Pope tosses audience speech, prays rosary for victims of Italy quake 

Vatican City, Aug 24, 2016 / 03:04 am (CNA/EWTN News) - Instead of giving the usual catechesis during his Wednesday general audience, Pope Francis decided to postpone the speech, leading pilgrims in praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary for the victims of an earthquake that rocked central Italy earlier that morning.

“On hearing the news of the earthquake that has struck central Italy and which has devastated many areas and left many wounded, I cannot fail to express my heartfelt sorrow and spiritual closeness to all those present in the zones afflicted,” the Pope said Aug. 24.

He offered his condolences to all who have lost loved ones, and his expressed his spiritual closeness to those who are “anxious and afraid.”

At least 21 people have been killed and countless buried under rubble after an earthquake hit central Italy early Wednesday morning.

The original 6.2-magnitude quake hit the town of Norcia, about 65 miles northeast of Rome, at 3:36a.m. with several aftershocks following.

According to the BBC, the mayor of Amatrice, one of the worst-hit areas, said “the town is gone.” Officials warn that the death toll will likely continue to rise as rescue efforts move forward.

Pope Francis, hearing that the mayor of Amatrice said his town “no longer exists” and learning that many children are also among the dead, said “I am deeply saddened.”

“For this reason I want to assure all the people of Accumoli, Amatrice, the diocese of Rieti, Ascoli Piceno and all the people of Lazio, Umbria and Le Marche of the prayers and close solidarity of the entire Church,” he said.

The Pope then offered his thanks to all the volunteer and rescue workers assisting in the affected areas, asking Jesus, “who is always moved by compassion before the reality of human suffering, that he may console the broken hearted, and through the intercession of the Virgin Mary bring them peace.”

“With Jesus, let our hearts be moved with compassion,” he said, and invited the some 11,000 pilgrims present to join him in praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.

In addition to Pope Francis’ appeal to prayer, the Italian Bishop’s Conference (CEI) has already decided to donate 1 million euros to the most urgent relief efforts, and have asked that a special collection take place to help raise more money for the affected areas.

In an Aug. 24 communique from the CEI, the bishops said the Church throughout Italy “gathers in prayer for all the victims and expresses her fraternal closeness to the people involved in this tragic event.”

The president of the bishop’s conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, launched a national collection for Sept. 18, set to coincide with Italy’s 26th National Eucharistic Congress, inviting all parishes, religious institutes and lay institutions in the country to participate.

The funds gathered from the collection will go toward relieving those who lost everything, and is “a fruit of the charity” that will flow from the Eucharistic congress and the participation of all “in the concrete needs of the affected populations.”

Pope taps Dallas bishop to head new Vatican department for laity 

Vatican City, Aug 17, 2016 / 04:13 am (CNA/EWTN News) - Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas has been appointed the head of Francis’ new 'mega-dicastery' for laity, family, and life – a decision that marks the second major appointment of an American to a Vatican position this summer.

The news of Bishop Farrell’s appointment as head of the new dicastery was announced in an Aug. 17 communique from the Vatican, and falls less than a month after another American, Greg Burke, stepped in as the new Vatican spokesman and director of the Holy See Press Office.

The appointment was accompanied by the release of the brief motu proprio Sedula Mater, or "sedulous mother," by which Pope Francis formally established the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.

In a statement announcing Bishop Farrell’s appointment, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington said, “the appointment by our Holy Father, Pope Francis, of Bishop Kevin Farrell as the head of the newly created dicastery … is welcome news given Bishop Farrell’s demonstrated pastoral skills and his recognized administrative abilities.”

At a time when Pope Francis is placing the role of the laity, the importance of “a robust, pastoral activity” and the support of family and married life at the center of the Church’s attention, “the leadership that Bishop Farrell brings will be a blessing for all of us,” Cardinal Wuerl said.

Bishop Farrell, 68, was born in Dublin, and was ordained a priest of the Legionaries of Christ in 1978. He was incardinated into the Archdiocese of Washington in 1984, and was appointed an auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese in 2001, where he led Hispanic ministries.

He continued to serve in that capacity until his 2007 appointment as head of the Diocese of Dallas, which boasts the 10th largest Catholic population in the U.S.

Bishop Farrell holds advanced degrees in philosophy and theology and is fluent in both Spanish and Italian.

In the statement announcing Bishop Farrell’s appointment to the Vatican department – also called a dicastery – Cardinal Wuerl expressed his joy that the challenge of heading the new department “has been entrusted to the very competent Bishop Farrell.”

“Our prayers and best wishes go with Bishop Farrell as he now moves to Rome and his new responsibilities.”

The establishment of the new dicastery includes the cessation of the Pontifical Councils for the Family and the Laity, whose competences will be transferred to Bishop Farrell's office.

Alongside the news of Bishop Farrell’s appointment was the announcement that Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, until now president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, will be taking over as president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The Pope also appointed Msgr. Pierangelo Sequi, president of the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy in Milan, as the new as grand chancellor of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family.

A new appointment was not provided Wednesday for Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, a Pole who has been president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity since 2003.

Pope Francis first announced his intention to establish a new Vatican department dedicated to laity, family, and life during the October 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family.

The formal announcement was made by the Vatican June 4, 2016, with the official start-date for the new department set for Sept. 1, 2016.

According to a set of statutes released with the June 4 announcement, the new department will promote “the pastoral care of the family, maintain the dignity and basic good of the Sacrament of marriage, favor the rights and responsibilities of the Church in civil society.”

It will also pay special attention to “the particular mission of the lay faithful to permeate and perfect the order of temporal reality,” the statute continues.

With the full implementation of the new department, the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family will be dissolved, and the Pontifical Academy for Life will be connected to the new entity.

The department will be tasked with projects relating to the apostolate of the laity, the institution of marriage, and the family within the life of the Church.

It will deal with matters regarding the promotion of life, the apostolate of the laity, the pastoral care and of the family, and “its mission, according to God's design, to support human life,” according to its statutes.

In addition to Bishop Farrell, the heads of the dicastery will include a secretary, who could be a lay person, along with three lay undersecretaries. Members of the department will include lay persons, men and women, celibate and married, working in different fields of activity and coming from different parts of the world.

One of the tasks will be to promote the analysis of doctrine on themes and questions pertaining to lay persons.

The dicastery will also “establish aggregations of faithful and lay movements which have and an international character, and will approve their statutes, save the competence of the Secretary of State.”

Another focus will be the “deepening of the doctrine of the family,” and promoting it through catechesis, especially with regard to the spirituality of marriage and the family.

Other programs will include formation of engaged couples and young people, supporting adoption, and care for the elderly.

In addition, the department will support and coordinate “initiatives to encourage responsible procreation, as well as for protection of human life from its conception until its natural end, taking into account the needs the person in the different evolutionary phases.”

These initiatives will include efforts to offer support to women experiencing difficult pregnancies so they do not resort to abortion, as well as programs for post-abortive mothers.

Amid Louisiana floods, victims become helpers 

Baton Rouge, La., Aug 16, 2016 / 11:57 am (CNA/EWTN News) - In southern Louisiana, the flooding is perhaps unprecedented. And the local Catholic Charities is stepping up to help, even as its own staff is affected by the disasters.

“This is something that we’ve never experienced before,” David C. Aguillard, executive director of Catholic Charities of Baton Rouge, told CNA.

“We’re the disaster capital of the world down here. We’ve had oil spills, rig fires, tornados, ice storms, hurricanes, floods,” he said Aug. 15. “The thing about this is it’s such a widespread area. This is basically all of south Louisiana from the Mississippi border to Texas. Everything south of I-10 is flooded.”

More than 30 inches of rain fell in southern Louisiana beginning on Friday, flooding rivers and waterways. Some rivers won’t recede for two days, and any additional rain would risk more flash floods.

At least seven persons have died because of the storms.

More than 20,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes and 12,000 were staying in shelters, ABC News reports. Some shelters were over capacity and lacked sufficient beds, and expanding floodwaters caused evacuations at some shelters that were supposed to be safe havens. Some people still need to be evacuated from their homes.

President Barack Obama has declared a federal emergency in the affected areas.

Over 40,000 homes are without power, hundreds of roads were closed, and 1,400 bridges need safety inspections before being reopened.

“Riding Interstate 10 was like riding an elevated causeway through a waterway. It was water on both sides of the interstate,” Aguillard told CNA.

Normally the agency would be deploying its resources, case managers, and mental health workers. But the impact is so broad, many of its staff are affected, too. They and their families are seeking shelter or trying to leave their neighborhoods.

“The water backed up and nothing was draining. In neighborhoods that have never been flooded, people have four, six, twelve inches of water in their house,” Aguillard said. “We were not spared ourselves.”

Some agency staff feel the same emotions as other victims: shock, trauma, sadness, a feeling of loss; but also a realization that, in Aguillard’s words, “it’s time to get to work and help people.”

“I’ve had staff in here who had to evacuate their homes. They’re feeling sad, you can tell, but at the same time they’re here today,” he added. “We’re going to do everything we possibly can to help people who aren’t as fortunate to have a place to come to.”

Some shelters are inaccessible from Baton Rouge and relief workers comes in from New Orleans. Catholic Charities is now aiding parishes that need toiletries, food, and even coffee. Case managers and mental health professionals are going to the shelters, which are “full to the brim.”

Cash, though, is the most useful asset in such a situation – and for Catholic Charities’ long-term relief work.

“In the weeks and days immediately after a disaster, there’s a tremendous rush of good will and high energy and compassion. And that is desperately needed,” Aguillard explained. “That is very valuable. But the fact is, there are people who might take years to recover.”

“Their workplaces might close down. They might be one or two paychecks away from losing their house or their lease. That’s where we come in. We’re here for the long term to help with that recovery process that can take two to five years, sometimes longer.”

There are still some people have yet to recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“Not everybody has a savings account. Not everybody has family with resources to help. That’s what we’re here for,” said Aguillard.

“We go out and we do the work immediately when it is needed. We just pray and we trust and have faith that the resources are going to come. And we’ve never been let down,” he said.

“The generosity of people around the country is just overwhelming. It’s phenomenal. It’s very touching when we start getting donations from the state of Washington or Alaska, not only from within our diocese.”

Baton Rouge Catholic Charities is asking for donations to help flood relief work through its website, www.ccdiobr.org.

Campaign will help 1,000 seminarians in honor of murdered French priest 

Rome, Italy, Aug 10, 2016 / 06:06 am (CNA/EWTN News) - A Catholic charity is launching a campaign to support the studies of 1,000 seminarians around the world in honor of a French priest who was killed by ISIS sympathizers while celebrating Mass two weeks ago.

The Italian chapter of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need announced the campaign, which will help fund the education of future priests in 21 dioceses around the world.  

“Support for the formation of new priests is a concrete response to fundamentalism, because especially in countries where the extremist threat is the greatest, the ministers of God must possess the appropriate tools to promote dialogue and contribute to a peaceful coexistence between all the religious groups, putting an end to the conflicts,” said Alessandro Monteduro, director of the group in Italy.

The campaign comes in response to the July 26 murder of Father Jacques Hamel, an 84-year-old priest who was killed while celebrating Mass in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, France.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, in which two armed gunmen stormed the church, taking the priest and four others hostage. They slit Fr. Hamel’s throat and critically injured another of the hostages before being shot dead by police.

Aid to the Church in Need Italy said on its website that it will offer support to seminarians belonging to dioceses in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia. Monteduro explained that “we chose the seminaries that had the greatest need for aid, to allow them to accommodate more students and form what we consider to be the new 'soldiers of the faith.'”

According to the agency, there are a great number of young men who want to become priests in areas experiencing great poverty and persecution, despite the difficulties they face.

The pontifical foundation also noted that the Church is the first to promote religious dialogue as well as to offer the young people alternatives to violence. In this sense, the group said, the contribution of Catholic schools is crucial in spreading the values of peace and mutual respect.

It is because of this, Monteduro concluded, that “forming well-prepared priests in a powerful weapon against fundamentalism” as well as “the Christian presence being visible, especially in those societies under attack by the extremists.”

Pence slammed for proposed Christian, Jewish refugee ban 

Washington D.C., Aug 10, 2016 / 10:17 am (CNA) - Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence was met with heated criticism after suggesting that a Trump administration may ban Christian and Jewish refugees fleeing from terrorism.

Speaking on a conservative radio show Monday, Pence was asked about his support for religious liberty in light of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s previous proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S.

Pence responded that a general halt on immigration from certain countries would be “appropriate” for security concerns.

“The position that Donald Trump is advocating today is that we should temporarily suspend immigration from countries that have been compromised by terrorism, which I think is altogether fitting and appropriate,” he said.

“The simple fact is that both our Homeland Security and the FBI have said there are countries like Syria where people are coming in through routine means, the refugee program and otherwise, that we simply cannot know who they are for sure,” he continued, “and so suspending that program from those countries, I think is in the best interest of the security of our people.”

Pence was then asked if the suspension would include Christian and Jewish immigrants and refugees. He simply reiterated his previous point of “temporary suspension of immigration from countries or territories compromised by terrorism.”

His statements immediately came under fire from Catholic immigration advocates.

The proposal flies in the face of Church teaching and is misinformed, said Dr. Susan Weishar, a migration fellow at the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola University New Orleans who directed immigration and refugee services for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans for 14 years.

“Because everyone has the right to life and the conditions worthy of life, the Church teaches that people threatened by poverty, religious intolerance, and armed conflict, have a right to flee their home countries to realize a dignified life, and that wealthier countries have an obligation to receive them whenever possible,” Dr. Weishar told CNA.

Refugees are fleeing “the very terror that we abhor,” she added, and the U.S. can accept them without “compromising our national security.”

“The U.S. vetting process for refugee is rigorous and thorough, involving multiple background checks, several in-person interviews, and an average wait time of 12-18 months before entering the United States,” Dr. Weishar added.

Fr. Thomas Reese, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, also voiced strong disagreement with the Trump-Pence proposal.

“USCIRF is on record supporting the continued resettlement of refugees into the U.S, including those who are fleeing religious persecution,” he said, stressing that the U.S. should be “generous” in admitting refugees.

The particular situation for religious minorities in Syria is dire, Fr. Reese said, and the U.S. should “prioritize the resettlement of Syrian refugees based on their vulnerability.”

“Throughout the region, ISIL has targeted for persecution, and in some cases genocide, members of religious minority communities – because of their faith.  At the same time, ISIL also has targeted both Shia and Sunni Muslims who have resisted their violent ideology. And the Assad regime has targeted multiple religious communities,” he said.

“Given the scale of the Syrian refugee crisis, USCIRF also has called for resettling 100,000 refugees from Syria.”

As governor of Indiana, Pence tried to halt the resettlement of refugees there last fall, citing security concerns. He ordered state agencies to not pass on federal grant dollars to refugee resettlement programs there.

Archbishop Joseph Tobin of Indianapolis still had the Catholic Charities in the diocese to resettle a Syrian refugee family that had been through the vetting process and was cleared by the U.S. federal agencies for resettlement.

The archbishop met with Pence in December, after which the governor said he “respectfully disagrees with their decision to place a Syrian refugee family in Indiana at this time.”

Pope sends condolences to victims of Pakistan hospital attack 

Vatican City, Aug 9, 2016 / 04:43 am (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis offered his condolences to those affected by the “senseless and brutal” attack against a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, which left dozens dead and over a hundred injured.

The Pope was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life” from Monday's attack, according to the telegram which was signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

In the message, the pontiff sent his “heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the deceased, to the authorities and to the entire nation as he offers the assurance of his prayers for the many injured victims of this senseless and brutal act of violence.”

“Upon all who mourn and upon all who have been affected by this tragedy, His Holiness invokes the divine gifts of consolation and strength.”

At least 70 people were killed and around 120 people were wounded when a suicide bomber struck the hospital in Pakistan's south-west, the BBC reports.

Included among the casualties were lawyers and journalists who were accompanying the remains of Bilal Anwar Kasi, a lawyer who had been shot dead earlier that day.

Both a Pakistan faction of the Taliban – known as Jamaat-ur-Ahrar – and the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the bombing, according to Reuters.

The Jamaat-ur-Ahrar is the same group responsible for a deadly attack earlier this year in which around 70 people – mostly children – were slaughtered during Easter Sunday celebrations.

These two game-changing Olympians are serious Catholics 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 9, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News) - Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky are two of the names to know in this year's summer Olympic games in Rio.

Biles, a record-shattering gymnast with a sparkling smile and bubbly energy that shines through her routines, is the U.S. gymnastics team fan favorite and the gymnast to beat for any chance at the gold.

"Biles competes with a joy and abandon that has been lacking in women’s gymnastics in recent years," wrote Liz Clarke for the Washington Post. "All too often, grim-faced pony-tailed youngsters clench their jaws, furrow their brows and inhale an ocean’s worth of air before hurtling into rigorous tumbling passes. Their feats may be acrobatically eye-popping, but the strain of pulling them off is palpable.”

"Biles, by contrast, exudes utter delight, competing as if the four-inch-wide balance beam is the sidewalk in front of her house, the vault and uneven bars mere elements of her backyard swing-set and the mat a magic carpet for high-flying fun," Clarke wrote.

The Texas teenager is a four-time national champion and the first female gymnast in history to win three consecutive world championships. The complex moves written into her Rio routines - including her signature series of flips now called "The Biles" - give her an edge before she even performs.

But behind her jaw-dropping performances is a strong family and faith life that Biles (literally) carries with her.

In a recent interview with Us Magazine, the athlete unpacked her Olympic bag, explaining the significance of each item. Along with her bottled water, bobby pins, Beats headphones and cheetah-print umbrella, Biles carries a white rosary.

"My mom, Nellie, got me a rosary at church," she told the magazine. "I don't use it to pray before a competition. I'll just pray normally to myself, but it's there just in case."

Biles was adopted by her grandparents, Ron and Nellie Biles, when she was five years old. Her mother, a drug addict, had struggled to care for Simone and her siblings.

After the adoption, Simone has called Nellie and Ron "mom and dad." She attends Sunday Mass with her parents, and regularly lights a candle to St. Sebastian, the patron saint of athletes, before big events, according to olympic.org.

Katie Ledecky is also one of the top athletes to watch at this year’s games.

A 19 year-old swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist and nine-time world champion, Ledecky returns to the Olympics after taking home the gold in the women's 800-meter freestyle swim at the summer games in London in 2012. At the time, she was just 15 years old.

The Bethesda, Maryland athlete has no obvious physiological advantages. Measuring in at 6 feet tall, she is often on the shorter end of the swim roster. Her hands and feet aren't particularly large, and her general physique offers her no upper hand - so much so that a summary of her physical-assessment tests at the U.S. Olympic Training Center referred to her as "remarkably unremarkable."

But what is remarkable about Ledecky is her inner drive. A young woman with a gentle demeanor outside of the pool, Ledecky swims with an "aggression and the kind of fury" the moment she begins a competition. She's adopted a type of "galloping" stroke typically used by male swimmers like Michael Phelps, and has a "tough as nails" determination to be the best, according to her coaches.

“She’s the greatest athlete in the world today by far,” Michael J. Joyner, an anesthesiologist and researcher for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., specializing in human performance and physiology, told the Washington Post. “She’s dominating by the widest margin in international sport, winning by 1 or 2 percent. If [a runner] won the 10,000 meters by that wide a margin, they’d win by 100 meters. One or 2 percent in the Tour de France, over about 80 hours of racing, would be 30 or 40 minutes. It’s just absolutely remarkable.”

Like Biles, Ledecky has shattered world records. She is the current world-record holder in the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyle (long course). She also holds the fastest times in the 500-, 1000-, and 1,650-yard freestyle events.

Also like Biles, Ledecky's Catholic faith is central to her identity.

Ledecky attended Catholic school -  Little Flower School in Bethesda through 8th grade, and then Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart for high school - her whole life.

“My Catholic faith is very important to me. It always has been and it always will be. It is part of who I am and I feel comfortable practicing my faith. It helps me put things in perspective,” Ledecky told the Catholic Standard in a recent interview.

She also confirmed that she says a "Hail Mary" before each event.

“I do say a prayer – or two – before any race. The Hail Mary is a beautiful prayer and I find that it calms me,” she told the Catholic Standard.

After winning her first Olympic gold 4 years ago, Ledecky paid a visit to the convent of the sisters from her grade school, Crux reported. She wanted to thank the sisters for their support over the years, and give them a chance to celebrate with her.

Catherine Ronan Karrels, Stone Ridge’s head of school, told Crux that Ledecky “is so grounded in her faith, and supported by a really loving family and community. She’s an amazing young woman, who happens to swim.”

Catch Biles and Ledecky this week and next on NBC as they compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

The shocking prayer of a young Iraqi: 'Have mercy on ISIS' 

Krakow, Poland, Aug 7, 2016 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News) - (Editor's note: This article includes explicit descriptions of violence. Reader discretion is advised.)

Christina Shabo was born under a tree in a refugee camp after her family fled bombing in their Iraqi hometown in 1991.

Several of her relatives have been killed by the Islamic State – one who's body was chopped up and delivered to the family in pieces – and some continue to fight for their lives after suffering vicious attacks.

However, rather than harboring an understandable hatred toward those persecuting her family and her people, she has decided instead to pray for ISIS and their conversion.

“I asked Jesus for the grace to forgive every time I would pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. But instead of praying 'For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world,' I pray 'have mercy on ISIS and on the whole world.'”

This is what Shabo, 25, said she has decided to pray as a means of helping learn how to forgive the terrorists who are slaughtering her people.

She gave her testimony to fellow youth July 29 as part of a catechesis session for WYD in Krakow, detailing the painful events that led her family to flee Iraq in the first place, as well as the horrors that have taken place after the rise of ISIS in 2014.

In an interview with CNA after her testimony, Sabo explained that the decision for her to speak during WYD was last minute, and she was asked to incorporate forgiveness into her talk.

However, upon hearing this request, Shabo's first thought was “I don't forgive ISIS.”

“I’ve struggled with it, because I haven’t gotten there yet. It’s a daily reminder,” she said, explaining that she still harbors anger and resentment, so the path to forgiveness has been a difficult, everyday task.

Admittedly, after hearing Shabo's story, it’s easy to understand where these feelings come from.

“I was a miracle baby. I really, truly was,” she said, explaining that her mother was 8 months pregnant when her family made the difficult decision to leave Iraq in 1991 due to the threat of bombing in their hometown during the Gulf War.

They were among the thousands of others who decided to make the dangerous trek through the steep mountains in order to pass into Turkey, with bombs falling nearby.

She noted how many people died along the way, including her 8-year-old cousin Rita. Shabo said that when Rita died, her uncle didn’t “have it in his heart” to bury her in the mountains, so he carried her body the rest of the way into Turkey.

Once the family made it across the border, they buried Rita under a tree in the camp. Then, “it gets even crazier,” Shabo said, explaining that just a month later her mother’s water broke near the same tree, “and my mom delivered me right then and there.”

While Shabo and her family gained religious asylum in Detroit two years later, many of their relatives are still living in Iraq where the violence hasn’t ended, but instead has reached a fever pitch with the spread of the Islamic State.

The world of violence Shabo was born into “was reincarnated” June 20, 2014, when ISIS militants stormed Mosul, either slaughtering Christians and moderate Muslims who don’t share their extreme ideologies, forcing them to pay a high tax, or flee the city.

Shabo said that during the attack, one of her relatives was “violently murdered…He was chopped up in a dozen pieces” and delivered to his family in a bag.

“Imagine someone that you love being delivered to you in a bag in pieces. It’s insane. So when I hear stories like that, how could I not be angry?” she said.

One of her cousins was also killed the series of bombings in Baghdad which claimed the lives of some 400 people July alone. Her cousin’s mother is still in the hospital “fighting for her life.”

However, as hard as it was to think about forgiveness, Shebo said that throughout her life whenever she has felt anguish, anger, frustration or numbness, “I go to adoration. I take it to Him.”

It was through adoration that the idea to pray for ISIS came to her mind, she said, explaining that as she was praying one day she kept repeating the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, “it just kind of came to me: pray for them. Use that as a way to kind of think about them, but think about them in a more positive way.”

Though she didn’t mean it at first, Shebo said the idiom “fake it till you make it” eventually worked, and that slowly she was able to open her heart letting go of her anger.

“Anger just makes you angry and bitter, and nothing good comes out of it. But when you take that and you turn it into mercy and forgiveness, and you see how fruitful that can be, even for yourself, aside from anyone else, you can’t stop doing it.”

Shebo noted how her father is a deacon at their Chaldean parish in Detroit, and that as their family marched through the mountains to Turkey, it was he who kept their faith strong.

“As they march they prayed. That’s all they had. They left with nothing,” she said, explaining that her father kept reminding the others that “it’s okay. Even despite all of this, we have him with us. And we need to hold on tight to that.”

This, she said, “is how they got through that, and that’s how we continue to get through it.”

However, it hasn’t always been easy. Shabo said while she has been “blessed” to live have her family, to live in Detroit and go to school like “a normal person,” she also feels a great sense of guilt.

“None of my other family survived. There’s a sense of guilt that I survived and they didn’t,” she said, explaining that she also feels a deep connection with the Christians in Iraq, and desperately wants to go back, but is unable to given the precariousness of the current situation.

When asked why she feels ashamed of not being able to return, Shebo said it’s because the stories of all the refugees currently fleeing Iraq and Syria “are the same as mine.”

She pointed to the September 2015 photo of Aylan Al-Kurdi, three-years-old, which captured the reality of many refugees. The photo, which gripped the heart and conscience of those all over the world, showed the tiny body of Al-Kurdi washed up on the shore of Turkey after drowning along with his mother and older brother in a failed attempt to reach the nearby Greek island of Kos from Bodrum, their most direct passage into the European Union.

“When I saw that image, I absolutely broke down…I did not see that child, I saw myself,” she said, explaining that after everything she’s gone through, she “vividly” relates to what these families are experiencing.

“There’s thousands of Iraqi Christians in the northern Erbil that are living in the same situation I was. It’s hard not to feel that connection, to feel that that’s me,” she said, adding that there’s also the aspect “that I survived, but that child died.”

Shebo said she wants to take “all the goodness” she has received through God and her faith “and to give it back to the people” in difficulty, as well as those still living in Iraq.

In fact, she’s already jumped in, and has started working in crisis intervention and volunteers on a help line for suicide. She also started an organization called the “Shlama Foundation” with a group of other people to find out the concrete needs of those in Iraq and raise money to fund specific projects on the ground.

She explained that for a long time she was “ashamed” of her story, and didn’t want to tell people the conditions of her birth, but it was her parents who insisted “this is who you are, and you’re going to keep it alive.”

“It’s so hard to do that in the secular world of America or a lot of these other countries,” Shebo said, noting that in Iraq “it was easy” since many come from similar situations, but that many she knows in the U.S., including her nieces and nephews, are struggling to hold on to their heritage.

Even keeping the Chaldean language of Aramaic – an ancient language dating back to the time of Christ – is a challenge.

Aramaic “was the language that Jesus Christ spoke,” she said, explaining that the prospect of a Middle East without Christians is “a tragedy, because that’s where Jesus is from.”

“That can’t happen. I don’t want to see that happen. I don’t want to live in that world,” she said, cautioning that “if we don’t do something about it, then unfortunately that will be our reality.”

While she wants Christianity in Iraq and the Middle East to live on, Shebo admitted that the uncertainty of the situation is hard for many to deal with, and that even she and her family have a hard time accepting the decision of their relatives who have decided to stay.

She said that after the Baghdad bombing that claimed her cousin’s life, her family called “and were yelling at them: ‘Why did you stay? Why didn’t you go to Erbil? Why are you still there? Get out! Your son just died and you’re in a hospital.’”

“I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to go back into the same world that it was,” she said, but noted that despite Iraq’s bloody history of violence and persecution “our people have stood their ground.”

“That gives me hope, and I feel like if we hold on to that hope and hold on to that faith, that there will be a world where I can return to and it will still continue.”

Shebo explained that events like WYD can help serve as catalysts for those who want to do something to help, thanks to the global representation of youth as well as the connections people are able to make.

“As powerless as you feel as an individual, when you connect with other people who have that same passion that have that same desire, God works wonders,” she said, explaining that through WYD she was able to meet people she had been corresponding with in Iraq, but had never met in person.

She was also able to meet the group of 300 Chaldean youth who traveled from Iraq to Krakow for the July 26-31 event, one of whom was from her hometown.

When Shebo asked the group for something from Iraq, they gave her a scarf with the Iraq flag on it. In return, when the group asked her for something from the U.S., Shebo gave them her necklace and bracelets.

“It’s such a blessing” to be at WYD, she said, explaining that a cousin whom she had never met before was also there, and she was trying to find a time to meet him.

“It’s good to know that other people are listening and connecting with the story,” she said. “There’s no words to describe that, when you feel that, because that comes from God. We are truly one Body in Christ. It’s amazing I can’t put it into words.”

Pope to young people:

Not one of you is insignificant 

By Ann Schneible

Krakow, Poland, Jul 31, 2016 / 03:19 am (CNA/EWTN News) - Our true identity cannot be lived out in glum negativity, but only in the knowledge that, in God's eyes, our value cannot be measured; no one is insignificant.

Pope Francis made these remarks on Sunday to at least 1.5 million young people gathered in Krakow for the final Mass of World Youth Day (WYD).

“God loves us the way we are, and no sin, fault or mistake of ours makes him change his mind,” the Pope said in his homily to the crowds of young people who filled Polish city's “Campus Misericordiae” – or “Field of Mercy.”

“No one is insignificant,” the pontiff said. “He loves all of us with a special love; for him all of us are important: you are important!”

“In his eyes, you are precious, and your value is inestimable.”

In contrast, to not “accept ourselves, to live glumly, to be negative, means not to recognize our deepest identity,” he said. “It is like walking away when God wants to look at me, trying to spoil his dream for me,”

Sunday's Mass was the final major event of WYD in Krakow, and marks the end of the Pope's July 27-31 visit to Poland.

Pope Francis centered his address on the day's Gospel account of Jesus' encounter with the tax collector Zacchaeus, a man despised by the Jews for his collaboration with the Romans.

The scene demonstrates how Jesus does not simply want to “greet” people, the Pope said. Rather, he “wants to draw near to us personally, to accompany our journey to its end, so that his life and our life can truly meet.”

There were several key obstacles which Zacchaeus had to overcome in approaching Jesus, the pontiff explained, the first his being so physically small that he had difficulty seeing Jesus in the crowd.

“Even today we can risk not getting close to Jesus because we don’t feel big enough, because we don’t think ourselves worthy,” the Pope said. “This is a great temptation; it has to do not only with self-esteem, but with faith itself.”

“We have been created in God’s own image; Jesus has taken upon himself our humanity and his heart will never be separated from us; the Holy Spirit wants to dwell within us. We have been called to be happy for ever with God!”

Francis explained that our true “stature” is found in our spiritual identity: that is, in the fact that we “are God’s beloved children, always.”

“Not to accept ourselves, to live glumly, to be negative, means not to recognize our deepest identity,” he said. “It is like walking away when God wants to look at me, trying to spoil his dream for me.”

The Pope added that “God loves us the way we are, and no sin, fault or mistake of ours makes him change his mind.”

“No one is insignificant. He loves all of us with a special love; for him all of us are important: you are important!”

God is not concerned about whether you are stylish or what kind of phone you have, Pope Francis said. “In his eyes, you are precious, and your value is inestimable.”

“He believes in us even more than we believe in ourselves. He is always “cheering us on”; he is our biggest fan.”

However, to brood over our problems or “past injuries,” the pontiff said, “is unworthy of our spiritual stature!”

“It is a kind of virus infecting and blocking everything; it closes doors and prevents us from getting up and starting over. God, on the other hand, is hopelessly hopeful!”

Francis encouraged the youth in their awareness of being God's beloved sons and daughters, end recommended that they pray every morning: “Lord, I thank you for loving me; help me to be in love with my own life!”

Another obstacle Zacchaeus faced was his shame before Jesus. “It must have been quite a struggle – on one hand, a healthy curiosity and desire to know Jesus; on the other, the risk of appearing completely ridiculous.”

However, the “attraction of Jesus was more powerful” than Zacchaeus' shame, the Pope said, comparing his encounter to that of someone who behaves in unexpected ways upon falling in love.

“For us too, this is the secret of joy: not to stifle a healthy curiosity, but to take a risk, because life is not meant to be tucked away,” he said.

However, Francis explained we cannot wait around when Jesus “offers us life – we can’t respond by thinking about it or 'texting' a few words!”

The Pope went on to encourage young people to not be ashamed of bringing everything to the sacrament of confession, “especially your weaknesses, your struggles and your sins.”

“He will surprise you with his forgiveness and his peace,” he said.

Pope Francis challenged young people to not let their “soul become numb,” but to say without fear “yes” to Jesus, aiming for “the goal of a beautiful love which also demands sacrifice.”

Finally, the third obstacle which  Zacchaeus faced came from the crowds, their judgment of him on account of his profession, and of Jesus for his willingness to enter the house of a sinner.

“People will try to block you, to make you think that God is distant, rigid and insensitive, good to the good and bad to the bad,” he said.

Instead, Jesus “demands of us real courage: the courage to be more powerful than evil by loving everyone, even our enemies.”

Although people may laugh at you, or judge you for being dreamers, “do not be afraid,” Pope Francis said. “Don’t be discouraged: with a smile and open arms, you proclaim hope and you are a blessing for our one human family, which here you represent so beautifully!

Unlike the crowds who looked on Zacchaeus with judgement , Jesus “gazed up at him,” the Pope said.

“Jesus looks beyond the faults and sees the person,” and sees the “future good,” he said. This “gaze remains constant, even when it is not met; it seeks the way of unity and communion.

Pope Francis said WYD begins today, but “continues tomorrow, in your homes, since that is where Jesus wants to meet you from now on.”

God does not want young people to remain in the beautiful city of Krakow or in their “cherished memories” of the place.

Rather, “he wants to enter your homes, to dwell in your daily lives: in your studies, your first years of work, your friendships and affections, your hopes and dreams.”

“How greatly he desires that you bring all this to him in prayer!”

Francis reminded young people that Jesus calls them by name, as he did Zacchaeus. “Your name is precious to him,” he said.

“May we too now try to imitate the faithful memory of God and treasure the good things we have received in these days,” the Pope concluded.  

“In silence, let us remember this encounter, let us preserve the memory of the presence of God and his word, and let us listen once more to the voice of Jesus as he calls us by name.”

Full text of Pope Francis' in-flight presser from Poland

Aboard the papal plane, Jul 31, 2016 / 05:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During his flight from Krakow to Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis gave a press conference to the journalists assembled aboard the papal plane. He reflected on the World Youth Day gathering in the Polish city, and the recent attempted coup in Turkey.

He also addressed abuse accusations against Cardinal Pell, the crisis in Venezuela, Islam and violence, and Panama – which will host the next World Youth Day.

Please find below the full text of the July 31 press conference, translated by Catholic News Agency:

Fr. Lombardi: Holy Father, thanks a lot for being here with us on the return from this trip. Despite the storm tonight it seems that everything went very well and we are all happy and content and we hope that you are as well in these days. As usual, we will ask you some questions. We are here, if you want to say something for an introduction, we are at your disposal.

Pope Francis: I would like to thank you for your work and your company. I would also like to give you, because you are colleagues, condolences for the death of Anna Maria Jacobini (Editor’s note: Jacobini is an Italian journalist who died unexpectedly in Krakow while covering the trip). Today I met her sister, niece and nephew: they were so saddened by this. Then, I would like to thank Lombardi and Mauro, because this will be the last trip they take with us. Fr. Lombardi was at Vatican Radio for more than 25 years and then on the flights 12-13, 10 (years). Mauro: 37. Thirty-seven years in charge of the bags on the flight. I thank you very much, Mauro and Fr. Lombardi. And then at the end we’ll thank them with a cake. I am at your disposal; the trip is short, so we’ll do it in a hurry this time.

Fr. Lombardi: Thank you, Holy Father. The first question we’ll do as usual, from our Polish colleague, Magdalena Wolinska from TVP. Here she is.

Magdalena Wolinska-Riedi, TVP: Holy Father, in your speech at Wawel, in your first speech immediately after arriving, you said that you were happy to begin getting to know Central Eastern Europe. I come from Poland, and in the name of the nation I would like to ask you how was Poland for you in these five days, how did it seem?

Pope Francis: But it’s a special Poland, because it was a Poland invaded once again, this time by youth. But Krakow...what I have seen, I saw very beautiful. The Polish people...so much enthusiasm! But look, this evening, with the rain, and long streets...it wasn’t only the youth! Even the elderly! It’s a goodness, a nobility! I had an experience of knowing the Polish people when I was a child, and where my father worked many Poles came to work after the war. They were good people, and this has stayed in my heart. I rediscovered this goodness of yours. It’s a beauty. Thank you.

Fr. Lombardi: We give the word to another of our Polish colleagues, Ursula Rzepczak from Polsat.

Ursula Rzepczak, Polsat: Holy Father, our young children were touched by your words, which correspond very well to their reality, to their problems...but you also used, in your speeches, you used the words, the very expressions, of the language of the youth. How did you prepare? How were you able to give so many examples close to their lives, to their problems, but also with their words?

Pope Francis: I like to speak with the youth, and I like to hear the youth. They always put me in difficulty. They tell me things that I haven’t thought of, or that I’ve partly thought of. The restless youth, the creative youth, I like them! And thence I take that language. Many times I have to ask myself: what does this mean? And they explain what it means! They explain to me what it means...but I like to speak with them. They are our future, and we must have a dialogue. This dialogue between the past and the future is important. Because of this I underline so much the relationship between the youth and grandparents. They must speak with...when I say grandparents, I mean those who are old and those who are not so old...but me, yes! To also give our experience, which they feel as the past, as history and they take it up again and carry it forward with the courage of the present, as I said this evening...but it’s important, it’s important! I don’t like it when I hear it said: ‘but these youth say stupid things!’ Even we say many of them, eh! The youth say stupid things and they say good things, as we do, as everyone does. But hear them, speak with them, because we must learn from them and they must learn from me, from us. It’s like this. And this is how history is made, this is how it grows, without closure, without closure. I don’t know, it’s like this. This is how I learn these things.

Fr. Lombardi: Thank you very much. And now we give the word to Marco Ansaldo from La Repubblica, who will ask the question for the Italian group.

Marco Ansaldo, La Repubblica: Holiness, the repression in Turkey, the 15 days that followed the coup, according to almost all international observers were perhaps worse in respect to the coup. There were entire categories affected: the military, magistrates, public administrators, diplomats, journalists. I cite data from the Turkish government: it speaks of more than 13,000 arrests, more than 50,000 people torpedoed. A purge. The day before yesterday, the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced the critics and said: ‘Mind your own business’ - in front of external critics. We would like to ask you: until now you haven’t intervened, you haven’t spoken. Perhaps you fear that there could be repercussions on the Catholic minority in Turkey?

Pope Francis: When I had to say something that I didn’t like to Turkey, but of which I was sure, I said it, with the consequences that you all know (Editor’s note: a reference to his comments on the Armenian Genocide). I said these words … I was sure … I didn’t speak because I am still not sure with the information that I received on what is happening there. And I listen to the information that is arriving in the Secretariat of State and some important political analyst, I am studying the situation even with the councilors of the Secretariat of State and the thing still isn’t clear. It’s true, harm to Catholics must always be avoided, and all of us do this...but not at the price of the truth! There is the virtue of prudence; this must be said, when, how, but in my case, you are my witnesses that when I’ve had to say something that involves Turkey, I’ve said it.

Fr. Lombardi: Now we give the word to Frances D’Emilio, who is a colleague from the Associated Press, the large English-language agency

Frances D'Emilio, AP: Good evening. My question is a question that many are asking in these days because it has come to light in Australia that the Australian police would be investigating new accusations against Cardinal Pell, and that this time the accusations involve the abuse of minors that are very different from the previous accusations. So, the question that I ask which many others ask is: according to you, what would be the right thing for Cardinal Pell to do, given his serious situation and in such an important position and the confidence that he enjoys from you?

Pope Francis: Thank you. The first information that arrived was confusing. It was news from 40 years back that not even the police made a case about at first. It was a confusing thing. Then, all the rest of the accusations were sent to justice. Right now, they are in the hands of justice. And one mustn't judge before justice judges, eh. If I were to say a judgement in favor of or against Cardinal Pell, it wouldn't be good because I (would) judge before. It's true that there there is doubt and there's that clear principal of the law: in dubio pro reo (Editor’s note: the phrase is a Latin expression meaning in favor of the alleged guilty party), no? But, we must wait for justice and not make a first judgement ourselves, a media trial, or...because this doesn't help. The judgement of gossip and then, one can...we don't know what the result will be but be attentive to what justice decides. Once justice speaks, I will speak. Thank you.

Fr. Lombardi: Now we give the word to Hernan Reyes from TELAM, I ask you to come near. As we know he’s Argentine and represents Latin America in the midst of us.

Hernan Reyes, TELAM: Holiness, how are you after your fall the other day? We hope that you are well...after the fall...

Pope Francis: Ah! The fall.

Reyes: This is the first question...and the second question, last week the secretary-general of UNASUR, Ernesto Samper, spoke about a mediation from the Vatican in Venezuela. Is this a concrete dialogue? Is this a real possibility, and how do you think that this mission with the mission of the Church can help in the stabilization of the country?

Pope Francis: First, the fall: I was looking at the Madonna and I forgot about the stairs. I was with the thurible in hand. And when I felt that I was falling, I let myself fall and this saved me,  because if I had made some resistance, I would have had consequences. Nothing. I am wonderful, I am very well.

The second, the second was? Venezuela. With Venezuela, two years ago I had a very, very positive meeting with president Maduro...then he asked for an audience last year, it was Sunday, the day after arriving from Sarajevo. But then he cancelled that because he was very sick with an ear infection and couldn’t come. Then after this I let some time go by and I wrote a letter to him. Then, there were contacts...you mentioned one...of an eventual meeting. Yes, yes. With the conditions that are made in this case. And if you think, right now...I am not sure, I can’t guarantee this, eh. Clear? I am not sure! But I think that in the group of the mediation, someone, and I’m not sure if the government also - but I’m not sure - wants a representative from the Holy See. This until the moment that I left Rome. But things are there. In the group there is Zapatero from Spain, Torrijos and another, three...and a fourth that is said from the Holy See...but of this I am not sure. Okay.

Fr. Lombardi: Now we give the word to Antoine Marie Izoard, from France. We know what France is living these days.

Antoine Marie Izoarde, i.Media: Holy Father, before all I make the congratulations to you and Father Lombardi and also to Fr. Spadaro for the feast of St. Ignatius, if you allow me. The question is a little difficult: Catholics are a bit in shock, and not only in France, after the barbarous assassination of Fr. Jacques Hamel - as you know well - in his church while celebrating the Holy Mass. Four days ago you here told us that all religions want peace. But this holy, 86-year-old priest was clearly killed in the name of Islam. So Holy Father, I have two brief questions: why do you, when you speak of these violent events, always speak of terrorists, but never of Islam, never use the word Islam? And then, aside from prayer and dialogue, which are obviously essential, what concrete initiatives can you advise or suggest in order to counteract Islamic violence? Thank you, Holiness.

Pope Francis: I don’t like to speak of Islamic violence, because every day, when I browse the newspapers, I see violence, here in Italy… this one who has murdered his girlfriend, another who has murdered the mother-in-law… and these are baptized Catholics! There are violent Catholics! If I speak of Islamic violence, I must speak of Catholic violence . . . and no, not all Muslims are violent, not all Catholics are violent. It is like a fruit salad; there’s everything. There are violent persons of this religion… this is true: I believe that in pretty much every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. Fundamentalists. We have them. When fundamentalism comes to kill, it can kill with the language -- the Apostle James says this, not me -- and even with a knife, no? I do not believe it is right to identify Islam with violence. This is not right or true. I had a long conversation with the imam, the Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar University, and I know how they think . . . They seek peace, encounter . . . The nuncio to an African country told me that the capital where he is there is a trail of people, always full, at the Jubilee Holy Door. And some approach the confessionals -- Catholics -- others to the benches to pray, but the majority go forward, to pray at the altar of Our Lady... these are Muslims, who want to make the Jubilee. They are brothers, they live… When I was in Central Africa, I went to them, and even the imam came up on the Popemobile… We can coexist well… But there are fundamentalist groups, and even I ask… there is a question… How many young people, how many young people of our Europe, whom we have left empty of ideals, who do not have work… they take drugs, alcohol, or go there to enlist in fundamentalist groups. One can say that the so-called ISIS, but it is an Islamic State which presents itself as violent . . . because when they show us their identity cards, they show us how on the Libyan coast how they slit the Egyptians’ throats or other things… But this is a fundamentalist group which is called ISIS… but you cannot say, I do not believe, that it is true or right that Islam is terrorist.

Izoard: Your concrete initiatives to counteract terrorism, violence?

Pope Francis: Terrorism is everywhere. You think of the tribal terrorism of some African countries. It is terrorism and also . . . But I don’t know if I say it because it is a little dangerous… Terrorism grows when there are no other options, and when the center of the global economy is the god of money and not the person -- men and women -- this is already the first terrorism! You have cast out the wonder of creation -- man and woman -- and you have put money in its place. This is a basic terrorism against all of humanity! Think about it!

Fr. Lombardi: Thank you, Holiness. Seeing as how the announcement was made this morning of Panama as the next World Youth Day, there was a colleague here who wanted to give you a small gift in order to prepare yourself for this event.

Javier Martinez Brocal, Rome Reports: How are you, Holy Father? You told us in the meeting with volunteers that maybe you will not go to Panama, this you cannot do, we are waiting for you in Panama...

Pope Francis: No no, this one is not going, Peter is going, whichever it is

Martinez Brocal: We believe that you will go. I give you on behalf of the Panamanians two things: a shirt with the number 17, which is your date of birth, and later the hat that the farmers in Panama wear. They asked me to put it on, but...

Pope Francis: The tribute to the farmers...

Martinez Brocal: If you would like to greet the Panamanians...

Pope Francis: To those from Panama, thank you very much for this and I hope that you prepare well with the same strength, the same spirituality, the same depth with which the Poles, the Cracovians and the Poles, prepared.

Izoarde: Holiness, in the name of my journalist colleagues - because I feel a little obligated to represent them, I must also say two words if you allow me, Holiness, about Fr. Lombardi in the Press Office with Pope Benedict, an unprecedented interregnum, and then your election, Holy Father, and the surprises that followed. What one can say, though, is the constant availability, commitment, and dedication of Fr. Lombardi, your incredible ability to respond or not to our questions, and this is also an art - to our often strange questions. And then also your humor, a little British, in all situations, even the worst. And we have many examples. Obviously we welcome with you your successors, two good journalists, but let’s not forget that you, more than being a journalist, were, and still are, a priest. And also a Jesuit, wow! So we cannot wait until September to celebrate with dignity your departure for other services, but we wish to congratulate you today...a wish for a happy feast, we said, of St. Ignatius, and then for a long life, of 100 years as they say, of humble service. “Stolat,” they say in Poland, stolat, Fr. Lombardi.

Pope Francis: Thanks a lot. Did Mauro run away?