Day: September 20, 2023

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Inspired by the dignity of each human being as revealed by Jesus, Christians are called to fight “every form of slavery,” whether physical, social or spiritual, Pope Francis said.

“Jesus, God made man, elevated the dignity of every human being and exposed the falsehood of slavery,” the pope told people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his general audience Sept. 20. “As Christians, therefore, we are called to fight against every form of slavery.”

Continuing his weekly catechesis on zeal for evangelization, the pope discussed the life of St. Daniele Comboni, a 19th-century Italian bishop who dedicated his life to establishing and supporting missions in Africa, where Pope Francis said the saint witnessed the “horror of slavery.”

“Comboni, by the light of Christ, became aware of the evil of slavery; he also understood that social slavery is rooted in a deeper slavery, that of the heart, that of sin, from which the Lord delivers us,” he said.

Visitors greet Pope Francis as he rides the popemobile around St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican before his weekly general audience Sept. 20, 2023. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pope Francis stressed that “slavery, like colonialism, is not a thing of the past,” and recalled his address to South Sudanese political leaders during his visit to the country in February in which he called for an end to the economic colonialism that followed the end of political colonialism in Africa.

St. Comboni, the pope said, understood that those he evangelized in Africa were “not only ‘objects’ but ‘subjects’ of the mission” and praised the saint’s philosophy about evangelization in Africa contained in his missionary slogan: “Save Africa through Africa.”

“How important it is, even today, to advance the faith and human development from within the contexts of mission instead of transplanting external models or limiting oneself to sterile welfarism,” Pope Francis said. “Take up the way of evangelization from the culture of the people. Evangelizing the culture and enculturating the Gospel go together.”

The pope highlighted St. Comboni’s efforts to involve laypeople, families and catechists — “treasures of the church” — in evangelization as a way of “making all Christians protagonists of evangelizing action” and preventing clericalism.

Pope Francis leads a prayer as he begins his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Sept. 20, 2023. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

After his catechesis, Pope Francis mentioned a meeting he had before his general audience with Brazilian lawmakers working on behalf of the poor. “They do not forget the poor; they work for the poor,” he said. “To you I say, ‘do not forget the poor,’ because they will be the ones who open the door to heaven for you.”

The pope also noted the “worrying news” from the South Caucasus region “where the already critical humanitarian situation was aggravated by further armed conflict” after Azerbaijan attacked the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh Sept. 19.

“I call on all involved parties and the international community to silence weapons and make every effort to find peaceful solutions for the good of people and respect for human dignity,” he said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addresses parliament following an escalation in hostilities over the Nagorno-Karabakh region along the border of Armenia with Azerbaijan, in Yerevan, Armenia, September 13, 2022. Tigran Mehrabyan/PAN Photo via REUTERS /File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON

There is no way ex-US President Donald Trump avoids conviction on federal election charges as he prepares to head to trial, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, leader of the far-right militant group Proud Boys, told Anadolu just days after he was sentenced to over two decades in prison.

Tarrio, the ex-national chairman of the group, was found guilty by a 12-person jury in the US capital of seditious conspiracy and other charges earlier this month for his actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021 US Capitol riots.

He was sentenced to 22 years behind bars and three years of supervised release. The sentence is the longest handed down to date related to the assault.

Speaking to Anadolu from prison, Tarrio was certain Trump would be convicted on charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in his favor.

“They’re gonna convict Donald Trump here in (Washington) DC. I am 100% sure of that with a DC jury, there’s no way he’s going to be discharged,” he said in a phone call.

Part of that certainty lies in efforts from federal investigators during the course of Tarrio’s trial asking him for information tying the ex-president to the events of Jan. 6, the far-right leader said.

Tarrio said he was asked about a message he sent in November 2020 that suggested he had been in contact with Trump’s campaign ahead of the Capitol riots.

“The campaign asked us to not wear colors to these events, keep identifying colors to a minimum,” Tarrio wrote, referring to the hallmark black and yellow Fred Perry clothing donned by the Proud Boys during public events.

According to Tarrio, he was visited by “the supervising prosecutor, the prosecutor in the case, and the lead FBI agent, and the second lead FBI agent.”

During that meeting, Tarrio said prosecutors told him they believed he had communication with Trump through intermediaries.

He claimed they offered him less prison time if he could provide information that would lead to the ex-president’s conviction.

Tarrio said he did not and could not hand over any information that would have implicated Trump in the failed attempt to keep the ex-president in power.

“I’m not blaming Donald Trump for something that the Department of Justice has done, in this case,” he said, referring to his own sentencing.

“I’m not gonna blame the wrong bad guy, per se. This whole thing, like these charges shouldn’t have been brought up to begin with. So I have no reason to, to deflect and say, ‘Oh, you know what, it’s Donald Trump’s fault.’ It’s not Donald Trump’s fault. It’s the Department of Justice’s fault. It’s the Biden administration’s fault.’

‘I’m not responsible’

Trump is now slated to head to trial on March 4 next year to face charges of conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. He has pleaded not guilty.

Despite making a public apology and asking US District Judge Timothy Kelly to “please show me mercy” as he prepared to be sentenced, Tarrio insists he is not guilty.

“I’m sorry for what those people went through, but I’m not responsible,” he told Anadolu from a Washington jail before being transferred to a federal penitentiary.

Tarrio and three other co-defendants were found guilty on May 4 of seditious conspiracy and other charges.

He was not present in the capital on Jan. 6 after he was arrested and ordered to leave Washington the day prior on charges related to an earlier burning of a Black Lives Matter banner and a gun charge.

However, the federal jury found Tarrio guilty of orchestrating the attack on the Capitol from afar, including through his efforts to form a Proud Boys cell known as the Ministry of Self-Defense that would work to coordinate the assault as it unfolded.

Tarrio and other leaders then recruited others who would follow their orders on Jan. 6, including engaging in violence if necessary, according to court documents.

Evidence produced at trial indicated that Tarrio told Proud Boys leaders, “Make no mistake … we did this,” as the riot, which aimed to ensure lawmakers could not carry out constitutionally-mandated responsibilities ahead of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, unfolded.

The House of Representatives and Senate would certify electoral college votes that cemented Biden’s win early the next morning.

Kelly, the judge who oversaw Tarrio’s sentencing, decided that his actions were serious enough to warrant a terrorism enhancement that significantly increased his jail time.

Tarrio said that although he remains unrepentant about his actions, he would not have chosen to join the Proud Boys if given a second chance.

“I don’t regret anything. It doesn’t change my views. But for a better life, yeah, I definitely would have not joined, but that doesn’t change the person who I am or what my beliefs are,” he said.

Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.

Pope Francis speaks at his general audience on Sept. 20, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Sep 20, 2023 / 05:50 am (CNA).

One day after Azerbaijan launched a new military operation against Nagorno-Karabakh, Pope Francis made a public appeal for both sides to “silence the weapons.”

Speaking to more than 15,000 people in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 20, the pope said that he was troubled by the news he received Tuesday from Nagorno Karabakh, where “the already critical humanitarian situation is now aggravated by further armed clashes.”

“I make my heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved and to the international community to silence the weapons and make every effort to find peaceful solutions for the good of the people and respect for human dignity,” Pope Francis said at the end of his Wednesday general audience.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed region in Azerbaijan that is home to about 120,000 Armenian Christians. Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh deny Azeri control of the region and claim self-sovereignty under the auspices of the “Republic of Artsakh.”

The South Caucasus region has been a flashpoint since Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan after the fall of the Soviet Union, sparking a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people in the 1990s.

In 2020, with the backing of Turkey, Azerbaijan reignited the long-simmering conflict by invading Nagorno-Karabakh. The six-week conflict ended in Azerbaijan seizing control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A critical humanitarian situation developed in Nagorno-Karabakh this year after Azerbaijan began to restrict access to the Lachin Corridor, the sole road connecting the breakaway region to Armenia, in December 2022, cutting off access to food and medical aid.

The Azeri government on Tuesday called the strikes “anti-terror measures” against “illegal Armenian military formations.” Azerbaijan said the attacks will not stop until the ethnic Armenians completely surrender.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s “Artsakh Defense Forces” reported 23 civilian injuries and two deaths on Tuesday after the Azeri military unleashed artillery and mortar strikes on both military and civilian positions.

The military escalation marks the first indication of a large-scale outright military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh since 2020.

Ruben Vardenyan, an Armenian politician who served as the state minister of the unrecognized state of Artsakh, has appealed to the international community to demand action in defense of the Armenian Christians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The Christian world needs to realize this is unacceptable,” Vardenyan said in a video message to EWTN News. “I believe that only together we can stop this war.”

YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to disband its armed forces and discuss its “reintegration” into Azerbaijan as part of a Russian-brokered ceasefire announced on Wednesday, September 20, 24 hours after Baku launched a large-scale military offensive in the Armenian-populated region.

Karabakh’s leadership said early in the afternoon that it has no choice but to agree to the deal proposed by Russian peacekeeping forces because of severe military and humanitarian consequences of the offensive.

The office of Samvel Shahramanyan, the Karabakh president, said Azerbaijani forces managed to seize a number of strategic heights and road junctures during attacks accompanied by heavy shelling of Karabakh Armenian positions and civilian targets. It said that Karabakh’s Defense Army is greatly outnumbered and outgunned by the Azerbaijani side despite putting up fierce resistance and inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. It also pointed to the international community’s “insufficient” reaction to Baku’s actions.

A separate statement issued by Stepanakert shortly afterwards clarified that the ceasefire, which was due to take effect at 1 pm local time, commits the Karabakh Armenians to disarming and disbanding their armed forces and removing their heavy weaponry from Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh – Children are in a shelter during shelling in Stepanakert, September 20, 2023.

The statement also announced that Karabakh representatives and Azerbaijani officials will start talks on Thursday on the region’s possible “reintegration” into Azerbaijan and the Karabakh Armenians’ rights and security “within the framework of the Azerbaijani constitution.” Their first meeting will take place in the Azerbaijani town of Yevlakh.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the agreement, saying that it will be implemented “in coordination with the commanders of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.”