Commission on international affairs addresses issues related to religion and violence — World Council of Churches

I am sharing this World Council of Churches article because it is directly relevant to my previous post. Canon David Porter said:

“The reality is that those promoting such violence are looking deep into their own religious traditions and are attempting to find justifications for their actions,”

Read the full article below!

Commission on international affairs addresses issues related to religion and violence — World Council of Churches

The Names of the 21 Heroes

In the early days of Christianity many became martyrs', and our Faith grew and spread more throughout the Roman Empire because of their testimonies. Moreover, our Faith has grown to become 2.1 billion followers of Christ today. Many of the early church leaders, such as Early Father Polycarp, were martyred. In the original language a martyr was a witness. Back in those early days many suffered death rather than renouncing their faith. I am sure that those doing the killings thought they would end Christianity, but unfortunately for them they couldn’t have been more wrong because the Roman Empire is now just a piece of history.

Recently, a Libyan branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS, a jihadist rebel group decapitated 21 Coptic Christian brothers for not renouncing Christianity. These ISIS members are seemingly trying to revive a practice that was being used to try to defeat Christianity hundreds of years before Islam even existed. Sadly, it didn’t work then, and it is not going to work now. In fact, to all of us, these 21 men are now victorious heroes, and will always be remembered as such, and Christ is still their Lord. In Romans 14: 7-8, Saint Paul said:

"None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living (RSV Bibe).”

For some reason, I think ISIS has just begun their very own downfall because now they have challenged the Lord of all it seems. In The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians in Chapter 2:9-10 it reads:

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (RSV Bible)."

I don’t know how much longer ISIS will be around, but I really doubt it will be for very long. I do know that I am providing the names of the 21 martyrs’ for all to know and remember always. Also, I encourage that we pray for the families of these men, and for Egypt. Not to say the least, pray for the conversion to Christianity of these ISIS killers so that they also can join those they killed as witnesses for our Faith to their fellow members. 

The names of the 21 Hero Martyrs’ according to the Coptic Orthodox Church are as follows:

1. Milad Makeen Zaky

2. Abanub Ayad Atiya

3. Maged Solaiman Shehata

4. Yusuf Shukry Yunan

5. Kirollos Shokry Fawzy

6. Bishoy Astafanus Kamel

7. Somaily Astafanus Kamel

8. Malak Ibrahim Sinweet

9. Tawadros Yusuf Tawadros

10. Girgis Milad Sinweet

11. Mina Fayez Aziz

12. Hany Abdelmesih Salib

13. Bishoy Adel Khalaf

14. Samuel Alham Wilson

15. Worker from Awr village

16. Ezat Bishri Naseef

17. Loqa Nagaty

18. Gaber Munir Adly

19. Esam Badir Samir

20. Malak Farag Abram

21. Sameh Salah Faruq

Reference:

http://lacopts.org/story/a-statement-on-the-martyrdom-of-21-coptic-christians-in-libya/

RSV Bible

Pope Francis and Overcoming Proselytism

I wanted to share a post about some things Pope Francis said recently that are very relevant to the mission of this blog. Although the article I am sharing came out more than two weeks ago, it is of utmost importance for ecumenism amongst all Christians. Seemingly, the new approach of the Roman Church, as per its leader, enables and facilitates unity; however, lately it appears that the ball is more on the side of the leaders of other denominations to respond. Based on the traditional attitude of the Roman Church, the typical reaction from other is understandable. After all, Pope Francis has never said that they would join the World Council of Churches as many others, including the Orthodox, have done so. But, his Holiness’ words do appear to be optimistic. This post is very brief, as is the article I am sharing. The recent words from Pope Francis were the following:

"…our shared commitment to proclaiming the Gospel enables us to overcome proselytism and competition in all their forms…those who are different from ourselves can make us grow…"

If you wish to read more, please see the link below. Thank you for reading and many blessings to all!

Pope Francis Calls On Christian Leaders 'To Overcome Proselytism And Competition'

Reference:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/27/pope-francis-proselytism_n_6547036.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000051

The Vatican's Strategy in Havana by Victor Gaetan on Foreign Affairs

I am sharing an article that is related to the previous artice I wrote on the Vatican and US Cuba relations. The article was written by Victor Gaetan, and published on Foreign Affairs. The title of the article is The Cuban Knot, The Vatican's Strategy in Havana. I would like us to keep in mind that the author from the beginning said: "...anti-Castro Catholics resent the Church’s involvement."The link is below.

Victor Gaetan | The Vatican's Strategy in Havana | Foreign Affairs









Reference:

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142746/victor-gaetan/the-cuban-knot#cid=soc-twitter-at-snapshot-the_cuban_knot-000000

The Vatican and US Cuba Relations

Being Cuban, I suppose that I have a whole lot to say on this Cuba relations issue based on President Obama’s announcement recently founded on a request from Pope Francis. Since the announcement, Americans seem to think this is their issue alone, if you listen and see how they have politicized it on the news and on social media like Facebook, it seems they have placed it in there along with all the other issues that they are completely polarized on which is the very reason the popular votes in most recent elections in the US are almost all split right down the middle. Well, before I get side-tracked, this is about Cuba and Cubans mostly, and Cuba was a sovereign nation before the Castro’s, and I suppose since the president wants to assume now that the Castro’s are a legitimate government, we will somehow acknowledge it as sovereign nation. That is just how I feel; it isn’t as if because of Castro the physical presence of the island on our common planet went away just as if before 1948 Jews did not exist historically since there were no borders or a Jewish state called Israel. That would almost imply that the holocaust probably didn’t happen which would be completely wrong and malicious to assume. All this, however, is beyond me because this should probably go to referendum amongst all Cubans worldwide since we do have a diasporas similar to the Jews after 70 AD because of Castro’s revolution. For some reason with relevance to Castro, I continue to think of Dave Grohl’s lyrics: “hook me up a new revolution…cause this one was a lie” which would be an understatement when speaking about the Castro brothers. CNN already even took a poll, and the results were:

"About six in 10 Americans favor diplomatic relations with Cuba and two-thirds want the travel restrictions to the island lifted, according to the poll of 1,011 Americans conducted after Obama announced a landmark deal with Cuba to relax sanctions and ease some travel restrictions ((http://www.cnn.com/)."

Obviously, two-thirds want the travel restrictions removed, so maybe no one cares about the history we Cubans have endured, as long as Americans get to enjoy the hundreds of natural beaches the island has to offer once again. Whether Americans like it or not, I will perhaps on this issue alone agree with something Senator Marco Rubio said which was:

"Cuba already enjoys access to commerce, money and goods from other nations, and yet the Cuban people are still not free. They are not free because the regime—just as it does with every aspect of life—manipulates and controls to its own advantage all currency that flows into the island (http://www.wsj.com/)." 

But, I think the best article so far which reflects how I feel was written by Carlos Eire, professor of history and religion at Yale University, and his article is titled: As a Cuban exile, I feel betrayed by President Obama. The article was published by the Washington Post on December 22, 2014. I am sure that many of the Americans polled by CNN will not feel the same as many of us Cubans because simply they are NOT Cuban. I also would not assume that a poll taken of only 1,011 Americans, although scientific, really represents accurately how the 300 million plus of us Americans actually think on anything depending on how and what questions are asked, not to criticize CNN, I enjoy watching CNN often. Regardless, I highly recommend reading Carlos Eire’s article at the following link:

            http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/22/as-a-cuban-exile-i-feel-betrayed-by-president-obama/.

Seemingly, I have gotten side-tracked, some would say right about now because the title for this post is still The Vatican and US Cuba Relations. Well, not so fast, I did say I was Cuban, so obviously I was going to rant on about the topic more than most. Let us just say this was a much needed foundation and introduction to the post from my perspective, since this is also my blog. I really never thought in a million years that I would be writing about politics that are related to my own countries (I am a citizen of the US, and I was born in Cuba). The idea for my post was actually inspired by an article written by Bill Tammeus on his blog, Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog. Bill’s article is titled: A long Vatican effort on Cuba: 12-20-21-14. I the article, Bill explains how,

"Pope Francis has received considerable credit for influencing Obama's decision, but as this piece correctly notes, several previous popes have lobbied for better relations between the U.S. and Cuba (http://billtammeus.typepad.com/my_weblog/2014/12/12-20-21-14.html)."

As the whole story unfolds, we understand that secret meetings were held in Canada between Cuba and the US.

“Canada hosted about seven meetings between the U.S. and Cuba that helped lead to  Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that the two countries will establish full diplomatic relations, a senior Canadian government official said....The meetings were held in Ottawa and Toronto from 2013 to 2014(http://bigstory.ap.org/article/954643e6d99c481b8b919ddd84744a9e/canada-hosted-secret-meetings-between-cuba-and-us.).”

But, where does Pope Francis get in on this matter as President Obama said? Pope Francis wrote a book back in 1998 titled: Dialogues between John Paul II and Fidel Castro. Back then Pope Francis was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and when Pope John Paul II visited Cuba at the time, he also attended and was present. Consequently, I am sure we can all put two and two together and see this is not a new interest for the now Pope Francis. A Huffington Post article says the following about Pope Francis’ 1998 book:

"Bergoglio harshly criticized socialism and by extension Castro's atheist revolution for denying individuals their "transcendent dignity" and putting them solely at the service of the state. At the same time, he denounced the U.S. embargo and economic isolation of Cuba that impoverished the island...Bergoglio fervently believes as did John Paul that dialogue was the only way to end Cuba's isolation and its hostility to the Catholic Church while promoting democracy (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/20/pope-francis-cuban-book-_n_6360274.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000051.)”

I personally have not read the book in reference: however, it seems that the Pope’s interest is that the Cuban people eventually have a democracy for a government instead of a tyranny, and this indeed is my wish as well. Since this is an ecumenism blog, I believe and think that the interaction between various church groups is and should be of utmost importance to the entire ordeal. However, how dialogue is done and conducted in the future must somehow be representational of all Cubans on this planet, as well, and how we feel should be taken into consideration since this is the soil we were all born on. It would be best if the matter could be put as a referendum vote for all Cubans, as I said before, but obviously since Cuba is a dictatorship that would be impossible under current conditions, so this whole thing is a very complex matter as I have said to so many of my friends. To conclude, although I could probably talk about this topic endlessly, no opinion of any Cuban that is living should be disregarded, as Thomas Jefferson once said in a letter to James Madison "the earth belongs in usufruct to the living." Blessings and Merry Christmas! I hope all those who celebrate Hannukah, as I also do, had a wonderful eight days!

References:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/954643e6d99c481b8b919ddd84744a9e/canada-hosted-secret-meetings-between-cuba-and-us

http://billtammeus.typepad.com/my_weblog/2014/12/12-20-21-14.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/23/politics/cuba-poll/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/20/pope-francis-cuban-book-_n_6360274.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000051

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/22/as-a-cuban-exile-i-feel-betrayed-by-president-obama/.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/marco-rubio-the-turning-point-in-relations-with-cuba-1418862936

The Call for a Reformation?

The following is a post that I published on my other blog, Arango's Apologetics Page on Sunday, May 13, 2012. I wanted to share it on here because some of the ideas I present on it are very relevant to the reasons why I started this ecumenism blog. I hope everyone enjoys reading it.

.................................................................................................................................

In 1054, the Eastern and Western Church separated in what has been called the “Great Schism.” This dissension or split is perhaps the elephant in the room to this very day which goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ himself since Jesus prayed in John 17:21: "...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."1 Five centuries after the “Schism” the Roman Catholic Church was basically governing western Europe perhaps not only spiritually, but administratively in political influence and every aspect of life. However, the influence of the Church had become a very corrupt and indeed great dissolution existed towards it, as Isabella of Castile said in 1500: “the dissolution is such, that the souls entrusted to the clergy receive great damage.”2 Indeed, change was needed due to many factors and issues that were not correct with the fundamentals of Christianity within the Roman Catholic Church.

The Roman Catholic Church had strayed from its foundations even in the understanding of the Scriptures, especially the New Testament. Half a century before all of these needs for reform, Constantinople had fallen, and this brought scholars to Western Europe with ideas different from the West because they brought manuscripts, and these manuscripts “alerted Western scholars to the many changes and interpolations that had taken place in copying…ancient texts.”3The previous aided in comparing the Vulgate to older manuscripts thus getting a better interpretation. The foregoing also makes one think or perhaps confirms that the “Schism" mentioned prior was indeed very bad and a sign of things to come. The printing press facilitated the foregoing translations and exposure to texts immensely. The Catholic Reformation was taking place. The New World was also discovered around this time.

Spain was very influential in the discovery of the New World. The Protestant Reformation was also taking place. Spain was also influential in the Catholic Reformation because it was the enforcer in the Inquisition to prevent the spread of Protestantism, and by all means, even by torture, they enforced. Indeed, a transition was taking place, from an old world to a new one. Moreover, Western Europe’s worldview was changing. Perhaps on scholarly levels, the names of two individuals resonate with relevance to the era, and they are Erasmus and Luther.

Erasmus vs. Luther, one might say: looking in retrospect, were perhaps a fork in the road. Erasmus was seeking a reformation in moderation, Luther eventually broke with Erasmus. Luther looked for another extreme. This writer believes that Luther, although very spiritual, was also an anti-Semite racist that believed Germans were superior to all others. The foregoing is very obvious in his writings on The Jews and their Lies, and Luther also said: “…Poor Germans that we are—we have been deceived! We were born to be masters, and we have been compelled to bow the head beneath the yoke of our tyrants.”4 The foregoing statement alone is evidence that thoughts of German superiority and not of humility ran through Luther’s mind; however, the scriptures do tell that “all have sinned.” Perhaps Erasmus was the best way or route for reform to follow since he said: “I detest dissension, because it goes both against the teachings of Christ and against a secret inclination.”5 Indeed, if the church is not one, it is not following the desire of Jesus’ own heart which was “that they may all be one.” Perhaps Erasmus was right that dissension was not the route to follow because when we see Christianity today it is divided in many ways, with many denominations and groups that usually do not agree on one thing or another, or perhaps many things. The church today perhaps needs to look ahead, but also look back at liturgical traditions that look back to the time the Didache was written and prior as well. This writer does not believe that the further away in time one is from the source that one is closer to the truth, it is on the contrary. Dissension was not at the heart of Jesus; however, it seems that every newly formed group of believers believes that they know better than all who came before, indeed, this is “Chronological Snobbery” as C.S. Lewis would have said.


1 ESV Bible
2 Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume II. P. 7.
3 Ibid. p. 9.
4 Bettenson, Henry. Maunder, Chris. Documents of the Christian Church, Fouth Edition. P.209.
5 Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume II. P. 18.




Bibliography:

Bettenson, Henry. Maunder, Chris. Documents of the Christian Church, Fouth Edition. Oxford
University Press: Oxford, England, 2011.

ESV Bible

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume II, The Reformation to the Present Day.
New York, NY: Harper One, 2010.

Reference:

Arango's Apologetics Page: The Call for a Reformation?

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and the Possibility of Unity between East and West

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew may not be on the same page with relevance to unity, just yet, but they sure seem to be heading in that direction. We know that 1054 is the year in which the Eastern and the Western Churches separated in what is known as The Great Schism, but in 2014 things seem to be looking better than ever for the possibility of unity perhaps in the near future both Churches once again. Both Churches may have very different theological views on many issues, but some of the statements made by both leaders recently seem to lead one to make deductions for possible unity in the future. Pope Francis was visiting Turkey last week, and after the Divine Liturgy on November 30th, 2014 both leaders spoke. Some statements made by each are as follows:

Pope Francis said: "I want to assure each one of you gathered here that, to reach the desired goal of full unity, the Catholic Church does not intend to impose any conditions except that of the shared profession of faith ((www.huffingtonpost.com)...."

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said: "The modern persecutors of Christians do not ask which church their victims belong to," he said. "The unity that concerns us is regrettably already occurring in certain regions of the world through the blood of martyrs (www.huffingtonpost.com)."

The article titled: Pope Francis Bows, Asks For Blessing From Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew In Extraordinary Display Of Christian Unity, may be read on HUFF POST RELIGION via the link provided below.

Pope Francis Bows, Asks For Blessing From Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew In Extraordinary Display Of Christian Unity

Reference:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/pope-francis-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-_n_6243414.html.