NEWS

Mexican Bishops Join Bicentenary Celebration
As Mexico marks this month its 200th anniversary of independence, the nation's bishops have joined in guiding the celebrations.

The Conference of the Mexican Episcopate presented Monday a pastoral letter on "commemorating our history from the standpoint of faith" and "committing ourselves today to our homeland."

Sept. 16 is Mexican Independence Day.

"We want to serve the nation collaborating in the construction of a cultural project from the standpoint of faith, and together with all the Mexican people we also want to be protagonists in the construction of a future of hope for our country," the bishops affirmed.

The 72-page letter begins by taking a "glance at history from the standpoint of faith." This section points out how faith in Christ has been a key element in the gradual building-up of Mexico. The bishops particularly note how Our Lady of Guadalupe's appearances in Mexico and the consequent devotion to her became a seed of reconciliation and fraternity that has continued to play a role in the most significant events of Mexico's history.

"It is a founding event of our national identity," the bishops affirm.

Mexican First Lady Margarita Zavala attended the presentation of the letter, along with other government and Church officials, including Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla, the president of CEM.

The second part of the letter asserts that Mexico needs a cultural project at the service of the nation, which will foster the legitimate longing for liberty and justice, as well as the Christian conviction that moves people to work in favor of individual and social human promotion with a transcendent perspective, and a pluralistic dialogue with all the ideologies that seek human development.

The third part of the letter, on a "future with hope," invites all to "renew our awareness of the responsibility we have given the challenges the present offers us."

In this connection, the bishops expressed their commitment to continue collaborating in building up the homeland, "convinced that all of us must be protagonists and not just spectators."

Mexico's bishops propose three fundamental priorities in the path of development: attacking poverty, providing integral and high-quality education to everyone, and working for reconciliation and harmony in the society.

They offer the service of the Church particularly for the priority of reconciliation, and they appeal to everyone "to close the doors to any temptation to undertake violence that only causes death, delay and destruction."

At the end of the document, the bishops also warned that society repudiates and the Church calls to conversion "those who seek to sow a state of fear and death, through illicit activities and crimes that put at risk everything we have attained in our historical journey, such as liberty and democratic institutions."

The pastoral letter concludes that "Mexico is a great nation with a providential history and vocation, a nation blessed by God, which must continue on its path, always unfinished, toward its own development, in fraternal collaboration with other nations of the American continent and of the whole world."

Finally, the bishops exhort the faithful to thank God for the benefits that their homeland has received; to ask forgiveness for the infidelities of its members; to ask for grace and creativity in charity to stimulate real development; and to join in prayer before Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of our Liberty

Source: ZENIT

Christ is the one who gives the strength to take on causes that dignify man and make great peoples, Benedict XVI on Wednesday told young people, affirming to them that it is worthwhile to give oneself to such a mission.

The Pope made this call to youth at the end of the general audience in Castel Gandolfo. In his Spanish-language greetings, he noted the Third Latin American Congress of Young People, to be held in Venezuela starting Sunday.

The meeting, organized by the Youth Section of the Latin American bishops' council, has the motto: "Let Us Walk With Jesus to Give Life to Our Peoples."

"I invite all those present in that significant initiative to look at Jesus Christ, Son of the living God," the Holy Father said. "With his grace, you will find the strength that impels one to be committed to causes that dignify man and make peoples great."

The Pontiff noted his wish that the event will help the young participants to "personally encounter the Lord and to hear his Word."

He continued: "You will not be disappointed, as he has plans of love and salvation for everyone. The Pope is by your side and reiterates his confidence in you, while at the same time asking God to assist you so that, being authentic disciples of Jesus Christ, you may live the values of the Gospel, transmit them with courage to those around you and so that you will be inspired in them to build a more just and reconciled world. It is worthwhile to give oneself to this beautiful mission."

Media restrictions proposed with the stated intention of protecting the public good are causes for "serious concerns," the Southern African Bishops' Conference (SACBC) has commented. Warning that the proposed law is so broad that it threatens the free press, the bishops called for its complete redrafting.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has backed a bill which would punish reporters for "irresponsible and misleading reporting." It defended the proposal as necessary to protect the national interest.
The proposed law defines "national interest" to include "all matters relating to the advancement of public good," the Christian Science Monitor reports. It also protects the trade secrets of the state including "profits, losses or expenditures of any person."

Exposure of such secrets is punishable by jail terms of three to five years.
"In whatever we do, there is no interest on the part of the ANC to limit the freedom that all of us enjoy, including the press," commented ANC chief spokesman Jackson Mthembu, claiming the media reaction was out of step with "ordinary people."
According to the Monitor, South Africa President Jacob Zuma in his weekly letter to ANC members said that the media has "put itself on the pedestal of being the guardian."
"We therefore have the right to ask, who is guarding the guardian?"
In a Tuesday statement from the SACBC, conference spokesman Cardinal Wilfrid Napier noted "serious concerns about the wisdom and the constitutionality of the Protection of Information Bill" and also of the creation of a Media Appeals Tribunal.

Aligning itself with "numerous" civil society groups and constitutional experts, the SACBC said the bill threatens the right to receive and impart information, the right to a free press and media and the right of access to information held by the state.
"Furthermore, we believe that the Bill violates the spirit of openness and accountability that is so necessary to underpin the Constitution's provisions on good governance, essential for a healthy democracy," Cardinal Wilfrid explained.

Among the bishops' concerns are that unaccountable officials may classify almost any information as secret and that the definitions of national interest and national security are "so broad" they could be used to keep secret what ought to be accessible to the public.
They also charged that there is "practically no right of appeal" because any appeal would be "processed by the very people who made the original ruling." According to the bishops, there is already an effective media ombudsman and there is merit in strengthening media self-regulation.
"We certainly do not want government to take us back to the oppressive practices of yesteryear, against which our common struggle was launched," the SACBC commented, alluding to press restrictions under apartheid.
Acknowledging the necessity of some restriction of information, they voiced "grave misgivings" about the bill's implementation.

"We, therefore, strongly urge government to withdraw the bill for complete redrafting to ensure … the openness and transparency required by the Constitution," their statement concluded.
Karin Karlekar, managing editor of the Freedom of the Press report for the New York-based think tank Freedom House, told the Christian Science Monitor that the government's proposal is "part of a broader trend" in the country and is "very worrying."
The think tank's annual report has downgraded South Africa to "partly free" for reasons including increasing restrictions on media and harsher rhetoric toward journalists by high-ranking government officials.

Source: CNA