Servant and Steward: April 2016

30 April 2016

The reddening of the Trevi Fountain in honor of Christian Martyrs

The international papal charity Aid to the Church in Need lit the Fontana di Trevi in red last night to draw attention to the horrific persecution many of our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus are enduring today because of their faith in the only Savior of mankind:

The color red was used to signify the blood of the martyrs. Since I mentioned the event yesterday afternoon, I thought it would be good to share something of the evening with you today.

As the evening began, the famous Trevi Fountain was bathed not in red, but in blue:

The color blue was chosen to call mind the waters that so many seeking to flee persecution must cross.

The hour-long program consisted largely of a series of brief speeches given by those who either work to assist the persecuted Christians or whose lives have been directly impacted by persecution.

We were first welcomed by Monica Mondo, a journalist who served as the Master of Ceremonies and host for the evening:

Doctor Francesco Paolo Tronca, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Capital of Rome, and Doctor Alfredo Mantovano, President of Aid to the Church in Need, offered a few words of welcome. For one reason or another, there were technical difficulties while they spoke to us and their images were not shown on the walls of the fountain.

His Eminence Paulo Cardinal Piacenza, International President of Aid to the Church in Need, next addressed us:

Following the various words of welcome, we listened to testimonies from four people who have known firsthand the persecution endured by many Christians culminating in their martyrdom. First, we heard from a Sister of the Missionaries of Charity, four of whom were killed in Yemen:

We next heard from Professor Shahid Mobeen, Founder of the Pakistani Christian Association in Italy and a friend of Shabaz Batti, who was martyred in 2011:

Maddalena Santoro, the sister of Father Andrea Santoro who was martyred in Turkey in 2006, next shared her testimony with us:

Finally, we heard from Luka Loteng, a student from Kenya who represented many of his peers studying in Garissa were many students were martyred in 2015:

After these testimonies the Fontana di Trevi was illuminated in red while a brief piece of recorded music was played in the piazza:

Once the fountain was bathed in the color of the martrys' blood, His Excellency the Most Reverend Antoine Audo, Bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of Aleppo, gave a powerful address, the text of which I hope to find and translate:

As each of the various speakers addressed us, people continued to come into the piazza, take their photograph of the Trevi Fountain and continue on their way. Most of the tourists paid absolutely no attention to what was happening which, if they did not understand Italian, could have been clear from the images projected onto the fountain.

One group of young Italian women posed with happy and excited expressions for their selfie while Bishop Audo addressed us about the suffering endured in Syria. Regrettably, I wasn't ready for a photograph at the time, but it would have shown a stark contrast.

This photograph shows something of the contrast, though not as clearly as the scene I mentioned would have shown:

Never mind the persecution; let me take my selfie

As the evening's program came to a close, we recited a Prayer of Blessed Pope XII for "the Church of Silence," the Italian text of which was projected in three slides on the facade of the fountain in Italian, which more or less translates into English as follows:

Blessed Pope Pius XII

O Lord Jesus, King of Martyrs, Thou art the comfort of the afflicted and firm support of all who suffer for love of Thee and by reason of their loyalty to Thy Spouse Holy Mother the Church. In Thy mercy give ear to our fervent prayers in behalf of our brethren of the "Church of Silence" that they may never be disheartened in the struggle nor waver in the faith; rather may they taste the sweetness of the consolations reserved by Thee for those souls whom Thou dost vouchsafe to number among Thy companions on the hill of the Cross.
To those who must suffer torment and violence, hunger and fatigue, be Thou the invincible strength sustaining them in their trials and assuring them of the rewards pledged by Thee to those who persevere unto the end.

Many, on the other hand, are exposed to moral constraints, which oftentimes prove much more dangerous inasmuch as they are more deceitful; to such then be Thou the light to enlighten their mind, so that they may clearly see the straight path of truth; be Thou also to them a source of strength for the support of their will so that they may triumph in every crisis and never yield to any vacillation or weakness.

Finally, there are those who find it impossible to profess their faith openly, to lead a normal Christian life, to receive the holy Sacraments frequently, and to converse familiarly with their spiritual guides. To such be Thou Thyself a hidden altar, an invisible temple, a plenitude of grace and a fatherly voice, helping and encouraging them, providing a remedy for their aching hearts and filling them with joy and peace.

May they be helped by our fervent prayer; let our fraternal solidarity assure them that they are not alone. May their example redound to the edification of the whole Church; especially may it be profitable to us who regard them with so much affection.

Grant, O Lord, that their period of trial be shortened and that very soon all, including also their converted oppressors, may enjoy the freedom of serving and worshipping Thee, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.

Special thanks to a minor friar for his help not only in tracking down the Italian text of the prayer, but also for providing a link to the English translation given above.

Once the evening program was finished, I stayed around for a few moments to take a few more pictures, my favorite of which is this one because it shows a nun next to a security guard:

The security presence for the evening was more than it normally is at the Trevi Fountain, but not what I expected it to be given the four arrests made on Thursday.

As I walked back toward the Casa Santa Maria, which is very near the Fontana di Trevi, I turned back for one last photograph:

29 April 2016

Trevi Fountain to be lit in red to stir people to concern for persecuted Christians throughout the world

For reasons I will never quite understand, the Fontana di Trevi is among the principle stops tourists make on their visits to Rome (it wouldn't be on my list of the top ten things to see). Though they rarely make a visit to the beautiful Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (which is on my list), they always make a stop at the Trevi Fountain:

Certainly the Fontana di Trevi is a beautiful monument and an impressive work of sculpture, but, to my mind, it's just an oversized fountain. Tonight, however, it will be more than just a fountain; it will be a wake-up call as it is bathed in red light.

The illumination of the Fontana di Trevi is a project of the Italian branch of Aid to the Church in Need. Aid to the Church in Need is an international Catholic charity under the direction of the Holy Father to provide material and spiritual assistance to persecuted Catholics throughout the world. It is my favorite charity and one I implore you to support.

The purpose of illuminating the Fontana di Trevi is to call attention to the great suffering of Christians throughout the world because of their faith:

The announcement of tonight's event also expresses "so many of our persecuted brothers are forgotten they will be grateful, because your presence will represent them, giving them full visibility in the public arena. Many voices will merge into a single choir, and our choir in the background of the magnificent Roman Fountain purpled [the Italian original uses the color purple instead of red], hopefully can sing the prelude to a lasting and concrete reaction at each location, so that the persecuted of the twenty-first century can return as soon as possible to enjoy full of their natural right to religious freedom.

We help the Church in need!

As Aid to the Church in Need is joined by other non-governmental organizations to draw the attention of everyone who passes by to the suffering of so many people, the call will be heard to heed the words of the Apostle Saint Paul - who suffered and gave his life for his faith in Jesus Christ in this very city: "Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good" (Romans 12:21).

The situation is much worse than most people have any idea of (only because they aren't really paying attention). Nina Shea recently summarized the suffering endured by our brothers and sisters worldwide:

This threat has become existential for various Christian communities in Asia and Africa. In northern Nigeria, worshippers are slaughtered in their churches and in their living rooms. In Kenya, Christians have been hunted out and killed for their religion in their university dorm rooms, at shopping malls, and on public buses. In Libya, it was the Egyptian Coptic and Ethiopian Christian migrants who were singled out and beheaded. In Pakistan, Christian families were blown up while celebrating Easter in a park. In Yemen last month, the nuns of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity were tied up, shot to death and mutilated; their staff was murdered and their priest, the last surviving Christian in the port city of Aden, was kidnapped. For the past three days, at the outset of the 101st anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the Armenian Christian quarter in Aleppo has come under jihadi siege though there are no military installations there—only defenseless civilians.

And then there is the religious genocide facing Christians throughout ISIS controlled territory in Iraq and Syria, where, for the first time in two millennia, no functioning church, cleric, or intact Christian community—whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant—can be found. While all faith groups are suffering in these conflicts, the Christian communities are being wiped out in targeted attacks [more].

The program will begin at 8:00 p.m. with a series of speeches by those involved in the assistance of persecuted Christians (including the Bishop of Aleppo), a full list is available here (in Italian). At 8:40 p.m. the fountain will be illumined in red, which will be accompanied by music and images of persecuted Christians. I expect a great many couples out for a romantic stroll will be somewhat taken aback. Indeed, Nina Shea rightly suggests that Aid to the Church in Need hopes "that the coin tossing, selfie-taking throngs of tourists, as the frivolous Western public at large, will be given pause, if only briefly, to contemplate the surging pattern of mass murder of Christians purely for reasons of faith, largely by Islamists."

The program will conclude with the Prayer of Blessed Pope Pius XII for the persecuted Church. I have not been able to find an explicit prayer composed by Pius XII for the persecuted Church, so I suspect what will be recited tonight is the later part of his Encyclical Letter Meminisse iuvat on prayers for the persecuted Church.

Ordinarily I avoid going by the Fontana di Trevi like the plague, especially on weekends when it is even more crowded and congested than usual. Tonight, however, I will make a exception.

Please, join me in helping the Church in need!

Four arrested for Islamic State terror plot against Rome and the Vatican

Italian authorities arrested four people yesterday in Northern Italy for plotting attacks against Italy and the Vatican City State under the direction of the Islamic State. Those arrested were

Abderrahim Moutahrrick, a Moroccan kick boxer with Italian citizenship who received a message that read, "Dear brother Abderrahim, I send you... the bomb poem... listen to the sheik [Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi] and strike";
Salma Bencharki, Moutahrrick's wife;
Abderrahmane Khachia, a 23-year-old Moroccan who said "I want to hit Israel in Rome";
and the sister of Mohamed Koraichi, a Moroccan who was in communication with Moutahrrick and is believed to be in Syria with his Italian wife (arrest warrants have been issued for Koraichi and his wife).

Commenting on the arrests, Maurizio Romanelli, a Milan-based prosecutor, explained the significance of the plot that led to the arrests:

This is a new profile, because it was not a generic indication, but an indication given to a specific person who was invited to act within the territory of the Italian state [more].

Romanelli also called the attacks "very strong, very serious and very efficient."

This acknowledgement - and the arrests - came just two days after Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Programme on Extremism at George Washington University, claimed, "There's not really a 'jihadist scene' in Italy...there are no big recruitment areas for Isis [sic]." I suppose this only shows the so-called experts do not always know everything.

It was only four days ago that James R. Clapper, Jr., Director of National Intelligence, warned of the Islamic State's growth in Europe.

The arrests also come just nine days after German authorities warned of possible attacks at Italian beaches this summer, which Italian authorities quickly denied.

Yesterday's arrests also follow a series of other arrests in recent months and several threats made against Rome and the Vatican, about which I have written previously.

For more details about the arrests, you can consult these articles: