According to a first reconstruction of the facts, killers entered the home of the religious leader and killed him in front of his family members.

Fighter planes were heading towards the north-east, which suggests that the Nigerian Air Force is about to hit targets on its own territory. In Maiduguri the influx of new military reinforcements was welcomed in an atmosphere of tension, with schools and many businesses closed.

According to the National President of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, the ruling party), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the decision to impose a state of emergency was taken to prevent “terrorists” from proclaiming the secession of the north-east and the creation of their own State.

Civilians, mostly women and children, have been caught in the crossfire and reports from Minority Rights Group International (MRG) partners on the ground show looting of household items as well as cows and sorghum.

There is also reported mass displacement in Boma; the city which normally has a population of thousands and is a hive of activity, now looks deserted. MRG, however, could not independently verify the exact numbers of those who have been displaced.

According to civil society activist Paul Oleyo Longony, people have run away from their houses and are hiding in the forests around Boma Mountain. ‘Others are trying to cross to Ethiopia, but the army there has closed off the border. So people are caught in a dilemma and are without food.’

‘At the moment the situation remains worse in Boma and Pibor,’ says Oleyo Logony, ‘there is no humanitarian assistance and there are gross human rights abuses taking place. Women and children are hiding in bushes under very harsh conditions.’

Yauyau militias were initially integrated into the SPLA forces following President Salva Kirr Maryardit’s amnesty pardon in 2011. Their leader, David Yauyau, in 2010 unsuccessfully contested for Gumuru constituency, Jonglei Member of Parliament. He later broke ranks with the SPLA government and mobilized disgruntled youth into rebel activity.

Civil society organizations in the greater Pibor region are calling on the international community to intervene with humanitarian assistance.

“And if we annoy people” with this zeal for Christ, then “blessed be the Lord,” he said in his daily morning Mass homily May 16.

The pope celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he lives, for employees of Vatican Radio and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The pope concelebrated the Mass with Cardinal Peter Turkson and Bishop Mario Toso, respectively president and secretary of the justice and peace council.

In his homily, the pope talked about the day’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles. St Paul caused a near riot during his trial in Jerusalem when he addressed a group of men divided over the belief in the resurrection of the dead.

“Paul is a nuisance” in his preaching, his work and his attitude, the pope said, “because he proclaims Jesus Christ.”

Evangelization “makes us uncomfortable; many times our comfort zones, even Christian comfort zones, are bothered” by it, he said.

God wants people to always move forward, even despite the trials and obstacles, and to not “take refuge in an easy life or in a cozy world.”

St Paul, by preaching the Lord, “annoyed people,” but he kept at it “because he had that very Christian attitude inside of apostolic zeal, he had real apostolic fervor,” the pope said.

“He wasn’t a man of compromise. No. The truth goes forward, proclaiming Jesus Christ goes forward,” he said.

Apostolic zeal is not a drive for power, to obtain things, the pope said, but “something that comes from inside that the Lord wants from us.”

It does not come from any intellectual or scientific knowledge of Jesus, though “that is important because it helps us.” Rather, this zeal comes from a real living, personal encounter with the Lord.

But going forward and sharing Jesus with the world meant St. Paul always found himself in trouble, not because he wanted to create trouble, but it was trouble for God’s sake, Pope Francis said.

Though apostolic zeal happens with love, there is “something crazy” about it, “a spiritual craziness, a healthy craziness.”

Apostolic zeal is not just for missionaries, it is for everyone, the pope said, and he asked that people pray to the Holy Spirit for this gift.

There are “lukewarm Christians” in the church who “don’t feel like going forward,” he said.

“There are even couch-potato Christians, right? Those who are well-mannered, all perfect, but they don’t know how to bring people to the church” with evangelization and zeal.

“Today let us ask the Holy Spirit to give this apostolic fervor to all of us and also the grace to be a nuisance to the things that are too quiet in the church” and go to the “outskirts” of life, he said.

According to His Beatitude Sidrak, “the very fact of sharing the same residence in the Domus Sanctae Marthae allowed Francis and Tawadros to find themselves not only on the occasion of the official meeting, but also to share other opportunities for discussion and prayer. And such a family setting allows one to bring out many things.” On Thursday, May 9, at the time of his arrival at the residence of Santa Marta, Pope Tawadros was greeted by Pope Francis.

In his speech to the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, the current Successor of Peter recalled the joy “to recognize ourselves united in Baptism, which is special expression of our common prayer.” According to Coptic Catholic Patriarch Sidrak, “To reach communion the journey is long and maybe it will take time. But it would be already important to recognize in concrete terms that we and our Coptic Orthodox brothers share the same baptism.”

In the Coptic Orthodox Church the practice of re-baptizing new members who come from the Catholic Church is still prevalent. Patriarch Tawadros could put the issue on the agenda for a future synod. The practice of Christians “re-baptized” creates misunderstanding and scandal, contradicting the references to a shared witness of the Gospel.

Coptic Catholic Patriarch Sidrak appreciates the fact that the official speeches of the Pope and Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox had no direct references to the Egyptian troubled political and social phase: “It was an ecclesial meeting. Pope Francis’ reference to the “ecumenism of suffering” was a very nice and spiritual reference. But every interpretation only in a polical key would ultimately reduce the scope of those same words. We Christians must be united to serve others. Our unity can never be reduced to a political alliance against a common enemy.”

“The martyrs’ faithfulness even unto death and the proclamation of the Gospel are rooted in the love of God that has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,” said Pope Francis during the May 12 canonization Mass at the Vatican.

He saw in their lives an inspiration for victims of persecution today.

“Let us ask God to sustain those many Christians who, in these times and in many parts of the world, right now, still suffer violence, and give them the courage and fidelity to respond to evil with good,” the Pope said.

In 1480, Turkish invaders beheaded Antonio Primaldo and his hundreds of companions in the far southeastern Italian town of Otranto after they refused to give up their faith.

According to CNA, Pope Francis compared Antonio Primaldo to the first Christian martyr, Saint Stephen, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as “a man full of the Holy Spirit.”

“This means he was full of the love of God, that his whole person, his whole life was animated by the Spirit of the risen Christ, so as to follow Jesus with total fidelity, even unto to the gift of self,” he said.

He said St Antonio Primaldo and companions found their strength “in faith, which allows us to see beyond the limits of our human eyes, beyond the boundaries of earthly life, to contemplate the heavens opened and the living Christ at the right hand of the Father.”

The Pope also named two other new saints.

The first canonized Columbian-born saint, Laura di Santa Caterina da Siena Montoya y Upegui, was “an instrument of evangelization,” he said.

“This first saint born on the beautiful Colombian soil teaches us to be generous together with God, not to live the faith alone but to communicate, to radiate the joy of the Gospel by word and witness of life in every place we find ourselves,” he added.

Pope Francis said she was a teacher who then became “the spiritual mother of the indigenous peoples.” She gave them hope and welcomed them with “the love she learned from God,” bringing them to God in a way that respected their own culture.

He underscored that the saint “teaches us to see the face of Jesus reflected in the other, to overcome indifference and individualism.”

The Pope said she teaches us this by “welcoming everyone without prejudice or constraints, with love, giving the best of ourselves and above all, sharing with them the most valuable thing we have, Christ and his Gospel.”

Pope Francis also canonized Maria Guadalupe García Zavala, a Mexican vowed religious who co-founded the Congregation of the Handmaids of St Margaret Mary Alacoque and the Poor.

The Pope said she “gave up a comfortable life to follow the call of Jesus” and taught people to love poverty “in order the more to love the poor and the sick.”

The fishermen, who were part of a Kenyan crew of ten aboard a fishing vessel the “F/V Royce I” left the port of Mombasa for what was to be a ten-day fishing expedition in the Indian Ocean and initially docked at the Somali port of Kismayo.

The ship then sailed on to the Somali capital Mogadishu, where the captain for unspecified reasons abandoned the ship and the crew. A second captain then sailed the vessel north, but it subsequently developed mechanical problems and was forced to dock at the port of Bosaso on December 10, 2012.

The crew remained there, stranded without pay, until the Puntland Minister for Marine Transport Ports & Counter Piracy, in collaboration with the Bosaso seaport immigration commander, asked IOM to intervene. IOM Puntland staff then met with the crew and the men asked for help to return home.

The crew, who come from different parts of Kenya, will be met by IOM at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and given bus tickets home to return to their families. IOM will also provide counseling.

Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza of Yola accused the government of lacking the will to crackdown on Boko Haram and other militant groups wreaking havoc across the country, Aid to the Church in Need reported.

The bishop said Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s regime was fearful of upsetting voters sympathetic to extremists.

Speaking in an interview with the Catholic charity, Bishop Dami Mamza said that a state of emergency should be declared in northeast Nigeria and the region put under direct military control.

The bishop was speaking after 55 people were killed in Bama, Borno state, on May 7, when Boko Haram carried out a series of attacks and burned to the ground a police station, a military barracks and government buildings.

Bishop Dami Mamza, whose Yola diocese in Adamawa state borders Borno, said that the government had the capacity to assert its authority but feared a backlash from supporters of extremists.

The bishop said: “I thought that by now, with security being in place, attacks such as in Borno would no longer have happened.

“But this outbreak of violence shows that rural areas are vulnerable to attack because there is no security. In fact it shows that in areas in the northeast outside the centre of Maiduguri security is getting worse.”

Attacking the government’s record on tackling Boko Haram, he said: “The problem is that the government does not take serious measures against Boko Haram.

“Even the President is focused on the 2015 elections. If he puts in place measures to control Boko Haram he will lose support from northerners.”

He said the only feasible option was a military-led government in Maiduguri state.

According to ZENIT, the bishop added that the growing military capability of Boko Haram and the group’s refusal to negotiate with the state authorities represented a fundamental threat to the rule of law.

The bishop said: “Do we allow Boko Haram to take over the government? We can’t allow them to take over the government.”

The bishop said support for Boko Haram was growing.

He was speaking after suspected Boko Haram militants carried out an attack close to Yola Cathedral where two people – including a street trader – were shot dead and another person was injured.

“More articles in print media and programs on Radio on families should be carried out. Our journalists in both print and electronic media should take upon themselves the question of promoting family values,” said Bishop Kivuva.

The Bishop observed that the family was today faced with various threats that he said called for effective intervention by institutions, the Church included.

“Our Church media institutions should feel obliged to battle forces that are a threat to families,” emphasized Bishop Kivuva.

In some cases, some sections of the media, secular and both the print and electronic are not exempted from this; hence our Church media should assist towards the fight against family threats, he added. The Catholic Bishop was speaking at the close of a three-day Catholic Church media houses festival, held at the Radio Waumini 88.3 FM grounds, Ruaraka in Nairobi.

In his presentation, Catholic scholar in Religious studies Dr Peter Kiarie said some of the parents had abdicated their parental roles, leaving that to the media and housemaids.

“The Church should find a way to assist the parents regain their rightful position in parenting,” explained Dr Kiarie.

The workshop on families was one of the sessions conducted during the media festival.

Other sessions were dedicated to pupils in primary schools, students in secondary schools, universities and well as priests and religious men and women.

The Catholic media festival was guided by the theme: Social Networks: Portals of Truth and Faith: New spaces for Evangelization, which was also the theme for this year’s World Communications Day, marked on Sunday, May 12.

The festival, which also marked the 10th anniversary of Radio Waumini, 88.3 FM, had also organized a more than 10 kilometer walk from the Holy Family Minor Basilica, City Centre to the Radio station from the friends of Waumini Radio.

The climax of the 10th anniversary of Radio Waumini was a colorful Mass, presided over by Bishop Martin Kivuva.

Bishop Kivuva in his homily commended those working at Radio Waumini for their exemplary commitment in their work.

“The Church has gained a lot from your commitment. We are proud of this and may God continue to bless you as you continue to serve the Church in the communications field,” emphasized Bishop Kivuva.

Among the many guests present were the SIGNIS Catholic TV producers from 13 countries, who were holding a meeting at Don Bosco Youth Educational Services in Nairobi. They participated in the Festival on Saturday and Sunday.

MACHAKOS, May 6, 2011 (CISA)

The Bishop said a lot of money is wasted by government officials and parliamentarians on foreign trips which are not necessary and are of no benefit to the common person. “It is high time the government cuts down on its expenditure and redirect the money to education, food and shelter which are the country’s priorities’ the bishop told The Star.

Bishop Kivuva added that the people who are entrusted with public funds are the ones that squander it.

He said that unless the poor people in the country are empowered, the government will face civil disobedience from the masses that are going without food.”The current high cost of living in the country is as a result of the gap between the rich and the poor, the rich should learn to share with the poor in times of hardship,” the bishop said.

Bishop Kivuva urged leaders and the wananchi (citizens) to shun tribalism and preach peace and unity. He added that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) should be resettled immediately to stop the shame that is facing Kenya.

“It is a shame to see the IDP’s being rejected by fellow Kenyans. Our leaders should be in the forefront in uniting Kenyans and the church should play its role and preach unity so that Kenyans can live as brothers and sisters irrespective of tribes,” he said.

He further urged Kenyans to respect the rights of children by protecting and them nurturing them for a better future.