Devastating cyclone kills 32 Catholic fishermen off India’s coast

December 5, 2017 CNA Daily News News Briefs 2 Print

Thiruvananthapuram, India, Dec 6, 2017 / 12:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- At least 32 Catholic fishermen were killed when a tropical cyclone hit the southern coast of India over the weekend.

In addition, some 200 people are missing, and thousands of individuals have been displaced, after their homes were destroyed. The death toll is expected to rise.

The fishermen – who were all Catholic, according to local parish priest Fr. V. Wilfred of Vizhinjam – were not expecting stormy seas when they set out, according to UCA News. The fishermen were all from the Kerala and Tamil Nadu states.

Tropical Cyclone Ockhi began to develop near Sri Lanka last Thursday with heavy winds and rains. The hardest-hit region was the southwestern tip of India’s coast near Kerala’s capital, Thiruvananthapuram. The last major cyclone to hit that region was in 1941, making it a rare occurrence for the area.

The storm also affected thousands of locals who have relocated to relief camps that have been set up by the Kerala state government. Currently, there are 29 relief camps, which are sheltering around 3,000 people.

Local priests and Archbishop Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum were said to have been visiting the affected area to help coordinate relief for the victims of the storm.

Additionally, Fr. Justin Jude of Poonthura noted that many of the locals have not only lost their homes and family members due to the cyclone, but also valuable equipment such as boats and nets. Fr. Jude also said that government aid should be provided to help the victims in their time of need, according to UCA News.

Tropical Cyclone Ockhi is still active and is threatening heavy downpours with potential flooding in northwestern India, including Mumbai. However, the storm is expected to weaken significantly by Wednesday.

 

 

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Children and youth to play central role in Pope Francis visit to Papua New Guinea

May 8, 2024 Catholic News Agency 2
Children look on during a procession at the General Assembly that was held in Mingende in the Kundiawa Diocese in 2022. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands

CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Children and youth will be central to Pope Francis’ visit to Papua New Guinea from Sept. 6–9, according to Father Giorgio Licini, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands.   

Licini, who is on the organizing committee of the Holy Father’s 2024 visit, said young people are central in the planning of the papal trip to Papua New Guinea. In the Catholic Church, “the level of participation by laity and youth is high,” he said. “Everything is ‘young’ in PNG: church, country, modern civilization.” 

“It was only in early October 2023 that our bishops’ conference was told that the pope still had a great desire to visit Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea in Oceania,” Licini told CNA. 

Women gather during the General Assembly held in Mingende in the Kundiawa Diocese in Papua New Guinea in 2022. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands
Women gather during the General Assembly held in Mingende in the Kundiawa Diocese in Papua New Guinea in 2022. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands

As part of his apostolic journey, Pope Francis is expected to visit a safe house for young girls in Vanimo and then, in the nearby village of Baro, greet missionaries, staff, and students of a school he helped develop. In Port Moresby, the Holy Father intends to meet with children supported by the archdiocese’s ministries for the care of street children. 

“The youth here greatly suffer for lack of education and employment opportunities. The breakdown of the family adds to neglect, poverty, and micro-criminality,” Licini explained. “Besides education and health, nowadays the social services of the Catholic Church focus on family life, child protection and promotion, domestic violence, and sorcery accusations related [to] violence, corruption awareness, and justice, peace, and reconciliation, mainly in [areas affected by tribal violence].” 

The last appointment of the papal visit in Papua New Guinea will be a youth festival at the city stadium in Port Moresby.

Isabella Saleu, a young laywoman working for Caritas Papua New Guinea — the justice, peace, relief, and development agency of the Catholic Church in the country — said she looks forward to the youth festival planned with the pope and believes his visit will be a “spiritually enriching experience” that will reinforce the Catholic identity in the country.

“The world needs us young people and all the enthusiasm we have to make it better, safer, happier and more Christ-like,” Saleu told CNA. “Over the years, the Church has not only evangelized but [also] has contributed immensely to delivering basic services by providing schools and institutions, hospitals, clinics and aid posts, safe houses, and facilities for pastoral and social services.” 

“Considering also the recent fateful events of ‘Black Wednesday’ on Jan. 10 that resulted in deaths and hospitalization, as the country came to a standstill when thugs took over the streets of the capital city Port Moresby who looted and burned down shops and caused the city to tremble in fear as police ceased duties, we hope that the papal visit raises our spirits to continue to move forward as a nation,” she added. 

Catholics from Papua New Guinea during the General Assembly that was held in Mingende in the Kundiawa Diocese in 2022. Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands
Catholics from Papua New Guinea during the General Assembly that was held in Mingende in the Kundiawa Diocese in 2022. Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands

To date, over 98% of Papua New Guinea citizens identify as Christian. Catholicism represents the largest Christian denomination in the country with an estimated 4 million people — about 25% of the total population. 

Pope Francis’ visit to Papua New Guinea will be his first trip to the country as part of his 11-day Asia Pacific apostolic journey in September. Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea in 1984 and 1995.

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