Seminarians from the Pontifical North American College in Romehave won the clerical equivalent of soccer’s World Cup for the first time ever.

“We are very happy. We did everything we could, and by the grace of God we got to this final game and we were able to play well,” said seminarian and team captain Nick Nelson in a May 12 interview with CNA, just moments after lifting the 2012 Clericus Cup.

The U.S.team beat the undefeated (3-0) Pontifical Gregorian University team thanks to one goal from Scottie Gratton and two from John Gibson.

“I thought we played really well,” Gibson said, right after the final whistle was blown. “We started out a little bit flustered with the nerves a bit. But we calmed down, we played our game, we just played simple and smart football. We worked really hard, so I think we played well.”

Now in its sixth year, the Clericus Cup in the annual soccer tournament for the pontifical seminaries and universities inRome. TheUnited States team goes by the name of the North American Martyrs. Despite two runner-up finishes in previous years, the Martyrs had never before won the title – until Saturday.

“We have trained twice a week, first semester and second semester,” said Nelson, who was a member of the runner-up squad in 2010.

“So, the guys give a lot and sacrifice a lot for the team, in order to get this far. We are definitely very grateful to God and proud of what we were able to do.”

Saturday’s final took place on the Knights of Columbus playing fields, which are located behind theVaticanand in the shadow of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

On the coaching bench for theUnited Statesteam was the seminary rector, Monsignor James Checchio, along with Cardinal George Pell ofSydney. He was there to watch one of his own seminarians, Lewi Barakat, who impressed the crowd by providing assists for all three goals.

“We have a great team, we have great men, they have practiced hard and worked hard,” said Msgr. Checchio, “so, we are really proud of them.”

“They’re making a really good contribution to the Church now, and even more in the future. I have no doubt.”

As the referee blew the final whistle of the match, the U.S.team ran to greet their numerous and noisy fans, many of whom were dressed in costumes for the occasion.

“I think that God gives us a gift to work on being able to praise him through sport and through our bodies,” Gibson remarked.

“We work hard at being good Christians on the field but also trying to win, so it’s going to be a great opportunity to praise God for this win.”

Source:CNA

Catholic Bishop, The Right Rev Alfred  Rotich has urged Kenyans to  pray  and work towards a peaceful  General Elections, scheduled for early next year.

“From now until Elections’ time, we as Christians and Kenyans need to pray and collaborate. We are expected to commit ourselves to peace-making with our neighbours and offering prayers for peaceful elections,” said Bishop Rotich of the Diocese of Military Ordinariate and outgoing Chairman of the Bishops’ Commission for Social Communications.

He was speaking at the Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations,Nairobion May 11 during the launch of a film called “The Rally”, a joint production of Jesuit Hakimani Centre and Artful Eyes Productions and directed by Jesuit priest, Rev Dr Elias Mokua.

The film aims to show how and why political campaigns are essential for candidates to elective posts, which Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, Chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission,Kenyadescribed as handy before the General Elections.

Bishop Rotich said many evils could happen in the forthcoming General Election as has been the case in the past “unless we keep peace to each other and offer prayers on the issue.”

Dr Kibunjia told the congregation, which included the clergy, religious men and women that peaceful elections were possible.

“But this will not depend on the beautiful Constitution we have or the Commission nor our politicians but on the 40 million Kenyans on their concrete decision to keep peace during the Elections,” he said.

He said that every time Kenyans hold elections, they always seem to have an agenda, for example the removal of Session 2A, leading to multi-party democracy and the removal of KANU government from the power.

“This time around, the agenda should be peaceful elections,” Dr Kibunjia.“Our people must work hard for peace and good neighborhood to avert the country going back to the old bad days of violence during elections period.”

Ms Winfred Lichuma, Chairperson of National Gender and Equality Commission urged women to ensure they went for elective posts during the forthcoming General Elections.

“The said two thirds positions set aside for women as per our new Constitutions are confined to the Counties, while other positions, like for Members of  Parliament, will be out for grabs by both men and women,” she said

Source: CISA

Pope Benedict recently welcomed Bishop-designate Gregory L. Parkes ofPensacola-Tallahassee,Florida– the newest and the tallest member of theU.S.episcopate.

“I’m 6 feet 8 inches and I believe from what I’ve heard from the other bishops that I will be the tallest bishop in theUnited States,” Bishop-designate Parkes told CNA inRomeprior to his papal audience May 11.

“As far as the gift that it is, I suppose people remember you first of all and you tend to draw attention to yourself, so I try to use that in a very good way and very positive way to serve God’s people.”

The towering cleric will be installed at bishop of Pensacola Tallahassee on June 5. This week he is making his first ever “ad limina” pilgrimage toRomeand his first ever papal audience at bishop-designate.

“I want to assure the Holy Father that I will be faithful to him and to the teaching of our Church and to let him know that there is great hope in theUnited States,” Bishop Parkes said.

Originally fromNew York’s Long Island, the 48-year-old bishop moved toFloridain his teens to attend college atFloridaStateUniversityinTallahassee. Interestingly, his alma mater is now in his new diocese. He was ordained for the Diocese of Orlando in 1999.

He described this week inRomeas a “great blessing” as well as an opportunity to grasp how the administration of theVaticanoperates.

“I had the privilege of studying here inRomefor four years from 1996 to 2000 here at theNorthAmericanCollege,” he said, “but I never really had a chance to visit the various congregations and councils that help the Church to function.”

He was particularly inspired by a visit to the new Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization which was founded by Pope Benedict in 2010 and is led by the Italian Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella.

“We had a very good discussion there with the Archbishop Fisichella,” Bishop-designate Parkes added.

He summed up his idea of what the new evangelization is as “finding modern ways to communicate the lasting truths of our faith” by using “the current social media that people are looking to for information to spread the good news and to evangelize about our Catholic faith.”

Source: CNA

Celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of a town founded to be a model of Gospel peace and justice, Pope Benedict XVI said Christians today must find ways to infuse their cities and nations with Gospel values while welcoming and respecting people with other beliefs.

In his evening visit May 13 to Sansepolcro, named after the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, the pope urged the townspeople to use the anniversary to emulate Sts. Arcanus and Aegidius, who established the town after returning from Jerusalem.

The saints saw the town as a place where Christians could fulfill their vocation to build a society marked by peace through the practice of justice, he said.

“Today there is a particular need for the church’s service to the world to be expressed through enlightened lay faithful,” involved in civil society “with a desire to serve that goes beyond their private interests and beyond partisan views,” he said.

“The common good counts more than the good of the individual, and it’s up to Christians to contribute to the birth of new public ethics,” the pope said.

The challenge facing the people of Sansepolcro is to take the city’s founding ideals as a Christian town and harmonize them with acceptance of others and “the incorporation of different cultures and sensibilities” as the population becomes more diverse, the pope told the townspeople huddled under umbrellas in a town square.

The pope had arrived in Sansepolcro in the midst of a rain storm that forced him to cancel a visit to La Verna, site of a Franciscan shrine marking the place where St. Francis of Assisi received the stigmata.

Pope Benedict had started the day in Arezzo, celebrating Mass in a park with an estimated 30,000 people, including Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti.

Tuscany was the birthplace and heart of the Italian Renaissance, a humanist movement that led to a flourishing of art, music and literature. Tuscans today, the pope said, have to ask themselves “what vision of the human person they are able to propose to new generations.”

The Gospel calls Christians “to live God’s love toward everyone” with solidarity, care for the weakest members of society and respect for the dignity of each person, he said.

“To be in solidarity with the poor is to recognize the plan of God the creator who has made everyone one family,” the pope said.

Pope Benedict said giving witness to God’s love by caring for the weakest must include defending human life from conception to natural death and protecting the family.

Source:CNS