A Catholic Navy Seal with a devotion to St Michael the Archangel has been awarded America’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor.
Edward Byers Jr, a 36-year-old from Ohio, rescued a hostage in a remote area of eastern Afghanistan in December 2012. He was awarded the medal by President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House.
The honour was awarded to Mr Byers for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty”.
The Washington Post and other outlets reported that Mr Byers had for years prayed to St Michael the Archangel, drawing strength from the saint described in Scripture as the one who defends the people of God from their enemies.
Mr Byers said that in his military career he had always worn a St Michael the Archangel patch “on my back … Every single mission I’ve ever done, I’ve always said a prayer to St Michael to protect and watch over us.”
During the presentation, a military aide described his heroism: “[He] fearlessly rushed into the room and engaged an enemy guard aiming an AK-47 at him. He then tackled another adult male who had darted toward the corner of the room … Chief Byers heard a voice respond in English and raced toward it. He jumped atop the American hostage and shielded him from the high volume of fire within the small room.” While he covered the hostage with his body, the aide continued, Mr Byers “immobilised another guard with his bare hands, and restrained the guard until a teammate could eliminate him.
“By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of near-certain death, Chief Petty Officer Byers … upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
Francis ‘accepts invitation to visit Pakistan this year’
Pope Francis has accepted an invitation from the government of Pakistan; to visit the country later this year, according to local news agencies.
Two ministers, Kamran Michael, a Catholic, and Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, the minister for religious affairs, visited Pope Francis to offer the invitation last week, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan agency.
But Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi told the National Catholic Register that there was “currently no travel programme to Pakistan being studied”. Vatican sources said the Pope was thankful for the invitation but neither accepted nor declined.
The only previous pope to have visited Pakistan was Pope St John Paul II, who celebrated Mass at the National Stadium in Karachi. A small bomb exploded minutes before his arrival.
Fr Saleh Diego, director of the bishops’ National Commission for Justice and Peace in Karachi, said: “This is totally unexpected. Our joy knows no bounds. The Pope might tie up his visit with his tour to India slated for 2017. However, this is a big risk for the government as things are different than they were [for St John Paul’s visit].”
Activist a ‘martyr of Laudato Si’
An outspoken environmental activist murdered in her own home has been described as a “martyr of Laudato Si’” by Italian newspaper La Stampa.
Berta Caceres had faced death threats for standing up for indigenous people in Honduras. Her campaigning led to a project for a hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque River being cancelled. Mike Allison, of the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, said: “It’s outrageous that … people had no qualms about ordering her murder.”
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