Civilization: The West and the Rest

Watch Civilization (Part 1) on PBS. See more from Civilization: The West and the Rest with Niall Ferguson.

The two-part series examines Niall Ferguson's six principles of prosperity: Competition, Science, Modern Medicine, Property, Consumerism, and Work Ethic. For the past five centuries, Western power has prevailed around the world. What led the West to be so influential? And how long will the West sustain its supremacy?

These issues are enormously important to issues our Church is dealing with today in the area of secularization. The history of Catholic mission is very much tied up in this excellent production. Take a look at both parts.

Watch Civilization (Part 2) on PBS. See more from Civilization: The West and the Rest with Niall Ferguson.

Official Website

A church in Makeni dedicated to the new Saint, Guido Maria Conforti

The new church in Sierra Leone, St. Guido Conforti Parish

The Italian-born founder of the Xaverian Missionaries was canonized on the Oct. 23 in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI. The St. Guido Conforti Parish is located in the City of Makeni, in northern Sierra Leone. The Diocese, was founded by the Xaverian Missionaries in 1950 under the leadership of late Bishop Augustus F. Azzolini. Recently retired Bishop George Biguzzi followed in the footsteps of Bishop Azzolini for more than 25 years. Since their arrival in that part of the country over 60 years ago, the Xaverian Missionaries have contributed to the development of education, healthcare and are very active in human promotion initiatives in the entire Northern Province.

Bishop Biguzzi consecrates the new altar

Today, the local clergy, religious and the lay faithful work side by side with the Xaverian missionaries alongside the many other religious congregations present in the diocese. Among them are: the St. John of God Brothers; the Josephite Fathers; the Augustinian Recollect Fathers and Sisters; The Salesians of Don Bosco; Missionaries of Charity and the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate.

Parishoners gather at the church dedication. Bro. Joeven, a Xaverian Missionary
from the Philippines sits in the middle of this picture.

The Italian-born founder of the Xaverian Missionaries was canonized on the Oct. 23, 2011 in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI. The St. Guido Conforti Parish is located in the City of Makeni, in northern Sierra Leone. The Diocese was founded by the Xaverian Missionaries in 1950 under the leadership of late Bishop Augustus F. Azzolini. Since their arrival in that part of the country over 60 years ago, the Xaverian Missionaries have contributed to the development of education, healthcare and are very active in human promotion initiatives in the entire Northern Province in West Africa.

Offertory procession with the offering of gifts

Catholic Peace-building & Interfaith Dialogue

Catholic peace-building and interfaith dialogue are two important areas of the mission of the Church today, particularly in war-torn and violent areas of the world.  Recently, after decades of fighting between the Philippine government and Muslim insurgents in the southern part of the country,  There is an historic opportunity for an agreement of lasting peace in the South Philippines around the corner. To bring about this, missionaries, interreligious organisms, associations of civil society are intensifying the work of sensitization on all levels. Fr. Angel Calvo, Claretian missionary in Mindanao for 40 years (South Philippines), engaged in the Interreligious Solidarity Movement for Peace which today has organized a seminar in Zamboanga City, with representatives of the government and the Islamic guerilla movement MILF (“Moro Islamic Liberation Front”), to examine thoroughly the possibilities and consequences of the “Declaration of Principles” in 10 points, initiated by the government and the rebels during the past weeks.

The banner reads: Peace and justice in Minadano

A big part of the reason why this is the case is through the efforts of the Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC) which is a dialogue forum, established in 1996, composed of Catholic Mindanao bishops, Muslim ulama or imams, and Protestant bishops who, in a spirit of interreligious dialogue, affirm their commitment to the peace process. Currently, the BUC includes 24 Catholic bishops who are also members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, 26 Ulama and Ustadz, members of the Ulama League of the Philippines, and 18 Protestant bishops and pastors who are members of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. Official observers are the officers of Panagtagbo, a Confederation of the 18 Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao, and bishops of the Philippine Conference of Evangelical Churches.

Over the last several decades, various attempts have been made by representatives of religious “parties” to initiate dialogue aimed at improving understanding between Muslims and Christians. Since the late 1960s, religious leaders have held “many serious formal dialogues” to “analyze the problem [of mistrust and misunderstanding between Christians and Muslims].”Annual dialogues in which many Muslim and Christian leaders participate were held from 1967 until the late 1990s, including seminars on Islam and topics such as the problems of Moros and their role in a Christian-dominated society. During the late 1970s and 1980s, the Protestant National Council of Churches of The Philippines (NCCP) implemented a program known as Program to Assist Christians in Education about Muslims (PACEM), with the goal of increasing Christian understanding of the Moro minority. Members of the NCCP as well as Catholics joined in Duyog Ramadan (participating in Ramadan) a program that facilitated young Christians celebrating Ramadan while temporarily living in Muslim communities. During the Marcos years, PACEM, and similar programs of the Catholic Church developed a focus on human rights, including those of the oppressed Moros. However, as Bishop Gomez explains: “When Marcos was overthrown in 1986, the NCCP program for better Christian-Muslim understanding lost its steam, as it was anchored on the militant stance against martial law. It missed the important point that dialogues for a just and lasting peace is beyond fighting for human rights.”

Other notable dialogue efforts include the program for Muslim-Christian dialogue of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement based in Zamboanga City, and the Inter-Seminary Christian-Muslim Dialogue and Exposure Program of NCCP-related seminaries, which ran from 1978 to 1988, and facilitated Protestant seminarians living and participating in community life among poor Moro and Christian communities during summer breaks.

It is often assumed that religion is a cause of violence rather than a force for peace. There is no denying that, in many conflicts, religion is used and abused for nefarious purposes. But that is only a part of the picture. The Catholic Church, often working with those of other faiths, has been a force for peace in many conflicts at a local level, nationally, and internationally. Here, we cover the theology, doctrine, methodology, and experiences of faithful efforts to promote justice and build peace in our troubled world.

If you are interested in looking further, check these out:

• Catholic Peacebuilding Network 
• The Interfaith Dialogue E-Portal 
• Catholic Bishops of the Philippines
• Interreligious Dialogue for Peace

For Greater Glory

Even as modern-day church-state relations improve, the impact of Mexico's three-year Cristero Rebellion in the 1920s on the Catholic Church remains widely debated in Mexican society. The Xaverian Missionaries began work in Mexico in 1951 and are present where much of the struggle to overcome the anti-religious culture was played out.

The rebellion saw Catholic clergy and laity taking up arms to oppose government efforts to harshly restrict the influence of the church and defend religious freedom. In the end, the rebellion of the Cristero -- soldiers for Christ -- was quelled in 1929, leaving the church sidelined for much of the last century and its role limited to a pastoral concerns with no say in the public policy arena.

What price would you pay for freedom? In the exhilarating action epic FOR GREATER GLORY an impassioned group of men and women each make the decision to risk it all for family, faith and the very future of their country, as the film's adventure unfolds against the long-hidden, true story of the 1920s Cristero War ­the daring people¹s revolt that rocked 20th Century North America.

Academy Award® nominee Andy Garcia headlines an acclaimed cast as General Gorostieta, the retired military man who at first thinks he has nothing personal at stake as he and his wife (Golden Globe winner Eva Longoria) watch Mexico fall into a violent civil war. Yet the man who hesitates in joining the cause will soon become the esistance¹s most inspiring and self-sacrificing leader, as he begins to see the cost of religious persecution on his countrymen . . . and transforms a rag-tag band of rebels into a heroic force to be reckoned with.  The General faces impossible odds against a powerful and ruthless government.  Yet is those he meets on the journey ­ youthful idealists, feisty renegades and, most of all, one remarkable teenager named Jose ­ who reveal to him how courage and belief are forged even when justice seems lost.

CHECK OUT THE MOVIE WEBSITE

A Missionary for most of the 20th Century Dies

Father Angelo Calvi died today from heart failure. He was 92 years old.

He joined the Xaverian Missionaries  in Vicenza, Italy in 1935, made his vows in 1939, and was ordained a priest in 1947.

He worked in the Italian Church from 1947 to 1954 and eventually was sent to Indonesia where he worked  in Siberut (54-57), then Sikakap (57 - 63), and finally to Pekambaru (63-65).

In 1965 he returned to Italy and continued to work for the Kingdom in various offices until his recent illness.

We ask for your prayers for this extraordinary man who gave his life for the mission of the church.

May he rest in peace.

Africa Night with the Xaverian Missionaries

Africa Night at Fatima Shrine, a set on Flickr.

On Saturday, April 28, 2012 AFJN Executive Director Dominican Father Aniedi Okure and Policy Analyst Bahati Jacques conducted an information session at the Xaverian Missionaries community in Holliston Massachusetts. The session was organized by AFJN Board member and Xaverian Father Rocco Puopolo and attracted over sixty participants from the Boston Metro area. READ MORE HERE

Fr. Mario Celli, Missionary to Africa and Brazil, Passes Away

On May 4, 2012, the Xaverian Missionary, Fr. Mario Celli  died at S. Luis S. Paolo (Brazil), around 8 am. He was 68 years old, being born at Monte Porzio Catone (Rome) on 7.12.1943.

He joined the our missionary institute  in Nizza Monferrato in 1964, made hia vows on March 10, 1965 at Parma, and was ordained to the priesthood in Monteporzio.

After his ordination he was assigned to the mission Burundi, Africa where he served in Murago and Kigwena, then Luvungi to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There he fled with Burundi refugees because of the war, and finally arrived at Rumonge in Burundi.

In the period 1978-81 he was part of the community of CSAM, a media project established in Italy for global education.

In 1981 he left for the mission in southern Brazil.
where he was able to combine pastoral service and mass media activity. .He was pastor at Itaquera (81-85) and in S. Paul-Brasilandia (90-98).
In 1998 he returned to Italy for medical care and rest. In January 2010 he returned to Brazil as a missionary animator S. Paul-Vila Mariana.

We pray for this extraordinary missionary who spent his life for the mission of the Church. May he rest in peace.