(REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)Security in the U.S. Capitol for Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017.
Hundreds of evangelical Christian leaders have condemned the “heresy of Christian nationalism,” which they believe has led to political extremism and helped spur the pro-Trump insurrection against the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
White evangelicals shown as a group with slipping trust in Trump’s handling of COVID-19
Christianity Today sparks furore after saying Donald Trump ‘should be removed from office’
A letter released on Feb. 24 on saynotochristiannationalism.org describes Christian nationalism as “a version of American nationalism that is trying to camouflage itself as Christianity.”
The church leaders said it was “a heretical version of our faith,” The Hill reported as the link between Trumpism and white evangelical beliefs persist.
“As leaders in the broad evangelical community, we recognize and condemn the role Christian Nationalism played in the violent, racist, anti-American insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6,” in the attack on the building the houses the U.S. Congress..
“While we come from varied backgrounds and political stances, we stand together against the perversion of the Christian faith as we saw on January 6, 2021. We also stand against the theology and the conditions that led to the insurrection.”
Signees of the letter include some prominent megachurch leaders including David Swaim of the Highrock Covenant Church and Rev. Kevin Riggs of the Franklin Community Church, as well as Jerushah Duford, granddaughter of the late Rev. Billy Graham.
“To watch the events of January 6 unfold and to see ‘Jesus Saves’ banners and ‘Jesus 2020’ signs made me angry,” Riggs said in a statement accompanying a news release.
CONSERVATIVE EVANGELICAL PASTOR
“As a conservative evangelical pastor in the South, I wanted to add my name to this statement declaring Christian Nationalism is not only wrong, it is heretical and antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.”
Five people died when rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in the hopes of preventing the congressional certification of former President Trump’s ‘s election defeat. Dozens of Capitol Police officers were also injured in the attack.
“Our faith will not allow us to remain silent at such a time as this. We are also aware that our world needs more than a statement right now… we need action. We will do our best to be faithful to Jesus, and to those Christ called ‘the least of these,'” the letter reads.
For Trump, white evangelical Christians were a key base of support since his 2016 presidential campaign, with about eight in 10 voters from the religious demographic voting for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020, Newsweek reported.
During the Jan. 6 attack against the U.S. Capitol by a horde of Trump’s supporters, many carried Christian banners or symbols as prominent evangelical Christian leaders.
They had for weeks promoted Trump’s false claims that widespread voter fraud led to President Joe Biden’s electoral victory ahead of the riot.
The signers said that over the centuries, there are moments when “the Church, the trans-national Body of Christ-followers, has seen distortions of the faith that warranted a response.”
“Just as many Muslim leaders have felt the need to denounce distorted, violent versions of their faith, we feel the urgent need to denounce this violent mutation of our faith. What we saw manifest itself in the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, is a threat to our democracy, but it is also a threat to orthodox Christian faith,” they said.
They said the word “Christian” means “Christ-like.”
“As leaders in the Church, we do not agree on everything, but we can agree on this — Christians should live in a way that honors Jesus, and reminds the world of Him.”
They said that on Jan. 6 they “saw the flags claiming Trump’s name, calling for violence, and raising the name of Jesus.”
“We saw images of a police officer being beaten with an American flag and another being crushed in a doorway.”
The singers said they have witnessed the rise of violent acts by radicalized extremists using the name of Christ for its validity in the past, noting the deadly actions in Charlottesville in 2017.
“We join our voices to condemn it publicly and theologically.
“We recognize that evangelicalism, and white evangelicalism in particular, has been susceptible to the heresy of Christian nationalism because of a long history of faith leaders accommodating white supremacy.”
Thursday was dedicated to COVID-19 and revolved around the sluggish vaccination campaign and the ways to jumpstart it, while on Friday the council will discuss the the issues of defense and cooperation with the bloc’s Mediterranean members, and will be joined by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
On Thursday, the heads of state and governments agreed to speed up the authorization, production and distribution of vaccines against the coronavirus. The EU leaders stressed that manufacturing companies must also ensure the predictability of the production and supply of vaccines. European leaders also spoke in favor of the need to expand opportunities for the early detection and control of new variants of the coronavirus.
A woman is given a protective face mask as she waits to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at Crystal Palace Football Club Vaccination Centre, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London, Britain February 4, 2021.
The keyword is coordination as the EU is desperately trying to get past the cacophony of repeated excuses for the inaction, delays and errors of Brussels in dealing with the pandemic.
“Our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic continues. It remains challenging due to the emergence of new variants and the need to strike the right balance between restrictions and the smooth flow of goods and services in the single market,” European Council President Charles Michel wrote in the invitation letter.
Vaccination is still a sore topic for the EU leadership, which has been promising a lot but never quite living up to its promises over the last few months. At this point when major European countries are starting to wonder if they should not look elsewhere for getting more shipments of vaccines for their failing vaccination campaigns.
One most glaring flaws in the bloc’s vaccination strategy are the speed of emergency authorization by the European Medicines Agency coupled with the speed of ordering. According to a diplomat working at the European Council services, the speed of ordering is what gave the UK “a strong lead over the EU”.
“[Prime Minister] Boris Johnson can already speak in detail of the end of the lockdown in the UK at the end of June, while Europe will still be struggling to vaccinate at that time. We can only hope that more vaccines will soon be available and that the EMA will finally have understood that they need to set up an emergency procedure,” he confirmed to Sputnik.
Another issue is the allocation of vaccines, with some countries not taking their share and creating surpluses used by others.
“Actually, member states of the European Union are or were not obliged to claim their allocated share, many did not and that creates surpluses, which other member states can then obtain. Denmark did so eagerly, it seems. Germany, the Netherlands and France have also already applied for surpluses. You want to receive more vaccines? Well, order more!” the diplomat stated.
This is confirmed by Marc Van Ranst, a virologist and professor at the KU Leuven university.
“The distribution key is based on the number of inhabitants, and yet Denmark with fewer inhabitants received over a third more vaccines per head than Belgium as revealed by the Standaard newspaper. This is because the Danes also ordered 2.5 times more vaccines than Belgians in relation to the population,” the expert told Sputnik.
Movement Restrictions and Vaccination Passports
Apart from vaccination, another pressing issue on the European Council agenda is so-called vaccine passports, as well as the problem of these uncoordinated movement restrictions.
The official EU position and recommendation is not to forbid all air and land travel, but only to “strongly discourage” citizens to travel; except for serious or emergency reasons.
French Junior Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari talks with medical workers in a COVID-19 testing centre during a visit on police measures and sanitary checks at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy near Paris as France closed borders to travelers outside European Union due to restrictions against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, February 5, 2021
Nevertheless, some countries, such as Germany or Belgium have gone further. Belgium, for example, outright forbids its citizens to travel, except for emergency issues. This has prompted a response from the European Commission, which earlier in the week gave Belgium 10 days to justify the measure.
“The coordination is complicated because, for the leaders, the priority is to protect their population. We expect animated discussions,” a senior European official told Sputnik.
Meanwhile, airlines have stated that they would demand from travelers on their planes to produce some kind of vaccine passport. Some member states are in favor and intend to enlarge the scope of the vaccine passport making it mandatory to enter cinemas, theaters or even restaurants, for example.
Others, such as France or Belgium declare that it is much too early to discuss that, proposing to wait until 70 percent of the adult population is vaccinated. Since these countries currently hover at about 4 percent, the vaccine passport will likely have to wait for next autumn or even winter.
As the vaccination-related issues refuse to go away the European Council members certainly have enough to talk about.
In last week’s column, I revealed the first part of my Black History Month lecture for the House of Grace was hacked by an army of racist roaches.
They interrupted frequently and really showed their stupidity and contempt for God and country whenever I introduced an unflattering—albeit truthful– fact about the founding fathers and the evolution of American apartheid.
Ironically, they drowned me out even when I provided a controversial statement supporting the theory that slavery is condoned in the bible.
Had they shown any modicum of respect for a religious service, they would have also heard me theorize how the Confederate States of America had a legal right to succeed from the union.
But being the bigoted dastardly beetles they obviously are, expecting them to be any more than I have grown accustomed to, was wishful thinking, at best.
As such, I used last week’s column to reveal what they missed during the initial lecture and after we jumped ship and established a new Zoom linkage.
Likewise, I will use this week’s column to summarize part two of my lecture.
Since I am being scrutinized and recorded, who knows, maybe these scum will learn something if I use second-grade English.
For most of my life, I was in denial. Still, I finally accepted dozens of scriptures that either condone or justify slavery, including Ephesians 6:5, Titus 2:9-20, Colossian 4:1, and 1 Peter 2:18.
However, there are also verses that either requires slave owners’ to treat their slaves humanely or call for liberation. In fact, a cornerstone of Jesus/Yeshua’s teachings was to love your neighbor (even if he lived in a hut on your plantation), aid the poor and suffering, and liberate the oppressed, starting with his first ‘sermon’ as described in Luke 4: 18,19, and Isaiah 61:1,2.
There is also scripture denouncing greed—capitalism—which is referred to as the ‘root of all evil.’
This concept appropriately applied to most slave owners, including most founding fathers and presidents serving before the 13th amendment.
While slavery may have been a ‘cultural’ reality, racism is not.
In fact, ‘race’ is never mentioned in anybody’s bible, including the one penned by Thomas Jefferson.
Nor are there references that Whites were made in the image of God (Nyame). That lie was often cited by the racist roaches who tortured, raped, and mutilated their ‘property,’ along with the insane belief that Africans had no souls.
What is factual is that (wo)mankind was created in the likeness of Nyame (God’s African reference). He/She was Negroid. The first human was born in Africa and given the name Lucy. And if there was an Eden, it was located along the Nile. Those theories must be factual since they were confirmed by White anthropologists. And as everyone knows, that makes the conclusion legitimate.
Of course, had a Black anthropologist made the discovery, Lucy would have been named Lakeshia, and the garden would have been a ghetto.
While it has never been challenged, many legal scholars believe the Confederate States of America (CSA) probably had a legal right to secede from the union.
In fact, the CSA was not the first ‘confederacy’ to consider doing so.
During the Thomas Jefferson administration, a group of New England states held the ‘Hartford Convention’ to discuss seceding from the union. Paradoxically, they sought to form a separate nation for precisely the opposite reason Southerners would do a half-century later.
These northern ‘traitors’ believed the federal government undermined state rights and specifically mentioned the Virginian politician and slave owner Jefferson’s tyrannical conduct.
One of the secession movement leaders, which would have included a half dozen northern states, including New York and New Jersey, was Rufus King. Yep, the same guy the Milwaukee School Board honored by naming a school after, a high school I attended for three years.
You can debate the predominance of slavery as the cause of the civil war. Still, a fact that can’t be disputed is that many, if not most, union soldiers believed they were fighting to preserve the union, as Abe Lincoln posited.
In fact, various accounts reveal most union soldiers said they would not have fought if the civil war was about abolishing slavery. Not only were the majority of northerners apathetic about slavery, but it can also be assumed most were racists, believing Africans were inferior.
Moreover, there were several riots, including one in New York (which was reenacted in the Martin Scorsese film, “The Gangs of New York”), to protest the draft.
And you would be hard-pressed to convince me these Northern liberals did more than tolerate the presence of Black folks. According to various accounts, many draftees hated their enlistment under any circumstance and took out their frustration on the conflict’s symbol. An undisclosed number of Black men, women, and children were tortured and lynched during several violent protests in the north, which also served to fuel racial animosities.
While it is often overlooked, numerous reports and journals provided by independent foreign observers, journalists, and abolitionists in early American society, declared that racism ran rampant in the north.
Numerous reports theorize Africans were better off in slavery than as ‘free men’ in the north, where they were confronted by a system of apartheid that would make South Africans blush.
Segregation, discrimination, and poverty were off the charts, and ‘Jane Crow’ made her presence known decades in the North before laws were implemented in the South by her brother, Jim.
White Supremacy was the norm in both the north and south.Several of the founding fathers were bigots, including Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and George Washington, which cannot be denied. Most Whites, who would be considered liberals by today’s standards, believed that Africans were inferior.
Lincoln said during a speech in 1858 that we were too ‘stupid’ to be given the vote and should be restricted to second-class citizenship.
Franklin, one of the revolutionary war architects, was quoted as saying there were “too many ‘Nigras’ (n-word) in New England,” and that America was a ‘White country!’
Jefferson, who put a different meaning to the concept of a ‘founding father,’ denied a request from Haitian revolutionaries to assist them in throwing out the French colonists on that island nation. Jefferson believed though it would be morally correct to do so, it would probably inspire Black slaves in America to seek their freedom.
Christianity took two different paths in America, with African slaves and free Colored Americans viewing the religion through different prisms than Whites. For members of our tribe, Christianity was a religion of hope, patience, and liberation.
Most White Christians’ theology spanned the gamut, from denominations that followed the New Covenant of Jesus and His call for the universal brotherhood, to a doctrine that supported White Supremacy. Ironically, most of the founding fathers were either followers of that racist philosophy or were agnostic. Several were deists.
What we would today call ‘conservative churches’ not only condoned slavery but posited it was the will of God. Congregants believed God was a White man with a flowing beard much in the image of Uncle Sam, empowering those created in His/Her image to rule the world, having power over all creatures, including the subhuman Black, Brown, and Yellow people. They similarly took that position when it came to women, who they kept powerless and subservient.
The common rationale was, as one Christian leader explained,
“[Slavery] was established by decree of Almighty God … it is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation … it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts.”
Or, as Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis noted,
“… the right of holding slaves is clearly established in the Holy Scriptures, both by precept and example.”
On the other end of that religious spectrum were the progressive denominations like the Quakers. They posited that God (Nyame) created but one race and that slavery was a sin and an afront toward God Almighty. Those who supported it and racism would eventually end up in Hell wearing gasoline drawers.
Many progressive Christians believed that America’s evil character would not be exorcised by prayer alone but should be eradicated with blood.
Although raised in a Calvinist household, John Brown proclaimed those who supported the institution of slavery were enemies of God. He said God had chosen him to be the match that would set off the TNT that would end slavery.
The dichotomy of the vastly different interpretations of the Gospel splintered America, then and now. This dichotomy was best summed up by Frederick Douglass, who once declared,
“Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference—so wide that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as sinful, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one is of necessity to be the enemy of the other.
“I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I, therefore, hate the corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason but the most deceitful one for calling the religion of this land Christianity…”
Chances are you won’t find anything mentioned in my lecture offered in government schools.
Sadly, only His-story is taught in government indoctrination centers (also called ‘schools’) which, unfortunately explains what happened in Washington D.C. in January.
And as it has been said, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
“As an international community committed to addressing inequality and advancing sustainable development, we must put in place the very principles of transparency, sound governance, and accountability that we so often champion”, Volkan Bozkirsaid at the release of the Report of the High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI).
In the Financial Integrity for Sustainable Development report, the FACTI Panel recommends that governments finance critical action on extreme poverty, COVID-19 and the climate crisis by recovering billions of dollars lost through tax abuse, corruption and money-laundering.
“Developing countries could not afford to lose resources during the best of times and they certainly cannot afford to now, in the midst of the COVID crisis”, attested the Assembly President.
Noting that as much as 2.7 per cent of the global GDP is laundered annually, the FACTI Panel is calling on governments to agree to a Global Pact for Financial Integrity for Sustainable Development.
Making the case
Pointing out that corporations shopping for tax-free jurisdictions cost governments up to $600 billion a year, the Panel flagged the need for stronger laws and institutions to prevent corruption and money laundering and advocated for those enabling financial crimes to face punitive sanctions.
The report also calls for greater transparency around company ownership, public spending and stronger international cooperation to prosecute bribery and to increase tax levels on giant digital corporations.
“A corrupt and failing financial system robs the poor and deprives the whole world of the resources needed to eradicate poverty, recover from COVID and tackle the climate crisis”, said FACTI co-chair and former president of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė.
Ibrahim Mayaki, FACTI co-chair and former prime minister of Niger, added that “closing loopholes that allow money laundering, corruption and tax abuse…are steps in transforming the global economy for the universal good”.
Cutting tax avoidance
At a time when billionaires’ wealth soared by 27.5 per cent and COVID-19 has pushed 131 million into poverty, the report notes that a tenth of the world’s wealth could be hidden in offshore financial assets – preventing governments from collecting their fair share of taxes.
Recovering annual loss to tax avoidance and evasion would, for example, allow Bangladesh to expand its social safety net to nine million more elderly, permit Chad to pay for 38,000 classrooms, and enable Germany to build 8,000 wind turbines, according to the report
Mr. Bozkir welcomed the Panel’s new system, which fosters financial “fairness, accountability and integrity” for sustainable development and expressed confidence that “if duly implemented” it can “advance progress towards achieving Agenda 2030”.
“None of us stand to benefit from failure to act”, he attested. “The onus is on each of us to put in place a system of financial integrity for sustainable development” to free up resources that would otherwise be lost and build “trust in our international, national and local systems of governance, demonstrating transparency, accountability and the ability to deliver on the 2030 Agenda”.
So far, nine cases have been reported in Guinea, leading to five deaths. While there have been no confirmed cases beyond the West African nation so far, the outbreak’s epicentre, Gouecke, N’Zerekore prefecture, is close to the borders of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire, according to the UN health agency.
Despite limited border controls, all six neighboring countries – Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone – are urgently updating national response plans using the WHO readiness assessment tool, to detect, isolate and manage potential cross-border cases.
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a rare but severe and often fatal illness. The average death rate is around 50 per cent, with rates having varied from 25 per cent to 90 per cent in past outbreaks.
The virus spreads through contact with the body fluids – such as vomit, faeces or blood – of an infected person, or through contaminated surfaces and materials, such as bedding and clothing.
‘Hard lessons of history’
“We’ve learned the hard lessons of history and we know…preparedness works”, said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, stressing that “systematic surveillance, comprehensive preparations and strong, cross-border coordination are crucial to detecting any cases and ensuring that they are quickly isolated, treated and that vaccination of high-risk contacts begin quickly.
In addition to surveillance and screening at border crossing points, and in high-risk communities, rapid response teams are being deployed to border areas.
West African countries are also committed to stepping up testing and treatment facilities. So far 20 suspected cases have been reported across three countries bordering Guinea. All tested negative for Ebola.
Guinea vaccine push
Soon after the first case was reported, Guinea began an Ebola vaccine drive focusing on high-risk communities, especially in the epicentre Gouecke. To date, around 225 people have been vaccinated, including 66 high-risk contacts. according to WHO.
Meanwhile, the UN health agency has disbursed $1.25 million to support Guinea and to reinforce Ebola readiness in all six neighbouring nations.
Around 65 WHO experts are on the ground and the government has provided a charter flight to deliver the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine, ultra-cold chain containers, personal protective equipment and other medical supplies from the capital Conakry to N’Zerekore.
DR Congo update
Moreover, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has also released $15 million to help Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) tackle the resurgence of Ebola, as well as preparedness in countries neighbouring DRC.
So far eight cases and four deaths have been reported in DRC’s North Kivu province, following the fresh Ebola outbreak declared there on 7 February.
The recent tragic death of Italian Ambassador Luca Attanasio in DRC, who was travelling in a UN World Food Programme (WFP) convoy, has highlighted the difficulties of dealing with outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic in areas of Africa where armed groups holds sway, hampering surveillance and treatment efforts.
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Sarah Polley is bringing her storytelling talents to books.
The Canadian, who's also a director and actor, will make her publishing debut this March with the release of her first book, a collection of essays called “Run Towards the Danger.”
“Run Towards the Danger” is the first of two books by Polley that was acquired by Hamish Hamilton Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
The first book features five personal essays, the publisher said in a release, adding there were no details to share about the second book.
Toronto-born Polley made her feature length directorial debut with the drama film “Away from Her” in 2006, receiving an Oscar nomination for the screenplay, which she adapted from the Alice Munro story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain.”
She won the New York and L.A. critics prize as well as the National Board of Review prize for best documentary in 2012 for “Stories We Tell,” a documentary she wrote and directed that explored her family's secrets.
Her other film projects include “Take This Waltz” (2011), starring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen, which she wrote and directed. She also wrote the TV screenplays for Alias Grace, based on the Margaret Atwood novel, to critical acclaim in 2017.
Polley began her acting career as a child, starring in “Road to Avonlea” (1990-1996) and Terry Gilliam's film “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” (1988).
<em>This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2021.</em>
Citing “disturbing new food security data” published by the World Food Programme (WFP), Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock stated that some 60 per cent of the population “do not have regular access to enough safe and nutritious food”.
“The increase may be shocking, but it cannot be said to be surprising”, he said via video link.
Around 60% of Syrians – 12.4 million people – do not have regular access to enough safe & nutritious food.
My latest update to the Security Council on the economic crisis, humanitarian access, and the protection of civilians.https://t.co/v2xOIqbLnt
The UN official told the Council that average household expenses now exceed income by an estimated 20 per cent, leaving millions to resort to “desperate measures” to survive.
More than 70 per cent of Syrians say they have taken on new debt, and are forced to sell assets and livestock. Meanwhile, parents are eating less so they can feed their children, who are now working instead of studying.
“Those who have run out of options are simply going hungry”, he spelled out, flagging that more than half a million under-fives are suffering from the effects of stunting.
Looking north
While these problems are visible in many parts of the country, Mr. Lowcock drew attention to the northwest and northeast, where nutrition data show that up to one in three children in some areas, suffer from the irreversible development and learning impacts of stunting.
“A doctor at a pediatrics hospital told me that of his 80 in-patient beds, half are occupied by malnourished children”, five of whom had died due to their condition, he said.
Meanwhile, malnutrition has become so normal that parents cannot spot the signs in their own children, another doctor told the relief chief.
Cross-border assistance
Some physicians shared their concerns that cross-border aid into Syria’s northwest may be disrupted, prompting Mr. Lowcock to stress the importance of humanitarian access.
“All humanitarian assistance that enters northwest Syria is delivered cross-border” and supports 2.4 million people monthly, he said. Without it, “the situation would go from terrible to catastrophic”.
“When it comes to delivering life-saving aid to people in need, all channels should be made, and should be kept, available”, the UN official said, echoing the Secretary-General.
Should the Security Council fail to extend its authorization for cross-border assistance in the future, he warned that it would “trigger suffering and loss of life potentially on a very large scale”.
Turning to the northeast, Mr. Lowcock informed ambassadors that recent tensions have caused temporary disruptions in emergency assistance for hundreds of thousands of people.
While the UN has continued to scale up crossline medical deliveries there, expanding its reach is dependent on approvals, improved security conditions and adequate funding.
OCHA
Sixteen families live in a damaged school in Binish, a city in northwest Syria.
Protecting civilians
He painted a picture of a series of “horrific bombings” that killed dozens and injured many others, a humanitarian worker killed while helping COVID-19-affected people on 16 February, and a hospital damaged when a missile struck an adjoining building,
Every day, humanitarian workers in Syria deliver aid under the most difficult circumstances and at great personal risk, Mr. Lowcock said, spelling out: “They must be protected”.
He informed the Council that the third draft of UN Strategic Framework for 2021-2023, which covers the UN country team’s agreed operational activities, is moving forward and noted those activities are complementary to the Humanitarian Response Plan “to save lives, enhance protection, and increase resilience and access to services”.
“This is essential at a time when the economy continues to suffer severe decline, poverty and hunger are on the rise, and humanitarian needs are also increasing”, he concluded.
The Catholic Church of Australia on Thursday released the working document for the Plenary Council, the first leg of which is scheduled for October this year.
Entitled, “Continuing the Journey”, the document, called ‘instrumentum laboris’ in Latin, draws heavily on the voices heard during the ‘Listening and Dialogue’ and ‘Listening and Discernment’ phases of the national Church event, but also from other key sources, according to a press release by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC).
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth, president of the Plenary Council, said the role of a working document is “to offer an account of what the People of God have expressed as an invitation for ongoing discernment”. “This,” he said, “is an exciting step forward and we take it together, amidst a time of great change.”
The 5th Plenary Council, an important national ecclesial event representing every sector of the Church, is taking place in two phases. The First Assembly was originally slated to take place in Adelaide, October 2020, and the second in Sydney in July 2021. However, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, they have been re-scheduled.
Assembly 1 will be now held in Adelaide from October 2 to 10, 2021 and Assembly 2 will be held in Sydney, July 4-9, 2022. Because of the pandemic, the October Assembly will be held through a mix of online and in-person events across Australia.
Archbishop Costelloe pointed out that more 220,000 people participated in the first stages of Listening and Dialogue, and “those voices can be heard clearly in the working document”. He said it provides a catalyst for the Church to renew the journey of prayer and discernment toward the First Assembly.
National ecclesial event
A Plenary Council is the highest formal gathering of all local churches in a country. The purpose of the Australian Church’s Plenary Council is to facilitate dialogue regarding the future of the Catholic Church in the country.
There are several reasons behind the Plenary Council of Australia’s Catholic Church. Pope Francis has invited the local Church to dialogue. Australia’s contemporary society has also changed significantly since the Church’s last Plenary Council held 80 years ago in 1937, 28 years before the end of the Second Vatican Council in 1965.
But most importantly, the 2017 final report of the Royal Commission into the Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse in Australia has called for a deep consideration and response from the Church.
Voices and issues
Explaining the content of the 76-page working document, Archbishop Costelloe said it draws “inspiration from Scripture, writings and teachings of the Church including the documents of the Second Vatican Council, encyclicals and papal exhortations, Australian bishops’ pastoral letters and more”.
He said a working document “seeks to offer an account of what the People of God have expressed as an invitation for ongoing discernment”. In this regard, the document highlights several issues, such as co-responsibility in mission and governance, a response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the Church’s solidarity with First Australians and those on the margins of society and promoting an integral ecology of life for all our common home, the Earth.
The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ACBC) formally announced the Plenary Council in May 2016, a decision which Pope Francis ratified in March 2018. However, the entire Australian Church had been preparing for the national ecclesial event even before that. Its journey of discernment which began with the Listening and Dialogue Phase was followed by the Listening and Discernment Phase.
