ROACO: HUMANITARIAN AID FOR ORIENTAL CHURCHES

Today is the first day of summer and the first day of a kind of rebirth. The block-long apartment building in which I live has been shrouded in canvas-covered scaffolding since the start of October 2020 – the front and back façades and the two sides of the building, a huge undertaking. Today, for the first time since then I can see my beloved dome of St. Peter’s Basilica as 90 percent of the scaffolding on the front of the building has come down!

Serious work is now being done on the back of the building where all of our balconies are located. I have three rooms in the back of the building, each of which has a balcony. However, as lovely as that might sound, there is no great view to enjoy and balconies get dirty and dusty so fast that no one ever uses them for just sitting and visiting with friends or sharing a cappuccino or glass of wine.

A downside in the work on the back of the building is that the outside units of my AC have all been covered so, until the work is finished and scaffolding comes down, I can’t turn on the air conditioning. And today it was 92!

As the expression goes, this too will pass!   Another thing to offer the Lord for the poor souls in purgatory!

We did get new elevator in the building renovation process and if nothing else had been done to the building, that was worth the inconvenience! In the old elevator, you opened one outside door and two small doors to enter the cabin. You reversed that once inside. Then you repeated the entire procedure when you got to your floor. So, all told, you opened and closed 12 doors in one trip! And now it is all automatic! Welcome to the 21st century!

Will soon post some photos of the building before and after the reno.

THE POPE’S DAY: Shortly after 8:45 this morning at the Santa Marta residence, Pope Francis met a group of about 20 inmates from Rome’s Rebibbia prison. Accompanied by the prison director, the chaplain and some officials, the group subsequently went to visit the Vatican Museums. (from Holy See Press Office)

ROACO: HUMANITARIAN AID FOR ORIENTAL CHURCHES

The Holy See’s humanitarian arm for the Oriental Churches kicked off its plenary meeting on Monday with ROACO’s attention going to the Holy Land, Ethiopia, Armenia, and Georgia in particular.

By Devin Watkins (Vatican news)

The Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO) began its 94th plenary assembly on Monday afternoon at the Casa Bonus Pastor in Rome.

The annual meeting runs until Thursday.

In a press release today, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches laid out the schedule for the 4-day assembly.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation and ROACO President, will preside over the opening Eucharist on Tuesday, during which all the agencies donor will be prayed for.

The Mass also serves to entrust “to the Lord and the intercession of the Blessed Mother of God the progress of the scheduled sessions and especially countries which continue to suffer because of violence and social and political instability made worse by the ongoing pandemic.”

Concern for Holy Land

Tuesday morning’s sessions will be dedicated to the situation in the Holy Land, as well as ROACO’s work to assist people in the area. (vatican media photo)

Church leaders presenting on the topic include the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Patton, and the Vice Chancellor of Bethlehem University, Br. Peter Bray.

Participants will also be informed about the 2020 Collection Pro Terra Sancta.

Ethiopia, Armenia, Georgia

In the afternoon, ROACO’s attention shifts to the situation in Ethiopia to be presented by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antoine Camilleri.

Ethiopia’s Tigray region saw a devastating conflict near the end of 2020 and into this year. The UN recently reported that Tigray is home to some 30,000 children who are severely malnourished, with over 400,000 people facing famine in the region.

The afternoon session will also focus on Armenia and Georgia, through an intervention from Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt, the Apostolic Nuncio to both nations.

Middle Eastern region

On Wednesday, participants in the plenary session will turn their focus to the entire Middle East, concentrating especially on Syria and Iraq.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, will speak at the assembly, along with the Pope’s representatives in Syria (Cardinal Mario Zenari), Lebanon (Archbishop Joseph Spiteri), and Iraq (Archbishop Mitja Leskovar).

 

VATICAN RETURNS PIECE OF HISTORY TO DUTCH ROYALS – POPE FRANCIS GREETS ROACO ON ITS 90TH PLENARY

VATICAN RETURNS PIECE OF HISTORY TO DUTCH ROYALS

Pope Francis this morning welcomed King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, accompanied by his wife, Queen Máxima, on the penultimate day of their visit to Italy. As is customary with leaders, the sovereigns then met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.

The papal audience lasted about 35 minutes and, according to the media present at the encounter, was more than amiable as Queen Maximia was born, like Pope Francis, in Buenos Aires, thus the two could converse in their native Spanish

Among the gifts the royals gave to the Holy Father were Dutch tulips, with Queen Maxima noting they would be planted in the Vatican gardens and are good for more than just Easter.

Dutch flowers growers traditionally provide the plants, flowers and shrubs for the Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

The Pope gifted the royals a medallion depicting St. Martin of Tours, known for dividing his cloak to give to a poor man. Francis also gave them the customary gift of copies of his environmental encyclical Laudato si, and two Exhortations, “Amoris Laetitia” and “Evangelii Gaudium,” and his Message for the 2017 World Day of Peace.

During the meeting today with the Dutch Royals the Vatican turned over what is known as the baton (stick, also called scepter) of William of Orange. This is a unique icon in the story of the Dutch state and the nation. The baton bears the coat of arms of William of Orange. It is believed there are no other copies.

The baton was given by William of Orange to a Dutch commander who participated in the battle of Mookerheyde 1574. William’s brother, Luigi of Nassau, waved the baton/ scepter during the battle of Mookerheyde as a general of the Dutch insurrectionists. After they lost, the baton came into the hands of a Spanish general and then after having been given to a general of the Jesuits, today, June 22 it was returned into the hands of William Alexander of Orange.

A note from the museum that will host the baton next year said, “the turning over of the baton represents a witness to reconciliation of the current union between the two countries and religions. It is also a symbol of the long paths that the Roman Catholic Church and the kingdom of the Netherlands have traveled on, fom past rivalries and wars, to today’s reciprocal respect and promotion of peace and human rights.

This special relic will be displayed from April 27 to the end of October 2018 at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg in an exhibit on William of Orange.

POPE FRANCIS GREETS ROACO ON ITS 90^TH PLENARY

Pope Francis this morning addressed Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches and all those gathered in Rome for the 90th Plenary Session of ROACO (Reunion of Aid Agencies to the Oriental Churches).

He renewed his “gratitude for the work and the constant effort of charity and solidarity guaranteed since 1968 to the Churches, Eastern and Latin, of the territories entrusted to the competence of the Congregation for Oriental Churches: you support the pastoral, educational and welfare activities and help meet their urgent needs, also thanks to the work of the Pontifical Representatives, whom I also have the pleasure of greeting. Through the Custos I greet and bless the Franciscan Friars of the Custody who have started to celebrate the eighth centenary of their presence in the Holy Land.”

Francis noted that,” the Congregation for the Oriental Churches is celebrating its centenary, a long period during which it has assisted the Supreme Pontiffs – who had been Prefects until 1967 – in their solicitude for all the Churches. There have been decades of dramatic events: Eastern Churches have often been overwhelmed by terrible waves of persecution and suffering, both in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Major migrations have weakened its presence in the territories where they had flourished for centuries. Now, thanks to God, some of them have returned to freedom after the painful period of the totalitarian regimes, but others, especially in Syria, Iraq and Egypt, see their children suffer as a result of the ongoing war and the senseless violence perpetrated by fundamentalist terrorism.”

Pope Francis thanked congregation staff and ROACO members for their constant work of charity and solidarity over the past half century in support of Latin and Eastern-rite communities under the care of the Congregation for Oriental Churches.

He highlighted the persecution and emigration suffered by these Churches of the Middle East, as well as in Eastern Europe, saying they have often suffered from “terrible waves of persecution and pain.” Pope Francis said “emigration has also significantly weakened the presence of these Churches in places where they flourished for centuries.” Freedom has now returned to some of those regions, but others, particularly in Syria, Iraq and Egypt, are still devastated by “wars and absurd violence perpetrated by fundamentalist terrorism.” These experiences are a source of both suffering and salvation, he said, as we experience the Cross of Christ.”

The plenary members were reflecting on the current situation in the countries where ROACO is present, and they also reflected on what the Pope called, “the important issue of the initial formation of seminarians and the ongoing formation of priests. We are aware of the radical nature of the choice expressed by many of them, and the heroism of their testimony of dedication alongside their often sorely tried communities. But we are also aware of the temptations that one may encounter, such as the search for a social status attributed to the consecrated in some geographical areas, or a way of exercising the role of guide following criteria of human affirmation or according to patterns of culture and the environment.”

In concluding, the Holy Father said, “And let us not forget that even today in the East, Christians – be they Catholics, Orthodox, or Protestants – shed their blood as a seal of their witness. May oriental believers, if forced to emigrate, be welcomed in the places where they arrive, and continue to live according to their own ecclesial tradition. In this way your work, dear representatives of the Agencies, will be a bridge between the West and the East, both in the countries of origin and in those you yourselves come from.”