Catholic News
- Hundreds of Lutherans, Catholics go on joint pilgrimage to see the Pope (Rome Reports)
Pope Francis welcomed the German pilgrims of Mit Luther zum Papst (With Luther to the Pope) and said, “Always remain attentive to God’s melody in your life. Then many voices will join to form one song. This is also where ecumenism happens, in Germany and in many other parts of the world.” - Sri Lanka's intelligence chief files complaint against priest (Colombo Gazette)
According to the report, Father Cyril Gamini Fernando alleged in an online forum that Sri Lanka’s intelligence services were linked to the 2019 Easter bombings killed 269 people. - Pope renews plea for Libyan refugees (@Pontifex)
Echoing a plea made during his October 24 Angelus address, Pope Francis tweeted, tweeted, “I express my closeness to the thousands of migrants, refugees in Libya: I never forget you; I hear your cries and pray for you. We are all responsible for these our brothers and sisters, who have been victims of this serious situation for too many years. Let us #PrayTogether.” - European Court rules that tabloid coverage of deceased priest violated privacy rights (Religion Clause)
“In 1999 and 2002, a Slovak Catholic priest of unsavoury habits was convicted of the sexual abuse of a child and public indecency,” The Spectator reported. “He died in 2006. In 2008 three tabloids followed up a rumour that at the time of the convictions his Church had quietly pulled strings to keep him out of prison. . . . His mother was still alive, and she sued the papers for the distress they had caused her.” The priest was, of course, beyond any earthly help. But his mother was still alive, and she sued the papers for the distress they had caused her. - Former Cleveland seminarians allege sexual coercion, inadequate response (Pillar)
“The matter at hand does not involve any conduct with a minor, any physical contact with any person (sexual or otherwise), or any criminal activity whatsoever,” the Diocese of Cleveland said in response to the allegations. - Speak out against evil taking place in Myanmar, Cardinal Bo urges faithful (Vatican News)
In Myanmar (map), a February military coup has been followed by repression and attacks on churches. - Bishops must teach truth, but avoid partisan politics, Archbishop Lori says (CNS)
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the incoming chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said that “it would be surprising if the Pope and the president didn’t meet. It’s clear that the Pope does not agree with the president about abortion. He’s made that exceptionally clear. I don’t think that this meeting signals any kind of weakness on the Pope’s part on the life issues, but I think there will also be some areas of agreement, and those areas of agreement are broadly shared by the American bishops.” - Ecumenical Patriarch hospitalized at start of 12-day US visit (AP)
Born in 1940, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was installed in 1991 as Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch. He holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches. - St. Peter's Square hosts cardiology mobile clinic for poor (Vatican News)
The initiative was organized by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, head of the Office of Papal Charities, and doctors from the San Carlo di Nancy Hospital. - In Cyprus, Orthodox bishop acquitted of rape charges (Financial Mirror (Cyprus))
Bishop Chrysostomos of Kition, now 83, had been accused of raping a woman in 2011. - Knights of Columbus' leader meets with Pope (National Catholic Register)
Patrick Kelly, the commanding officer of the international law unit at the US Naval War College, was named the new Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus in February. - Jeffrey Sachs named to Pontifical Academy (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis has named Jeffrey Sachs, the controversial Columbia University economist and proponent of population control, to be a member of the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences. Sachs has been a leading figure in the UN’s sustainable-development drive. A frequent critic of US foreign policy, he has been criticized for his ties to China and his unwillingness to condemn Chinese human-rights abuses. Sachs has been a regular participant in Vatican conferences on development and other economic topics during the current pontificate. - Pope comments on the prayer of blind Bartimaeus (Vatican News)
During his public audience on Sunday, October 24, Pope Francis pointed to the example of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who demanded Christ’s attention. The Pope observed that while Bartimaeus asked other passersby for money, he asked Jesus simply for mercy. “He asks for everything from the One who can do everything.” - Sow seeds of an equitable economy in soil contaminated by finance, Pope tells Vatican conference (Vatican Press Office)
Addressing a conference organized by the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice (CAPP) Foundation, Pope Francis warned against both “individualistic visions” and “the collectivistic visions that today are reemerging in a new form, concealed behind projects of technocratic standardization.”In explaining Catholic social doctrine, the Pope referred to “the mystery of God himself, who, as Trinity, a communion of persons, inspires us to find our fulfilment in generous openness to others (solidarity), through collaboration with others (cooperation), and through commitment to others (responsibility).” - Papal plea for Libyan refugees (Vatican News)
Pope Francis issued a statement of support for “migrants, refugees, and others in need of protection in Libya” at the conclusion of his regular Angelus audience on Sunday, October 24. Decrying the fact that refugees who are stopped on the Mediterranean are returned to Libya, where they face “inhumane violence,” the Pope challenged the international community to “keep its promises to seek common, concrete, and lasting solutions” for the refugee crisis. - Leading Polish prelate renews request to proclaim St. John Paul II doctor of the Church (CNA)
In 2020, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, the president of the Polish bishops’ conference, asked Pope Francis to declare Pope St. John Paul II patron of Europe and doctor of the Church, and asked the world’s bishops to support the initiative.Later that year, Archbishop Gadecki said that the Vatican Secretariat of State had replied that “it is not generally envisaged at this time to confer the title of Doctor of the Church even on such authors who have had a significant influence on the teaching and development of doctrine.” - Archbishop Chaput comments on Pope's remarks on EWTN, skewers papal 'courtiers' (First Things)
“It’s surprising to hear any pope be so publicly and personally sensitive to perceived ill will from a few commentators at a modest network (by secular standards) based on another continent,” the retired Archbishop of Philadelphia said in an article in which he critiqued Austen Ivereigh, Massimo Faggioli, and Father Antonio Spadaro. “Conflict, a lot of it, both within and beyond the Church, comes with the job of every bishop. The bishop of Rome is not excused from that unhappy burden.”“And EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo, whom Ivereigh seems to regard as a special tool of the diabolos, does not pose quite the same fearsome threat to the Church as, say, China’s Xi Jinping,” Archbishop Chaput added. “Or significant figures in America’s current leadership.” - 'Renew your mission in listening love for young people,' Pope tells Salesian sisters (Vatican News)
On October 22, Pope Francis addressed the participants in the general chapter of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. - Vatican finance-trial defendant under investigation in hospital crisis (Pillar)
Last week the Vatican announced plans to rescue the Fatebenefratelli Hospital from an “economic and management crisis.” The Pillar news site reports that Italian officials are investigating whether that hospital was defrauded by corporations controlled by the Italian financier Gianluigi Torzi. Torzi is a key defendant in the Vatican’s own financial-scandal trial. - Melkite Patriarch: The Gospel can be proclaimed only with 'a force that is not ours' (Fides)
“In the present time, in which faith ‘is dying out in many regions of the world,’ one cannot become and remain Christian by virtue of human strategies and formation courses,” Melkite Patriarch Youssef Absi emphasized during the consecration of an archbishop.Headquartered in Damascus, the Melkite Catholic Church (CNEWA profile) is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See. - More...