"Jimmy Lai, Cardinal Joseph Zen, Tonyee Chow Hang-tung, Gwyneth Ho, Lee Cheuk-Yan, and Joshua Wong were nominated because they are ardent champions of Hong Kong's autonomy, human rights, and the rule of law as guaranteed under the Sino-British Declaration and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," the announcement from the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China reads.

"The nominees are representative of millions of Hong Kongers who peacefully opposed the steady erosion of the city's democratic freedoms by the Hong Kong government and the government of the People's Republic of China. Through the nomination, the members of Congress seek to honor all those in Hong Kong whose bravery and determination in the face of repression has inspired the world."

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Fr. Pedro Opeka, 72, is an Argentinian-Slovenian Vincentian priest who has worked with the poor in Madagascar for more than three decades.

Janez Janša, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, nominated Opeka for the award. He said the priest was nominated for the Nobel Prize for his dedication to "helping people living in appalling living conditions."

Janša also recalled the former Malagasy President Hery Rajaonarimampianina saying father Opeka "is a living beacon of hope and faith in the fight against poverty."

Fr. Opeka founded the Akamasoa (meaning "good friend") humanitarian association in 1989. It was established as a "solidarity movement to help the poorest of the poor". The association has provided former homeless people and families with 4,000 brick houses. It has helped to educate 13,000 children and young people.

Born in 1948 in Argentina to Slovenian refugee parents, Father Opeka started working for the poor at a young age when he travelled to various countries.

After entering the Congregation of the Mission (also known as Lazarists or Vincentians), he became a priest in 1975 and subsequently transferred to Madagascar, one of the world's poorest countries.

Upon seeing the desperate poverty in the capital city of Antananarivo he decided to do something for the poor. This was especially vital at the landfills where people live in cardboard boxes and children compete with pigs for food,

With help from abroad and the work of the people of Madagascar, he founded villages, schools, food banks, small businesses. He even established a hospital to serve the poor through the Akamasoa association.

Opeka has recently been working with families who have fallen even deeper into poverty due to coronavirus measures.

"It is necessary if we want to live in dignity," he said.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Vatican News

The Church protected the country's Jewish minority during the Holocaust.

A Bulgarian-Israeli lawyer is spearheading the campaign.

Moshe Aloni is seeking support for a campaign to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the Church.

He said he is hoping the campaign will succeed, to honour the Church's "brave acts of heroism".

These included voting unanimously to condemn antisemitic laws during World War II and for going against planned deportation of the country's 48,000 Jews to Nazi death camps in Europe.

A petition to support the nomination was launched last year. So far it has 740 signatures of a target of 1,000.

The petition notes while the Bulgarian government was an ally of Nazi Germany, the church showed bravery and leadership by fighting against antisemitic laws.

The Metropolitan (Bishop) Stephan, the head of the Sofian Church, and the highest ranking Bulgarian Church official during the Holocaust, and Metropolitan Kiril, the head of the Church in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv were both named as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 2001.

That honour was awarded because of strong opposition to the anti-Jewish policies of the Bulgarian regime.

It was also because the pair took active steps against the country's policy of deporting the Jews of Bulgaria and handing them over to the Germans.

Source

• The Jerusalem Post
• Image: The Jerusalem Post

The Religion News Service reported that Francis is currently the 5-2 favourite with British bookmaker William Hill to win the award, which will be announced by the Nobel Institute in Norway on October 10.

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power also considers him a leading contender.

The Pontiff's odds have fallen from 11-4 in a sign of his worldwide popularity.

"When the odds get shorter, that's when you sit up and pay attention," said Jon Ivan-Duke, spokesman for William Hill. "Maybe there's some divine inspiration at work."

Nevertheless, Francis is facing stiff competition from National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

"Snowden has created as many fans as critics and would be a rather controversial choice," said Mr Ivan-Duke.

But the Pope is also facing a late challenge from Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani who survived a near-fatal shooting by the Taliban on her way to school in 2012.

When the brutal attack provoked an international outcry, Islamic clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwa against her attackers, but the Taliban reaffirmed its intent to kill Yousafzai as she recovered in the United Kingdom.

Now a human rights activist, Yousafzai has seen her odds halved from 20-1 to 10-1 but the Pope is still ahead of her.

"The betting suggests Pope Francis is in pole position to win the Nobel Peace Prize — he's the hot ticket," said Ivan-Duke.

"However, there's a late gamble on last year's favorite, Yousafzai, and she could be a real challenger to the Holy Father."

Since he was elected in March 2013, Francis has called for peace in areas of conflict including Iraq, Syria and Ukraine.

The 77-year-old was also outspoken on his visit to the Middle East this year calling for an end to the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians and praying beside the controversial concrete wall that separates Jerusalem from Bethlehem.

In June, he hosted a high-level prayer summit between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and pressed Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back attacks during this summer's bloody conflict in Gaza.

Source

• Religion News Service
• Image: Haaretz

Pope Francis for Nobel Peace Prize

1. He's practically a rockstar

What does Pope Francis have in common with Megan Fox, Kanye West and David Bowie? They've all been on the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine.

His appearance on the cover reflected his ability to appeal to younger generations, and hinted at the fact that he is trying to separate himself from past popes—he's not about tradition, he's about the people.

2. He's an internet sensation

Pope Francis has done what Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber couldn't do - he won the Internet. The pope was the most talked about person on social media in 2013, which just shows how big of an impact he's already made in such a short amount of time. Continue reading.

Source: Voxxi

Image: Rolling Stone

Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, 65, has been nominated by members of Congress Chris Smith and Zoe Lofgren along with the Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do.

The jailed Vietnamese priest is a prominent supporter of the Vietnamese democracy movement, and his outspoken work for democracy and human rights has resulted in him spending more than 15 years in prison.

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