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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
churchinneed.org - GUNMEN attacked worshippers leaving a Coptic Orthodox church on the southern outskirts of Cairo on Dec. 29, 2017. Subsequently claimed by ISIS, the assault—which took place some 10 minutes after the conclusion of Mass at St. Mina Church—killed nine people. One of the victims was a young mother of 32, Nermeen Sadiq. Her 13-year-old daughter Nesma Wael was at her side when she was shot. Nesma gave the following account of her mother’s death:
“After Mass ended, I left the church with my cousin and my mother. My mom wore a cross around her neck, and all three of us were not wearing veils. In poorer neighborhoods, Muslim women often wear veils so they are distinguished from Christian women.
“As we turned into a side street, we saw someone on a motorcycle heading toward the church. The next thing we knew, the man crashed his bike after hitting a pothole. My mother ran up to him to help, reassuring him, as she said: “In the name of the Jesus Christ, are you okay?” He got up quickly and in a blink of an eye he opened fire on us with an automatic weapon he pulled out from under his vest.
“As soon as my cousin and I saw the weapon, we hid behind mom, who shouted at us to run away; the terrorist first shot her in the arm, while she was trying to protect us; as we ran away, she fell down and could not escape with us. The distance between us and the terrorist when he first took out his machine gun was no more than a few feet. My cousin and I ran into a small supermarket, where the sales girl hid us behind a refrigerator; from our hiding spot, we watched the attacker looking for us. When he couldn’t find us he turned to mom again and fired more shots at her.
“All this happened in few minutes. After the gunman left, we ran to my mother, who was laying face down in the street, drenched in blood. Many people had gathered, but they all refused to touch my mom, to turn her over, even though she was still alive. I kept screaming for someone to help me, but no one did. I called my father, but he did not pick up; I reached my uncle, who came right away.
“An ambulance pulled up, but the emergency workers refused to move mama into the ambulance until they got permission from the security officials who our out in the streets, hunting for the terrorist, as well as another shooter who had attacked people in front of the church.
“A gun battle erupted, and people fled. My cousin, my uncle and I stayed with my mother. She looked at me, saying: “Do not be afraid, I’m with you. Obey your father and take care of your sister.
“My mother remained laying in the street for about an hour. After the shooting stopped, I went back to the church to fetch my younger sister Karen, who is eight. I took her home and told my father what had happened. I remembered my mom had told me to take care of my sister—at that moment my heart told me she would go to heaven, but my mind could not believe yet that she was dead. I told my father that my mother had not died yet.
“When I returned to the church to pick up my sister—who had remained in church because the service for children had not finished yet—I saw three people I knew laying in pools of blood in front of the church; I knew they had been killed.
“My dad later told me that by the time mom was taken into the ambulance she had died. In the end, the ambulance workers did not go to the hospital, but to the police station to file a police report; then she was taken to the morgue. I believe she died because she was left bleeding for an hour—I blame not only the terrorist but also the emergency workers and the police officer, because they neglected her.
“Today, I do not walk the streets alone anymore. My father always goes with me anywhere. Despite the pain inside my heart—I miss my mother desperately—I am happy because she is a martyr and I don’t feel afraid of the terrorists anymore. I was with her at the time of the attack and did not even get injured: it was God’s will to specifically choose her to go to the heaven.
“I do not want to leave my country, but I certainly want to find a better chance to live and study, especially since our financial situation isn’t good. When you don’t know what to do with your children, when they get tired of reading books and walking along the street, the only way out for you to relax from your children is to put your boys and girls on the website to play y8 online games on your computer or any gadget. My dad, Wael Nadi, who is 35, works as a driver, but he has no regular work; my mother provided the main source of income for our family; she was a nurse at Cairo Kidney Center for kidneys. I hope to become a doctor of nephrology; that was my mom’s dream for me.
“This is my message to all the persecuted people around the world: ‘Do not be afraid! Our lives are in God’s hands God and we have to adhere to our faith.’”
Nesma’s family, along with other poor families whose breadwinners were killed that day, is waiting for financial compensation from the government. Almost three weeks after the attack, nothing has happened yet. —Engy Magdy
Asmara (Agenzia Fides) - "In Eritrea, the regime has begun to persecute religious confessions and, in particular, the Catholic Church. The objective is clear: to try to prevent its influence on society: not by prohibiting worship, but social activities". This is the alarm launched by Mussie Zerai, a priest of the eparchy of Asmara, for years a chaplain of the Eritreans in Europe and active in saving migrants in danger in the Mediterranean. «Since 1995 - explains the religious to Fides - there has been a law in force in the country according to which the State wants to carry out all social activities. Therefore, the latter cannot be carried out by private or even by religious institutions. So far, the law has been applied in a bland manner and has not seriously affected the network of services offered by Christians and Muslims. In the last few months, however, there has been an acceleration».
Public officials have decreed the closure of five Catholic clinics in various cities. The minor seminary (which served both the diocese and the religious congregations) was closed in Asmara. Also several schools of the Orthodox Church and Muslim organizations had to close their doors. The closure of an Islamic institute, at the end of last October unleashed the harsh protests of the students.
"Beyond the economic damage to individual religious confessions - continues abba Mussie – those who pay a high price is the population who no longer has serious and efficient structures to turn to. In Xorona, for example, they closed the only dispensary in operation that was run by Catholics. In Dekemhare and Mendefera, the authorities have banned the activity of Catholic medical centres by stating that they were a duplication of state ones. In reality, public facilities do not work: they do not have medicines, they cannot operate because they do not have suitable equipment and often not even electricity".
But what is the reaction of the population? "To rebel is not easy", explains the priest. "The Muslim uprising was stopped with weapons. And there were many dead and wounded. Last month, seven thousand young call-ups joined and, together, called for a meeting with President Isayas Afeworki to denounce the harassment of their officers. The president received them and listened to them. At the end of the talks the boys were taken to a concentration camp near Nakfa and, as a punishment, were left outdoors, under the scorching sun, with very little food and water. Many fell ill. After the parents’ protests, the regime said that it will send them to the barracks to finish the naja. But under what conditions?". (EC) (Agenzia Fides, 12/01/2018)
custodia.org - After welcoming Orthodox Church leaders for greetings on the occasion of the Catholic Christmas celebrations in December, the Franciscan friars of the Custody visited the Orthodox Church communities for Christmas according to the Julian calendar. On the morning of January 9. the sound of the Kawas’ sticks were heard several times to announce the arrival of the Franciscan delegation. The honorary guards of the Custody, in fact, precede the friars’ procession every time they go somewhere for an official visit.
As is customary, in addition to the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Patton, and the Vicar of the Custody, Fr. Dobromir Jasztal, there were other friars, including several seminarians from St. Savior international Seminary. For all of them, every year, exchanging greetings with their brothers in the Orthodox churches is a unique experience of sharing that unites them as Christians, despite their many differences.
The visit to the Greek Orthodox in the early hours of the morning was accompanied by a cordial and fraternal atmosphere. The Custos of the Holy Land expressed his feelings of gratitude for the mutual cooperation that allows them to work together in the most important shrines, such as the Holy Sepulcher and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Fr. Patton also spoke about the event that during the first days of January, involved the Greek Patriarch Theophilus III, who was harshly protested by a group of Greek-Orthodox Palestinian Christians, during his entrance into Bethlehem for the Christmas celebrations. “I want to express my closeness and solidarity to His Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilus,” said Br. Patton. “We reject, condemn and cannot accept any kind of violence against his person.” Patriarch Theophilus III thanked [them] for the solidarity shown to him and he spoke about other positive opportunities for the two communities to come together in the course of the year.
With the friars of the Coptic Church, the Franciscan friars shared a beautiful moment by exchanging their well wishes and listening to stories from Egypt, of which the Coptic Church is the official church. Mons. Anba Antonius, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke about the persecutions of Christians in Egypt, thanks to the translation by Br. Ibrahim Faltas, the head of the Terra Santa Schools. The Patriarch also spoke about the meaning of Christmas and the new year that just began, hoping that it will be “a year of good and peace for humanity.” The Vicar of the Custody, Fr. Dobromir Jasztal, brought the wishes of the Franciscans and also those of the Custos, who could not be present at the gathering: “These visits are not part of the protocol, but the result of the desire to share what we believe together.”
During the visit to the Syriac community, the Custodial Vicar recalled the tensions in the Middle East and expressed his closeness to the large community of Syriacs who are still suffering today in Syria. This was echoed by the Syrian Patriarch, Mons. Swerios Malki Mourad, who said he was happy to be able to share the joy of Christmas with the Franciscans. He also expressed solidarity with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch for the protests, because he claimed to have been in a similar situation in the past: “We must pray for the faithful to listen to the heads of the Churches.” With the representatives of the Ethiopian Church, the Franciscans exchanged Christmas greetings immediately after leaving the Syriacs. Fr. Dobromir reiterated that what drives these visits is the desire to share the joy of Christmas. In his speech, Mons. Aba Embakob, of the Orthodox Ethiopian Patriarchate, highlighted the beauty of Jesus’ humble birth and thanked the Franciscan friars for their visit.
Coffee, liqueurs and chocolates followed each meeting, in the spirit of sharing that unites the friars in faith for this celebration.
Archbishop Samir Nassar was saved from death, he says, only because of a Providential trip to the restroom Jan. 8.
CNA/EWTN News
DAMASCUS, Syria — A bomb fell in the bedroom of the Maronite archbishop of Damascus last week. He was spared death, he says, only because of a Providential trip to the restroom.
Archbishop Samir Nassar related that a shell fell on his bed the afternoon of Jan. 8, when he had been taking a nap. He got up to go to the bathroom shortly before the bomb hit his room, and he said that “a few seconds at the sink saved my life!”
“Providence watches over his little servant, but now I am exiled like 12 million Syrian refugees who have nothing left,” he told Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need.
Archbishop Nassar’s cathedral was heavily damaged. He said: “The doors of the cathedral and 43 windows and doors have to be replaced, holes need to be filled, fuel tanks and water tanks need repairing, as does the electricity network.”
Bishops Ask Faithful to Aid Those from the Middle East, Ukraine
The Church in Poland actively participated in the celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Sunday, January 14, according to Fr Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, Spokesman of The Polish Bishops’ Conference.
Fr Pawel said many of the nation’s churches celebrated mass “For Refugees and Exiles.” In addition, the Polish Bishops’ Conference appealed to the faithful to engage in specific assistance to migrants from the Middle East and Ukraine. There are 1.5 Million Ukrainian refugees living in Poland.
During the press conference in the seat of the Polish Bishops’ Conference on January 15, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, recalled the words of Pope Francis and the teaching of the Church, according to which, every migrant should be respected but he should also respect the country to which he comes. He stressed also the keywords of the Message of the Pope for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees: “welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating” migrants and refugees.
Teheran (Agenzia Fides) - Twenty-four year old Ani-Kristi Manvelian, an anesthesiologist by profession, was ordained as deaconess in the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator of Tehran last September by Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian, the Primate of the Armenian apostolic Archdiocese of Teheran. Ani-Kristi Manvelian - reports the blog oxbridgepartners.com - is a lay person and does not belong to any female monastic congregation. Her ordination took place while the Armenian Apostolic Church has yet to formally restore the office of female diaconate. "What I have done is in conformity with the Tradition of the Church and nothing else", said Archbishop Sarkissian, whose archdiocese falls under the jurisdiction of the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenians. The Archbishop also stated that his decision was to "revitalise the participation of women also in our church’s liturgical life".
Among the Eastern Churches, also the Synod of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt, in November 2016 (see Fides 19/11/2016) had decided to restore the institute of female deacons, and had appointed a commission of Bishops "for a thorough examination of the matter".
The discussion on the possibility of restoring female deacons and on the potential role of female deacons in the pastoral activities and missionary animation has been open for some time within the Chalcedon Orthodoxy theological institutions. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 15/1/2018)
