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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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St. Louis - ugcc.org.ua - On April 2-3, 2008 Eastern Catholic Bishops in the United States of America met at the Pastoral Center of Our Lady of Lebanon Eparchy in Saint Louis, MO, for their annual conference. Over 17 bishops gathered to discuss important issues facing the Eastern Catholic Churches in North America. Among others a topic of common seminary system to all ecclesiastical jurisdictions was discussed. Most Rev. Nicholas Samra of the Melkite Church presented an overview of the formation and education system among the Eastern Catholic Churches in North America. “We have four seminaries in the USA. But in reality only two: St. Basil College Seminary and Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary are able to confirm academic degrees. Others are only houses of formation. It is a time to think about a common seminary system in all the Eastern Catholic jurisdictions” said Bishop Samra.
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Baghdad, Apr. 7, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Iraqi Christians joined in mourning after a Syrian Orthodox priest was murdered in Baghdad on April 5.
Father Yusef Adel was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in the Iraqi capital. The killing occurred than 3weeks after the death after Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Faraj Raho was found dead, after having been kidnapped from outside his cathedral in Mosul.
Syrian Orthodox Bishop Matti Shaba Matoka presided at the funeral for Father Adel, with Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly and the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Francis Chulikatt, representing the city's Catholic leadership.
The AsiaNews service reported that the new killing caused "great fear" among Iraq's Christians, who have seen a drive by Islamic militants to drive the religious minority out of the country.
The campaign of violence and intimidation against Christians has taken an enormous toll. The number of Christians living in Iraq today is estimated at under 500,000-- roughly half what it was before the start of the war in 2003.
In a message of condolence to Syrian Orthodox leaders, Pope Benedict XVI promised his prayers, "that all people will follow the ways of peace in order to build a just and tolerant society in the beloved land of Iraq."
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VATICAN CITY, 6 APR 2008 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. has sent a telegram in the Pope's name for yesterday's killing of a Syrian Orthodox priest in Baghdad, Iraq.
In the telegram, sent via the apostolic nunciature to Iraq to the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Mar Saverius Jamil Hawa of Baghdad, the Holy Father expresses his deep sadness at the death of Fr. Yousef Adel Abudi and "assures Your Eminence, the priests and the religious of the archdiocese of his closeness in prayer.
"Entrusting this devoted servant's soul to the infinite mercy of God, His Holiness prays that all people will follow the ways of peace in order to build a just and tolerant society in the beloved land of Iraq".
TGR/KILLING ORTHODOX PRIEST/HAWAVIS 080407 (140)
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BEIRUT, Lebanon, APRIL 4, 2008 (Zenit.org).- As Lebanon continues to suffer a power void -- the country hasn't had a president since last November -- the nation's bishops are calling on cooperation to fix the "miserable situation" facing the Lebanese people.
Following their monthly meeting led by Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the Maronite Catholic bishops issued a statement Wednesday calling for justice and peace.
The prelates noted that the Arab Summit held in Damascus -- not attended by their country at all, and slighted by other members of the Arab League -- "insisted upon the commitment toward the Arab initiative for the treatment of the Lebanese crisis. The fathers ask all parties, inside and outside, to cooperate to realize this initiative and drive Lebanon out of its trial."
The bishops lamented that the working class is struggling under the high cost of living and threatens to strike. This is a matter, they said, "which the government and all responsible sides should take seriously into consideration and treat with a responsible mind."
The Lebanese bishops decried a lack of justice from the state, noting problems with the government ignoring court rulings against it in a few cases, as well as a failure to bring justice to conflicts over land and water.
"The critical circumstance Lebanon is going through requires from all Lebanese cooperation and joined efforts to overcome the ordeal and face it with a strong will," the bishops affirmed. "The Lebanese must ask God to enable them to get through this ordeal by finding the right solution."
Benedict XVI prayed for Lebanon during his Feb. 17 Angelus address.
The Pope said on that occasion that together with the Maronite patriarch "and all the Lebanese bishops, I ask you to join with my supplication of Our Lady of Lebanon, that she encourage the citizens of that dear nation, and the politicians in particular, to work without ceasing for reconciliation, for a truly sincere dialogue, for peaceful co-existence and for the good of a homeland deeply felt as common."
Syria and Iran support the Lebanese opposition led by Hezbollah, while Saudi Arabia and several other Arab states, as well as the West, back the ruling majority.
Maronite Catholics make up the largest percentage of Lebanon's Christian population, which is itself about 39% of the entire population of the nation.
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03.04.2008, [12:39] // Inter-Christian relations // RISU.ORG.UA
Ivano-Frankivsk—Over one hundred young scholars participated in an academic conference entitled “Ukrainian-Vatican Relations in the Context of Social and Inter-confessional Problems”, held throughout the Ivano-Frankivsk region on 28-29 March 2008. According to organizers, seminars were held in various cities “to overcome widespread stereotypes regarding the place of the Vatican in the Ukrainian society.”
The conference was organized by the Religious Studies Department of the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine at V. Stefanyk’s Subcarpathian National University, with the assistance of state officials, various academic and church institutions, and the Apostolic Nunciature in Ukraine.
Participants gathered from Kyiv, Lviv, Chernivtsi, Poltava, Rivne, Odesa, Donetsk, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, the Transcarpathian region, Kolomyia, and Ostrih in Ukraine, and reports were even received from Australia and Italy.
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03.04.2008, [12:28] // Foreign relations // RISU.ORG.UA
Kyiv— Victor Yushchenko, George Bush, and their wives visited St. Sophia’s Cathedral – the spiritual, cultural, and political center of the Kyivan Rus – during the American president’s visit to Kyiv on 1 April 2008. The presidential couples observed the wall frescos and grave of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, and the Bushes even signed the guestbook of St. Sophia’s National Reserve.