Category Archives: World
THE TRAVELS OF YORE (2) – The role of the priests
Joaquim Magalhães de Castro
As we can concluded from last week text, the 16th century voyages were not at all romantic trips on board sailing boats… In reality, they were true nightmares. We are talking about ships with two decks and two lower covered decks, perhaps two meters, two and a half meters high, relatively small spaces, where one could cook. As is easy to calculate, lighting a fire in a sailboat was a danger. “In fact,” says professor Contente Domingues, “if the ship catches fire, the ship disappears and leaves no trace. Counteless vessels were lost in such circumstances. On the high seas the ship leaves no trace.”
Follow
NEWS BRIEFS
Tej Francis
BEIJING, CHINA
CHINESE FAITHFUL HELP VICTIMS OF NATURAL DISASTERS
(Agenzia Fides) 21 dioceses of mainland China have responded to the appeal launched on the occasion of the “National Collection Day for the victims of natural disasters” with great generosity. As Catholic Faith news Agency in China reports, the initiative celebrated on March 25, Palm Sunday, was promoted by Jinde Charites, the body that has been taking care of Catholic charitable works for 20 years, and was welcomed with great availability by bishops, priests and laity.
A NEW APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION – Being the saint ‘next door’
FEATURED IMAGE: Valter Cirillo at Pixabay
Aurelio Porfiri
On Monday, 9 April 2018, the new Apostolic Exhortation of His Holiness Pope Francis Gaudete and Exultate: On the call to Holiness in Today’s World was officially presented in the Holy See Press Office. The presenters, together with the Holy See Press Director Greg Burke, were Bishop Angelo De Donatis (Vicar General for His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome), Gianni Valente (Journalist) and Paola Bignardi (former president of the movement Azione Cattolica).
SOWER OF VIRTUES – Filipino Archbishop Teofilo Camomot’s Process Of Canonization By The Vatican
Featured Image: www.archbishopcamomot.ph
Pedro Daniel Olivera*
Late Cebuano Archbishop Teofilo Camomot could become the third canonized Filipino next to San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila and San Pedro Calungsod – both lay persons. The process of beatification and canonization involves work in the diocesan level, and in the Vatican’s Congregation for the Cause of Saints, which forwards their findings to the Roman Pontiff. Camomot was known for his extreme generosity and love for the poor.
Three Filipino citizens in Macau expressed high expectations with the possibility of Pope’s ruling in favor of his canonization. Speaking to O CLARIM, Civil Engineer Danilo Ngo said, “the approval of the process to make Archbishop Teofilo Camomot a saint is a manifestation of how the Lord can intercede in us, humans, and make all things possible here on earth for some people to possess virtues, which can lead to holiness.”
He also recalled Saint Padre Pio, who died on September 23, 1968, and received stigmata or the wounds of Christ. “Archbishop Camomot died on September 27, 1988. Both of them passed away almost the same date.”
Betânia (Home for the Elderly) Health Assistant Ross Belle Balatbat said she is in favor for his sainthood because “in his ordinary daily life he made the Holy Spirit possible to work amidst the post-World War II condition, and he maximized all the means available to evangelize in an extraordinary way in the ordinary lives and needs of every person he can serve.”
She also said, “his commitment” in his priestly mission “was drawn from a supernatural level,” since “he was able to plant seeds in people’s lives through his deeds.” “If he’ll be a saint, his life can be a model for making our daily ordinary life extraordinary by God’s grace,” Mrs Balatbat added.
Sacred Heart Canossian College (English Section) Librarian Mimi Fronteras told us that Camomot’s canonization would have the power to reunite the Filipinos. “The people of the Church and Duterte’s Administration are not all on the same side. Some Filipino archbishops and bishops have already criticized Duterte for the very open way he expresses himself. The country is divided into political factions. I think it will be very good for us if there is another Filipino to be canonized. In my opinion, it can somehow reunite [people],” she said.
* with J.M.O.M. and Inquirer.Net
COMING HOME – My Way to the Catholic Church through a Protestant’s Work
Petrus Wang
Here is my story of conversion: no blood, no tears, no sweats, but a miracle of God in most daily life.
I was born in Mainland China where most people are expected to be born atheists: God(s) does not exist, or rather, should not exist in the official context——worships of God(s) is equivalent to superstition. However, I was born to believe in some supernatural power even before Jesus Christ reached out to me—at that time, I prayed to Chinese gods and my ancestors
THE TRAVELS OF YORE (1) – The hardships of the sea journey
Joaquim Magalhães de Castro
In order to better understand how the transoceanic trips of the past gave rise to realities like Goa and Macau, O Clarim went to the Faculty of Letters of Lisbon to speak with Francisco Contente Domingues, perhaps the greatest specialist in the Portuguese nautical history.
Today, travelling is a relatively normal thing, something close to our daily lives. Sixteenth century travel was very different and the conditions too. There was a radical difference day to day, more visible the greater the length of the trip. Going to Guinea, Cape Verde or even Brazil could be tricky, but going to the East was already a cyclopean task. It’s hard to imagine how people endured such subhuman living conditions.
SOCIEDADE DE JOGOS DE MACAU, S.A. (“SJM”)
Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (“SJM”) paid tribute to the work of local media at its annual media appreciation luncheon held at Grand Lisboa today. Over 80 representatives from Macau’s media attended the event, and were greeted by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SJM Dr Ambrose So, Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer Ms Angela Leong, Director and Chief Operating Officer Mr Louis Ng, Director Dr Rui Cunha, and senior management of the company. Photo shows them with Macau’s Portuguese and English media.
THE THEFT OF DON BOSCO’S URN AND THE CHARM OF THE RELICS
(FEATURED IMAGE) SKA London
Vittorio Messori
It is well known: religious relics do not have a great place in the perspective of modern man, even if he is a believer. I say “religious” because the interest has moved from the sacred to the profane: “relics” go to auction in London or New York, and at great cost, clothes, objects, furniture, all things that belonged to movie stars, sport stars, also from notable people in the world of culture. Relics, in fact. In many museums, then, they have not only objects belonging to the Great but parts, though small, of the body of the “heroes” of the Fatherland are exhibited, starting with Garibaldi, whose hair and nails were also disputed.
NEWS BRIEFS
Tej Francis
STEUBENVILLE, OHIO
UNIVERSITY SAYS FACEBOOK REJECTED AD BECAUSE IT SHOWS JESUS ON CROSS
(Catholic News Service) The Franciscan University of Steubenville said that on March 30, in a blog post that an administrator of its Facebook page noticed one of its ads had been rejected because it contained “shocking content, sensational content, and excessively violent content.”
“What was the offending image?” the blog post asked. “The San Damiano Cross. Jesus in glory, reigning from his cruciform throne. This is what the monitors at Facebook consider excessively violent, sensational and shocking.” The blog post includes a screen capture of the message of rejection from Facebook: “Your image, video thumbnail or video can’t contain shocking, sensational, or excessively violent content.”
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TONI BRANDI OF PROVITA ONLUS – Defending life
Aurelio Porfiri
ProVita Onlus, led by the Italian businessman Toni Brandi, is an association that has fought many battles to defend life according to the principles of Catholic doctrine and natural law. They are often present in public debate, sometimes to be vilified. But still, they can count on a strong consensus in public opinion. One of their recent battles is that of a law called DAT, which at the time of the interview was under scrutiny of the Italian parliament. Now the law has been passed, but it is worth knowing the reasons of those who wanted to oppose it.
