BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
BONN, Germany (CNS) - German Catholic churches offered spiritual and financial support to survivors of dev- astating flooding in two regions of the country. At Masses July 18, bishops, priests and parishioners prayed for those who died, emergency workers who continued to clear mud-lined streets and residents seeking to salvage what they could from damaged and destroyed homes, the German Catholic news agency KNA reported. Officials recorded at least 196 deaths July 19 in western and southern Ger- many, eastern Belgium and parts of the Netherlands. Hundreds more were miss- ing. In a visit to the region July 18, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the ca- tastrophe the worst natural disaster in the country in 60 years. The German Defense Ministry said on Twitter that about 1,000 soldiers had been sent to 20 towns and rural areas in the three states most affected by the flooding. Pope Francis reiterated his sympathy for the victims of the flooding in the three countries, asking that God to re- ceive those who died, comfort survivors, and strengthen rescue workers as he ad- dressed the crowd in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican July 18. Two churches in Trier, a Mosel River city in western Germany that suffered extensive damage, held mourning ser- vices. "I can't get over the pictures and con- versations of the past few days," said Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier, who had visited the Ahr Valley, one of the ar- eas of severe flooding. He described de- stroyed homes, streets and bridges and told of how he spoke with people who felt helpless and "beside themselves." He also expressed support for volun- teers who were helping victims. "My thoughts can't get over those who died in the flooding. We are, and remain, vulnerable, even in the 21st century," he said. Thorsten Latzel, head of the Evangeli- cal Church in the Rhine River region, reported on visits to cities and towns where the effects of floodwaters were gradually being cleared. The lives of many people were now taking place in the "rubble and garbage on the street," he said. Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Co- logne also expressed shock over the devastation. "Where telephones were still working, I was able to talk with many priests and deacons in the affected regions," he told the Catholic news site domradio.de.
BY MARK PATTISON
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Many people may not think about religious repression since it doesn't happen in the United States. For those who may argue that it does, then it doesn't happen on the scale and terror of those living in countries with authoritarian regimes. Testimony from survi- vors of religious repression punctuated the Interna- tional Religious Freedom Summit in Washington. One of the most com- pelling first-person ac- counts came from Joy Bishara, who grew up in the northern Nigeria town of Chibok, as a member of the Church of Christ. Bishara was one of the 276 Christian teen girls abducted by the Islamist terror group Boko Haram from their school in 2014. "I had heard stories of Boko Haram, but I had nev- er seen them face to face." "They burned the whole school to the ground and led us away from Chibok," Bishara said. "We had to sit on top of each other because of how tight the truck was." She added, "I was glad the male students were not at school, because the sto- ry is that Boko Haram will kill all the men," leaving the women no choice but to "marry a Muslim man and have their children." While in the truck, Bis- hara said, "I just heard a voice saying, 'Jump out.' The trucks were very tall. I ended up coming to the opinion that if I did not jump out, I did not know what they were going to do with me. Even if I die, at least someone will be able to find my corpse." After her escape, she said, she ran into two other Chibok girls who also had jumped out of their trucks. Today, there are still 112 girls whose whereabouts remain unaccounted for. "Whatever happened to the Chibok girls in 2014 was just the beginning," Bishara said. "When you go to the government to complain, they say they are going to do something about it, but they never do. ... All the Muslim people get all the help that they need from the government, and Christians never get any help. "For people in Chibok, that's not the worry. They stay at home because the economy is closed and there's COVID." That just means, though, according to Bishara, that "Islamic groups can come in and kill them in their own comfort zones." Bishara said of herself and her fellow students, "We had committed no crime. Our crime was go- ing to school and getting an education. Education is a taboo, so school is a ta- boo." Bishara is now study- ing in the United States. Bishara's was just one testimony among many told during the July 13-15 conference. Wai Wai Nu, an ethnic Rohingya Muslim woman who became founder of the Women's Peace Network, talked of experiences in Myanmar; speakers re- ferred to the country as
Pope: Recognize God's presence in the poor
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The renewal of the Francis- can order must start, like the order itself did, from being with and learning to really see poor and margin- alized people as an "almost sacramental sign of God's presence," Pope Francis told members of the general chapter of the Order of Friars Minor. "As you face the challenges of declining numbers and aging in much of the order, do not let anxiety and fear prevent you from opening your hearts and minds to the renewal and re- vitalization that the Spirit of God is stirring in you and among you," the pope wrote in his message, which was released July 17. Representing some 13,000 Francis- cans around the world, 116 friars attended the general chapter in Rome July 3-18 to plan for the future of the order and to elect a new minister general. They chose Father Massimo Fusarelli, a former provincial in Italy.
Cardinal implores saint's intercession for Lebanon
BEIRUT (CNS) - Cardinal Bechara Rai, the Maronite patriarch, pleaded for the intercession of Lebanon's beloved St. Charbel Makhlouf as the beleaguered coun- try spirals deeper into collapse, further roiled by the resignation of the prime minister-designate. "Today on the feast of St. Charbel, saint of Lebanon, we believe that he will not let Lebanon fall apart," Cardinal Rai said July 18 in his homily from Diman, the patriarchal summer residence in northern Lebanon. Lebanon is in the throes of an economic upheaval, caused by decades of corruption and mismanagement, that has decimated the once-prevalent middle class. "To you we entrust our homeland," Cardinal Rai prayed to the saint, asking for the miracle of "salvation from this total collapse." The cardinal pleaded for the rapid ap- pointment of a new prime minister-designate "capable of facing the challenges" of Lebanon in the midst of the socioeconomic and political crisis. Lebanon has been without an active government since August af- ter the resignation of the previous government in the wake of the deadly explosion in the port of Beirut. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stepped down July 15, nine months after he was tasked with forming a new cabinet, citing political gridlock and key differ- ences with President Michel Aoun.
German churches pray, provide aid as flooding death toll climbs
First-person accounts of religious repression punctuate summit
2 AROUND THE WORLD
THE CATHOLIC FREE PRESS JULY 23, 2021
Bishops urge action to protect religious freedom
BRUSSELS (CNS) - European bishops called on the European Union to do more to protect religious free- dom in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as part of efforts to strengthen the bloc's role as a "global hu- manitarian, development, economic and peace actor. Vulnerable religious communities are experiencing discrimination, intolerance and, in some cases, perse- cution as victims of genocide, crimes against human- ity and war crimes," the Brussels-based Commission of Bishops' Conferences of the European Union said in a joint statement with the non-Catholic Conference of European Churches. "The Union needs to pay particu- lar attention to protecting and promoting freedom of religion or belief in the world - not only as a human right, but also as a strategic dimension of democratic freedom, conflict prevention, and a way to foster social peace, justice and reconciliation," said the commis- sion, known as COMECE. The statement followed a July 15 online meeting.
Pope expresses closeness with Cuban people
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people of Cuba a week after protests erupted on the island nation. In his first public ap- pearance after his release from Gemelli hospital, the pope told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square July 18 that he was "near to the dear Cuban people in these difficult moments, in particular to those families suffering the most." "I pray that the Lord might help the nation construct a society that is more and more just and fraternal through peace, dialogue and solidarity," he said, as a large group of pilgrims in the square held Cuban flags. The pope encouraged the people of Cuba to entrust themselves to the maternal protection of the island's patroness, Our Lady of Charity, who "will ac- company them on this journey." Burma during the sum- mit's plenary sessions. "I was born and grew up in Rakhine state in the western part of Burma," Nu said. "Our existence has become a crime due to our ethnicity and religion." She added, "For decades, the Burmese government has denied our history, our identity, our citizenship, and denied us our basic human rights: to travel, to marry, to go to school, to have access to health care and to practice religion, and the list goes on." Nu said, "I was born to insecurity and persecu- tion. My life has been subject to several forms of discrimination and persecution, including being in prison for seven years at the age of 18 with my entire family. Yet I feel I'm a privileged one in my community. ... There was nothing comparable to the 1.1 million victims and survivors in Bangladeshi refugee camps who had to flee." "It is now more impor- tant than ever to uplift the religious minorities and act to protect religious freedom," Nu said. "We have been doing everything in our capacity day and night, to protect our freedom. It is now up to those in power to act," she added.
CNS PHOTO WOLFGANG RATTAY, REUTERS
People walk through an area affected by flooding in Bad Mnstereifel Germany, July 19. Nearly 200 people have been confirmed dead, while dozens of others remain missing.
CNS PHOTO EMMANUEL BRAUN, REUTERS
Soldiers from Chad drive in the retaken town of Damasak, Nigeria, March 18, 2015. Armies from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger launched an offensive to end Boko Haram's six-year campaign, which has killed thousands in northern Nigeria and spilled over into Cameroon and Niger.
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People gesture and hold Cuban flags ahead of Pope Francis' midday recitation of the Angelus in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican July 18.
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