OC

The Korean Catholic Church is marking a year-long celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. Andrew Kim Taegon, the first native Catholic priest of Korea, who was martyred in the 19th century. Bishop Lazarus You Heung-sik explains what the celebrations mean for the Korean Catholics.

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If the Holy Family had a hard time finding an inn to stay in when Jesus was about to be born, it is the inns of Bethlehem themselves that are having the difficulty this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life in the Holy Land so much that tourism and religious pilgrimage there are practically non-existent.

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(Peter Anderson)Today, December 4, an agreement was signed by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France (Ecumenical Patriarchate) and Metropolitan John of Doubna (who is president of “l’Union directrice diocésaine des associations orthodoxes russes en Europe occidentale” and who also is a hierarch of the Moscow Patriarchate) aimed “to guarantee a future in peace and harmony for the various communities” of their respective organizations.  The full text of the joint press release setting forth the

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING
CHRISTIAN UNITY

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Ecumenism, that is, the search for Christian unity is, for, "a duty and an obligation" every bishop and in order to "encourage, assist and guide" the Catholic bishops, a document titled "The Bishop and Christian Unity: Ecumenical Vademecum" of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity was released today.  --  Born from a request made by the members and consultors of the Dicastery during the 2016 plenary, the Vademecum was approved by Pope Francis who expressed the hope that it will serve as "encouragement and guide" to the exercise of the ecumenical responsibilities of the bishops.    read more

Bkerké (Agenzia Fides) - The Maronite Bishops "take note" of the political initiative announced by President Michel Aoun to take budgetary control measures to combat corruption in Lebanese public institutions. At the same time, they underline the urgency of voting on such measures in parliament and swiftly enacting the legal provisions required to implement anti-corruption measures.   --   The Maronite Bishops launched their appeal at the end of their monthly meeting on Wednesday December 2nd in Bkerké, under the direction of Patriarch Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï. --  Recently an audit (evaluation procedure) on the functioning and accounting transparency of the Bank of Lebanon, entrusted to Alvarez & Marsal was hampered  ... read more

We are all involved in the construction  of a better world
Pope Francis, in presenting to the world the new Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti sulla fraternità e l'amicizia sociale, Sunday 4 October 2020, said: , " I offered it to God on the tomb of Saint Francis, who inspired me [to write] it, as in the previous Laudato si’. The signs of the times clearly show that human fraternity and care of creation form the sole way towards integral development and peace, already indicated by the Popes Saints John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II."

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Following the ongoing hostilities between Ethiopia’s Federal Government troops and the forces of Tigray regional State in the northern part of the country, Pax Christi International, a global Catholic peace movement has called on the Federal government and the leadership of Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) to “stop the violence immediately and enter into peaceful dialogue.”

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The Holy See’s representative at the UN in Geneva attends the launch of a book on interreligious dialogue, and says peace and true freedom are only possible when based on dialogue.By Devin Watkins  -- Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič recently took part in the presentation of a book entitled “The promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue as an instrument of peace and fraternity”.
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Church bells tolled in Belgrade and many people flocked to the capital’s main St Sava cathedral to mark the death of Irinej, a conservative who wielded considerable political influence in Serbia and maintained close ties with Russia.

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All other details regarding the funeral of His Holiness the Patriarch will be announced soon. Eternal memory and the Kingdom of Heaven! --  His pious parents Zdravko and MilijanaGavrilovic from the village of Vidova near Cacak - and with them the entire Serbian family - were blessed the by the Lord, on August 27, 1930, with the birth of a male child whose baptismal name was Miroslav. He finished elementary school in his native village and high school in Cacak and the Theological School in Prizren, Kosovo and Metohia. Thereupon he graduated from the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade.

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Mosсow, November 20, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church remembers Serbian Patriarch Irinej as their good friend and an amazing person, who was great and simple simultaneously.  --   "Elder-patriarch was a surprisingly well-rounded person, he always remained himself, he manifested true greatness in his meek simplicity and wisdom. He was a good friend and he always loved the Russian Church and Russia," Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, deputy head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations, told Interfax on Friday.    read more

By Fr. Benedict Mayaki, SJ

The relevant team of medical experts examined His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej, analysed the pertinent medical documents and concluded that in comparison with the previous day and worsening of chronic cardiac insufficiency, present day showed signs of improvement of Patriarch’s health condition, it is said in a statement of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
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In the announcement, these visits demonstrate the significance and standing of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as an institution with a history of many centuries, with an invaluable offering and contribution to global civilization.

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By Lisa Zengarini    read more

Catholicos Karekin II of All Armenians called on the Armenian government to provide the Armenian people with all necessary explanations regarding the signing of an agreement to end hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. --  “The decision upsets the souls of the Armenians. We call on the authorities of Armenia and Artsakh (editor’s note: Armenians’ name for Nagorno-Karabakh) to provide comprehensive and...
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The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences welcomed the election of Joe Biden as president of the United States of America.  --  “We warmly send our prayerful wishes and congratulations to the people of America and the president-elect Joe Biden,” read a statement signed by Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, president of the FABC.

The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum initiates discussions to plan Libya’s political future on Monday. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres hopes it is an opportunity to “forge a new era of peace and stability” for the conflict-ridden country.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi hit out again at Lebanon’s political leaders holding them responsible for the "destruction" of the State.  --  “We blame the officials who seek to destroy the State instead of seeking to build it,” said Rahi during a meeting with a delegation of “sovereign groups,” from the October 17 uprising, said LBCI.

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By Vatican News staff writer

The 90-year-old patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church has been hospitalised after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, days after leading prayers at a large public funeral for the head of the church in Montenegro, who died after contracting the virus.  --  The Serbian Orthodox Church said late on Wednesday Patriarch Irinej was hospitalised but had no COVID-19 symptoms and was in “excellent general condition”.
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(Peter Anderson)  The last few days have witnessed strong words between Archbishop Chrysostomos, primate of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, and the four metropolitans who signed a joint appeal condemning the actions of the Archbishop in commemorating Metropolitan Epifany, the primate of the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).  On November 1, the newspaper Kathimerini published an

Metropolitan Maximos Aghiorgoussis, the longest-serving spiritual leader of Pittsburgh’s Greek Orthodox community, with a 32-year tenure marked by growth and efforts toward unity among Orthodox churches and the wider Christian community, died Monday. He was 85.  --  The Greek-born son of a priest, he went on to become a prominent Orthodox theologian who in 1965 helped to engineer a historic breakthrough in Orthodox-Catholic relations.

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The unbearable toll of lives lost, and the impact on the affected communities and nations, must engage the concern, solidarity and action of the international community and all people of goodwill, to stem the bloodshed and to confront the brutal ideologies behind such atrocities.

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Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the massacre by Islamic militants at Our Lady of Deliverance Church in Baghdad, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan reminded the faithful that "our martyrs are the torches of faith that illuminate our paths of life and ignite in us the fire of love toward everyone."

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MINSK, 2 November (BelTA) – The state will always be committed to interreligious peace in Belarus, President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, on 2 November, BelTA informs. --   The head of state and the leader of the Belarusian Orthodox Church agreed to meet in person to discuss pending issues at the beginning of October t the ceremony to open a new church in the agrotown of Shershuny, Minsk District.
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In a festive atmosphere, the Ecumenical Patriarchate honored the memory of its founder, St. Apostle Andrew the First Called. Today, Monday, November 30, 2020, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with the participation of the Metropolitans Theoleptos of Iconium and Maximos of Selyvria.

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The Vatican’s Secretary of State has asked papal representatives to share with bishops some clarifications regarding comments on civil unions made by Pope Francis in a recently released documentary, according to the apostolic nuncio to Mexico.
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