Saint Lucia
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May 2004 |
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VATICAN CITY The Nun Who Foretold the Spanish Civil War Among the six people Pope John Paul11 beatified on Sunday April 26th. was Eusabia Palomino Yenes, a religious Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, who predicted the bloody Spanish Civil War. The key document in the process of her beatification included a dialogue between Sister Eusebia and Josefa Garcia Mariscal, in which the future blessed predicted the war that broke out in 1936. Sister Eusebia told the witness that "there is going to be a very great civil war and much innocent blood will be spilled because Spain is not at peace with itself'. Sister Eusebia offered herself as a victim for the salvation of souls in her country in 1931. According to Benedictine Manuel Garrido Bonano, "The Lord accepted her. This was followed by three years of unspeakable pain. " Eusebia Palomino Yenes was born to a poor family on December 15, 1899, in Cantalpino, a small village in the province of Salamanca. After her reljgious_profession, she was sent to the House in Valverde del Camino, a small city of9,000 in the southwest mining area of Andalucia. At first, the girls of the school and oratory were disappointed with the nun. Small and pale, with coarse hands and an unattractive name, she did not seem very impressive. Soon however, the girls were facinated by Sister Eusebias's stories of missionary deeds, lives of the saints, episodes of Marian devotion, and anecdotes of Don John Bosco, which the nun made even more appealing because of her conviction and simple faith. She became an ‘apostle of Merciful Love according to Jesus' revelations to religious Faustina Kowaiska, divulged in Spain by Dominican Father Juan Arintero,” says a biorgraphy issued by the Holy See. In August 1932 an unexpected illness was the first sign that God had accepted the "victim", the.text adds. "Then she had asthma, which had troubled her at various times, and now reached extremely intolerant levels, aggravated by other illnesses that kept appearing and threatening her life." Visions of blood afllicted Sister Eusebia even more than her physical pains. Visions of blood also involved her beloved director, Sister Carmen Moreno Benitez, who was eventually shot together with another woman religious on September 6, 1936. Sister Carmen has been declared blessed, after the recognition of her martyrdom. Sister Eusebia's worsening illness baffled her doctor. Coupled with asthma, it tormented her limbs and left her curled up. She died on the night of February 9th. 1935. COLOMBIA lst Colombian Woman to Be Beatified On Sunday Apri125, Pope John Paul ll beatified Laura Montoya, the first Colombian woman to be beatified. Known as "teacher of the Indians", she founded the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and St. Catherine of Siena. "She became an Indian with the Indians to win them all for Christ," said Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, when a decree was published last July recognizing a miracle attributed to her intercession. Laura Montoya was born on May 26, 1874, in Jerico, Colombia. She studied elementary education at the Immaculate Conception School, and taught in poor areas of Antioquia and Medellin. In 1914, she and.a group of volunteers went to Antioquia'a forest of Dabeiba del Uraba to teach the catechism and to help native communities. The initiative gave birth to the congregation of Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and St. Catherine of Siena or, as she called it, the "Indians' Works." "She understood the human dignity and divine vocation of Indians," explains the biography issued by the Holy See. "She wished to be inserted in their culture, to live like them in poverty, simplicity and humility and, in this way, to knock down the wall of racial discrimination that some civil and religious leaders of her time exercised," the biography says. "Her missionary work upset plans and launched women as missionaries in the vanguard of evangelization in Latin America," the biography adds. Montoya spent nine years in a wheelchair, and died in Medellin on October 21, 1949, after a long agony. At her death, her congregation had 90 Houses in three countries, with 467 religious. MANILA PHILIPPINES Philippine Bishops Urge "People Power" at Ballot Box Philippine bishops in anew pastoral statement are urging voters to choose candidates who will stand up to corruption. Weeks before the May 10 national elections, 61 bishops, after a two-day meeting, issued their statement entitled "Nation-Building Through Elections: A Guideline for the Faithful." In it they urged voters to discern and choose candidates who show competence, leadership, experience, and integrity, among other things. The bishops also ask voters to choose candidates who are committed to a vision and program of action in issues such as family life, the environment, illegal drugs and gambling, justice" peace and order, poverty alleviation, and education. "It is a time when we can institutionalize further 'people power' through the informed and responsible choice of local and national leaders by millions of Philipinos here and Abroad," the bishops noted in their statement. Since the start of the campaign period in February, there has been talk of manipulation of the election results through "massive fraud and unconstitutional measures." However, the bishops stated their trust that the citzenry, through vigilance and concerted actions, "would be the best guarantee of maintainibng honest, orderly and peaceful elections. " They also called on the national police, the military and public schoolteachers (who will tally the votes by hand) to maintain a neutral and nonpartisan role in ensuring the electoral process. AUSTRALIA Keep Sundays for God. Not Sports. Pope Says Pope John Paul11 warned Australian bishops in Rome for their Ad Limina visit that "the pernicious ideology of secularism has found fertile ground" in their country . Rather than play sports on Sundays, the Holy Father said, Australians should attend Mass. "When Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes subordinate to a secular concept of 'weekend' dominated by such things as entertainment and sport, people stay locked within a horizon so narrow that they no longer see the heavens," John Paul said. Only 15% of Australian Catholics attend Mass each week, and during the past five years there has been a 13% drop in attendance. One mother of three, however, agrred with the Pope. "As a country we're sports-obsessed," she said. "Sunday should be a family day -Mass and then a baked dinner afterward; like it was in the 195(0s." NEW YORK Kelly Tells Church to Stay Out of Campaign Despite supporting abortion and vetoing fetal-protection laws -supporting positions that contradict Church teachings --Senator John Kerry still insists his faith will not be a campaign issue. "I don't tell Church officials what to do and the Church officials shouldn't tell American politicians what to do in the context of our public life," Kerry told Time Magazine. " As John Kennedy said very clearly, I will be a president who happens to be a Catholic, not a Catholic president." Also on the campaign trail, President Bush criticized Kerry for using a Bible verse to criticize leaders March 28. While not referring to Bush by name but referring to current national leaders, Kerry asked, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no ddeds?" A Bush spokesman called it "a sad exploitation of Scripture for a political attack." NAIROBI. KENYA Marriage as God's Intensive School of Love Marriage is one of God's most intensive school of love, where He wishes to train most of His pupils. So says Monsignor Cormac Burke, a priest and former judge of the Roman Rota who teaches anthropology at Strathmore University . Monsignor Burke explores the dynamics of love, marriage and children in his book "Covenanted Happiness. In his book he states that only the person who is prepared to face the challenges of love will grow in love, and how children challenge each spouse's capacity to love even more. "The first thing to bear in mind," he says, "is that marriage cannot give perfect happiness, nor can anything else here on earth. The purpose of marriage is not to give the spouses such happiness, but to mature them for it. "In everything here on earth, God is trying to teach us to love, which we will enjoy fully in heaven. Marriage is one of the .most intensive schools of love, where He wishes to train most of His pupils." According to Monsignor Burke, happiness demands an effort. When a married person in difficulties allows the thought, "I'll get a divorce and marry this other man or woman, because I'll be happier with him or her," they are really saying, "My happiness depends on not having too much demanded of me. I'll be happy only if I don't have to make much of an effort to love." As long as one looks at the question of happiness from a purely individual and ultimately self-concerned viewpoint, it will be hard to grasp how positive the Church's teaching is. The happiness of a Christian lies also in being sharers in God's plan. The sense of this great privilege has to be at the root of our happiness. Married couples today need to be more aware of the marvelous witness they are called to give to a world that doesn't trust God. Pope John Paul II write in "Familiaris Consortio" that "To bear witness to the inestimable value of the indissolubility and fidelity of marriage is one of the most precious and most urgent tasks of Christian couples in our time." Caribbean Church DOMINICA, ROSEAU Dominica’s population has decreased by 2.2 percent in recent years and the number of Roman Catholics is declining steadily. This is revealed in the final results of the 2001 Population and Housing census prepared by the Central Statistical Office. GRENADA , ST. GEORGE’S St. Joseph’s Convent, St. George’s, celebrated its patronal feast March 19th with a Mass at the Cathedral followed by a prize distribution ceremony in the schools auditorium. The school later held its fund-raising dinner and ball that evening and officially launched the school’s steel orchestra. JAMAICA, KINGSTON Archbishop Edgerton Roland Clarke was chief celebrant at a special Mass of thanksgiving organized by the Archdiocese of Kingston to mark the occasion of his 75th birthday, on Thursday, February 19th,2004 at the Sts. Peter and Paul Church in St. Andrew. The occasion was also used to express gratitude to the Archbishop for his 44 years of service as a priest, bishop and archbishop, following on the recent announcement of his retirement. Paying special tribute to His Grace were His Excellency, the governor-general, Sir Howard Cooke who sent a special message for the occasion; the Anglican Bishop of Jamaica. It was on January 6th, 1904 that the first conference of the St. Vincent De Paul Society was opened up in Jamaica at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, then located on Duke Street in the very heart of the city of Kingston. There were no asphalt roads in Jamaica at the time, and there were no motor-cars, although there were trains and later train cars. Following the example at Holy Trinity, other churches in around Kingston started S.V.P. conferences. Later these conferences were set up in the churches of the rural parishes of the island. Up until 1971, only men could become members. Today, a woman Maxine Gooden is the national president of the St. Vincent De Paul Society in Jamaica. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) has given credibility to the church both national and internationally. This was the message of Archbishop Edward Gilbert in March 27th, when the Commission held its first annual general meeting. HAITI, PORT-AU-PRINCE Caritas Internationalis has launched an appeal for more than US$1 million to help feed hungry Haitians. In written statement released March 15th, Caritas said: “The unstable situation on Port-au-Prince continues to prevent the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, leaving children hungry at orphanages and other Caritas feeding centres. Antilles Episcopal Conference Following the death of Archbishop Anthony Pantin of Port-of-Spain and that of Archbishop Samuel Carter of Kingston, Jamaica, the Antilles Episcopal Conference began to experience changes in the leadership of the Church in several dioceses. Archbishop Edward Gilbert (of Roseau, Dominica) replaced Archbishop Pantin. Archbishop Edgerton Clarke (of Montego Bay) replaced Archbishop Carter. Montego Bay got a new Shepherd in the person of Bishop Charles Dufour, and Dominica a new leader in the person of Bishop Gabriel Malzaire.
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