Enough is enough…

Enough is enough…

By Brian Swanson

A Glasgow-based Nigerian priest says the world must wake up to the sufferings of Christians in his homeland.

Father Chiedo Ezeribe, assistant priest at St Andrew’s Cathedral, spoke out after the brutal slaying of Father Isaac Achi who was burnt to death in the parish building of Saints Peter and Paul Church in the Diocese of Minna, northern Nigeria.

It emerged that Father Isaac – an inspirational figure to Glasgow’s Nigerian clergy - had survived two earlier attempts on his life.

Fr Chiedo said: “How many more must die? The world can no longer hide behind a conspiracy of silence. It is time to tell the truth and I am ready to tell it.”

Father Chiedo is one of three priests from Minna Diocese where the atrocity took place who are currently serving with the Archdiocese of Glasgow.

The others, Father Thaddeus Umaru, parish priest at St Roch’s, and his assistant priest Father Ezra Dauda are also devasted by the brutal slaying of Father Isaac who they knew personally, describing him as a passionate, committed and outspoken leader of his community.

St Roch’s Father Thaddeus, who attended seminary at the same time as the murdered cleric, said: ”Father Isaac would not be silenced and the enemies of the people knew that.

“He was passionate in his care for everyone in his community and especially the poor. He believed strongly in justice – he was co-ordinator for Justice and Peace in the diocese – and he gave the people hope.

“He knew the dangers but he never once spoke about being afraid because he was a humble faithful servant of God.”

Father Chiedo, 50, added: “If nothing is done then I fear my country may implode.

“Western governments do nothing to find those responsible or help protect the Catholic and Christian communities from these attacks.

“And the Nigerian government is also extremely culpable and turns a blind eye when these crimes are committed. In all these years not one single person has been brought to court and jailed for these crimes.

“The government does nothing to find those responsible for the murders and abductions of priests as well as mass killings of Catholics in attacks on churches and village communities.”

He said “We have seen how the Western Governments put pressure on President Putin with sanctions and so on over Ukraine.

“What is happening in Ukraine could happen in my country – but where is the help from the west? Where are the sanctions?”

Father Chiedo, who last met Father Isaac shortly before Christmas during a working holiday in his home diocese, said: “When I was there Father Isaac’s own cousin – a young man not even married – was murdered by terrorists when they attacked his community.

“He was riddled with bullets and lost so much blood that he died before they could get him to the hospital.

“It was Father Isaac himself who buried him and that was just two weeks before he was himself killed.”

And he went on to describe the constant atmosphere of fear in his home area where Catholic and other Christian communities constantly face attack from Islamist extremists and criminal gangs.

“We were all fearful – I felt very vulnerable – very fearful.

“But we are priests and we will not run away because have a sacred duty to lead the people so we carry on. But the fear never goes away – it is always there.”

“Give thanks for Archbishop Mario’s parents and heritage”

By Ronnie Convery

A touching tribute to Archbishop Conti was paid by Archbishop Nolan at a Mass to mark the Month’s Mind of Glasgow’s former spiritual leader.

But rather than focusing on Archbishop Mario’s obvious achievements, his successor asked people to give thanks for two particular aspects of his life – his parents and his Italian heritage.

Archbishop Nolan said: “We should give thanks to God for Mario’s parents. They gave their only son to God and to the Church. That couldn’t have been an easy choice. It meant for his father that there would be no-one to take on the family business for example. For his mother it meant her only son being away at seminary for many years.

“But they made that sacrifice because their faith was strong and that faith of his parents was the foundation of Archbishop Mario’s faith. And we all benefitted from that faith because it was what inspired Archbishop Mario and through him inspired so many people whose lives were touched by his ministry.

“We should also give thanks for Archbishop Mario’s Italian heritage. He was very proud of his roots and he brought to the Church in Scotland some of the insights and gifts of Italian Catholicism. Not only an appreciation for the arts but also a sense of the Church’s role in society, the importance of being close to people in their daily lives, the need to be welcoming and open to the enrichment of other cultures.

“And just as Archbishop Mario’s grandparents were welcomed into the Scottish Catholic community when they arrived as immigrants from Italy we should welcome into our communities those who arrive here as migrants to make a new life and enrich our faith and our parishes with the gifts of their own homelands, acting as a reminder that the Church is truly universal.”

And as if to emphasise the latter point, the Archbishop of Pisa also celebrated a memorial Mass recently for Archbishop Conti. Archbishop Giovanni Benotto travelled to the hill town of Barga (from which many Scots Italians hail and where Archbishop Mario’s roots lay) to offer a Mass which was well attended by relatives and friends of Glasgow’s late archbishop who live in the area.

Archbishop's refugee plea after visit to Jordan

By Ronnie Convery

Archbishop Nolan has joined bishops from across Europe and the Americas in calling for a more generous welcome for asylum seekers following a visit to Jordan.

The Archbishop was part of a delegation, known as the Holy Land Coordination, to the country last month.

Following their visit which was intended to be both fact-finding and encouraging to the local Christian population, the Archbishop and his fellow visitors issued a powerful statement of support.

“Jordan today hosts more displaced people than almost any other country. Those whom we met from Iraq have little desire to return home, due to continued insecurity and lack of opportunity. We encourage the dignified treatment of all those seeking sanctuary here, especially access to healthcare and the right to work.

“We also recognise the pressure on local communities which have welcomed people yet lack the necessary resources to meet their needs, especially given the economic climate and high levels of unemployment.

“It is imperative that our own countries play their part in relieving the pressure on the people of Jordan, both by increasing humanitarian assistance on the ground and extending a wider welcome to refugees themselves…”

The Bishops also spoke out about the increased tensions in Holy Land and the concerning death toll among the Palestinian population.

“We share the profound concerns expressed by the local Catholic ordinaries, in their recent Advent message, of threats to peaceful coexistence in Israel, the upsurge of violence in the West Bank, the sustained growth of settlements which is contrary to international law, and the highest Palestinian death toll in more than twenty years.

“We echo the Church leaders’ call for a genuine peace process rooted in international law, for the Palestinian people to be granted their freedom, and for the equal rights of all communities to be respected”.

The Bishops also encouraged continued pilgrimages to the Holy Land as a means of showing support to the beleaguered Christian communities there: “We encourage pilgrims from our different countries to come and encounter these Christian communities, as well as visiting Jordan’s deeply important holy sites.

“Praying with and learning from the country’s Christians – its ‘living stones’ – will serve to expand and strengthen pilgrims’ own faith”.

Glasgow’s synod ideas will be heard in Europe

By Fr John Campbell

Insights and ideas from people across the Archdiocese of Glasgow have found their way into the next stage of the discussions at European level as the Church’s synod process continues in 2023.

The synod – seen by Pope Francis as the most important event in the life of the Church since Vatican II, is a worldwide effort at consulting and listening to people at all levels in the Church – clergy, religious and lay people to try to discern what God wants from the Church now and in the future.

The good news is that participation in the worldwide synod process exceeded the expectations of the Vatican.

In all, the Synod Secretariat received contributions from 112 out of 114 Episcopal Conferences and from all the 15 Oriental Catholic Churches, plus reflections from 17 out of 23 dicasteries of the Roman Curia besides those from religious superiors from institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, and from associations and lay movements of the faithful.

In addition, over a thousand contributions arrived from individuals and groups as well as insights gathered through social media thanks to the initiative of the “Digital Synod.”

The contribution of the people of the Archdiocese of Glasgow was very similar to the contributions of other dioceses in our country and indeed in other countries in our continental group. This means “we are singing from the same hymn sheet” or to put it another way … the voice of the Spirit is resonating in us.

What has emerged from the contributions is a great love for the Church and an appreciation of the dignity and importance of every baptised person. People enjoyed being asked their opinion and want to be a welcoming Church that walks together under the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Some Christians who felt hurt and who had distanced themselves from the Church came back during this consultation phase.

What happens next?

The insights and ideas of people across Europe are now being considered and a new document has been prepared to accompany this process. You can access the document here:

https://www.synod.va/en/highlights/working-document-for-the-continental-stage.html

Representatives from each European country (including Scotland) will gather this month in Prague to take forward the work at a week-long gathering.

Each national delegation will be composed of the President of the Bishops’ Conference and three other delegates and 390 delegates will also participate online at the Assembly (10 for each Bishops’ Conference).