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Profound changes with the Dehonians

( Rinaldo Paganelli )The geographical and the cultural changes that the Congregation of the priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (the Dehonians), founded in 1878 in France, is experiencing now, are the greatest since the time of their founder Fr. Leo John Dehon, to the point of transforming its internal relationships and the perspectives of its development. These changes require new visions and solutions.

In a time of great transformation at world and ecclesial level, the SCJs celebrate the 22^nd General Chapter of the Congregation from May 17^thto June 12^th, 2009. This is an important occasion to orient one's view towards the principles from where come the energy and the style of their work. The theme chosen is "the love of Christ impels us," (2Cor. 5:14).

The importance will be laid on three fundamental points, to give a response to God and to the appeal of the world:

1) The centrality of Christ who transforms the heart with his love.

2) The fraternal life which is opened to the multi-cultural reality of the Congregation.

3) The universality of the love of God, which urges the mission work to all the races and cultures, to make it possible to "believe with" in the diverse cultural expressions.

There will be 95 participants; among them are the rightful members, the delegates and those who are in charge of the various works. There will be 40 nations represented; 20 days of work; a day for retreat before the election of the new Superior General, which would take place on May 27^th, followed by election of his council. There will be the revision of a few norms with regard to the election and the functioning of the administration. The Chapter will also look for new orientations for new openings and to animate the entities which already exist.

The focus of this Chapter meeting will be the love of Christ which still stirs in each person and community, the motivations which keep us going, and the capacity to heal the wounds and preoccupations. For this event there is a hymn which has been prepared and published on the YouTube site. The pictures in the video of the song refer to the General Curia, the preparatory commission and the group that recorded the song.

Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM_UdTTuJ-k

( Published in Rome, April 30, 2009 )

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VATICAN - Letter to the Catholic Bishops and Priests of mainland China

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) Â– Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and the Secretary of the same Congregation have addressed the following Letter to the Catholic Bishops and Priests of mainland China. Dearest Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, peace be with you! Inspired by celebrations during the Year for Priests, recently concluded, I send to you cordial and brotherly greetings and a word of encouragement for your arduous pastoral duties as shepherds of the flock entrusted to you by the Lord in your noble nation. I long to say these things to you personally, to hear about your joys and your woes, about the hopes you nurture and the challenges you face every day. Your testimony and your messages received here at the Missionary Congregation fill us with consolation and spur us to pray fervently that the Lord may render you ever stronger in the faith and sustain your activity to propagate the Good News of Jesus Christ in your beloved country. With our thoughts still set on the famous figure of Saint Jean Marie Vianney, Cure d'Ars, so often recalled during the Year for Priests, we acknowledge first of all - with deep humility - that we are called by Jesus to be Â“not servants, but friendsÂ” (cfr Jn 15, 15) not through our own merits, but through His infinite mercy. He has conferred upon us the lofty dignity of being Alter Christus and ministers of his Word, his Body and Blood and his Forgiveness. May we always remember His words : Â“You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last;Â” (Jn 15, 16). Precisely because the priest is Alter Christus Â— indeed, Ipse Christus Â—, he must be a Man of God and a Man for others. Firstly, a Man of God: that is, a man who leads men and women to God and carries God to men and women. Therefore he must distinguish himself as a man of prayer and an austere style of life, profoundly in love with Christ and, like John the Baptist, proud to proclaim His presence amongst us, especially in the Most Holy Eucharist. Secondly a priest must be a Man for others: a man entirely dedicated to the faithful, youth and adults, entrusted to his pastoral care and to all those with whom the Lord Jesus chose to identify himself or those towards whom He showed special kindness: sinners first of all, the poor, the sick and the excluded, widows, children, but also sheep who do not yet belong to His fold (cfr Jn 10, 16). An ecclesiastic will therefore resist any temptation to enrich himself with material goods or seek favours for his family or ethnic group, or nurture unwholesome ambitions of making a career for himself in society or in politics. These things are entirely foreign to the priestly vocation and would be a serious distraction from his mission to lead the faithful like the good shepherd on the path of holiness, justice and peace. Allow me, my dearest Confreres, to dwell on the important role of a bishop or priest as an operator of unity within the Church. This task has a twofold dimension and entails communion with the Pope, the "rock" upon which Jesus chose to build his Church, and secondly union with all the members of the Church. Firstly: communion with the Holy Father. We are all too aware of how some of you suffered in the recent past because of loyalty to the Holy See. We pay homage to each and all, certain that, as Pope Benedict XVI affirms, Â“ Communion with Peter and with his Successors is in fact a guarantee of freedom for the Church's Pastors and for the Communities entrusted to themÂ… the Petrine ministry is a guarantee of freedom in the sense of full adherence to the truth, to the authentic tradition, so that the People of God may be preserved from errors concerning faith and moralsÂ” (Homily during Mass on the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, 29 June 2010). The exemplary and courageous loyalty towards the See of Peter demonstrated by Catholics in China, is a precious gift of the Lord. The other dimension of unity among Christians is union among individual members of the ecclesial community. This important challenge you are already tackling , as you seek to strengthen unity within the Church herself. It would be helpful to enter, in spirit, the Upper Room where, after celebrating the Last Supper with his Apostles and ordaining them priests of the New and Eternal Covenant, the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father with these words Â“ May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. Â” (Jn 17, 21). Three times Jesus insists on the unity of his followers as a sign of credibility that he has been sent by the Father into the world. My dearest confreres, let us heed this eloquent call for the unity of Christians coming from the Heart of the One who loved them, called them and sent them to work in His Vineyard. In the above mentioned homily the Holy Father affirms:Â« Indeed if we think of the two millenniums of the Church's history, we may note as the Lord Jesus had foretold (cf. Mt 10:16-33) that trials for Christians have never been lacking and in certain periods and places have assumed the character of true and proper persecution. Yet, despite the suffering they cause, they do not constitute the gravest danger for the Church. Indeed she is subjected to the greatest danger by what pollutes the faith and Christian life of her members and communities, corroding the integrity of the Mystical Body, weakening her capacity for prophecy and witness, and marring the beauty of her face.Â». The Pope goes on to indicate the instigator of this evil situation and says: Â«one of the typical effects of the action of the Evil One is, precisely, the internal division of the ecclesial Community. Ruptures are in fact symptoms of the power of sin that continues to act in members of the Church even after the redemption. However, Christ's word is clear: "Non praevalebunt they shall not prevail" (Mt 16:18). The unity of the Church is rooted in her union with Christ and the cause of full Christian unity that must ever be sought and renewed, from generation to generation is also sustained by his prayer and his promise.Â». Let us praise the Lord for your efforts, accomplished and ongoing, for unity within the Church, in faithful response to the indications given by the Holy Father in the Letter he addressed to you on 27 May, 2007, and for the results already obtained. May God bless your initiatives so that unity of ministers among themselves and between them and their flock may be ever stronger in Christ and in his Church Â“ad maiorem Dei gloriamÂ”. On this happy circumstance, I have the honour of assuring you of the closeness of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI; with paternal affection he blesses you and all those entrusted to your pastoral care and urges you to continue without fear on the path of holiness, unity and communion, as did the generations which have gone before you. May Most Holy Mary, Help of Christians, venerated with tender, filial devotion by the Church in China at Sheshan, protect you and intercede that your resolutions to spread the sweet fragrance of the Gospel of her Son Jesus to every corner of your beloved homeland may bear fruit. In this important and demanding task may you be assisted by the luminous example of the unforgettable missionary to China, Fr Matteo Ricci S.J., of whom we recall with gratitude and affection the 400th anniversary of his departure for the Kingdom of the Â“Lord of Heaven Â”. Once again I assure you of our prayers, with brotherly greetings In Corde Mariae. from the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, 5 July 2010. Cardinal Ivan Dias Prefect + Robert Sarah Secretary (Agenzia Fides 29/07/2010)

VATICAN - Comment on a Letter addressed to Catholics in China by Cardinal Ivan Dias

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) Â– The Letter which Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, has addressed to the bishops and priests of mainland China, stems from deep affection for that Church which can be rightly proud of her heroic witness through five decades of so much suffering and tribulation. From this little gem three motives emerge. The first Â“a word of encouragement for the clergy engaged in arduous pastoral ministryÂ”. This is acknowledgement of the social, material and spiritual challenges facing ministers in the exercise of the pastoral mission. As a model they are offered Saint Jean Marie Vianney who, despite scarcity of structures, the perversity of his times and the poverty of his person, was able to imitate and indeed identify himself with Jesus Christ, the Supreme Shepherd of our souls. The priest, the Cardinal recalls, must be a man of God and a man for others. The two dimensions are interdependent and indispensable. The second motive is a call not so much for unity, but rather for the re-composition of the unity of the Catholic Church in China, for which, the Cardinal recalls, so many have worked, so long with tact and passion and now progress achieved is emerging. He acknowledges with satisfaction Â“efforts, past and ongoingÂ”. However, quoting words of the Holy Father's homily on the solemnity of the Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, (29 June 2010), he reiterates that any form of division in the ecclesial Community is a sin, and that unity demands radical discipleship of Christ who prayed to the Father, that all may be one. The third motive is a confident looking to the future of this matter, which, without a doubt, God guides in his providential love. Just as the past generations were intrepid witnesses to Christ and to the unity of the Church, so too the Christian communities of today, are called to bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to proclaim it to the multitudes who hunger and thirst for God. In the heart of Most Holy Mary, Our Lady Help of Christians, may they find the strength and the model for achieving this mission. (Agenzia Fides 29/07/2010)

AFRICA/UGANDA - A complex scenario appears behind the recent attacks in Kampala

Kampala (Agenzia Fides)- Investigations into the double terrorist attack on 11 July in the Ugandan capital continue. Responsibility for the attacks, which left 76 persons dead and hundreds injured, was claimed by Shabab, Somali insurgents fighting the Transition Government of Mogadishu sustained by an African intervention force, composed mainly of Ugandan soldiers. Ugandan police arrested some forty persons suspected of being involved in the attacks, many from Somalia. Uganda shelters a good number of Somali refugees and trains part of the army of Somalia's Transition Government on its soil. According to a local daily newspaper The Monitor a more complex and alarming plan than originally supposed is appearing from behind the attacks on 11 July. The paper cites a Ugandan intelligence report issued in September 2009 which speaks of an alleged plan for bomb blasts in Kampala by elements of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) with the support of Shabab. ADF is a Muslim extremist group formed in 1996, which later merged with another guerrilla group, the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda. Â“ADF is a weak group which since 2001 has been unable to operate in Uganda. Its components fled some time ago to the Democratic Republic of Congo. I think it is improbable that they were involved in the attacks in KampalaÂ” Fides learned from Bishop Egidio Nkaijanabwo of the diocese of Kasese, in south western Uganda where the ADF operated for a few years. Â“Between 1996 and 2001 the group spread insecurity in our diocese and the Church was also affected. This radical Islamic group was supported by a foreign power. Later, in about 2001, the Ugandan army managed to regain control of the area. Then the ADF militants took refuge in CongoÂ”. ADF/NALU, which had been almost inactive, hit the headlines a few weeks ago when ADF bases in north Kivu were targeted by the Congolese army. According to international humanitarian agencies working in the area, at least 90,000 civilians fled the area because of the violence. The Ugandan intelligence report cited by The Monitor said ADF has 800 combatants, Â“all Muslims, 40% Ugandan and the rest Congolese, Tanzanians, Senegalese, Somalis and others from west AfricaÂ”. The leader is Jamil Mukulu, a former Catholic converted to Islam, who was reportedly wounded in recent days in eastern Congo. According to The Monitor, before the July 11 attacks the Ugandan army had planned an attack on ADF/NALU bases in Congo, with the support of the Congolese and the United States. If confirmed, this information would point to a complex scenario in which radical Islam and the war on terrorism led by the United States, are superimposed by decade old tensions in the area. In the background the immense resources of Congo and Uganda's oil, only just starting to be exploited. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 29/7/2010)

AFRICA/D. R. CONGO - Cardinal Joseph-Albert Malula (1917-1989) proclaimed Â“national hero Â”

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides)- Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, the Catholic Archbishop of Kinshasa, has voiced the gratitude of the Catholic Church in Congo to the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, for having proclaimed Cardinal Joseph-Albert Malula (1917-1989) a 'national hero'. The Archbishop of Kinshasa underlined that Cardinal Malula was a source of inspiration for the activity of future generations and politicians, for culture, for the nation and for the Church. Â“For his tireless search for excellence and perfection, his lapidary statement: Â‘a Congolese Church in a Congolese nation', for his search for an African conscience, we are grateful to the government for proclaiming Cardinal Albert Malula a national heroÂ” said Archbishop Monsengwo. The Catholic Church in Congo is celebrating the Year of Cardinal Malula ( 20 September 2009 to 20 September 2010), an initiative to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the deceased Cardinal's ordination as a Bishop and 20 years since his death. Celebration initiatives have included a series of conferences on different aspects of the Cardinal's personality. From 11 to 13 July a second series of conferences, following the first in March (see Fides 15/3/2010) was held on the theme Â“Cardinal Malula, a man of cultureÂ”. The speakers described Cardinal Malula, the man of culture. Â“The Cardinal was one of the first African theologians to promote the inculturation of Christian values. He was an excellent writer, a man deeply committed to the political debate, an avid reader, a great composer of music (he composed many hymns for the Congolese rite), a lover of the arts and an admirer of African cultural values such as matrimony. The Cardinal left an incommensurable legacy to the Catholic Church in Congo and in the rest of whole world. One rarely spent an evening with him without engaging in some discussionÂ” Archbishop Monsengwo recalled and he concluded his intervention expressing disappointment that in this year dedicated to Malula Â“choirs in Kinshasa have not sung hymns composed by Cardinal Malula, although he left us hundreds of themÂ”. (L.M.) (Agenzia 29/7/2010)

ASIA/AFGHANISTAN - Flash floods in western and north eastern provinces leave a wake of dead, ...

Kabul (Agenzia Fides) Â– According to the Afghanistan National Disasters Management Authority (ANDMA), sudden floods in various part of Afghanistan killed 20 people and destroyed dozens of homes. The north eastern province of Kapisa and the western province of Laghman were the most affected, but casualties and damages were reported also in the provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. Twenty people were killed and thousands of homes were destroyed in the district of Kohband, many injured persons was taken to hospital. Six people were killed in the province of Laghman. Since March this year, floods have caused at least 300 deaths in 19 of the country's 34 provinces. Thousands of people in the north and west are now homeless. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working in collaboration with the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) to provide emergency supplies of food and other basic necessities, to more than 44,000 internally displaced persons. Afghanistan has a total of about 300,000 IDPs. About 100 families, probably dispersed by torrential rains in various parts of the northern province of Balkh, have set up a camp some 50 km west of the provincial capital, Mazar-e-Sharrif. There is also concern for families affected by a 5.3 Richter grade earthquake and successive floods in the northern province of Samangan which left 17 persons dead and 14 injured, as well as thousands of homeless. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in the month of June alone, aid agencies assisted 3,000 families affected by the earthquake. (AP) (29/7/2010 Agenzia Fides)

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