1. Pope’s visit to DRC, South Sudan back on for early 2023, By Aljazeera, December 1, 2022 Pope Francis will visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan early next year, the Vatican said on Thursday, after a scheduled trip to both countries in July was cancelled because of health problems. The Vatican said Francis would visit DRC from January 31 to February 3 and then spend two days in South Sudan alongside the archbishop of Canterbury and the moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland. He had to call off the twin trip in July because of a persistent knee ailment, which has left him having to often use a wheelchair. Vatican sources said at the time that he was receiving several injections a week for the painful condition, as well as physical therapy. … https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/1/pope-revives-visit-to-congo-south-sudan-in-early-2023__________________________________________________________ 2. Pope Francis praises ‘fruitful’ theology of Benedict XVI, By AC Wimmer, Catholic News Agency, December 1, 2022, 5:06 AM Pope Francis on Thursday praised the role of Benedict XVI and his theology for the Church. Speaking at the 2022 Ratzinger Prize award ceremony at the Vatican, Pope Francis said: “We all feel his spiritual presence and his accompaniment in prayer for the whole Church.” ”But this occasion is important to reaffirm that the contribution of his theological work and, more generally, of his thought continues to be fruitful and effective.” The Ratzinger Prize was launched in 2011 to recognize scholars whose work demonstrates a meaningful contribution to theology in the spirit of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Bavarian theologian who became Benedict XVI. … https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252958/pope-francis-the-theology-of-benedict-xvi-is-fruitful-for-the-future__________________________________________________________ 3. Belgium sees sharp rise in ‘debaptism’ requests, The Church in Belgium has reported a sharp rise in the number of people asking for their names to be removed from baptismal registers., By Luke Coppen, The Pillar, November 30, 2022, 6:00 PM The Catholic Church in Belgium reported on Wednesday a sharp rise in the number of people asking for their names to be removed from baptismal registers. The Church’s latest annual report, published on Nov. 30, said there were 5,237 such requests in 2021, compared to 1,261 in 2020 and 1,800 in 2019. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark of his belonging to Christ.” While a person can lapse in the practice of the faith, or even renounce it altogether, it is impossible to reverse the effects of baptism. Nevertheless, a rising movement in Europe promoting “debaptism” has encouraged Catholics to write to Church authorities asking to be removed from parish baptismal records. The movement is a consortium of several political and philosophical factions among European secularists. The report suggested that the Vatican doctrinal office’s March 2021 reaffirmation that the Catholic Church does not have the power to bless same-sex unions might “partly explain” the spike in requests. … https://www.pillarcatholic.com/belgium-sees-sharp-rise-in-debaptism-requests/__________________________________________________________ 4. Layman succeeds Fr. Guerrero as Vatican finance czar, Fr. Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves will step down on Thursday after three years as prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, By Luke Coppen, The Pillar, November 30, 2022, 11:04 AM Fr. Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves will step down on Thursday after three years as prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy. The 63-year-old Spanish Jesuit will be succeeded by a layman, Maximino Caballero Ledo, the institution’s secretary general since August 2020. The Holy See press office said Nov. 30 that Pope Francis thanked the priest “for the dedication he has shown in his service to the Holy See.” “Fr. Guerrero succeeded in putting the economy in good order; it was a difficult and demanding job that has borne much fruit,” it said. “The Holy Father assures him of his prayer.” Caballero, an economist, is the first lay person to be appointed head of a Vatican institution since the pope’s promulgation of a new apostolic constitution for the Roman curia earlier this year, though he is not the first layman to serve in such a role. … https://www.pillarcatholic.com/layman-succeeds-jesuit-fr-guerrero-as-vatican-finance-czar/__________________________________________________________ 5. Pope Francis: Restoration of Christian unity is ‘an urgent priority in today’s world’, By Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency, November 30, 2022, 7:55 AM Pope Francis said Wednesday that the full restoration of communion among all Christians is “an urgent priority in today’s world.” In a letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the pope expressed gratitude that Catholic and Orthodox Christians are seeking “to achieve full communion that will enable us one day, in God’s time, to gather together at the same eucharistic table.” “The full restoration of communion among all the believers in Jesus Christ is an irrevocable commitment for every Christian, for the ‘unity of all’ (Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom) is not only God’s will but an urgent priority in today’s world,” Pope Francis said on Nov. 30. The pope’s letter marked the feast of St. Andrew. Pope Francis sends a message each year on the feast to the Ecumenical Patriarch, who is regarded as the successor of St. Andrew the Apostle and “first among equals” in the Eastern Orthodox Church. … https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252947/pope-francis-restoration-of-christian-unity-is-an-urgent-priority-in-today-s-world__________________________________________________________ 6. The Vatican says it’s been hacked — again, By Jonah McKeown, Catholic News Agency, November 30, 2022, 2:00 PM A Vatican spokesman said Wednesday that the Holy See has taken down its main vatican.va website amid an apparent attempt to hack the site.  “Technical investigations are ongoing due to abnormal attempts to access the site,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told Reuters Nov. 30, without elaboration.  Numerous users online noted that the site was unavailable as of Tuesday morning. Among other things, vatican.va is the official online repository for papal encyclicals.  … https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252951/vatican-confirms-its-website-was-hacked__________________________________________________________

TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association.
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