2020 Taon ng Ekumenismo at Inter-Religious Dialogue: Kailan kaya makikipag-dialogo si G. Eduardo V. Manalo sa Santo Papa?

Originally Posted at Iglesia ni Cristo 33 AD blog

Isang kaanib ng INC™ 1914 nagpaabot ng kanilang opisyal na magasing Pasugo sa Santo Papa ng tunay na Iglesia ni Cristo. (Credit to the owner)

Kaawa-awang mga nilalang. Inaakala nila na sa pagbibigay nila ng kopya ng Pasugo sa Santo Papa ay magpapasakop na ang pinuno ng tunay na Iglesia ni Cristo sa INC™ na tatag ni Ginoong Felix Y. Manalo noong 1914 sa Sitio Punta Sta. Ana sa Maynila (Pilipinas). Inakala ng kaanib ng INC™ 1914 na sa pakikipagkamayan niya sa Santo Papa at pagbibigay niya ng kopya ng Pasugo ay isang BIG DEAL.

Para sa Santo Papa, wala siyang pinagkaiba sa mga nauna pang mga panauhin sa Vatican. Siya (ang kaanib ng INC™) ay napadaan lamang at hindi naging panauhing pandangal. Bago pa man sila nag-abot ng magasin, maraming mga relihiyon na ang nagbibigay sa Santo Papa ng kanilang mga babasahing pangrelihiyon tulad ng mga Muslim ng Argentina na nagbigay kay Pope Francis ng kopya ng Qu'ran.

Mabuti pa ang Saudi Arabia ay may pinadalang tagapamagitan mula sa kanila. Ang Muslim na ito ay nagbigay ng musbaha (ang rosaryo ng mga Muslim) sa Santo Papa bilang regalo. At ito ay tinanggap naman out of courtesy.  

Ang iba't-ibang religious leaders sa buong mundo, maging ang mga lider ng mga non-Christian religions at mga non-Catholic religious leaders ay nakipagkita sa Santo Papa ~ ang Iglesia Ni Cristo® 1914, kailan kaya HAHARAP si Ginoong EDUARDO V. MANALO kay PAPA FRANCISCO sa Vatican at magkaroon ng dialogo?

Ngunit ang mga ito ay ang KATOTOHANANG HINDING-HINDI MABABAGO ng INC™ 1914:

• Si Cristo ay DIYOS na nagkatawang-tao (Juan 1:1-14)!

• Si Cristo ay DIYOS na NAPARITO sa laman! (2 Juan 1:7)

• Si Cristo ay DIYOS! (Filipos 2:5-8)

• Si Cristo ay DIYOS noon, ngayon at magpasawalang hanggan! (Hebreo 13:8)

• Ang Iglesia Katolika ay na sa pasimula ay siyang Iglesia ni Cristo! (Pasugo Abril 1966, p. 46)

• Ang Iglesia Ni Cristo® ay tatag ni Ginoong Felix Y. Manalo noong 1914! (Pasugo Agosto-Setyembre 1964, p. 5)

KANINO NATUPAD ANG ROMA 16:16 ~ ANG IGLESIANG BINABATI NG LAHAT NG MGA IGLESIA NI CRISTO? INC™ 1914 BA SA PILIPINAS O ANG IGLESIA KATOLIKA SA ROMA (VATICAN)? 

Ang Roma 16:16 ay sulat ni Apostol San Pablo sa mga Kristiano sa ROMA kung saan HANGGANG NGAYON ang TUNAY na Iglesia ni Cristo ay NAKATAYO pa rin at pinamamahalaan ng KAHALILI ni APOSTOL SAN PEDRO ~ si Santo Papa Francisco, ang ika-266 Papa ng Iglesia Katolika na sa pasimula ay siyang Iglesia ni Cristo (Pasugo Abril 1966, p. 46).

Kaya't huwag na kayong paloloko pa sa mga nagsisulputang mga Iglesia raw ni Cristo sapagkat IISA lamang ang tatag na Iglesia ni Cristo (Pasugo Nobyembre 1943, p. 23). Ito ay tatag sa Jerusalem! (Pasugo Mayo 1954, p. 9) Kung meron mang mga SUMULPOT kamakailan (1914) at sinasabi nilang sila rin ay mga 'Iglesia Ni Cristo' sila ay HINDI TUNAY kundi mga HUWAD o PEKE! (Pasugo Mayo 1968, p. 7)

Lebanon's PM says Middle East is 'heading for disaster'

Watch this VIDEO at BBC Live News - Help Failure to reach a comprehensive peace deal in the Middle East will lead the region into disaster says the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri.

He told the BBC's Jeremy Bowen the whole world will be affected by failure and that Europe and the US are already paying the price of extremism.

Indian Catholics fast for the synod and religious freedom in Saudi Arabia

Update on the Synod here

Fr George Joshua, an Indian priest, leads the activity. He is an important figure in the struggle for the religious freedom of Indian Catholics living in Saudi Arabia. He tells AsiaNews about the suffering and abuses inflicted upon on the million Christians living in the Muslim country, where every religion other than Islam, is banned.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques visited Pope Benedict XVI  in 2006 at the  Vatican City, a first such visit by a Saudi Monarch.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) – More than 700 Indian Christians from the Christ Army for Saudi Arabia (CASA) are fasting and praying for the success of the Synod of the Churches of the Middle East and for religious freedom in Saudi Arabia. Fr George Joshua, an Indian priest who belongs to the Malankara rite, is their leader; he provides spiritual support to Catholic migrant workers from Indian living in Saudi Arabia.

In 2006, Fr Joshua spent four days in a Saudi prison for celebrating Mass in a private home and was eventually expelled. A year later, he set up CASA in Trivandarum, Kerala. Across the state, the movement holds prayer meetings to focus attention on the fate of Christians in Saudi Arabia.

“There is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia and no official pastoral care for the over a million who live in the country, of which nearly 3 lakhs are Indian,” he said. One lakh corresponds to 100,000.

Over the past few months, CASA has prayed for the Synod hoping that Catholics living in the desert kingdom can one day be free to worship as they please.

In the kingdom, priests are not allowed to celebrate Mass, he said. Any activity has to be underground, away from the eyes and ears of the Muttawa, the Saudi religious police.

“Recently, a French priest was picked up for celebrating Mass to various groups,” Fr Joshua said. “He was released only after many hours of interrogation.

Christians caught praying together are arrested right away, imprisoned and then thrown out of the country.

“Catholics can only pray in the privacy of their home and alone. They are not allowed to pray with family or friends,” the priest explained.

However, “Starting in 1995, new religious movements have emerged with lay people secretly praying and reading the Bible. In addition, some are even able to teach the catechism to children.”

The only priest of Indian origin in Saudi Arabia is a certain Fr John, who caters to the needs of English- and Malay-speaking Catholics, Fr Joshua said.

Holy See established Full Diplomatic Ties with Russia

EWTN/CNA - Just under two weeks ago Russian officials accepted the credentials of Archbishop Antonio Mennini as the first papal nuncio to their country. The event ushers in a new era of full diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Russian Federation.

The Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano (LOR) newspaper reported that Foreign Affairs minister Sergei Lavrov met with Archbishop Mennini on July 15 in Moscow to seal full diplomatic relations, which Pope Benedict XVI and president Dmitry Medvedev had agreed to last December. Just a month ago, on June 26, the Holy See accepted the credentials of Mr. Nikolai Sadlichov as ambassador from Russia.

The Russian vice minister for foreign affairs, Alexandr Krusko, welcomed the nuncio on behalf of President Dmitry Medvedev and highlighted the increasing "spirit of harmony and cooperation" between the Holy See and Russia in recent years, according to LOR.

The Vatican paper added that "the vice minister hoped for an even more fruitful collaboration on the great moral and ethical challenges that are posed to man today."

During the ceremony, Archbishop Mennini assured his dedication to the strengthening of relations between the two sides and his commitment to the "spiritual and moral growth of the people of Russia."

The Holy See and Russia have maintained limited diplomatic relations since 1990, after the fall of the USSR, but had not formally exchanged ambassadors until now. The decision was made on Dec. 3, 2009, when, after meeting with the Pope at the Vatican, President Medvedev asked his Foreign Affairs department to pursue full diplomatic ties for the first time.

Peace is (Very Much) Possible in Dialogue

If not us, who will initiate dialogue?

In a world that’s dominated by fear from terrorism, bigotry, hatred, ignorance, malice, racial and religious discrimination and lies, whom shall we turn to? Who shall stand side by side with the oppressed? Who should speak for the persecuted minorities? Who should protect the marginalized race of people and religion?

The biggest threat we are facing today is terrorism by some lost souls who want nothing but make this small world we live in “unsafe.” Their grave threats to innocent people gave rise to intolerance, inequity and hate that divided us from them.

It takes tougher people to challenge these threats and the only way we can beat them is through peaceful dialogue.

Let’s talk, sip coffee and feel relaxed. Let’s talk about our similarities and our common interest. Let’s discuss head-leveled issues and try to understand each other point of view, not by confrontational argument but by learning the good things one has to offer.

Of course, we will always have differences. For what’s the beauty in life when we all are alike? The source of Wisdom himself has designed that everyone should be unique and that anyone should be interested with what others has (not coveting it) but to appreciate what others have and to cultivate what we have.

Peace is not a word. It’s an action. It involves our collective efforts to have it.
Peace is not remote. It’s within us. It only needs a loving heart to unleash it’s healing power.
We all need peace within our selves and in the societies we’re living. This is the reason why we need to dialogue and share our friendship. Thanks to God and to my Catholic heritage through the leadership of our present Pope Benedict XVI that it takes a big heart and humble spirit to accept this fact. With the whole Church, we pray that our efforts to sow peace regardless of our racial and religious differences will materialize. If not soon, maybe our children’s children would reap what we have sown.

Let’s all work for peace. No more Jews, Christians and Muslims. No more blacks and whites. Let’s celebrate our humanity and live in peaceful co-existence with the world.

Costodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the leader of the 2.2 Billion Catholics Pope Benedict XVI met, first time in history that a Saudi monarch visited the Pope in Vatican City, Rome

Muslim - Christian Dialogue in Vatican City, Rome.