

WKH *RVSHO WKH +RO\ )DPLO\ Ă&#x20AC;HG to Egypt, escaping King Herodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s threat to assure the newborn Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; death by massacring â&#x20AC;&#x153;all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and underâ&#x20AC;? (Mt 2:16).

Today, persecution in its various forms often forces people to pursue life outside their homelands.

What makes refugees of others, members of a religious minor-

Some in leaving their homelands, encounter human WUDIÂżFNHUV UHDG\ WR H[SORLW WKHP IRU SURÂżW

'HWDLO RI 0LFKHODQJHORÂśV PXUDO RI 6W 3DXOÂśV FRQYHUVLRQ H[SHULHQFH &16 ÂżOH SKRWR

(Acts 9:2-5).

Persecution marks the memory of the people of God throughout the centuries. Authorities instructed St Polycarp, an elderly bishop, to renounce Christ during a second-century persecution in Asia Minor. He refused, insisting Christ never did him any wrong. St Polycarp was burned at the stake.

The systematic persecution of

Christians under the Roman Emperor Decius in the mid-third century required them to honour Roman gods. Refusals to do so yielded many early Church martyrs, including Pope Fabian. But the martyrsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; blood drew many to Christianity.

Historyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s persecutions not only caused countless deaths. They drove countless people from their homelands, making refugees of them. In

ity, is a discriminatory environment of harassment where their existence is disrespected and their future looks extremely dim.

Some, in leaving their homeODQGV HQFRXQWHU KXPDQ WUDIÂżFNers ready to exploit them for profit, making slaves of them.

Pope Francis talked about such people when he visited Lampedusa, an Italian island, in July 2013.

The island is a crossing point for emigrants departing in small boats from northern Africa for Europe.

Crossing the Mediterranean Sea, thousands upon thousands drown.

These people â&#x20AC;&#x153;were trying to HVFDSH GLIÂżFXOW VLWXDWLRQV WR ÂżQG some serenity and peace; they were looking for a better place for themselves and their families, but instead they found death,â&#x20AC;? Pope Francis said in Lampedusa.

He mentioned listening to one

of these men. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Before arriving here, he and the others were at the mercy RI WUDIÂżFNHUV SHRSOH ZKR H[SORLW the poverty of others, people who live off the misery of others.â&#x20AC;?

Pope Francis lamented a â&#x20AC;&#x153;globalisation of indifferenceâ&#x20AC;? that exacts a toll on such people. Indifference is witnessed, he suggested, when â&#x20AC;&#x153;the otherâ&#x20AC;? is viewed simply as â&#x20AC;&#x153;someone who disturbs my life and my comfortâ&#x20AC;?.

King Herod â&#x20AC;&#x153;sowed death to protect his own comfortâ&#x20AC;?, the pope commented. The pope recommended asking the Lord â&#x20AC;&#x153;to remove the part of Herod that lurks in our heartsâ&#x20AC;?.

Persecution in any era abuses human life. It harms people physically or emotionally, imprisons them falsely or restricts the freedom essential to their well-being and development. It can thrive in places where people with different beliefs refuse to work together to promote their shared goals for society.

Is it possible to rid the world of persecution? Writing in 1998 about â&#x20AC;&#x153;shaping a future in which the unspeakable iniquityâ&#x20AC;? of the World War II Holocaust never again will be possible, St John Paul II offered this proposal: â&#x20AC;&#x153;May the Lord of history guide the efforts of Catholics and Jews and all men and women of good will as they work together for a world of true respect for the life and dignity of every human being, for all have been created in the image and likeness of God.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; Gibson served on Catholic News Serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s editorial staff for 37 years.

Under threat because of their beliefs %\ (IÂżH &DOGDUROD While history is replete with religious persecution, our troubled 21st century is no stranger to violence against Christians. The modern era is seeing some of the worst persecution to date of the followers of Jesus.

The danger to Christians worldZLGH KDV EHFRPH VR ÂżHUFH DQG pervasive that Pope Francis called attention to the issue after an Anglican church in Pakistan was attacked in 2013, leaving at least 85 dead.

In Iraq, where Christians have lived for 1,700 years, all Christians left the city of Mosul under threat by extremists to convert to Islam or die. In nearby Syria, where Christians have lived since the early days of the Church, they are under similar threat of death and also have been forced out of their homes.

In April, 75-year-old Dutch Jesuit Fr Frans van der Lugt, who

Religious freedoms are curbed not only in the Middle East but also in China, South Korea and India. had lived in Syria since the 1970s, was dragged outside the monastery where he lived and was fatally shot twice in the head.

Although Fr van der Lugt had refused to leave, many Christians Ă&#x20AC;HH WKHVH SODFHV RI ZDU DQG WKH\ Ă&#x20AC;HH UHOLJLRXV LQWROHUDQFH FDXVHG by the increasing instability in the Middle East.

Consider that at the beginning of the 20th century, Christians accounted for roughly 20 percent of the population of the Middle East, the birthplace of Christianity. ToGD\ WKDW ÂżJXUH LV RU SHUFHQW and declining steadily.

$ SULHVW GLVWULEXWHV &RPPXQLRQ GXULQJ 0DVV LQ D PDNHVKLIW &DWKROLF FKDSHO LQ D YLOODJH RXWVLGH 7LDQMLQ &KLQD

In Egypt, the Coptic Christians, who date to the earliest years of Christianity, have held steady at 10 percent of the population despite centuries of harassment. But today, in the wake of the volatility in Egypt, they are

experiencing some of the worst persecution in their history.

Instability and the rise of radical extremists in the region have been disastrous for everyone.

The Middle East is far from the only area of Christian persecu-

tion. While Catholicism blossoms in South Korea, religious freedom is unimaginable under the totalitarian regime in North Korea.

And then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s China, where the government insists on appointing bishops and requires Catholic communities to register with the government. Of Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10-12 million Catholics, perhaps half walk the dangerous tightrope of worshipping in Catholic communities that are not registered with WKH RIÂżFLDOO\ DWKHLVWLF JRYHUQPHQW Anti-Christian aggression has Ă&#x20AC;DUHG LQ ,QGLD DV ZHOO ZKHUH WKH government has done little to stiĂ&#x20AC;H SHUVHFXWLRQ H[FLWHG LQ SDUW E\ Hindu radicalism.

We live in a violent and unstable world. We need to join with Pope Francis in praying for tolerance and peace. Â&#x201E; Caldarola is a freelance writer and columnist for Catholic News Service.

FEATURE 23

Sunday September 7, 2014 CatholicNews

Catholic poet talks about her faith and her poetry

By Michael Nathanael Chee What happens when you put a poet and a moderator armed with a psychology degree in a room full of people? Evidently a delightfully engaging evening where stories are shared, experiences recounted and, of course, the unique opportunity to hear the poet’s voice breathing life into written words.

CANA’s latest Talk of the Town event, featuring Dr Anne Lee Tzu Pheng, was held on Aug 20 at the Catholic Centre’s Crossings Café.

Dr Lee is one of Singapore’s pioneering poets who has nurtured and inspired a whole generation of poets. She was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Literature in 1985 and is a founding member RI WKH &DWKROLF QRQ SUR¿W RUJDQLsation, CANA. She is now a retired associate professor of the National University of Singapore’s English Department.

Dr Lee is also a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order, and her Catholic faith was evident as she shared about the interplay between faith and poetry.

She candidly recounted two tough patches in her life, which she termed the “dark night of the soul”. It was coming out of the ¿UVW WKDW OHG WR D VXGGHQ SUROL¿F spell of writing after 14 years.

The second was a serious three-year crisis of faith.

In both cases, the Word of God SOD\HG D VLJQL¿FDQW SDUW LQ WKH UHcovery of her faith and writing.

When asked about evangelisation through poetry, Dr Lee said that for a Catholic poet, it is more LPSRUWDQW ¿UVW RI DOO WR EH D JRRG poet, to learn and hone one’s craft.

To write poorly does a disservice to one’s faith, she said.

One’s beliefs can only make an impact if they come through as a natural manifestation of who one is in the poetry, she explained.

Speaking of her constant awareness of the hand of the Holy Spirit in her writing, she shared how she believes the Holy Spirit provided her with some lines to end one of her poems when she ZDV H[SHULHQFLQJ VRPH GLI¿FXOW\ The audience was also treated to heartfelt and nuanced readings of Dr Lee’s poetry by the poet herself. The wordsmith wove her spell and her poems coloured the evening with tongue-in-cheek sass (“Why is your poetry so normal?”), poignancy (“Carmelites At Auschwitz”), introspectiveness (“Revisioning”) and

Cultural Medallion winner, Dr Anne Lee Tzu Pheng, speaking at CANA’s Talk of the Town event on Aug 20.

The audience was treated to heartfelt and nuanced readings of Dr Lee’s poetry by the poet herself. a touch of irreverence (“God”).

Mr Eddie Koh, a literature teacher and a fan of Dr Lee’s work since his undergraduate days, said the evening was “an insightful look into the person behind the books” and her “craft, faith and life experiences”.

Ms Ester Koh said she was deeply impressed by Dr Lee’s faith and how it connected with her poems.

Five of Dr Lee’s books are on sale at CANA, 55, Waterloo Street #02-01 (https://www.facebook. com/CANA.SINGAPORE). They are Standing in the Corner (2014), $18; Soul’s Festival: Collected Poems 1980-1997 (2014), $24.95; Catching Connections (2012), $13; Short Circuits (2012), $18; and Sing a Song of Mankind (2012), $18.

24

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

By Joe Sarnicola

the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.â&#x20AC;?

Jeremiah paced back and forth Jeremiah stood in the court of the house of God and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I will surely on the hard ground. He remembered bring upon this city all the evil with WKH ÂżUVW WLPH *RG VSRNH WR KLP Âł%Hwhich I threatened it, because they ... fore you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.â&#x20AC;? have not obeyed my words.â&#x20AC;?

Jeremiah told the Lord he was 3DVKKXU WKH FKLHI RIÂżFHU ZDV angered by the prophecy. He ordered too young to be a prophet. But God his men to whip Jeremiah and put him said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;To whomever I send you, you in the stocks at the upper Gate of Ben- shall go; whatever I command you, jamin. Jeremiah stayed there over- you shall speak.â&#x20AC;?

Jeremiahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back still hurt from night until Pashhur released him.

Jeremiah looked directly at the the whipping, and his body ached RIÂżFHU DQG VDLG Âł,QVWHDG RI 3DVK- from being in the stocks. He knew his hur, the Lord will name you â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Terror message to the people of Israel would on every side.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; For thus says the Lord: sometimes be harsh. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whenever I Indeed, I will deliver you to terror, speak, I must cry out, violence and outrage is my message; the word of you and all your friends.â&#x20AC;?

7KHQ -HUHPLDK OHIW WR ÂżQG D TXLHW the Lord has brought me derision and place where he could pray. He began reproach all the day.â&#x20AC;?

At times Jeremiah considered crying and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped ... All not prophesying or mentioning Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

SPOTLIGHT ON SAINTS:

St Medericus St Medericus was born in France in the seventh century and was often called by his nickname, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Merryâ&#x20AC;?. He joined a monastery as a young man. His devotion to God earned him an appointment as abbot, although he did not want the job.

Since he would not ask the other monks to do anything he would not do himself, he won their loyalty and admiration. +LV SRVLWLRQ LQWHUIHUHG ZLWK WKH TXLHW OLIH RI VHUYLFH WR *RG that he wanted to live, so he resigned and lived as a hermit.

When his health became bad, he returned to the monastery. He stayed with the monks until he made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Germanus in Paris, remaining in Paris until he died around the year 700 after a long illness. We remember him on Aug 29. Â&#x201E;

name any more. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But then it becomes OLNH ÂżUH EXUQLQJ LQ P\ KHDUW LPSULVoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in.â&#x20AC;? Then Jeremiah realised how much God loved him and the people of Israel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.â&#x20AC;?

He raised his arms toward heaven, and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sing to the Lord, praise

the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; Read more about it: Jeremiah 1, 19, 20

Q&A 1. What did Jeremiah say to Pashhur?

2. When did God dedicate Jeremiah as a prophet?

Wordsearch: Â&#x201E; PRAY

Â&#x201E; EVIL

Â&#x201E; COURT

Â&#x201E; ACHED

Â&#x201E; TERROR Â&#x201E; MOCKS Â&#x201E; QUIET

Â&#x201E; GATE

Â&#x201E; HURT

Â&#x201E; PRAISE

Â&#x201E; WHIP

Â&#x201E; BONES

BIBLE TRIVIA: Who was king when Jeremiah received KLV ÂżUVW SURSKHF\" (Jer 1)

Bible Accent: Answer to puzzle: 1. created, 2. basket, 3.Jericho, 4. Goliath, 5. Joseph, 6. 12, 7. Pentecost.

Answer to Bible Trivia: Josiah.

PUZZLE: Circle the words that make the following statements true. Hints have been provided: 1. In the beginning God (created, destroyed) the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1 2. Pharaohâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter found Moses in a (barn, basket). Exodus 2 3. Joshuaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s army marched around (Babylon, Jericho). Joshua 6 4. David defeated (Goliath, Hercules), the giant. 1 Samuel 17 5. (Joseph, John) was the earthly father of Jesus. Matthew 1 6. Jesus chose (12, 20) apostles. Mark 3 7. The Holy Spirit came to Earth on (Pentecost, Easter). Acts 2

Answer to Wordsearch

Jeremiah lived near Jerusalem.

His father, Hilkiah, may have discovered the manuscript of the book of Moses that we call Deuteronomy.

The writings of Moses KDG D YHU\ VWURQJ LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQFH RQ Jeremiah. The Book of Jeremiah began as a series of small booklets containing the words of the prophet. Some were made when he was alive, and others were made after he died.

Two very important ideas in his writings and sermons are showing compassion to others and praying to God. The book that is part of our Bible includes Jeremiahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own words plus sermons he gave and writings about him.

Some of the information about Jeremiah, which makes up parts of chapters 26 through 45, is believed to have been written by Baruch, who served as the prophetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s secretary. Â&#x201E;

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ON 25

Sunday September 7, 2014 Â&#x201E; CatholicNews

EVENT SUBMISSIONS We welcome information of events happening in our local Church.

Please send your submission at least one month before the event. Online submissions can be made at www. catholic.org.sg/webevent_form.php

Organised CANA. At 55 Waterloo Street. Register T: 6338 4080; E: canatheplacetobe2013@gmail.com.

SEPTEMBER 8 TO NOVEMBER 24 WELCOMING RETURNING CATHOLICS 8pm-10pm (Mon): With a spirit of authenticity and welcome, we are happy to accompany you in this journey. Coming home can be difficult for some and there can be for so many reasons, each unique to each individual. If you feel a stirring in your heart, we encourage you to respond to us. We invite anyone interested either as a returning Catholic or as a welcoming participant. Organised by Landings Singapore and Malaysia. At Church of the Holy Spirit, 248 Upper Thomson Road, and Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, 31 Siglap Hill. Register T: 9068 2961 (Lucy) / 9369 2100 (Leonard); E: returning@landings.org.sg.

SEPTEMBER 4 TO DECEMBER 18 CATECHISM CLASSES FOR THE ELDERLY IN DIALECT 1pm-2.45pm: Catechism classes for the elderly by Andrew Goh on Thursdays in Mandarin, Peranakan, Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese. For elderly who arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to come to church, arrangements can be made. At Church of the Holy Family, Meeting Room, Priest House, 6 Chapel Road. Register T: 9115 5673 (Andrew).

SEPTEMBER 6 TO SEPTEMBER 27 CATECHISM CLASSES FOR THE ELDERLY IN DIALECT 9.30am-11.30am: Catechism classes for the elderly by Andrew Goh on Saturdays in Mandarin, Peranakan, Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese. At Novena Church, Gerard Majella Room, behind the bookshop, 300 Thomson Road.

Register T: 9115 5673 (Andrew).

SEPTEMBER 13 TEACHERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY CELEBRATION 4-6.30pm: Sunset Mass & Reception. The Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools welcomes you to our celebration of thanksgiving and appreciation to all teachers and Catholic teachers especially.

At SJI Junior School Hall, 3 Essex Road.

Main celebrant: Msgr Ambrose Vaz. All are welcome. A humble request: kindly car-pool or take public transport. Register T: 6858 7080 (Shirley); E: accs@catholic.org.sg

SEPTEMBER 7 TO NOVEMBER 11 EPIC â&#x20AC;&#x201C; THE EARLY CHURCH 9.45am-10.45am (Sun at CAEC) or 8pm9.30pm (Tues at IHM Church): Join us for an exciting study which encourages you to grow closer to Christ through a deeper understanding of His Church, make sense of our present world, build our Catholic identity and defend the Church in the modern age.

Organised by Biblical Apostolate Team from Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

Sundays at St Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Room, Level 2, CAEC (Next to IHM Parish) or Sundays at St Philipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Room, Level 2, IHM. Register T: 9730 3358 (Christina); E: bat@ihm.sg.

SEPTEMBER 13 THE TREE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A SYMBOL OF COMMUNION 2-5pm: This seminar will trace the inner journey from head to heart, focusing on the tree as a symbol of communion experienced at the heart level. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gospel will be used to trace Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; own inner journey to the heart, to embrace unity with the Father. By Br Collin Wee, FSC. Closing date: Sept 6.

Fee: $30. Organised by Kingsmead Centre for Ignatian Spirituality and Counselling.

At 8 Victoria Park Road. Register T: 6467 6072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com.

SEPTEMBER 7 TO SEPTEMBER 21 PIMBY KAMPONG BAHRU (PILGRIMAGE WALK) 9.15am (Sun): For 3 Sundays, come join us for a pilgrimage walk. We would be visiting the Church of St Teresa and the Carmelite Convent. Listen to the stories of faith of our early fathers and the dedicated lay people. We would meet at the Church of St Teresa canteen.

SEPTEMBER 14 IHM BLOODMOBILE MERCY OUTREACH 10.30am-3.30pm: If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re between 16 and 60 years and weigh above 45kg, you can donate blood & save up to three lives! Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to bring your NRIC or

passport. Organised by Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

At 24 Highland Rd, IHM Church Hall.

Register E: hopeajoysia@yahoo.com.sg.

SEPTEMBER 14 CHILDRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EUCHARISTIC ADORATION 4pm-5pm: Come together with your children to spend quiet time to adore Jesus, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

All are welcome. No registration required.

At Church of Christ the King, 2221 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, Basement Chapel.

Enquiries T: 9620 7856 (Irene) / 9456 4051(Susie); E: susiegleo@yahoo.com.sg.

SEPTEMBER 14 GOODBYE FRUSTRATION â&#x20AC;&#x201C; CELEBRATE INNER FREEDOM 9am-4pm: Explore inner landscape, identifying frustrations and goals in life. /HDUQ VSHFLÂżF VNLOOV IRU UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWLRQ DQG WR move out of rut. This one-day workshop is suitable for anyone who values personal growth and relationships. Fee: $70.

Organised by Lifesprings Canossian Spirituality Centre. At 100 Jalan Merbok.

Register T: 6466 2178 (Brenda); E: lifesprings@singnet.com.sg.

SEPTEMBER 20 POSITIVE DISCIPLINE FOR EFFECTIVE PARENTING 9.30am-12.30pm: In this seminar, two trained and experienced counsellors will present an understanding of parenting styles and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s different personalities so that parents can gain VSHFLÂżF SUDFWLFDO SDUHQWLQJ VNLOOV DQG strategies that they can try at home. A developmental approach will be the focus. The seminar would be conducted by trained counsellors, Lissy Puno & Marmee Morin. Fee: $30. Organised by Kingsmead Centre. At Kingsmead Centre, 8 Victoria Park Road. Register T: 6467 6072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com.

SEPTEMBER 26 TO SEPTEMBER 28 RETROUVAILLE WEEKEND (STAY IN) 7.30pm (Fri) - 5pm (Sun): Facing marriage challenges? Retrouvaille helps couples put the pieces back together and rebuild loving relationships. Organised by Retrouvaille. At At 201-B Punggol 17th Avenue. Register T: 6711 6774 (Laurence & Christina); E: info@helpourmarriage.sg; W: www.helpourmarriage.sg.

Crossword Puzzle 1118 1

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www.wordgamesforcatholics.com

25 27 31 34 38 39 41 42 43 44 46

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Solution to Crossword Puzzle No. 1117 S A L E M

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SEPTEMBER 28 MIGRANT SUNDAY 11am: Join us for a Mass celebrated

by His Grace Archbishop William Goh followed by fellowship. Organised

by ACMI. At St Joseph Church, 620 Upper Bukit Timah Road. Enquiries T: 6280 5424; E: general@acmi.org.sg.

OCTOBER 3 TO OCTOBER 6 QUENCH 2014 Join us for a 4D/3N English Initial retreat to experience a faith encounter. The retreat is for youths in Singapore, from ages 18-35 years old. Organised

by Jesus Youth. At Choice Retreat House, 47 Jurong West Street 42. Enquiries T: 9006 1884 (Fionne); Register W: http://singapore.jesusyouth.org.

OCTOBER 3 TO OCTOBER 5 SPIRITUALITY FOR SECOND HALF OF LIFE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PART 1: THE MIDLIFE TRANSITION 8am (Fri)-1pm (Sun): This weekend will deal with the experience of transition that moves us into midlife, a stage in the growth and development of men and women. Participants will work with material on the Crisis of Limits through LQSXW SHUVRQDO UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWLRQ DQG SUD\HU DQG sharing. They will also be invited to experience negotiating the passage into midlife as a movement From Problem to Promise. (For those 40 and above).

Organised by Religious of the Cenacle.

At Montfort Centre, 622 Upper Bukit Timah Road. T: 9722 3148/6565 2895; E: cenaclesing@gmail.com.

NOVEMBER 7 TO NOVEMBER 9 SPIRITUALITY FOR THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PART 2: LIFE AFTER MIDLIFE 8 pm (Fri)-1pm (Sun): This is a continuation of Part I, and will primarily focus on living out the fruits of the midlife WUDQVLWLRQ 3DUWLFLSDQWV ZLOO EHQHÂżW PRUH from the weekend if he/she has participated in Part I or any other Midlife programme.

Organised by Religious of the Cenacle.

At Choice Retreat House, 47 Jurong West Street 42. Register T: 9722 3148 / 6565 2895; E: cenaclesing@gmail.com.

OCTOBER 10 TO OCTOBER 12 INDIVIDUALLY GUIDED RETREAT 7pm (Fri)-5pm (Sun): Join us for a retreat where you can spend quiet time with

God. The silent retreat will enable you to become more attentive to the presence of God in your life. Fee: $180 (non-air-con); $220 (air-con). Organised by Kingsmead Centre. At Kingsmead Centre, 8 Victoria Park Road. Register T: 6467 6072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com.

OCTOBER 11 TO OCTOBER 12 RETREAT (WORKSHOP) ON INNER HEALING 2pm-9pm (Sat) - 9.30am-6pm (Sun inclusive of Mass): Come join us for a retreat on inner healing. Topics include: spiritual warfare, discernment of spirits and blessings and curses. Registration is open to all parish ministries members who are interested to learn on inner healing.

Limited to 130 seats only. Fee inclusive of tea, lunch and dinner: $25. Organised

by Singapore Archdiocese Catholic Charismatic Renewal. At CAEC, St Paul Room, 2 Highland Road. Register E: josephtoh46@gmail.com (Joseph Toh).

OCTOBER 17 TO OCTOBER 19 UNDERSTANDING YOUR DREAMS 7pm (Fri) - 12pm (Sun): Come join us for a stay-in workshop, where Cenacle Sr Linda Lizada will help us work with RXU VLJQLÂżFDQW GUHDPV WR XQGHUVWDQG the symbolic language of dreams communicated by God through Scriptures, to listen to them, and experience them as a way in which the Divine speaks to us.

Fee: $200 (non-air-con), $240 (air-con).

Organised by Kingsmead Centre.

Register T: 6467 6072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com.

OCTOBER 17 TO OCTOBER 19 MONTFORTIAN EXPERIENCE RETREAT (MX-2): TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY 7pm (Fri)-1pm (Sun): This is a weekend stay-in retreat based on the Treatise of St Louis Marie de Montfort on True Devotion to Mary. You will discover the secret of why the essence of a great devotion to Mary is the surest, easiest, shortest, & most perfect way to become holy, a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Experience the way to Jesus through Mary by this retreat.

Organised by Montfort Centre and jointly conducted by Bro Paul Raj, SG and Bro Dominic Yeo Koh, SG. At Montfort Centre, 622 Upper Bukit Timah Road.

Registration T: 6769 5711 (Henry Tan); E: enquiries@montfortcentre.org.

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Sunday September 7, 2014 CatholicNews

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