The Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Apostleship of the Sea was coming to the aid of seamen stuck on board the ship that crashed into a major bridge, causing the span to collapse. The Apostleship, based at St Rita’s parish in Dundalk near the bridge’s eastern end, had brought Easter baskets to the crew before it left port and had established contact after the crash. Six highway workers who were repairing the bridge were killed when the span collapsed but many more lives were saved when police were able to close access to the much-travelled bridge seconds before it collapsed.
Mexico’s president has criticised US politicians who target the migrant community, after it emerged that the six construction workers killed when the bridge collapsed were all from Central America. They were filling in potholes at nighttime when a huge ship collided with a bridge pillar. Migrants are doing “very risky work, and that is why they do not deserve to be treated as they are by some irresponsible and insensitive politicians in the US,” said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He confirmed one Mexican national is dead and two more are missing. Others missing are from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. The incident has prompted growing recognition among policymakers and the public about the hidden role immigrants play in providing essential services and bolstering the economy. Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Baltimore is among those holding vigils and supporting victims’ families in the devastated Hispanic community. Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore has offered support from across the archdiocese. “The Esperanza Center, which is run by Catholic Charities, is engaged in reaching out to the families with all kinds of services,” he said.
Neither Fox News nor Raymond Arroyo, the longtime host of EWTN’s The World Over, have confirmed whether his regular appearances on Fox News have been cancelled after comments he made about black Americans that went viral on social media. In February, when former president Donald Trump started selling sneakers, Arroyo said, on air, the move would be popular with black voters because “they love sneakers”. Arroyo appeared most nights in short segments on The Laura Ingraham Show and had also guest hosted the program at times.
The Vatican has launched a webpage for lay people to apply for vacancies at the Holy See. The “Work with us” page on the Secretariat for Economy website invites prospective employees to “join the community of professionals who each day through their work support the Holy Father’s activities and mission.” Luis Herrera, the Vatican’s director of Human Resources said: "It often happens that Dicasteries …request staff with particular specializations, such as linguistic or technical skills, which are not easy to find.” Anyone wishing to work for the Vatican without a particular post in mind can submit their CV to the website. Secretariat for the Economy (spe.va)
A new report says Indian Christians face danger in 19 of the country’s 28 states and union territories. In the first 75 days of 2024, the United Christian Forum For Human Rights (UCF) logged 161 incidents of anti-Christian discrimination and persecution in India. An ecumenical organisation, the Forum said 30 per cent of all reported incidents occurred in Chhattisgarh State in central India. It claimed the main reason for rising anti-Christian persecution was the “spread of Hindutva philosophy”, a form of right-wing Hindu nationalism intolerant of other religions espoused by India’s ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), which assumed power in 2014.
The priest overseeing Greek Catholic Ukrainians in Switzerland has been stripped of his post as episcopal delegate after saying Pope Francis was spreading Russian propaganda by suggesting Kyiv negotiate with Moscow. Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, who heads the Greek Catholic Church in France, Benelux and Switzerland, said Fr Nazar Zatorskyy was no longer his representative but could still say Mass. Unphased, Fr Zatorskyy told Zurich’s SonntagsBlick: “I will not let myself be silenced and will continue to fight for Ukraine’s freedom.” Ukrainian Catholics use a Byzantine rite but are loyal to the Pope. Theirs is the second-largest particular church under the Vatican after the Roman Catholic Church.
A court in Juba, South Sudan has quashed a 14-year jail term given to a Catholic priest, Fr John Matiang Machol, of the Diocese of Rumbek. The sentence was squashed by a court sitting in Juba, the capital city, after an appeal from a lower court. Father Machol and four others were accused of attempting to kill Bishop-elect Christian Carssalare for the Diocese of Rumbek. Reports from Juba said the priest’s sentence was nullified on grounds of insufficient evidence to prove his involvement in the murder plot that occurred on April 26, 2021. He was among four people found guilty of “participating directly or indirectly” in the attempted assassination.
A passenger bus transporting pilgrims from Gaborone in Botswana, to Moria in Limpopo, South Africa, for Easter services plunged into a ravine last Thursday, killing 45 people. The sole survivor, a young child, was seriously injured. The Zionist Christian Church has its headquarters in Moria and its Easter pilgrimage attracts hundreds of thousands of people from across South Africa and neighbouring countries.The accident occurred on the Mamatlakala mountain pass in Limpopo. Just hours before the crash, President Cyril Ramaphosa appealed to South Africans to take care when travelling during Easter week.
Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Bishop Paul Swarbrick, lead bishop for Africa of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, have written to the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference to express prayerful support and solidarity amidst a mounting humanitarian catastrophe. They told Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla, Archbishop of Juba and president of the Conference that “we have heard your cry in your recent statement, in which you reminded the international community of the need for support to bring about an end to the civil conflict and allow for immediate humanitarian access to alleviate hunger across Sudan.” A year-long conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has displaced around nine million people in Sudan and famine now looms for nearly 8 million people.
At least 10 Catholics were nailed to crosses in villages in Pampanga, north of the capital Manila, in an annual Good Friday commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus. This is despite the Catholic Church disapproving, saying that prayers and sincere repentance are enough to commemorate Lent. Around 20,000 Filipino and foreign tourists flocked to San Pedro Cutud village in Pampanga province to witness three of them. Actors dressed as Roman soldiers whipped the men carrying crosses before hammering three-inch nails through their hands and feet. One of them, Ruben Enaje, 63, was being crucified for the 35th time. He told reporters: “I always pray for peace in the world. I can't tell for how long I can do this since my body is getting old.”
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, president of Myanmar’s Bishops’ Conference, urged prayers and action for peace in his Easter message. He implored God to “dispel the darkness of conflict and usher in a new dawn of hope and harmony”. He referred to his own Myanmar and conflict in the Holy Land and Ukraine. The cardinal urged humanity to welcome Pope Francis’ calls for dialogue and reconciliation “as the foundations of our collective call for peace”. The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar is worsening. More than 2.6 million people across the country have fled their homes and a quarter of the population is reported to be suffering illness and starvation.
Manipur has reestablished Easter as an annual holiday after Christian groups slammed a decision to declare it a working day in the strife-torn state, where 41 per cent of the population is Christian. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum was among those arguing the order was offensive to the Christian community. The 28 March reversal by the Manipur government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), came within 24 hours of notification that the usual Easter holiday was cancelled. Easter Saturday, however, remains a working day for all government offices, said the amended order. The order reopened tensions between Hindu-majority Meiteis and Christian majority Kukis and Nagas which have been raw since violence broke out in May 2023.
A survey in the US on Catholic views on the environment, published last week, found that only half who attend Mass regularly have heard of Laudato Si’ and less than 33 per cent of Catholics overall. The report of the Centre for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University was based on a survey of 1,342 Catholic adults. However, 72 per cent believed that “environmental justice is a legitimate issue that needs urgent attention” and 69 per cent believed that it is important or very important “for Catholics to engage in environmental justice” while 44 per cent believed that their dioceses are doing too little to address such issues as climate change and pollution.
Loading ...
