A horrific massacre of 147 students and others took place last week at Garissa University College in Kenya. Christians were the main target of Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaida-affiliated Somali terrorist group.
In February 2015, 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian migrant workers were beheaded by an ISIL-affiliated militia group on the beach along the southern Mediterranean coast of Libya. Their fault: being “people of the cross.”
It is logical to ask: Is there still room for what has been termed for decades as “inter-religious dialogue” at a time when the world is torn apart by wars and reverberating forms of violence that have resulted in variant bloody ferocities, deaths and victims? As some of these ferocities are committed in the name of religion, we thus inquire, “What has been left for the religion to say? What is the position of religion vis-à-vis what is taking place? What are the reasons behind maintaining inter-religious dialogue? Where will this course lead to?
Ahead of Sunday’s Mass at Saint Peter’s in commemoration of the centenary of the genocide, the Pope meets with members of the Armenian Catholic Church on April 9, 2015: reconciliation between nations that still have not come to a reasonable consensus on the reading of those events.
The Pope said this at the Regina Coeli prayer today, emphasising that “the International Community must not remain silent and inert” and recalling that “Christ’s resurrection brightens up our darkest moments”.
For Christians all over the world, Easter is a season of hope; Christ triumphant on Easter morning banishes the darkness of sin and death.
Here in Iraq, we have particular reason to rejoice in Christ's victory over the powers of evil. It is a victory we so sorely need in a land where we are currently walking the Way of the Cross, desperately searching for signs of the Resurrection
At the Good Friday service for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion in the presence of Pope Francis, the Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, denounced the indifference of the institutions.
Pope Francis has called upon “all those in authority to redouble their efforts to work with all men and women in Kenya to bring an end to such violence and to hasten the dawn of a new era of brotherhood, justice and peace”
Jihadists have attacked a university residence killing 147 people. Shock testimonies speak of “decapitated corpses”.
Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!
Easter Sunday, the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord, is really a feast of Jerusalem. All across the world today, Christians in western traditions are remembering our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, and when they do it they are thinking about Jerusalem.
Palm branches, cries of hosanna: As in the rest of the world, Palm Sunday was the start of Holy Week for Catholics in Iraq. In Malabrwan, a small Christian village in the north of the country dozens of children gathered in the Chaldean parish church holding palm and olive branches to commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. They listen to the Gospel and they sing songs. Happiness can be seen on their faces, as can light-heartedness. But one should not be deceived: many of the children have gone through bad times.
