Pope: don’t be rigid
During his Angelus address on August 20, Pope Francis said:
“This is what God is like: He is love, and the one who loves does not remain rigid. You stand firm, you stay firm, not rigid. The Christian does not remain rigid in his own positions but allows him or herself to be moved or touched. He or she knows how to change plans. It’s creative love.
Am I capable of changing opinion? Do I know how to be understanding and compassionate, or do I remain rigid in my position? Do I stop at concepts and words, or is it truly lived with prayer and deeds? Do I know how to dialogue with the Lord? Do I know how to insist with him? Or am I content to recite beautiful formulas?”
Treating Catholics as 2nd-class citizens
“We have once again been confronted with open hatred and uncontrollable rage shown towards the Christian community. We, as a Christian community, have time and again displayed our fidelity to the nation of Pakistan, yet incidents like the burning of Christian homes in Gojra, Shantinagar, Joseph Colony, and now Jaranwala, show that we are, in reality, second-class citizens who can be terrorised and frightened at will.”
Tanzanian bishops oppose ‘investment’
Tanzania’s Catholic bishops have strongly criticised and cautioned the government to cancel a recent agreement giving the management of the country’s ports to a Dubai-based company.
Thirty-seven of the country’s bishops said: “We have realised that the majority of citizens do not want this agreement.
“Now that the majority of citizens do not want investments with such bad conditions in all our ports; and since the government is accountable to the people, the leaders must listen to the voice of the people because their voice is the voice of God.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)