tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66580613774517234772024-03-19T08:47:36.870+00:00Clerical WhispersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger67276125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-69810219001069766472024-03-18T18:17:00.008+00:002024-03-18T18:28:37.738+00:00Former Raphoe Bishop Alan McGuckian to become Down & Connor Bishop this week<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JrcUlUNQUQb9m2NAoVxMLI35oNxgk6oRkdx5OAdci918VzArvmEmMZa0xP1I65aNRL8io3w-Dd1AnR4DMbM7BNkDNHZCg5sc5rh3vCvRRQnciDzdaSF4r4mNHr6xN5xcsJBeN4o7U73qL3m3t2tLJrNC3n6ljqfZrXZW45wgtouvBPnrlCn5tO9c_2M/s246/clerical%20whispers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="246" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JrcUlUNQUQb9m2NAoVxMLI35oNxgk6oRkdx5OAdci918VzArvmEmMZa0xP1I65aNRL8io3w-Dd1AnR4DMbM7BNkDNHZCg5sc5rh3vCvRRQnciDzdaSF4r4mNHr6xN5xcsJBeN4o7U73qL3m3t2tLJrNC3n6ljqfZrXZW45wgtouvBPnrlCn5tO9c_2M/s1600/clerical%20whispers.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>The former Bishop of Raphoe, Alan McGuckian, is going to be officially appointed as the Bishop of Down and Connor next month.<p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Bishop McGuckian was appointed to the Down and Connor Diocese in February by Pope Francis.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He has served the Raphoe Diocese since 2017, with Bishop McGuckian being well-liked by many across his tenure.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A mass of thanksgiving for Bishop McGuckian took place in Letterkenny just a few weeks ago.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Bishop McGuckian will officially take up his new role this coming Tuesday, the 19th of March.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Meanwhile the formal ceremony to install him as the new Bishop of Down and Connor will take place on Sunday the 14th of April.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-86455371343493737692024-03-18T18:16:00.010+00:002024-03-18T18:16:00.133+00:00Pakistani diocese winds up sainthood inquiry on martyred youth<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJfPP6RcNRFSmvfNxhJKSY87tqTq3D0QvPc5QXq1KLUP2021Enr6RXFsFNwQDz2uXPHV9nxxRnw9hy2VzrP5HKSDfkOx4kNZdG_fxHKi6LnsKiG2VZN1N5hFc_BUQFY-ezK0E8OqIFEp43tK-MA5-ey7snqqOGXLdACsZQ5Uphe0vcMyGjTekvtIyejCg/s218/clerical%20whispers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="151" data-original-width="218" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJfPP6RcNRFSmvfNxhJKSY87tqTq3D0QvPc5QXq1KLUP2021Enr6RXFsFNwQDz2uXPHV9nxxRnw9hy2VzrP5HKSDfkOx4kNZdG_fxHKi6LnsKiG2VZN1N5hFc_BUQFY-ezK0E8OqIFEp43tK-MA5-ey7snqqOGXLdACsZQ5Uphe0vcMyGjTekvtIyejCg/s1600/clerical%20whispers.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>Lahore archdiocese
in Pakistan has officially concluded the inquiry into the martyrdom of
Akash Bashir, the nation’s first candidate for sainthood, nine years
after he was killed while preventing a suicide bomber from entering a
packed church.<p></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Hundreds of Catholics thronged to Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore on March 15 as <a href="https://www.ucanews.com/directory/bishops/archbishop-francis-shaw/1136" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Archbishop Sebastian Shaw</a> of Lahore along with other officials signed the documents saying they had faithfully fulfilled the required work.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
diocesan inquiry, the first process after a candidate has been accepted
for canonization, examines if the candidate lived a life of sanctity,
heroically practicing Christian virtues. </span></p>
<p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Salesian Father Gabriel Cruz,
vice-postulator of the cause of Akash, said the diocesan inquiry process
was completed in 38 sessions. They included testimonies of people on
the life, martyrdom and reputation of holiness of the candidate.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The cathedral was decorated with banners paying tribute to Bashir who was only 20 when he died.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Archbishop
Germano Penemote, the apostolic nuncio, and about 40 priests joined the
thanksgiving mass that began with a song dedicated to Bashir. </span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Archbishop Shaw sealed the boxes containing reports on the life, martyrdom and reputation of Akash.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When the Vatican approves his heroic Christian life with a decree, Akash will be called Venerable.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A special prayer seeking his canonization as a martyr was distributed.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The archbishop urged Catholics to offer supplications with it and report to the dioceses when their prayers are answered.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“It
will help us in the next step,” he said praying for Akash to achieve
the rank of saints. It is a historical occasion. We thank his parents
for the training. We pray for this grace for all parents to raise
peaceful youth strong in their faith.”</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The next step, after a candidate is declared a venerable, is beatification, which recognizes the saintly person as Blessed.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">At least one miracle acquired through the candidate's intercession is required to declare the candidate as Blessed.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The nuncio garlanded security volunteers who accompanied Akash.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“His
humility, simple life and determination are a source of bravery and
courage for us all. We know that it is difficult to lead a Christian
life in our environment. Akash has set a powerful example for young
people. He will remain alive in our lives and church,” he said.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Akash stopped
a suicide bomber from entering the St. John's Catholic Church in
Youhanabad area of Lahore on March 15, 2015. The attacker — from a
Taliban splinter group — detonated the bomb, killing himself and
Bashir and at least 15 other people. More than 70 were also wounded in
the attack.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A nearby Protestant church was bombed simultaneously.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In 2016, on the first anniversary of the attack, the Lahore Archdiocese began efforts for the canonization of Akash.</span></p> <p class="ucan-nwarpg-content-tabs-wrapper" style="text-align: left;">
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<p class="tabcontent tabcontent01" id="Trending" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In 2022, Archbishop Shaw announced that
the Vatican had accepted Akash Bashir as a Servant of God, paving the
way for the first saint from the Islamic republic.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He then accepted the nomination of Akash Bashir, marking the formal opening of the diocesan process.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-52759853143412414522024-03-18T18:15:00.009+00:002024-03-18T18:15:00.128+00:00Hong Kong security law no threat to Confession, says diocese<p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTl3gx5AS8uM8GGe4kq2ULXcpyudNqEQC8uGywP1pJzLstvuVJyIQjZoeLqQjkSdeaN1RpNKXLftzYcyg_uVVoHKU_Il2K_hik6FfoQANTHS_grde2-8DdGGk2OjLL6kdtlcPPEn-d_QOFWXF-yevLDzNAYREzwWm-i90gfYbaIhnlHvCX6H1dituuKJ8/s362/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="110" data-original-width="362" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTl3gx5AS8uM8GGe4kq2ULXcpyudNqEQC8uGywP1pJzLstvuVJyIQjZoeLqQjkSdeaN1RpNKXLftzYcyg_uVVoHKU_Il2K_hik6FfoQANTHS_grde2-8DdGGk2OjLL6kdtlcPPEn-d_QOFWXF-yevLDzNAYREzwWm-i90gfYbaIhnlHvCX6H1dituuKJ8/s320/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Catholic diocese in Hong Kong said on
March 15 that the city's upcoming national security law will not change
the confidential nature of Catholic Confession.</span><p></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Hong
Kong is fast-tracking a homegrown national security law, following the
one Beijing imposed in 2020 after quashing huge and sometimes violent
pro-democracy protests.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
government bill -- expected to be put to a legislature vote within days
-- proposes a maximum jail term of 14 years for any person who knows
that someone will commit treason but fails to report it to the police.</span></p>
<p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The diocese's response comes against fears
that the law could force Catholic priests to divulge information they
heard in Confession to authorities. </span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the three-sentence statement published on its website <a href="https://www.examiner.org.hk/2024/03/15/the-catholic-diocese-of-hong-kong-has-the-following-response-to-the-recent-social-concern-over-confession-sacrament-of-reconciliation/news/hongkong/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Diocese of Hong Kong</a> said that it recognizes that citizens "have an obligation to ensure national security".</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It has expressed its views on the proposed law, it said but did not elaborate on it.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
proposed security law "will not alter the confidential nature of
Confession," said the statement issued in the name of the diocesan
communication office.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">UK-based
activist group Hong Kong Watch earlier said the proposed law "directly
threatens religious freedom," and in particular the confidentiality of
the confession as it would force priests to reveal what was said in the
confessional.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The former British colony is a common law jurisdiction with a legal system distinct from mainland <a href="https://www.ucanews.com/directory/country/china/35?utm_source=in-pg-referral&utm_medium=in-pg-referral&utm_campaign=in-pg-referral&utm_id=in-pg-referral" rel="noopener" target="_blank">China</a>.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Hong
Kong authorities defended the proposed criminal offense -- which used
to be called "misprision of treason" -- saying that it had long existed
in the city and other common law countries.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Responding
to a lawmaker's question last week, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said
it would be "very difficult to create exceptions" for people like
clergy and social workers regarding the offense.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The government has said the measure "has nothing to do with freedom of religion."</span></p> <p class="ucan-nwarpg-content-tabs-wrapper" style="text-align: left;">
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<p class="tabcontent tabcontent01" id="Trending" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Hong Kong officials conducted a month-long
public consultation on the security law and the subsequent legislative
vetting took less than a week.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Around
390,000 of Hong Kong's 7.5 million people are Catholic, according to
the diocese, and notable Catholics include two former city leaders.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-52777459625161581392024-03-18T18:14:00.008+00:002024-03-18T18:14:00.210+00:00Taiwan accredits first Catholic priest to probe child abuse <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggd4eejChxRr4qZNutsleUpDm4Hxl8PuOCuG1NfUdn1xQE05GnrEzBYfUx72A0UVy371j4nzMeV48V8OIjIybi0JCf0K6ap69faqGJL-BKAc7vcXcs4kmQVdYzxAVYAS5fs_nYsxNJZUHh1wB8bLqu_9LTdtYYpjxrH7VfvXIHYgj5-7ldid1w0q5q67E/s390/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="390" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggd4eejChxRr4qZNutsleUpDm4Hxl8PuOCuG1NfUdn1xQE05GnrEzBYfUx72A0UVy371j4nzMeV48V8OIjIybi0JCf0K6ap69faqGJL-BKAc7vcXcs4kmQVdYzxAVYAS5fs_nYsxNJZUHh1wB8bLqu_9LTdtYYpjxrH7VfvXIHYgj5-7ldid1w0q5q67E/w200-h124/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Jesuit priest John Lee Hua became the first Catholic priest in <a href="https://www.ucanews.com/directory/country/taiwan/29" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Taiwan</a> to obtain certification from the civil authorities in Taiwan to investigate child protection cases.<p></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lee
dedicated himself to the work of protecting children and young adults
for years, and recently obtained qualification in the “Scholar and
Experts Pool for Investigating Violations of Laws by Individuals
Involved in the Protection of Children and Young People,” says a report
from the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) on March 12.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lee, 58, a member of the Chinese Jesuit Province, is the first priest in Taiwan to attain this certification, JCAP said.</span></p>
<p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Last July, Lee participated in a three-day training session organized by the Ministry of Education.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
training aimed to ensure that investigation procedures for suspected
cases of child abuse within educational and protection service
organizations are fair and professional.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">About
200 professionals from the fields of early childhood education, child
protection, and children’s rights participated in this training.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
Ministry of Education invited scholars and experts with professional
backgrounds in law and investigation of unsuitable teachers, as well as
preschool principals and teachers with practical experience, to give
lectures on various topics, such as the amended Early Childhood
Education and Care Act, the Statute for Preschool Educators, basic
concepts and practices in investigation procedures, handling procedures
for violations of laws and regulations, and report writing.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The training provided a balance of theoretical knowledge and practical application.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As
an accredited expert, he can now be invited by the civil authorities to
conduct investigations into physical and psychological abuse, corporal
punishment, bullying, sexual harassment, inappropriate discipline, and
other illegal incidents involving young children.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This
ensures the fairness of investigation procedures and lightens the
burden on local authorities while fostering a more supportive
environment for education and protection services, JCAP said.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To
assist qualified investigators in upholding professionalism, Lee
continued his education by participating in a two-day "Advanced
Education Training for Professionals Investigating Correctional Services
Violations” organized by the National Education Department in January.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This further deepened his understanding of relevant laws and operational practices in the field.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lee
said he hopes to have the opportunity to serve the church’s education
and protection organizations, primarily through regular advocacy
efforts, placing greater emphasis on prevention rather than
investigation following an incident.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Born in the third generation of a Catholic family in Taiwan, Lee is the former provincial of the <a href="https://www.amdgchinese.org/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Chinese Jesuit Province</a> which covers mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He is now the director of the Office of the Protection of Minors and Professional Standards of the Chinese Jesuit Province.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In Taiwan, Jesuits have been serving for more than five decades.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A
democratic nation, Taiwan never officially declared independence while
China considers the island as a breakaway province and threatened to
annex it militarily.</span></p> <p class="ucan-nwarpg-content-tabs-wrapper" style="text-align: left;">
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<p class="tabcontent tabcontent01" id="Trending" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">About four percent of Taiwan’s estimated
24 million people are Christians, according to official data. Buddhists
make up the majority with about 35 percent, Taoists 33 percent and
non-religious about 19 percent.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Catholic Church in Taiwan has about 300,000 members in one archdiocese and six dioceses.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-89894337110792684962024-03-18T18:13:00.013+00:002024-03-18T18:13:00.124+00:00Sri Lankan ex-prez accuses Church of having role in his ouster<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2F_AwOX3-Mcds8Dt7_CXpv-mwE-7Te7ipp2TmVvXatVGsJDx8gNJ3C1UWQXBO5tmP1Rd5NzbPx-LN5d_ePG_Z-juD_fMUnB459ANDfgj5hw1q8vEEnT9VDj-Ip22v3_7Is_plJvoPjQrTDVdTAJyepoAqYRtJ1_JUAr2o8IC55bxDMwSzeHhH0r2q34c/s786/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="786" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2F_AwOX3-Mcds8Dt7_CXpv-mwE-7Te7ipp2TmVvXatVGsJDx8gNJ3C1UWQXBO5tmP1Rd5NzbPx-LN5d_ePG_Z-juD_fMUnB459ANDfgj5hw1q8vEEnT9VDj-Ip22v3_7Is_plJvoPjQrTDVdTAJyepoAqYRtJ1_JUAr2o8IC55bxDMwSzeHhH0r2q34c/s320/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Sri Lanka's former President Gotabaya
Rajapaksa has alleged in a new book that the Catholic Church played a
key role in mass civil protests that blamed him for the nation’s worst
economic crisis since independence and unseated him from power in July
2022.<p></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“That the <a href="https://www.ucanews.com/directory/bishops/cardinal-malcolm-ranjith/497" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cardinal [Malcolm Ranjith]</a>
and sections of the Catholic Church played a major role in my ouster
was obvious,” Rajapaksa wrote in his explosive memoir titled “The
Conspiracy to Oust Me from the Presidency,” released on March 7.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“The
most visible presence at the Galle Face protests was that of the Roman
Catholic clergy,” he noted referring to demonstrations at Galle Face
Green, a public space near the Presidential Secretariat building.</span></p>
<p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The sensational claims by the former
president and member of the powerful Rajapaksa clan have made the book a
bestseller in the Indian Ocean island nation, with the first edition
sold out within a few days of its release.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, the Church has yet to respond to the claims made in the book, although it’s been more than 10 days since its release.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Written
in first-person narrative, the memoir claimed that there was an
internationally backed conspiracy to oust him from office by various
sections of Sri Lankan society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
and Tamil diaspora outfits in Western countries.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The conspiracy was in the making, it claims, “since he assumed duties in November 2019 through a majority of Buddhist votes.”</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Talk
of ‘Catholic Action’ and the clandestine political machinations of the
Catholic Church was a part of the political discourse in this country
some decades ago. But this time, Catholic priests and nuns came out
openly onto the streets,” Rajapaksa alleged.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He further details how the Catholic clergy would “turn up every morning for the protests on Galle Face.”</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“On 9 July 2022 when mobs took over the President's House, Catholic priests and nuns were seen among the intruders,” he alleged.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
former president even wonders “given the excellent relationship that
existed earlier, why the cardinal and sections of the Catholic Church
turned away from me in this manner is a mystery.”</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He
claims to have maintained close ties with Ranjith before he took office
in 2019 while serving as defense secretary under his brother's
government which was unseated in an election in 2015.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“A
high point of my relationship with the Catholic Church was the
invitation of His Holiness the pope to Sri Lanka towards the end of the
Mahinda Rajapaksa government,” he wrote.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rajapaksa
wrote in detail on the lengthy process beginning about two years before
the visit when personnel from the Vatican visited the country to
conduct security assessments and other preparations.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“I
became so close to the cardinal during this period that when the visit
of the pope took place soon after we had lost power in 2015, he obtained
a special audience for former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and myself
to meet His Holiness at the house of the Papal Nuncio in <a href="https://www.ucanews.com/directory/dioceses/sri-lanka-colombo/480" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Colombo</a>,” he claimed in the memoir.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This
contact, the former president stressed, remained during the years of
“good governance government (2015-2019)” and “I and my wife would
occasionally be invited to dinner with the cardinal.”</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
close rapport between them underwent a dramatic change when the
Catholic Church expressed its disappointment with his government’s probe
into the Easter Sunday attack that shook the nation months before
Rajapaksa was elected to office.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
deadly terror bombings on April 21, 2019, claimed the lives of 279
people including 37 foreign nationals, and injured over 500 others, most
of whom had flocked to churches for Easter Sunday Mass.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
Church said it would be forced to seek "international justice" through
other means in the absence of justice and truth over the attacks through
local mechanisms.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The former
president claimed the Church was misled to believe in conspiracy
theories based on selective testimonies of witnesses.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Recalling
Ranjith’s allegation, made in mid-January 2022, that certain leaders
used the attacks for their political advantage, Rajapaksa claimed he did
seek assistance from foreign governments and investigating agencies to
ensure legitimacy to the probe assigned to a Presidential Commission of
Inquiry.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“What was now being
alleged in so many words was that eight Muslim fanatics had launched
suicide attacks in order to make me president,” he claimed.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“In
early 2022 when the cardinal started making the accusation that I had
somehow orchestrated the Easter Sunday bombings in order to create the
political conditions for me to get elected to power, I instructed Sri
Lankan Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe in Washington to explore the
possibility of obtaining the US government's Federal Investigation
Bureau/ Central Intelligence Agency assistance in the investigations,”
the former president explained.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He
further claimed that the US Department of Justice, after a
two-year-long investigation by the FBI, filed charge sheets against
three Sri Lankan nationals in January 2021 for conspiring to provide
materials to ISIS.</span></p> <p class="ucan-nwarpg-content-tabs-wrapper" style="text-align: left;">
</p><div class="ucan-nwarpg-tabs">
<div class="nwarpg-tab">
</div></div><p></p>
<p class="tabcontent tabcontent01" id="Trending" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This information was based on an FBI communique reproduced in the book.</span></p> <p class="article__paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“For
anyone to suggest that I had the capacity to organize suicide bombings
by Muslim terrorists when I was out of power in order to create the
political environment needed to bring me to power, is totally absurd,”
Rajapaksa said in his defense.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-43361746074301883422024-03-18T18:12:00.011+00:002024-03-18T18:12:00.123+00:00Diocese of Camden, NJ, establishes $87.5 million trust for abuse victims in bankruptcy resolution<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvAaaZvjeYSb3VdeOKjMYoMwU0JqyKBmpeKHZu0rbzdxa8jlthq2HZ04mSyBVKFn1g4SqqS36SW2j0k9pmINelEW-fPIPq59ZchhbPxQjbN92O2M9G0HDxI8fzt_Dj3Rv7Gjr2cBEgOsCs8YJ54_oMCfxTP7oYG10IAjlkweVO7aEb0ARGjvlI1NxnOg/s514/cwpixcsadd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="514" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvAaaZvjeYSb3VdeOKjMYoMwU0JqyKBmpeKHZu0rbzdxa8jlthq2HZ04mSyBVKFn1g4SqqS36SW2j0k9pmINelEW-fPIPq59ZchhbPxQjbN92O2M9G0HDxI8fzt_Dj3Rv7Gjr2cBEgOsCs8YJ54_oMCfxTP7oYG10IAjlkweVO7aEb0ARGjvlI1NxnOg/s320/cwpixcsadd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Diocese of Camden, N.J., and
related Catholic entities will fund a trust of $87.5 million for more
than 300 survivors of sexual abuse in the diocese, in a plan confirmed
March 14 to resolve the diocese's Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The trust, which is to be paid over five years, is part of
the diocese's plan for reorganization approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Jerrold N. Poslusny Jr.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">"Once again, I express my sincere apologies and prayers to all those
who have been affected by sexual abuse in our Diocese," said Bishop
Dennis J. Sullivan of Camden in a March 14 letter posted by the Catholic
Star Herald, the diocesan newspaper.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">"I pledge my continuing commitment to ensure that this terrible
chapter in the history of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey never
happens again," he continued. "This settlement will enable
the diocese to meet its obligations to the survivors of clerical abuse
while we continue to serve the parishes, schools and those in need who
utilize our social services throughout South Jersey."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The plan "embodies" a settlement reached with a committee of
survivors that was first announced in April 2022, according to a March
14 statement from the diocese. The settlement "includes maintaining and
enhancing the protocols for the protection of children," first
implemented by the diocese in 2002, the statement continued.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The diocese began Chapter 11 proceedings Oct. 1, 2020. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In a letter to
the diocese announcing the Chapter 11 reorganization, Sullivan
attributed the decision to the negative financial impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, payments totaling $8 million it paid in 2020 through the New
Jersey Independent Victims Compensation Program to clergy abuse victims,
and New Jersey's 2019 reform of its statute of limitations for sexual
abuse claims, which expanded the time frame in which victims could file
lawsuits.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">At the time the diocese filed for reorganization, there were more
than 50 lawsuits filed against it. During the process, those claims grew
to represent more than 300 survivors of clergy sexual abuse.</span></p>
<p></p>
<div class="paragraph--type--rich-text-field" style="text-align: left;">
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"While these three years of
reorganization proceedings proved challenging, I appreciate the shared
commitment to survivors among those who worked to bring this process to
conclusion," said Sullivan, who has led the diocese since 2013, in his
March 14 letter.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">"This decision opens a new chapter in the Diocese of Camden, allowing
us to finally offer substantial reparations to survivors harmed by
sinful priests dating back more than six decades," he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">According to the diocese, its insurers have agreed to contribute $30 million to the survivors' trust.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In his March 14 letter, the bishop extended gratitude "to the
survivors, our creditors, and all those involved in the reorganization
proceedings." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In a media statement from the diocese, he particularly
thanked Poslusny "for his dedication to providing a fair venue for this
case and for ensuring the interests of the survivors and
the Diocese of Camden were considered justly."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">"I again express my sincere apology to all those who have been
affected by sexual abuse in our Diocese," Sullivan said in the media
statement. "My prayers go out to all survivors of abuse and I pledge my
continuing commitment to ensure that this terrible chapter in the
history of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey never happens again."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">According to research from Penn State Law Professor Marie T. Reilly
made available through The Catholic Project at The Catholic University
of America in Washington, Camden joins 19 other U.S. dioceses that have
emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to clergy abuse claims; 13 others
are currently in bankruptcy proceedings.</span></p>
</div>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-73434007475101373452024-03-18T18:11:00.049+00:002024-03-18T18:11:00.124+00:00Ireland’s Snakes of Secularization (Opinion)<div class="article__text" style="text-align: left;">
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdJKvpOm-enB948JLB-1_l9zTBlYbO06tMV2pAiuPIJkTvIzwBaISRCGIJ2y5-YkHaSDcMJrzUeRbML_vs1EyZpTaamr7-oW59lqbFwA8pfwZVwunZJnMX5WmtCGx9kJ_riTShHCW8VswJMTwvK-sYW9vYprrEo7hajhV-fh7uPVvNGD25sGBoJBNY5c/s267/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="267" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdJKvpOm-enB948JLB-1_l9zTBlYbO06tMV2pAiuPIJkTvIzwBaISRCGIJ2y5-YkHaSDcMJrzUeRbML_vs1EyZpTaamr7-oW59lqbFwA8pfwZVwunZJnMX5WmtCGx9kJ_riTShHCW8VswJMTwvK-sYW9vYprrEo7hajhV-fh7uPVvNGD25sGBoJBNY5c/s1600/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>There is a very understandable desire among the faithful in Ireland — and elsewhere — to interpret <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/news/ireland-march-2024-referendum-no-no">this month’s rejection by Irish voters</a> of a pair of “woke” constitutional amendments as a decisive Catholic inflection point.<p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">According
to this narrative, the unexpected and overwhelming rejection of these
amendments represents a watershed moment in terms of reversing the tide
of secularization that has washed over Irish society in recent decades.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Unfortunately, that’s probably untrue. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">What
happened instead this month is that the large majority of Irish voters,
secular and religious alike, correctly judged that the two proposed
amendments to the Republic of Ireland’s Constitution were “solutions” to
problems that exist only in the minds of the progressive activists who
were primarily responsible for pushing forward the amendments.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The first amendment
would have deleted an existing element of the Irish Constitution that
constructively emphasizes the societal importance of at-home mothers. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yet
the reality on the ground is that the large majority of Irish women —
just like their sisters in other developed countries — want their
national government to provide more support to allow them to stay home
and raise children, not less. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It was obvious to anyone not blinded by
progressive ideology that the amendment would not advance this widely
shared aspiration. Instead, it would have entrenched the radical
feminist perspective that views promotion of motherhood as oppression,
not as an asset.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Similarly,
with respect to the second amendment that would have widened the
constitutional definition of the family to include other “durable
relationships,” as well as marriage, voters understood the agenda in
play wasn’t to make Irish society more inclusive towards same-sex
couples and other groupings that depart from the traditional definition
of the family. Like it or not, that’s already happened in Ireland. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Voters
could readily discern that what social radicals were really seeking was
the institutionalization of their own hostile attitude toward families
headed by a man and woman joined in marriage — ignoring the positive and
foundational role these families continue to play in the lives of most
Irish people.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But the hostility
of voters toward the progressive inanities expressed by both amendments
can’t be taken as a sign that secularism is now generally on the wane in
Ireland — or that a concomitant rebirth of Catholic faith is broadly
underway. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The outcome of other recent referenda establishes that strong
public support now exists in Ireland for so-called abortion rights and
for same-sex “marriage,” in both cases in direct contradiction to what
the Church teaches about an issue of fundamental moral importance. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Alongside a multitude of other indices, these electoral outcomes
communicate just how far contemporary Ireland has strayed from its
profound historical attachment to the tenets of Christian faith.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And,
wounded by the fallout from the clergy sexual-abuse crisis as well as
by the social and economic factors that have inclined so many local
Catholics towards secularism, the condition of Ireland’s institutional
Church remains dire. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">According to Irish census data, weekly Mass attendance among Catholics plunged from 91% in 1975 to only 36% in 2016. <a href="https://gript.ie/41-of-irish-catholic-mass-goers-have-not-returned-post-covid-new-polling/">A further precipitous decline</a>
has ensued this decade as a consequence of the Irish government’s
lockdown of churches during the COVID-19 pandemic. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Almost half of
Ireland’s priests are at least 60 years old; the average age of Irish
nuns, whose numbers have dwindled by more than two-thirds over the last
50 years, is over 80; and vocations have been decimated, with only 20
seminarians studying for the priesthood last year at the national
seminary in Maynooth. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Still,
history assures us that this undeniably depressing numerical litany
doesn’t mean hope of a spiritual rebirth has been extinguished in the
land of St. Patrick, which has served as a beacon of Christian light for
so many other lands since his time. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ebbs and flows in the depth and
breadth of Catholic fidelity have been a fact of life in Ireland across
the succeeding centuries, as in every other locale where the faith has
taken solid root.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">But a durable
turnaround won’t result from favorable political outcomes, welcome
though they might be. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">What’s required today in Ireland is the same thing
that’s needed throughout the secularized societies of the West: sprouts
from the seeds of the New Evangelization, generating holy and faithful
disciples — both lay and clerical — who are willing to proclaim the Good
News of Christ through their actions and words, no matter what the
personal cost. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Such
disciples are in fact already at work, often unnoticed by secular eyes
but never without impact upon the hearts and minds of the people whose
lives they lovingly touch.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">We
should recall that in St. Patrick’s own time, it was his saintly
witness that legendarily was responsible for driving the snakes
permanently out of Ireland. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And it’s the saints of the present day who
are the instruments that God intends to use to shoo away the
contemporary snakes of secularization that beset our world today.</span></p>
</div>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-48414471202987154462024-03-18T18:10:00.020+00:002024-03-18T18:10:00.133+00:00Small diocese and big visions: Bishop Wolfgang Ipolt turns 70<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPIwtqeam50mQCPl4H9QyafQdgwJzhPp2CNr8vZWl1uFy4n5k_mkDNWrsqgoP2fOJgskH3kJ5k0Iw0GKt0Y5mtHnxmVo9unUpx1j58oUoYelLeHJwH0QFbFkbP_nHZeKaoIUoX5D0okC8ysF0Jbpmhx6HQDUWjhT1KwjqFKia8HyYlkuKQsdVO9D6wFE/s207/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="191" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPIwtqeam50mQCPl4H9QyafQdgwJzhPp2CNr8vZWl1uFy4n5k_mkDNWrsqgoP2fOJgskH3kJ5k0Iw0GKt0Y5mtHnxmVo9unUpx1j58oUoYelLeHJwH0QFbFkbP_nHZeKaoIUoX5D0okC8ysF0Jbpmhx6HQDUWjhT1KwjqFKia8HyYlkuKQsdVO9D6wFE/s1600/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>The first German insurance company did not just come from Gotha. <p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
Bishop of Görlitz, Wolfgang Ipolt, was also born in the small Thuringian
town. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, the city that attracted him on his spiritual career path
was a different one: Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia on the river
Gera. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is where Ipolt studied theology, where he was ordained a
priest on 30 June 1979, where he worked as a chaplain in the 1980s and
then as a sub-rector in the seminary from 1989, the year of
reunification. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">After gaining experience as a parish priest in Nordhausen
and as a lecturer in preaching at the pastoral seminary in Neuzelle, he
returned to the Erfurt seminary as rector in 2004.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ipolt's personal turning point came during Pope Benedict XVI's term of office: in 2011, the German Pope appointed him Bishop of <a href="https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/23049-bistum-goerlitz-wenige-glaeubige-aber-ganz-viel-glauben">Görlitz, the easternmost and smallest diocese in Germany</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Just under 30,000 Catholics still live here. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The diocese stretches from
Lower Lusatia in Brandenburg to the north-eastern part of Upper Lusatia
in Saxony. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is also a bridgehead to Poland. Görlitz, for example,
shares the city with the Polish town of Zgorzelec.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ipolt's favourite project: the new foundation of Neuzelle</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Anyone who experiences Ipolt in everyday life at his episcopal see, <a href="https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/24706-ein-tag-mit-bischof-wolfgang-ipolt">as the internet portal katholisch.de did during a visit in 2020</a>,
gains the impression of a man with focussed energy. He wants to impart
knowledge of the faith. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ipolt's favourite project fits in with this: the
re-founding of Neuzelle Abbey by the Cistercians - 200 years after the
order was expelled from there by the Prussian state.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Much has been written about this plan to revive a baroque monastery
complex to spiritual life in the de-Christianised Oder-Spree region of
all places. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ipolt went ahead with the plan. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Together with the
Cistercians of the Austrian monastery of Heiligkreuz, whose abbot
Maximilian Heim initially rejected Ipolt's proposal. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, Ipolt did
not give up and was also able to cleverly get political players such as
Brandenburg's SPD Minister of Culture Martina Münch and later her
successor Manja Schüle interested in the project.</span></p><p></p>
<div class="anchor" id="51940-2-xCJin" style="text-align: left;">
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Since 2018, there has once again been a permanent Cistercian
monastery in Neuzelle, now with nine monks and one novice. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">With the
blessing of the state-run Neuzelle Abbey Foundation, which continues to
own the Neuzelle monastery complex, which attracts over 120,000 tourists
a year as the northernmost example of southern German and Bohemian
Baroque in Europe.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, the man from Gotha is considered conservative when it comes
to church policy issues. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the reform dialogue of the Catholic Church
in Germany, <a href="https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/42299-ipolt-und-meier-fuer-umdenken-beim-synodalen-weg-nach-roemischer-kritik">the Synodal Way</a>,
he voted - unlike the vast majority of bishops - against a vote for
more participation of women in ministries and offices of the Catholic
Church and against a text that would allow lay people to preach at
masses. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">He abstained from the votes on a doctrinal re-evaluation of
homosexuality and considerations on relaxing celibacy.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #990000; font-family: georgia;">Persistent in his goals</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ipolt is a man who acts in precisely composed contexts. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">On the walls
of his detached house in Görlitz you can see a copy of his episcopal
certificate of appointment, a joint photo with <a href="https://www.katholisch.de/thema/564-papst-benedikt-xvi">Pope Benedict XVI</a>,
a small statue of Hedwig von Andechs, the patron saint of the Görlitz
diocese, and an icon of the Virgin Mary. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">His episcopal coat of arms is
adorned with the wheel of Mainz, which is part of the Erfurt city coat
of arms, while a pierced book is reminiscent of St Boniface, as Ipolt
was once baptised in the parish of St Boniface in Gotha. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Silesian lilies
symbolise the close connection between the diocese of Görlitz and the
archbishopric of Breslau/Wroclaw, to which it belonged until 1972.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ipolt's motto as bishop is "Odorem notitiae Christi manifestare"
(Spread the odour of the knowledge of Christ) - an indication that he
persistently pursues his spiritual goals.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the "Thüringische
Landeszeitung" newspaper, Ipolt once explained what he considers to be
the greatest threat to social coexistence: "Without God, our society
becomes merciless. Without God, it loses certain standards." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That
sounded a bit like the legendary "Gothaer Fire Insurance Bank". </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">For
Bishop Wolfgang Ipolt, nothing works without a heavenly letter of
protection.</span></p></div>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-20373475465386863772024-03-18T18:09:00.010+00:002024-03-18T18:09:00.126+00:00Pastor on leave after positive cocaine test<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BNFJfgIDYricEJBfTQ4foog-0XGKKmVaPqJZbnBOb1o82KE_itSfTXqunAhMVU6UIsZ6wuzMa7__S1ZGbYFKTfu6458Ca-xAe1We0APr2HOvyvde9x-YtNKbvfvTmx5AcAU3OGtZksIAAVe-jdzk9AUd7Jo7KvC4av2is-vhGooJPVLbqkLnCg_KMAw/s213/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="112" data-original-width="213" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BNFJfgIDYricEJBfTQ4foog-0XGKKmVaPqJZbnBOb1o82KE_itSfTXqunAhMVU6UIsZ6wuzMa7__S1ZGbYFKTfu6458Ca-xAe1We0APr2HOvyvde9x-YtNKbvfvTmx5AcAU3OGtZksIAAVe-jdzk9AUd7Jo7KvC4av2is-vhGooJPVLbqkLnCg_KMAw/s1600/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.png" width="213" /></a></div>After testing positive for cocaine, a Catholic priest in Italy has
been suspended from the priesthood for the time being. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This was
announced by the diocese of Sulmona-Valva on its website. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The temporary
suspension is intended to investigate the allegations against the
priest. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The priest's reputation and the well-being of the small parish
of Rivisondoli in Abruzzo, where the priest worked, should also be
protected. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The suspension has been in force since Saturday.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The priest, who comes from Colombia, was involved in a car accident a few days ago. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As
the Roman daily newspaper "Il Messaggero" reported, he steered his
vehicle into the crash barriers of a motorway on his way home from a
dinner. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When his injuries were treated at Sulmona hospital, the
laboratory there found significant amounts of cocaine in the priest's
blood.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">
"Il Messaggero" reported online on Sunday that the priest had had to
leave his parish because the diocese had issued a six-month ban. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
priest's lawyer told the newspaper that his client had taken the <a href="https://katholisch.de/artikel/46226-drogen-verteilt-priester-verhaftet">drug</a> by mistake or through ignorance. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He had temporarily withdrawn to a monastery.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-9450070354566408882024-03-18T18:08:00.014+00:002024-03-18T18:08:00.215+00:00Church in France against planned euthanasia law<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfCTMwIPS2TPr0cSNoGYkcqGm-XzBrVA115XbP9k6LCGQ2sGQwkFev3bHHEagsZcubXb6B6TjmskkJvTa69mW6OwYS9IMWCGlh4bj8ES4eGDH9hIl8lfar5YwHGRdF93rhORykuQcEQ23cvHAfnRdn8BiON8aHmPdOcVzC-NEMMTzJg-57c6GYdAIrz4/s305/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="305" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfCTMwIPS2TPr0cSNoGYkcqGm-XzBrVA115XbP9k6LCGQ2sGQwkFev3bHHEagsZcubXb6B6TjmskkJvTa69mW6OwYS9IMWCGlh4bj8ES4eGDH9hIl8lfar5YwHGRdF93rhORykuQcEQ23cvHAfnRdn8BiON8aHmPdOcVzC-NEMMTzJg-57c6GYdAIrz4/w200-h127/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The <a href="https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/51519-franzoesische-bischoefe-kritisieren-neues-abtreibungsrecht">French Bishops' Conference (CEF)</a>
is stiffening its opposition to the planned law on the end of life. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"Until now, fraternity has meant holding back someone who wanted to
commit suicide and accompanying them to the end. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Would it now mean
watching the suicide or helping to commit it?" criticised the CEF
Chairman and Archbishop of Reims, Eric de Moulins Beaufort, in the
Sunday newspaper "Le Journal du Dimanche". </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">President Emmanuel Macron has
described the law, which is intended to enable euthanasia and will be
debated in parliament on 17 May, as a "law of fraternity". </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Moulins
Beaufort said he was expecting a tough battle.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Archbishop expressed concern about manoeuvres by certain economic
forces behind the legislative initiative and called the planned
regulation a deception. "Quite directly, it will change our healthcare
system." </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Regarding the planned criteria for access to euthanasia, he
said that these only showed some people the obstacles that had to be
overcome in order to have a suicide carried out. The example of
countries that have taken the step towards euthanasia or assisted
suicide shows the inevitability of this change, said the Archbishop of
Reims.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">
According to <a href="https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/47092-elysee-palast-verteidigt-macron-besuch-bei-papstmesse">Macron</a>,
terminally ill adults in the final stages of their illness should in
future be able to ask for help to die. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The patient would have to be
fully capable of judgement, i.e. neither a minor nor mentally ill. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Active <a href="https://www.katholisch.de/thema/604-ethik-am-lebensende">euthanasia</a>
should then be carried out using a lethal preparation that the person
wishing to die ingests independently or with the help of another person. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Until now, the law in France has only allowed terminally ill patients
to be permanently sedated at the end of their lives and to have their
devices switched off. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Cases of seriously ill people who want to die or
whose relatives want them to die repeatedly cause heated public debate.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-27827761177316122572024-03-18T18:07:00.013+00:002024-03-18T18:07:00.133+00:00The Conclave of the Future<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzb-Tcpy-AISg8GzLAgMdPUJFL2gOFZOyl1H0WYmCoufQ2ZU_zGqqeYayaOpBEDE8sTgwF7ZxfKjcv2yzZTbb9P0xZzBHntN2M08dXOvZc5TJ-hGnvqyPS6ib9bgy5UnnOlR9abgKeIT8NX4Y9h9B_A_61Z9Gzgp8Bzsr8qNCXkyTe6vzdJIKqoZOAEQ/s273/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="273" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzb-Tcpy-AISg8GzLAgMdPUJFL2gOFZOyl1H0WYmCoufQ2ZU_zGqqeYayaOpBEDE8sTgwF7ZxfKjcv2yzZTbb9P0xZzBHntN2M08dXOvZc5TJ-hGnvqyPS6ib9bgy5UnnOlR9abgKeIT8NX4Y9h9B_A_61Z9Gzgp8Bzsr8qNCXkyTe6vzdJIKqoZOAEQ/s1600/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>While repeated influenza conditions hitting the Sovereign
Pontiff are giving the media the opportunity to raise the prospect of a
future conclave, other voices are being heard seeking to change the
course of the election of Peter's successor, by taking into account the
new challenges arising from the digital revolution and artificial
intelligence.
<p></p>
<div class="paragraph paragraph--type--p-content-text js-content content-text lg-row" style="text-align: left;">
<div class="lc-ss-se lc-cs-ce--tablet">
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Slow down the conclave.” </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The article – <em>Rendere il conclavo piu lento</em> – appeared on February 20, 2024 in <em>Il Mulino</em>,
signed by Alberto Melloni, renowned professor of the History of
Christianity at the University of Bologna. He is known for assuming a
vision of Vatican II in rupture with the pre-conciliar era. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The author
is also a member of the International Academy of Religious Sciences and
the International Council of the <em>Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique</em>: suffice to say that the ecclesiastical world listens when he speaks.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In his contribution, Alberto Melloni is surprised by the
“extraordinarily short duration” of the last two conclaves and is
concerned that a future successor to Peter could be elected too quickly,
under pressure from the media, without the necessary perspective.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">To overcome what he considers to be a major drawback in the more or
less near future where the weight of digital technology and artificial
intelligence (AI) are likely to weigh ever more heavily, the historian
suggests situating the election of the Roman Pontiff in a longer period
conducive to reflection. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">How? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One proposal is reducing the number of
daily ballots from four – as currently provided for by Church law – to
just one.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Mr. Melloni notes that the last two conclaves only lasted around 24
hours each. If this short duration were to repeat itself, the weight of
the media could prove decisive in bringing out a particular candidate
or, on the contrary, triggering a press campaign against another so as
to influence the vote of the porporati who, when they return to their
apartments at St. Martha’s House, would not fail to be affected by the
flow of the day’s information concerning them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The representative of the School of Bologna recalls an event that
occurred during the 2013 conclave: just before the first round of
voting, they learned that one of the most prominent relatives of a
papabile – Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan, who embodied a
“Ratzinguerian” line – was being prosecuted for a case of corruption.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It didn’t take anything less – according to Alberto Melloni – to
bring down Cardinal Scola’s candidacy, knowing that at the same time,
the candidacy of a certain Jorge Bergoglio was supported by powerful
porporati, such as the cardinals Kasper, Danneels, and O'Connor.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As FSSPX.News has already noted, the influence of the media will be
all the more important as the members of an increasingly
internationalized Sacred College know each other less. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">What then can be
said about the impact of a media campaign for or against a particular
porporato, whether they come from inside the Church or from outside, not
to mention the famous “fake news” boosted by AI? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The historian concludes that Francis will probably launch a reform of
the proceedings of the conclave before the end of his pontificate,
without knowing in which direction it will go. “How will he conceive it? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is difficult to say, but the canonists to whom he has already
entrusted the previous reforms do not appear to have the ecclesiological
talent of Eugenio Corecco nor the legal virtuosity of Mario Francesco
Pompedda.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Let us hope that no state and no leading player in the information
market succeeds in altering the election of the Pope resulting in an
impasse fatal to the unity of the Church, as in 1378.”</span></p>
</div>
</div>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-39711520361699585842024-03-18T18:06:00.003+00:002024-03-18T18:06:00.133+00:00Skiing priests illustrate the ‘rest of the story’ about the Catholic Church<div class="separator"><p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><img alt="Skiing priests illustrate the 'rest of the story' about the Catholic Church | Crux" class="rg_i Q4LuWd" data-atf="true" data-deferred="1" data-iml="783" height="180" src="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" width="267" /></p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To invoke a medical analogy, journalism rarely delivers a whole-body
scan when it covers a subject. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A news report is more akin to a targeted
x-ray, focused on whatever part of the body is creating the biggest
problem at the moment – great for identifying a specific ailment, not so
much for capturing a patient’s overall state of health.
</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">More or less randomly, that thought comes to mind in light of a March
11-12 skiing competition for priests from the Alpine regions of Italy,
France and Switzerland, which took place this year in the Italian resort
city of Courmayeur, nestled at the foot of the towering Monte Bianco. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">By all accounts, the roughly 35 clerics who took part thoroughly enjoyed
themselves, as did townspeople and visitors enchanted by the spectacle.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To judge from most journalism on the Catholic Church, you wouldn’t know such moments were even possible.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Recent Catholic headlines have focused on sources of heartburn such
as a Vatican document approving the blessing of same-sex unions,
comments from Pope Francis calling on Ukraine to wave a white flag in
its war with Russia, and excerpts from a new papal autobiography in
which, among other things, he takes aim at his critics. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The cumulative
impression can be that Catholicism is basically a battlefield, with
opposing camps fighting each other continually.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yet the ski contest, which is just one tiny example among countless
others, captures an important corollary: Sure, the Church has its
problems and tensions, but despite them, most Catholics, much of time,
actually are having a blast. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Walk into most parishes, rectories,
seminaries, or other Catholic venues, and you won’t find a debating
society or a MMA octagon cage – you’ll find family, with all the pathos
but also all the joy it implies.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Think of it as the Hillaire Belloc rule: “Wherever the Catholic sun
doth shine, there’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve
always found it so, <i>Benedicamus Domino</i>!”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">All of which brings us to the March 11-12 “Alfred Delavay Challenge,”
which featured a cross-country race, a downhill slalom contest, and a
combined event, involving deacons, priests, and even a bishop from
Switzerland, France and Italy, all of which share an Alpine border. The
competition dates from 1962, making this the 62<sup>nd</sup> edition.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The event began with a Mass celebrated by Italian Bishop Giovanni
Ambrosio, who retired from the Diocese of Piacenza in 2020, but who, at
80 years old, still strapped on his skis and took part in the race –
though he admitted his goal wasn’t so much to win as to make sure that
his old-fashioned wineskin, which he was carrying to sip on between
events, came through unscathed.
</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ambrosio concluded the opening Mass with the usual blessing, telling
competitors, “The Lord be with you!” One wag shouted back, “Was that
‘be’ with us or ‘ski’ with us?”, to general titillation. (The quip works
ever better in Italian, where the difference between <i>Il Signore sia con voi </i>and <i>scia con voi</i> is just one consonant.)</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For the record, the overall winner was Father Jean-Yves Urvoy, a
parish priest in Arles in Frances, who sashayed down the slopes in
style, with the number 26 displayed on a white square over his black
clerical soutane.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Technically, Urvoy actually came in third in combined times, with the
best overall result belonging to Father Paolo Viganò, a pastor on the
Italian side of the Alps. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, Viganò is just 34 while Urvoy is 55,
and the competition comes with a handicap for age, so Viganò ended up in
third place. The youngest competitor, by the way, was 29-year-old
Father Valentin Roduit of Sion in Switzerland, meaning the age range
spanned more than a half-century.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">France was declared the national winner, while Como in Italy took home the diocesan prize.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In most ways that count, however, those results weren’t the heart of the matter.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Instead, it was the spirit of fun, illustrated by Father Gregorio
Mrowczynski, a Polish priest who’s now a pastor at Courmayeur and who
took part in the contest. While grousing about his own performance – “I
need to eat less and build some muscle,” he said afterwards – he
conceded he’s not really concerned with winning or losing.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“The silence of the peaks is relaxing,” he said. “Plus, I must say
that while doing sport, you meet a lot of different people. If I waited
for them to come to church, I’d only see them at funerals!”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then there was recently ordained Father Maurice Sessou from the
African nation of Benin, now serving in the Swiss mountain hamlet of
Saint-Maurice.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“I only saw snow for the first time when I got here in 2017,” Sessou
recalled, adding with a laugh, “I scooped it up and wanted to know what
kind of flour it was!”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sessou took part in the skiing contest last week, though he said his
main achievement was not falling down. Nonetheless, he said, “I adore
the mountains, because you discover how small you are … plus, I love the
ordinary people who come out at night to prepare the trails.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Undoubtedly, though, the prize for the most contented cleric on the
course probably had to go to 84-year-old Father Claude Duverney of Gran
San Bernardo in Italy, who’s been coming to the contest annually since
1980, except for a 14-year gap when he served as a missionary in
Senegal.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Born in Switzerland but an Italian for most of his life, Duverney
originally earned a degree in viniculture and helped low-income
winegrowers in the Val d’Aosta region of Italy compete with bigger and
more established vineyards. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Later, he was enlisted to use his
agricultural expertise in a microcredit program in Senegal, helping
locals plant vegetable gardens in a region of the country where less
than one percent of the population is Christian.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Duverney briefly made national headlines four years ago, when he
decided to undertake a roughly 500-mile pilgrimage on foot from his home
in the Alps to Rome for his 80<sup>th</sup> birthday, with the hope of
being greeted by Pope Francis. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For 42 days he walked the highways and
byways of Italy, carrying only a small sack with water, a Bible and a
change of clothes, and afterwards described the experience as a great
time – among other things, he said, he made friends with some kids in
the Lombardy region along the way with whom he’s still in touch.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For the record, he got his birthday greeting from the pope, who hailed him as a fellow octogenarian.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As for the ski contest, Duverney showed up driving himself in his
small Fiat Panda, still carrying his own skis on his shoulders like a
teenager. Although he didn’t place among the top finishers, he proudly
told anyone who would listen that he’d out-performed at least three
fellow priests who were less than half his age.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Does the “Alfred Delavay Challenge” represent news? Maybe not, at least in the classic sense.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, if you want to understand the Catholic Church – and I mean
the whole experience of the Church, not simply the elements that drive
social media, cable TV talk segments, and snarky commentary – then you
can’t overlook what happened last week at Monte Bianco, and the
innumerable other moments of good cheer that percolate at all levels.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yes, Catholic life is marked by endless tension, resentment and
scandal, and no responsible coverage can pretend it’s not so. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yet it’s
equally irresponsible, and misleading, to style all that as the whole
story – because, let’s remember, <i>laissez les bons temps rouler</i> is also an eminently Catholic sentiment.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-85594039776344375512024-03-18T18:05:00.011+00:002024-03-18T18:05:00.170+00:00Vatican opens probe on ‘trial of the century’ amid widening Italian privacy scandal<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQ3LwVpGddMW-1CcgYue6agSCAxr3xisPhfvhCQJNKJ4GMBrb7ItNMUhdYKnD1sq5v1ox4tnl85-uY771GcYtg2fGX10dzzqCjFhBqDMukWgzzanTv928zbm_qioyQPkBUHoIH_70IaCGmKjW0H5cIuwlepck7XoMggAqt7htmB-NelZ_upEbu_cGV9w/s449/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="449" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQ3LwVpGddMW-1CcgYue6agSCAxr3xisPhfvhCQJNKJ4GMBrb7ItNMUhdYKnD1sq5v1ox4tnl85-uY771GcYtg2fGX10dzzqCjFhBqDMukWgzzanTv928zbm_qioyQPkBUHoIH_70IaCGmKjW0H5cIuwlepck7XoMggAqt7htmB-NelZ_upEbu_cGV9w/s320/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In the latest twist to a mounting privacy scandal in Italy, a Vatican
prosecutor has announced opening an investigation to determine whether
confidential information was used illicitly to influence the recent
“trial of the century” on financial crime, which ended with the
first-ever conviction of a cardinal by a Vatican civil court.
<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“As soon as I discovered, from articles in the press, the existence
of electronic stalking regarding the Holy See, I opened a file, because I
believe that someone followed our investigations from the outside,”
said Alessandro Diddi, a veteran Italian lawyer who serves as the
Vatican’s Promoter of Justice.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Diddi was the chief prosecutor in the recent trial of ten defendants,
including Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, for various forms of
financial crime, mostly linked to a controversial $400 million real
estate transaction in London. Last December, Becciu and the other
defendants were found guilty by a three-judge panel and sentenced to
various prison terms and fines.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Diddi’s comments were made to the Italian newspaper <em>Il Tempo</em> March 17.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The background to the new Vatican probe is a widening Italian scandal popularly known as <em>dossieraggio</em>,
meaning the use of confidential and illicitly obtained information to
compiles damaging dossiers against high-profile individuals.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The origins of the scandal date to March 2022, when an Italian
newspaper published a series of articles on the business dealings of
Guido Crosetto, who had been named the country’s defense minister under
the new conservative government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Crosetto filed a complaint for breach of confidentiality, and a resulting investigation discovered that a lieutenant in Italy’s <em>Guardia di Finanza</em>,
or financial police, named Pasquale Striano, had accessed highly
sensitive databases regarding money laundering and organized crime in
order to extract the information on Crosetto and pass it to journalists.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">From there, it became clear that Crosetto was far from Striano’s only
target. Other searches, all allegedly performed without authorization,
concerned the soccer player Ronald, the Italian rapper Fedez, and a
girlfriend of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Investigators say they’ve identified at least 800 suspicious searched
undertaken by Striano related to 165 different individuals, although in
recent comments to the Italian press Striano claimed the actual number
of database searches he performed could reach as high as 40,000.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Among other things, investigators are seeking to understand if
Striano and anti-mafia prosecutor Antonio Laudati, who’s also been named
in the investigation, conducted these searches on behalf of other
parties who were seeking to influence the outcome of political or legal
procedures through the use of well-timed leaks.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">According to the report in <em>Il Tempo</em>, investigators have
established that Striano also performed a series of illicit database
searches related to key figures in the Vatican trial.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In July and October 2019, for example, Striano reportedly conducted
three separate searches regarding Raffaele Mincione, one of two Italian
financiers charged with defrauding the Vatican over the London
transaction.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Striano also reportedly sought information on Luciano Capaldo, an
architect and consultant to the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, and a
key witness in the trial; Gianluigi Torzi, the other businessman
involved in the London deal; Fabrizio Tirabassi, a former official of
the Secretariat of State and another defendant in the case; and also
Cecilia Marogna, a self-described security consultant tapped by Becciu
to help negotiate the released of a kidnapped missionary nun, who was
convicted of diverting ransom funds to purchase luxury goods for
herself.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s not immediately clear if any of the information allegedly
extracted by Striano, or other parties, affected the outcome of the
Vatican trial, but Diddi said it’s essential to look into the
possibility.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Opening a file is a necessary act, though at the moment it’s against
unknown parties,” Diddi said. “We must also understand what kind of
crime might have been committed, but it’s something that absolutely
deserves to be looked into.”</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-38045161531721179682024-03-18T18:04:00.007+00:002024-03-18T18:04:00.135+00:00Vatican cardinal hints at possible rethink on two-state solution in Middle East<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypNNBaee9aE5aVNncOsU9ZK0Sv2iSf6s8RUlL064uFuG529DnK6oVvgkx7bDM_j7TicMqToqjfuqYjdSlWfN8S329bYshu9ms7icqmpf2eliLoP_Fag3__nkU8MP7-UYeulgB2MH9UJfX2ld4XJ5-UBwURbbcCv5g9XmeOmmBpjF2itGcS2dielM3hzE/s660/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="660" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypNNBaee9aE5aVNncOsU9ZK0Sv2iSf6s8RUlL064uFuG529DnK6oVvgkx7bDM_j7TicMqToqjfuqYjdSlWfN8S329bYshu9ms7icqmpf2eliLoP_Fag3__nkU8MP7-UYeulgB2MH9UJfX2ld4XJ5-UBwURbbcCv5g9XmeOmmBpjF2itGcS2dielM3hzE/s320/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A top cardinal and leading papal diplomat has said that amid the
ongoing war in Gaza, peace in the Holy Land requires a change of
mentality in which both sides recognize and respect each other’s right
to exist, regardless of whether there is one state or two.
<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“I don’t know if two states are better than one, integrated,” said
Italian Cardinal Fernando Filoni, a veteran diplomat and currently Grand
Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Asked whether the two-state solution was still a viable option,
Filoni said, “I can’t say,” and added that predicting the potential
outcome of such a solution is difficult, because “they are two realities
that live in the same territory.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Vatican has long insisted on a two-state solution to the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict, a position reaffirmed recently by Pope
Francis in an interview with an Italian media outlet. Filoni’s comments
represent one of the first hints that at least some in the Vatican may
be rethinking that stance.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Filoni said the most important thing, in his view, is to have “the
rights of each one” respected, meaning both Israel and Palestine,
“without having citizens of first-class, second-class, third-class.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Speaking to journalists at a media roundtable last week, Filoni said
that as a basic principle, “You cannot have peace without justice.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“A peace that is not just creates new wars, new hatred, new
violence,” he said, noting that the Second World War broke out because
citizens in Germany believed they were victims of injustice.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“I’m not judging whether it’s true or not, but it was like this. Then
in other parts of the world, it’s the same thing. When a people, a
group, a reality, feels that they are the victim of injustice, if they
are not listened to, it foments and hatred is born and grows and, at a
certain point, becomes violent,” he said.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Former nuncio to Iraq and Jordan from 2001-2006, Filoni served as <em>sostituto</em>
of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, a position akin to the pope’s
chief of staff, from 2007-2011, when he was named prefect of the former
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a position he held until
his appointment Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in
2019.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When it comes to the Holy Land, Filoni said that in his view, the
current divisions stem from a lack of tolerance and respect for basic
rights on either side.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“You cannot negate Palestinians the right to exist, and you cannot
deny Israelis the right to exist, both of them, in peace. You cannot
say, we want the destruction of Israel, this always generates new
violence. Just as you cannot say, we want to destroy the Palestinians,
you can’t say this,” he said.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Referring to the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories,
Filoni said the Palestinians believe their land has been illegally
occupied, and that “this is not normal, this is an act of violence.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Peace, he said, is “not about balancing between one side and the
other, it’s to say that these elements, these violences, create
situations of conflict that become war.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“We remain in the principle that peace is possible if done in justice and in recognition of everyone’s rights,” he said.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In terms of how to get out of the longstanding regional dispute
between Israel and Palestine, Filoni said regardless of whatever
proposal is deemed best, “you must sit at the table and discuss it, but
the right to existence must be guaranteed by all.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Little by little empty, these hatreds, these tensions, must be
emptied, otherwise they’ll become almost natural and little by little
they grow and then they erupt,” he said, voicing his belief that peace
is still possible, but “we must want it, we must work for this.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">However, most of all, he said, “We should not carry injustices forward, otherwise peace will not be achieved.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Filoni also spoke of the work performed by the Order of the Holy
Sepulchre, composed of some 30,000 knights and dames from around the
world. It attracts roughly 1,000 new members annually and is dedicated
to providing financial support to the church in the Holy Land.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Filoni said most of the support provided by the order is sent
directly to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and distributed to
projects and populations most in need.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One major source of funding, aside from the contributions of
individual members, is the order’s famed Palazzo della Rovere along the
Via della Conciliazione, the main street leading up to the embrace of
Bernini’s colonnades in St. Peter’s Square, which is about to be
converted into a luxury Four Seasons hotel.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Filoni said that around 10 percent of the money the order draws in
from these and other sources is used to cover administrative costs of
running the order, and that around 90 percent, “if not more,” is sent
directly to the Latin Patriarchate.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In terms of what role the order may have in promoting peace amid the
ongoing conflict, which erupted after Israel retaliated for an Oct. 7,
2023, surprise attack by Hamas that left some 1,200 Israelis dead and
over 200 others taken as hostages, Filoni said it comes down to daily
actions.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“We are not architects of peace in the Holy Land, we are small
workers, we stay in our place, and we try to do well what we can, or no
one else will,” he said, saying members are tasked with promoting
justice and love through their work.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One of the main ways to promote peace is through education, he said,
noting that the Order funds schools in the Holy Land where some 20,000
students, around half of whom are Muslim, are educated.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“We can teach peace from the base to young people,” he said, saying,
“if we create a calm, respectful environment where we teach peace,
mutual respect, and human rights (then) we are promoting peace” to both
students and their parents.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Filoni said surrounding countries such as Jordan also have a role to
play in the current conflict in Gaza, and that longstanding regional
alliances can help alleviate the situation for those bearing the brunt
of the violence.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To this end, he noted that Jordan runs a hospital in Gaza that is
still operational amid the current war, and that the pastor of Gaza has
taken people there for treatment.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He noted that in some areas of the Holy Land, a crossroads of
different peoples live in peace, whereas in other places there is
conflict. He noted there are still many places where Christians are a
minority and face hostility, being required to pay a tax to live in
Muslim territory or enduring legal and social discrimination, among
other things.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Culturally, this exists. So, if we eradicate the concept of who is
first-class, second-class, who has the divine right, then” peace would
be easier, Filoni said.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The first and most important thing to work for, he said, is
coexistence, “always in the right of all to live with justice and the
recognition of everyone’s rights, because if this is lacking, two states
or three states, problems would exist.”</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-59625048908457154312024-03-18T18:03:00.009+00:002024-03-18T18:03:00.139+00:00Pope Francis: God’s glory does not correspond to human success<div class="separator"><p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Pope Francis Angelus in Sweden in Solemnity of all Saints" class="rg_i Q4LuWd" data-ils="4" height="181" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSWJCE21WWzA8sCdwG1d1sF0A8wNGY6-p5sgg&usqp=CAU" width="241" /><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <br /></span></p></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pope Francis
said Sunday that God’s glory and our true happiness are not found in
success, fame, or popularity but in loving and forgiving others.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In his Angelus address on March 17,
the pope asked: How it is possible that God’s glory is manifest in the
humiliation of the cross?</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“One would think it happened in the
Resurrection, not on the cross, which is a defeat, a failure,” he said.
“Instead, today, talking about his passion, Jesus says: ‘The hour has
come for the Son of man to be glorified’ (Jn 12:23). What does he
mean?” </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The pope explained that “for God, glory is to love to the point of giving one’s life.”</span></p>
<p class="row" style="text-align: left;">
</p><div class="col content post-content">
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Glorification, for him, means giving himself, making himself accessible, offering his love,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“And this reached its culmination
on the cross, where Jesus outspread God’s love to the maximum, fully
revealing the face of mercy, giving us life and forgiving his
executioners.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pope Francis underlined that giving
and forgiveness “are very different criteria to what we see around us,
and also within us, when we think of glory.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yet while worldly glory fades, this Christian way of life brings lasting happiness, he explained.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“And so, we can ask ourselves: What
is the glory I desire for myself, for my life, that I dream of for my
future?” Francis asked.</span></p>
</div>
<p></p>
<p class="row" style="text-align: left;">
</p><div class="col post-content content">
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“That of impressing others with
my prowess, my abilities, or the things I possess? Or the path of giving
and forgiveness, that of the crucified Jesus, the way of those who
never tire of loving, confident that this bears witness to God in the
world and makes the beauty of life shine? What glory do I want for
myself?”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Indeed, let us remember that when we give and forgive, God’s glory shines in us,” Pope Francis said.</span></p>
</div>
<p></p>
<p class="row lightest-grey-bg mb-6" style="text-align: left;">
</p><div class="col py-3 full-ad">
</div>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After praying the Angelus prayer
in Latin from the window of the Apostolic Palace with the crowd gathered
below in St. Peter’s Square, the pope asked people to pray for war-torn
populations in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, and Syria.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pope Francis expressed his relief
at the release of some of the religious brothers kidnapped three weeks
ago in Haiti as he made an appeal for the “beloved country tried by so
much violence.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Four of the six religious from the
Brothers of the Sacred Heart Institute who were kidnapped in
Port-au-Prince on Feb. 23 have been freed, along with a teacher. The
pope called for the release of the two remaining kidnapped religious and
all other people who have suffered at the hands of kidnappers in Haiti.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The pope called on all political
leaders and social actors in Haiti to “abandon all special interests and
to engage in a spirit of solidarity in the pursuit of the common good”
while supporting “a peaceful transition to a country … that is equipped
with solid institutions capable of restoring order and tranquility among
its citizens.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Before waving
goodbye to the crowd, the pope gave a shoutout to the athletes who ran
in the Rome marathon on Sunday morning, especially the volunteers and
runners from the Vatican’s own sports club, Athletica Vaticana.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-43838375558464686702024-03-18T18:02:00.007+00:002024-03-18T18:02:00.130+00:00Pope Francis names U.S. police professional, Colombian bishop to minor protection commission<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOT2CsEb39_rRqoV6VfJy56CK92w5uG_tTNvdxKY-kyu8LWTrtsYUGP5sXyKDRTuan7-0ggMEoTmMs1L0dvTZpaGu4vVxOStc8D0jOOiUntmxVbYyhEYyW-Vtol9zhuPtoUFT66BG0Gi8jg7G9jjEu-n40_R9dO198_-e9qWOuINdBqlVpkHZB_KT42M/s321/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="321" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOT2CsEb39_rRqoV6VfJy56CK92w5uG_tTNvdxKY-kyu8LWTrtsYUGP5sXyKDRTuan7-0ggMEoTmMs1L0dvTZpaGu4vVxOStc8D0jOOiUntmxVbYyhEYyW-Vtol9zhuPtoUFT66BG0Gi8jg7G9jjEu-n40_R9dO198_-e9qWOuINdBqlVpkHZB_KT42M/s320/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Pope Francis on Friday appointed an American former law enforcement professional as adjunct secretary to the <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.tutelaminorum.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors</a> and
a Colombian bishop as secretary of the independent body tasked since
2014 with advising the pope on how the Church can best protect minors
and vulnerable adults. <p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Vatican <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/03/15/240315c.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">announced</a> March
15 that Teresa Morris Kettelkamp, a Chicago native and Illinois law
enforcement professional, was named as the commission’s adjunct
secretary. Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera of Bogotá, Colombia,
was named secretary of the commission, replacing Father Andrew Small,
who had served as temporary secretary since 2021. Both appointees were
already members of the currently 19-member commission. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The commission, established by Pope
Francis in March 2014, is headed by Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston,
who turns 80 in June. O’Malley has <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253978/cardinal-o-malley-surprised-disappointed-by-abuse-experts-criticism-of-vatican-commission" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">defended</a> the
commission’s effectiveness, saying last March that “the protection of
children and vulnerable persons remains at the heart of the Church’s
mission.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Kettelkamp formerly was <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/3678/new-head-of-usccb-office-for-child-and-youth-protection-named" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">appointed to lead</a> the
United States bishops’ Office for Child and Youth Protection in 2005,
serving in that role until 2011. She was first appointed a member of the
Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2018. She had
previously worked on the drafting of the Guidelines for the Protection
of Minors and Vulnerable Adults with the commission. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A former colonel with the
Illinois State Police (ISP), Kettelkamp retired after 29 years of
service, during which time she headed the ISP’s crime labs and crime
scene services. She also, according to the <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.tutelaminorum.org/the-commission/teresa-morris-kettelkamp/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors website</a>,
headed the ISP’s Division of Internal Investigation, which was
responsible for the investigation of allegations of misconduct within
the ISP as well as in the agencies, boards, and commissions under the
executive branch of the Illinois state government.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Alí Herrera, who is also a
psychologist, was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, on May 2, 1967, and
was ordained a priest in 1992. After graduating with a degree in
theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá in 2003, he
obtained a degree in psychology from the Pontifical Gregorian
University of Rome (2007). He is a senior associate of the Colegio
Colombiano de Psicólogos (Colombian School of Psychologists), <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-03/pope-names-new-officials-for-commission-for-protection-of-minors.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Vatican News reported.</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pope Francis appointed him as a
member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2014
and appointed him an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Bogotá the
following year.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The work and operations of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251094/pope-francis-asks-for-annual-report-on-church-s-efforts-to-prevent-abuse" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">garnered scrutiny</a> in recent years, in part because of questions Small, the commission’s former temporary secretary, has faced since May 2023 <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254463/vatican-looking-into-17-dollars-million-transfer-from-us-based-charity-to-impact-investing-fund" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">about his management of funds</a> at
the Pontifical Mission Societies U.S.A. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In addition, a prominent
founding member of the commission, Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253968/abuse-expert-leaves-vatican-safeguarding-commission-over-structural-and-practical-issues" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">resigned his post</a> roughly a year ago, citing “issues that need to be urgently addressed” related to a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://twitter.com/hans_zollner/status/1641080355405942784" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">perceived lack</a> of “responsibility, compliance, accountability, and transparency.”</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-30630018864079330542024-03-18T18:01:00.006+00:002024-03-18T18:01:00.130+00:00Virginia diocese offers to assist with burial of unborn baby found in pond<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioi3J8AmbJINnfQnGoe3g75zGyErwTiE1jsb8k7NJdbsVJ7fZpeNLcYwK_CxA_yDL0qjn12UQNc5qsLQYQ4hNgthHkBWPFz67E6YnOZ3m7AErmq6JbFKMWMBmZBU3ca5c7MuuH7YmdQ06WjtQOysTWdm9g5wAX6fc22YRBXTVz9M3cqYR1tkzIocOSVxg/s397/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="126" data-original-width="397" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioi3J8AmbJINnfQnGoe3g75zGyErwTiE1jsb8k7NJdbsVJ7fZpeNLcYwK_CxA_yDL0qjn12UQNc5qsLQYQ4hNgthHkBWPFz67E6YnOZ3m7AErmq6JbFKMWMBmZBU3ca5c7MuuH7YmdQ06WjtQOysTWdm9g5wAX6fc22YRBXTVz9M3cqYR1tkzIocOSVxg/s320/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Bishop Michael
Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, this week announced
that his diocese is willing to help with the burial of the body of an
unborn baby discovered in a local pond. <p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Police in Leesburg, Virginia, <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.leesburgva.gov/Home/Components/News/News/10866/5957" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">announced this week</a> the “discovery of a deceased late-term fetus in a pond” about 20 miles outside of Washington, D.C. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“The investigation is being treated
with the utmost seriousness and sensitivity,” the police said, with
Leesburg Police Chief Thea Pirnat calling the discovery “a deeply tragic
situation.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/bishop/public-messages/2024/statement-by-bishop-burbidge-on-discovery-of-body-of-unborn-baby/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">a statement on the Diocese of Arlington’s website</a>,
Burbidge said it was “with great sorrow that I learned today of the
unsettling discovery of the body of an unborn baby described by police
as a ‘late-term fetus,’ found in a pond in Leesburg.” </span></p>
<p class="row lightest-grey-bg mb-6" style="text-align: left;">
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<p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“The Diocese of Arlington has
made it known that we are willing to assist with the proper burial and
committal of the remains,” Burbidge said.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The bishop “urge[d] the faithful of
the diocese and all people of goodwill to join me in prayer for the
child’s mother and for anyone involved in this incident.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Burbidge said the Diocese of
Arlington “encourages all women who find themselves in unexpected or
difficult pregnancies to seek assistance” through Catholic Charities or <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://helpforpregnantwomen.org/en/home" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">the Gabriel Project,</a> a pregnancy support group. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Leesburg police department did not immediately respond to a query on Friday regarding the status of the investigation. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Burbidge, who was installed as the
bishop of Arlington in 2016, is also the chairman of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-21042048646687707602024-03-18T18:00:00.010+00:002024-03-18T18:00:00.161+00:00Church of England accused of ‘acting like a loan shark’ over vicar’s widow falling £313,000 in debt<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJYFlZCOndsuIZL0eFxKLiK1-IkIR4SUg6mNmM88n9MHfr8BvIN10772_D1Bo4RN7BvJjKwwkIQJaJAdkKJN6F53160Pwf-cq3-Uw6KMUvMumf9zeQOwI1Aqo_k8u5KzgWZSfDB7CIIgVASywUf_1EIVHdkLvvQqaBwlmtzPxVmRL1F0SWE9J6ma7Pds/s318/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="111" data-original-width="318" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJYFlZCOndsuIZL0eFxKLiK1-IkIR4SUg6mNmM88n9MHfr8BvIN10772_D1Bo4RN7BvJjKwwkIQJaJAdkKJN6F53160Pwf-cq3-Uw6KMUvMumf9zeQOwI1Aqo_k8u5KzgWZSfDB7CIIgVASywUf_1EIVHdkLvvQqaBwlmtzPxVmRL1F0SWE9J6ma7Pds/s1600/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><span class="dcr-1ipjagz" style="color: var(--drop-cap); font-family: georgia; font-weight: 700;">T</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">he
family of a vicar’s widow has accused the Church of England of behaving
like a loan shark after a £55,000 mortgage it granted became a £313,000
debt – on top of monthly payments she has been making for almost 30
years.</span><p></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tessa Norris* says her 84-year-old
mother, Rose, has “devoted her life to the church, all on a voluntary
basis” but that it is treating her, and others in a similar position,
“as commodities to make money”.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rose
and her late husband were among those who signed up for an “equity
sharing” mortgage scheme offered to retiring clergy between 1983 and
2008. It enabled those who had moved from vicarage to vicarage, never
owning their own property, to become homeowners in later life.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But
where it differed from standard home loans was that, in addition to
charging the borrowers interest payments, the church was guaranteed a
set percentage of the property’s value at the time when it was
eventually sold.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Soaring house prices over the
past few decades mean that, for those retired clergy or family members
still holding one of these mortgages – it is not clear how many people
that is – this has turned out to be an incredibly expensive way to buy a
home.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In this case, as things stand, the
original £55,000 looks likely to end up costing £400,000 or more. That
is arguably not a good look when the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin
Welby, famously <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/sep/20/archbishops-criticism-payday-loans-causes-reform-industry">declared war on payday lenders and predatory lending practices</a>.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
church has so far declined the opportunity to step in to offer Rose a
deal, or write off the loan as a goodwill gesture. It says borrowers
have always had the option to refinance with other providers, or pay
down the original loan.</span></p><figure class=" dcr-173mewl" data-spacefinder-role="inline" data-spacefinder-type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement" id="f10386e7-8b7b-420d-a58b-55144135b8e3" style="text-align: left;"><div class="dcr-1t8m8f2" id="img-2"><picture class="dcr-evn1e9" style="font-family: georgia;"><source media="(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"></source><source media="(min-width: 660px)"></source><source media="(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"></source><source media="(min-width: 480px)"></source><source media="(min-width: 320px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 320px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"></source></picture></div></figure><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The family got in contact after reading a <em class="dcr-170x4j1">Guardian</em> report in December about <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/dec/23/uk-mortgages-trial-debts-shared-appreciation-mortgage-court">shared appreciation mortgages sold by Bank of Scotland</a> that had ballooned into huge debts.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Norris’s
late father, a vicar, retired in the early 1990s, and, in 1995, the
couple took out the equity-sharing mortgage offered by the <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance/national-church-institutions/church-england-pensions-board">Church of England Pensions Board</a>, which provides retirement services to those who serve, or work for, the church.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">They used the loan to buy a “modest” four-bedroom terraced home in Crawley, West Sussex, where Rose still lives.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Norris
says the purchase price was about £66,000, and the loan the couple got,
on which they paid interest only, was for £55,000 – about 83% of the
price.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When Norris started helping her mother
manage her affairs, she was keen to find out more about the loan. In her
initial exchanges with the board last autumn, it indicated it would
cost Rose about £60,000 to pay off the mortgage. That was because, it
said in an email, that her equity share was 83.3%.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But
a few weeks later, Norris was told this was an error and that the
equity share was actually less than 17%. As a result, said an email, the
amount Rose would have to hand over to settle the mortgage was just
under £300,000.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">At the end of January this
year, Rose’s mortgage statement arrived, confirming the bad news. It
said that because her house was worth an estimated £375,000, she would
have to hand the board £313,000, assuming the property sold for that
price.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To
add insult to injury, a few weeks later, she received another letter
saying that her monthly interest payment would rise by 6.7% from this
April to £452, after a 10.1% increase in April 2023.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“My
mum was bewildered by how much she owed. She has devoted her life to
the church, all on a voluntary basis, and doesn’t understand this – she
thought she still owed £55,000,” says Norris. “She has held the church
in such high esteem that it’s very hard for her to imagine that they
would do something like this.”</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Norris says her
mother has made monthly interest payments for almost 29 years. These
are taken directly from her church widow’s pension.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
starting interest rate was 4%, and the most recent paperwork gives a
figure of 8.4%. The official Bank of England rate is now 5.25%. It is
not clear how much interest has been paid in total since 1995, but if it
averaged £250 a month, it would be well over £80,000, and it could be
considerably more than that.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Norris adds she
believes it is “appalling” that the church repays its ministers, and
those who have devoted their lives to it, in this way. “I have related
this story to colleagues, and the most common phrase I get back is ‘loan
sharks,’” she says.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><em class="dcr-170x4j1" style="font-family: georgia;">Observer </em><span style="font-family: georgia;">Cash
forwarded the financial information about the loan, plus the family’s
claims, to the Church of England. In a statement, it did not directly
address how the loan has operated, or the amount that Rose would have to
pay.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The board said: “These mortgages were
designed to offer retired clergy the chance of home ownership at a time
when they were unlikely to have been able to take out
mortgages elsewhere.”</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It added: “Interest
rates were in the double digits for much of the 80s, and very high into
the early 90s, putting home ownership beyond the reach of many.
Meanwhile, the starting interest rates on these mortgages was typically
about 3% or 4%, and increases in mortgage payments were limited to the
increase in clergy pensions to support long-term affordability.</span></p><p class="dcr-170x4j1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“The
arrangement was more like renting than buying, but with some of the
upside if the property gained in value. Retirees have always had the
option to refinance with other providers – and the option of paying down
the original loan, reducing their monthly payments and increasing their
share of the property’s value.”</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-26119354970006810162024-03-17T10:41:00.015+00:002024-03-18T10:47:43.160+00:00St Patrick’s Day Homily of Archbishop Dermot Farrell<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQn4n51GYsWXX2zNL1zpWzAEK85nblWyu0ILeoBiFHTCRiZ512P4I08jn6y5ZjWnuHNSVNzc-IVcs2RVMsu1q7nG5tNN2UQ4YWUpFjmU2XhSIo2ze_oiYwrXYN344lWuauT68wsgi4D9jtfzjfNJI7eovTujYBCblwyKr3o6HtPwngb6jIp2ZENCjBzt4/s197/clerical%20whispers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="173" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQn4n51GYsWXX2zNL1zpWzAEK85nblWyu0ILeoBiFHTCRiZ512P4I08jn6y5ZjWnuHNSVNzc-IVcs2RVMsu1q7nG5tNN2UQ4YWUpFjmU2XhSIo2ze_oiYwrXYN344lWuauT68wsgi4D9jtfzjfNJI7eovTujYBCblwyKr3o6HtPwngb6jIp2ZENCjBzt4/s1600/clerical%20whispers.jpg" width="173" /></a></div>National celebrations can be occasions for a great deal of rhetoric. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Today’s celebration is no exception. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Many legends have grown up around
our national apostle. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is therefore important to balance our national
narratives by Patrick’s own words, as these reveal Patrick, Ireland’s
apostle, and what inspired him—a person of faith and zeal, a person of
deep inner life and resourcefulness, whose life followed unforeseen
paths; someone whose suffering was great, and was not diminished by it,
and who became a successful missionary, learning the language of his
adopted people and returning to them in service and hope.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In his ‘confession,’ Patrick says of himself: “Although I am
imperfect in many ways, I want my brothers and relations to know what
I’m really like, so that they can see what it is that inspires my life.”
(<em>Confessio</em> §6). </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">From the Confession, his very short
autobiography, we know what inspires Patrick’s life: he lived out of his
relationship with Christ; he was steeped in the mind-set of Christ. He
was someone of deep and genuine prayer. In the vulnerable silence of
prayer, he allowed God to do new and unexpected things. Through prayer
his inner self was strengthened, along with his capacity to grasp the
primacy of invisible things over visible things (see 2 Cor 4:16-18). </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">From his heart, from within, sprung the decisions that guided his whole
life. To return to his words, “I want my brothers and relations to know
what I’m really like, so that they can see what it is that inspires my
life.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The shock and brutality of his treatment at the hands of the Irish,
did not turn Patrick in on himself, and in his liberation from Ireland,
he did not close off his past, as it were. He did not shut out the
deeper need of his captors, but managed to hear their cry, “the cry of
the poor” in a true sense. Patrick’s view of the world is not a fortress
view, his worldview is a view that brings him to encounter people as
they are.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As Pope Francis was to declare almost 1,600 years later, “We are all related…; we are all dependent on one another <em>(Laudato Si’</em>
16, 42, 91 and 92). Essentially, this means that we may not close
ourselves to the pain of those around us who are suffering. This is what
Patrick embraced, and embraced radically: “whoever serves me, he must
follow me, wherever I am, <u>my servant will be there too</u>,” as Jesus says in today’s Gospel (John 12:26).</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Christ, our brother, is to be found in the midst of the poor, of
those left behind, of the excluded. That is the “wherever I am” of our
Lord. If we are oblivious to the pain of those who are forced to migrate
or trafficked into our country and have no access to resources,
housing, healthcare to name but a few areas, our faith is just an
illusion (see <em>Laudate Deum</em>, 2). </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Human nature being what it is,
it is sometimes easier to be moved by the plight of those suffering in
far off places and to filter out the suffering of those closer to home
whose needs require responses which can be challenging and unsettling.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Over 50 years ago, Pope St Paul VI, writing of the social problems
caused by the recent and rapid migration of people into the mega-cities
of the developing world would say,</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><em>“It is in fact the weakest who are the victims of dehumanizing
living conditions, degrading for conscience and harmful for the life of
the family, …young couples waiting in vain for a decent dwelling at a
price they can afford are demoralized and their [shared life] can
thereby even be endangered.”</em> (<em>Octogesima Adveniens</em> (1971) § 11)</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That naming the consequences of rapid social and economic change was
in 1971. Further on, in the same letter, Pope Paul VI would turn to the
role the Church might have to play in the response to such demographic
change:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><em>“Let every person examine themselves, to see what they have done
up to now, and what they ought to do. It is not enough to recall
principles, state intentions, point to crying injustice and utter
prophetic denunciations; these words will lack real weight unless they
are accompanied for each individual by a livelier awareness of personal
responsibility and by effective action. It is too easy to throw back on
others responsibility for injustice, if at the same time one does not
realise how each one shares in it personally, and how personal
conversion is needed first.”</em> (§48)</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Patrick returned to the Irish; he returned to us to bring us good
news. Patrick’s words did not “lack weight [as] they were accompanied by
a lively awareness of personal responsibility.” Patrick put flesh on
what would follow from the Second Vatican Council:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><em>“a renewed consciousness of the demands of the gospel makes it
the Church’s duty to put herself at the service of all, to help them
grasp their serious situation in all its dimensions, and to convince
them that solidarity in action at this turning point in human history is
a matter of urgency.”</em> (Pope St. Paul VI, <em>Octogesima Adveniens</em> [1971] § 5, citing <em>Populorum Progressio</em> §1).</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The response to injustice is the responsibility of all. It is our
response. It is a response of solidarity—our solidarity, and it is a
response of empowerment—our empowerment of those at a disadvantage,
those being left behind. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But more is needed: our response also needs to
be innovative, <strong>we</strong> need to find new ways. The strategies
that worked for our Church in this land over the last two centuries no
longer work in the 21st century. This has been the constant call of the
Church and of its Magisterium in, and since, the Second Vatican Council.
Pope Francis puts it like this:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><em>“Instead of being just a church that welcomes and receives by
keeping the doors open, let us try also to be a church that finds new
roads, that is able to step outside itself and go to those who do not
attend Mass, to those who have left [the Church] or are indifferent.” </em>(Antonio Spadaro SJ, Interview with Pope Francis. See “A Big Open Heart to God: An Interview with Pope Francis: <em>America</em>, 30th September 2013: page 23)</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What holds for the work of justice, can also be said of the work of
bringing good news. We see this in Patrick, who does not “throw back on
others responsibility for bringing good news.” Patrick brings the good
news himself. He has that “livelier awareness of personal responsibility
and effective action” which Pope Paul VI saw as vital. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That personal
responsibility, one might call it that<em> ownership</em>, transforms
our words into words grounded in reality, and our proclamation into a
proclamation grounded in the concrete hope of our lives.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is good news from below. This is what we need: not good news at a
distance, good news from on high, good news that is close to people,
that brings God’s tenderness and faithfulness close to people in their
“joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties,” to recall the
opening words of <em>Gaudium et Spes – The Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World </em>(§1)<em>. </em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To preach the gospel effectively is not just to tell people about
God. The culmination of human knowing about God is not conceptual; it is
experiential. We feel God. To be effective evangelisers is to carry
within ourselves that tension between the life of God and that which is
furthest away, alienated and hurt. That’s what Patrick did, that was his
mission. That mission is now ours, and is as formidable now as it was
in 432, and just as necessary.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em style="font-family: georgia;">Pádraig, Aspal Éireann: guí orainn. </em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">+Dermot Farrell<br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: georgia;">Archbishop of Dublin</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-2636469200964410862024-03-17T08:22:00.006+00:002024-03-18T08:30:46.574+00:00President Michael D. Higgins Saint Patrick’s Day Message 2024<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9FItI-F6zxgscabFxe93dV3uchQj1GSCGkQD9Ud52iHiL-Ini7LixQnHuCpPqCeVvZ3WafrJR-3ewz0VUy03EhE-Ub4WFXzH8UOQIXfRvRbp1-SxQVUhaPzzVsZZtzLLGWiUClhVTaXkMgo9yVi4HYDqSQTS34VA87BAdS4IvrtbeU3hrqfcCNvAn_ww/s188/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="125" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9FItI-F6zxgscabFxe93dV3uchQj1GSCGkQD9Ud52iHiL-Ini7LixQnHuCpPqCeVvZ3WafrJR-3ewz0VUy03EhE-Ub4WFXzH8UOQIXfRvRbp1-SxQVUhaPzzVsZZtzLLGWiUClhVTaXkMgo9yVi4HYDqSQTS34VA87BAdS4IvrtbeU3hrqfcCNvAn_ww/s1600/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">“May I, on this Saint Patrick’s Day 2024, send my warmest greetings
as Uachtarán na hÉireann, President of Ireland, to all of our extended
Irish family and indeed to all of those interested in Ireland across the
world, whose interest is much appreciated. </span><p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Wherever they may be, and in whatever circumstances, the Irish
scattered across the world, and all those who feel a connection to our
country, are part of a global family that on this special day celebrates
and invokes a shared culture and heritage, but reminds us too of a
humanity of possibilities and vulnerabilities that we share despite the
borders, oceans and miles that may separate us.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">How so much better it would be that these celebrations be taking
place in conditions of peace and shared concern for the sustainable
future of our planet and all forms of life on it. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Unfortunately and tragically, our times are scarred by conditions of
conflict, by wars and unresolved issues of hunger and poverty that
affect so many in our human family. As we are all too aware, millions
of people worldwide are struggling as a consequence of the contemporary
multiple interacting crises, and of inequality, climate change and
biodiversity loss.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In these challenging times, it is appropriate for us to invoke and
reflect on the values that we wish to define us as Irish people. To call
to mind those words and actions of which we can be proud.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Saint Patrick’s life embodied the values of solidarity, friendship
and concern for humanity. Coming to Irish shores as an outsider, an
exile, a migrant finding solace and purpose in a foreign land, his story
serves as a poignant reminder of the resilience, courage, and
wide-ranging contribution of migrants throughout history, of those who
seek refuge and shelter. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">These migrant traits we rightly celebrate in those who have left our
shores, including those who have made, and are making, such important
contributions to so many causes across the world. We see it today in the
contributions of the many wonderful people who have come to live their
lives in Ireland over recent decades and who are now such a central part
of the Irish family, whose work makes our society possible in its
vulnerabilities and possibilities.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">An example of Irishness at its best, in a world marked by conflicts
and unrest, is Ireland’s practical contribution to peace-building, as
part of its commitment to living in peace and harmony with our global
family. Encouraging others to do so becomes, in current conditions,
ever more crucial. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">On this, our National Day, we pay tribute to all those Irish women
and men who are directly engaged in peacekeeping and in humanitarian
relief around the world and of whom we are so proud.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Attacks on citizens have increased, as in the attack by Hamas last
October followed by a reprisal of horrific assault as collective
punishment. This year, all of the people in Gaza, ordinary citizens
facing the most horrific of circumstances of war and displacement, will
be in the thoughts of Irish people. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">On this special day, it is important to call and pray for an
immediate ceasefire, an end to the killing including as it does such a
huge proportion of children, a ceasefire which will include too the
release of all hostages. The facts of child deaths and malnutrition are
carried each day on the television screens of the world – of children
dying of lack of oxygen, with many more threatened with what will be a
human-induced famine.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In responding to this, the lead taken by Ireland in giving increased
and additional aid to UNRWA is an initiative of which Irish people can
be proud, influenced as it is not only by our own history, but given the
importance and urgent need for international humanitarian action, and
international humanitarian law in our world.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So on this St. Patrick’s Day 2024, this is a special year for holding
in our minds the Irish people who are involved in building and
supporting peace in so many regions across the world, including
continuing the longest unbroken record of overseas service of any
country in the world in peacekeeping with the United Nations, since
first deploying to a United Nations mission in 1958. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is such vital work at a time when humanity is faced with
unprecedented challenges of a global kind. The United Nations, and
multilateralism itself, is under grave threat. Secretary-General António
Guterres’ recent comments as to how parties to conflict are not only
ignoring but trampling on international law, the Geneva Conventions and
even the United Nations Charter cannot be ignored. We all must respond
to his words, support him.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Such a rejection of international law, of international
responsibility, emphasises again how the Security Council has been
weakened by abuse of the veto, leading as it has to its failure to
respond with appropriate agreed resolutions both to Israel’s military
operations in Gaza and to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine two years
ago.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now is the time for all those countries of the world who wish to see a
world of peace, the building of a sustainable more equal world built on
the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to come together and ensure our
multilateral system is reformed to make these vital goals a reality.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Saint Patrick’s message was also, at its core and in a fundamental
sense, one of respect for nature. We need no reminder of how we are now
at a critical juncture in the battle against the consequences of climate
change, the effects of which are being felt acutely by the world's most
vulnerable populations. As Irish people, we have the opportunity to
take a lead in building a better alternative, one based on principles of
respect for nature, justice and inclusion.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Today, as we celebrate the heritage Saint Patrick gifted to us, we
are encouraged to be guided by a recovery and reassertion of values such
as solidarity, care, kindness and compassion.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We must never lose sight of the possibilities that remain for us in
conditions of a shared peace; how our lives could be without war,
famine, hunger and greed in a just world that eschews the poisonous
ideals of imperialism, racism and xenophobia and embraces the decent
instincts of humanity; of how we can build a society of inclusion at
home, while working together with other nations to build a peaceful,
hopeful world.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">May I wish all those who share this island, and all those who have a
connection with Ireland, an interest in matters Irish, wherever they may
be in the world, a happy and peaceful Saint Patrick's Day.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">
Beir beannacht.”</span></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-55081919632665236792024-03-17T08:14:00.012+00:002024-03-18T08:22:27.566+00:00Limerick bishop discusses those 'stirring tensions and triggering riots' in homily <p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoyJaor5Ukky-IEr9kI7NqUaS5ZMG8GAUw9bxiqSH4dxXyYWj2hArdB2iR-hyQ97pGMEaTi4t1YqGihNk22_1mjE2jKkouuwu-USTU935seUxFymctMuDkC0zqLbWk3yT-9sONBW1-ojWs8Yj1_iBTCPuSIJ9nj7_VpYdEcFHMMa66aK9HxB1_ASO7Jos/s248/clerical%20whispers%20investigates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="238" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoyJaor5Ukky-IEr9kI7NqUaS5ZMG8GAUw9bxiqSH4dxXyYWj2hArdB2iR-hyQ97pGMEaTi4t1YqGihNk22_1mjE2jKkouuwu-USTU935seUxFymctMuDkC0zqLbWk3yT-9sONBW1-ojWs8Yj1_iBTCPuSIJ9nj7_VpYdEcFHMMa66aK9HxB1_ASO7Jos/w192-h200/clerical%20whispers%20investigates.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">BISHOP of Limerick Brendan Leahy has said that Ireland cannot be allowed
to become a place where “the warm fire of hospitality is being replaced
by raging fires of division, distrust and disdain”.
</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In his homily at the St Patrick’s Day Mass at Sarsfield Barracks,
Bishop Leahy said this Feast Day provides us with a golden opportunity
each year to reflect on emigration and immigration.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">St. Patrick, he said, is a figure to help us reflect on migration in
both its difficult aspects and its positive possibilities. We can’t
forget, he said, that some of our people abroad experience hardship.
</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“The migrant St Patrick puts before us the question: how are we today
treating those who have migrated to our land? Some came here out of
choice. Others have come escaping from war, persecution, or
exploitation. For the most part they are ordinary human beings like us,
many indeed very talented, people who reached good careers before they
had to flee,” said Bishop Leahy.</span></p><div class="clearfix" id="content_ad_in_article_desktop" style="text-align: left;">
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The majority of people in Ireland are open and welcoming, he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">"Indeed, polling has shown that the Irish public remains one of the
most positive in the EU27 regarding their attitudes towards immigration.
There are undoubtedly bona fide concerns within some communities about
the lack of services and supports to support people coming here, or the
negative impact on local livelihoods when all hotel beds are taken up.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">"But there are undoubtedly also those who are taking advantage of
this, stirring tensions, triggering riots, murmurings, social media
campaigns. As a result, migrants who for many years were made very
welcome here, might now feel Ireland is becoming inhospitable, far from a
place of a thousand welcomes; a place where the warm fire of
hospitality is being replaced by raging fires of division, distrust and
disdain stoked by a few who can so easily gain a hold on the many. </span></p><p class="teads_ad"><span style="font-family: georgia;">
"Instead of welcoming and protecting, promoting and integrating
refugees we witness outbursts of racism and violence, hatred and
misinformation," said Bishop Leahy.</span></p></div><p></p><p></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-50103611803315196522024-03-17T07:56:00.000+00:002024-03-17T07:56:21.237+00:00‘I was just 11 when my life was ripped apart’ — survivor of sexual abuse at industrial school seeks justice <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0BMl1aqtJ55DiZ9iis1lZW3DsF-_n_FgDAMVsBUfIE8jD81-jAn2R6KyucJW3yQRr0xfAaIwAwa9Sb13QUYm9Sn94FvB-K3_xuZh1S8szqtm3CX9uoLu0T4X8nJmtT6s8XUEk8xJZprtBkxdN6aaourDjT5yn4Yz7LNfaaaOhVlWcdWaqJJejbrbc9w/s750/pjimage5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0BMl1aqtJ55DiZ9iis1lZW3DsF-_n_FgDAMVsBUfIE8jD81-jAn2R6KyucJW3yQRr0xfAaIwAwa9Sb13QUYm9Sn94FvB-K3_xuZh1S8szqtm3CX9uoLu0T4X8nJmtT6s8XUEk8xJZprtBkxdN6aaourDjT5yn4Yz7LNfaaaOhVlWcdWaqJJejbrbc9w/w200-h133/pjimage5.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p>William Gorry’s father cut a sad figure when a social worker came and took his son away.</p><p>It was the late 1970s, and the 11-year-old William was being sent to join two of his brothers and three of his sisters at Mount Carmel Industrial School in Moate, Co Westmeath, run by the Sisters of Mercy.</p><p>As he was being driven away, the boy felt a jolt of concern towards his father, sitting alone on a bridge in rural Offaly. He worried about how his dad would fare on his own.</p><p>“Both of my parents were good people and good parents. They just couldn’t cope.</p><p>"They had 13 children and should’ve had help and support from the then health board to keep us together, rather than taking all us younger children away,” William (57) told the Sunday Independent.</p><p>The health board took the six youngest children away. We were told we were going on ‘holidays.’</p><p>“As soon as I got to Mount Carmel, the violence began almost straight away. I said: ‘I’m worried about leaving my daddy on his own’ and I was hit. I was told he didn’t care about us, that he didn’t love us. That was just the beginning.”</p><p>William’s mother had recently left the family, overwhelmed by the financial and emotional pressures of trying to raise 13 children without enough money.</p><p>“I don’t blame my mother for what happened. She was having a difficult time. I re-established contact with my mother in later years.</p><p>"We had no running water, no electricity and there was fighting. It was a tough life,” William said.</p><p>“The health board took the six youngest children away. We were told we were going on ‘our holidays’. My older brothers and sisters were married or able to take care of themselves. Being taken was the worst thing that could have happened.”</p><p>William, who is visually impaired since birth, was sexually, physically and emotionally abused during his 10 years living at the industrial school.</p><p>The DPP ruled last year that there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against a number of people — including a nun, priests and lay people — accused of physical and sexual abuse, including rape.</p><p>Some of the alleged abuse also took place when he was part of a local voluntary group, run by the clergy, in the locality.</p><p>Another incident occurred when he was sent on his “holidays” to a family in the Wexford countryside to get a “break” from the industrial school.</p><p>William was awarded a sum of money years ago through the redress scheme, which he feels was “entirely insufficient”, given what he suffered.</p><p>“I found the redress scheme demeaning and belittling. It was a pittance awarded to all of us, considering what we went through. It was a cheap way of getting us out of the way,” he said.</p><p>It has never been about money, William continued, but instead about people responsible for his abuse being criminally held to account.</p><p>In recent years he made complaints against a number of people for alleged physical and sexual abuse while he was in the care of the State.</p><p>Gardaí investigated and sent an extensive file to the DPP, who ruled no criminal charges should follow.</p><p>William, who now lives in Dublin, is represented by Belfast-based solicitor Kevin Winters, of KRW law. The firm recently sought a review from the DPP on why it opted not to prosecute the alleged abusers.</p><p>The DPP outlines that it is standing by its decision not to issue criminal proceedings.</p><p>‘I was constantly told that I was useless… they told me no one would ever love me.’</p><p>“To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. I am totally gutted. I just cannot understand how no prosecution was issued, given the evidence presented by the gardaí,” William said.</p><p>“I am not prepared to let this go. I am considering a judicial review of the DPP’s findings, which would be costly — but I feel I must do this, if I can raise the money.</p><p>“What happened to me as a child had a huge negative emotional impact on my life. I’ve found it hard to find happiness. My life was ripped apart.”</p><p>He remembers his life at Mount Carmel clearly and still suffers flashbacks.</p><p>When he arrived age 11, he was given two sets of clothes that he was warned must last a year, and assigned a number: 217.</p><p>“I was constantly told that I was useless, stupid, blind. They told me no one would ever love me or want me. The physical abuse was constant. I was beaten around the head and had my head smashed against walls constantly.</p><p>“Doctors have told me since that my visual impairment got worse because of the beatings. I am now in danger of going permanently blind,” he explained.</p><p>The abuse was so severe at Mount Carmel that he tried to end his own life on a few occasions.</p><p>“It was the only way I could think of sometimes to try and get the beatings and sexual abuse to end. I often felt like I couldn’t go on.”</p><p>Every day, it was his responsibility to wash and dress his little brother Thomas, who was severely disabled and had brittle bone disease. It was also up to him to feed his brother.</p><p>But worse than any of the physical and emotional abuse was “undoubtedly” the sustained sexual abuse he suffered.</p><p>In one harrowing incident, he recalls being raped, alongside Thomas, by two members of the clergy who “took turns” after isolating the brothers in an upstairs room over a weekend. He was 14, Thomas was around seven.</p><p>Not long after, Thomas was taken to Lourdes and never returned.</p><p>William was told his brother passed away but has “never gotten any information since” about the circumstances of his death.</p><p>William suffered “countless” other instances of rape and sexual abuse over the years, by priests as well as lay people.</p><p>“It happened so many times that I just got used to it. I felt as though it was going to continue my entire life. It was as if I was constantly trying to fight my way out of it, but I couldn’t.”</p><p>When he turned 16, he was permitted to leave the school. But with nowhere to go, he stayed, remaining in “aftercare”.</p><p>“I stayed until I was about 21, working there. I didn’t know what else to do, where to go. I eventually left, and was homeless for a while.”</p><p>Eventually he found happiness and married Patrick in November 2022.</p><p>After a number of years, he moved to Dublin and tried to deal with the past. He was also struggling with his sexual identity and eventually accepted he was gay. He had issues finding employment, given the lack of education he received, as well as his worsening eyesight.</p><p>After “years of struggling and bad relationships”, he found happiness and married Patrick in November 2022.</p><p>“I cannot give Patrick enough credit, I owe a lot to him,” he said.</p><p>In 2017, he set up RISN (Residential Institutions Survivors Network), which has over 500 members. Its objective is to help others who have gone through the same experience.</p><p>“The truth is, if RISN wasn’t around, I don’t think I’d still be here. I’ll keep fighting for my own justice too.”</p><p>When contacted, the DPP’s office said it does not comment on individual cases but that where possible it attempts to explain to victims its reasons when it does not prosecute. The Sisters of Mercy were also contacted for comment.</p><p>The national 24-hour Rape Crisis helpline is 1800 77 8888</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-261665699475961952024-03-17T00:18:00.008+00:002024-03-17T00:18:00.211+00:00The Deer's Cry or St Patrick's Breastplate<p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GGHWiAGpIP0?si=V04EoTJTb-JsSneR" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> </p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-20415442700041466622024-03-17T00:17:00.006+00:002024-03-17T00:17:00.132+00:00Lá Fhéile Pádraig (17ú Márta / 17th March)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzpnyu3ISDJ_1gXgXGOwBRiWxDskGQxtfdLK8wiYdX9SyRcOoZP0UgBAMkGZxuLp7LGMTtGZWnUBKPQJ4nR0pAKO9drOElTkjnhHjT68_RmrTseoT_WcBLSneavP1xSjeuG0qfr8izJkda55t7qtdHItt9uvx4SlEMp8IWcIWnjyLt0WWXD5z_q9c3vM/s227/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="213" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzpnyu3ISDJ_1gXgXGOwBRiWxDskGQxtfdLK8wiYdX9SyRcOoZP0UgBAMkGZxuLp7LGMTtGZWnUBKPQJ4nR0pAKO9drOElTkjnhHjT68_RmrTseoT_WcBLSneavP1xSjeuG0qfr8izJkda55t7qtdHItt9uvx4SlEMp8IWcIWnjyLt0WWXD5z_q9c3vM/s1600/ARMAGH%20AUX%20BISH%20COA.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />His
given name was Maewyn, and he almost didn't get the job of bishop of
Ireland because he lacked the required scholarship.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">At that age, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that raided his village.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">During his captivity, he became closer to God.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
escaped from slavery after six years and went to Gaul where he studied
in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre for a period of
twelve years.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">During his training he became aware that his calling was to convert the pagans to Christianity.<br /><br />His
wishes were to return to Ireland, to convert the native pagans to
Christianity. But his superiors instead appointed St. Palladius.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But
two years later, Palladius transferred to Scotland. Patrick, having
adopted that Christian name earlier, was then appointed as second
bishop to Ireland.<br /><br />Patrick was quite successful at winning
converts. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Patrick was arrested
several times, but escaped each time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion of the Irish country to Christianity.<br /><br />His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After that time, Patrick retired to County Down.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.<br /><br />Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day. Not much of it is actually substantiated.<br /><br />Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland, and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">One
traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZh8OlyG4r5erBYUDLfsER2J2o2NfxNMs2l17TvXeYf2yH5jGQ1Xp8rZJNbYJl6HjxYcemlrlMhQQzi8G5mRnDclJFd1iyg2IwSDGYqnpwwvDNl-SYDyRde97ldYXg0fMOKC4Or9BoECM/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178474265445772418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZh8OlyG4r5erBYUDLfsER2J2o2NfxNMs2l17TvXeYf2yH5jGQ1Xp8rZJNbYJl6HjxYcemlrlMhQQzi8G5mRnDclJFd1iyg2IwSDGYqnpwwvDNl-SYDyRde97ldYXg0fMOKC4Or9BoECM/s400/images.jpg" style="margin-top: 0pt;" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And this stems from a
more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed
shamrock to explain the Trinity.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He used it in his sermons to
represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist
as separate elements of the same entity.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.
</span><p></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658061377451723477.post-22845076513547953322024-03-17T00:16:00.029+00:002024-03-17T00:16:00.137+00:00CWI : Operation Truth (2)<div class="separator"><p style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="938" height="56" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDeuUREfgbyd0vhrhYTMxcK60sG5gSrjUrtmukeGRkksDgGV4KcukdMFSvBfD15ZSeZTQvjbRS2TtTubQQ5QHo_oMYtMSduh2cWrqY_puRStGRf0HhPwNMgha3lAnqIPKTeCBZiNH07uUzSea7noMptia-kxRTij_pk-UgnHo0JZO-ogC9bZWbHS5vvs/s320/CWINVESTIGATES.jpg" width="320" /><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <br /></span></p></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Just under two weeks ago, we <a href="https://clerical-whispers.blogspot.com/2024/03/cwi-operation-truth-1.html" target="_blank">announced</a> we were in the midst of a new, ongoing investigation and that we would bring you all along with it as it progresed...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">...and so it begins...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">As part of this investigation, we have travelled to different parts of Ireland, and indeed will continue to do so as we follow through on information...and so far we have met with almost 50 individuals, read sworn affidavits, engaged with legal representatives of the aforementioned almost 50 people, interviewed and obtained evidence pertinent to the person central to all of this, and will continue to do so.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">We are very conscious of efforts being made by this person, and others affiliated with aforementioned person, to disseminate false and scurrilous information in relation to this site and those who are indeed associated with it, and also others who are not.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">We will say this to you and your associates - be very, very careful about how you proceed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That is not a threat or warning - it is legally based advice (free just this once).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">We will continue to update you all, and sincerely hope to be in a position to go further with potentially naming the individual(s) concerned sooner rather than later.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Stay tuned, stay informed,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">AODHÁN DE FAOITE</span></p><p><span class="Y2IQFc" lang="ga" style="font-family: georgia;">Eagarthóir / </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Editor</span></p><p></p>CW Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872572190851262134noreply@blogger.com