News
Byzcath.org News provides news focusing on the Christian East from varous sources and offers links to other sites dedicated to providing the news about the Church.
Churches and organizations that provide news about the Eastern Churches are invited to submit their news stories to us for publication here (use the contact page for submission)..
Materials from the Vatican Information Service, Zenit, CWNews.com and other sources are published here with permission of their owners but may not be republished further without the permission of their original publishers. Please visit these sites to obtain additional general news about the Church. In addition to these sources EWTN News also provides a good general news summary.
Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
- Details
ROME- Italian Cardinal Mario Zenari, the pope’s ambassador in Syria, avoids interviews: “Because of the work I do,” he says, and not without his reasons. Syria is in the midst of a civil war that began seven years ago, a conflict that’s been described as the greatest humanitarian catastrophe since World War II.
Technically the “Apostolic Nuncio,” he’s one of the few ambassadors left in a country in which the statistics of violence are appalling. The ongoing war in Syria has produced at least 400,000 dead, 5 million refugees, 6.3 million internally displaced people and untold numbers injured.
I reached out to Zenari in July, and finally had the opportunity to speak to him on September 22. The one-hour conversation took place in the Casa Santa Marta, the hotel within the Vatican grounds where Pope Francis resides. Zenari offered an analysis of the complex situation in Syria, including how Christians live and what the Church has done.
“If we talk about suffering, everyone is in the same boat. The suffering is transversal,” he said. “But Christians are the weakest link."
- Details
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - The young Egyptian Ahmed Said al-Sonbati, who on Thursday 13 October killed and stabbed Coptic priest Samaan Shahata in a peripheral street in Cairo, is not a person who is mentally unstable but a criminal already known to the police due to previous acts of violence. This is what Anba Stephanos, Coptic Orthodox Bishop of Beba, al Fashn and Samasta underlines, so as to reject the versions relaunched by Egyptian media that interpret the murder of the priest as a violent act committed by a mentally ill person. Such voices were actually credited by the same official sources of the Interior Ministry, which have attributed previous criminal convictions - such as attempting to set fire to his own home or physical violence committed against his own father - which would testify the state of "mental disorder".
Coptic priest Samaan Shetata, married and father of three children, belonging to a diocese of Upper Egypt, was in Cairo to raise funds in favor of the poor of his region, when he was attacked in the street by Ahmed Said al-Sonbati. After the murder, Coptic Orthodox Bishop Raphael, Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, issued a statement in which, among other things, deplored the fact that many criminals and terrorists, authors of violence against Christians, were not affected by any form of punishment, while some were released after the arrest. This anomaly - emphasized Anba Raphael - contributes to spreading the impression that crimes against Christian citizens often remain unpunished. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 16/10/2017)
- Details
vatican.va - This morning the Holy Father Francis received in audience H.E. Mr. Saad Rafic Hariri, Prime Minister of Lebanon, who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by H.E. Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.
The discussions, which took place in an atmosphere of great cordiality, enabled the examination of various aspects of the situation in Lebanon and the latest developments in the Middle East. Satisfaction was then expressed for the strengthening of stability in the country, in the hope of increasingly fruitful collaboration between the various political powers to promote the common good of the entire Nation. Appreciation for the welcome Lebanon has given to many refugees was reaffirmed, and the parties focused on the need to find a just and comprehensive solution to the conflicts that plague the region.
Furthermore, the importance of intercultural and interreligious dialogue was highlighted, as well as the value of collaboration between Christians and Muslims to promote peace and justice, taking into consideration the historic and institutional role of the Church in the life of the country and the importance of the Christian presence in the Middle East.
- Details
risu.org.ua - As part of the plenary session of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, held in these days in the Vatican, Patriarch Sviatoslav delivered a presentation on the ecumenical mission of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
“The experience of the last two centuries clearly shows that in restoring the unity or communion of the Churches, Christians have fallen into two categories: those who seek unity and those who oppose it,” the Head of the UGCC stressed, summarizing up his appeal to the participants of the plenary session.
“If there is a desire, there will always be the necessary means for its realization. Instead, if there is no such desire, a number of reasons will be put forward – of historical, pastoral, canonical nature – to avoid this unity, "the Head of the UGCC noted.
In the opinion of His Beatitude Sviatoslav, true ecumenism demands humility, but at the same time the courage to forgive and ask forgiveness: “The arguments of the historical past should be involved only in order to avoid the sins of the past in our future.”
In his report, he also presented the ecumenical activities of the UGCC and proposed some particular steps towards ecumenical dialogue, the Department of Information of the UGCC reported.
- Details
(ugcc.org.ua) - From Monday, September 18 through Thursday, September 21, the priests and deacons of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia gathered with Archbishop Stefan Soroka, Bishop John Bura and Bishop Andriy Rabiy at the San Alfonso Retreat House here for their annual spiritual retreat. The retreat director was Rt. Rev. Mitred Msgr. Martin Canavan, a priest incardinated in the Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma, who presently is spiritual director at St. Basil’s Seminary in Stamford, Connecticut. Msgr. Canavan, a priest vocation from the first Ukrainian Catholic church in the United States, St. Michael’s parish in Shenandoah, Pa., for many years was incardinated in and served the faithful of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia.
During the retreat, Msgr. Canavan offered reflections for spiritual renewal with inspirational conferences based upon Scriptural passages from the Old and New Testaments, emphasizing the beauty of the entire creation of Almighty God. He stressed how each individual is a unique creation of God.
The clergy participated in daily liturgical services, including matins, vespers and the Divine Liturgy. Bishop John Bura, Bishop Andriy Rabiy and Archbishop Stefan Soroka were the main celebrants during the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Divine Liturgies respectively.
On Thursday, as is tradition, a panakhyda for all the deceased hierarchs and clergy of the Philadelphia Archeparchy was sung following the Divine Liturgy.
After the panakhyda, Father Robert Hitchens, on behalf of the clergy, thanked Msgr. Canavan for serving as the retreat director and the clergy expressed their gratitude to him with the traditional singing of “God Grant Him Many Years.”
Metropolitan Stefan also expressed his gratitude to Msgr. Canavan and also to all the clergy for their wonderful participation throughout the week and particularly to Father Robert Hitchens and Father Wasyl Kharuk, for coordinating the retreat and for their preparation of all the texts for the liturgical services. He also thanked Father Walter Pasicznyk and Father Roman Sverdan, who served as sacristans during the liturgical services.
Often as priests absent themselves from their parishes for this time of spiritual renewal, well-intentioned parishioners may say “Enjoy your vacation” or upon return inquire “How was your vacation?’
However, a retreat is not a vacation, but a necessary and even obligatory requirement for clergy to withdraw from the daily routine of normal parish life for a time of prayer, reflection and spiritual renewal.
This concept of withdrawal for spiritual renewal can be found in the life of Jesus Christ, where the evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke relate how Jesus, after his baptism by John, withdrew into the desert and fasted for forty days and nights.
In the 1520’s, St. Ignatius of Loyola developed his Spiritual Exercises. These spiritual exercises greatly influenced the development of retreats, especially for clergy, as a way of deepening their spiritual relationship with God.
Rev. John M. Fields, Director of Communications
- Details
Cairo - A priest was killed and a second injured after they were attacked by a man in Greater Cairo, the Coptic Orthodox Church said in a statement on Thursday.
"In an unfortunate incident, archpriest Samaan Shehata of St. Julius’s church in Ezbet Girgis in El-Fashn, along with priest Beymen Moftah, of El-Malak church in Matay, were assaulted while in El-Salam City,” read the statement.
El-Salam City is a satellite city north-east of Cairo.
"Priest Samaan was transferred to hospital after he had passed away," the statement added.
The statement did not indicate any motive behind the attack.
In a different statement, Bishop Astafanous of Fashn, Biba and Samasta said the attacker was an "extremist" with a criminal record, and named him as Ahmed-El Sonbaty.
The bishop said that police have arrested the attacker.
The interior ministry has not yet issued a statement on the incident.