Below:  Diocesan Project in Pailin, Cambodia || Holy Land Project 2010 in Al Wahadneh || Devastation in Haiti

WITH PETER AND PAUL

All the Bishops of England and Wales travelled to Rome on Sunday 24th January to spend twelve days together visiting the tombs of St Peter and of St Paul, spending time with the Holy Father individually and then as a group, and visiting the different offices of the Curia who work with Pope Benedict in service of the worldwide Catholic Church.  What struck us most, I think, was the warm and welcoming friendliness of all we met, and the encouragement and affirmation we were given in our ministry as bishops. The Holy Father seemed to have a permanent smile, which rubbed off on our gathering together.

His words of encouragement to the Bishops of England and Wales can be found in full at:
http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/content/download/6316/43869/file/Ad_Limina_address_Pope_Benedict_to_Bishops_EW.pdf

There is a page on the Catholic Bishops' website at:
http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/catholic_church/events/ad_limina_2010

I was particularly struck by his strong encouragement of our work for ecumenism, as well as his reminder that lay people must be equipped 'to hand on the faith to new generations comprehensively, accurately, and with a keen awareness that in so doing they are playing their part in the Church's mission.'

Some words later in his speech especially resonated with us in East Anglia: 'Since the priest plays an irreplaceable role in the life of the Church, spare no effort in encouraging priestly vocations and emphasising to the faithful the true meaning and necessity of the priesthood. Encourage the lay faithful to express their appreciation of the priests who serve them, and to recognise the difficulties they sometimes face on account of the declining numbers and increasing pressures. The support and understanding of the faithful is particularly necessary when parishes have to be merged or Mass times adjusted.'

He concluded by praying: 'May Our Lady of Walsingham guide and protect you always.'

Somehow it felt that East Anglia and its challenges was very much in the Holy Father's mind and heart, as well as on the map on his desk when I went in to see him.

 DEVASTATION IN HAITI

We seen all seen on the News the devastating effects of the earthquake in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries.  It is a country which has suffered so much for so long.

I asked parishes to consider having an emergency appeal for Haiti on the weekend of 16th/17th January or the following weekend.

CAFOD has pledged an initial £300,000 to assist with the relief efforts.  Very much more will be needed.   

Current estimates suggest as many as 200,000 people may have died, but it is too early to judge the numbers of dead, injured and homeless. It is clear that with a population of around nine million people - with three million living in the devastated capital Port-Au-Prince - substantial humanitarian assistance will be required. The money pledged will help CAFOD’s partners in Caritas to supply water, food, medicines and shelter to the most vulnerable in the worst affected areas. 

The Archbishop of Port-Au-Prince was among those many thousands killed, buried under the rubble of his house. One estimate suggests that more than 100 priests and sisters are missing or dead, as well as at least nine seminarians. The cathedral is in ruins and most other churches in the caputal have been destroyed.  In other words, the Church in Haiti is fully sharing the lot of the devastated country and its people.

You can donate to the emergency appeal for Haiti by going to: www.cafod.org.uk/haitiappeal

The Disasters  Emergency Committee, of which CAFOD is a member, is holding an appeal. See www.dec.org.uk  

AL-WAHADNEH

Holy Land Project 2010

Catechism Centre for St. Elijah’s Church  in Al-Wahadneh, Jordan

Last year, we raised much money to help buy bagpipes and drums for Catholic Scout groups in the Holy Land, supporting young people.

Our project for 2010, proposed by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, is to provide a room in the northern Jordanian town of Al-Wahadneh, the first time we have taken up a project in Jordan, which is part of the Latin Patriarchate.  Fr Humam, Chancellor of the Patriarchate, writes to us from Jerusalem:

‘Catechism is a very fundamental issue in Al-Wahadneh and in many other parishes in Jordan. In Al-Wahadneh we plan to build a special hall that will serve different purposes in the parish. This room will constitute a classroom for catechism for students who study in government schools and who do not get the chance to get any religious education.  This room will be also used for different activities in the parish.

This is a need regarding the elements to help our youth to like catechism and to concentrate, to give them the chance to have a clear idea about the dogmatic, spiritual and human part of our Christian faith.

This catechism centre will serve for all teachers and all students in the school (between kindergarten and 6^th grade) and our government school students (between 7^th and 13^th grades), and serve other activities especially with young families and the Legion of Mary. I believe strongly in creating a special atmosphere for catechism in our parishes, so that the pastoral work there will be more and more useful, and our youth will get the chance to learn better with audio and video facilities and get a clear vision.

There are a lot of elements needed to help the students, but unfortunately at the moment there are no materials to use, such as power-point programmes, films, songs, crafts, etc. To have a special classroom for catechism, we will need the following materials: bookshelves, chairs and tables, portable computer, big screen TV, spiritual books, prayer corner, etc.

Thank you all for helping us with this new project: it will be a great help to us.’

If you would like to support this project, please send a cheque made payable to ‘RC Diocese of East Anglia’ to: 

Bishop Michael, Al-Wahadneh Project, 21 Upgate, Poringland, Norwich NR14 7SH (United Kingdom)
 

PAILIN
Cambodia Project 2009/2010

Our diocesan Cambodia project from March 2009 until April 2010 is to pay for three rooms in a multi-purpose centre for the work of the Catholic community in Pailin.

Pailin ‘City’ is a little town along the Thai border. Until recently, Pailin was under the sole control of the Khmer Rouge leaders. It a heavily-mined area. Unofficial estimates put the number of disabled at about 3,000, scattered in the villages and farms. 

The road to Pailin is very bad. It takes 3 hours to travel the 50 miles from Battambang. Now, the government is constructing a road (with occasional stories of landmines exploding under trucks and road-building equipment), and there are high hopes that services for the poor can be delivered more easily to Pailin. Being a town bordering Thailand, Pailin sees itself as the future gateway from Thailand to Cambodia, but having been politically and economically isolated for many years, Pailin lacks many of the basic services like hospitals, training centres, and the like.

The Catholic Parish of Pailin started in 2003 with the presence of a few Catholic families from Battambang who went there for work. At present, there are about 40 members in the community, including those who are studying catechism. The activities are held in a small rented two-storey house, the ground floor measuring about 6 metres by 8 metres.

Our twin diocese has acquired a piece of land in Pailin where they are already building both a church and a centre to help the poor. The Pailin Multi-Purpose Centre will be a two-storey building with ten rooms. Our project for 2009 is to pay for 3 of these rooms, at a total of £15,000. One room will welcome the disabled and those affected by landmines; another will be for the care of people with ear problems as well as for general medicine; and the third will be for medical treatment and services for the poor.

If you would like to support this project, please send a cheque made payable to ‘RC Diocese of East Anglia’ to: 

Bishop Michael, Pailin Project, 21 Upgate, Poringland, Norwich NR14 7SH (United Kingdom)

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