1 Mirroring the Cooperation Between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan Al-Malik Al-Kamil of Egypt in 1219, St. Francis of Assis An

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

1 Mirroring the Cooperation Between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan Al-Malik Al-Kamil of Egypt in 1219, St. Francis of Assis An Mirroring the Cooperation Between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil of Egypt In 1219, St. Francis of Assis and Sultan of Egypt Sultan Al-Malik met with the hopes of bringing peace in the war-ravaged region of Holy Land where Christians and Muslims are fighting. Eight hundred years later, a Franciscan Friar Superior and a Muslim leader bonded together and formed a friendship motivated by the hope that together, they can find a resolution to the inequities of the war-ravaged Syria in the region of Holy Land. One humanitarian emergency that is so serious yet less known, is the social crisis in Aleppo, Syria that has been going on and is already on its tenth year. It is a product of the civil war and the deteriorating national economy and now even made worse by lockdown due to the virus pandemic. An international NGO, Associazione Pro Terra Sancta which supports the mission of the Custodiae Terra Sancta (Custody of the Holy Land, the organization composed of Franciscans of Holy Land preserving the Holy Sites and supporting the local communities surrounding them), is implementing the project called “A Name and A Future”. “A Name and A Future” Project (Aleppo, Syria) Born to women who were raped during the civil war, these children cannot be recorded at the registry office because they are considered “children of sin.” They are marginalized by the society and are desperate for every basic need (food, ware, shelter) and most especially psychological recovery and social integration. • In March 2011, a small rally similar to the Arab Spring in Egypt erupted and escalated into a civil war that lasted for 9 years where several women were raped and abused. These “jihad brides”, usually teenagers coming from a very poor and uncultured background, were left with no protection or future in 2016 when Aleppo was conquered again by the State. The UN granted the militia a humanitarian corridor to flee North toward Idlib whilst their women and kids where left rejected. The forgotten and abandoned children of Aleppo, Syria • In 2017 the phenomenon was denounced by Muftì Mahmoud Akam and Fr. Firas Lutfi took action by founding two (2) rehabilitation centers for those anonymous and forgotten kids. He ignited a children recognition process and made many women register their “sons of the sin” in order to let them be part of basic state services as the scholastic and sanitary system. This project is highly supported and collaborated by Bishop George Abou Khazen, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, Fr. Firas Lutfi, Superior of the Franciscan community at Terra Sancta College St. Paul Region (Lebanon, Syria and Jordan), and Mahmoud Akam, Mufti of Aleppo. 1 (L-R) Fr. Firas Lutfi, Muftì Mahmoud Akam, and Bishop George Abou Khazen • Pro Terra Sancta opened four (4) emergency centres in the Syrian cities of Aleppo, Damascus, Knaye, and Latakia. In East Aleppo, the two (2) support centers are in the areas of Al-Sha'ar and Karm Al-Dou'dou' where 1050 children and 400 women are currently being assisted. • In 2018, Pro Terra Sancta shifted attention to helping not only the children but also to include their mothers. Association coordinates and fosters projects concerning Aleppo’s mothers in order to make them self-sufficient. The activities carried out at the two support centers in Eastern Aleppo are described below: o Psychological support activities: Children are followed in a rehabilitation process that includes activities aimed at improving their ability to express themselves and their emotions through dialogues and other specific exercises. Support activities are also extended to mothers and are managed by a supervisor, a psychologist, a psychotherapist, an educator and two social assistants. We offer the mothers sanitary and psychological assistance: many of these women were raped and mentally abused both from the militia and their families, as they were identified as sinners. o Educational activities: Children participate in educational activities such as music therapy courses in which the use of music facilitates and fosters their communication, relationship, learning, expression and motor skills. In addition, many of the children who have severe learning and concentration difficulties participate in after-school activities where they are followed carefully to enhance the study of the main subjects. o Arabic language courses: Arabic language courses are organized at the centers to encourage literacy and school integration. The courses are also organized for the mothers to foster their literacy and facilitate their social and work integration. o Legal assistance: Legal assistance services are offered to the mothers of unregistered children and unaccompanied minors to obtain and complete the necessary identification documents within the Syrian state and guarantee them the same rights as Syrian citizens. o Food and medical assistance activities: A monthly distribution of food baskets, medicines and other primary need goods to the most vulnerable women asking for assistance at the centers. Moreover, there is a small clinic inside the Al Sha’ar center where children receive free monitoring visits. 2 • It is estimated that there are 3,000 children in Aleppo born to raped women. It is the hope to reach most of them. • The children are hosted and supported until they are registered which averages a year. The children, their mothers, and families being assisted by the program. The Associazione Pro Terra Sancta (PTS) is a non-profit organization – NGO legally registered in Israel and Palestinian Territories that carries out projects for the preservation of the Holy Places, support to local communities and aid in humanitarian emergencies. The Association is implementing a range of projects in several countries in the Middle East, wherever the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of Holy Land are. Pro Terra Sancta directly reports to the Custos of Holy Land, Franciscan Friar Fr. Francesco Patton OFM. The headquarters of Pro Terra Sancta is in Milan, Italy with Operations in Jerusalem, Israel holding office in the St. Savior Monastery where the Franciscan Friars of Holy Land are. For background information on the project “A Name and A Future”, click on link below: https://www.proterrasancta.org/project/en/syria-aleppo-a-name-and-a-future-support-for-the- children-of-no-one/ Representing Pro Terra Sancta in the US is a parishioner of the Diocese of Richmond, and can be reached at: [email protected] 3 .
Recommended publications
  • History of the Franciscan Movement
    HISTORY OF THE FRANCISCAN MOVEMENT Volume 2 FROM THE YEAR 1517 TO THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL On-line course in Franciscan History at Washington Theological Union Washington DC By Noel Muscat OFM Jerusalem 2008 History of the Franciscan Movement. Volume 2: From 1517 to the Second Vatican Council Chapter 10 NEW REFORMS AND NEW DIVISIONS: THE BIRTH OF THE CAPUCHINS AND REFORMS WITHIN THE OBSERVANCE The friars “of the Holy Gospel” The Order of Friars Minor of the Regular Observance, after the union of all the reformed families in 1517, became a powerful religious family dedicated mainly to apostolic missions. A minority of friars, however, continued to insist upon living a simpler Franciscan life in the hermitages. Besides the Amadeiti and Coletani, there were other congregations which preferred eremitical life, like the Clareni and the friars “of the Holy Gospel” or Capuciati. This last religious family was one which the Bulla Ite vos of Leo X (1517) had not managed to integrate within the Order of the Friars Minor of the Regular Observance. They were born, as we have already seen, with the initiative of Juan de la Puebla, who had made an experience of Franciscan life in the Umbrian hermitages of central Italy, and then had returned to Spain, founding a congregation of friars who lived the literal observance of the Rule in the hermitages. Among his followers there was Juan de Guadalupe, who in 1508 obtained the approval of the Province “of the Holy Gospel”.1 The negative reaction of the Spanish Observants, who persecuted the new religious family, compelled the brothers of the Custody of Estremadura to place themselves under the obedience of the Conventuals in 1515, and thus became to be known by the name of “Reformed Conventuals”.2 They wore a short tunic with a pyramidal hood, and hence also the name Capuciati.
    [Show full text]
  • The Development of Marian Doctrine As
    INTERNATIONAL MARIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON, OHIO in affiliation with the PONTIFICAL THEOLOGICAL FACULTY MARIANUM ROME, ITALY By: Elizabeth Marie Farley The Development of Marian Doctrine as Reflected in the Commentaries on the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-5) by the Latin Fathers and Pastoral Theologians of the Church From the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate in Sacred Theology with specialization in Marian Studies Director: Rev. Bertrand Buby, S.M. Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute University of Dayton 300 College Park Dayton, OH 45469-1390 2013 i Copyright © 2013 by Elizabeth M. Farley All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Nihil obstat: François Rossier, S.M., STD Vidimus et approbamus: Bertrand A. Buby S.M., STD – Director François Rossier, S.M., STD – Examinator Johann G. Roten S.M., PhD, STD – Examinator Thomas A. Thompson S.M., PhD – Examinator Elio M. Peretto, O.S.M. – Revisor Aristide M. Serra, O.S.M. – Revisor Daytonesis (USA), ex aedibus International Marian Research Institute, et Romae, ex aedibus Pontificiae Facultatis Theologicae Marianum, die 22 Augusti 2013. ii Dedication This Dissertation is Dedicated to: Father Bertrand Buby, S.M., The Faculty and Staff at The International Marian Research Institute, Father Jerome Young, O.S.B., Father Rory Pitstick, Joseph Sprug, Jerome Farley, my beloved husband, and All my family and friends iii Table of Contents Prėcis.................................................................................. xvii Guidelines........................................................................... xxiii Abbreviations...................................................................... xxv Chapter One: Purpose, Scope, Structure and Method 1.1 Introduction...................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Franciscans Mark 600Th Year of Pope Establishing Commissaries of Holy Land
    Franciscans mark 600th year of pope establishing Commissaries of Holy Land WASHINGTON (CNS)(UPDATED) — Before he became guardian and commissary of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington in 2013, Franciscan Father Larry Dunham made his first trip to the Holy Land, where his order has cared for the most sacred shrines of Christendom for centuries. The trip brought out the first fervor he felt when he became a priest, he told Catholic News Service Feb. 11. The Franciscans are the custodians of “the patrimony of our Church” and it was “deeply moving” to see firsthand “how incredible this work is,” said the 73-year-old friar. “Where Jesus was born, where Jesus walked, lived, did his ministry, suffered and died — this is the center of our faith and grounds us in our faith, the very foundations of our faith,” he added. Thinking about the people in the Holy Land as descendants of the first ones to have heard the word of God preached to them on the first Pentecost “gives me goose bumps,” he added. The work of the friars also “gives these people hope,” he said. The friars have never left them — despite violent clashes and political unrest that have plagued the region for time immemorial — and they continue to pour their lives out for them” with many good works. As one of the three monotheistic religions that call the Holy Land home, the Franciscans are also bridge-builders in a land of conflict. The Franciscans trace their presence in the Holy Land to 1217 when St.
    [Show full text]
  • History Franciscan Movement 01 (Pdf)
    HISTORY OF THE FRANCISCAN MOVEMENT Volume 1 FROM THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ORDER TO THE YEAR 1517 On-line course in Franciscan History at Washington Theological Union Washington DC By Noel Muscat OFM Jerusalem 2008 History of the Franciscan Movement. Volume 1: From the beginnings of the Order to the Year 1517 Course description and contents The Course aims at giving an overall picture of the history of the Franciscan Movement from the origins (1209) until Vatican Council II (1965). It deals primarily with the history of the Franciscan Order in two main sections, namely, from the foundation of the Order until the division into the Conventual and Observant families (1517), and from the Capuchin reform to modern times. Some lectures will also deal with the history of the Order of St. Clare, the Third Order Regular, and the Secular Franciscan Order. Chapter 1: The Franciscan Rule and Its Interpretation. • The form of life of the Gospel and the foundation of an Order (1209-1223). • The canonization of St. Francis and its aftermath (1226). • The generalate of Giovanni Parenti (1227-1232), the chapter of 1230, the question of the Rule and Testament of St. Francis, and the bulla Quo elongati. Chapter 2: Betrayal of the Founder‟s Intention? • The generalate of Elias (1232-1239). • The clericalization of the Order under Haymo of Faversham (1240-1244). • The Friars Minor and studies in the 13th century. Chapter 3: Further interpretation of the Rule and missionary expansion to the East. • The generalate of Crescentius of Iesi (1244-1247). The bulla Ordinem vestrum. • The first Franciscan missions in the Holy Land and Far East.
    [Show full text]
  • Calendar of Roman Events
    Introduction Steve Worboys and I began this calendar in 1980 or 1981 when we discovered that the exact dates of many events survive from Roman antiquity, the most famous being the ides of March murder of Caesar. Flipping through a few books on Roman history revealed a handful of dates, and we believed that to fill every day of the year would certainly be impossible. From 1981 until 1989 I kept the calendar, adding dates as I ran across them. In 1989 I typed the list into the computer and we began again to plunder books and journals for dates, this time recording sources. Since then I have worked and reworked the Calendar, revising old entries and adding many, many more. The Roman Calendar The calendar was reformed twice, once by Caesar in 46 BC and later by Augustus in 8 BC. Each of these reforms is described in A. K. Michels’ book The Calendar of the Roman Republic. In an ordinary pre-Julian year, the number of days in each month was as follows: 29 January 31 May 29 September 28 February 29 June 31 October 31 March 31 Quintilis (July) 29 November 29 April 29 Sextilis (August) 29 December. The Romans did not number the days of the months consecutively. They reckoned backwards from three fixed points: The kalends, the nones, and the ides. The kalends is the first day of the month. For months with 31 days the nones fall on the 7th and the ides the 15th. For other months the nones fall on the 5th and the ides on the 13th.
    [Show full text]
  • Friar Raffaele DI MURO
    raternus3 2017 NUNTIUS fNotitiarium Fratrum Minorum Conventualium July • August • September ENGLISH EDITION CONTENTS 2 n MINISTER GENERAL CEF Calendar of the Minister General ..................................... 3 Denmark and Sweden: Visit to the Friars .................... 31 n GENERAL DEFINITORY Holland: Annual Assembly ............................................... 32 Session August 29 – September 1, 2017 ....................... 3 CFF Great Britain-Ireland: A Summer of Growth ............. 33 n NEWS USA: Canonical Visitation of OLA Province ................ 34 Eighth Centenary of the Birth of St. Bonaventure ...... 5 Arroyo Grande: From the Common Novitiate .......... 36 Announcing the Kolbean Congress .................................6 FALC Announcing the Extraordinary General Chapter ....... 6 São Paulo: MiReFALC Meeting ........................................ 37 The Pardon of Assisi 2017 ....................................................6 Brasilia: Franciscan UCOB Course .................................. 37 New Videos for Rethinking the Constitutions ..............7 Uruguay: Extraordinary FALC Assembly ..................... 38 Seraphicum: 6th Spiritual Theology Forum ....................8 Mexico: Meeting of Novitiate Formators .................... 39 Works of the Organizing Committee Colombia: Canonical Visitation ...................................... 40 for the International Youth Toward Assisi Meeting .....9 Venezuela: Second Novitiate .......................................... 40 CERC: Review of Chapter IV in Friary Chapters
    [Show full text]
  • Latin Derivatives Dictionary
    Dedication: 3/15/05 I dedicate this collection to my friends Orville and Evelyn Brynelson and my parents George and Marion Greenwald. I especially thank James Steckel, Barbara Zbikowski, Gustavo Betancourt, and Joshua Ellis, colleagues and computer experts extraordinaire, for their invaluable assistance. Kathy Hart, MUHS librarian, was most helpful in suggesting sources. I further thank Gaylan DuBose, Ed Long, Hugh Himwich, Susan Schearer, Gardy Warren, and Kaye Warren for their encouragement and advice. My former students and now Classics professors Daniel Curley and Anthony Hollingsworth also deserve mention for their advice, assistance, and friendship. My student Michael Kocorowski encouraged and provoked me into beginning this dictionary. Certamen players Michael Fleisch, James Ruel, Jeff Tudor, and Ryan Thom were inspirations. Sue Smith provided advice. James Radtke, James Beaudoin, Richard Hallberg, Sylvester Kreilein, and James Wilkinson assisted with words from modern foreign languages. Without the advice of these and many others this dictionary could not have been compiled. Lastly I thank all my colleagues and students at Marquette University High School who have made my teaching career a joy. Basic sources: American College Dictionary (ACD) American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (AHD) Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (ODEE) Oxford English Dictionary (OCD) Webster’s International Dictionary (eds. 2, 3) (W2, W3) Liddell and Scott (LS) Lewis and Short (LS) Oxford Latin Dictionary (OLD) Schaffer: Greek Derivative Dictionary, Latin Derivative Dictionary In addition many other sources were consulted; numerous etymology texts and readers were helpful. Zeno’s Word Frequency guide assisted in determining the relative importance of words. However, all judgments (and errors) are finally mine.
    [Show full text]
  • St. Francis of Assisi, the Writings of Saint Francis of Assisi (12Thc)
    St. Francis of Assisi_0535 http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/EBook.php?recordID=0535 THE ONLINE LIBRARY OF LIBERTY © Liberty Fund, Inc. 2005 http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/index.php ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, THE WRITINGS OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI (12THC) URL of this E-Book: http://oll.libertyfund.org/EBooks/St. Francis of Assisi_0535.pdf URL of original HTML file: http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/HTML.php?recordID=0535 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Saint Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan order and was an important participant in the religious revival of the late Middle Ages. ABOUT THE BOOK A collection of St Francis’s writings, including various rules, letters, and prayers. THE EDITION USED The Writings of Saint Francis of Assisi, newly translated into English with an Introduction and Notes by Father Paschal Robinson (Philadelphia: The Dolphin Press, 1906). COPYRIGHT INFORMATION The text of this edition is in the public domain. FAIR USE STATEMENT This material is put online to further 1 of 160 9/13/05 11:55 AM St. Francis of Assisi_0535 http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/EBook.php?recordID=0535 the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit. _______________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. Printed Editions Wadding’s Edition. First Critical Edition Endnotes PART I ADMONITIONS, RULES, ETC I. Words of Admonition of our Holy Father St. Francis. ADMONITIONS. 1. Of the Lord’s Body. 2. The Evil of Self-will.
    [Show full text]
  • The Letters of Saint Francis
    http://ofm.org.mt/noelmuscat 4 THE LETTERS OF SAINT FRANCIS 4.1 First Version of the Letter to the Faithful (1209-1215) Paul Sabatier first published the First Version of the Letter to the Faithful in 1900, from the codex of Volterra. He gave it the title Verba vitae et salutis (Words of life and salvation). Franciscan scholars thought that it was a later extract of what is today known as the Second Version of the Letter to the Faithful, but when Kajetan Esser studied the manuscripts containing the letter, he found that the Volterra manuscript was truly unique, and that it merited a study on its own, just as Sabatier had insisted. Esser concluded that the actual Second Version of the Letter to the Faithful is the development of the document which contains its original nucleus, namely, the manuscript of Volterra. He compares this development to the same process of maturation which occurred between the primitive Propositum of 1209 and the Earlier Rule of 1221. Other indications regarding the originality of the Volterra codex include its quotations of the Roman Psalter, which are definitely older than all the other quotations of the Gallican Psalter in all the other manuscripts containing the Letter to the Faithful. The same manuscript does not contain the example of the death of the sick man who does not live in penance, as is found in the Second Version of the Letter to the Faithful, which could indicate the example of a homily inserted in the text. Its style is also more simple and straightforward.
    [Show full text]
  • Exegesis and Dissimulation in Visual Treatises
    Political Art of the Papacy: Visual Representations of the Donation of Constantine in the Early Modern Period by Silvia Tita A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment on the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History of Art) in the University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Professor Megan L. Holmes, Co-Chair Lecturer Thomas C. Willette, Co-Chair Professor Celeste A. Brusati Professor Louise K. Stein Associate Professor Achim Timmermann © Silvia Tita 2013 Acknowledgments The research period of this project brought me great intellectual joy. This would not have happened without the assistance of many professionals to whom I am much indebted. My deep gratitude to the staffs of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (with special thanks to Dott. Paolo Vian), the Archivio Segreto Vaticano, the Archivio di Stato Roma, the Biblioteca Angelica, the Biblioteca Casanatense, the Biblioteca Centrale di Roma, the Bibliotheca Hertziana, the Biblioteca di Storia dell'Arte et Archeologia, the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica in Rome, the Biblioteca Marucelliana in Florence, Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris, the Departement des Arts Graphique and the Departement des Objets d'Art of the Louvre. I would also like to thank to the curators of the Kunstkammer Department of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, especially to Dr. Konrad Schlegel who generously informed me on the file of the Constantine Cabinet. The project was born and completed as it is in Michigan. I would like to thank all members of my committee. Tom Willette deeply believed in the project and my ideas from the very beginning and offered great advice during our long conversations.
    [Show full text]
  • Constitutions of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual
    CONSTITUTIONS OF THE ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR CONVENTUAL Approved The General Chapter of Assisi, 1983. Confirmed The Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, Rome, October 2, 1984. Promulgated The Minister General, Rome, October 4, 1984. Effective March 25, 1985. conformed to the Code of Canon Law and published by order of The Most Reverend Lanfranco M. Serrini the 116th Minister General of the Order in succession to the Seraphic Patriarch ROME Santi Apostoli 1984 English translation edited by CFCNAE (Conventual Franciscan Conference of North America and England) The present text was reviewed and adjudged in conformity with the original Latin text. FR. LANFRANCO M. SERRINI Minister General THE CONGREGATION FOR RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR INSTITUTES Prot. n. c. 86-1/84 DECREE The Order of Friars Minor Conventual has prepared a new text of its Constitutions in accordance with the norms of the Second Vatican Council and other directives of the Church. Complying with the mandate given to him by the chapter, the Minister General has presented the text to the Holy See for approval. The Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, therefore, after submitting the text to the particular study of consultors, held a -congr esso on 8 June, 1984. In view of its favorable vote, the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, having observed what is prescribed by law, approves the text and the changes determined by the congresso with this present decree according to the original Latin text kept in its archives. May all the Friars of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual be enabled to follow more closely in the footsteps of their Seraphic Father Francis and more fruitfully fulfill the mission committed to them by the Church by their willing acceptance of the renewed Constitutions as their ((Rule of life and way of perfection>> (cf.
    [Show full text]
  • Joseph in the Life of Christ and of the Church
    The Holy See APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF JOHN PAUL II ON THE PERSON AND MISSION OF SAINT JOSEPH IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST AND OF THE CHURCH To Bishops To Priests and Deacons To Men and Women Religious And to all the Lay Faithful INTRODUCTION 1. "Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife" (cf. Mt 1 :24). Inspired by the Gospel, the Fathers of the Church from the earliest centuries stressed that just as St. Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ's upbringing,(1) he likewise watches over and protects Christ's Mystical Body, that is, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model. On the occasion of the centenary of Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical Epistle Quamquam Pluries,(2) and in line with the veneration given to St. Joseph over the centuries, I wish to offer for your consideration, dear brothers, and sisters, some reflections concerning him "into whose custody God entrusted his most precious treasures."(3) I gladly fulfill this pastoral duty so that all may grow in devotion to the Patron of the Universal Church and in love for the Savior whom he served in such an exemplary manner. In this way the whole Christian people not only will turn to St. Joseph with greater fervor and 2 invoke his patronage with trust, but also will always keep before their eyes his humble, mature way of serving and of "taking part" in the plan of salvation.(4) I am convinced that by reflection upon the way that Mary's spouse shared in the divine mystery, the Church - on the road towards the future with all of humanity - will be enabled to discover ever anew her own identity within this redemptive plan, which is founded on the mystery of the Incarnation.
    [Show full text]