Category Archives: News & Events
The Apostolic Nuncio appointed for India & Nepal – Article from Mangaloretoday News network
The Apostolic Nuncio appointed for India & Nepal – Article from Mangaloretoday News network.
Mumbai, Jan 21: His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed His Excellency Most Reverend Giambattista Diquattro, till now Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia, as the new APOSTOLIC NUNCIO to INDIA and NEPAL.
This ecclesiastical provision is made public in Rome today, Saturday 21st January 2017, at noon local time, corresponding to 16:30 hours, Indian Standard Time.
Pope has appointed Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro as the new apostolic nuncio to India and Nepal.
The 62-year-old Italian prelate is currently the nuncio to Bolivia, a country in central South America.
The formal announcement was made at 12 noon in Rome (4:30 pm in India), on January 21.
The new nuncio is expected in India mid-February, sources in the apostolic nunciature told Matters India.
Archbishop Diquattro, who was ordained a priest 35 years ago, has been a bishop for 11 years.
He took over as the nuncio to Bolivia on November 21, 2008.
He was on March 18, 1954, in Bologna, the capital and the largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy.
He was ordained priest on August 24, 1981, for Ragusa diocese in Italy and ordained bishop on April 2, 2005.
He was appointed apostolic nuncio to Panama on April 2, 2005.
On January 19, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, a papal adviser, told Matters India that the Indian government had cleared the nuncio’s name.
India has been without a Vatican ambassador since early October when Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, who was the Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal for six years, left for Poland.
The new nuncio is taking over at a time when India is preparing to receive Pope Francis, who has shown interest in visiting the country.
India witnessed three papal visits so far. The first Pope to visit India was Pope Paul VI, who came to Mumbai in 1964 to attend the International Eucharistic Congress.
Pope John Paul II visited 14 places in India in February 1986 and New Delhi in November 1999.
Several Indian dignitaries have, from time to time, called on the Pope in the Vatican. The latest was federal External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who led the Indian delegation at the canonization of Mother Teresa on September 4, 2016, at the Vatican.
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi me the Pope in 1981, and I.K. Gujral, another premier, in 1987. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was the prime minister three times, called on the Pope in 2000 during his official visit to Italy.
Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat represented the country at the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
The Vatican has a nunciature in New Delhi while India has accredited its embassy in Bern, Switzerland, to the Holy See as well. India’s current ambassador to the Holy See is Smitha Purushottam since September 2015.
The Vatican-India bilateral relations was formally started on June 12, 1948, nearly a year after India became an independent nation. However, an apostolic delegation existed in India from 1881. The apostolic delegation to the East Indies then included Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and was extended to Malaca in 1889, and then to Burma in 1920.
The connections between the Catholic Church and India are traced to Saint Thomas the Apostle, who, according to tradition, came to India in 52 AD.
Bishops were sent to India from Syria as early as the 6th or 7th centuries. There is a record of an Indian bishop visiting Rome at the time of Pope Callixtus II (1119–1124).
Pope Pius XII It raised it to an Inter-nunciature in 1948 and to full apostolic nunciature in 1967 by Pope Paul VI.
The notification letter from the Secretary General, CBCI – Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas.
News from Mr. William Parmar. Thanks
Remembering the man who wrote ‘Puthen Pana’ – Article from “The Times of India”.
Remembering the man who wrote ‘Puthen Pana’ – Article from “The Times of India”.
Thrissur: It was utmost happiness for Otto Duisen, a retired businessman from Germany, to see the efforts taken by the natives to preserve an old church established over three centuries back.
“When people start drifting away from culture and heritage, these efforts to preserve the history of a man who came from Germany should be applauded,” said Otto Duisen at a function to welcome members of the Arnos Pathiri Academy at Velur in the district on Tuesday.
A group of 25 people from Ostercappeln, a municipality in the Osnabruck district of Germany and native village of Arnos Pathiri, visited the St Francis Xavier Forane Church established by him at Velur.
The church has been taken over by the department of museum, Kerala, but a conservation plan to maintain the centuries-old church had not been initiated yet.
Adjacent to the church, a small outhouse used by Arnos Pathiri has also been preserved.
“Though people know about Arnos Pathiri and the church here, his works like ‘Puthan Pana’, Malayalam grammatical texts etc have not been recognized much globally,” said John Kalliath, who had published a number of books on the history and literature of Arnos Pathiri.
Johann Ernst Hanxleden, known as Arnos Pathiri, was a German Jesuit priest, missionary, Sanskrit and Malayalam poet.
“When Sanskrit remained a banned language for the untouchables during the caste system prevailed in Kerala, Arnos Pathiri took efforts to learn it and even write a book on its grammar,” added John Kaliath.
Arnos Pathiri died on March 20, 1732, after a snake bite and was buried at Pazhuvilwhich was also visited by the team of Germans on Tuesday.
“It has been over three centuries since Arnos Pathiri passed away and it’s the first time people from his native place visiting this church where he spent most of his life,” said Jose Kuzhichalil, parish priest at Ostercappeln who accompanied the team on this visit.
Stage set for mega Bible-based show – Article from “THE HINDU”
Stage set for mega Bible-based show – Article from “THE HINDU”
Soorya Krishnamoorthy says show will focus on the inner meaning of Jesus miracles
Cultural activist Soorya Krishnamoorthy will bring to stage a mega show based on the Bible. Titled Ente Rakshakan (My Saviour), the show is set to go on stage on January 20 at the Salvation Army School grounds here. Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram Soosa Pakiam M., and Mr. Krishnamoorthy held a press conference at the Bishop House on Monday to announce the show.
“The production features150 artistes and around 50 animals and birds. The stage occupies 20 cents. Most of the cast and crew consists of non-Christians. This comes at a time when motives, including that of religious conversion, are attributed to such attempts,” said Soosa Pakiam.
Mr. Krishnamoorthy said the focus of the show would not be on miracles, but on the inner meanings of such miracles.
“The show will be of two hours, taking the audience through the life of Jesus Christ, right from the birth. It will be based on the New Testament,” he said.
Pratheeksh, who plays Jesus Christ, was introduced at the press conference. Soorya Stage and Film Society is presenting the show in association with the Changanassery Sarga Kshetra Arts and Cultural Centre and the Mar Chrysostom Global Peace Mission. Ramesh Narayanan has composed the music for the show, while V. Madhusoodanan Nair has written the lyrics.
Mr. Krishnamoorthy said the show would be presented at two different locations each month, with three shows at each place. The aim was to present the show in at least 100 venues in the next few years. The opening show in January 20 will be held in the presence of heads of various churches under the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, Bible scholars and others. On January 21 and 23, the show will be held for members of Soorya. On January 24, it will be presented for an invited audience.
PROTECT MIGRANT CHILDREN – Article by Fr. Cedric Prakash S.J.
PROTECT MIGRANT CHILDREN – Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ
On January 9th 2017, in an address to the members of the Diplomatic Corps from 181 countries accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis said, “children and young people are the future; it is for them that we work and build. They cannot be selfishly overlooked or forgotten…I consider it a priority to protect children, whose innocence is often violated by exploitation, clandestine and slave labour, prostitution or the abuse of adults, criminals and dealers in death.” and further, “I think of the young people affected by the brutal conflict in Syria, deprived of the joys of childhood and youth, such as the ability to play games and to attend school”. His message was loud and clear, a necessary step for security and peace everywhere, is to invest in children and particularly those who are directly affected by the numerous wars and conflicts of our time.
Pope Francis has been consistent in his focus on the painful reality of migrant children. On January 15th 2017, the Catholic Church will once again observe the ‘World Day of Migrants and Refugees’ and in a hard-hitting message for the day on ‘Child Migrants, the Vulnerable and the Voiceless’ Pope Francis writes, “I feel compelled to draw attention to the reality of child migrants, especially the ones who are alone. In doing so I ask everyone to take care of the young, who in a threefold way are defenseless: they are children, they are foreigners, and they have no means to protect themselves. I ask everyone to help those who, for various reasons, are forced to live far from their homeland and are separated from their families”.
There are today innumerable stories on the suffering of children who are in the midst of war or are fleeing war and persecution. From Syria to Myanmar; from Congo to Colombia; from Afghanistan to Sudan – the plight of migrant children labouring long hours in sweatshops; toiling in fields; begging on streets; or just left to the vagaries of hostile environments could make the coldest hearts thaw. The dead body of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year old Syrian child, which was washed up on a beach in Turkey early in September 2015, will forever be etched in the memory and conscience of anyone who cares.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) states that, “Over half of the world’s refugees are children. Many will spend their entire childhoods away from home, sometimes separated from their families. They may have witnessed or experienced violent acts and, in exile, are at risk of abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation, trafficking or military recruitment”. Pope Francis reiterates this situation in his message also emphasizing that these children are deprived “of rights intrinsic to childhood as sanctioned by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child”.
Pope Francis calls upon the Christian community and the world at large to respond to the reality of the migrant children by working towards protection, integration and long-term solutions.
He highlights the importance to adopt “every possible measure to guarantee the protection and safety of child migrants, because these boys and girls often end up on the street abandoned to themselves and prey to unscrupulous exploiters who often transform them into the object of physical, moral and sexual violence.” He does not mince words when he says, “if more rigorous and effective action is not taken against those who profit from such abuse, we will not be able to stop the multiple forms of slavery where children are the victims”.
The integration of migrant children is also essential; to have adequate policies and also the necessary financial resources to ensure for their assistance and inclusion. All are aware of how several ‘host countries’ create all possible obstacles to deny refugee children with appropriate formal education, healthcare and even with much –needed recreational facilities.
Finally, Pope Francis makes “a heartfelt appeal that long-term solutions be sought and adopted. Since this is a complex phenomenon, the question of child migrants must be tackled at its source. Wars, human rights violations, corruption, poverty, environmental imbalance and disasters, are all causes of this problem… far-sighted perspectives are called for, capable of offering adequate programmes for areas struck by the worst injustice and instability, in order that access to authentic development can be guaranteed for all. This development should promote the good of boys and girls, who are humanity’s hope”.
A visionary but strong challenge indeed! The moot point, as we observe the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, is to ask ourselves and those in power, whether enough is being done for the voiceless, vulnerable and invisible child migrant of today? And if not, to get involved in more concerted action now!
10th January 2017 – Fr. Cedric Prakash
Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights activist. He is currently based in Lebanon, engaged with the Jesuit Refugee Service(JRS) in the Middle East on advocacy and communications.
Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com )
Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ
Advocacy & Communications
Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) MENA Region
Rue de L’Universitie Saint-Joseph
Achrafieh 11002150 BEIRUT LEBANON
The full text of the Message of Pope Francis for World Day of Migrants and Refugees (January 15th 2017) can be found on https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/migration/documents/papa-francesco_20160908_world-migrants-day-2017.html