The Catholic Leader - 7 May

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The Catholic Leader, May 7, 2017
World
AN Italian association that runs and maintains a Roman beach
for people with disabilities received an unexpected donation
from Pope Francis.
In an April 25 statement, the Work of Love, a charitable
association dedicated to St Aloysius Gonzaga, expressed its
“enthusiasm and astonishment” upon receiving a contribution
made in the Pope’s name by the papal almoner Archbishop
Konrad Krajewski.
The association runs La Madonnina beach near Fiumicino,
south-west of Rome, which is specially designed for people
with disabilities, and equipped with walkways for easy access
in and around the area.
The Work of Love association said the donation was accom-
panied by a message from the Pope who “imparted his blessing
to the volunteers and in a special way to the disabled people
and their families” who visit the beach.
The undisclosed amount donated by Pope Francis, the state-
ment said, “covers the rent costs for the year for La Madonnina
beach”. CNS
Hope, gratitude,
discernment needed
for renewal, Pope says
Vatican News
Pope Francis to canonise two
Fatima seers on May 13 visit to
site of apparitions in Portugal
THE only way to give an authentic witness of Christ’s death
and resurrection is by sharing the Gospel with humility, Pope
Francis said.
Christians who preached must resist the temptation of power,
pride and worldliness, which can lead to “preaching a watered-
down Gospel without strength, a Gospel without Christ cruci-
fied and risen”, the Pope said on April 25 during morning Mass
in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae.
“Why is this humility necessary?” he asked. “Precisely be-
cause we bring forward a proclamation of humiliation, of glory
but through humiliation.”
The Pope reflected on the day’s reading from the First Letter
of Peter (5:5-14) in which the apostle calls on the early Christian
communities to be vigilant and resist the devil who “is prowling
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”.
Although there was always “some form of temptation and
even persecution” when evangelising, the Pope said, it was “the
Lord who picks us up, who gives us strength”.
He said it was Jesus who would always strengthen those who
went out of their way to “preach Christ crucified”, if done with
“true humility”.
“May the Lord give us this grace, as baptised people – all of
us – of taking this path of evangelisation with humility, trust-
ing in him, announcing the true Gospel: ‘The Word was made
flesh’,” the Pope said.
CNS
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Bishop backs the case against
Duterte in international court
Death
squad: A
resident
looks at
Philippine
Drug En-
forcement
Agency
officers
during an
anti-drug
operation
on March
16 in
Manila.
Photo:
CNS/
Romeo
Ranoco,
Reuters
THE case filed against Philippine Presi-
dent Rodrigo Duterte before the Interna-
tional Criminal Court in The Hague is a
“very good step” toward stopping drug-
related killings, a Catholic bishop said.
“It is our hope that this move will inject
fear into the hearts and minds of the ac-
cused officials so that they will eventually
and sincerely put a stop to these merci-
less killings,” Bishop Arturo Bastes of
Sorsogon said.
reported that the bishop
said the International Criminal Court
should “take serious action against the
continuous and seemingly condoned vio-
lation of human rights in the Philippines”.
“Filing a complaint at the ICC is a
good move for the whole world to know
that crimes against humanity, seemingly
sanctioned by the government, are being
committed in this Christian country,”
Bishop Bastes said.
reported that a complaint
of “mass murder” was filed against Mr
Duterte and 11 other Philippine officials
for alleged crimes against humanity
brought about by the drug-related killings.
Human Rights Watch reported in
March that more than 7000 people had
been killed in either police anti-drug
operations or in unexplained killings since
Mr Duterte took office on June 30.
In early March, Mr Duterte’s allies in
the Philippine House helped pass a meas-
ure reinstating the death penalty, with the
primary goal of executing drug offenders.
The 77-page court complaint, “The Sit-
uation of Mass Murder in the Philippines,
Rodrigo Duterte: The Mass Murderer”,
alleges that Mr Duterte masterminded
the killings of suspected drug users and
dealers.
The presidential palace dismissed the
complaint as “black propaganda”.
In the Philippine Senate, Senator Pan-
filo Lacson, a Duterte supporter, said the
case against the president was “dustbin
bound” for lack of solid evidence.
Senator Risa Hontiveros said she
was “saddened” that some members of
the Senate were included among those
charged in the international court.
Two sitting senators were also charged
with violating various provisions of the
Rome Statute, a treaty that established the
International Criminal Court.
The court is responsible for trying
perpetrators of genocide, crimes against
humanity, war crimes and crimes of ag-
gression.
The Philippines ratified the statute in
August 2011.
Religious leaders, including the Catho-
lic bishops, have criticised the killings,
although the bishops have stated they
oppose Mr Duterte’s policies, not Mr
Duterte as a person. CNS
French cardinal says ‘democracy gone mad’
Campaign the ‘worst’
FRANCE’S Catholic primate
has condemned the current
presidential campaign as his
country’s “worst ever” and urged
Christians to help prevent
democracy from “losing
its sense”.
“Left and right rivalled
each other and had their
radical wings, but there
was also a centre,” Cardi-
nal Philippe Barbarin of
Lyon said. “Now, left and
right have stepped back, and
the main candidates are divided
by other unclear criteria.
“I have the impression our voters are
totally lost.”
In an interview with Poland’s Catholic
Information Agency (KAI), published on
April 26, Cardinal Barbarin (pictured)
said France was witnessing “the twilight
of its existing political system” as citizens
sought out “leaders closer to the people in
their economic and social realities”.
“Democracy seems to be losing its sense
and being cast adrift by media shabbiness,”
Cardinal Barbarin said.
“This has been our worst-ever election
campaign, characterised by the unforgiv-
able accusations, total critiques, violence,
chaos and the misleading of voters.”
In the first round of French elections
on April 23, Emmanuel Macron, who
founded En Marche!, a centre-left political
movement, and Marine Le Pen, emerged
as the two top vote-getters. Ms Le Pen
subsequently resigned from the
far-right National Front which
she had led.
She and Mr Macron will
face off today (May 7),
when voters will choose
who will be France’s presi-
dent for the next five years.
Candidates from the
mainstream Socialist and
Republican parties will not be
in the final round.
Cardinal Barbarin said the success of Ms
Le Pen, who has vowed to take France out
of the European Union and give French
nationals priority over foreigners in jobs,
welfare, housing and education, reflected
a “destabilising trend” also visible in other
parts of Europe and the United States.
He spoke of a “form of democratic ter-
rorism”, which stripped candidates of their
dignity by establishing a right “to know
everything, whether proved or unproved”
about them.
“It seems we’re dealing with a de-
mocracy gone mad,” the cardinal said.
“Although statesmen still exist, they’re
unable to get through today’s campaign
mechanisms, where everything is decided
by the art of winning.
“Those who win are just electoral ani-
mals, not competent, rational politicians.”
Catholics traditionally make up two-
thirds of France’s 67 million inhabitants,
although only a small proportion attends
Mass.
In a book-length message last October,
“Recovering the sense of politics”, the
bishops’ conference said “weariness, frus-
tration, fear and anger” in the country had
fuelled “profound hopes and expectations
of change”, but also cautioned against “a
search for facile, emotive options”.
Cardinal Barbarin told KAI the Catholic
Church should appeal to citizens not to vote
“for people with pretty eyes, who can make
stars of themselves with media support”.
“This is a time of decadence, and deca-
dence means certain forms and structures
are nearing their end,” he said.
“As Christians, we yearn for social
order, peace and harmony – a state based
on principles of welfare and participa-
tion, where all can make contributions and
citizens are subjects of the political com-
munity,” he said.
“But the problem in today’s France is
the rising disappointment and anger of
those who feel ill-treated, rejected and
forgotten.” CNS