“Make of the world one family”
Xaverian Mission Volume 57 - No. 1 |
Newsletter
February 2009
Globalization and a New Generation of Missionaries
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overty is often a contributory factor or a compounding element in conflicts, including armed ones. In turn, these conflicts fuel further tragic situations of poverty…. In this context, fighting poverty requires attentive consideration of the complex phenomenon of globalization.” Pope Benedict XVI shared these words as part of his message for World Day of Peace, January 1, entitled Fighting Poverty to Build Peace. He goes on to say: “Yet the reference to globalization should also alert us to the spiritual and moral implications of the question, urging us, in our dealings with the poor, to set out from the clear recognition that we all share in a single divine plan: we are called to form one family in which all – individu-
Highlights
• Young Xaverian Missionaries Prepare for First Mission • From Milwaukee to Bangladesh: A Young Missionary Reflects • Restorative Justice in Africa • Zimbabwe, St. Paul, and True Power • To Live and Work for Peace • Sharing Missionary Lives on College Campuses
“He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18
als, peoples and nations... model their behavior according to the principles of fraternity and responsibility.”
“... we all share in a single divine plan: we are called to form one family in which all – individuals, peoples and nations... model their behavior according to the principles of fraternity and responsibility.”
Our missionary commitment as Catholics counts these words as guide posts in the challenges of world mission today. Our Founder, Blessed Guido Maria Conforti, many years ago shared this vision “to make the world one family” as a guiding principle in the new challenges we face as missionaries today. This is the best way of thinking of globalization in a world whose borders are disintegrating not only politically and economically, but morally and spiritually.
We hope this issue of XMN provides a glimpse of the vision of the Holy Father in the zeal and enthusiasm of some of our newest missionaries in the field. Fr. Ramos from Brazil, and Frs. Garduno and Casillas, from Mexico, share some of their first struggles and hopes as they begin their missionary work. Fr. Rocco Puopolo also graces our pages
again in his ongoing work through the Africa Faith and Justice Network based in Washington DC. They are trying to see how healing and reconciliation can occur after the pain and grief of horrific wars, and the outrageous violence they wreaked. There are many stories of this healing, unleashed through the mission of the Church, which we need to listen to. This is restorative justice. As we begin a new Lenten Journey we focus on the overwhelming compassion of Jesus on the cross, coming from the very heart of God the Father, and shared by us as disciples of Christ in a world longing for authentic peace. U – CC
Catholics in a World of Many Faiths
“...our attitude of openness to the Bengali culture is also an important cultural value for the Bengalis, who say: “Otithi narayan the guest is God!”
X averian Missionaries Provincial Headquarters 12 Helene Court Wayne, NJ 07470-2813 Tel.: (973) 942-2975 Fax: (973) 942-5012 Email: xavwayne@optonline.net Xavier Knoll Pre-Novitiate House 4500 Xavier Drive Franklin, WI 53132-9066 Tel.: (414) 421-0831 Fax: (414) 421-9108 E-mail: xavmissionswi@hotmail.com Mission Center & Fatima Shrine 101 Summer Street P.O. Box 5857 Holliston, MA 01746-5857 Tel.: (508) 429-2144 Fax: (508) 429-4793 E-mail: holliston.sx@gmail.com
International Theology House 1347 East Hyde Park Blvd. Chicago, IL 60615-2924 Tel. (773) 643-5745 E-mail: xavformation@hotmail.com St. Therese Catholic Chinese Mission 218 West Alexander Street Chicago, IL 60608-0000 Tel. (312) 842-6777 E-mail:
info_church@sttheresechinatown.org
Xaverian Mission Newsletter Official publication of the Xaverian Missionaries of the United States
Coordinating Editor Fr. Carl Chudy Editorial Team Fr. Tony Lalli Fr. Joseph Matteucig Fr. Alfredo Turco Layout Consultant Diamand Design Wrentham, MA Printing Rea-Craft Press, Inc. Foxboro, MA E-mail & Web:
xaverianmissionnewsletter@gmail.com www.xaviermissionaries.org
Young Xaverian Missionaries Prepare for their First Mission in Bangladesh
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recently arrived to Bangladesh for my first mission experience, along with Father Marcos Garduno and Father Melecio, all from Mexico. We are preparing for our missionary life. The Constitutions of the Xaverian Missionaries reminds us that “the initial period of transition in the mission field is a particularly significant moment in the life of a Xaverian. It requires a warm acceptance of the new world, serious study of the reality and the language of the place ...”. We are really buckling down to the books in order to study the language and culture of the Bengali people, because you cannot accept and love what you do not know! We are approaching this new culture for us with a mind and heart open to welcome all that we experience. Moreover, our attitude of openness to the Bengali culture is also an important cultural value for the Bengalis, who say: “Otithi narayan - the guest is God”!
There are 150 million people In Bangladesh. Approximately 98% are Bengalis, the other 2% are aborigines of various ethnic groups. 90% are Muslims, others are Hindu, Christians, Buddhists and animists. This enormous, diverse tide of people is both the strength and at the same time, the weakness of Bangladesh. Unfortunately, the Bengalis are still living in a caste system where large populations are considered a lesser class people, a mindset which is difficult to overcome. The “untouchables” especially have to do the most dirty work, feeling as though they are fated with this burden. Everyone is strongly linked to the larger community to which they belong. Their
We often participate in meetings organized specifically for the “new” missionaries in the country. Last July, for example, Mr. Atul Francis, Director of Caritas Bangladesh, shared with us how we may live, think and act like the Bengali people.
Donation: $5.00 per year
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The Complexity of a Nation
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
A Xaverian Missionary chatting on the road in Bangladesh.
Xaverian Missionaries in the World sense of belonging is expressed in their solidarity. For this reason, they prefer to speak in the plural: “our nation”, “our village”, “our home.” Jesus taught us to pray in solidarity: “Our Father ...”.
Bring the taste of mission home. Try a recipe from Bangladesh
Saag Kumro
Bangladesh Lives and Dies on Water
3 cups peeled and diced pumpkins (kumro)
While flying one day, I looked over the horizon and wondered if Bangladesh was land or water. Even while traveling, especially during the rainy season, there is a perception that the water predominates in the land, which outcrops just above sea level. Even the missionaries reach the villages, hidden among palm trees and banana trees, with long trips on the rivers.
2 medium potatoes, diced but not peeled A bunch of fresh spinach), chopped 1/2 lb. baby shrimp (peeled+steamed is ok) 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 dried red chili 1 tablespoon sugar Fr. Ramos working on the language.
2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
Until 1947, the date of the end of colonial dependence, the flood plain was called “Sonar Bangla - the Golden Bengal”, not only for the fertility of the land, but also for its cultural richness.
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
Why is this land, once considered the granary of India, today so poor? The ongoing unbridled exploitation of land and the problem of overcrowding is real and ongoing. Despite everything, this nation must keep its cultural richness that few know. U
1. First heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin and the turmeric, stirfry these spices for a minute before you add the shrimp. Fry the shrimp for a couple of minutes and then take them out with a slotted spoon and leave aside.
– Father Augusto Ramos, SX
Water is a central reality for Bangladesh. The immense rice and jute fields, the cows to pasture and shepherds who play on the edge of streets, houses of mud and straw, which are reflected on the water, the women trying to work at home ... everything seems to deliver peace and serenity. But the monsoons and cyclones can lead to unpredictable disasters. In short, water is synonymous with life, but can lead to death.
Land of Gold and Disaster Where more than 2 thousand people live on every square kilometer, land is a major commodity. Those who have the good fortune of owning a piece of land, ordinarily do not sell, unless forced by extreme necessity, such as disease, debt or the dowry for the marriage of a daughter.
Would you like extra copies of our newsletter for your CCD class or just to share with friends? Contact the editor at: xaverianmissionnewsletter @gmail.com.
1/4 teaspoon chili powder 2 tablespoons finely ground/grated coconut
Procedure:
2. Next break the dried red chili and fry it in the oil for a minute before adding the potatoes and pumpkin. Stir fry these for a few minutes. Add the coriander, chili powder and sugar and stir-fry for a couple more minutes. 3. Now add the chopped spinach and stir it in until it slowly decreases in volume and blends in with the other ingredients (~3 mins). Now add the salt and sprinkle a little water (3-4 Tbsp) cover and allow to cook under low heat until the potatoes are done. 4. Sprinkle and stir in the ground coconut and shrimp before turning off the heat, you may wish to save a little for the final garnish when you serve this dish. Serves: 4-6 people Serving ideas: serve with piping hot plain rice!
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
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Xaverian Missionaries in the World
I have noticed many differences in the local culture that I need to understand more deeply.”
From Mexico To Milwaukee To Bangladesh: A Young Missionary Reflects
Bengali Coca Cola
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was ordained a priest in my home country of Mexico with a dream to begin my first mission experience in Bangladesh. I arrived in our community of Franklin, Wisconsin, to spend an intense year improving my English skills. Six months after my arrival to our missions in Bangladesh, I immediately began to study both the language and the culture. I am just beginning to speak in the local language of Bangla. In fact, my first mass in the local language was this past Christmas. I consider this event a symbolic rebirth as I begin my new mission here. In this month of January I am moving to our parish in Shatkira in order to start my first steps with direct contact with people, language and culture. In this parish most of the people are called “’Rishi”, which means outcast, a very poor and marginalized people. I have noticed many differences in the local culture that I need to understand more deeply. It’s a kind of culture shock that requires a great deal of patience on my part. It seems a very slow process that requires changing the way I think of things, and some attitudes that I carry around with me.
Fr. Marcos at the market.
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I am struck by contrasts as well. For example, even though women appear to be in a more subservient position in society, in the last ten years Bangladesh has enormous political
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
struggles. So, in the recent elections, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, a woman, was chosen as the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Before the elections, since they could not agree on how Bangladesh should be ruled, the Army took over. This is the first time in many years that control of the country is transferred from the military to civilian rule.
As I continue my early journey as a missionary priest in Bangladesh, I am learning to live in solidarity with the local people, a task which I find is not easy in some respects. Prayer, patience, grace from God, and support of my brother Xaverians here are my mainstays. Change and early struggles is part and parcel of the missionary life. I find that in the long run, not only the boundaries of my mind is enlarged, but those of my heart as well. Please pray for us all here in Bangladesh. U – Fr. Marcos Garduno, SX
Xaverian Missionaries in the World
Fambol Tok and Justice After a Devastating War
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ecently I had the chance to visit Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, researching restorative justice processes there. I am the director of The Africa Faith and Justice Network and we are looking into where this process of restoring communities broken by conflicts happens and how it could be affirmed as a complement to other forms of doing justice.
Children Recovering from War From the first meeting with the “push boys” from the Northern Ghana city of Yendi, I saw restorative justice at work. These secondary school boys and girls are displaced and work the Medina market in Accra, out of school and living on the streets because of a chiefdom rivalry hundreds of miles away that turned violent. I sat with a representative group of 17 of them in midst of a busy market and listened to
their stories of the conflict, displacement and disappointment. When asked if they could suggest a way forward that would restore peace to Yendi in a just manner, I was surprised to discover a very wise and creative response, one I would not have thought of from my experience nor found in any conflict resolution manual that I am familiar with. It was an example of the wisdom and knowledge of the way forward that is very present in African Societies.
Fambol Tok The most powerful example of this was found in Sierra Leone where I met the organizers of Fambol Tok (Family Talk), a Sierra Leonean initiative that provides a local community the support and guidance to create their own framework and process that can lead to restoration. Fambol Tok’s first outreach was to the local community in Kailahun, the very place in the Eastern Province where the insurgents of the 14 year war had their headquarters and whose local community had experienced the war from start to finish.
Fr. Rocco Puopolo with the “Push Boys” (former child soldiers) of Maedina Marken in Accra.
This broken community welcomed Fambol Tok’s guidance as they themselves set up a process to bring the community together. After preliminary background information to all in the community that framed the work ahead, the community initiated a series of eve-
ning circles around the fire, sharing the stories of loss and hope, learning to listen to each other and trust the strength of their community.
One Son Lost, Another Gained Well into the first week, after a family shared the loss of their only son, who they thought was alive but displaced in neighboring Liberia or Guinea, one young man came forward to offer his condolences to the family, and, because of the support created by this circle, admitted to killing this son. He was younger then, and drugged and part of that maddening crowd of child soldiers, but he did remember that he killed that boy. He knelt before the family, now wailing and crying uncontrollably. When the crying subsided, in the uncomfortable silence of not knowing what to do or where to go next, the young man spoke. He knows he did wrong. There is no way he could bring back their son. But what he could do is take his place. Any task that the son would have done, brushing the farm, mending the roof, etc., he would do for the rest of his life. The family accepted. Restoration was achieved. U – Fr. Rocco Puopolo, SX Check out Fr. Rocco’s Blog on his trip at: www.rjwestafrica.blogspot.com
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
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The Catholic Commitment to Global Solidarity The Situation
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“The so-called “illegals” are so not because they wish to defy the law; but, because the law does not provide them with any channels to regularize their status in our country – which needs their labor: they are not breaking the law, the law is breaking them.” Most Reverend Thomas Wenski, Bishop of Orlando
t a time of dramatic global changes and challenges, Catholics in the United States face special responsibilities and opportunities. We are members of a universal Church that transcends national boundaries and calls us to live in solidarity and justice with the peoples of the world. We are also citizens of a powerful democracy with enormous influence beyond our borders. As Catholics and Americans we are uniquely called to global solidarity.” The US Catholic Bishops remind us in “Called to Global Solidarity” in 1997 that this solidarity plays out in many ways, most poignant today, the hotly debated issue of immigration. One of the constant features of American history is the fact of immigration and the process of conversion whereby the receiving population learns to soften its heart and open its arms to welcome the newcomer. As we have seen with the earlier waves of Irish, German, Italian and Eastern European immigrants, this process takes time — time for the immigrants to assimilate and time for the receiving population to become comfortable with the newcomers. The ancestors of today’s Americans faced and overcame many of the same obstacles that now confront today’s immigrants.
Is illegal immigration a bad thing? Yes, illegal immigration is a bad thing. A very bad thing. It is very harmful to the immigrants and to a lesser degree it is harmful to our country as well. Unfortunately, U. S. immigration law provides people with no other alternative in the exercise of their basic human right to immigrate. Is this
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Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
a case of the ends justifying the means or the lesser of two evils — neither of which is morally admissible? No, because the act of immigration in the exercise of one’s intrinsic human rights is justifiable and not evil even when it involves the infraction of a law that is itself unjust. The solution to illegal immigration is not to make immigration even more difficult and perilous, but rather to remove the causes of illegal immigration.
Why does the Catholic Church care so much about US immigration reform? The explanation lies in the church’s view of itself as a pilgrim people in a pilgrim church. It sees the Holy Family — in their flight to Egypt — as the archetypal refugee family. Migrants evoke their own history, including the biblical exodus and exile, the itinerant ministry of Jesus, and its 2,000-year missionary tradition. The stranger is welcomed as a Gospel imperative. In Strangers No Longer, the church states that people have the right not to migrate; that is, they should be able to live freely in their countries of birth. However, when this is impossible, whether due to extreme poverty or persecution, the church says they have a right to migrate, and nations have a duty to receive them.
and the Challenges of Immigration Today Two fundamental strands of the church’s mission — protecting the dignity of all and gathering into one God’s scattered children — come together in its ministry to migrants and newcomers. In effect, the church teaches that all people are “brothers and sisters” and that immigration status does not change this fact. Likewise, it offers its Catholic Charities programs, legal offices, community organizing grants, and refugee resettlement services to all vulnerable migrants and newcomers, regardless of their religious beliefs.
The Bishop’s Position on Immigration in a Nutshell The Catholic Church in the United States does not support open borders, illegal immigration, or an “amnesty” that would grant legal status to all unauthorized immigrants. It believes nations have a legitimate responsibility to promote the common good by denying admission to certain migrants and by regulating the flow of all those who are seeking to enter. However, the church sees the current US immigration system — while generous in many respects — as badly
in need of reform. It has been particularly offended by hundreds of deaths along the US-Mexico border; the growth of human smuggling rings; the disconnect between US labor needs, trade policies, and immigration admis-
sion levels; and decades-long delays in some family reunification categories. The church does not believe that criminal prosecution and deportation of unauthorized immigrants offer a viable, much less a humane, approach to the problem. As the church is quick to highlight, many unauthorized immigrants live in “mixed-status” families and represent five percent of the US workforce. Doing nothing, the church believes, would facilitate the growth of a population of second-class noncitizens with limited rights, few prospects, or security. As the US bishops stated in 1986, the year the US Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), “It is against the common good and unacceptable to have a double society, one visible with rights and one invisible without rights — a voiceless underground of undocumented persons.” IRCA made it illegal for employers to hire unauthorized immigrants, increased enforcement, and granted amnesty to unauthorized immigrants who met certain criteria. After IRCA passed, the US bishops mobilized the country’s largest network of “qualified designated entities” — voluntary and community organizations that had permission from the Immigration and Naturalization Service to help unauthorized immigrants fill out adjustment-of-status applications. The Catholic Church believes a just immigration system would allow immigrants to realize their basic aspirations and, in doing so, would serve the good of all Americans. U
Resources for Reflection, Prayer and Action Parish kits, available on the website, contain the following:
• Implementing a Justice for
Immigrants Campaign in the Parish
• Initial Organizational Tasks • Suggested Parish Committees and Tasks
• Organizations to Include in Campaign
• Liturgy and Prayer Suggestions
• Suggestions for Homilists • Relevant Scriptural Passages • Prayer Card • Strangers No Longer:
Together on the Journey of Hope: A Pastoral Letter Concerning Migration
• Catholic Social Teaching and Migration
• Understanding Catholic Social Teaching as it Relates to Migration
Check out this and more at: www.justiceforimmigrants.org
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
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World Mission Spirituality
Zimbabwe, Saint Paul and True Power Zimbabwean Jesuit David Harold-Barry looks at the concept of power expressed in the letters of St. Paul. How does Paul’s idea of power differ to the manifestations of political power we see today? www.thinkingfaith.org
A depiction of St. Paul’s conversion on the way to Damascus by Carravaggio.
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eople who observe Zimbabwe from afar often explode, ‘Why is the situation going on so long? Why don’t you do something? Why don’t you get rid of that man who is blocking everything?’ Those of us who live here do not ask these questions. We are not interested in violence; we had years of it in the struggle for independence and they were deeply traumatic. And besides, bad as our situation is, we have no wish to find ourselves alongside Kivu and Goma, suffering the same misery as that caused by the Rwandan genocide. But there is perhaps a deeper reason which we do not often put into words. Our president uses force to stay in power but to use force to remove him would be inviting for ourselves decades of instability. We prefer to wait. Eventually circumstances will abound that will make change inevitable. What we are living through now in Zimbabwe is painful but it is not time lost. People in their thirties and forties, educated reflective people, have observed what has been happening this past ten years and they are deeply embarrassed by the continued presence of ‘the old man’. But they want to see him go peacefully. Meanwhile they are consciously planning the sort of society they want. They
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in your faith, so that in the power of the Holy Spirit you may be rich in hope. (Rom 15:13). Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. (Eph 3: 20)
now know – by a sort of via negativa - what good governance means and what effective management of the economy means. We will never again tolerate someone bulldozing his way through the institutions of the state. In this year of St. Paul we have a sure theological base for this way of seeing things. Paul often talks of power but in a way quite different from our leader.
There is exterior power, which is the imposition of something by brute force, that has no relationship to the reality on the ground. There is also interior power, which is what Paul refers to. It is doing something, often painfully and slowly, that relates, as it were organically, to some need on the ground and which ultimately people accept because it has an interior logic. This is the power Paul writes of. And he is quite blunt about it: for Paul, power means the cross. W
An election rally during the violent times in Zimbabwe.
Become a Partner in Global Mission
“Being a missionary today means to allow ourselves to be put at the service of a project bigger than us...”
A To Live and Work for Peace
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r. Rene Casillas, SX, pictured above on the left, together with Fr. Hernandez, SX, are young Xaverians beginning their first mission experience. Fr. Rene relates: “The desire to become a missionary was born in me when I was a teenager. After studying in high school, I entered the Novitiate in Salamanca, Mexico, and became a Xaverian in 1999, at the age of 21 years. After studying philosophy, I was sent to Parma to attend courses in theology, next to the shrine of Blessed Guido Conforti, founder of the Xaverian Missionaries. I returned to Mexico to be ordained a priest on 23 August 2008 in Los Cabos. For me to be a missionary priest means sharing my life with God and with others, it means giving myself to the service of the kingdom of God, announcing and bearing witness to His mercy and peace. In this way, peace and unity is possible in a world often fractured by division.
I am certain that the missionary vocation commits us to this: to be true prophets of peace. Being a missionary today means to allow ourselves to be put at the service of a project bigger than us: to proclaim Jesus, Prince of Peace, who transforms our lives to “make the world one “family” in all its diversity. Today we live in a world that seeks peace everywhere, but cannot find it because this is often sought by force of arms and power. Our world urgently needs men and women who proclaim peace, who are prophets of peace. It is crucial that people put their lives at the service of these dreams and ideals, after the example of Christ. Now I am already in the Amazons of Northern Brazil: I’m experiencing new friends and a new mission, a new home. I hope to faithfully follow my ideals with the Brazilian people. They are often young people that are full of generosity, faith. celebration, and contradictions.
In the North, in the Amazon region of Brazil, there are about 45 Xaverian Missionaries. The majority of them working in parish churches in Altamira, Abaetetuba, Xingù, and Belem, in the formation of Basic Christian Communities, Church leaders, catechists and local seminarians. Some others work in the promotion of justice and the defense of human rights in cooperation with various organizations. Still a few good bunch work in mission animation and vocation promotion, or some projects with the native Indians.
“The boundaries between continents, cultures, races and nations disappear in order to have a united attitude of sincere and universal welcome, of dialogue and collaboration among different people…” – Pope Benedict XVI BUILD THIS WORLD OF PEACE AS A XAVERIAN MISSIONARY Contact: Fr.. Joe Matteucig 508-429-2144 holliston.sx@gmail.com
In the South, on the other hand, there are 59 Xaverian Missionaries. There we work on mission animation, vocation recruitment, and formation of young Brazilian candidates to become Xaverians. We also respond to the needs of the local church in the parish of San Miguel Arcanjo, bairro Matao, Campinas, SP. These parishes cover vast territories, are densely populated, and affected by many social problems. U
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
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World Mission News Digest
World Mission News Digest Indonesia
Ferry Sinks, Hundreds Missing Some 245 people are missing after a ferry sank en route between the Island of Sulawesi and Borneo, said Transport Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal, adding that first investigations indicate that the cause of the disaster were the bad weather conditions. According to the 22 survivors, the ferry capsized on Saturday night after being hit by over 5-meter high waves. The director of maritime security of Pare Pare, the port on the western coast of Sulawesi from where the ferry departed, said that the ferry flipped over during the night when most of the 250 passengers and 17 crew members were sleeping. DRC
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) strives to be a meaningful voice for Africa in U.S. public policy. AFJN stresses issues of human rights and social justice that tie directly into Catholic social teaching. AFJN works closely with Catholic missionary congregations and numerous Africa-focused coalitions of all persuasions to advocate for USA economic and political policies that will benefit Africa`s poor majority, facilitate an end to armed conflict, establish equitable trade and investment with Africa and promote ecologically sound development. The Executive Director is Xaverian Missionary, Fr. Rocco Puopolo. Get Involved at: www.afjn.org
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The Catholic Church assists after the massacres Caritas International has sent aid to 10,000 families in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where on Christmas Day Ugandan rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) carried out massacres on the local population. “The rebels have been terrorizing the people of northern Congo for several months. However, the wave of violence during the holiday season has left over 400 victims from a series of massacres carried out by the LRA rebels on Christmas Day and the days that followed.” Officials said, “We are shocked by survivor’s accounts. In spite of the presence of soldiers in some towns, many people fear new episodes of violence. The inhabitants of the villages attacked have fled empty-handed and Caritas is trying to provide for those who were forced to flee on Christmas Day and the days that following.” Up to 150,000 people are thought have left their homes to seek safety following violence which has seen rebels burning villages, hacking people to death
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
and kidnapping children and forcing them to become soldiers.
Taiwan
Sierra Leone, Africa
‘Chuckie’ Taylor, son of the president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, already recognized last October of being guilty of torture and complicity in several homicides between 1999 and 2003, was sentenced to 97 years in prison by a court in Miami. Born in Boston, a citizen of the United States, Charles McArthur Emmanuel 31, was judged on the basis of a law that authorizes federal courts over crimes of torture perpetrated by US citizens. During the presidency of Charles Taylor, currently on trial in The Hague by the UN for war crimes committed during the civil war in Sierra Leone, ‘Chuckie’ led the “antiterrorism” unit.
The faithful of the Diocese of Tai Nan are showing their great enthusiasm and devotion to Our Lady of Wan Jin, whose image is on pilgrimage through the various dioceses of the island of Taiwan, in order to “invoke the Lord’s blessing on the country,” on the occasion of its 150th anniversary of evangelization. Cardinal Paul Shan, Emeritus Bishop of Kaohsiung, on behalf of all the Bishops of Taiwan who were on their Ad Limina visit in Rome, presided over the solemn procession that took place on December 13, welcoming the arrival of the pilgrim-statue of Our Lady of Wan Jin to Tai Nan. When the religious procession passed in front of a Buddhist temple, even the Buddhists who were inside the temple praying came out with their hands in prayer and bowed their heads in respect before the statue.
Vatican City
Burundi, Africa
“Once again I would repeat that the military option is not a solution and that violence, wherever it comes from and whatever form it takes, must be firmly condemned”, said Pope Benedict XVI in a speech to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. “The birth of Christ in the poor grotto of Bethlehem, naturally conducts our thoughts to the situation in the Middle East, and first and foremost to the Holy Land, where over these last few days we are witnessing a recrudescence of violence, which causes damages and huge sufferings amidst the civilians. This situation further complicates the pursuit of a way out of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, profoundly desired by many of them and the entire world”, added the Pontiff.
The Archdiocese of Gitega has recently approved the new religious family of the Congregation of Mary, Queen of the Holy Priesthood. The Congregation was founded by diocesan priest Father Avit Vyumvuhore on August 15, 1976, with the mission of sanctifying the People of God and bearing witness to the irreplaceable role of the priesthood in ecclesial life. The charism given by the Founder (who was a missionary in Africa and Europe) is that of praying and working for the holiness of all the baptized, especially for the holiness of priests, spreading the spirituality of the love Jesus related to his Disciples: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt. 5:44). The Institute includes both a masculine and feminine branch (the latter being a more recent foundation).
Son of Former President Sentenced
Pope Benedict XVI on Gaza: “Military Options are No Solution”
Our Lady of Wan Jin
New Religious Congregation Approved
From our USA Communities
News from our USA Communities Sharing Missionary Lives on College Campus
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issionaries who work many years in far flung places worldwide have the fortune to “bring home” these rich, eventful experiences in order to share them with us and to help us know the global links we all have as Catholics. Fr. Adolph Menendez worked for 23 years in Mexico and before that, more than seven in Japan. From there he came to the Eastern Illinois University and finally to the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana to work in campus ministry. Presently he serves the mission education program of the Catholic student center and the Hispanic Apostolate. Fr. Adolph, whose warm and friendly approach with the students, brings an important dimension to ministry with the Catholic students of the campus. He says that in sharing his missionary
Soup and Mission Program for Lent 2009 Presents The Xaverian Missionaries in the Democratic Republic of the Congo By Fr. Pascal Kamanzi Kasanziki Rector of our International Theology Program in Chicago
Saturday, March 28
Fr. Adolph Menendez with some international students at a special program at the University.
Our Lady of Fatima Shrine 101 Summer Street Holliston, MA
Call 508-429-2144 life and the mission of the Church, they come to understand their lives as a gift of God given for the benefit of others. Also, he enjoys to see the signs of wonder in them as they come to know more of the ways of God. Fr. Victor Mosele, another Xaverian Missionary working in campus ministry, worked for more than 30 years in
On staff at the Catholic Student Center, he assists with the sacramental life of the students and is present to them for counseling and friendly chats. Fr. Victor says that many of the students have little idea of what the missionary commitment of the Church in the world is really all about today. He tries to “fill the gap” of knowledge and appreciation for mission in order to help the students understand their commitment of global solidarity as Catholics. U Check out Fr. Victor’s Book, Running for My Life, at Amazon Bookstore. (See details on page 12)
Fr. Victor Mosele talks with students at the FOCUS conference, a meeting of Catholic College students nationwide.
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Sierra Leone, West Africa, where in his last years experienced the horrors of war, was kidnapped by rebels and eventually found freedom. He brings this rich faith experience to Illinois State University in Normal/ Bloomington, Illinois.
M
argaret Toner, founder of the Xaverian Mission Guild of Kearny, NJ, more than 40 years ago passed away on January 8, 2008 at the age of 93. Fr.. Maloney remembers her: “I recall her enthusiasm, her gentleness, her spirited antics, her willingness to be there for her children and for her neighbors and friends and for her relatives still in Scotland.” She worked tirelessly for many years in the support of the missionary work of the Church. She will truly be missed.
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
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Xaverian Mission Newsletter • February 2009
Lenten Reading Suggestion
Running for My Life by Fr. Victor Mosele, SX
Breathtaking and cruel, the 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone, Africa, becomes frighteningly real with the capture of Catholic missionary Fr. Victor Mosele. His true story of surviving two harrowing kidnappings and the risks ordinary people took to save him are testimony to the triumph of the human spirit. Go to: http://www.nedderpublishing.
This Lent, consider donating your time, talent and treasure with us as you reach out to the world in Christ’s name. A
Contact the local community closest to you (see page 2)
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The Xaverian Missioners Are Presently Serving In: Bangladesh • Brazil • Burundi • Cameroon • Chad • China • Colombia • Democratic Republic of Congo • France Great Britain • Indonesia • Italy • Japan • Mexico • Mozambique • Philippines • Sierra Leone • Spain • Taiwan • U.S.A.
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