RELIGION - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

Children take centre stage at pope’s scaled-back Good Friday service

PHILLIP PULLELLA POPE Francis has presided at a scaled-back "Way of the Cross" service held in an empty St. Peter's Square due to coronavirus restrictions, listening as children recounted their fears and dreams. It was the second consecutive year that the "Via Crucis" procession, commemorating the last hours in Jesus' life, was not held at Rome's ancient Colosseum since the modern-day Easter tradition was re-introduced by Pope Paul VI in 1964. Candles in the form of a huge cross dotted an empty St. Peter's Square as about only 200 people took part, sitting on either side of the pope immediately…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Pope reappears after surgery, backs free universal health care

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA and GIULIA SEGRETI POPE Francis, seeming in good overall condition, appeared in public on Sunday for the first time since undergoing intestinal surgery a week ago and made a plea for free universal healthcare. The 84-year-old pope, who had part of his colon removed in the surgery, stepped out on the balcony of his suite on the 10th floor of Rome's Gemelli hospital to lead his weekly prayer before hundreds of cheering people below. He stood for about 10 minutes, reading from a prepared text but also adding many impromptu remarks. He appeared to be slightly short of…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Why domestic abuse is such a difficult subject for churches

RELIGION

CHURCHES can be a refuge for women fleeing domestic abuse. But sometimes they can help perpetuate abuse by failing to offer support when needed. There can be many reasons for this. Sometimes it’s because church leaders simply don’t understand – or are not willing to accept – that domestic abuse occurs within their congregations. AVA KANYEREDZI, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, University of East London I have spent five years with the Black Church Domestic Abuse Forum (BCDAF) and helped create a programme to train church leaders on the most vital issues in the hope it will address domestic abuse…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Cut the debt of poor countries, Pope tells IMF, World Bank

RELIGION

POPE Francis has told world financial chiefs that poor countries hit by the economic impact of the coronavirus need to have their debt burden reduced and be given a greater say in global decision making. In a letter to the participants of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's annual spring meeting, the pope said the pandemic had forced the world to come to terms with interrelated socio-economic, ecological, and political crises. "The notion of recovery cannot be content to a return to an unequal and unsustainable model of economic and social life, where a tiny minority of the world's…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Two popes, same hospital, different styles of medical privacy

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA WHEN Pope John Paul II was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on July 12, 1992, he told the world himself a few hours earlier during his regular Sunday address in St. Peter's Square. "I would like to let you in on a secret," he said before revealing that he would enter the hospital that night. His departure from the Vatican, the crowds lining his motorcade route, and his arrival at the hospital's front entrance in a black Mercedes convertible were broadcast on television. When Pope Francis entered the same hospital last Sunday, the Vatican announced it in a…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Pope Francis in hospital for intestinal surgery

RELIGION

PHILLIP PULLELLA POPE Francis has been admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital for scheduled intestinal surgery, the Vatican said, the first time he has been in hospital since his election in 2013. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope, 84, was due to undergo the surgery later on Sunday for an intestinal condition that tends to affect older people and can cause abdominal pain. The pope appeared to be in fine health several hours earlier when he addressed thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his Sunday blessing and announced a trip to Slovakia and Budapest for September. The sprawling Catholic-run…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

China, Myanmar and others criticised in report on rising religious persecution

RELIGION

PHILLIP PULLELLA VIOLATIONS of religious freedom are increasing and persecution takes place in more than 25 countries, with China and Myanmar among those that have the worst records, according to a report by a Vatican-backed charity. The Religious Freedom in the World Report, covering 2019-2020 and issued on Tuesday, said that in some countries, such as Niger, Turkey and Pakistan, prejudices against religious minorities led local residents to blame them for the COVID-19 pandemic and denial of access to medical aid. The 800-page report was prepared by Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), a worldwide Catholic charity that…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

German priests defy Vatican ban by blessing same-sex unions

RELIGION

ENRIQUE ANARTE THE Catholic Church has lost touch with the "living reality" of LGBT+ people, said one of more than 100 German priests who are defying the Vatican this week by blessing same-sex couples. In a move that angered liberals within the 1.3 billion-member Church, the Vatican's doctrinal office said in March that priests cannot bless same-sex unions in lieu of marriage, despite ministers doing so in countries such as Germany. "If we say that God is love, I cannot tell people who embrace loyalty, unity and responsibility to each other that theirs is not love, that it's a fifth-or…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Football versus faith – the Ramadan conundrum

RELIGION

MAHER MEZAHI WHEN Senegalese striker Demba Ba got off to a slow start with Newcastle United after joining them in July 2011, his coach, Alan Pardew, blamed it on his decision to fast during the holy month of Ramadan. “It’s difficult for strikers. Fasting takes their sharpness away,” Pardew said in a post-match interview. A devout Muslim, Ba partakes in the annual custom of abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset throughout the ninth month in the Muslim calendar. Fasting during Ramadan is obligatory for all able-bodied Muslims. Special exemptions are made for children, the elderly, those who…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Divert weapons money to pandemic research – Pope

RELIGION

PHILLIP PULLELLA POPE Francis kicked off a month-long marathon of worldwide Roman Catholic prayer yesterday to ask God for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, and said money spent on armaments should be used instead to prevent future outbreaks. Francis presided at the recital of the rosary in St. Peter's Basilica on the first day of May, a month Roman Catholics traditionally dedicate to daily prayer to the Madonna. Each day during the month, Roman Catholics have been asked to pray for a specific category of people affected by the pandemic, such as those who were unable to say goodbye…