Singapore Catholic churches use classrooms to help homeless

Seoul, South Korea, May 10, 2017 / 09:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An archbishop in South Korea encouraged the country’s new president to bring unity to a nation struggling both from recent scandals and fears over North Korea’s weapons tests.  

“I would like him to promote balanced development of the nation, and to appoint his staff in a fair and impartial manner so that all selected competent persons may take part in the new government administration,” Archbishop Hyginus Hee-joong Kim of Gwangji said in a May 10 statement.

“We also would like him to propose a clear vision and governmental management philosophy for the future which can make all Korean people in the North and South Korea reconcile and coexist in peace.”

The statement congratulated President Moon Jae-in in his victory on Tuesday. He won with over 41 percent favor of South Korea’s population against two other candidates, according to the South Korea’s National Election Commission.

President Moon replaced the former president Park Geun-Hye who was ousted after a scandal broke last November, leading to her impeachment and ultimately her imprisonment this year. The scandal involved bribery and abuse of power with one of her close friends, Choi Soon-sil, who together used their positions to demand money from major companies in South Korea.

Geun-Hye has been accused of using her power to coerce companies in donating nearly 70 million dollars, which was funneled through two foundations run by the former president. The National Assembly began stripping her of power last December and prosecution began with 13 criminal charges in March. Since then the charges have increased to 18.

The archbishop acknowledged the difficult times surrounding the months of angry mobs demanding for the ex-president’s resignation, and expressed the need for a president capable of uniting South Korea.

“Now we are in urgent need of a credible leader who keeps principles and steps towards true peace and justice beyond today’s conflicts and confrontations. May the new president be a great leader who can make democracy take root in this country, and bring peace and prosperity to the Korean people.”

President Moon’s landslide victory still faces the aftermath of political corruption, but he is also challenged by the looming issue of North Korea’s recent missile and nuclear tests.

North Korea has continued to pursue nuclear and ballistic missile tests, despite a ban from the United Nations and trade restrictions from China. The country has so far conducted five missile tests in 2017, including a failed attempt on April 28. Most successful tests have landed missiles into the Sea of Japan, but spectators have agreed that the tests are steps to extend North Korea’s reach of nuclear weapons to other areas of the world.

South Korea’s new president has vowed to immediately tackle the issues regarding their northern neighbor. During his first speech as president, Moon said he would aim to sooth tensions between Beijing and Washington. He even said he would be willing to meet with the North’s leader Kim Jong-un if the conditions were right.

Controversy over a U.S. anti-missile defense system, which was recently implemented in Korean peninsula, has caused for skepticism from China, whose leaders say the system threatens the security of their country as well.

Along with his promises to tackle serious international issues, Moon said he would cut ties with South Korea’s conglomerates and leave the office uncorrupted.

“I take this office empty-handed, and I will leave the office empty-handed,” President Moon said during his May 10 inauguration speech, according to Reuters.

Archbishop Hyginus Hee-joong Kim further encouraged the new leader to attend to the dignity of all citizens: “the vulnerable and disadvantaged in the society can be treated with human dignity and respect, where everyone enjoys the right to freedom of thought and conscience.”

The archbishop ended his statement promising to pray for the good of Korea’s people under the leader’s service.

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Yangon, Burma, Nov 29, 2017 / 10:56 am (CNA).- As international criticism mounts for Burmese leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi over perceived inaction on the nation’s Rohingya refugee crisis, Catholic bishops say they support her, fearing too much pressure could lead to a collapse of their newly-formed democracy, which is still struggling to take root.

“We need to really rebuild our nation,” said Fr Mariano Soe Naing, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Burma. He noted that even two years ago, it would not have been possible for the bishops to be vocal about their stand given the tumultuous political climate.

“We are only here (because of) the lives that have been shed on the streets, so we have gone through such a struggle in this country and we cannot compromise the lives, the blood, that this country has given,” he said. “We need to go on with our democratic reform of this nation.”

Fr. Soe Naing spoke to journalists at a press briefing on the second full day of Pope Francis’ Nov. 27-30 visit to Burma, also known as Myanmar. The Pope will next travel to Bangladesh Nov. 30-Dec. 2 before returning to Rome.

The visit comes at a precarious time for Burma as it continues to struggle in transitioning to democracy. Burma functioned as a military dictatorship for more than 50 years, until democratic reforms began taking root in 2011. In November 2015, Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy, were elected by an overwhelming majority, putting an end to a five-decade military dictatorship.

Suu Kyi and her party had also won the election in 1990, but the results were not recognized by the military government, and she was put under house arrest. However, despite her success in 2015, she is still barred from officially becoming president, and holds the title of “State Counselor” and Foreign Minister, while a close associate is acting as president.

Despite emerging signs of democratic reform in Burma, the transition has been rocky. The military still wields considerable political authority, including the appointment of cabinet ministers, and one-quarter of the nation’s legislature.

Compounding the issue, the Pope’s visit also takes place amid a sharp increase in state-supported violence against the Rohingya, a largely Muslim ethnic group who reside in Burma’s Rakhine State, prompting the United Nations to declare the crisis “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

With an increase in persecution in their home country, many of the Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh, with millions camping along the border as refugees. More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled Burma for Bangladesh in recent months.

However, despite widespread use of the term “Rohingya” in the international community, the term is controversial within Burma. The Burmese government refuses to use the term, and considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They have been denied citizenship since Burma gained independence in 1948.

In many ways this crisis has overshadowed the Pope Francis’ trip, the first-ever visit from a Pope to the Asian nation. Specific attention has been paid to whether or not Francis will use the term “Rohingya” while on Burmese soil. So far, he has refrained, upon the request of the country’s Catholic leaders.

In the Nov. 29 news briefing, Vatican Spokesman Greg Burke said while the topic of migrants and refugees is a major concern for Pope Francis, the plight of the Rohingya “was not the original intention for making the trip.”

Differing from the Pope’s 2016 daytrip to the Greek island of Lesbos, which Burke described as a “refugee trip,” the visit to Burma was made as an official visit to a country with whom the Holy See has just established diplomatic relations, and the refugee crisis happened to escalate at the same time.

The decision to officially form diplomatic ties was made in March, and relations were further cemented in May when Suu Kyi visited Pope Francis at the Vatican, with both leaders agreeing to send ambassadors to each other’s countries.

With Catholic bishops in Burma backing Suu Kyi and her government, the decision to establish ties and schedule a papal visit so soon after was likely made in a bid to support democracy in the country amid fears it could crumble under too much pressure from both inside and outside of the country.

In his first speech of the trip, given to Burmese authorities and diplomats Nov. 28, the Pope said healing and peace in the nation can only be achieved through the pursuit of justice and the promotion of human rights.

He also advocated for “the consolidation of democracy and the growth of unity and peace at every level of society.” He further advanced the cause of democracy in his speech to bishops earlier today, during which he told them to spread the Gospel through charity and the “support for democratic rule.”

In the lead-up to Francis’ visit, the heat has been turned up on Suu Kyi, with many claiming the leader isn’t doing enough to defend the Rohingya.

On Monday the Oxford City Council voted to strip Suu Kyi of her “Freedom of Oxford” award over what they said was a failure to speak out on abuses committed against the Rohingya. She was initially given the award in 1997 and collected it personally in 2012 after 15 years of house arrest.

However, the bishops have continued to support Suu Kyi. In a September statement, they called for an end to persecution of the Rohingya, while also emphasizing the complicated nature of the political, military, and humanitarian situation in the country, and saying that lasting reform will take time and that placing sole blame on Suu Kyi is counterproductive.

“Thousands of citizens went on the street against the socialist government and gave their lives on the streets of Yangon,” Fr. Soe Naing said at the press conference. “So we cannot just forget all these struggles to have a democratic transition in this country.”

And this democracy is now in danger again, the priest said, explaining that when Suu Kyi is criticized, the pressure comes in two ways: “the international community and the people in the country.”

He argued that the leader, and therefore democracy, is suffering as some criticize her on the Rohingya front, while others use her weakened public standing as an opportunity question the benefits of democracy for Burmese society.

Soe Naing said “we have to come up with a clear stand that we are for development of the country. We have just 18 months of her rule and then we met this crisis, and she is under pressure from all sides,” so the Church is eager to provide support.

Also present at the press conference was Bishop Hsane Hgyi, Vice President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Burma (CBCM); Bishop Felix Liankhenthang, President of the CBCM; and Bishop John Saw Yaw Han, auxiliary bishop of Yangon.

In comments to journalists, Bishop Hgyi stressed the importance of both knowing and focusing on the truth on the political situation.

“We know Aung Sun Suu Kyi has been sacrificing and suffering for many years, not for herself and not for her family, but for her country,” he said, and cautioned against believing everything that’s read in the papers.

People ought to look for authoritative sources, he said, and suggested that critics “go into the field to study the reality and study the history well” before speaking, because “just hearing from other people won’t be enough.”

When asked whether there is fear that the Rohingya might be disappointed that Pope Francis has decided not to use the term during his visit to Burma, Burke said “Vatican diplomacy is not infallible,” and that everyone is entitled to form their own opinion on the matter.

“That’s part of what diplomatic work is about,” he said, explaining that the main goal of the Holy See is “building bridges” in a nation with which they are just starting to form diplomatic relations.

“We’re in the start of a relationship. The Holy See only recently began full diplomatic relations here, it’s a very tiny Church,” Burke said, adding while the Pope “is very persuasive” and enjoys great moral authority, “he doesn’t parachute” into regions to solve problems immediately, but takes things one step at a time.

[…]

CNA Staff, Sep 24, 2020 / 12:48 am (CNA).- The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill to ensure goods sold in the U.S. are not made with forced labor in Uyghur Muslim internment camps in China’s Xinjiang region.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act passed the House on Sept. 22 by a vote of 406-3.

The legislation would treat all goods imported from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as being created with forced labor, unless certified otherwise by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It would also require disclosures from businesses that engage with Chinese companies and would authorize sanctions on anyone determined to be responsible for labor trafficking of Uyghurs.

The bill would instruct the Secretary of State to determine whether the treatment of Uyghurs inside the internment camps constitutes genocide or other crimes against humanity, and to create a plan of response.

An estimated 1 million or more Uyghurs, members of a Muslim ethnoreligious minority group, have been detained in “re-education camps” in Xinjiang, which were first spotted on satellite imagery in 2017.

The Chinese government at one time denied the camps existed, but has since shifted to defending its actions as an appropriate terrorism prevention measure.

Government officials from the region said in July 2019 that the area’s re-education camps for Muslims have been successful, with most of those held having been reintegrated into Chinese society.

Those inside the camps are reportedly subjected to forced labor, torture, and political indoctrination. Women who have been imprisoned in the camps have told stories of forced abortions and sterilizations.

Outside the camps, Uyghurs are monitored by pervasive police forces and facial recognition technology.

The Trump administration has taken action to block the import of some goods from the region and to sanction companies growing cotton in the area.

However, lawmakers have called for additional action to respond to concerns of companies profiting from the forced labor taking place in the internment camps, which have been compared to the concentration camps under Nazi Germany.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act notes that the U.S. State Department determined in its 2019 human trafficking report that subsidies are offered to Chinese companies for opening factories near the internment camps.

It lists companies that have been suspected of using forced labor, including Adidas, Campbell Soup Company, Costco, and H&M, among others.

“It is time for Congress to act,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D.-Mass.) sponsor of the bill, according to NBC News.

“We found that the evidence of systematic and widespread forced labor in Xinjiang is astounding and irrefutable — and includes evidence from camp detainees, satellite imagery of factories being built at internment camps, and public and leaked Chinese government documents.”

“We cannot be silent. We must demand an end to these barbaric practices and accountability from the Chinese government,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), ranking member of the Congressional Executive Commission on China.

“Chinese authorities initially denied the existence of mass internment camps and have tried to portray them as vocational training centers. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) employed lies, censorship and economic coercion to stifle discussion of their crimes,” he said.

[…]