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Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: VATICAN – Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, passed away at the age of 98

Vatican City – With deep sadness and gratitude for the service rendered, the collaborators of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization received the news of the death of Slovak Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He died this morning in Rome at the age of 98 and was the eldest Cardinal in the College of Cardinals.Born on March 11, 1924 in Udavské in the Archdiocese of Košice in Slovakia, he was ordained a priest on March 12, 1949 for the then Diocese of Košice. He had begun his work in Rome as an Official in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and was later appointed Undersecretary of the Congregation for Bishops.On July 12, 1979 he was appointed Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops and on September 15, 1979 he was consecrated Titular Archbishop of Doclea. He was created Cardinal in the Consistory of May 25, 1985. The Cardinal’s great spiritual and missionary legacy – recalled today in the Dicastery for Evangelization – includes the accounts of his experiences in the apostolic journeys during the sixteen years that he was at the head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.These were pastoral trips to establish new dioceses, found new churches, seminaries, educational and health centers or trips to prepare for the visits of the great missionary John Paul II. For him, every experience was a gift from God to the Church and the world, each journey a testimony of what the Spirit accomplishes and what is to be shared so that the message of Jesus Christ can reach all peoples.

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: AMERICA/VENEZUELA – Missionary sending of five seminarians to the indigenous communities of the Pemón

Caracas – Five seminarians have been sent by the Diocese of San Cristóbal to the Apostolic Vicariate of Caronì, who in the month of August and in various indigenous communities will pastorally accompany the Pemón people.The five seminarians from Táchira accepted the invitation of Bishop Mario Moronta and Bishop Juan Alberto Ayala, and will go out to the people and proclaim the Good News of the Gospel. The bishops emphasize the importance of living this missionary experience in the last year of priestly formation. During the Eucharistic celebration, during which the candidates for the priesthood were sent, Bishop Gonzalo Ontiveros expressly emphasized the importance of “being active protagonists of evangelization and engaging in concrete missionary commitment”. The Vicar Apostolic also invited indigenous peoples to engage in missionary work in their own communities. For their part, the seminarians expressed their joy at the mission in the indigenous communities and underlined that this initiative was understood as a response to Pope Francis’ invitation to start the mission ad gentes.Carlos Parra, one of the seminarians sent to the parish of San Miguel de Caracol, in the heart of Gran Sabana, said that “mission is an authentic response to Jesus’ call, who asks us not to stop talking about what what we have seen and heard”.The Pemón are an indigenous community in Venezuela living in the Gran Sabana and Canaima National Park in the state of Bolívar, specifically in the municipalities of Gran Sabana, Raúl Leoni and Sifontes, on the borders with Brazil and Guyana. The basic organizational unit in the community of Pemón is the family, marriage is the fundamental key to their formation and in which all members have blood ties. After marriage, the couple preferably settles in the house of the wife’s family.

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: ASIA/MACAO – The International Exhibition of Eucharistic Miracles has been extended: Blessed Carlo Acutis conquers the hearts of visitors

Macao – After the great success of the International Exhibition on Eucharistic Miracles, conceived and realized by Blessed Carlo Acutis and held in Macau from June 17th to July 31st, the organizers have decided to extend the exhibition: the exhibition will therefore reopen tomorrow, August 9th, and can be visited until September 30th. The guided tours will also be resumed. This decision by the Macao Catholic Culture Association, which organizes the event, was also made possible by the easing of anti-Covid restrictions. Visitors are nevertheless asked to continue to take all necessary measures, such as wearing masks and taking their temperature at the entrance. But the conditions did not affect the success of the event.Macao is the first Asian stop of this international exhibition on the Eucharistic Miracles officially recognized by the Church, conceived and realized by the young Blessed Carlo Acutis. The Macao Catholic community is particularly interested in exploring the relationships and influences between Catholic culture and contemporary science, and is therefore also concerned with realities that human science cannot prove and that are beyond the reach of scientific research, thanks to the contribution of Blessed Carlo Acutis.At the official opening ceremony on June 17th, Msgr. Stephen Lee, Bishop of Macao and President of the Macao Catholic Culture Association, together with some representatives of the local authorities, paid tribute to this precious moment, presenting in this context the exhibition and the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis so that the Chinese believers, especially the young, can come to know and appreciate this important figure.A platform dedicated to the exhibition is accessible via the website www.macaucca.org, with a great deal of information and contributions, particularly on the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis. In this way, the Catholic and non-Catholic public can learn more about Eucharistic miracles, but also the history of faith and the testimony of the young Italian.

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: ASIA/KAZAKHSTAN – Pope’s visit: “All of Kazakhstan is happy”

Karaganda – “There are no words to express the joy of the entire Catholic community in Kazakhstan at the visit of Pope Francis to our country. What pleases us the most is the fact that even the non-Catholic citizens of the country received the news of the planned trip of the Holy Father with great enthusiasm.The first positive sign is that the authorities of Karaganda have offered to help us organize the trip from our city to Nursultan, where the Pope will spend his three-day stay. The second positive sign is that we see many journalists on the streets asking ordinary people what they think of Francis’ visit and the answer is that they are all very happy that such an important man of God visits the Kazakh people”. This is what Mgr. Yevgeniy Zinkovskiy, Auxiliary Bishop of Karaganda and first native prelate of Kazakhstan, told Fides about the Pope’s visit to the Central Asian country.The reason for the trip is the 7th Congress of Representatives of World Religions and Traditional Religions, which will take place on September 14th and 15th, 2022 in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan. According to the Holy See’s official program, Francis will arrive in Kazakhstan on the afternoon of September 13. There he will be received by the country’s authorities and will deliver the first of his five official speeches. In the following days, the Pope will take part in the workings of the Congress, with moments dedicated to the local Catholic community and a Holy Mass in Expo Square, as well as a meeting with Bishops, religious, seminarians and pastoral collaborators, the will take place in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.”We had hoped that the Pope could also visit Karaganda, but this is not possible due to his health condition. However, we are very happy that he will come to our country and celebrate a Mass for all of God’s people. We invite everyone, to take part in the meeting and we are waiting for our Pope to tell us what we can do for the Church and the local society”, concludes Msgr. Zinkovskiy.The official invitation to Kazakhstan for Pope Francis was extended by Kazakh Senate President Maulen Ashimbayev on November 6 during a papal audience at the Vatican. On this occasion, the President of the Senate thanked the Holy See for the support it had shown over the past few years.The First Congress of Representatives of World and Traditional Religions was convened by former President Nazarbayev on September 23-24, 2003 in Astana . On this occasion, delegates from 17 religious and sectarian bodies and institutions from around the world met with the aim of reviving dialogue and religious freedom in the heart of Central Asia, an area located near the epicenter of ethno-religious conflicts after 9/11 September 2001. The Congress is inspired by the program statements of the organizers of the “Day of Prayer for Peace” in the world convened by John Paul II on January 24, 2002 in Assisi to highlight the contribution of the different religious traditions to dialogue and understanding between peoples and nations.

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: AFRICA/KENYA – A peace caravan of Franciscan nuns, ahead of the elections

Nairobi – “We wanted to find a simple and direct way to send everyone a message of peace and calm on the eve of the elections and so we have decided to organize a caravan of women religious to go through the “hot spots” in the Kisumu region, where there were very serious incidents during the past elections. On July 23rd we left together – about fifty Sisters of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Anne – and crossed our region, stopping especially in the places most threatened by violence”, explains Sister Florence Atieno Ochieng, assistant Superior of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anne for the Kisumu region to Fides about the original initiative of a group of women religious in Kenya to spread a climate of peace and prevent riots before, during and after tomorrow’s August 9 elections. The march was initiated by the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters in collaboration with the Association of Sisters of Kenya , a body that gathers consecrated women whose mission is to foster mutual support and promote authentic evangelical witness through sustainable programs, and with Catholic Relief Services . The special pilgrimage was held to commemorate the horrific events that took place during the 2017 elections in Kenya, particularly in the Kisumu region, where clashes between police and protesters resulted in deaths and injuries.”We encountered many people, over 500 in all,” said Sister Florence Atieno Ochieng weuuter, “and even the most violent and threatening accepted our peace proposal and the words we addressed to them. In the places most at risk, people were upset because they feared fraud and vote theft. We tried to reassure everyone and insisted on the concept of personal responsibility. In other words, we declared that peace must first be within ourselves”.The initiative, supported and launched by Kisumu District Deputy District Commissioner William Cheruiyot Langat, traveled through more than 10 neighborhoods identified as potential hotspots for violence in the district. The peace caravan was also joined by priests and faithful from the parish of St. Joseph Milimani in the Archdiocese of Kisumu. “The caravan”, continues the nun, “was followed by many people. Alongside the march, we organized three consecutive days of peace talks on Radio Maria Kisumu to raise people’s awareness of the importance of promoting peace in every way during the electoral period. Local politicians urged us to repeat this type of initiative. We want to promote social harmony at this time, but also make people aware that peace cannot be achieved through violence. We would like to emphasize that the consequences of violence always hit first the weakest and most vulnerable, children, women and disabled, who are unable to escape or protect themselves”.

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: ASIA/UZBEKISTAN – The first vocation to female consecrated life in Samarkand

Samarkand – “Summer is a privileged time to increase faith, and here in Uzbekistan the Lord is granting us the grace to carry out a truly important work of formation and deepening of spirituality. Last year we priests of the Institute of the Incarnate Word had just arrived in Samarkand and were unable to organize many activities because it was necessary to restore the church and all the parish environments; now that we have renewed spaces, we are happy to make them available to all Uzbek Catholic communities. Only a part of the summer has passed, yet we are already very happy with the results achieved so far”. This is what Fr. Ariel Alvarez Toncovich, priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and parish priest of the church of St. John the Baptist in Samarkand, Uzbekistan said, talking about the summer pastoral activities dedicated to children and young people from all the parishes of the Central Asian country. One of the most beautiful fruits, the work of God’s grace, reports the missionary, is the first religious vocation of an Uzbek girl, who expressed the desire to consecrate herself to God: a “little plant of faith” – he notes – that will be have to be cultivated on the path which has just begun in the Institute of the Incarnate Word, which will lead her towards the consecration of life. Among the pastoral activities, the first pastoral appointment, in the month of July – says Fr. Ariel Alvarez Toncovich – was dedicated to the little ones: “For five days, we welcomed 22 children from Fergana, Bukhara and of course Samarkand. It may seem a small number when compared to other realities, but for the Church in Uzbekistan it is an important result. We spent the days dedicated to historical walks around the city, organizing mountain tours and games related to the Gospel. In this way, the children had the opportunity to have fun and learn”, explains the missionary. Also in July it was the turn of the young people to meet in the parish of St. John the Baptist: “We hosted 27 young people from all the Uzbek parishes. Also in this case – observes the missionary – we organized recreational activities, combined with formative moments, which touched on interesting topics for the daily life of young people. Furthermore, we tried to create the ideal conditions for the children to come and talk about their problems with us priests: many have told us about their concerns, including vocational ones. This is one of the most beautiful fruits of the experience. The five days were characterized by an atmosphere of joy, and the participants said they had lived according to ‘a spirit of true Catholic Church’. It is a comment that made us reflect a lot”. In this period, the parish of Samarkand hosts the summer oratory dedicated to the children of the city: “We have about ten, and for us it is a beautiful thing because when we arrived there were only two. They come from families that have some Catholic grandfather or great-grandfather. In some cases, the parents are not baptized, but they want the children to come to us. As a Muslim grandmother, who regularly accompanies her grandchildren to the oratory, told me, the Catholic community is seen as a chance to give one’s children a ‘rich and open’ education. Another grandfather told us that he sees the parish as a healthy environment for his grandson to grow. Often these children invite their peers, who of course we can only welcome if the parents agree and sign a permit. Many of them, at the wish of the families, will be baptized and will begin catechism”. The greatest fruit of this work, explains Fr. Toncovich, is the first vocation to consecrated life in Samarkand: “One of the girls from our parish asked to enter the monastery: she is 21 years old, she always comes to mass and one day she talked to us about her vocation, saying that she wanted to consecrate herself to God, but she did not know how to do it because the only community of nuns present in Uzbekistan are very far from our city. A few months ago she entered the congregation of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and she began her novitiate path. This represents a reason for great joy for us also because, as John Paul II said, vocations are a sign of the vitality of parishes”. Currently the small Uzbek Catholic community, made up of about 3,000 baptized, counts, throughout the country, 5 parishes: in addition to that of Samarkand, there are about 700 faithful in the capital Tashkent and there are others present in Bukhara, Urgench and Fergana.