Catholic Fire

The saint of the day for June 28th is St. Irenaeus (c.130 - c.200), Bishop of Lyons (France) and Father of the Church. Irenaeus was born in Smyrna (modern-day Turkey), although he later settled in Rome. He was well -educated and was influenced by men who knew the Apostles, especially St. Polycarp, who had been a student of St. John the evangelist. Irenaeus served as a priest of the Church of Lyons during the Christian persecution under the reign of Marcus Aurelius,  the pagan Roman emperor (161–180). Many of the clergy from Lyons were imprisoned for their faith. In 177, he journeyed to Rome carrying a letter to Pope Eleuterus, urging him to deal with the heresy of Montanism , which was now flourishing in the East. While Irenaeus was in Rome, a massacre occurred in Lyons. A persecution broke out, and some of the leaders of the Lyons church were imprisoned, while others suffered martyrdom. Thus, he did not share in the martyrdom of his fellow Christians. When he r...

Gracious God, we place before you our sisters and brothers in Iraq. They are numbed and almost immobilized by the horrendous violence they have experienced over the past weeks. We can hardly imagine the intense sadness and grief, the confusion and anger that dominate their own thoughts and prayers this day. We know that it is you who can turn minds to thoughts of peace. Your Spirit can change hearts. Even enemies begin to speak to one another and nations seek the way of peace together. Your Spirit is at work when understanding puts an end to strife, when hatred is quenched by mercy, and vengeance give way to forgiveness. For this we never cease to thank you, for the presence and action of that Spirit in the world. We simply place our family in Iraq in your tender and loving care. We pray this in the name of our brother Jesus. Amen. (Prepared by the Dominican Iraq Coordinating Committee USA)

Religious liberty is present, said the Pope, when people can express their faith publicly and not just in private. POPE FRANCIS "The fact that religious persecution still exists and that it provokes war is unacceptable. This damages our rationality, it's an attempt against peace and it belittles the dignity of men and women.” The Pope addressed an international conference on religious liberty, welcoming the group to the Vatican. He said that, nowadays, Christians are persecuted more than in the early days of the Church. There are also more martyrs now, he explained,  than centuries ago. POPE FRANCIS "It pains me a great deal to know that Christians, from around the world, suffer the most from this discrimination. This is happening more than 1,700 years after Constantine signed the Edict of Milan, granting Christians the right to express their faith freely.” The International Conference was carried out by Rome´s LUMSA University and St. John´s University Sch...

Nigerian authorities are looking into a deadly attack that left at least 22 people dead in northeastern Nigeria. The victims were attending Sunday Mass, when bombs were set off in their Christian parish. That same day yet another attack took place in a different Nigerian village, where an additional 52 people were killed. Islamist militants known as 'Boko Haram' are being blamed for both incidents. The extremist group has been linked to several violent and deadly attacks in the past five years.

(Vatican Radio) The persecution of Christians is expected to rise in 2014, according to a nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise awareness about Christian persecution and to offer pastoral and practical support to persecuted Christians around the world. Release International has highlighted two challenging areas for Christians this year, said spokesperson Andrew Boyd. The first, he said, is “the continuing rise of Islamist persecution” in the form of militant groups that are seeking to change the governments within their countries and to take power, in particular, in Afghanistan and Nigeria, which are both set for elections this year. The Taliban in Afghanistan, he said, will likely increase its attacks as NATO troops pull out by the end of 2014. In Nigeria, the Islamic militant group Boko Haram has already declared war on the Nigerian president and on Christians, said Boyd. The second challenging area is the communist and post-communist world. Boyd identified Nor...

October 24, 2013 (Romereports.com) Pope Francis met with a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a U.S.-based Jewish human rights group dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, intolerance and racism. The audience took place Thursday inside the Vatican's Clementine Hall.   The Pope denounced the persecution of any minority group “because of their religious convictions or ethnic identity.” He specifically singled out the suffering of many Christians around the world, living under the threat of persecution. Pope Francis then called for a culture of encounter and respect. He praised the work the Simon Wiesenthal Center carries forward, and urged them to continue. POPE FRANCIS “To combat every form of racism, intolerance and anti-Semitism, to keep alive the memory of the Shoah, and to promote mutual understanding through education and commitment to the good of society.” The Pope also asked the delegation to get young people involved and educated. He said it's important...