Catholic News
- Vatican proposes renewal of agreement with China on bishops' appointments (CNS)
Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, said that “the results [of the 2018 provisional agreement] have been positive, although limited, and suggest going forward with the application of the agreement for another determined period of time.” - 'Make love go viral in the light of faith,' Pope says at concluding audience on healing the world (Vatican News)
On August 5, Pope Francis began a series of Wednesday general audiences on the theme of healing the world. - In Latin America, ferment over abuse, abortion and Covid (Crux)
This round-up offers an overview of “a new bishop apologizing for clerical sexual abuse in Chile, the bishops of Nicaragua announcing the return of public Masses after the coronavirus and the Church in Ecuador praising the country’s president for vetoing a bill that would have partially legalized abortion.” - Cardinal Tobin says Biden remarks not intended as endorsement (Catholic World Report)
“I think that a person in good conscience could vote for Mr. Biden,” Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark said on September 15. “I, frankly, in my own way of thinking have a more difficult time with the other option.” - Cardinal Becciu's lawyer resigns over social media photos (National Catholic Register)
“It saddens me to have had to be the cause of further affliction which adds to the unjust sufferings suffered in these days by His Eminence Cardinal Becciu and his family members,” said the attorney, Ivano Iai. - German bishops set up system for larger abuse payments (AP)
Since 2011, payments have averaged $5,840; under the new system, there will be “payments of up to about 50,000 euros ($58,400) to each victim.” - Pope appoints special prosecutor (Catholic Herald)
Pope Francis has appointed a special prosecutor, the Vatican disclosed on September 28. Although the announcement did not identify the case involved, the prosecutor—Gianluca Perone, an expert in commercial law—is expected to probe the financial dealings of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu. - Cardinal Zen appeals to the Pope: Please send a faithful shepherd to Hong Kong (National Catholic Register)
Bishop Michael Yeung, installed as Hong Kong’s bishop in August 2017, died in January 2019. Cardinal Joseph Zen governed the diocese from 2002 to 2009; Cardinal John Tong Hon, from 2009 to 2017. The retired Cardinal Tong is temporarily administering the diocese. - Asia Bibi calls on Pakistan's prime minister to protect minorities (Aid to the Church in Need)
Asia Bibi is the Catholic woman who was jailed from 2009 to 2018 in Pakistan on an unsupported charge of blasphemy against Islam. She now lives in an undisclosed location in Canada. - Cardinal Müller looks at US politics, the 2020 election, and Catholic conscience (National Catholic Register)
Born in 1947, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 to 2017. He also discussed the Vatican’s agreement with China: “What good is an agreement with the Chinese Communist Party if human rights are not respected and Catholics, Muslims and others are denied freedom of religion, and if atheists will even paraphrase the Bible to match their standards, i.e. falsify the Word of God?” - Vatican cardinal pushes back after Pope fires him in scandal (AP)
Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who resigned on September 24, professed his loyalty to Pope Francis and added, “My conscience tells me I’m not corrupt.” - Irish high court justice sees oaths as 'unfortunate' but helpful (Irish Legal News)
Justice Richard Humphreys ruled that “while the ongoing secularization of society makes oaths, with their emphasis on religious beliefs, look like a pre-Enlightenment anachronism and an embarrassment, the unfortunate reality is that the oath still has a powerful role in bringing out the truth.” - Cardinal Burke: Biden shouldn't receive Communion (Newsweek)
“I don’t intend to get involved in the recommending any candidate for office, but simply to state that a Catholic may not support abortion in any shape or form, because it is one of the most grievous sins against human life, and has always been considered to be intrinsically evil,” said the former Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura. “And therefore to support the act is a mortal sin.” - UK bishops, Christian leaders appeal for halt to violence in Cameroon (Vatican News)
The Anglophone crisis in Cameroon has displaced over 500,000 people. - Pittsburgh diocese raises attendance limits at Mass to 50% capacity (WTAE-TV)
“I appreciate and respect that everyone is in a different place with how comfortable they feel about venturing out, especially to our churches,” Bishop David Zubik said. “We continue to create and maintain as many opportunities as possible to satisfy the spiritual hunger of our people.” - New charges emerge in Becciu investigation (CNA)
Vatican journalists have unearthed new details about potential charges against Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, including allegations that the cardinal steered contracts and loans toward his brother’s business. The Catholic News Agency reports that Gianluigi Torzi, a businessman arrested by the Vatican in June, has cooperated with prosecutors exploring suspicious Vatican transactions. - Diocese estimates $60-100 million in damages following Hurricane Laura (KATC-TV)
“Of the 39 church parishes, at least six suffered total destruction, while at least a dozen other churches are so highly compromised,” the Diocese of Lake Charles stated following Hurricane Laura. - Pope names leading physicist to pontifical academy (CNA)
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, established in 1936, is an advisory body whose members include non-Catholics. In 2012, physicist Fabiola Gianotti announced the discovery of the Higgs boson (Encyclopaedia Britannica article). - 'When the dogma lives loudly': Archbishop Chaput reflects on Barrett nomination (First Things)
“Positioning dissenting Catholics as ‘mainstream Americans’ and believing Catholics as ‘extremists’—now a common and thoroughly dishonest culture war technique—is a particular affront to the free exercise of religion,” writes the retired Philadelphia archbishop. “It puts the rights of far more Americans at risk than will ever be nominated for the court.” - 'The cleaning of the stables': Cardinal Pell welcomes Cardinal Becciu's resignation, thanks Pope Francis (CWN)
Cardinal George Pell, who served as the prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy from 2014 to 2019, welcomed the resignation of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu. - More...