Month: June 2024

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Mexican bishops congratulate country’s president-elect 

June 4, 2024 Catholic News Agency 2
The cathedral church of Mexico City, the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, in the historic center of the city, is seen here on May 29, 2024, during the closing campaign rally of the country’s victorious presidential candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 4, 2024 / 16:22 pm (CNA).

The bishops of Mexico congratulated Claudia Sheinbaum, president-elect of the country, “for her victory at the polls” in the June 2 election.

As of the late afternoon of June 3, the preliminary results tallied by the National Electoral Institute showed Sheinbaum — candidate of the leftist alliance Let’s Keep Making History — with 59.17% of the votes. Her closest competitor, Xóchitl Gálvez — representing the Strength and Heart  coalition — had 27.84%, while Jorge Álvarez Máynez of the Citizen Movement party had 10.45% of the votes. When the final count is completed, the institute will officially certify the winner.

In a statement posted on X yesterday by the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, the prelates prayed for Sheinbaum so that “with the responsibility and wisdom that the position demands, and always seeking the common good, she may lead Mexico toward better horizons where the republic is strengthened, the rule of law is fully established, democracy allows political transition without violence, progress and justice in the entire nation are achieved more effectively, and, above all, that we may begin a period of social reconciliation in the entire country.”

Besides voting for president, Mexicans elected new federal representatives and senators as well as the governors of nine states, state legislators, and presidents of municipalities.

The bishops also congratulated the Mexican people for “exercising their civil and political rights to strengthen democracy,” noting that this was achieved “despite the obstacles and problems that arose during the electoral process, especially due to criminal violence and some authorities interfering with the law.”

The election campaign was not without violence as 37 local candidates were assassinated. In addition, the National Electoral Institute reported 5,089 incidents throughout the country on election day, most of them minor, such as people trying to vote without a voter registration document. However, 29 polling stations had to be closed due to robberies, gun violence, and ballots being burned, among other factors.

“As pastors,” the bishops wrote, “it fills us with hope to see how citizens embrace the values ​​of the common good. May this spirit continue to encourage and inspire us in building a brighter future for our beloved homeland.”

After reminding all the winners of the 2024 elections that “when they take office, they will do so for everyone,” the prelates urged that “the common good be the star that guides everyone who was elected by popular vote” as they govern their districts.

Finally, they entrusted the nation to the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe and prayed that she would grant the people “the wisdom, serenity, and strength to accept the results of this civic celebration and to work together, government and society, in the building of a Mexico where we all recognize each other as brothers, beloved children of the same Father, and together let us forge the promising destiny of our great nation.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Uganda Martyrs Day: President urges Christians to lead by example in fostering peace

June 4, 2024 Catholic News Agency 1
Believers gather at the Namugongo Shrine in Uganda for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage on June 3, 2024, where the country’s president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, urged them to be at the forefront of fostering peace in the East African region. Museveni lauded Christians and other believers in the country for “embracing unity” and fostering religious tolerance. / Credit: ACI Africa

Kampala, Uganda, Jun 4, 2024 / 12:25 pm (CNA).

Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni urged believers gathered at the Namugongo Shrine in Kampala, Uganda, for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage on Monday to be at the forefront of fostering peace in the East African region.

The Namugongo Shrine is the site where St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, including pages at the royal court, were burned alive on the order of Kabaka (King) Mwanga II of the Buganda kingdom between Nov. 15, 1885, and Jan. 27, 1887.

Speaking after the Eucharistic celebration for the event celebrated annually on June 3, Museveni lauded Christians and other believers in the country who have embraced unity and rallied under their religious leaders to foster unity and religious tolerance.

“A Christian must be an example to other people. A Christian must lead by example in fighting for peace,” the Ugandan president said during the event, which was hosted by the Diocese of Nebbi.

Museveni urged Christians to give reconciliation and dialogue a chance, saying: “Our countries have a challenge of peace, and a lack of peace many times is caused by unresolved issues.”

Priests, religious, and laypeople from across Africa gather at the Namugongo Shrine in Uganda for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage on June 3, 2024, where Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni urged them to be at the forefront of fostering peace in the East African region. Museveni lauded Christians and other believers in the country for "embracing unity" and fostering religious tolerance. Credit: ACI Africa
Priests, religious, and laypeople from across Africa gather at the Namugongo Shrine in Uganda for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage on June 3, 2024, where Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni urged them to be at the forefront of fostering peace in the East African region. Museveni lauded Christians and other believers in the country for “embracing unity” and fostering religious tolerance. Credit: ACI Africa

He lamented that rather than fostering peace and unity, many in the region, including some Christians, resort to guns and violence to solve issues.

“Therefore, I besiege all believers to do all that is necessary to bring peace in our East African countries,” Museveni said. “It is only after fostering peace in our region that we should now embark on eradicating poverty.”

In his speech, the president also acknowledged with appreciation the collaboration of religious leaders and the government of the East African country in curbing religious and tribal divisions.

“I want to thank the believers in Uganda and their religious leaders… this is because, before the 1960s and even after, Ugandans were divided according to tribes and religion,” he said. “This was part of the chaos that engulfed Uganda.”

Museveni chastised those who have sowed division, decrying what he described as “hypocrisy among religious leaders in the country,” saying: “You who claim to be religious are more unreligious than those who are irreligious, and you were dividing our people.”

But he also added: “I want to thank Ugandans very much because they embraced the call for unity that we are still enjoying up to now.”

Believers gather at the Namugongo Shrine for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage on June 3, 2024, where the country's president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, urged them to be at the forefront of fostering peace in the East African region. Museveni lauded Christians and other believers in the country for "embracing unity" and fostering religious tolerance. Credit: ACI Africa
Believers gather at the Namugongo Shrine for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage on June 3, 2024, where the country’s president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, urged them to be at the forefront of fostering peace in the East African region. Museveni lauded Christians and other believers in the country for “embracing unity” and fostering religious tolerance. Credit: ACI Africa

The Ugandan president further lauded the Nebbi Diocese for organizing this year’s pilgrimage, which he described as “enriching.”

He also acknowledged the presence of Mary Nyerere, who he said always attends the pilgrimage at Namugongo to pray for the beatification and canonization of her spouse, Servant of God Julius Kambarage Nyerere, who was former prime minister and then president of what is now Tanzania. 

Pope Benedict XVI declared Nyerere a servant of God on May 13, 2005.

“I want to thank Mary Nyerere for coming here every moment we have this pilgrimage to pray for the beatification of Julius Nyerere,” Museveni said. “I am a witness to the good work of Julius Nyerere.”

Museveni, who has led Uganda since 1986, urged all those gathered at the event to emulate the late Tanzanian president for his heroic virtues.

Priests, religious, and laypeople gather at the Namugongo Shrine for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage on June 3, 2024, where the country's president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, urged them to be at the forefront of fostering peace in the East African region. Credit: ACI Africa
Priests, religious, and laypeople gather at the Namugongo Shrine for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage on June 3, 2024, where the country’s president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, urged them to be at the forefront of fostering peace in the East African region. Credit: ACI Africa

Ugandan Martyrs’ Day dates back to the first decade of Christian presence in the East African nation when 45 men between the ages of 14 and 50 were killed because of their faith between 1885 and 1887.

Among the 45 were 22 Catholics who were beatified in 1920 and canonized in 1964. These martyrs continue to inspire the Catholic faith in Uganda and around the world. 

This article was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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Rescue of more historic Catholic sites in France gets underway

June 4, 2024 Catholic News Agency 3
One of 100 ancient churches identified for preservation by France’s Patrimony Foundation, this church is in Cachen, located within the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Jun 4, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The danger that has been threatening France’s religious heritage for decades is becoming a matter of concern to the authorities and the general public.

As experts estimate that the country loses a religious building every 15 days, the country’s leading historical preservation nonprofit “Fondation du Patrimoine” (“Patrimony Foundation”) has launched a campaign aimed at restoring a thousand buildings, the vast majority of which are Catholic, in rural areas of the country.

This is the first time that the nonprofit organization, founded in 1996 to promote French heritage, has launched such a major campaign to raise awareness and preserve religious monuments. As part of the campaign, the foundation released a list of the first 100 sites to benefit from renovation funding.

The grants are aimed primarily at religious buildings in municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants in mainland France and fewer than 20,000 inhabitants in the French overseas territories, which cannot be protected by the French state as historical monuments.

Since the French Revolution (1789), which nationalized clergy property, and the 1905 law separating church and state, most religious heritage has belonged to municipalities, which are often unable to meet the costs of maintaining the sites. The preservation of historic places of worship also tends to be at the bottom of their budget priorities.

Of the 45,000 Catholic sites in France, only 15,000 are classified as historical monuments, as the president of the French Religious Heritage Observatory pointed out in a 2021 interview with CNA. For its part, the Patrimony Foundation estimates that some 5,000 religious monuments are currently directly threatened with extinction.

This list of the 100 sites selected by the foundation — spread throughout the French territory and most of which required urgent work — represents just the first ambitious move in a vast project to rehabilitate some 1,000 religious buildings over the next four years. The aim is to raise a total of 200 million euros (about $218 million) through corporate and individual donations.

The first subscription, which runs until the end of 2025 and includes special tax deductions, currently stands at just over 2.6 million euros ($2.8 million), thanks to the participation of some 14,000 people.

While this sum is still a long way short of the 15 million expected for the first 100 monuments awaiting renovation, Patrimony Foundation officials are noticing a new awareness on the ground, which is tending to become more widespread as the need grows to enhance the value of rural life and all that can represent anchoring and rallying points for communities.

“Even if they no longer go to Mass, [the French] are attached to their monument, to the steeple that gives them their identity, that establishes a landmark in space. People don’t want us to do just anything with their church,” Guillaume Poitrinal, president of the Patrimony Foundation, told the weekly Le Point.

He also pointed to a “Notre-Dame effect” in this growing public awareness of the decay of France’s heritage, of which religious monuments form a substantial part. Following the fire at the famous Paris cathedral in 2019, the images of which stunned and moved the whole world, some 40 million euros ($44 million) had been donated via the same Patrimony Foundation by 236,000 different donors. 

If the campaign achieves its objectives, it could pave the way for additional large-scale initiatives, marking a real turning point in mindsets and heritage preservation policies.

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