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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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CWNews.com - Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic has been named the apostolic nuncio to Russia.
Archbishop Jurkovic becomes the first Vatican representative in Moscow to hold that rank since full diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Russia were established last year. His appointment was announced by the Vatican just two days after Pope Benedict met with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev.
Archbishop Jurkovic, a Slovenian native, is a longtime Vatican diplomat who had been serving as apostolic nuncio in Ukraine. He replaces Archbishop Antonio Mennini, who was appointed in December as apostolic nuncio to Great Britain.
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RISU.ORG.UA - The synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is to elect the new major archbishop beginning on March 21 in Lviv. The corresponding decree was by signed Archbishop Ihor Voznyak, the administrator the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on February 11 in Kyiv.
"All the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, members of the Synod of Bishops, are obliged to participate in the synod," said Bishop Ihor.
According to the administrator of the UGCC, the electoral synod will be held on the basis of norms of canon 128, paragraph 3 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Members of the Synod of Bishops will remain in place until the Holy Father's confirmation and the official proclamation of the new head.
"Today the Synod of Bishops includes 50 bishops from Ukraine and abroad," says secretary of the Synod of Bishops, Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh. "The synod is a legislative body, which consists of bishops exclusively. The synod identifies the internal and external policy of the church, develops structures, and resolves pastoral, ecumenical and educational issues. The Great Synod normally meets once a year," says Bishop Bohdan.
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CWNews.com - The Vatican has not yet accepted the resignation of Maronite Catholic Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, reports from Lebanon indicate.
Cardinal Sfeir, who has led the Maronite Church since 1986, submitted his resignation late last year. The Lebanese prelate, who is 91 years old, reportedly cited by his age and his frustration with the country’s political instability.
In weighing the Patriarch’s resignation, the Vatican may also be considering whether a number of Maronite bishops who are also over the normative retirement age of 75 should be replaced before the Maronite Synod of Bishops elects a new leader.
The Maronite Patriarch is expected in Rome on February 22, for a ceremony in which Pope Benedict XVI will dedicate a statue of St. Maroun in St. Peter’s Square. His resignation might be formally announced on that day.
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CWNews.com - Iraqi Christians have been targeted by terrorists who do not adhere to the “tolerant essence of the Islamic faith,” Habeeb Mohammed Hadi Ali Al-Sadr, Iraq’s ambassador to the Holy See, said at a recent address at the Vatican.
In his talk the Iraqi ambassador criticized the Western media for emphasizing the dangers facing Christians in Iraq-- thus taking a stand directly opposite that of Iraqi bishops, who have criticized the West for ignoring Christian suffering. Al-Sadr suggested that terrorists who target Christians have done so deliberately in order to damage Iraq's public image.
“The enemies of today's Iraq are the associations of Saddam infidels who, after the capitulation of the regime, took advantage of the vacuum of power created as a consequence of the American decision to dissolve all the structures of the security services,” he said. “The terrorists have understood that the blood of Iraqi Muslims, which they have shed like rivers, is not so interesting in the eyes of the Western media.”
The regime of Saddam Hussein fell in 2003 after US troops invaded; since that time, 400,000 of Iraq ’s 800,000 Christians have fled the nation, Iraqi Archbishop Athanase Matoka told the Synod of Bishops in October.
Al-Sadr said that terrorists have "attained their evil objective,” by giving the world, and even the Christians of Iraq, the impression that religious minorities face a grim future under the new regime. “Without realizing it, the media and international organizations have fallen into this mechanism, playing the game of the terrorists, being concerned about the Christians, their future and the society's lack of development," he said. "The consequence has been the abandonment by Christians of their homes and emigration.”
The ambassador insisted that the terrorists who prey on Christians do not reflect the true nature of Iraq today:
Individual [terrorist] actions don't necessarily indicate that there is an Iraqi plot geared to the persecution of Christians, to the elimination of their existence, destroying their cultural patrimony as some think. In fact, these individual actions don't reflect the profound and secular coexistence between Christians and Muslims, as they do not express either the tolerant essence of the Islamic faith which calls for dialogue, respect of pluralism, rejection of violence, even considering it outside the way of Islam, as is written: "to kill a soul for no reason is to kill the whole of humanity."
The Iraqi ambassador issued a call for his country's Christians to resist the pressures of fear and intimidation. “It is hoped that Christians will take steps to abandon fear and their present closure,” the ambassador concluded. “It is also hoped that, persevering with patience in the communion of sacrifices with their fellow citizens, they will reject the idea of emigrating, thus making the plan fail to empty the country of Christians … my people can only breathe their identity with two lungs, Muslim and Christian. An Iraq without Christians is an Iraq without identity and symbols.”
The ambassador's claim that the Islamic terrorists now targeting Christians in Iraq are allies of the late Saddam Hussein is suspect, since the deposed dictator was not warmly disposed toward religious zealots. And his repeated hints that the threats to Christians have been exaggerated will not sit well with the Iraqi Christians who have witnessed a series of targeted bombings and execution-style killings.
However, Al-Sadr did offer some official reassurance, reporting that the Iraqi government has established a new office to coordinate security for the religious minority, and promised new efforts at protection as well as reconstruction of ruined churches. He offered a promise:
This calms us in regard to the future of Christians in Iraq, which will be promising and prosperous in the light of the notable improvements that there will be in the country at the level of security and the economy which is already constantly improving.
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CWNews.com - Both international affairs and ecumenical prospects were on the agenda as Pope Benedict XVI met on February 17 with President Dimitri Medvedev of Russia.
The 35-minute conversation was the first meeting between the Pope and the Russian leader since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between Russia and the Holy See last year. An official Vatican communiqué said that “the parties expressed their pleasure at the good state of bilateral relations and highlighted their desire to strengthen them.”
Before turning to international affairs—with a special focus on the Middle East—the Pope and Medvedev then spoke about “the positive contribution inter-religious dialogue can make to society,” the Vatican statement continued.
Because of the close ties between the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church, observers had anticipated that Medvedev might act as an intermediary, broaching the subject of a “summit meeting” between the Pontiff and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. An official spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate poured cold water on that hypothesis, saying that the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican “maintain a regime of constant communication and consultations at various levels,” and would not require Medvedev’s intervention.
Nevertheless, Vatican-watchers took a keen interest in the Russian president’s visit, particularly because an anonymous member of the Russian delegation had said that Medvedev might introduce the possibility of an ecumenical summit. In the past, former Russian President Vladimir Putin had reportedly introduced that possibility during a visit to the Vatican.
Relations between the Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate have warmed considerably in recent years. Russian Orthodox leaders have indicated that they are more comfortable with Pope Benedict XVI than with Pope John Paul II, whose Polish background roused old ethnic animosities. The death of Patriarch Alexei II in 2008, and the election of Patriarch Kirill—who had been the top ecumenical-affairs officer for the Russian Orthodox Church— brought still more hope for ecumenical prospects.
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- Benedict XVI Receives President of the Russian Federation (VIS)
- Pope Benedict XVI receives Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (Vatican Radio)
- Pope, Medvedev talk religion, Mideast in landmark meeting (ANSA)
- Vatican: pope, Russian leader want stronger ties (AP)
- Pope, Patriarch will meet "when time comes" - Russian Church (Interfax)
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CWNews.com - An Iraqi Christian who had been kidnapped on February 13 was released three days later after his family paid an undisclosed ransom.
Iyad Salman Dawoud Askar, a married man with two children, was seized by gunmen from his home. Two years earlier his brother, Sabah Daud Askar, had been killed in an attempted kidnapping.
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