New Warsaw archbishop marks generational shift

A generational shift in the leadership of the Catholic Church in Poland acclerated Monday with the appointment of a new Archbishop of Warsaw.

Archbishop Adrian Galbas, the 56-year-old head of the Katowice archdiocese, succeeds the 74-year-old Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, who has led the Warsaw archdiocese since 2007.

Galbas’ appointment follows another major leadership change in the Polish Church: the election in March of a new bishops’ conference president.

Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the 67-year-old Archbishop of Gdańsk, took over from Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, who had led the conference since 2014. (Coincidentally, both Galbas and Wojda are Pallottines.)

Other big changes are imminent. Gądecki, the Archbishop of Poznań, turned 75 in October. He will remain in post until a successor is announced. 

Kraków’s Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski, meanwhile, celebrated his 75th birthday in July. He too will stay in office until a replacement is named.

Pope Francis is therefore about to appoint new leaders to three more prominent archdioceses (Katowice, Poznań, and Kraków), potentially reshaping the Polish Catholic Church for decades to come.

What does the Galbas appointment say about how he’s approaching the task?

The metropolitan template

Since January 2023, Pope Francis has made a succession of appointments to major metropolitan archdioceses worldwide. 

The appointments have followed a broad pattern: the new metropolitan archbishops are men in their 50s with relatively low profiles and little episcopal experience. 

Countries that have experienced “metropolitan makeovers” along these lines include Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Honduras, the Philippines, Spain, and the U.S.

Examples include: 

• Archbishop José Vicente Nácher, 58 years of age when he was named Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in January 2023. 

• Archbishop Frank Leo, 51 when he was appointed Archbishop of Toronto, Canada, in February 2023.

• Archbishop Jorge Ignacio Garcia Cuerva, 55 when he was named Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in May 2023.

• Cardinal José Cobo Cano, 57 when he was appointed Archbishop of Madrid, Spain, in June 2023.

• Archbishop Luc Terlinden, 54 when he was named Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, in June 2023. 

• Archbishop Richard Henning, 59 when he was named Archbishop of Boston Aug. 5.

Now that it’s Poland’s turn for a metropolitan makeover, Pope Francis is sticking to the playbook. Galbas is 56, so in the right age bracket. He’s been a bishop for less than five years, so he’s also suitably inexperienced.  

The gifts of Galbas

There are, of course, other less quantifiable factors involved in major appointments. In most cases, the new metropolitans are described as “Francis bishops” — a rather elastic but still useful term.

What is a Francis bishop? A shepherd who “smells of the sheep,” who is close to his flock and sensitive to its needs. A leader who embraces the pope’s conviction that synodality is the path “which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.”

Many Polish Catholics have testified to Galbas’ sheep-like odor and synodal style.

Journalist Tomasz Krzyżak has described him as “a straightforward, open-minded man who speaks a language that the faithful understand, and sees the future of the Church in the laity, with whom he is not afraid to cooperate.”

Galbas oversaw the synodal process in Poland and was a member of the Polish delegation to the 2023 synod on synodality in Rome (but not, mysteriously, in 2024).

The archbishop has also developed a reputation as a troubleshooter. Pope Francis named him apostolic administrator of the deeply troubled Diocese of Sosnowiec in October 2023, a post he held until the installation of a new diocesan bishop in May.

Galbas’ down-to-earth style is evident in his video messages to his flock in Katowice. In one, he stands beside a dumpster. In another, he is dressed in hiking gear, walking breathlessly across a beach.

(As a curious aside, the Polish journalist Paulina Guzik has noted that Galbas seems to have remarkably long hands.)

Galbas has spoken candidly about experiencing crises of faith. In an August 2023 address to pilgrims in Piekary Śląskie, southern Poland, he recounted crises in his youth, shortly after his priestly ordination in 1994, and around the age of 40.

During that midlife crisis, he said, “nothing tasted good to me: neither the Word of God, nor Communion, nor absolution.” 

“The seventh station of the Way of the Cross. The painful middle. You are far away from everywhere. Close only to what is dark,” he said.

Galbas recalled St. Gregory of Nazianzus’ saying that it is “more important to purify yourself for God” than to talk about God.

“And I think that the Lord God led me through these crises, as well as everyone who experiences them, to such purification,” the archbishop said.

Statement from the Bishop-elect of Plymouth

Statement from Bishop-elect Philip Moger about his installation on Saturday, 9 November 2024.

“In the very last few days, concerns have been raised of a personal nature to which I must attend immediately. This will take a little time.

“I have therefore agreed with all directly concerned to delay my installation as the new Bishop of Plymouth until these processes have been completed.

“I sincerely regret this delay and offer my apologies to all who are disappointed and inconvenienced. However, it is important that everything is properly in place and due process observed.

“While this process takes place no further comment will be made.”

Dynamics and impacts of clergy sexual abuse in Asia

A fortnight ago, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced US$880 million would be given as compensation to 1,353 victims of clergy sexual abuse (CSA). 

Added to earlier settlements, the amount totals US$1.5 billion, reportedly the largest single child sex abuse settlement by a Catholic archdiocese.

In contrast, a deafening silence envelops CSA in Asia. 

Bishops in Asia have not yet acknowledged CSA as an issue to be tackled. Those who worked closely with the bishops say in most cases, bishops cover each other’s backs and silence survivors and their supporters.

According to woman theologian Virginia Saldanha, former executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India Women’s Commission, the Indian Church exemplifies how bishops stifle discussion about gender equality and CSA.

During her time with the bishops' conference, she said she "tried to speak up about CSA, but was terminated after my first term. A nun who would not stand up to the bishops was appointed in my place.” 

Virginia said that after three consultations on ‘Gender Relations in the Church,’ Catholic women, including theologians and lawyers, drafted a ‘Code of Conduct for Church Personnel’ and offered it to bishops in 2012. “After much follow-up, the bishops brought out a gender-neutral policy in 2017 — circulated privately, but never published,” she said.

Local evidence and global media reports show that CSA is pervasive in Asia. Survivors include lay/religious women, seminarians, and minors from religious families in the Church’s pastoral and socio-economic institutional care; those in active Church service; nuns in convents, especially diocesan congregations tightly controlled by diocesan clergy; those trapped in economic need, substance abuse, dysfunctional marriages and families, emotional, moral, and faith crises, and seeking routine spiritual renewal.

Socio-cultural, religious, economic, and political diversity notwithstanding, many Asian countries have restricted democratic space, rights, and freedoms. This was reinforced by feudal/semi-feudal systems and colonial pasts, replaced by socialist or military governance post-independence.

Although gender equality has gained ground in much of Asia, many countries still fare poorly, including with pervasive violence against women and children. This often manifests in subtle and abusive forms of sexual management and institutionalized appropriation of women’s and girls’ sexualities in which sex is ironically also a taboo issue, especially for females.

This cultural inheritance, coupled with the Catholic Church’s male-centered clericalism and hierarchical leadership, has contributed to CSA in Asian churches. As elsewhere, this manifests in male power and control of victims’ sexualities bolstered by male clerical leadership and decision-making via a monopoly of theological and judicial knowledge, interpretation and processes to grant or deny victims’ rights and protections on CSA.

Given their powers as sacramental ministers, the spiritual power that elevates clerics over the laity combines with economic and political influence within the Church and with civil authorities, allowing CSA to flourish with impunity.

The preservation of the Church’s power, image, and assets, a desire to retain ordained priests, increase priestly vocations, preserve the laity’s faith in the institutional Church, Christianity’s status as a minority religion that is often under attack in many Asian countries, and siloed Church functioning drive institutional silence on CSA. Survivor silence for other reasons, converges to seal this secrecy.

Personal interviews and media reports confirm that the abused, caught in an emotional swirl, try to divine the happenings as boundaries are gradually or abruptly crossed — contradicting indoctrination on obedience and trust in the integrity, selfless stewardship, and spiritual wisdom of clerics, God’s earthly representatives, who they naively turn to as mentors, confessors, and spiritual guides.

They feel numb, ashamed, guilty, and sullied that their integrity is violated, the lines of monogamous conjugal sexuality, the premium on virginity for unmarried women and religious vows of chastity have been crossed; guilty about pregnancy, secret births, abandoning babies to orphanages, ‘murder’ due to forced abortions — contradicting ideal Asian-Christian femininity.

They are confused and conflicted about whether celibate priests could so behave unless triggered by them, about enjoying the abuser’s attention or fleeting pleasure, defying a cleric after taking religious vows of obedience and silent service for Christ.

They fear embarrassing and angering an authority figure; fear the abuser’s continuing abuse, control, and improper use of secret knowledge; sin and its implications; and the fall-out of others knowing and not believing. They are angry because of their inability to resist and at the abuser for whom life is business-as-usual.

Consequently, and because they lack knowledge of canon law or secular legal processes, they do not report, or delay reporting CSA, compromising their interests. Many bury the abuse silently in their deepest psychological recesses. Others cannot break from active memories or flashbacks. This has long-term adverse physical, sexual, psychological, spiritual, and socio-economic impacts on survivors.

Some Asian survivors have dared to take public action yielding positive impacts e.g., Church penalties to clergy even if temporary, and successful court outcomes. Others have been re-victimized, branded by congregations and local communities as provocateurs, traitors to the order, and satanic.

Church authorities have been unresponsive or silenced complainants. Congregations have tried to break survivor identity by cutting off all reference points to maintain it and survive — pressure to leave order and residence, withdrawing sustenance, and isolation from the religious community. Poor employability has reduced them to penury, with their survival ensured by their resilience and a supportive sisterhood.

Secular justice systems use the defendant’s claims about the survivor’s past sexual history or her “malicious” character to show that she is capable of consensual sex and is framing the clergyman. Offenders often go free on technical grounds or insufficient evidence.

The People of God in Asia must act collectively to make freedom from CSA and sexual abuse by anyone in the Church and society a living reality:

* Raise consciousness on CSA that fractures male clericalism. Target church-going laity, especially youth, on the drivers of CSA, its dynamics, and impacts on the whole Church via secular and Catholic media that these groups use.

* Promote Catholic women’s leadership/decision-making in Church and secular life.

* Provide platforms for the survivor and Asian feminist theologian perspectives on addressing CSA.

* Promote humane conceptions of sexuality, masculinity, femininity, and other gender identities and reform canon law to delink celibacy from the priesthood.

* Forge alliances between lay/religious Christian women, including survivors, with the secular women’s movement, including filing complaints under secular systems, further reforms to sexual harassment/rape laws, and survivor support.

* Enhance Church accountability to survivors through improved cooperation with civil authorities, rights-based review/re-design and implementation of canon law that centers survivor priorities and ensures robust penalties and psychological services for all sexual abusers — male/female, religious/lay.

Archbishop installation revives conversation of clergy sexual abuse scandal

Archbishop Richard Henning was installed as the seventh archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston on Thursday last. 

It was a bittersweet ceremony, shadowed by the church’s dark past. 

More than 1,400 people, including clergy, religious figures, and prominent Boston community members, gathered at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross to celebrate what some called a surprising appointment. 

Henning obtained the role after serving only a little over a year as Providence bishop, to a significantly smaller laity. 

The event started with Henning’s ceremonial three knocks on the cathedral door and the greeting of the exiting archbishop, Cardinal Seán O’Malley. The two embraced each other in a hug and entered the building. 

O’Malley’s 21-year tenure as archbishop was riddled with challenges following the clergy sexual abuse scandal in which hundreds of children were sexually abused by priests in the Boston archdiocese. These assaults occurred under O’Malley’s predecessor, Cardinal Bernard Law, in early 2002. The case—brought to national attention by the Boston Globe’s Spotlight investigation—created hundreds of lawsuits against the Boston Roman Catholic Church and encouraged others across the country to come forward against sexual abuse in their churches. 

More than 150 priests in Boston were accused of sexual abuse, Cardinal Law resigned, and the church paid more than $95 million in settlements to victims. 

Outside the festive entrance to the cathedral in South End, a group of about two dozen individuals stood with signs urging for transparency and the completion of ongoing settlements. 

As Henning prepared to enter the cathedral, Robert Hoatson, a former priest and survivor of sex abuse, called out to the incoming archbishop. “What about the survivors? Are you going to talk with us?” he shouted. 

Henning turned and slowly paced toward the protesters. 

One of the survivors asked Henning if he would be honest, transparent, and open as an archbishop.  

“I’m very sorry, I have to learn. I have to listen,” answered Henning. 

In an interview with The Beacon, Hoatson said he was surprised Henning approached the group. 

“Normally, bishops and cardinals completely ignore us,” he said. Hoatson was not moved by the brief conversation, and added that it was “more of a public relations thing than coming from a real concern.” 

Hoatson is the co-founder of Road to Recovery, a support and advocacy organization that helps victims of sexual abuse of all kinds. He said they have been advocating for transparency by the church, which he said O’Malley did not provide. 

While O’Malley swiftly settled many of the lawsuits, Hoatson and other critics said he was still withholding information, including omitting names from a list of clergy accused of sexual abuse. 

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented more than 1,400 victims of sexual abuse and won the settlement against the Boston Roman Catholic Church, said Henning will “create a new layer of responsiveness.” 

Garabedian told The Beacon that Henning “says the right things about clergy sexual abuse, but will not put into place any meaningful programs to protect children or to help victims heal.” 

Behind the tall entrance of the cathedral, the crowd welcomed Henning in a roaring applause. French Cardinal Christophe Pierre thanked O’Malley for his service to the church and introduced Henning by reading the appointment letter, written by Pope Francis. 

As part of an ancient ritual, members of the clergy inspected the letter for its authenticity. After their approval, Henning marched throughout the halls of the cathedral and joyfully presented the letter to the enthralled crowd. He was led to the “cathedra,” the seat of the archbishop, to officially assume the archbishop’s role. 

Henning addressed the church’s wrongdoings in his homily, his first speech as the archbishop. 

“This church of Boston, it is, in a very real sense, a wounded church because of the failure to act with compassion and healing,” he said. 

“We have seen over these decades a passionate effort to protect the vulnerable, but still we feel the weight of those wounds,” Henning added. “We owe a debt of gratitude to victims, survivors, who tell their story, for they have helped to protect new generations by their courage and by their prophetic truth-telling to us.” 

Henning has confronted sexual abuse cases in his former role as an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island N.Y. The Diocese is in an ongoing legal battle with about 650 abuse survivors, which has reached $320 million in settlements after the diocese filed for bankruptcy. 

Even though the Boston archdiocese is under scrutiny, it continues to see an increase in school enrollment, and ongoing ordainment of new priests. 

“Kids are still being abused right now,” said Hoatson.

Hoatson said that new cases arrive at his office every week, many of them say they were abused over 30 years ago. He said he recognizes a pattern in which survivors sometimes take years or decades to report sexual abuse. 

Garabedian said he is advocating to remove the civil statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases. The law states that civil cases have a three-year time limit per case, which limits ongoing sexual abuse settlements.

 “We need to break the silence,” Hoatson added. “Silence is deadly.”

Institutional racism blocks progress of black clergy in Church of England, report finds

The “unabated” structural and institutional racism within the Church of England is blocking the advancement of people of colour, according to a damning report.

The Church of England’s racial justice commission has published the results of a six-month study, which analysed church data on hiring and promotions, and interviewed minority ethnic clergy about their experiences.

The report, titled Behind the Stained Glass, concluded that though the study did not set out to prove or disprove institutional and structural racism within the Church of England, the evidence confirmed the damaging effects of the existence of both.

The peer Paul Boateng, who was Britain’s first black cabinet minister and chairs the commission, said the report painted a “stark and shaming” picture of the church’s failure to monitor racial disparities and implement an effective strategy to tackle them.

“Rather than pay lip service to Black History Month, those exercising power and influence within the Church of England might make history by ending repeated failures to remedy the glaringly obvious defects in their practices which have held up over so many years the advancement of black people and other peoples of colour within their own ranks,” Lord Boateng said.

The report, which was carried out by the Institute for Educational & Social Equity, criticised the lack of available data on the demographics of the clergy at both national and diocesan levels.

Boateng added: “What more does this institution need before it comes into line with what is now accepted practice in HR and data collection in both the private and the public sectors?”

Of the limited data that was available, the report found that while black people constituted 15% of applications to clergy posts between January to April 2024, they made up 29% of those rejected or withdrew their application. In contrast white clergy constituted 75% of applications, but were only 63% of rejections and withdrawals.

The report concluded that applicants of colour did not have “the cultural capital” that was needed to help them progress in their careers in the Church of England, with “class and cultural dynamics” found to be a specific hindrance to progression.

“The church often values how one can confirm ‘English culture’, including speech, mannerisms, UK qualifications and backgrounds over diverse experiences and routes into the ministry,” the report noted.

As well as incidences of unconscious bias, clergy of minority ethnic backgrounds reported “overt racism, including discriminatory comments and actions from congregations, dioceses and from the structures of the national church”.

The theologian and broadcaster Robert Beckford commended the racial justice commission for the research. “If the truth be told, similar patterns of discrimination exist within all of the major white-majority Christian churches in Britain. Some of the report’s recommendations are helpful.”

Still, Beckford called for a more ambitious and assertive approach for introducing diverse curriculums in training and appointments. “The need for this change is compelling, as to date, only three people of African and African Caribbean heritage teach theology in the British university system.”

A spokesperson for Lambeth Palace and Bishopthorpe Palace said they welcomed the report. 

They added: “The archbishops of Canterbury and York are committed to promoting racial justice within the church, so it is sobering to read that there are still structural and racist barriers to UKME/GMH [UK minority ethnic/global majority heritage] clergy progressing to leadership roles. The archbishops reaffirm the work of the racial justice unit, and hope and pray the Church of England will become a place where everyone can thrive and flourish.”

Priest in scandal-plagued Peru group urges justice for victims

In a letter sent to various members and former members of a scandal-ridden Peruvian lay group, a priest belonging to the community apologized to victims and urged internal authorities to make reparations.

The apologetic letter, signed by Father Márcio Paulo de Souza, a member of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) who lives in a community house in Arequipa, strikes a much different tone than that taken by other members of the group who have been expelled in recent weeks.

In his letter, de Souza said he has held conversations with several victims of the SCV, and has shared “with deep pain their suffering, their wounds, and the tremendous consequences that the various abuses suffered in our institution have left them.”

Founded by Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari in 1971, the SCV for the past decade has been a source of widespread scandal due to allegations of various forms of abuse, including the sexual abuse of minors, and financial corruption on the part of Figari himself and other top members.

Last summer Pope Francis sent his top investigators to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the group which so far has resulted in the expulsion of Figari, and 14 other high-ranking members accused of various crimes.

Some of those expelled have denied the allegations against them and have pushed back against the Vatican’s investigators, as well as the papal nunciature in Peru.

One of them, Father Jaime Baertl, said a victim who accused him of sexual abuse was “confused” and sent a registered letter to the papal embassy in Lima demanding corrections to its announcement of his expulsion, calling it “false and defamatory.”

De Souza in his letter, however, asked for forgiveness from all those who have suffered spiritual, sexual, psychological and physical abuse, as well as abuse of conscience and authority, on the part of members of the SCV.

“I share their sufferings and I promise to continue praying for each one of these victims and for their entire families,” he said.

He pledged to do everything in his power to “improve the care that we have been giving to the victims,” and voiced hope that “a dignified, integral and fair process of reparation will be carried out.”

Since scandals surrounding the SCV broke publicly in 2015, the group has established two separate commissions to receive and evaluate complaints, and to make recommendations for compensation.
Some former members say that while they have received modest sums by way of reparation, it is not enough to cover ongoing psychological treatment and medical costs for conditions developed in or cause by their time in community, and others say they have so far received nothing.

De Souza in the letter also asked victims for forgiveness “for our insufficient and slow reaction, as well as for the omissions in the process of reparation and accompaniment that we have offered them, often causing them to be re-victimized and suffer more.”

“I ask forgiveness from the church and from people who have been scandalized by the situation” involving the SCV and by the SCV’s “insufficient attention to the victims who have been abused and mistreated in our communities,” he said.

He stressed his own personal commitment to making amends and offering prayers for the healing and “just reparation” of the SCV’s victims.

Notably, de Souza also spoke directly to the SCV’s authorities, asking that they “promptly establish renewed, adequate, safe and efficient measures and instances for listening to and caring for the victims.”

The victims, he said, “continue to cry out for fair and complete reparation, accepting with filial docility the decisions of the Holy Father” and other church entities.

De Souza closed invoking Jesus as a “victim of reconciliation” and asking that God would help to heal, console and strengthen the SCV’s victims who have suffered spiritual, sexual, psychological, physical and conscience-related abuses, as well as abuses of power within the community.

He asked that Jesus help members of the SCV “become aware of the enormous harm we have caused to these victims, who are our brothers, and, repentant, let us make the resolution to amend and to undertake with them a renewed path of reparation that is dignified, integral and just.”

Both Christian charity and “our mission as ‘artisans of reconciliation’” demand this, he said.

Almost 700 new contacts to gardaí over alleged sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders since scoping report appeal

Gardaí have received nearly 700 contacts since their appeal relating to historical sexual abuse at schools run by religious orders.

The Scoping Inquiry into claims of abuse found there were 2,395 allegations in respect of 308 schools recorded by the religious orders that ran them.

The allegations were made in respect of 884 alleged abusers.

The inquiry has recommended that the Government consider a redress scheme for survivors of historical sexual abuse who went to schools run by religious orders.

It has also recommended that the Government approach relevant orders about contributing to redress.

Senior officials within the Government will have to make recommendations to the Commission of Investigation before any proposals for compensation for victims are signed off on.

In a statement, An Garda Síochána said 675 reports had been made since September 4.

It is not ­providing further detail on the nature of these contacts.

It said it is in the process of making direct contact with everyone who has come forward and that each person “will be given the time and space to discuss their personal experience”.

“An Garda Síochána will continue to support each person through the process at the pace and to the extent that they wish to engage with us,” it added.

The force said its overall response is being co-ordinated by the Sexual Crime Management Unit at the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB).

Close to 600 people have been in touch with an organisation that works with adult survivors of childhood abuse

Individual investigations will be carried out by dedicated trained gardaí attached to the protective service units in each garda division.

Anyone who wishes to report a crime relating to historical sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders is being urged to contact gardaí.

Meanwhile, close to 600 people have been in touch with an organisation that works with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse since the publication of the report into abuse at schools run by religious orders.

Deirdre Kenny, CEO of One in Four, said many people who have been in touch with the charity were coming forward for the first time.

“We have had close to 600 people in touch since September to early October, on foot of the Scoping Inquiry report,” she said.

“They are new contacts, people who haven’t reached out to us before.

“On average, over a year we would generally work with between 850 and 950 people, so there has been a surge.

“Some people will have reached out because of the details in the scoping report.

“They’ll have reached out for the first time because they were able to identify with the stories in the report and expressed upset and told us about their own experience of sexual abuse in school. Many of them were male and they were also older.”

Ms Kenny said One in Four has been providing information and support to those who have been in contact.

For the purpose of reporting to gardaí, email GNPSB_SCMU@garda.ie or phone the Garda Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Line on 1800 555 222. This is a confidential and free service available 24/7.

Tour of St Bernadette's relics 'exceeds expectations' of clergy across the country

A candlelight procession snaked its way around the grounds of the historical Holy Cross Abbey in Tipperary, the long queue making it look like a respectful group of mourners waiting to extend their sympathies to a grief-stricken family.

But instead, there was a joy to be felt in the congregation as those waiting to get inside the door of the church felt that every step was one closer to coming close to the relics of St Bernadette, the Lourdes visionary.

It was not the only candelight procession during the two-month visit of the relics to each of the 26 dioceses across Ireland, as organisers of the relics’ visit sought to bring those who cannot travel to the Marian shrine in Lourdes a chance to be part of some of the pilgrimage experience at home. As well as candelight processions, healing ceremonies for the sick were also held.

On Tuesday afternoon, the relics of the popular saint left the Diocese of Elphin to be returned to Lourdes, after a farewell ceremony in Kiltoom, Co Roscommon. Tens of thousands of people turned out in the country’s 26 dioceses to welcome the relics of the saint beloved by Irish people. 

St Bernadette, who was a shepherdess, experienced 18 visions of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France in 1858 and went on to become canonised by the Catholic church.

The visit to Ireland is not the first time the relics have left Lourdes, having previously been taken around France, to the UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil, and America.

The relics’s arrival in the Ireland West airport at Knock in early September came after they were handed over at the grotto in Lourdes to Bishop Kevin Doran and pilgrims from the Diocese of Elphin. During the two-month visit, the relics were taken to Ireland’s own Marian shrine in Knock, where hundreds of pilgrims attended Masses in the church on the site of the apparition of Mary in 1879.

Young people wearing school uniforms turned out at churches across several dioceses, along with some families, and large numbers of older generations. Many touched the glass enshrining the relics, while others kissed it.

One of the organisers, Fr Gerard Fox, said: “It has certainly exceeded our expectations. People’s response has been wonderful. We have all taken a breath and said ‘wow’. The response that we have had back from the different host venues everywhere have had more people coming than they anticipated or planned. 

“In some places, the queues were more than an hour and another thing people have commented on is the good humour. People weren’t annoyed that they had to wait.” 

We have had a real cross section. There have been school groups, families coming. It has been right across the age range. It was noticeable to see the number of families who came.

The scenes around the country replicated those of visits of relics of other saints over the past two decades. For example, an estimated three million people turned out for the 11-week visit of the relics of St Therese of Lisieux in 2001, while tours in 2009 and 2012 were also popular. 

The relics of St Anthony of Padua were in Ireland for a week in 2013 during which Catholics flocked to venues in Cork, Limerick, Wexford, Galway, Dublin and Belfast. And once again, the faithful turned out in large numbers in Kerry in January 2023 when a glove which belonged to St Pio was handed over to the parish of Castleisland in Kerry.

Fr Fox said the visit of Bernadette’s relics are proof that people still have faith, even though “they might not express it regularly in terms of Mass attendance on a Sunday but it is still part and parcel of who they are”.

He continued: “Something like Lourdes as well is inter-generational. Almost every house in Ireland has a bottle of Lourdes water that somebody’s granny brought back, or a rosary. It is there in the religious sensibility and this event just touched into that. 

“St Bernadette’s connection to Our Lady of Lourdes is something that people have a love of, or an appreciation of but also Bernadette herself is what you would call a modern saint almost. Not contemporary but she is of an era where we have photographs of her. She was a poor young woman which makes her very accessible as well. 

She is not some sort of far-distant character. People could appreciate she was a young girl who was sick who lived in poverty who had a life that touches into the reality of some people’s lives.

According to academic Dr Niamh Wycherley of Maynooth University, the reactions of Irish people to the visit of relics is not new, neither is it confined to the Catholic faith.

She has previously written on the cult of relics, which included reference to a visit to Ireland of relics of “holy martyrs” from Rome in the 7th century.

She says: “Essentially I would say that the Catholic veneration of saints taps into a need that seems to be common to many individuals and communities and from different backgrounds and faiths and historical eras, right up to the present day.” 

She elaborates: “There are a couple of different things going on because there is a difference between organised religion and faith and religious beliefs. Sometimes they come together and sometimes they don’t. People today may feel very estranged from the Vatican and the Catholic Church but they might still have their own personal faith where they go to Mass every Sunday and pray to the Virgin Mary and subscribe to a Catholic ethos. 

"But the veneration of saints' relics is kind of unaffected by that because it is doing a few things – it taps into something that is essentially human. It is the physical proximity of the saint’s relics and you can nurture this intimacy and relationship with the saint in a way that you can’t do with God perhaps.” 

She continued: “You can see echoes of this in the cult of the celebrity too — for example visiting the grave of Elvis. There seems to be this human thing that if you go to someone’s grave or you touch an item that they held in their lifetime, it makes you more connected with them.”

Fr Fox says it is now hoped that the visit will not just boost people's faith but will also lead them to visit Lourdes, explaining that pilgrimages to the French shrine are “heavily reliant” on volunteers to help take care of sick pilgrims. 

He said: “The group of people who organised this from the Irish perspective are all pilgrimage directors so we all have a connection with Lourdes and that is part of getting the message of Lourdes out to people.”

St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, features on Christmas stamp

Royal Mail has today announced that an original illustration of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh, will feature as the Second-Class Large Class stamp for its Christmas special stamps in 2024.

The stamps feature some of the many spectacular cathedrals in the UK, the remainder completing the set being Edinburgh, Liverpool, Bangor and Westminster.  The stamps were illustrated by Penzance-based, British artist, Judy Joel, whose popular paintings have been sold worldwide over the last 50 years.

The Dean of Armagh, the Very Revd Shane Forster, said: “I am delighted that Royal Mail has chosen St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh to feature on this year’s Christmas stamps. The image of the light shining out through the Cathedral’s stained-glass windows, along with young people carol singing and playing in the snow, portrays a lovely traditional winter scene.

“The artist, Judy Joel, is to be congratulated for creating a very special set of seasonal stamps which send out a message of joy and hope at Christmas. The Cathedrals that feature on the stamps stand as symbols of faith at the very centre of each picture and at the heart of their local communities.”

David Gold, Royal Mail’s Director of External Affairs and Policy, said: “Cathedrals are a hugely significant part of our cultural heritage and provide support to their communities. They come into their own at Christmas, offering warmth and welcome to all. These stamps featuring beautiful illustrations of cathedrals from across the UK will spread the joys of this celebratory time of year.”

Christmas is a time of celebration in the midst of winter darkness at all of the United Kingdom’s cathedrals. A cathedral is the seat of a bishop (cathedra in Latin) and the principal church of the diocese, or church administrative area. 

From St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh, founded by the great Irish saint (originally from Roman Britain) as a monastic community on a hilltop, to Liverpool Cathedral, consecrated a century ago, cathedrals bear witness to history and play a key role in the nation’s spiritual, cultural and social life. 

With candlelight, festive decorations, magnificent architecture, awe-inspiring art and treasures, and sublime music and liturgy, cathedrals are wonderful and welcoming places to visit at Christmas.

Brothers of Mercy elect new Prior General

"I would like to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to be your servant. I am sure that, with your help and God's, we will work together to spread Hospitallers throughout the world," said Ahodegnon after his election. 

He replaces the Spaniard Jesus Etayo Arrondo, who has headed the order since 2012. 

The General Chapter is still in session until Thursday.

The Brothers of Mercy of St John of God currently have 965 members in 18 provinces on all inhabited continents. 

In Germany, there is the Bavarian Province, to which 17 brothers belong, including one novice. 

It runs several clinics and facilities for the disabled with more than 11,000 employees. 

The community has been active in Bavaria since 1622. 

The first facility was the monastery and hospital in Sankt Wolfgang an der Donau. 

In addition to the Brothers of Mercy of St John of God, two other religious communities with a similar name are active in Germany: the Brothers of Mercy of Maria Hilf, based in Trier, and the Brothers of Mercy of Montabaur.

(POSTING : 70,000)

Beatification process for Marco Gallo, who died at 17

Marco Gallo, who died at the age of 17, could soon be beatified. 

According to the Italian "Teleradiopace", the person responsible for the beatification process, Father Andrea Mandonico, announced on All Saints' Day in Rapallo in Liguria (near Genoa) that the beatification process has been initiated. 

As the online medium reports, the tradition of a pilgrimage to the pilgrimage church of Montallegro (Rapallo) has been established since Gallo's death on 5 November 2011. 

On All Saints' Day, Gallo's friends and family organised an annual pilgrimage with the celebration of a Holy Mass. 

This year, many young people once again came to the Eucharistic celebration led by Bishop Giampio Luigi Devasini (Chiavari) to remember Marco Gallo.

Priestly Fraternity of St Peter continues to grow

The traditionalist Fraternity of St Peter has grown again in the past year. 

According to statistics published at the beginning of November, the community, which celebrates the pre-conciliar liturgy, now has 583 members. 

The members include 386 priests, 15 deacons and 182 seminarians. 

In the previous year, there were 368 priests, 22 deacons and 179 seminarians. The average age of the members is 39.

Last year, 18 priests were ordained for the Fraternity of St Peter and 15 members of the community died. 

In the previous year, there were 14 new priests and 12 deaths. 

The Confraternity of St Peter, the community of priests and lay people associated with the Fraternity of St Peter, has over 10,000 members for the first time. 

Compared to the previous year, it has grown from 9,546 to 10,515 members. Of these, 1,330 live in German-speaking countries, compared to 1,231 in the previous year.

The Priestly Fraternity of St Peter was founded in 1988 as a reaction to the unauthorised episcopal ordinations by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in the Society of Saint Pius X. 

The Society of Apostolic Life of Clerics of Pontifical Right is in full communion with the Church, unlike the Society of St Peter. 

The headquarters of the German-speaking district is in Opfenbach-Wigratzbad (district of Lindau, diocese of Augsburg), where the largest of the community's three seminaries is located.

Public burning of bishop’s edict latest front in Syro-Malabar civil war

When Bishop Bosco Puthur was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly last December, there was hope the 77-year-old might finally be able to bring peace to the troubled community, split for years over liturgy, money and power.

Instead, the conflict shows no signs of abating, with the latest flashpoint coming Nov. 3 when clergy and laity joined in burning a new circular letter from Puthur outside churches where people had gathered for Sunday Mass.

The protests came after Puthur had appointed three priests to key positions in the archdiocese who are seen by dissidents as tainted by association with real estate scandals under the former head of the Syro-Malabar Church, Cardinal George Alencherry.

The protests also followed the issue of a circular letter by Puthur which, among other things, insists that newly ordained priests must celebrate Mass in a controversial new manner decreed by the Church’s synod, and bars priests and laity from criticizing authorities or documents.

Father Kuriakose Mundadan, secretary of the presbyteral council in the archdiocese, told Crux that he believes Puthur is acting “as a dictator.”

“He is blockading basic freedom of expression of the priests and the laity,” Mundadan said. “By silencing the people of God, Bishop Bosco Puthur is going against basic Christian and gospel values.”

Tensions in Ernakulam-Angamaly reach back at least to 2017, when complaints surfaced that Alencherry had sold certain properties belonging to the archdiocese without consulting the presbyteral council, which resulted in a $10 million loss. The controversy lead the Vatican to curtail Alencherry’s administrative powers and to appoint an apostolic administrator in June 2018.

Divisions deepened in 2021, when the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church based in Kerala decided to adopt a uniform mode of celebrating the liturgy, which priests face the people during the Liturgy of the Word and then the altar during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, turning around again to address the congregation after communion.

While virtually all of the Church’s dioceses have adopted the new system, clergy and laity in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, by far the largest Syro-Malabar jurisdiction, have rejected it, arguing that facing the people throughout the Mass is a legitimate liturgical variation and one more consistent with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

Last December Pope Francis released a video message to the archdiocese demanding obedience to the bishops and implementation of the new liturgy, but it did little to end the protests, with dissidents claiming the pope had been misinformed and misled.

Recently, a delegation of twelve priests went to the archbishop’s residence to meet Puthur in person to discuss the disputed appointments, but were blocked by police who had locked a gate to the entrance to the structure. After the priests refused to leave, the Assistant Police Commissioner agreed to mediate a meeting with Puthur in order to resolve the situation.

According to sources present in the meeting, the priests told Puthur that clergy and laity would not cooperate with him on anything until the three disputed priests are removed from their new positions.

At least in part, Puthur’s Oct. 30 circular letter likely was a response to the incident.

In it, Puthur said ordinations of deacons to the priesthood would take place Nov. 4, and the newly ordained priests will be permitted to say Mass only in the form approved by synod. He also decreed that the synodal Mass must be celebrated during at least one scheduled Sunday Mass in every parish.

Puthur also barred parish councils and other groups from taking any decisions contrary to the instructions of the bishop, and instructed priests and laity to refrain from “backbiting” with regard to church authorities. Priests were instructed not to criticize church leaders, and priests and religious were prohibited from belonging to any organizations which are not official recognized by the church.

Puthusn also warned of unspecified “canonical sanctions” for violations of his provisions.

Mundadan claimed that Puthur was “trying to protect his tainted priests whom he has selected as his close collaborators” by issuing the circular letter.

“The priests and the laity will raise their voices against Bishop Bosco and the synodal bishops who have violated canon laws and the procedures for taking a common decision in the Church,” he said.

Mundadan also charged that by seeking to prevent priests and laity from speaking out in protest of Church decisions, Puthur had violated the Indian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech in article 19.

Mundadan is not the only cleric objecting. Father Sebastian Thalian, convener of the Archdiocesan Protection Council, called on Puthur to withdraw the circular letter, while Father James Pereppadan, who has served as the archdiocese’s judicial vicar for 16 years, as well as the director of its Safe Environment Committee, resigned in protest.

The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest Eastern Rite Catholic church in the world, after the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, with an estimated five million members across 35 dioceses. Its largest single jurisdiction is Ernakulam-Angamaly, with roughly 500,000 Catholics.

Texas nuns vow to continue Carmelite path despite dismissal

Statement by the Reverend Mother Prioress, Chapter & Community 

Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity
Discalced Carmelite Nuns
5801 Mt. Carmel Drive
Arlington, Texas 76017

 October 30, 2024

+Praised be Jesus Christ: now and forever!

The statements posted on the Diocese of Fort Worth website on October 28th concerning us require urgent clarification.

What began in April 2023 with a false accusation against our Mother Prioress and that has been pursued relentlessly since then by Bishop Olson for his own ends has been compounded over time so that we have now reached the point where it is asserted that we are dismissed from religious life and that we have somehow “defected notoriously from the Faith.” These assertions are egregiously false. 

Given our recent acceptance for association by the Society of St Pius X last August, any “dismissal” declared by Mother Marie of the Association of Christ the King is a moot point. The Vows we have professed to God cannot be dismissed or taken away. By virtue of them we belong to Him and are His. 

Given that we pray every day for the Holy Father, Pope Francis and our Ordinary, Michael Olson, any claim that we have departed from the Catholic faith is ridiculous. We firmly believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God. Disputes about one man’s wishes and man-made rules do not exclude us from the Church. 

Please know that here we continue our vowed life of prayer and sacrifice in the Discalced Carmelite tradition for the Church and the world, and for all of you, our dear friends and benefactors, including those who may disagree or disapprove of the decisions we have had to make in the best interests of our Community. 

We are profoundly grateful to all those who continue to show us their support and are happy to welcome you to our Monastery Chapel for private prayer or for the celebration of the beautiful traditional Latin Mass that it is now our joy to participate in each day.

May the Carmelite saints and martyrs intercede for us all! 

+Praised be Jesus Christ: now and forever!

-----------------------------------------------------

STATEMENT OF ARLINGTON CARMEL

SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

For the past several years we have experienced much joy and spiritual renewal in the re-discovery of the riches of the immemorial liturgical tradition of the Church. In our desire to grow in holiness and an ever deeper fidelity to our Discalced Carmelite charism, and as an appropriate means to better serve Our Holy Mother the Church, in August, following the unanimous decision of the Chapter of the Monastery, and with the agreement of the whole community, we completed the final steps necessary for our Monastery to be associated with the Society of Saint Pius X, who will henceforth assure our ongoing sacramental life and governance. We are profoundly grateful to the Very Reverend Father Superior General and to his delegates here in the USA for their paternal understanding and welcome.

The motto of Pope St. Pius X was: To Restore All Things in Christ. Such is the case for our Community as well, which has prayerfully, over a period of many years, sought to return to the fullness of our Catholic Tradition and to restore all things in Christ, in both our liturgical life and in the way we live our Carmelite vocation.

We share an affinity with the Society of St. Pius X in its emphasis on training holy, dedicated priests, willing to sacrifice all for Christ, which coincides with our own vocation of prayer and sacrifice at the heart of the Church, pouring out our lives for the Church and especially for priests.

Given our formal association with the Society, our triennial elections were held here at the monastery in August, presided over by a representative sent by the Superior General. Mother Teresa Agnes was re-elected Prioress for a three-year term and confirmed in Office with supplied jurisdiction from the Society.

We are very happy to be able to share our life of prayer and the riches of the Church's traditional liturgy with others. Our chapel is open for private prayer and the faithful are welcome to join us in assisting at daily Holy Mass celebrated in Latin, according to the traditional Roman rite.

And as always, in union with the whole Church, we pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and Bishop Michael Olson, the Bishop of Fort Worth.

Please know that you also continue to be in our prayers, and we are most grateful for all your support especially during these past 18 months. May God bless and reward you.

The Prioress, Chapter and Community of the Arlington Carmel

How does Notre Dame of Paris intend to avoid another fire?

“It's simple: In terms of fire protection, we've gone from 0 to 100.” 

These encouraging words come from Éric Lazzari, representing the company commissioned to install the new fire protection system at Notre Dame of Paris, speaking to the press at the end of September.

"A first for a cathedral in France"

The cathedral is now equipped with over 300 fire detection points. These include thermal cameras that will detect abnormal levels of heat or smoke and automatically activate a water mist fire extinguishing system if necessary. 

Pipes running along the wooden roofing frame and spire will release “a mist of water” to quickly extinguish a fire, limiting “collateral damage” to the wooden structures.

“It’s a first for a cathedral in France,” announced Philippe Jost, head of the public institution in charge of the reconstruction project, in December 2023.

5 Pillars

In more detail, Notre Dame's new fire protection system rests on five pillars.

The first is surveillance. “In addition to thermal cameras, an air suction and analysis system will be in constant operation,” explains the public institution in charge of restoring Notre Dame of Paris. “Any outbreak of fire detected by at least two pipes will automatically trigger the misting system.”

The system will release a mist consisting of fine droplets of water diffused into the wooden framework, which, if necessary, will considerably reduce the temperature in the space and smother the incipient fire.

The third pillar is the thickening of the batten: the thin planks of wood that separate the trusses from the lead roofing. “One millimeter thick has a fire resistance of one minute: We added 15mm [0.6”, editor’s note], giving the fire a quarter of an hour less chance of spreading to the roof,” explains the company.

Fire-stop trusses have been installed to separate the spire from the choir on one side and the nave on the other. They divide the space in three, preventing or delaying the spread of fire from one to the other.

Finally, the entire network of dry columns has been redesigned to facilitate firefighting operations. The flow of water that can be mobilized has been multiplied by three to reach up to 600m3 (264 gallons) of water per hour.

Vatican: Holy Days of Obligation not Dispensed If Transferred to a Monday

The Vatican has clarified that Catholics in the United States must still attend Mass on holy days of obligation even when they are transferred to Mondays or Saturdays, correcting a long-standing practice in the U.S. Church.

In its complementary norms, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stipulates that when certain feast days fall on a Saturday or Monday, the obligation to attend Mass on that day is “abrogated.”

Dec. 8 is typically a holy day of obligation celebrating the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, but this year the feast day lands on a Sunday in Advent. 

As a result, the USCCB transferred it to Monday, Dec. 9, according to the 2024 USCCB liturgical calendar. 

In its complementary norms the USCCB does not list the Immaculate Conception as a solemnity to which the abrogation normally applies. Nevertheless, the bishops’ calendar this year stated that “the obligation to attend Mass … does not transfer” to Monday, Dec. 9.

Yet the Vatican’s Dicastery for Legislative Texts, in a Sept. 4 letter to Springfield, Illinois, Bishop Thomas Paprocki, stated that all of the feasts in question “are always days of obligation … even when the aforementioned transfer of the feast occurs.” 

Paprocki, the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, had in July written to the Holy See seeking clarification on whether an obligation transfers when the feast itself is transferred.

Archbishop Filippo Iannone, the prefect of the legislative text dicastery, told Paprocki that “the feast must be observed as a day of obligation on the day to which it is transferred.” 

Iannone noted in the letter that certain feast days are established by canon law as days of obligation. These “must be observed” and “the canon does not provide exceptions,” he noted in the letter.

Iannone clarified that if someone is unable to attend Mass for a “grave cause” such as illness or caring for an infant, then they are excused, as “no one is bound to the impossible.” 

Several U.S. dioceses are already stipulating that Mass attendance is obligatory on that day. The Archdiocese of Boston lists the day as obligatory on its website. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati website cited the Vatican’s clarification in making the announcement.

The Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, also cited the Vatican’s clarification that the obligation transfers with the feast day. 

Multiple other archdioceses confirmed to CNA that the day would be treated as obligatory, including Portland, Oregon; Las Vegas; Miami; Atlanta; St. Louis; Denver; Oklahoma City; and Seattle.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, meanwhile, granted a dispensation for the feast day given the “short notice” of the change. 

DiNardo noted that “many parishes and families already have in place the schedules for Advent and Christmas, and that this will cause confusion due to the short notice of this change.”

He urged the faithful, however, to “make a special effort to attend Mass on Dec. 9 even though there is no obligation to do so this year.”

The Diocese of Tulsa in Oklahoma also granted a dispensation, a spokesman told CNA. 

The USCCB 2024 liturgical calendar had not been updated with the change at the time of publication. The USCCB did not respond to queries on the matter.