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Cardinal Bo: “Fratelli tutti” talks to Asia at crucial crossroads – Vatican News

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Cardinal Bo: “Fratelli tutti” talks to Asia at crucial crossroads - Vatican News

By Robin Gomes

Amid the numerous social pandemics that Covid-19 has exposed, the Catholic Church in Asia is called to develop the “vaccines of compassion, solidarity and justice” in the spirit of the encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, on fraternity and social friendship. 

“May the call of our Holy Father to solidarity, encounter, and gratuitousness find an echo in your lives and communities. May you take up the insistent invitation of Pope Francis for dialogue, respect and generosity towards every human being.”  

Myanmar Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), makes the appeal in a letter to his fellow bishops and their Churches in Asia.   

Common good

“Our Asian realities are echoed in the urgent message Fratelli tutti”, the cardinal notes in his letter dated 12 October. Asia is at the crossroads, he says, adding that the path “we take will decide the inheritance we leave to our next generation”. 

“Will it be wasted or saved? Will Asia choose individual greed or commit to the common good?” he asks Church leaders, politicians and governments. Much, he says, depends on how we rebuild society after Covid-19.  

He laments that “many governments in Asia are attempting to return to tried and failed economic and social models”. He thus calls for a politics for the common and universal good; politics for and with the people; politics that seek human dignity; politics of women and men who practice political love; politics that integrate the economy and the social and cultural fabric into a consistent, life-giving human project.

Rising above the crisis

With Covid-19, the year 2020 has been a time of chaos, fear and loss for the people, Cardinal Bo points out. Yet, Pope Francis urges bishops never to stop being on mission, stressing: “If the Church is alive, it must always surprise.”

The 71-year old cardinal urges his fellow bishops not to let the joy of the Gospel diminish in their hearts, giving way to the culture of indifference.  Despite all the pain surrounding us, he says, the Holy Father insists on the overwhelming, immense, surprising and unmerited gift of fraternity. 

“Fraternity, which means care and respect for our sisters and brothers,” the Archbishop of Yangon says, “is the foundation and pathway to peace.”  “Fraternity is solidarity and dialogue; it is true religion. Without fraternity, liberty and equality do not make sense.”

Many underlying pandemics

According to Pope Francis, Cardinal Bo says, Covid-19 has exposed underlying systemic pandemics in society such as racism, inequity, hate speech, disregard for the poor, the elderly and the unborn, trafficking of women and children, and the culture of death.

The death penalty, the cardinal notes, is legal in at least 18 Asian countries and the continent has some of the longest running wars in the world.  Millions have no choice but to leave their families and go abroad to find work.

The Good Samaritan

Against all of this, the cardinal urges, “we must develop the vaccines of compassion, solidarity and justice,” as indicated by the Pope in the person of the Good Samaritan. In the parable, Pope Francis “charts a common course for humanity through a commitment to peace, the rejection of war and capital punishment, encouragement of forgiveness and reconciliation within societies and care for our common home.”

With the eyes of the Good Samaritan, the cardinal says, we are called to critique the culture of waste and to defend the human rights of people made vulnerable by society: women, children, racial minorities, refugees, the unborn, the aged and many others. Respect for persons and for the common good only grows from true fraternity, Cardinal Bo stresses. 

Inter-religious relationships

In his message, the president of Asian bishops’ conferences also speaks about fraternal relationships between religions in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis and on the dangers and opportunities it creates.   

In this regard, the Holy Father “urges us to look courageously and creatively for opportunities to build, here and now, the world that God desires. “The society that will rise again from Covid-19 is a society where fraternity is valued,” Cardinal Bo added. 

Progress against tuberculosis ‘at risk’: WHO

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Progress against tuberculosis ‘at risk’: WHO

According to the UN health agency, though TB cases fell by 9 per cent and deaths by 14 per cent between 2015 and 2019, access to TB services remains a challenge. 

“Equitable access to quality and timely diagnosis, prevention, treatment and care remains a challenge”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, said in a news release announcing the findings. 

“Accelerated action is urgently needed worldwide if we are to meet our targets by 2022,” he urged. 

Caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis and most often affecting the lungs, TB spreads through the air when people with the disease cough, sneeze or spit. In spite of being a curable disease, many people die from TB and it is a leading cause of death of people living with HIV. 

Approximately 90 percent of those who fall sick with the disease each year live in just 30 countries. Most people who develop the disease are adults, and there are more cases among men than women 

Challenges  

In 2019, approximately 1.4 million people died from TB-related illnesses, and of the estimated 10 million people who developed the disease that year, some 3 million were not diagnosed or were not officially reported to national authorities, according to WHO. 

The situation is even more acute for people with drug-resistant TB. About 465,000 people were newly diagnosed with drug-resistant TB in 2019 and, of these, over 60 per cent were not able to access treatment.  

There has also been limited progress in scaling up access to treatment to prevent TB, said WHO, adding that funding is a major challenge. In 2020, funding for TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care reached $6.5 billion, about half of the $13 billion target agreed by world leaders in 2018. 

In addition, disruptions in services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to further setbacks, said the UN health agency. 

In many countries, human, financial and other resources have been reallocated from TB to the COVID-19 response, while data collection and reporting systems have also been impacted. 

The Global Fund/John Rae

Two women who are undergoing treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

COVID-19 and TB 

In line with WHO guidance, countries have taken measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on essential TB services, including by strengthening infection control.  

A total of 108 countries – including 21 with a high TB burden – have expanded the use of digital technologies to provide remote advice and support. Countries are also encouraging home-based treatment, providing all-oral treatment as well as preventive treatment, to reduce the need for patients to visit health facilities.  

Countries, civil society and other partners have joined forces to ensure that essential services for both TB and COVID-19 are maintained for those in need, said Tereza Kaseva, Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme. 

“These efforts are vital to strengthen health systems, ensure health for all, and save lives,” she added. 

President Sassoli press conference on EU summit

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President Sassoli press conference on EU summit | News | European Parliament

When: Thursday 15 October at 15:30 – Where: Anna Politkovskaya pressroom and via Skype

EP President David Sassoli will hold a press conference at 15.30 tomorrow (15 October) following his address to heads of state or government at the EU summit. He will comment on the topics EU leaders will discuss during their meeting, like EU-UK relations, tackling COVID-19, climate change and relations between the EU and Africa.

President Sassoli will also reiterate Parliament’s position and expectations regarding the ongoing negotiations on the EU’s long-term budget (MFF) and on Own Resources.

Follow the press conference LIVE on Parliament’s webstreaming or EbS+.

The European Union and Myanmar hold 6th Human Rights Dialogue

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ancient building near trees
Photo by Munzir on Pexels.com

The Sixth European Union-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue was held on 14 October 2020.

The meeting, held by video-conference due to the COVID-19 related disruption, allowed the EU and Myanmar to discuss human rights issues. This discussion was also in the context of the ongoing enhanced engagement under the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) trade arrangement, which provided Myanmar preferential imports worth over €2.7 billion in 2019. Myanmar and the EU discussed a wide range of human rights matters, including the situation in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States, humanitarian access and the situation of Internally Displaced Persons, accountability for alleged human rights violations, fundamental rights and freedoms, economic, labour and social rights, rights of women and human rights cooperation in multilateral fora. They also shared their respective experiences in preventing and combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EU reaffirmed its strong support for Myanmar’s democratic transition, notably in the context of Myanmar’s upcoming general election, as well as for its peace and reconciliation process and inclusive socio-economic development.

Myanmar and the EU agreed that sustainable peace could only be achieved by strengthening the rule of law and good governance, on the basis of shared values and applicable international human rights standards. The EU encouraged Myanmar to continue to implement the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, and took note Myanmar’s efforts in the implementation of its National Strategy for the Closure of internally displaced person (IDP) camps.

With regard to multilateral human rights issues, the EU encouraged Myanmar to sign or ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and welcomed the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and of the International Labour Convention 138 on the minimum working age. The EU and Myanmar agreed to envisage further implementation on these conventions and other human and labour rights-related international obligations.

The EU also underlined the importance of continued efforts on the part of Myanmar to cooperate with relevant UN mandates and procedures, while inviting to follow the requests of the ILO supervisory mechanism.

It was agreed to continue discussions, including under the EBA enhanced engagement. The 7th Myanmar-EU Human Rights Dialogue will take place in 2021.

The Human Rights Dialogue was co-chaired by Mr Eamon Gilmore, EU Special Representative for Human Rights and U Kyaw Tin, Union Minister for International Cooperation of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

Nabila MASSRALI

Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

+32 (0) 2 29 88093

+32 (0) 460 79 52 44

Adam KAZNOWSKI

Press Officer for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

+32 (0) 2 29 89359

+32 (0)460 768 088

GOP Defends Amy Coney Barrett’s Religion But Stayed Silent When Muslims Were Under Attack

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GOP Defends Amy Coney Barrett’s Religion But Stayed Silent When Muslims Were Under Attack
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Parliament’s proposal to reinforce flagship programmes is worth 39 billion euros | News | European Parliament

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President Sassoli press conference on EU summit | News | European Parliament

, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201014IPR89323/

Pope appoints expert in Molecular Biophysics at Pontifical Academy of Sciences – Vatican News

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Pope appoints expert in Molecular Biophysics at Pontifical Academy of Sciences - Vatican News

By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis on Wednesday appointed Professor José Nelson Onuchic as a new member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Vatican’s international scientific academy, established by Pope Pius XI in 1936.

Curriculum vitae

Prof. José Nelson Onuchic was born on January 17, 1958, in São Paulo (Brazil), where he graduated in Electrical Engineering in 1980, in Physics in 1981 and in Applied Physics in 1982.

He completed his PhD in Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology (USA) in 1987. After a brief period of post-doctoral study in Santa Barbara, California, he taught at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) from 1987 to 1990, the year in which he returned to the United States, where he taught at the University of San Diego (California) until 2011. He then moved to Rice University in Houston, Texas, to teach Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry and Biosciences. Here he is co-director of the Centre for Theoretical Biological Physics.

He has received several awards for his studies, including the Beckman Young Investigator Award in 1992; he became a fellow of the American Physical Society in 1995 and was elected a member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2006, and of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in 2009.

His current research interests centre on theoretical and computational methods on the borderline between physics and biology, with their effects on human biology and genomics.

The Academy

The work of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences comprises six major areas: Fundamental Science, Science and technology of global problems, Science for the problems of the developing world, Scientific policy, Bioethics and Epistemology.

Pope Francis names new Bishop for Springfield, Massachusetts, USA – Vatican News

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Pope Francis names new Bishop for Springfield, Massachusetts, USA - Vatican News

By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis on Wednesday named Fr William D.Byrne as the new Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts in the United States. Until now he has been parish priest of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, Maryland.

He succeeds Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski who was appointed as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Saint Louis by the Pope in June 2020.

Curriculum vitae of Fr. William D.Byrne

Bishop-elect Byrne was born on September 26, 1964 in Washington, D.C., and ordained to the priesthood on June 25, 1994 for the Archdiocese of Washington. Father Byrne attended Georgetown Preparatory School in Rockville, Maryland and received a bachelor’s degree in English from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome and received a Bachelor’s in Sacred Theology (STB) in 1992 and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) in 1994, both from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

After ordination, Father Byrne was assigned to the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland as parochial vicar where he served until 1995 when he was assigned as parochial vicar at the Shrine of Saint Jude in Rockville, Maryland. From 1999 until 2007, he served as the chaplain for the University of Maryland’s Catholic Student Center in College Park, Maryland. He was named pastor of St. Peter’s parish in Washington, D.C. in 2007 where he served until 2015. From 2009 until 2015, while serving as pastor of St. Peter’s, Father Byrne was also Secretary for Pastoral Ministry and Social Concerns for the Archdiocese of Washington. In 2015, Father Byrne was named pastor of Our Lady of Mercy parish in Potomac, Maryland where he currently serves.

Bishop-elect Byrne’s ministry also includes service on the Archdiocese of Washington’s Vocations Team (1998), Formation Board (2002-present), Priest Council (2003-2006), Priest Personnel Board (2006-2009), and Archdiocesan Administrative Board (2009-2015), as well as membership on the board of directors of St. Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home, Catholic Youth Organization, and Redemptoris Mater Seminary, as well as the advisory board of the Lay Leadership Institute.

The Diocese of Springfield is comprised of 2,822 square miles in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and has a total population of 828,667 of which 199,289 are Catholic.

Religion at Rowan: What Happened When a Class Assignment Clashed With my Beliefs

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Religion at Rowan: What Happened When a Class Assignment Clashed With my Beliefs
Joanna Flynn describes an experience in a Rowan class when her Christian values were in conflict with a given assignment. Her response to this moral conflict surprised even herself. – Photo via pixabay.com

I am a very literal person. I believe there is a fierce dichotomy between dark and light, that morality is not a scale. There is right, and there is wrong, and there is no space in between.

But life isn’t actually like that. At all. 

As humans, we exist in this in-between, in this continuum. As a follower of Christ, I believe in certain truths established by the Bible, and that they exist for us to live the most fulfilling lives we can. But there are a lot of things not explicitly written down. There are a lot of things that we as individuals get to decide, lines that we get to draw for ourselves, where we have to stand and say, “No, I do not believe this is good or beneficial, and I will not participate.” 

This happened to me in a class during my time at Rowan. I was bummed, because I was really looking forward to this class — one of my favorite professors was teaching it, I had many friends and everyone was engaged and conversational. It was great. 

Until one specific paper was assigned. I looked at the requirements and my heart sank. I couldn’t do it. The paper was asking me to justify something that I morally believed was wrong. My line had been drawn, and now I had to stand upon it. 

That was the tricky part. 

I had a choice to make, and it was one of the hardest ones I have ever made. I had to wrestle with thoughts like “You’re just not strong enough to handle college-level content” and “You’re a quitter.” Oh, and let’s not forget the one that hissed, “You’re just scared and weak and worthless.” Intrusive thoughts love to kick us while we’re down, don’t they? 

When I was younger, I used to imagine a moment when I would have to stand up for my beliefs. I pictured a heroic monologue about my life, about my faith and about why everyone around me was wrong and needed to listen to me. In these moments, I also pictured myself in a ball gown, pleading desperately with my peers to change their ways. In addition to being literal, I also have a flair for the dramatic.

But when I was actually in a situation where I had to make a choice, somehow standing on my desk and shouting at my classmates and professor about how wrong they were didn’t feel quite right. I realized that I actually cared about these people. I saw them as I saw myself: individuals — each with a unique story, strong convictions and intrinsic value. I asked myself how I would feel if someone decided to shove their values in my face, tell me everything I believed was wrong and storm off with their fist in the air. 

I would have some choice words for that person. 

And none of those words would speak to love, or kindness or respect — which are the feelings I want to leave with any and every individual I talk to. So I discarded that idea. I told myself I could sit in class and be quiet. But the truth is, I couldn’t have sat in class and been quiet. I had options: I could have talked to my professor or asked for a different assignment. But in this situation, I knew what the best thing for me would be, and it wasn’t compromising what I believed for a grade. It also wasn’t being a judge for those around me and telling them that what they were doing was wrong. 

So I dropped the class. 

That probably seems really anti-climactic, but that’s what I did. Now, I’m not encouraging anyone reading this to drop a class anytime they disagree with something — not at all. If that were the case, I’d have dropped all my classes, all my friends and most of my family too. Disagreeing is part of life.

But so is standing up for what you believe in. It just happened to look much different than I expected, and it never looks the same every time. It’s not always the dramatic monologue of “This is why I’m right and you’re wrong.” It’s not always gathering in protests, though it can be. It’s not always dropping a class.

Sometimes, it is quietly deciding within yourself that something is not good or beneficial for you, and removing yourself from the situation. Sometimes it is realizing that your line has been drawn, and not participating in whatever is going on around you. And sometimes it is indeed speaking up, being loud and making a scene. 

But no matter what it is sometimes, it should always be out of love, in kindness and with respect.

For comments/questions about this story, email [email protected] or tweet @TheWhitOnline.

Jacobs to Lead European Union-Funded Nuclear Power Plant Research

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Jacobs to Lead European Union-Funded Nuclear Power Plant Research

DALLAS, Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Jacobs (NYSE:NYSE:J) was selected to lead an international consortium whose cutting-edge research could lead to extensions in the operational lifespan of nuclear power plants around the world.

The INCEFA-SCALE program (INcreasing safety in nuclear power plants by Covering gaps in Environmental Fatigue Assessment) aims to reduce uncertainties about how critical components will perform when subjected to the harsh conditions inside operational nuclear power reactors.

Although components and materials are extensively tested in laboratories, there are sometimes gaps in understanding the correlation between these tests and actual performance. This can lead to fatigue assessment parameters being set more conservatively than necessary.

The research will fill in those gaps by means of extensive data mining in international fatigue databases and detailed examination of test specimens to improve mechanistic understanding. Greater certainty about component performance will avoid unnecessary closures of nuclear power plants when they are still economically viable and safe to operate.

“By successfully leading this research, Jacobs has demonstrated its capability to knit together an international consortium and to bring together the very best, complementary capabilities,” said Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions International Senior Vice President Clive White. “The European Union has sanctioned this follow-on project while the predecessor project is still live, which testifies to the success of the consortium and the relevance of the study topic to nuclear plant safety and lifetime assessments.”

Operator of the U.K.’s largest independent nuclear laboratory complex in Birchwood Park, Warrington, Jacobs will contribute to multiaxial, thermo-mechanical and complex waveform testing to provide greater insight into the stresses and strains placed on components. This work will complement component scale tests being carried out in the U.S. by the Electric Power Research Institute, in collaboration with INCEFA-SCALE.

The European Union is providing most of the funding for the five-year, $8.1 million INCEFA-SCALE program, which is a continuation of the previous INCEFA-PLUS program, where Jacobs have led a 16-member European consortium since 2013.

At Jacobs, we’re challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world’s most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management’s current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related reaction of governments on global and regional market conditions and the company’s business. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 – Business; Item 1A – Risk Factors; Item 3 – Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 26, 2020, and in particular the discussions contained under Part I, Item 2 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations; Part II, Item 1 – Legal Proceedings; and Part II, Item 1A – Risk Factors, as well as the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law.

For press/media inquiries:
Kerrie Sparks
214.583.8433

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SOURCE Jacobs