Missionaries of the World

The Seventh General Body Meeting of Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches (APFC), held on March 27, 2014 at St John’s Regional Seminary, Hyderabad. APFC President and Moderator of Church of South India- Bishop G.Dyvasirvadam, who chaired the meeting welcomed the gatherings, reminded the members about the problem of insecurity the Minorities particularly the Christians still face in the country and state. He was felicitated on his appointment as the Moderator of CSI by APFC President Archbishop Thumma Bala and General Secretary Bishop Gali Bali.

Jnana Deepa Vidhyapeeth (JDV), Pune and National Association of Professional Social Workers in India (NAPSWI) honored a Jesuit priest and a University professor with lifetime achievement awards for their academic contributions to society for their valuable academic contributions to the society. The award was conferred by former President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil, March 21, during the 3rd International Conference on Social Work and Spirituality held at Jnana Deepa Vidhyapeeth (JDV), Pune.

He is the first pope from Latin America, the first Jesuit to lead the Catholic Church and the first pontiff carrying the regnal name Francis, which comes with many expectations. Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose it to honor Saint Francis of Assisi, who devoted his life to caring for the poor. The Argentine has been leading the Catholic Church as Pope Francis for one year now, ever since the fateful night of March 13, 2013, when white smoke rose over the Vatican.

Three persons were convicted by the District Court in Cuttack of Odisha state in connection with the case of the gang rape of Catholic nun in Kandhamal district during the brutal anti-Christian violence in and after August 2008. While six others were acquitted by the court. Prime accused has been sentenced to 11 years imprisonment and the remaining two criminals have been sentenced to 2 years imprisonment.

Pope Francis and the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev Olav Fykse Tveit have discussed “new opportunities for Christian unity today”, focused on working together for peace, justice and environmental protection in a meeting held at Vatican on Friday. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the path of full and visible communion among Christians of different denominations. They also talked about peace in the Middle East and on the Korean peninsula, about economic justice and about an upcoming summit of religious leaders to press for urgent action on climate change.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, the General Secretary of World Council of Churches (WCC) has congratulated new leaders of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), elected recently at its Triennial Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa from February 25 to 26, 2014. Bishop Ziphozihle Siwa was elected as the new president of SACC and Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, who preached at former President Nelson Mandela’s funeral in Qunu.

Ash Wednesday marks the start of the Lenten season. From Ash Wednesday, on March 05, 2014 to April 19, 2014, when Christians prepare for Easter, Lent will be observed by Christians all over the world. Every year, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. During this time, observers practice fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. This is meant to imitate Jesus Christ’s actions and reflect on his life, death and resurrection.

The persecution of Christians in contemporary society was the focus of Pope Francis’ homily at his Mass on Tuesday morning in the Santa Marta residence. He warned that the Cross is always on the road of a Christian, saying there are more Christian martyrs today than during the early days of the Church. In his homily, the Pope took as his cue the biblical account of where Peter asked Jesus what the disciples would receive in return for following him. He said Peter probably thought that following Jesus would be a great commercial activity because Jesus is generous but, as Christ warned, whatever they would gain would always be accompanied by persecutions.