Mission World
01.01.1970
Parish Priest Recounts Tragedy of Gaza
'From the valley of tears, from blood-drenched Gaza, whose one and a half million residents have been robbed of the joy they once had in their hearts, I send you these words of faith and hope. As for love, that's a word that even we Christians no longer dare utter, not even to ourselves. May God have mercy and pity on us and leave a remnant in Gaza. May He not put out the light of Christ, which was spread by the deacon Philip at the time of the early church.
My brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, what you see and hear on your television screens is not the complete painful truth about what our people in Gaza are going through.
The children of Gaza have been sleeping with their families in the hallways of their homes (if they have them) or in bathrooms, for protection. They tremble with fear at every sound, every movement, and every violent F-16 attack. While it is true that so far the F-16 jets have for the most part targeted the headquarters of the government and Hamas, they are located in residential areas no more than six meters away from people's homes, the minimum distance required by construction law. That's why people's houses are severely affected by the violence, and it leads to the death of many children.
I lift our suffering up to God just as I have presented it to you. Our people in Gaza are being treated like animals in a zoo; they don't get enough to eat, and they cry but nobody wipes their tears away. Instead of water, electricity, and food, there is fear and terror and restriction.
Despite all that is going on, our people in Gaza reject war as a way to achieve peace and insist that the road to peace is peace itself. We want to live so we can praise God in Palestine and to witness for Christ - we want to live for Palestine, not to die for her.
Let us all pray together for the true peace that Christ gives. May wolves and lambs one day live together and children be able to put their hands in the mouths of snakes without being harmed.
Your brother,
Father Manuel Musallam
Holy Family Priest
Gaza
January 3rd
Cardinal Kim mourned
Buddhist, Catholic and Protestant leaders say the late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan was a great religious leader who contributed greatly to society.
Cardinal Kim died of old age on February 16 in Seoul at the age of 86.The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea released a condolence message that day mourning him as "a great elder not only for the local Church but also the country."
The bishops pointed out that Cardinal Kim had the "Gospel conviction" that a person whom the world has abandoned and treated badly must be respected. "Hence, many people sought his wisdom to overcome confusion and difficulty," the message said. "Those suffering poverty and illness as well as the oppressed really loved him," it added.
The National Council of Churches in Korea, issued a condolence message which read, "We realized how the Cardinal was a blessing from God who made great efforts in ecumenism and interreligious dialogue."
SEOUL (UCAN)
Mission Intention for March
That in the light of the letter addressed to them by Pope Benedict XVI, the bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the Popular Republic of China may commit themselves to being the sign and instrument of unity communion and peace.
