Catholic Fire

The nearly three-year conflict is pushing the people fleeing Syria to a breaking point. As they challenges grow, Card. Robert Sarah, president for the Pontifical Cor Unum Council, and Secretary Giampiero Dal Toso, witnessed them first hand.

Vatican City, 13 November 2013 (VIS) – After today's catechesis, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for an end to the tragedy in Syria and also mentioned the Philippine people currently suffering the consequences of the super-typhoon Haiyan. “It is with great sadness that I have learned of the mortar attack two days ago in Damascus in which several children were killed on the way home from school, along with the driver of their bus. Other children were injured. Please, let us pray with all our strength that these tragedies may never again happen! In these days we are praying and uniting our strength to help our brothers and sisters in the Philippines, struck by the typhoon. These are the real battles that must be fought. For life, never for death!”

During the first day of their fall meeting in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops discussed themes and priorities for their work as a whole, including evangelization, the family and Catholic education. The bishops listened on Nov. 11 to remarks from apostolic nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and conference president Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan on the importance of Christian witness and international religious freedom. They heard a report from the conference’s National Advisory Council, a 48-member group of laity, clergy and religious of various ages, locations, ethnicities and occupations, who meet to offer input on topics discussed by the bishops. The council supports a continued focus on evangelization and education, the development of a formal statement on pornography, a peaceful solution to the Syrian conflict, and an extension of the bishops’ “Call to Prayer” for life, marriage and religious liberty. Read the full story

September 9, 2013. (Romereports.com) Nearly 100,000 people prayed for peace alongside Pope Francis during Saturday's vigil. The same number as the victims killed during two and a half years of violence in Syria. The large crowds gathered at St. Peter's Square included worshipers of non-Christian faiths, who also condemned violence and expressed their wishes for a peaceful solution to the conflict.   IMAM YAHYA PALLAVICINI Vice President, Muslim Community in Italy “It's a religious duty, being here in Rome and being a Muslim Westerner, to try to create bridges, participating in all these occasions that can really show the true reality of spirituality and deep reason of life.” During the prayer service, local Muslim leaders could be seen kneeling alongside Catholics and other Christians, as Pope Francis denounced war as a defeat on humanity. In addition to Islam, adherents to Hinduism wanted to make themselves visible to add their voices to the chorus clamoring for...

September 5, 2013 (Romereports) Pope Francis is exhausting all efforts to avoid a military strike on Syria. The latest is a the letter he wrote to the world leaders at the G-20 summit, that is underway in St. Petersburg, Russia. With strong words, Francis wrote that ever since the start of the conflict, “one-sided interests” have interfered with finding a “solution that would have avoided the senseless massacre now unfolding.”   Francis addressed each and everyone of the G20 leaders and asked them to “lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution.” The Vatican spokesman presented the letter during a press conference on Thursday. P. FEDERICO LOMBARDI Vatican Spokesman “To the leaders present, to each and every one, I make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution. Rather, let there be a renewed commitment to seek, with courage and determination, a peaceful solution thr...

September 4, 2013 President Barack Obama The White House Washington, DC 20270 Mr. President: As our nation contemplates military action in Syria, we want to assure you and your Administration of our prayers.  We know that the situation in Syria is complex and appreciate the patience and restraint that your Administration has exercised to date.  We affirm your decision to invite public dialogue and Congressional review of any possible military action, and want to contribute to that discussion from our perspective as Catholic pastors and teachers. We join you in your absolute condemnation of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.  These indiscriminate weapons have no place in the arsenals of the family of nations.  With you we mourn for the lives lost and grieve with the families of the deceased.  At the same time, we remain profoundly concerned for the more than 100,000 Syrians who have lost their lives, the more than 2 million who have fled the coun...

September 4, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis strongly reaffirmed his calls for peace. During the first general audience after his summer vacation, he invited the world to take part in a day of fasting and prayer for peace, including a prayer vigil he will lead at St. Peter's Square on Saturday, September 7.   POPE FRANCIS “This coming Saturday we will live together a special day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world. But also for the peace in our hearts, because peace begins in our hearts. I renew the invitation to the whole Church to live this day intensely, and even now I express gratitude to the other Christian brothers and sisters, to the brothers and sisters of other religions and to the men and women of good will who desire to join in this initiative, in places and ways of their own.” The Pope also had a special reminder for youth, and he thanked them for adding to his experience during July's WYD in Brazil. POP...

Prayer to Mary, Immaculate Queen of Peace Most holy and immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our loving Mother, being his Mother, you shared in his universal kingship. The prophets and angels proclaimed him King of peace. With loving fervor in our hearts we salute and honor you as Queen of peace. We pray that your intercession may protect us and all people from hated and discord, and direct our hearts into the ways of peace and justice which your Son taught and exemplified. We ask your maternal care for our Holy Father who works to reconcile the nations in peace. We seek your guidance for our President and other leaders as they strive for world peace. Glorious Queen of peace, grant us peace in our hearts, harmony in our families and concord throughout the world. Immaculate Mother, as patroness of our beloved country, watch over us and protect us with your motherly love. Amen.

September 3, 2013. (Romereports.com) After drafting a letter pushing for the protection of religious freedom in Egypt, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops once again reached out to American Secretary of State John Kerry, this time on the on-going violence in Syria. The letter was once again written by Iowa Bishop Richard Pates, the chairman for the Conference's Justice and Peace Committee. The bishop denounced the use of chemical weapons against innocent people. However, the letter clearly states that the Conference believes “dialogue and negotiation” are the only solution to end the bloodshed. They urged Kerry and the U.S. Government to obtain a ceasefire, rather than military intervention, and push for serious negotiations between the warring sides. They also asked for the government to provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of the conflict, and to protect Christians and other minorities.

(CNA/EWTN News).- Departing from his typical reflections on the Sunday gospel, Pope Francis used his Angelus audience today to call for peace throughout the world, particularly in conflict-ridden Syria. “I appeal strongly for peace, an appeal which arises from the deep within me,” he said to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 1. “There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments which are looming,” continued the Pope. “For this reason, brothers and sisters, I have decided to call for a vigil for the whole Church,” he announced. It will be “a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, in the Middle East, and throughout world.” The vigil will take place on Sept. 7, the vigil of the birth of Mary, Queen of Peace. Those who can will gather in St. Peter’s Square from 7 p.m. until midnight: other local Chu...

April 22, 2013. (Romereports.com) The Custodian of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, sent an urgent message asking for emergency donations to help support Syrian families. The ongoing violence is escalating among rival groups, and already hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes. One year since the civil war started, Syrian families lack food or work because all industries have been destroyed. This past week, renewed fighting southwest of Damascus killed more than 550 people, mostly women and children. The Custodians of the Holy Land are active in many Syrian cities like Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia and Orontes. Inside the Franciscan convents, medical dispensaries have turned into shelters for anyone, without religious or ethnic affiliations. They've received Alawite and Sunni Muslims, Christians, as well as injured government and rebel troops. For this reason, the Custodians of the Holy Land ask for direct assistance to help keep up their chari...

Saint John Damascene (also known as St. John of Damscus) was born In Damascus, Syria around 676 AD into a rich family and spent the early years of his adult life serving as the official representative of the Christian community to the Muslim Caliph. He later abandoned this political task to join the monastery of St. Sabas near Jerusalem where he became a priest and ultimately bishop. St. John Damascene is known as one of the last of the Fathers of the Church. He was a strong defender of the use of images (icons) in Christian worship against the iconoclasts and wrote a book "On the Orthodox Faith" that sums up the doctrinal heritage of the earlier Greek Fathers. In this great synthesis we find a systematic treatment of the central Christian doctrines, especially the Trinity, Creation, and the Incarnation. St. John Damascene's treatment of the Sacraments is also extensive, and his emphasis on the real bodily presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is very strong. Notable too in ...